Rules-related weird stories: 4016

"You're really something, Liangzi, willing to sacrifice your own innocence to play dumb."

"What playing dumb?! You're talking nonsense! Don't even think about insulting the intelligence of a devout follower of the White Silk Lolita Sect!"

"Get lost! I'm asking you, when I spaced out the first night, was it like she was just now?" Lin Yi pointed at Li Huiyuan.

"Huh? Spaced out? Like her? Ah ha? Aba aba... I don't know anything, I just saw you dozing off and poked you, I don't know anything else!"

"..."

"Alright!" He stood up speechlessly, brushed the dust off his body, "Okay, let's go."

It was 10:40, and the cafeteria opened.

Seeing that Wei Liang was tight-lipped, he knew there was definitely something fishy going on. But since Wei Liang wouldn't say, he wouldn't continue to press him, lest he accidentally break Wei Liang's "self-deceiving" state of false security.

He then strode into the student passage.

Seeing this, Li Huiyuan quickly followed.

Perhaps it was because the midday sun was excellent, and also because of the devout follower of the White Silk Lolita Sect, this time the student passage was unusually smooth, and they soon arrived at the exit of the passage.

Li Huiyuan didn't find anything abnormal about the fact that they were about to "walk through the student passage 'without anything happening'," but Lin Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it had been a long time since things had been so normal...

"Wait a minute... what do you mean 'it's been a long time since things have been so normal,' this is clearly the first time things have been so normal..." Lin Yi tearfully corrected his erroneous thought.

But just as they were about to walk out of the student passage, Lin Yi suddenly thought of something and glanced casually, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the exit of the student passage.

As he lowered his head, a glint flashed in his eyes beneath his black hair.

"Damn it..." Lin Yi cursed inwardly, "As expected, he's still there."

That familiar figure stood at the end of the student passage like a sentinel, his hands folded over his lower abdomen, a standardized, stiff smile on his face, his eyes scanning every student emerging from the passage.

That blue-aproned chef had appeared there again and again.

Lin Yi could always see him, but then he would inexplicably disappear. His existence... was like a bizarre phantom, making it impossible to be sure whether he was "there" or "not there."

It was a strange quantum state, which Lin Yi defined in his mind as "as if present."

And this "as if present blue-aproned chef" had always given him a feeling similar to that of a non-human entity, exuding a terrifying sense of dread, yet not giving him the same intense discomfort and unease as a non-human entity.

Even all the chefs in the cafeteria were not as bizarre as this blue-aproned chef in the "as if present" state.

Lin Yi still couldn't deduce the division of cafeteria staff from the effective information given in the rules, but this "as if present" blue-aproned chef seemed to be a special link.

Unfortunately, Lin Yi had not seen the scene of him attacking non-human students, otherwise he would have gained more speculation.

...

May 8, X023, 10:45, Lin Yi and the others walked out of the student passage, passed by the blue-aproned chef, and then stood in the sunlight.

As Lin Yi passed by him, he could clearly feel his body beginning to twist in an anti-human way again. He stretched out his hand again, slowly reaching towards their group, as if trying to grab something.

But the "speed" he displayed was too slow, and his feet never left the ground from beginning to end, so he never touched Lin Yi's body in the end.

Lin Yi inconspicuously walked to a spot away from the blue-aproned chef and close to the entrance of the student restaurant, then leaned against the wall and squatted down, silently waiting for Tian Bufan and Wei Shan to arrive.

According to the agreement, their meeting place at noon was here, and the latest they would wait was until 11:30. If Tian Bufan and Wei Shan hadn't arrived by 11:30, they would need to hurry up and eat and then leave the cafeteria.

"Lin, are you not going in to eat?" Li Huiyuan asked in confusion.

"I'm waiting for people, you can go eat first if you're in a hurry."

"I... I'm not that anxious." Li Huiyuan shook her head, but the way she kept glancing at the purchasing window betrayed her thoughts.

At 10:47, Wei Shan walked out of the student passage and, after a brief greeting with Lin Yi, stood beside him like a bodyguard.

