Daytime was our home turf

"Classmate... have you had enough to eat? Are you sure you don't want to try the Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta?"

"If you don't want to try the Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta... there are other dishes you can try!"

"Stay..."

"Stay!"

"Stay-"

Amid the shifting light and shadows, an exaggerated smile stretched across the Green Apron Chef's face, reaching all the way to his ears.

"Heh heh heh..."

His mouth began to open wide, his smile growing increasingly deranged.

His pupils dilated slightly, his eyes filled with obsession.

A fine layer of sweat had already seeped out across Lin Yi's forehead. As he sprinted, even the windless Student Dining Hall had his clothes billowing!

Against the powerful air resistance, he actually found himself wishing he could run naked!

"Heh heh heh..." The Green Apron Chef closed in!

Lin Yi gritted his teeth and looked toward the Student Dining Hall's doorway, refusing to give up.

He was just seconds away!

"Faster! Go faster!!"

His roar was almost drowned out by the wind.

But just then, as the distance shrank, a figure suddenly appeared in his constantly shaking field of vision.

The figure stood right at the Student Dining Hall's exit, bathed in sunlight. From Lin Yi's angle, he was a backlit silhouette like an insurmountable barrier.

"?!" Lin Yi's pupils contracted, but he didn't slow down at all. "What...?!"

As he drew closer to the Student Dining Hall's exit, the difference in brightness began to diminish, and he gradually made out who it was.

"That's... Xu Shunkang?!"

The instant he recognized that face, his shock sent countless emotions surging through him!

At that moment, Xu Shunkang stood at the Student Dining Hall's entrance like a door god guarding a pass, planted like a milestone between the dining hall doors and the Student Passage.

"It's actually Xu Shunkang!"

"What's he doing here?!"

Lin Yi's expression changed in shock. He had no idea why Xu Shunkang was here, tightly gripping a Baseball Bat, but the urgent rush of wind by his ears made him abandon that thought.

Lin Yi mustered every last ounce of strength and charged toward the doorway Xu Shunkang guarded!

There was none of the joking expression Xu Shunkang wore during classroom self-study. As Lin Yi charged toward him, his blazing gaze swept swiftly over Lin Yi.

Following his keen intuition, he spotted Lin Yi's shoes at first glance, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

A patch of sticky, dark red substance clung to Lin Yi's shoe. With the speed of his steps, it was impossible to tell whether it was blood or tomato sauce.

He slowly tightened his grip on the Baseball Bat.

But when he saw the Student ID clutched tightly in Lin Yi's hand, his furrowed brow finally relaxed a little.

"Quick! Faster! You're too slow!" Xu Shunkang shouted at him.

Lin Yi sprinted like mad. Nearing the doorway, he glanced at the sign on the door-Student Dining Hall exit.

Through the exit's transparent glass, he could also see the [Student Passage] sign in the same glance.

He let out half a breath of relief, then immediately sucked in a full breath and charged forward with everything he had.

"Did you fucking skip lunch? Move faster!" Seeing Lin Yi panting, Xu Shunkang let out a harsh roar.

"Fuck!!" Lin Yi clenched his teeth, the muscles of his upper and lower jaws almost turning to iron.

He was already moving as fast as he could, like a pitch-black afterimage, yet in Xu Shunkang's eyes, he was still as slow as an old lady crossing the road.

"Heh heh heh-little tomato sauce! Don't go!" Wind whipped behind Lin Yi as the Green Apron Chef's figure seemed to blend into the shadows, closing in at a terrifying speed.

Lin Yi's body went cold. For a fleeting instant, he saw a pale hand reach past the line of his shoulder, only for him to pull ahead again.

It seemed there was only a single body length between them!

"The exit! The exit!! Charge-" Even the style of Lin Yi's sprint had changed, giving the warped impression of someone roaring, "How many floors must a bag of rice be carried up?"

Xu Shunkang shifted half a body width aside just in time, letting him pass.

Whoosh-

Lin Yi charged out of the Student Dining Hall.

The instant he passed through the plastic strip curtain, the long-missed warmth of sunlight reached out to embrace him. His spirits lifted, and he didn't forget to shout a warning:

"Xu Shunkang, behind me...!!!"

"Leave what's behind you to me! Go!" Xu Shunkang cut him off. As he spoke, he had already stepped back into position, blocking the Student Dining Hall's exit like a door god!

"I already fucking told you..."

His gaze locked on the Green Apron Chef, whose form had distorted into an afterimage, and he abruptly tightened his grip on the Baseball Bat!

A faint creaking came from where his palm gripped the bat.

