Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 681 Reunion, Tian Bufan
Kuai Hongji gave her a cold look: "We've arrived, aren't you leaving?"

Mao Feiyang also said, "Your acting skills are not good, but if you are not afraid of death, you can continue to follow."

"I... I was just passing by..." Upon hearing this, the girl timidly stopped.

"Oh, it's on the way. We misunderstood you then." Mao Feiyang smiled. "You can go first. We have things to do and need to wait for someone."

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately replied, "I'm also... waiting for someone."

Mao Feiyang immediately grinned mischievously: "Then goodbye."

After saying that, he and Kuai Hongji left in tacit agreement.

The girl's face changed color: "Aren't you waiting for someone?"

Mao Feiyang said, "I was just kidding~ You can keep waiting! It's not on my way now."

The girl's cheeks puffed out slightly, and she gritted her teeth in anger, but she quickly concealed her emotions and asked with a pursed mouth, "Then... may I ask your names? I would be very grateful."

I'll definitely draw some circles for you when I have time! She was actually quite angry inside.

"Since you know it's presumptuous, then don't ask anymore," Kuai Hongji said coldly, then turned and left.

Mao Feiyang then said, "My name is Bai Fangshuo. Remember it, it's 'white' for color, 'fang' for direction, and 'da' for big. Goodbye."

Watching the two leave first, the girl pouted: "Talking nonsense... Why not just call him 'Yan Bai Da'?"

She had already thought about what she should say when Mao Feiyang asked her name, but Mao Feiyang was too lazy to ask her at all.

Mao Feiyang knew perfectly well that even if he asked the other party, they might not tell the truth.

Besides, there's nothing worth asking a stranger.

……

Within the dormitory area, Kuai Hongji and Mao Feiyang walked on the cobblestone path.

Lin Yi suddenly spoke up: "Kuai Kuai, Mao Zi, have you noticed that there seem to be some changes on campus again?"

The campus now appears dazzling to Lin Yi. His perception seems to have subtly altered his senses, and when he looks at the world, he seems to be able to see things that are invisible to the naked eye.

For example, the feeling of extraordinary matter flowing through space like a thin cloud.

For example, the subtle sense of layering between the present world and the inner world.

The entire campus is actually like a map of the Frozen Throne.

The cobblestone streets with buildings and streetlights are like "bright blocks" with "views"—this is the real area.

Areas without "view" may appear to have terrain, but only vague outlines are visible. These are the green belts surrounding the campus. The deeper you go, the less you have a regular "view," and the less you know what's hidden inside—that's the inner world.

Deeper into the green belt, in a place even further from the real area, lies the layer.

The boundary between the campus and the layer is the depths of the green belt.

Before today, Lin Yi was not able to perceive the boundaries of reality so clearly.

But what's even stranger is that he discovers that in this world, the "reality" in which the campus is located floats on endless "layers," like a lonely island in a vast ocean.

With his current level of perception, he is now able to see the entire campus, including the teaching buildings, the cafeteria, and the gymnasium.

Furthermore, if he were to perceive it, he could even see the complete eight-story teaching building and the outline of the illusory library.

However, he couldn't see the security room, the gatekeeper, or even the 102 road that the blue bus that brought them here had driven through.

Upon hearing this, Kuai Hongji slowly said, "Because of our actions in the Gray Fog Sea, coupled with the effects of the 'Gray Fog Invasion,' all the layers are now attempting to gradually encroach on the campus."

"This process is an inevitable part of the historical process, but it might have taken hundreds or even thousands of years to come to this, but our actions indirectly catalyzed this event."

Lin Yi's expression changed slightly: "Then aren't we the ones who orchestrated the destruction of the world? Wait... could this event be a predetermined one that is bound to happen in countless timelines?"

He thought about something related to "time" and knew that their actions wouldn't be based on such a destructive scale.

Kuai Hongji said, "You're right. Unless we can expel the 'Root' this time, no matter what we do, the destruction of the world is an inevitable point on countless timelines."

