May 8, Year X023, 7:14.
Dawn shone down from the clear sky, scattering dappled golden radiance across Pebble Road.
Lin Yi and his companions left the Dormitory Building area in a sizable procession, treading through the thin fog into the Cafeteria area.
As they crossed the boundary, Lin Yi examined the streetlamps along the dividing line again.
The other streetlamp numbers were thoroughly jumbled, but the two nearest each other were indeed "Dormitory Building-001" and "Cafeteria-001."
The instant he entered the Cafeteria area, Lin Yi distinctly felt that chill of passing through a curtain of water again.
"The area surrounding each building on Campus seems to be an independent space." A sudden wave of reflection prompted a sigh. "It feels like... every building is an island drifting at sea, impossibly far from the others, yet closely connected by the pebbles throughout Campus, lined with streetlamps."
Tian Bufan gave him a surprised look, then nodded silently. "Every building on Campus could exist on an independent layer."
"All the buildings are independent yet interconnected. Whether individually or as a whole, their layer structure is extremely complex."
"By the way..." Lin Yi looked at him curiously. "Young Master Tian, what time did you come here to eat yesterday?"
"Around this time," Tian Bufan said. "I tagged along with the Athlete Students who spent the night in the classroom and went to the Cafeteria for breakfast."
"What happened afterward to those eerie Art Students and nonhuman classmates?"
"Some were taken away by the Athlete Students, and some escaped," Tian Bufan said.
"Es... escaped? Wait, I can sort of understand escaping, but what do you mean, taken away?"
There was nothing shameful about running when you couldn't win. Besides, given the absurd speed with which those nonhuman classmates appeared and disappeared, they could surely escape