Teaching Building Rules

May 6, X023, Group B Class 2, Circular Lecture Hall.

Wei Liang's words sent a shiver straight through Lin Yi.

Just as he was studying Wei Liang warily, the guy leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Lao Lin, my Student Number is X0230506097. Yours is 098, right?"

"Huh?" The corner of Lin Yi's mouth twitched. Don't scare me to death, you bastard. I almost thought there was something wrong with you.

"Yeah." He nodded and asked, "Does that mean something?"

Wei Liang tugged at the brim of his cap and lowered his voice. "Of course it does! Don't forget, we're in this together!"

"Now you know my Student Number, and I know yours. That way, we can remind each other when it counts!"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Lin Yi asked.

Wei Liang said, "You have no idea how weird this university really is..."

He pointed at his head. "Lao Lin, I'm telling you, if you stay on this Campus too long... your brain starts going wrong!"

"Things like your memory getting worse, your thoughts getting muddled, that sort of thing."

Wei Liang talked about his experience here last time. The university life experience lasted seven days in total, but starting on the sixth day, he had felt a little muddleheaded. His mind had grown hazy, and he often couldn't remember things.

The most direct way to describe the feeling was like spending all night pleasuring himself too many times, then carrying on the next day.

If he hadn't written some key information on sticky notes, he really would have gotten lost on Campus.

"I think it might have something to do with the geography here. There's Abnormal Weather every day, and the rain and fog probably carry some miasma from the mountains. Staying in it too long isn't good for you."

Lin Yi gave it some serious thought, then nodded.

He also felt as though something had gone slightly wrong with his thinking. It was like two cams sharing a center but shaped differently turning together, as though a tiny gap had appeared between his thoughts and his perceptions...

Puzzled, he asked, "Then what does that have to do with the Student ID?"

Wei Liang shook his head and pursed his lips. "I don't know either, but there are always stories about people getting trapped going in circles by ghosts in remote forests. Maybe the Student ID is some kind of protective charm?"

Wei Liang started rambling mysteriously about bizarre rumors again. Lin Yi held his forehead, suddenly wishing Tian Bufan were sitting beside him instead.

If it were Tian Bufan, he would already be methodically sorting through the clues, then using the rules they knew to work out how this "survival game" was played.

As for Wei Liang...

This flashy fool was looking forward to receiving a Student ID that was some sort of consecrated magical artifact.

I wonder how Young Master Tian and the others are doing...

Wei Shan and Kuai Kuai's conditions are really worrying.

And Maozi...

Mao Feiyang had returned to the stairwell. There was no telling how things were going for him now.

He was the person Lin Yi worried about most at the moment.

After all, that stairwell was far too abnormal, along with those stairs that resembled the Fibonacci Sequence.

Lin Yi recalled everything they had experienced since entering the Campus and suddenly realized that they had spent two whole hours merely getting from the University Gate to the Teaching Building!

That kind of journey would have been outrageous on any campus.

Moreover, Lin Yi suddenly realized that ever since entering the School Gate, all they had seen were streetlamps and the Teaching Building.

Over such a long stretch of road, there had only been one teaching building?

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes.

The Campus beneath the fog was like an endless ocean. The streetlamps were lighthouses floating in it, and the Teaching Building was the only sheltered harbor.

Though it was a sheltered harbor, the Teaching Building could hardly be called absolutely safe. At most, it was an added safety lock within the realm of the abnormal, keeping the thick fog out of the Teaching Building and stopping the unknown things inside that fog from entering as well.

"Right, the Teaching Building has its own rules!" Lin Yi's eyes lit up. He quickly took out the booklet the Head Teacher had given him and slowly began leafing through it.

"[Teaching Building Rules]"

"This Campus is still in its trial phase, so there are no divisions by year. Please make sure you identify your class correctly and follow these rules to reach the appropriate classroom."

"1. The Teaching Building consists of three buildings: Building A, Building B, and Building C. Each building has four floors, with three classes per floor. From the lowest floor to the highest, they are Group A Class 1, Group A Class 2... Group A Class 12."

"Connecting bridges link the buildings on every floor and may be crossed on foot."

"2. The Teaching Building has four floors and only four floors. There is no basement, no elevator, and certainly no Building D. If you inadvertently discover any area other than the Teaching Building's four floors, you must not go there."

