Supplementary notes

"Whoosh-whoosh-"

A breeze stirred the thin mist like waves rolling across a vast sea, and Lin Yi heard the sound of surf beside his ears.

But at that very moment, the fresh air suddenly plunged in temperature, trying to force its way into Lin Yi's mouth and nose like icy spring water. Bone-piercing cold began assaulting his senses.

Lin Yi saw the thin mist flow into the classroom like spreading dry ice vapor. A layer of frost drifted over all the floor tiles.

"Lin Yi..."

"Lin Yi."

"Lin Yi!"

He suddenly heard an ethereal voice faintly mingled with the surf, calling his name without pause...

He narrowed his eyes, instinctively wanting to look toward the voice, but some subconscious will held his movements back.

Just as he struggled against himself, a palm landed heavily on his shoulder.

"What are you staring at so intently?"

Wei Liang's voice split the waves enveloping Lin Yi like an axe, then yanked him out and tossed him back onto his chair.

Lin Yi landed on the chair, his entire weight falling against its back. The whole row of chairs shook.

He abruptly came to his senses, leaned sharply back, and opened his mouth wide to suck in a breath.

This time, he knew what had happened without asking Wei Liang. To think he had stayed on guard ever since the classroom lights flickered, only to nearly come to grief at the very end!

"Liangzi, what was I doing just now?" he asked.

"If I was dozing off, wouldn't I have fallen over once I fell asleep and then woken up?"

"Surely I wasn't sleeping standing up?"

Wei Liang said scornfully, "You were practically sleeping standing up!

"You kept staring at the classroom door. Even after I heard it close, you still hadn't sat down, so I came to get you."

"Then I found you swaying on your feet, staring nonstop at the classroom door. But your eyes were completely blank, like you'd lost your senses."

Lin Yi sucked in a breath. "Liangzi, you saved me again!"

Wei Liang waved a hand. "Aw, it was just luck! Still, this night really has been rough on you. Get to bed early tonight!"

"Yeah." Lin Yi nodded, then lowered his head to check his watch.

5:16.

"Just as I thought... over ten minutes passed in a flash, just like when I was looking for a streetlamp."

He looked around.

After those abnormal classmates left, only a dozen or so normal classmates remained in the classroom.

Lin Yi carefully thought back.

He glanced down over the classroom floor tiles, then ignored Wei Liang's puzzled gaze and headed straight for the desks in front of the bookshelves, finding the one he had hidden under.

The scratches on its legs were still there, and its surface still bore shallow dents from impacts. Yet there wasn't a trace of blood on either the desktop or the floor tiles!

Blood had splashed onto that classmate's old-fashioned sneakers. He had even dragged Little Genius's corpse away, so why couldn't Lin Yi find a single drop of blood in the classroom?

Little Genius's corpse was gone.

But as far as he remembered, no one had left at all!

"Did they leave the classroom when I wasn't aware of it?"

To escape that classmate's attention, he had immersed himself in three volumes of One Knight Against X. He had no memories of those three-plus hours. The only possibility was that the classmates had left then.

"But if that's the case, why would they leave despite the Head Teacher's warning?"

The departure time specified in the Teaching Building Rules was 7:40 the next morning. Leaving before then violated the rules.

Judging by his and Wei Liang's experiences, following the rules really was the safest approach.

"Then what happened to Little Genius?"

Little Genius had definitely been killed. That classmate had even held the equipment dropped from Little Genius's body.

Lin Yi didn't understand, but he wasn't going to force himself to understand now.

He stacked all the manga together, then took out the little notebook and turned to the page with "4:30" and "lights" written on it.

He tore out that page, then flipped the notebook to his original notes.

His current notes read:

[1. There is something wrong with the teachers and students in foggy weather. Apparently, they are the Art Teachers and Art Students.

2. It is safe beneath lit streetlamps. If you get lost, wait under a streetlamp. You really can encounter a Security Guard.

3. The Security Guards are taller and bigger than normal people, with an enormous iron chain wrapped around their waists. You can walk through the fog by following a Security Guard.

