In the year X023, May 6th, Class 2 of Group B, amphitheater classroom.
Wei Liang's words made Lin Yi shudder.
As he was warily scrutinizing Wei Liang, he saw the latter lean in, whispering surreptitiously, "Old Lin, my student number is X0230506097, aren't you 098?"
"Ah?" Lin Yi's mouth twitched, thinking to himself, don't scare me to death, buddy. I almost thought something was wrong with you.
"Yeah," he nodded, asking, "What's it about?"
Wei Liang tugged at the brim of his hat, lowering his voice to say, "Of course there's something to it! Don't forget we're in this together!"
"Now, knowing my student number and me knowing yours, we can remind each other when it's crucial!"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Lin Yi asked.
Wei Liang said, "You have no idea how bizarre this school can be..."
He pointed to his head, "Old Lin, let me tell you, if you stay in this campus area for too long... your mind starts to act up!"
"Like your memory getting worse, thinking becoming disordered, things like that."
Wei Liang recounted his experience from the last time he was here, a seven-day college life adventure. But starting from the sixth day, he felt confused and his thoughts were unclear, often forgetting things.
That feeling was most acutely like rewarding oneself too much overnight, only to continue the same way the next day.
If it weren't for the sticky notes he used to mark down key information, he would indeed get lost in the campus area.
"I feel this might be related to the geographical environment here, the abnormal weather every day, getting some of the miasma from the mountains in the rain and fog, staying for too long isn't good for the human body."
Lin Yi thought seriously, then nodded his head.
He also felt that his thoughts appeared to have some issues, like two concentric but differently shaped cams working together, his thoughts and cognition as if there was a slight gap...
Thus, he puzzled, "So what does this have to do with the student ID card?"
Wei Liang shook his head and curled his lip, "I don't know about that, but deep in the mountains of Old Lin, there's often stories like "ghost hitting the wall," maybe student ID cards are like protective talismans or something?"
Wei Liang started rambling about bizarre rumors, and Lin Yi, resting his forehead in his hand, suddenly wished Tian Bufan were sitting next to him.
Had it been Tian Bufan, he would be neatly organizing clues by now, then deducing the rules of this "survival game" from the known guidelines.
As for Wei Liang...
This show-off was looking forward to the student ID card being some kind of consecrated magical artifact.
"I wonder how Young Master Tian and the others are doing..."
"Wei Shan and Kuai Kuai's situation, genuinely worrisome."
"And Maozi..."
Mao Feiyang had returned to the stairwell, not sure of the current situation.
He was the one Lin Yi was most concerned about.
After all, that stairwell was too abnormal, with stairs like the Fibonacci sequence.
Lin Yi recalled everything they had experienced from entering the campus until now and suddenly realized they took a full two hours, just to get from the gate to the Teaching Building!
In any other campus, this distance would've been extraordinarily quick.
Moreover, Lin Yi suddenly realized that since entering the gate, all they had seen were street lamps and the Teaching Building.
Such a long stretch of road with only one Teaching Building?
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes.
The campus under the mist seemed like an endless sea, the street lamps the floating lighthouses, and the Teaching Building the sole safe harbor.
Although it was a safe harbor, the Teaching Building couldn't be said to be absolutely safe; it was at most a safety lock added to the abnormality, preventing the dense fog from entering and unknown entities within the fog from infiltrating.
"Right, the Teaching Building also has its own set of rules!" Lin Yi's eyes brightened as he quickly took out the booklet given by the homeroom teacher and began to browse through it slowly.
"[Teaching Building Rules]"
"Since the campus is still in the trial phase, no grade divisions have been implemented. Please identify your class and follow the directions in these rules to your corresponding classroom."
"1. There are a total of three buildings in the Teaching Building, labeled A, B, and C. Each building has four floors, with three classes per floor, ranging from Class 1 of Group A to Class 12 of Group A."
"Walkways connect each level of the buildings and can be reached on foot."
"2. The Teaching Building only has four floors, without any basement, elevator, and there is no Building D. If you accidentally discover areas outside the four floors of the Teaching Building, do not attempt to enter them."
If anyone invites you to the aforementioned areas, please refuse. If you cannot refuse, seek help from the nearest Sports Student or gym teacher. In critical moments, seek help from the Security Guard."
"Be cautious of anyone exhibiting the above behavior; they are no longer the people you once knew."
"3. The Teaching Building is open at all times during the trial period and will have lights turned on from 18:00 to 07:00 the next day. Do not enter areas that are not lit during this time (including using the restroom)."
"4. Only students, teachers, and patrolling security guards will appear in the Teaching Building. If you encounter people not belonging to these categories, return to your classroom at the earliest opportunity. On the way, do not engage with anything, even if a teacher is calling you."
"5. Night self-study time starts after 18:00, but the school does not mandate student participation in evening self-study unless the current time is past 21:00."