Noticing Li Huiyuan's presence, Wei Shan squinted at her for a few moments, then rubbed his nose and asked Lin Yi, "Did you find a cannon fodder?"

Lin Yi's eyes twitched: "Cannon fodder, what cannon fodder?"

Wei Shan suddenly closed his mouth tactfully and stopped talking, which left Lin Yi completely confused.

For the next period of time, a large crowd of people passed through the student passage into the student restaurant, and Lin Yi's squatting position did not affect the passage of others. So, while waiting for Tian Bufan, he pretended to look around aimlessly, observing the behavior and expressions of many trainees, and occasionally glancing at the "as if present" blue-aproned chef.

And the scene that made his heart skip a beat also appeared during this period.

He found that the vast majority of trainees were not even aware of the existence of the blue-aproned chef. A few showed a faint sense of discomfort when passing by the blue-aproned chef, but they also did not notice the existence of the blue-aproned chef.

All of these trainees formed a large crowd, and when they walked out of the student passage to the student restaurant, the most bizarre scene appeared—they seemed to pass through the blue-aproned chef as if they were passing through air...

This scene directly caused Lin Yi's pupils to dilate, and he quickly lowered his head.

"When they touched the blue-aproned chef, they passed right through? This...?!"

He only thought about it for a moment before quickly shaking his head, dispelling the thought.

"I shouldn't be thinking directly about things related to 'it' here!"

Lin Yi knew nothing about this "as if present" blue-aproned chef, didn't know which level of contamination it tended towards, and didn't know if it had some kind of bizarre mechanism, so for safety's sake, it was better to wait until he left the cafeteria area before thinking about related issues in the sunlight.

After clarifying this idea, he looked back at the student passage, searching for Tian Bufan's figure.

But just then, Wei Shan suddenly burst out with a strong hostility, his whole person's breathing became heavy, and between his teeth, he seemed to be exhaling a scorching airflow...

Lin Yi quickly reached out and pressed down on Wei Shan, while subtly glancing in a certain direction following Wei Shan's gaze.

In that direction, the blue-aproned chef was like a shadow obscured by water ripples. Every time someone passed through him, his figure would fluctuate, but his gaze didn't fall on any of the interns passing through him. Instead, it was fixed directly on Lin Yi.

Staring at him, Lin Yi.

"Could it be that because I had 'thoughts related to it,' I attracted its attention?" Lin Yi instantly formed a conjecture, his voice extremely low, unsure if it was a thought or a whisper.

But Wei Shan heard his voice and immediately lowered his own, saying in a deep voice, "Stop guessing, Lao Lin! It's been staring at you from the start!"

Lin Yi's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes: "Let's not talk about this for now. We'll discuss it after Young Master Tian arrives and eats."

"Okay!" Wei Shan nodded heavily, shifting his gaze elsewhere.

And that 'ever-present' blue-aproned chef simply stood there staring at Lin Yi, without any extra movements.

While waiting for Tian Bufan's arrival, Lin Yi occasionally glanced down at the time.

Finally, at 11:03, Tian Bufan's figure emerged from the student通道 and met up with Lin Yi.

"No need to wait for Kuai Kuai," Tian Bufan said as soon as they met. "We'll go our own way. Give me the things first."

"Alright." Lin Yi unhesitatingly took out the folded papers on which he had transcribed the rules of the art building and the art students' rules, handing them to Tian Bufan. "Look at the art building section first, then the people section."

"Okay, I'll remember." Tian Bufan calmly took the papers and put them in his pocket.

"Aren't you curious about the accuracy of my transcription? Aren't you afraid there's something I didn't remember clearly?" Lin Yi asked in surprise.

Tian Bufan glanced at him indifferently: "Not afraid."

Lin Yi's expression turned solemn.

Tian Bufan had absolute trust in him, just as he had absolute trust in Tian Bufan and the others…

This was a very subtle emotion, and even he couldn't explain what kind of bond it was.

