The sound of ocean waves mingled with faint, plaintive whispers and bizarre calls, like the whistle of a far-off world's wind drifting through, becoming pairs of invisible hands that penetrated the mist and grabbed hold of Lin Yi's limbs.
In that light and airy whistle, it seemed as though a strange murmur was mixed in, the syllables of which were not any human language; the blurred pronunciation seemed to be saying:
[fa...nTo...me...]
[fanTo...me... fRa...]
With the arrival of the sound, Lin Yi was immediately enveloped in a profound sense of being stuck in a mire.
"Crap!" Lin Yi clenched his teeth, his pupils dilating; at that moment, he felt as though some ominous will were burrowing into his brain like a parasitic nematode.
Just then, the sound of cobblestones scraping the ground arose from within the mist.
Without the deterrent of the security guard and the old kerosene lamp, and with a considerable distance from the streetlights' light curtain, those things in the mist seized the best opportunity to approach with even greater speed.
The pressure hung over Lin Yi's head like a massive boulder, ready to flatten him at any moment.
At the critical moment, amidst the call of the ocean-like murmur, Lin Yi heard some calls intermingled with the [fanTome] sound, which sounded like—
"Lin Yi! Lin Yi!"
The shout came from behind him, seemingly a frantic call from Mao Feiyang's mouth.
He subconsciously wanted to turn around.
But at that moment, he felt his scalp suddenly explode, and his hair nearly stood on end.
He instantly became alert.
"Student Code of Conduct!"
"Don't look back!"
"Don't turn around!"
He stared fixedly at the street lamp post in front of him, and nothing else but that post remained in his eyes.
At that moment, he thought he could even see the words on the lamp post!
"Teaching Building-108."
"Charge!"
Lin Yi burst forth with all his strength, despite each step being extremely difficult; the lamp post gave him a strong sense of security.
Especially one standing in front of the Teaching Building!
Lin Yi was pressed to the cobblestone ground by the mist and obstructive feeling, like a person walking through a sandstorm over a dune.
His eyes reddened slightly due to congestion, and a beast-like roar escaped from his throat.
One step, two steps, three steps...
As he was about to be engulfed by the dense fog, a firm and steady force came from his back.
"Go!" Wei Shan's deep roar sounded, and with his strong arms, he pushed Lin Yi through the dense fog.
"Pop..."
When he stepped into the light's range, a soft yellow light curtain fell like an executioner's blade, completely isolating the mist behind him.
At that moment, Lin Yi felt as if the mountain pressing on him was shattered, and an unprecedented sense of relief soaked through his body.
He grasped the lamp post, using the soft yellow light curtain to look back at the mist and saw Wei Shan, Wei Liang, and others rushing in one after another; on the border of the mist, dark shadows lurked and fled, and the whispers blowing in the wind were in utter disarray.
"What on earth is within that mist... They seem to fear the light so much..."
Lin Yi looked around and found that the security guard had already vanished, and the dragon-like queue had also disappeared to who knows where, the experiences of before felt like a dream.
He then looked towards the building practically in front of his eyes, only the distance of one lamp post away.
The light curtains hanging between the street lamps connected with each other, forming a sandglass-like pathway.
"Tick, tock..."
A few raindrops fell, immediately causing Lin Yi, who had just relaxed, to tense up again.
"Now is not the time to catch our breath; we're only temporarily out of danger," Tian Bufan calmly looked towards the building in front, "If I'm not mistaken, that should be the Teaching Building."
"Whether it is or not, let's get there first," Lin Yi glanced at his watch.
19:23.
"All that for just a few steps, I ran for ten minutes?!"
Lin Yi was shocked to his core, and this time, Tian Bufan had already started walking ahead.
"Let's go, what are you dazing off for," Kuai Hongji elbowed Lin Yi, urging him on.
"Coming," Lin Yi and Wei Liang quickly followed.
Looking at the backs of his roommates, Mao Feiyang stood in place, somewhat distracted. Suddenly, Lin Yi's voice rang out from behind him again.
"Maozi."
"Stop dawdling, move it!"
"Keep up with them!"
Mao Feiyang seemed to develop a headache, he touched his forehead and shook his head slightly, a look of confusion occasionally flashing in his eyes.
"Maozi, hurry up!" The impatient urging of Kuai Hongji came coldly from beneath the lamp post.
Startled, Mao Feiyang's ears cleared of the lingering calls, and he realized something, his back breaking out in a cold sweat.
He ran, catching up with the steps of his roommates.
...
Arriving under the last lamp post in front of the building, Lin Yi looked up.
The massive building loomed like a mountain into the dark and oppressive sky, lit brightly within like torches in the night.
"It's the Teaching Building."
Following Tian Bufan's gaze, the body of the building bore the large letters "Teaching Building," clearly visible even in the dark.
"We've made it to the Teaching Building," it was only at this moment that Lin Yi felt his hanging heart settle.
However, Wei Liang let out a shriek of horror, "No, Old Lin, something's wrong! There's something wrong with this Teaching Building!"
Wei Liang pointed at the Teaching Building with trembling fingers, his voice filled with extreme panic, "The Teaching Building only has four floors... but this one, it—it—it..."