"If anyone invites you to any of the above areas, please refuse. If you cannot refuse, please seek help from the nearest Athlete Student or Gym Teacher. If necessary, you may seek help from a Security Guard."

"Be wary of anyone who behaves in the above manner. They are no longer the people you knew."

"3. The Teaching Building is open at all hours during the trial period, and all lights will be switched on between 18:00 and 7:00 the following day. Entering any unlit area during these hours is prohibited, including to use the restroom."

"4. No one other than students, teachers, and patrolling Security Guards will appear inside the Teaching Building. If you encounter anyone who does not belong to one of these categories, return to your classroom immediately. Do not pay attention to anything along the way, even if a teacher calls you."

"5. Evening self-study takes place after 18:00, but this university does not require students to attend unless the current time is past 21:00."

"After 21:00, leaving the classroom is prohibited. Please continue studying until 7:40 the following day. You may read any books, but remember: do! not! sleep! in! the! classroom! (This last sentence was bold, underlined, and marked with numerous conspicuous exclamation marks.)"

"During this period, if you see anything unusual outside the windows or someone calls to you from outside the door, please ignore it."

"6. In theory, the classroom's power supply will not stop, so the lights will not go out. If the lights flicker, crouch down before they go out, grip a desk leg tightly, and repeatedly remind yourself of two things: first, your name and Student ID number; second, you are studying in a classroom in the Teaching Building, not sleeping in the Dormitory."

"7. If you violate any of the above rules, please find a way to seek help from your Head Teacher as quickly as possible and explain the details. Then trust your Head Teacher unconditionally and follow their instructions."

"As long as you follow the Teaching Building Rules, the Teaching Building will be your most trustworthy refuge during your time at the university. We wish you happy studying and safe travels."

There weren't many rules, but before Lin Yi had even finished his first read-through, a chill was already seeping up his back.

He stared with utter seriousness at the second rule: the Teaching Building had four floors and only four floors. There was no basement, no elevator, and certainly no Building D. If you inadvertently discovered any area other than the Teaching Building's four floors, you must not go there.

Then he recalled what he had seen when he first laid eyes on this teaching building...

The enormous Teaching Building had towered like a mountain into the dark, oppressive sky. Its floors had been indistinct but brightly lit, like a torch standing upright in the night.

There had been seven floors visible to the naked eye alone!

And then they had followed the sign into the basement!

But the Teaching Building had no basement at all, so where had they gone?

Mao Feiyang was still in the stairwell!

He tried hard to recall the scenes of entering the stairwell and coming out again...

They had entered on the first floor...

Hurried downstairs for more than twenty minutes...

Then pushed the door open and stepped out...

And the scene outside the door had still been the first floor!

Had we simply gone in and come back out?

Then how did the stairwell door become the classroom entrance?

Could the problem have been the stairs?

He sank into doubt.

As he kept remembering and thinking, tangled up in the past, a sense of exhaustion slowly rose within him again, then began savagely eating away at his will.

He felt the circular classroom begin to warp...

He felt the Teaching Building begin to seem unreal...

"Lao Lin! Lao Lin!"

Wei Liang pressed his hands against Lin Yi's shoulders and shook him hard.

"Don't fall asleep! You're not allowed to sleep in the study room!"

Lin Yi was shaken awake, and that weak, exhausted feeling was shaken away too.

"What just... happened to me?"

He felt as though something was guiding him into a certain line of thought. The guidance was so seamless that even he couldn't notice it. By the time he reacted, all he could feel was a weakness arising from within. By the time he became alert to it, Wei Liang had already shaken him awake.

He looked at Wei Liang and asked in confusion, "Did I look like I was asleep just now?"

"All you needed was a pillow."

"..." Lin Yi's mouth fell slightly open. "Uh... what?"

He had clearly felt as though he had fallen deep into thought. At most, he had been a little dizzy, but to Wei Liang, he had looked like he was about to fall asleep?

Just then, Lin Yi suddenly noticed that the light was somewhat dim. Shadows from somewhere were blocking part of the light.

He looked up. The next instant, he felt an icy chill shoot up from the soles of his feet, pierce his leg bones, sweep along his spine, rush all the way into the crown of his head, and burst out!

At some point, people had crowded around him and Wei Liang.

These classmates stood packed like obelisks on the chairs around them, hemming them in without a single gap.

