"And we don't need to clear it, we just need... to understand the rules, and then leave at the right time."
Tian Bufan's eyes sparkled with excitement, like a seasoned player.
Among the members of their Room 4016, Tian Bufan was the most adventurous; he had long wanted to explore this university in City S.
Lin Yi gazed at the swirling mist at his feet; the rules from the student handbook started scrolling through his mind.
Although they hadn't gone through the enrollment process or received student ID cards, the student handbook was the only set of rules they could follow.
"Some rules might be useful, like never looking back, and like..."
"Follow the path of the lamps in descending order, and we will meet a security guard."
"If we follow the guard, we can reach buildings on the map... for instance, the Teaching Building closest to us."
Lin Yi turned to Tian Bufan, "You must have observed that lamp post. What's its number?"
"'Teaching Building-025'."
"Ah? There's no number 24 lamp post?" Lin Yi's adjacent lamp post was 'Teaching Building-023', "We need to find a lamp post with a number less than 23, or else..."
"With this kind of mist, going in to look for lamp posts could be suicidal," Kuai Hongji bluntly stated.
"I can go in!" Wei Shan's voice came out deep and low.
"Don't mess around," Lin Yi frowned; the usually restless Wei Shan suddenly calmed down, "or else, we wait here for the security guard and then follow him to the Teaching Building."
"Are you sure that's not just waiting for death?" Mao Feiyang said, "We don't have student ID cards; will the security guard help us?"
"This is the only method mentioned in the rules," Lin Yi stated, "Do you have a better idea?"
Mao Feiyang stubbornly retorted, "I'll think of something."
"Then we wait here, to see whether you come up with a plan first, or the security guard arrives."
Mao Feiyang pouted.
Tian Bufan concluded decisively, "That's settled then. We wait here for the security guard. Everyone use this lamp post as a reference point, so we don't get lost."
With that, he placed his hand on the lamp post.
Lin Yi looked toward Wei Liang.
At this moment, Wei Liang was crouched down against the lamp post, holding the student handbook to his chest as though a priest clutching a bible, his breath coming out sharply cold.
"Liangzi, are you okay?"
Wei Liang shivered, "The last time I was here, I saw a security guard from afar. They... are really strange, and supposedly they don't have a good reputation within the school."
"But reputation doesn't matter anymore... The important thing is we are now in the mountains, and if the mist thickens, it will definitely rain tonight!"
"We must reach the Teaching Building or the dormitory before it rains; they say the campus is particularly eerie on rainy days!"
...
Lin Yi squinted his eyes at the fluttering mist; its layers piled up like mountains, making it hard to breathe.
The thick fog grew wildly at their feet like vines, tightening their circle to stay closer to the lamp post.
The narrow space illuminated by the lamp post was filled with heavy breathing.
Shadows darted through the fog, indistinguishable from the mist itself, but everyone could clearly hear the sound of stones scraping against the ground from within the fog and sense eyes filled with malice watching them from its depths.
It was as if they were being stared down by an unknown creature.
Lin Yi glanced at his wrist.
18:21.
Only eighteen minutes had passed, yet it felt incredibly long.
Suddenly, Lin Yi narrowed his eyes; he felt as if mixed within the swirling mist were strange calling sounds, yī yī yā yā, like an actor singing, but the voice was erratic, like an echo in a valley.
He shook his head, and the sound vanished on the spot, but soon it slowly started in his ears again...
This time, it was more like someone was calling his name.
Lin Yi felt agitated, almost wanting to charge into the mist.
Wei Shan crouched down, emitting a low growl from his throat, like a wild beast on the verge of a rampage.
At that moment, the dense mist in the distance began to churn violently, as if someone were trudging through the silt on the ocean floor, creating a clear space.
Within that area, a faint yellow light flickered.
"Rustle rustle..."
The sound of hurrying rustling came from the mist, as if the creatures therein had encountered a natural enemy, beginning to recede like the tide.
As the mist cleared slightly, Lin Yi turned to look, only to see a towering figure moving through the mist at a measured pace, like a giant mechanical warrior breaking waves in the Pacific Ocean.
Upon closer inspection, Lin Yi found it was a burly man in a black coat.
The man held an old kerosene lamp in his left hand, its light slicing through the mist like a blade.
In his right hand, he held a white club sculpted from plaster, with its tip smeared in a dark red viscous substance mixed with white powder.
"It's a security guard!" Wei Liang said, both scared and excited.
"Indeed it is a security guard..." Lin Yi curiously watched the security guard.
But as he looked at the security guard, the guard suddenly turned his head, his golden eyes meeting Lin Yi's squarely.
Under the dense mist, the guard's golden eyes shone like the sun, with molten gold flowing beneath, so piercing that Lin Yi had to look away.
"Clang clang clang..." The security guard, like a heavy tank, came to stand under a streetlamp, stepping into the beam of light.
This security guard, over two meters tall, seemed almost capable of plucking the streetlamp from the ground as he towered over Lin Yi and his group, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Wei Shan, nearly 1.9 meters tall with a robust build, was quite tall among ordinary people, but he still looked like a child in front of the security guard.
He growled lowly, his gaze warily fixed on the kerosene lamp in the guard's hand, yet he still emitted great malice toward him.
The security guard crouched down, sniffed lightly in front of Lin Yi, then without a word, turned and stepped back into the mist under the light.
As the mist was about to engulf the figure of the security guard, Lin Yi quickly helped Wei Liang to his feet and urged in a low voice, "Quick, follow the security guard!"
...
May 6, X023, 18:33.
In the school building area of S City University, the mist filled the campus like clumps of cotton, as Lin Yi and the others followed the security guard through the mist.
Lin Yi looked around warily. Every now and then, he could see a lit streetlamp not far away, but the security guard did not step into the area illuminated by the lamp.
Lin Yi noticed that the old kerosene lamp in the guard's hand, although not lit, cast a beam of light just like the streetlamps.
They moved like an icebreaker, cutting through the waves under the captain's lead.
Suddenly, Lin Yi noticed something. He looked down in the direction from where the "clang clang clang" sound was coming and saw that the guard's waist was actually belted with a set of shackles, the end of which was a thick, long iron chain.
Part of the chain dragged on the ground, and another part... was held in someone's hand!
Lin Yi's pupils suddenly dilated, a cold sensation rushing up his spine to his apical bone. Following his gaze, he saw another figure in the mist!
It was a cafeteria worker wearing a white chef's uniform with a blue apron hanging in front, one hand holding a lunch box, and the other holding the iron chain.
"Wait...!!"
Lin Yi followed the chain backward and saw that behind the chef followed another chef, a line of them like a dragon disappearing into the mist.
Each one carried a lunch box in one hand and the iron chain in the other, resembling heretics carrying lanterns through the long night in medieval times.
Everyone maintained a uniform pace, moving slowly forward under the security guard's lead, seemingly completely unaware of Lin Yi and his group.
Lin Yi suddenly realized this was a complete expedition, and they were, in fact, the intruders!
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a voice suddenly emerged from the mist beside him:
"Student, have you had dinner?"
A chef released the chain, holding the lunch box and approached them.
"This is our cafeteria's best-selling dish, tomato meat sauce spaghetti. You can try it for free."
The chef's face bore a smile that seemed perfectly normal but somehow felt off, as if it was calculated and crafted precisely.
Lin Yi felt extremely uncomfortable, full of resistance. He blinked forcefully and suddenly noticed that the chef was wearing a dark green apron.