The muscles in Xu Shunkang's arm grew sharply defined as he exerted himself, terrifying power gathering in his arms.

"Daytime..."

He swung the Baseball Bat one-handed, smashing it viciously into the Green Apron Chef's face the instant he charged out of the Student Dining Hall.

"...is our home turf!!!"

Thud-!!!

One crushing blow, like a galactic home run, made the air tremble. An invisible ring of air burst outward around Xu Shunkang!

"Get lost-"

Xu Shunkang let out a low roar, sinking his strength into both arms and pouring all his power into the Baseball Bat. He knocked the Green Apron Chef back into the Student Dining Hall like a baseball!

Bang... bam! Bam, bam, bam...

The Green Apron Chef smashed through one dining chair after another, finally crashing into the students who had pursued Lin Yi and the others like walking corpses before coming to a stop.

The air gradually froze. The somewhat noisy Student Dining Hall abruptly fell deathly silent.

As though they had caught a scent, those walking-corpse-like students turned their heads, craned their necks, and looked at the chef in the green apron.

Beneath the Green Apron Chef's white uniform... a sticky, dark red substance slowly seeped out.

An obsessive, crazed look gradually appeared in the students' eyes. They surged forward, engulfing the Green Apron Chef like a tide.

Throughout this, not a single other student dared show the slightest reaction. They ate in silence, though their eating speed had increased many times over.

Xu Shunkang stood at the Student Dining Hall's doorway, watching the scene unfold with a cold gaze.

He glanced at the Baseball Bat covered in the sticky, dark red substance, his eyes flickering.

After a moment's thought, he raised the Baseball Bat high, into the sunlight.

Sizzle, sizzle...

A faint, dark red mist rose from the sticky substance. Then it hardened and deteriorated at a speed visible to the naked eye, ultimately turning into white, plaster-like solids.

Xu Shunkang shook the Baseball Bat and knocked it against the floor tiles a few times. The white solids immediately turned to powder and drifted away.

Resting the Baseball Bat on his shoulder, he swept his gaze over those watching him curiously from the darkened area. A cold, deeply mocking sneer lifted the corner of his mouth.

"Heh... filthy things."

His brows and eyes curved slightly. Deep in his eye sockets flickered a golden radiance as brilliant as searing gold.

The Student Passage.

Several times, Lin Yi wanted to turn back to check on Xu Shunkang, but in the end, he chose to follow the cafeteria rules:

[Before you enter the [Student Passage] or reach the Convenience Store, do not stop, do not look back, and do not respond to his calls, even if you feel he is about to catch you.]

To be safe, he might as well not look back at all until he left the Student Passage.

He looked ahead and saw a figure racing along the steps of the Student Passage as though gliding, his feet flying.

"Liangzi?!"

"That speed... is he fucking cheating?!"

Although the Student Passage wasn't particularly steep, running at full acceleration over such a distance without braking at all was far too absurd.

Lin Yi's eyes nearly popped out. He increasingly felt that Wei Liang had maxed out some strange survival skills.

Shocked as he was, he didn't dare let up for a moment and hurried after Wei Liang.

One after the other, they soon charged out of the Student Passage.

But Wei Liang didn't slow down. He kept charging forward...

"Liangzi! Don't go too far! We need to return the cafeteria rules and take off our shoes!!" Lin Yi shouted.

Wei Liang's anguished cries came from nearby:

"I don't fucking want to go far eitheeeeer~~~"

"I can't slow doooooown~~~~~~"

Wei Liang slowed as he shouted. The sight looked like a steam locomotive braking in an emergency, trailing sparks and lightning all the way.

In the end, he managed to slow down, but by then his shoes were almost smoking and ready for the scrap heap.

Lin Yi looked at Wei Liang's shoes and felt they would probably need throwing away even if they hadn't gotten tomato sauce on them.

Panting, Wei Liang planted his hands on his hips, his tongue practically hanging to the ground. He puffed out a heavy breath, steam rising from his forehead. "I can't fucking run anymore... I feel like I've digested everything I just ate..."

Despite his exhaustion, he still raised a thumb. "Lao Lin... huff, huff... I knew I could count on you in a tight spot! But it looks like your shoe got tomato sauce on it too?"

Lin Yi lowered his head to look at his feet.

There was indeed tomato sauce on his right shoe. He quickly realized what had happened. "It must have gotten on there when I kicked under the table..."

"It's fine. I'll just throw it away." He didn't mind that.

"Yeah." Wei Liang nodded.

Clothes and shoes weren't really an issue. The Dormitory supplied them all, something Wei Liang had discovered last time. So although they had brought backpacks this time, there wasn't actually much inside.

