After speaking, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, Liangzi, do you have a small notebook and pen over there?"
"Yes, just a moment, I'll bring it over," Wei Liang called out.
Soon, Wei Liang came over with a small stack of comics, casually handing Lin Yi a palm-sized flip notebook and a black marker pen.
"Thanks, Liangzi," Lin Yi said, taking the stack of books from Wei Liang's hands.
"You look at these while I go scrounge up some more resources," Wei Liang indicated towards the lectern at the front of the classroom.
The lectern was the central stage of the tiered classroom, and behind the lectern, there stood a row of bookshelves filled with sets and sets of comics.
"Be careful," Lin Yi cautioned.
The door of the classroom was right next to the lectern, and for some reason, Lin Yi always felt that the door was somewhat unnecessary.
Even though the homeroom teacher had locked it with numerous latches.
"Don't worry, there's nothing to worry about," Wei Liang patted his chest confidently.
Lin Yi could only smile helplessly.
As Wei Liang descended the steps, Lin Yi first brought the small notebook and the black marker pen in front of him, then flipped open the notebook, and began to stare blankly at the page.
He recalled the events since entering the school gate, then started to write some notes in the notebook:
"1, The teachers and students in the foggy weather are problematic, especially the art teacher and art students,"
After writing this, he hesitated, fearing that writing too much might lead to excessive contemplation, so he decided to only write the bare facts.
Therefore, he heavily crossed out the rest of "especially the art teacher and art students."
He then continued writing:
"2, It's safe under the lit streetlights, if lost, waiting under one can actually lead to encountering a security guard."
"3, The security guards are taller than normal people, with a massive iron chain wrapped around their waists. Following a security guard allows one to walk through the mist."
"4, The teaching building has a basement..."
At this point, he thought of the teaching building's rules, paused the pen, and then added a "?"
He stopped to think and then crossed out the entire sentence.
Then he rewrote:
"4, The homeroom teacher's badge is made of white acrylic, marked with 'Group B, Class 2.'"
Suddenly, Lin Yi remembered a tip in the student handbook advising him to write down his name and student number on paper to prevent forgetting, so he added after item four, "My name is Lin Yi, student number X0230506098."
Writing this, Lin Yi put down his pen and took a deep breath. Feeling mentally clear and physically refreshed, he solidified a notion in his mind:
Just recalling the experiences he faced and certain non-conflicting facts about his knowledge of the campus wouldn't cause the exhaustion he had felt before.
So, he started a new page and wrote:
"Thinking about confusing matters can cause exhaustion, fatigue leads to sleepiness, and sleepiness brings classmates—note, it's said the dormitory is a place one can sleep. Wait until reaching the dorm to ponder more, for now just take notes."
After writing this, he tore the page off and slipped it into his trouser pocket.
But just then, his paper touched another crumpled piece of paper in his pocket.
The paper ball he had picked up from the Teacher's Office and crumpled up!
With one mysterious event after another, he had completely forgotten that he had a ball of paper hidden in his pants!
He instinctively wanted to flatten the ball and take a look but feared that even a glance might provoke his "endless overthinking," so, to be cautious, he decided to wait until he was back in his dorm to examine it.
Thus, in his pocket, he tried to smooth out the paper ball as much as possible to avoid uncomfortable rubbing against his thigh from its edges.
He continued to write: "5, The sports student seems to be a good person."
"6, When going to the bathroom, one must genuinely believe there is a toilet ahead—note: perhaps a firm belief is the key to survival?"
At this point, he thought of Wei Liang, repeatedly picked up the pen, and finally couldn't resist adding, "Being greatly foolish might also work."
After completing six items, he twirled his pen, recalling if he had missed any details.
He wanted to write about the chefs with blue aprons but wasn't sure what to write about them; eventually, he thought of the chefs with green aprons and some students who moved rather stiffly, and wrote down the last item:
"7, be wary of those whose smiles look blatantly fake; they are troubled."
Just as Lin Yi was writing this sentence, he suddenly sensed something unsettling.
He then frowned at the notebook...
Suddenly, he noticed the light and shadows on his notebook flickered!
"Huh?!" he instinctively became alert, and then lifted his head to look at the classroom ceiling.
At that glance, his pupils instantly constricted.
Among the many incandescent lamps hanging from the classroom ceiling, one bulb, perhaps due to aged wiring or a poor connection, began to flicker intermittently with a "pop—buzz—pop—buzz—"
The moment he noticed the flickering of the incandescent lamp, a chilling sensation suddenly surged from within his organs, spreading all over his body through his meridians and blood vessels, leaving him completely cold.
Although he had been enrolled for less than half a day, he had already realized something very important: real problems often hid beneath ordinary appearances, not to mention phenomena that obviously had issues!
"Pop—buzz—"
The incandescent lamp flickered again.
Lin Yi faintly felt a subtle change in the classroom atmosphere, and his whole body started to feel uncomfortable as if something filthy was fixating on him.
He turned his neck slightly, his gaze alert and cautiously scanning his surroundings.
He saw the previously off-putting classmates in the room, whose lackluster eyes suddenly started shimmering with ripples as if someone had tossed a small stone into a stagnant pool of water, stirring faint ripples.
As the light continued to flicker, their previously scattered pupils gradually focused, expressing an indescribable longing that emerged from the ripples and eventually spread throughout their bodies.
At that moment, a dull thunder sounded outside the classroom.
"Rumble—"
Pure white lightning streaked across the night sky, with the darkened heavens sporadically moist from rain. Beneath the cover of thick mist, a faint light swept across the campus grounds.
As Lin Yi observed the situation in the classroom, the corner of his eye caught something through the classroom window...
With the faint light, he spotted several sneaky figures lingering outside; those originally crouched under the dense mist seemed to step through it, entering the Teaching Building, walking up the corridors, and gathering outside the classroom!
At this moment, the echoing voice of the class teacher before he left resounded in Lin Yi's mind like a loud bell:
"Once the classroom lights start flickering, you must immediately duck under the desk and hold tight onto the legs!"
"Do not close your eyes!"
"Do not look around or lift your head!"
"Focus on the patterns on the floor or the legs of the desks while silently reciting your names and student numbers!"
"Do not communicate with anyone!"
"Ignore all sounds!"
"Wait until the classroom lights return to normal!"
"One last thing!"
"Be wary of anyone who enters the classroom after I close the door! Do not interact with them in any way!"
Lin Yi rapidly processed the information over and over in his brain, quickly closed his notebook, stuffed it into his pocket, then shouted loudly to Wei Liang, "Liangzi, come here fast! Quick!"
The flickering of the incandescent light was subtle yet noticeable, but because there were too many in the classroom, some people did not realize it immediately.
Like Wei Liang.
"Should I choose this set 'Peach Blossom Ghost Stories,' or this one 'Celestial Descent to a Spider's Lair 1V7'?" Wei Liang, who was pondering over which comic set to pick at the bookshelf, suddenly heard Lin Yi's urgent call.
Almost reflexively, Wei Liang turned and dashed towards Lin Yi's location.
Just as he lifted his foot, the classroom door was hammered with a tremendous force.
"Bang bang bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"