4. The Teaching Building has a basement...? (This sentence was crossed out.)

4. The Head Teacher wears a white acrylic name badge on their chest. The badge reads Group B Class 2.

My name is Lin Yi. My student number is X0230506098.

5. The Athlete Students seem to be good people.

6. When going to the toilet, you need to firmly believe there is a toilet ahead. (Could a firm will be the key to survival?)

Note: being so wise you seem stupid appears to work too.

7. Beware of people whose smiles look obviously fake. There is something wrong with them.]

After some thought, he began adding to the notes:

"8. Following the rules is the most important means of protecting yourself!"

After writing that, he underlined it. Then something suddenly occurred to him, and he crossed out "seem to be" in "The Athlete Students seem to be good people" in the fifth entry and added:

"Believe what the Athlete Students say."

Even if they call you a dumbass. That was Lin Yi's private grumble; naturally, he didn't write it down.

There was also...

"Believe what the Head Teacher says."

"9. Evening self-study..."

Lin Yi wanted to write about the abnormal classmates, the classroom lights, and reading manga. But explaining this entry in detail would make it too cumbersome, so after careful consideration, he first left out the abnormal classmates.

The more he wrote about them, the easier it would be to notice them. He might as well leave them out altogether.

He thought for quite a while, crossed out the original "9. Evening self-study," and started again:

"9. Places illuminated by lights on Campus are safe. Parentheses: only lights installed on Campus count, not portable light sources you bring yourself."

"When the classroom lights start flickering, immediately crawl under a desk and stare cross-eyed at its legs, or hold your head and look at the floor. Only come out after the lights return to normal."

"Do not close your eyes during this time, and ignore all sounds and movements. Then you will be absolutely safe."

After finishing, he picked up the page he had torn out earlier and considered "4:30." He had wanted to add a tenth entry, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out how to write it, so he gave up for the moment.

But after the original "4:30," he wrote:

"The abnormal classmates got up and left the classroom at 4:30... the reason is currently unknown."

When he finished writing, he folded the paper and put it into his trouser pocket, then checked the time.

5:40.

The Cafeteria is open, but we still can't go. We have to wait another two hours, Lin Yi thought.

He put the little notebook away in his other trouser pocket, then picked up the manga again.

Although the classroom had become considerably safer after those abnormal classmates left, the threat from the classmates was only one part of all the danger.

The truly dangerous things were actually the strange sounds that could slip into his mind through any opening at any moment.

After browsing the manga for a while, Lin Yi felt the classroom had brightened somewhat. He looked up at the grandfather clock on the wall.

5:56.

He glanced at the classroom windows again.

The condensation on the glass gradually gathered into droplets. Clear golden morning light shone on the windows, giving a feeling of warmth.

"It's dawn..." Lin Yi sighed.

For some reason, seeing the light of dawn made him breathe a heartfelt sigh of relief.

Even now, recalling some of what had happened last night still felt absurd and unreal.

It seemed like a bizarre nightmare.

Beside him, Wei Liang closed his manga, rose from his seat, and stretched extravagantly.

"Day two!"

"Just six more days until we get paid!"

He grinned without a care, then nudged Lin Yi with his elbow and asked cheerfully, "Lao Lin, do you think Xu Shunkang and Xie Huayang will be surprised to see we're still fine?"

Lin Yi shook his head and answered distractedly, "No idea."

His heart actually felt rather heavy.

After a whole night, he didn't know how Young Master Tian and the others were doing, or Maozi.

Lin Yi was most worried about Maozi, but there was nothing he could do right now.

He had even put himself in danger several times by thinking things over, and had only escaped thanks to Wei Liang.

Although this had taught him that "thinking correctly about certain issues won't cause danger," luck had played an enormous part.

Wei Liang could tell Lin Yi was feeling rather weighed down, but he would never have cared this much just because a teammate had gotten separated.

Precisely because of that, he could only try to understand Lin Yi, but found it difficult to empathize.

Just then, Wei Liang suddenly noticed a figure reflected in the classroom window.

"Huh? Lao Lin, there's someone outside the window!" he exclaimed instinctively.

Lin Yi followed his gaze.

But before Wei Liang had even finished speaking, he realized something himself and jerked his head away, saying, "Wait, no! Don't look! Lao Lin, don't look!"