"The only difference in this world is the lives of these few hundred or thousand people."

"We've taken action. There's a small chance of success; the world won't be threatened by the 'root cause.' But if we fail, the world may have less than a century left."

"Three paths, one choice, one opportunity... It may be a difficult choice, but it's not up to us."

Lin Yi paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps... it's not that difficult to choose."

The reason why it is difficult to choose is like a person who gets an incurable disease at the age of thirty. If left untreated, they can suffer from the pain and live to the age of sixty.

There is now a low-probability treatment that can be successful. If it works, the patient can live to a ripe old age; if it doesn't, the patient might get hiccups as early as forty.

To treat or not to treat?
It must be treated!

why?
because……

“We…we actually have more than one chance, right?” Lin Yi said slowly. “We have many chances…it’s just that this might be the closest we’ve ever come to success.”

"If we can't even succeed this time when the success rate is maximized, then we'll have no choice but to give up..."

If left unchecked, the world could survive this torment for sixty years.

In terms of time, they at least "lived the longest".

Kuai Hongji remained silent, which could be considered as tacit agreement with his words.

"I seem to be able to sense some other fluctuations, like the 'Primordial Ash Apostle' and the 'Burial Body'..." Lin Yi muttered. "Can you sense them?"

Kuai Hongji shook his head slightly: "My perception is not as accurate as yours... Once Young Master Tian and Fatty meet up, we will have time to discuss this further." Mao Feiyang suddenly spoke up to remind him: "Oh right, that's about it. We can wait for Young Master Tian here."

Upon hearing this, Kuai Hongji stopped in his tracks.

They appear to be walking, but in reality, they are walking very slowly and have not gone far.

Because they need to wait for Tian Bufan to catch up before they can go and meet up with Wei Shan together.

According to the plan, Wei Shan and "Lin Yi" need to move around the campus. Therefore, the only person who knows Wei Shan's location is Tian Bufan, who descended into Lin Yi's body through the "Dream Boundary".

Before long, a figure hurriedly walked over from behind.

It is naturally Tian Bufan.

"Young Master Tian!" Lin Yi and Mao Feiyang exclaimed in surprise.

As soon as Tian Bufan met up with them, before they could even speak, he immediately said, "There's no time, let's go, let's go save Wei Sang first!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, but remembering what Tian Bufan had said, he restrained himself from asking and decided to wait and see.

Although Kuai Hongji and Wei Shan were at odds from beginning to end, upon hearing Tian Bufan's words, he immediately said, "Lead the way!"

"Follow me!" Tian Bufan said, walking ahead to clear the way. He led the group along the cobblestone path for a while before turning a corner and entering a green belt.

In the early morning, a thin layer of moisture covers the leaves of the green forest. The glistening water droplets, carrying the lingering aura of the extraordinary, remain on the leaves, giving the light and shadow in the green forest a more hazy and fragmented feel.

Tian Bufan was like a sharp knife, forcefully cutting into the green belt, slicing through light and shadow, penetrating deep into the forest.

There was a strange fluctuation emanating from him. The aura of the Green Forest was so unified that it was easy to be enveloped once you entered it, but he was different. He was like a paving machine, and after he entered, he directly paved the way on the spot.

There were no roads in the greenbelt originally, but the places he walked on became roads.

Kuai Hongji and Mao Feiyang followed closely, not missing a single step.

Lin Yi was somewhat shocked. He could also peel off the surface layer of the coating, but he couldn't do it as smoothly as Tian Bufan.

Walking alone here, the atmosphere of the green belt automatically splits off to both sides, just like... a security guard's territory.

Before long, Tian Bufan led the two into the depths of the green forest, and they were finally able to slowly sense Wei Shan's presence.

“I can sense Weisang!” Lin Yi said.

"Still alive, that's great." Tian Bufan also sensed Wei Shan's aura. After discovering that Wei Shan's aura was not weak, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then slowed down his pace.

However, he still frowned imperceptibly.

