May 6, 2023, 18:54.
In the area of the Teaching Building at University S, a chef clad in a green apron recommended tomato sauce pasta to Lin Yi and others, the scene so still it resembled a relief sculpture.
Lin Yi paused for a second, a sense of dread suddenly exploding in his mind, making his body shudder involitably, yet his mind became extraordinarily calm.
He took a deep breath and then looked towards the back of the Security Guard, without giving another glance at the chef and the tomato sauce pasta before striding calmly to catch up with the Security Guard.
The chef, smile beaming, continuously recommended the tomato sauce pasta, his gaze fixated on him and following his movements, slowly turning like a puppet.
As Lin Yi brushed past the chef, he distinctly felt the mist swirling and sensed no creature bearing heat nearby.
Yet, he could feel the gaze from the chef in the green apron, cold, greedy, malevolent, bare... and desirous.
The hair on his arms stood up all at once.
One by one, everyone brushed past the chef in the green apron without paying him any heed.
Mao Feiyang walked last in the group, and as he was about to leave, Lin Yi's voice suddenly called out from behind him.
"Maozi."
Mao Feiyang instinctively turned around.
In the mist about to be swallowed by darkness, the chef in the green apron drooped his head, the corners of his mouth curved like a clown.
At that moment, deep rumbling thunder rolled in from the night sky.
Lightning flashed across the sky, and the campus suddenly brightened up.
In the midst of the mist, bizarre and intertwined shadows retreated into the depths of the mist, yet remained eerily close to everyone.
Mao Feiyang's pupils slightly dilated.
Lin Yi's voice issued from the mouth of the chef in the green apron, with a hint of a demonic tone.
"Maozi."
"Maozi."
"Follow me."
"Follow me..."
"Hehehe..."
...
「Tick... tock...」
A raindrop drifted onto Lin Yi's face.
Lin Yi looked up at the sky, the heavy night seeming to collapse like a caving roof, oppressively suffocating.
Wei Liang's trembling voice rang out, "Old Lin, it's going to rain..."
Lin Yi felt a bit panicky himself, he looked at the back of the Security Guard, but the latter showed no sign of quickening his pace.
Even the employees behind him in chef uniforms showed no reaction.
So, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "How far is it from the cafeteria to the Teaching Building?"
"Huh?" Wei Liang blinked.
Lin Yi glared at him, "Haven't you been here before? From the time we ate lunch, how long did it take to walk from the Teaching Building to the cafeteria?"
Then Wei Liang came to his senses and thought for a moment before saying, "About... ten minutes or so, but that's under normal conditions."
"What do you mean 'under normal conditions'?"
"Normal conditions mean when the mist isn't too thick, the current weather is far from normal."
Lin Yi quickly checked the time.
19:13.
"19:13... We met the Security Guard just before half-past six, and now more than 40 minutes have passed..."
He narrowed his eyes.
Tian Bufan, touching his nose, mused, "The student handbook says that if abnormal weather is encountered, one must seek shelter nearby at the earliest possible time, even ignoring some rules..."
"It seems now that abnormal weather might be more dangerous than some strange buildings..."
The student handbook's reference clearly indicated some abnormal buildings on this campus.
"But why is that?"
Tian Bufan, feeling a few random raindrops on his face, frowned slightly.
Seeing Tian Bufan deep in thought, Lin Yi did not interrupt; suddenly sensing something, he saw not far ahead of the Security Guard, under the dense fog, a massive shadow of a building looming.
Around the building, numerous dim, firefly-like light points were scattered—that was the street lighting.
The light projected from the streetlights formed an illuminated path, carving a route through the dense fog.
A visibly clear path leading to the building ahead.
「Teaching Building? Or... something else?」
In his mind, Lin Yi frantically scrolled through each rule related to buildings and abnormal weather in the student handbook, eventually concluding,
「The best course in abnormal weather is to follow the streetlights to the nearest building for shelter, second only to staying in place and waiting for the Security Guard.」
Tian Bufan also reached the same realization, and he looked at Lin Yi.
After making up his mind, Lin Yi also looked back at him.
"Let's go?"
"Let's."
"Then let's go!"
"I'll lead the way; you cover the rear! Liangzi, Wei Sang, Kuai Kuai, Maozi, go! Don't look back, ignore everything, just follow me!"
With that, Lin Yi broke into a run, using the light from the old oil lamp in the Security Guard's hand, dashing towards the closest lamppost.
Wei Liang took a deep breath, pursed his lips, clenched his teeth, and followed.
The others quickly followed suit.
"Maozi, you go first, I'll cover the rear."
Seeing Mao Feiyang somewhat hesitating, Tian Bufan quickly patted Mao Feiyang's shoulder.
Mao Feiyang seemed distracted and looked somewhat stiffly at Tian Bufan, then immediately followed Kuai Hongji into the mist.
Tian Bufan furrowed his brow and couldn't help but glance back at the road they had come from.
The chef in the green apron was nowhere to be seen, only the dragon-like line of chefs clutching their chains disappeared into the thick fog.
...
Like a nimble cheetah, Lin Yi charged through the fog, but as he moved away from the circle of light formed by the kerosene lamp, the surging fog around him immediately enveloped him like a tidal wave.