But just then, something suddenly occurred to him!
He fixed his eyes on the Notice Board, then lunged toward it like a madman before his whole body could go limp.
Thud...
He crashed heavily to the ground. His body could not even manage that final leap!
But he caught the Notice Board's pole.
"G-got it! I got it!!"
"Haaah-"
He mustered his last scrap of strength and dragged himself to the foot of the Notice Board's pole.
He clung tightly to the pole with one hand, then reached into his pocket with the other!
After fumbling around, he finally felt a thick booklet.
He fought to control his trembling hand, pulled the booklet from his pocket, then shakily opened it to the final section-the Campus Map.
Before his vision faded completely, he found the Notice Board and the Cafeteria on the Map-
"That's right! That's right!! The Cafeteria is right here! Right here!"
He slowly moved the Map away from his eyes, as though scraping the protective coating off a scratch card.
The scenery behind the Notice Board appeared before him again.
The cliff was gone. A square, solid Cafeteria sat quietly in the last light of the setting sun.
The Cafeteria had been there all along.
The Cafeteria had always been there.
And he was still clinging to the Notice Board's pole.
Lin Yi's taut body relaxed all at once, and he felt the crushing weight on him vanish in an instant.
He released the pole and lay on the road paved with distinct pebbles. Looking at the normal world before him, a world with inherent order and logic, he let out a long breath of relief.
He gulped down air, letting its earthy fragrance tell him that the insane, oppressive, distorted world filled with extreme malice toward him