Because Wei Shan's current state is very different from when he left the "Dream Boundary," he doesn't look like a dying person at all, which is very strange.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Mao Feiyang, but his gaze went straight through Mao Feiyang's body and landed on Lin Yi.

Could it be Old Lin...?

He pondered for a moment, but didn't speak. Then, he looked at Kuai Hongji and asked, "The 'Butcher's' spine is in your body, isn't it?"

Kuai Hongji said, "I went to get it from him as soon as I got to the art building. Speaking of which, you should have a section of it too, right? Two sections of tolerance should be enough."

“I’ve already used mine,” Tian Bufan said, shaking his head. “Just in case, I left it at the anchorage in the Gray Mist Sea to guide the ‘Principal’.”

“Alright…” Kuai Hongji had no objection to this. “Then my part should be enough.”

"By the way, what's wrong, Fatty? You were in such a hurry just now, but you're not now."

Kuai Hongji asked the question that was on Lin Yi's mind, and Lin Yi listened carefully.

Tian Bufan said, "Last night, in the latter half of the night, the 'High-Ranking Alien Angel' went berserk, causing the art building's facade to tilt. A large amount of pollution from the black ocean mixed with the torrential rain and flooded the campus."

"A high-level alien angel has gone berserk?" Lin Yi's heart stirred slightly. Could it be related to their actions in the "Starry Night" layer?
Tian Bufan continued, "Fortunately, the matrix created by the fanatics has been destroyed by Kuai Kuai; otherwise, the contamination from both sides combined would have triggered a qualitative change, posing a threat no less than that of the ritual that summoned the 'Primordial Ash Apostle.'"

Lin Yi asked in surprise, "Was that ritual back then really that threatening?"

Because the sacrificer was Yuan Shikai, Lin Yi didn't think the ceremony was that scary—at least, given his current size, it shouldn't be that terrifying.

Kuai Hongji corrected him, "Old Lin, you're wrong. A chain reaction formula shouldn't be underestimated just because one link uses cheap materials. Besides, that ritual was just the 'opening' step. What comes down after the door is the truly terrifying thing."

"The 'threat' that Young Master Tian mentioned should refer to a catastrophic one."

Lin Yi then realized that if it were just a simple ritual, it wouldn't be so scary.

What's scary isn't opening the door, but rather that what comes in is a shut-in, or even a lunatic.

Tian Bufan continued, "Fortunately, no 'Primordial Ash Apostle' level being descended, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to hold out last night."

"Although there were many strange creatures last night, with security guards and homeroom teachers around, the campus buildings were safe. However, in order to nip the crisis in the bud, I had no choice but to go with Wei Shan to block the tilt point of that layer..."

Hearing this, Mao Feiyang's lips twitched violently: "No way, you two just went to their spawn point and started grinding monsters...?!"

Tian Bufan's expression was natural: "This is the most efficient and optimal solution. The only drawback is that it's a bit of a waste of manpower. Otherwise, if the little tail were to wander onto the campus, it would be troublesome to clean up the mess."

"If Wei Shan had obtained the 'Butcher's' spine a day earlier, we would have saved a lot of effort and wouldn't have been so passive."

Lin Yi opened his mouth, and just listening to Tian Bufan's description, he could feel the danger and pressure: "Just how many strange creatures have descended?"

Tian Bufan said, "There aren't that many types. If you divide them into three levels, the most common is the Laughing Angel level, followed by the 'Mourner' undead bodies whose strength is close to that of the 'Black Moon Apostle,' and then the higher-level Nightwalker species..."

“Once these things arrive at the campus, they will not flood into reality directly. Instead, they will linger at the boundary of the layers, waiting for the opportunity to truly invade reality.”

"For the human side today, encountering them will most likely result in death from contamination, while there is a small chance that those with exceptional talent will be able to break through the limits of cognition and advance into the sequence."

"Some fanatical factions like this enjoy doing this: using a massive population base to exploit low-probability events, sacrificing countless lives to create a unique 'artificial apostle.'"

(End of this chapter)