"Hey, wait, Lao Lin. Do you think we should return the cafeteria rules first, or throw our shoes in the trash first?" Wei Liang asked.

Lin Yi ran through the rules in his head, then said, "Throw away the shoes first."

The cafeteria rules stated:

[After leaving the Cafeteria, remove your clothes immediately and check whether you have any tomato sauce on you. If so, discard the clothes in the nearest trash can.]

"Immediately" and "nearest" were no joking matter.

"We can return the rules on our way out."

"Okay." Wei Liang nodded solemnly, then said, "Oh, right... that's actually what I thought too."

"..." Lin Yi pressed a hand to his forehead. "You don't have to make a point of saying that."

"Come on, I just didn't want you thinking I wasn't contributing!" Smiling, Wei Liang nudged Lin Yi with his elbow.

"I really underestimated you, Liangzi." Lin Yi shrugged.

They chatted and joked as they searched for the nearest trash can, but after making a full circuit, they hadn't found a single one.

Lin Yi couldn't help muttering, "That's strange... we actually can't find a trash can."

"It really is strange." Wei Liang nodded gravely.

"Haven't you seen any trash cans before?"

"Nope."

"Seriously? You were here for seven days and never threw anything away?" Lin Yi asked in surprise.

Wei Liang corrected him. "Don't put it that way. Strictly speaking, it was five days and fourteen meals. I didn't come to the Cafeteria at all for the last two days... I almost passed out from hunger."

"So you mean you came to the Cafeteria fourteen times but didn't throw anything away once?"

Wei Liang glared at Lin Yi and couldn't help saying, "Hey, not throwing anything away is normal! Unless you buy food from the Convenience Store, there's basically no need to throw anything away, right?"

"Besides, when I came here before, I never did anything out of line. Every time, I kept my head down in line and focused on eating. Whatever happened, I ignored it. Once I finished, I left without causing any trouble!"

"What would I need a trash can for?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi thought of Wei Liang's top-tier solo playstyle. After a moment's silence, he nodded. "You... seem to have a point."

"Hey, it's fine, it's fine!" Wei Liang patted Lin Yi on the shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for being a little dumber than me. This is my second run, after all!"

"Yeah." Lin Yi nodded, then suddenly said, "Hey, found one!"

But he immediately frowned.

Wei Liang hurriedly followed Lin Yi's gaze. Sure enough, he saw a trash can, and his brows immediately furrowed too.

That trash can was actually positioned at the entrance to the [Staff Passage].

"Lao Lin, that trash can's location... seems a little off!" Wei Liang murmured.

Lin Yi remained silent. After what had just happened, his impression of the cafeteria staff was hardly a good one.

He lowered his head and began leafing through the cafeteria rules, searching for rules related to the [Staff Passage].

"There are only two cafeteria rules that actually mention the [Staff Passage]..."

"One tells students to enter the Cafeteria through the [Student Passage], not the [Staff Passage]. The other is..."

[If you accidentally violate any of the above rules, leave through the [Student Passage] immediately, then enter the [Staff Passage] at once and seek help from an employee wearing a blue apron (note: a blue apron, not a green apron, and they must be wearing a name badge) or a Security Guard. You must present your Student ID before asking for help.

At all times, absolutely! Unconditionally! Trust! The Security Guards!]

"So... theoretically, the Staff Passage is relatively safe, but we're not allowed to enter unless we meet the conditions."

"But the trash can is right at the [Staff Passage] entrance. I don't need to enter the [Staff Passage], so going over to throw something away should be fine."

After all, the cafeteria rules explicitly said to throw clothes stained with tomato sauce into a trash can.

"Lao Lin, what should we do? Should we... go throw them away?" Unable to decide, Wei Liang looked to Lin Yi for help.

After thinking it over, Lin Yi nodded. "Yes, but we leave as soon as we're done. We don't put even half a foot across the boundary of the [Staff Passage]!"

"Okay!" Wei Liang answered earnestly. Then he looked down at his feet, because something had suddenly occurred to him.

After Lin Yi helped kick away the pervert licking his foot, he had lifted his left foot and followed up with a few kicks himself. So, unless he was mistaken...

"For fuck's sake!!" Wei Liang looked speechlessly to the heavens. "I knew it!"

Sure enough, his left shoe had also gotten tomato sauce on it from those follow-up kicks!

"I fucking lost my shoes just getting a meal! My Flying Kun Limited-Edition Sneakers!"

"Boo-hoo~~~~" Wei Liang covered his face with his hands, two trails of clear tears running down his cheeks.