Generally speaking, Tian Bufan and the others possessed an aura that put Lin Yi at ease. Even in such an environment, as long as Tian Bufan arrived, there were no unsolvable mysteries. As long as Wei Shan was by his side, he could resolve all conflicts.

"What about Kuai Kuai?" Lin Yi asked.

"He's not eating with us," Tian Bufan said. "Don't worry about his safety. Few things can threaten him."

"That's right." Wei Shan sneered in agreement, "It's good enough if that阴比 doesn't harm others."

Tian Bufan then noticed Li Huiyuan, who was following behind them: "Your… new classmate?"

"She just arrived yesterday." Lin Yi then explained the situation of Li Huiyuan "teaming up" with them.

Li Huiyuan didn't say a word throughout, as if she had also sensed the faint oppressive feeling emanating from Tian Bufan.

"'Teaming up,' huh? Isn't that a good thing? Why the long face?" Tian Bufan said with a faint smile.

"Ah? You call that good?" Lin Yi didn't understand why Tian Bufan would say that.

Tian Bufan said: "What you're about to do is very dangerous. It's uncertain whether Wei Liang will join you in acting crazy, and when you're alone, you lack some safety measures no matter what. In this situation, isn't it a good thing to have a cannon fodder who trusts you?"

"If it were me, I would definitely make good use of it."

['A cannon fodder'.] Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly. He thought of what Wei Shan had said the moment he saw Li Huiyuan.

【The cannon fodder you found?】

Why did Tian Bufan and Wei Shan both think Li Huiyuan was cannon fodder?

Moreover, Tian Bufan said it so unscrupulously, directly in front of Li Huiyuan.

"Young Master Tian… is it really okay for you to say that?" Lin Yi said a little awkwardly.

Although he and Li Huiyuan had laid their cards on the table, and he wouldn't help Li Huiyuan if he wasn't absolutely certain in a very dangerous situation, not helping and being cannon fodder were still very different.

"What's wrong with it? She doesn't have long to live anyway, it's better to be frank about some things," Tian Bufan's expression was calm and indifferent. "Didn't you guys notice that the blue-aproned guy has been staring at her from the beginning, like he's looking at a dead person?"

"Y-you said what?!" Lin Yi's face changed drastically, as if a thunderbolt had fallen from the depths of the dark sky, striking him directly. "Wasn't it looking at me just now?!"

He suddenly understood something. Turning around, he indeed saw Li Huiyuan standing behind him!

"You…?" Lin Yi stopped mid-sentence.

"I… it…" Li Huiyuan stammered, a hint of paleness appearing on her delicately made-up face.

Lin Yi grabbed her mouth, stopping her and saying: "Don't say that for now. I'll ask you, who is the anime character you want to cosplay the most?"

Li Huiyuan's inner fear was interrupted by Lin Yi's sudden shout. She was stunned for a moment, then touched her lips and blurted out a few names: "Uh… Matsumoto Rangiku, Tsunade, Hinata… Hey, what's with that look on your face?!"

She had just said a few names when she noticed Wei Liang beside her sizing up her figure with a strange expression.

Wei Liang touched his nose, curled his lips, and said: "Please, those are all busty characters. Taking your butt and stuffing it in your chest wouldn't be enough, right?"

"Did I offend you?" Li Huiyuan instantly became agitated upon hearing this, clenching her fists and fuming, "He asked me which character I wanted to cosplay, not what I could cosplay?! Besides, haven't you heard of technology? If it's not big enough, can't I add padding?!"

"Ah, right, right…" Wei Liang shrank his neck and muttered softly, "Bubble tea can do anything."

Seeing Li Huiyuan's pale face gradually turning red, Lin Yi subtly glanced in the direction of the blue-aproned chef, only to see that the blue-aproned chef had indeed withdrawn his gaze from Li Huiyuan.

['It's okay for now…'] Lin Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, confirming on the one hand that the blue-aproned chef wasn't looking at him, and on the other hand, he was curious as to what about Li Huiyuan had attracted its attention.

Furthermore, he didn't understand what Tian Bufan meant.

What did he mean by… "She doesn't have long to live anyway"?