Rule 5 of the Teaching Building Rules:

[After 21:00, leaving the classroom is prohibited. Please continue self-study until 7:40 the following morning. During this time, if you see anything abnormal outside the windows or hear someone calling you outside the door, please ignore it.]

But Lin Yi had still accidentally looked a few moments longer.

Wei Liang was extremely anxious, but Lin Yi said, "It's fine, Liangzi. Don't panic."

"But Lao Lin, it's only six!"

Lin Yi patted his shoulder and shook his head reassuringly. "The lights in the classroom and Corridor are still on. Based on my experience, taking a look is still okay."

"Oh..." Wei Liang responded doubtfully.

Lin Yi lowered his head to check his watch.

6:00.

"Six on the dot."

"Who would be walking past outside at this in-between hour?"

May 7, X023, 6:00.

Wearing a blue apron and carrying a lunch box, the Chef walked past the Group B Class 2 classroom and stopped at the office door to the left of the classroom entrance.

The Chef looked up at the office's doorplate.

But the office had no doorplate.

Frowning, the Chef first glanced at the Group B Class 2 doorplate, then looked back at where the office's doorplate should have been.

A white acrylic doorplate had appeared in its original position, neatly inscribed with: Teachers' Office.

The Chef silently breathed a sigh of relief and knocked on the Teachers' Office door...

May 7, X023, 6:59.

Group B Class 2.

Holding his breath, Lin Yi narrowed his eyes at the quartz watch on his wrist, his gaze slowly following the hand.

"Tick! Tick! Tick..."

6:59:55... 6:59:56... 6:59:57...

6:59:59...

7:00:00!

Seven on the dot! Lin Yi's heart skipped, and he looked up at the ceiling.

"Bzz! Bzz! Bzz..."

As the sounds of incandescent lights switching off rang out one after another, the classroom grew a shade dimmer. Natural light streamed through the windowpanes, and the area near the windows immediately grew warm.

"The lights are off. The classroom should be safe now, right?" Lin Yi muttered.

Wei Liang smiled. "The rules don't say so, but it should be. Last time I came, I really didn't run into any trouble during the day."

"Of course, by 'during the day,' you can take me to mean 'clear weather, between 7:00 and 18:00.'"

Lin Yi said, "You mean the Campus is safe as long as the weather's good?"

"Relatively safe! I wouldn't dare guarantee anything," Wei Liang said. "If it's still this sunny at 7:40, maybe we can consider getting breakfast at the Cafeteria."

He opened the Map and took a look, then calculated, "When I went for lunch before, I remember it took about fifteen minutes to walk to the Cafeteria. If we jog, we should be able to grab a couple of steamed buns and a cup of soy milk."

Lin Yi frowned slightly. "Wouldn't that be cutting it a little close?"

"It's manageable, but if there's even a hint of fog, we're not going," Wei Liang said seriously. "If we have to, we'll skip a meal."

"Maybe we should just skip it," Lin Yi said thoughtfully. "You said breakfast at the Cafeteria runs from 5:40 to 8:00..."

"But if we spend the night in the classroom, we can't leave until 7:40, and it takes fifteen minutes to walk from the Teaching Building to the Cafeteria..."

"If we really go, we'll only have five minutes in the Cafeteria. That feels wrong to me!"

Wei Liang couldn't help saying, "Now that you put it that way, it really does sound a little off. So what are you saying?"

Lin Yi considered it. "Honestly, I feel like whoever made the rules seems, to some extent, not to want students who spend the night in the Teaching Building to have breakfast. What do you think?"

"Hiss-" Wei Liang drew in a breath. After briefly turning Lin Yi's words over in his head, he nodded. "That seems to make some sense. I'll listen to you, then!"

Lin Yi suspected Wei Liang hadn't thought about it at all.

"Then let's wait until 7:40 before deciding."

"Sure, whatever you say."

In a flash, it was 7:40.

The classroom door opened from outside, and the Head Teacher entered in professional attire.

At his first sight of the Head Teacher, Lin Yi's expression shifted slightly.

"Something... seems wrong!"