When he raised his head, his eyes met their downward gazes.

Every classmate gathered around them was smiling with narrowed eyes. Every mouth curved at exactly the same angle. Their faces and builds were clearly different, yet standing there, they looked like countless gravestones carved with human faces, all staring at him.

In the dim light, Lin Yi could still clearly see their waxen-white faces, as though they were malnourished.

Seeing that Lin Yi had regained his senses, they said nothing. They merely moved their somewhat stiff legs and slowly dispersed, returning to their seats one after another.

But even after sitting back down, some classmates continued staring fixedly at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi lowered his head and checked his watch.

20:13.

It seemed he had been thinking for a while since finishing the Student Rules, but...

When did they come over?

Besides, with so many people gathering around me, there should have been no way they could do it without making a sound!

Lin Yi looked toward Wei Liang, trying to find an answer on his face.

Beneath the brim of Wei Liang's baseball cap, his eyes were filled with fear too.

"Liangzi, you didn't notice when they came over either?" Lin Yi asked.

Wei Liang nodded stiffly, his breathing faintly quickening. Clearly, he understood nothing about what had just happened either.

Wei Liang lowered his voice. "Lao Lin, all I knew was... you can't sleep during self-study, so when I saw you looking a little drowsy, I shook you awake."

"I never expected... this. That was terrifying." Still shaken, he looked around.

One of the classmates met his eyes and even gave him a standardized smile.

Wei Liang's hair stood on end, and he quickly ducked his head back.

Lin Yi asked quietly, "Do you know them?"

Wei Liang said in exasperation, "Know your grand-know them, my ass! Every classroom has some people who aren't quite normal. Whatever you do, don't provoke them."

"Why would I provoke them for no reason?" Lin Yi paused after speaking, then added, "So... we have to spend the next seven days with these people?"

Lin Yi felt deeply averse to these classmates. Especially when they had gathered around him just now, they had given him an intense feeling of suffocation.

"Can't help it... they're our classmates." Wei Liang shrugged, then added, "I don't like them either. I know it's probably not appropriate to say this, but I feel like they aren't really... human."

His hand rubbed the Student ID in his pocket, and he couldn't help muttering again, "Do you think this Student ID might really be some consecrated treasure?"

Lin Yi held his forehead. "How about thinking about something normal instead? How did you get through your last visit?"

Wei Liang said innocently, "It was my first time. I didn't have any experience, so of course I followed the rules strictly..."

"Every day, I just went between the Dormitory, the Cafeteria, and the Teaching Building... and before I knew it, it was over."

"But maybe I was dizzy and foggy-headed last time because I'd spent too long living that dull little routine. Plus, the miasma in the mountains is heavy in the mornings and evenings. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have been dizzy and confused with my memory all muddled during the last two days."

Lin Yi's eyes widened. "Just those three places? Before you came, didn't you tell me you'd explored the entire Campus in seven days, and there wasn't a single place on Campus you didn't know?"

Wei Liang opened his mouth, then gave an awkward smile. "Wasn't I just trying to show off a tiny bit...?"

Lin Yi looked at Wei Liang and, for a moment, had no idea what to say.

"Then... exploring?"

Wei Liang silently took out the Teaching Building Rules booklet and unfolded the last page...

Lin Yi's eyes widened.

No wonder they had bound just a few Teaching Building Rules into a booklet. He hadn't expected the back to unfold... into a map.

The way Wei Liang slowly unfolded the map looked exactly like someone presenting a map as tribute, his concentration making him seem to be searching for a dagger hidden deep within its folds.

"This is a map of S City University. When I got bored during self-study, I toured it virtually loads of times..." Wei Liang said without blushing or missing a beat.

"Virtually... toured?" Lin Yi blinked. Question marks slowly rose over his head, one after another, finally converging into three words.

"You fucking bastard."

Finally, under Wei Liang's gaze as he rubbed his hands and smiled awkwardly, Lin Yi slowly raised a thumb. "Impressive."

But immediately afterward, he suddenly noticed something. He snatched the map from Wei Liang's hands, put it in front of himself, and began examining it closely.

His eyes widened, but his pupils trembled violently.

Lin Yi's sudden seriousness startled Wei Liang. He leaned over to look at the map and heard Lin Yi muttering the same words over and over:

"What's going on? How could it be like this?!"