AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 1023 - 478: Return to Building B, Seeing Homeroom Teacher-040 Again

Chapter 1023: Chapter 478: Return to Building B, Seeing Homeroom Teacher-040 Again

...

Year X023, May 10, 14:08, Teaching Building C, 4th floor.

The seemingly dazed Lin Yi, suddenly had a flash of brilliance in his eyes.

Consciousness returns!

Lin Yi glanced at the handrail at the end of the 4th-floor stairwell, quickly descended on the right side, and without looking back on the 1st floor, stepped onto the corridor bridge back to Building B.

This round trip left him with too many details to sort out, but Building C wasn’t a place worth lingering and contemplating. The right approach was to first return to Group B, Class 2, organize his findings, then coordinate intelligence with Class Teacher-040.

Not long after Lin Yi left, the Mountain Man emerged from the stairwell.

Compared to before, the Mountain Man seemed almost unharmed, but if Lin Yi were here, he’d notice that his breath was entirely different from before.

Perhaps it was due to the ash crystal he carried; the originally ghostly blue light of the Mountain Man’s exoskeleton armor began to turn a dark red, as if radiating an endless frenzy, with shadowy particles of dust seemingly floating in his shadow.

His current state bore a slight resemblance to Lin Yi when he was once engulfed by ash, yet the exoskeleton armor was beginning to exude various eerie traits with the crystal’s augmentation.

After reaching Teaching Building C, he had no intention of returning to Building B; instead, he silently observed the surrounding environment.

His brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he gazed at the environment of the Teaching Building, growing more and more agitated.

"Damn it, it’s raining after all..."

His complexion was extremely unattractive.

...

Arriving in front of the corridor bridge, Lin Yi initially didn’t notice the seamless transition in abnormal weather until a raindrop landed on his face, realizing the weather change belatedly.

"Wait! It’s raining here too?"

"I hope this rain isn’t connected to the one above the 5th floor..."

Lin Yi’s expression grew slightly grave. Since the morning, he had felt like it was going to rain today, but he hoped it would hold off until he returned to the dormitory at night—this was, of course, an unrealistic wish, but a beautiful vision nonetheless.

The problem now was that this rain was too coincidental, to the point he subconsciously associated it with the "Primordial Ash Apostle" and those intensely burning ashes.

Truly, he was the mastermind behind the great ash explosion and extreme combustion, but ever since the "Primordial Ash Apostle" descended, the situation’s development had nothing to do with him.

"Forget it... better talk to the teacher first."

Lin Yi held his breath and ran up the corridor bridge of the Teaching Building in the light rain. Unlike the raging storm above the 5th floor, the rain wasn’t heavy now and posed no problem for running.

Moreover, he had many things to do, such as recalling details related to "Zhang Lingzhen"—why did Zhang Lingzhen’s voice only appear once and then completely vanish?

Was it that Zhang Lingzhen was struggling against the suppression of his self-awareness by the "Burial Body" consciousness, or was it that self-awareness itself didn’t exist?

Furthermore, why didn’t the "Primordial Ash Apostle" invade the classroom, just floated in the void outside, like a phantom god showcasing its so-called miracles?

Also, the presence of the "Ashen Apostle·Fireman" was so feeble, it didn’t match the intensity when he first encountered it. If the Mountain Man could control the Fireman, is there another hidden agenda here?

Too many details awaited his exploration, too many doubts needed unraveling, so staying in the Teaching Building C to contemplate was utterly unwise; returning to his corresponding classroom was the most appropriate action.

At least, he needed an environment where he could think without distractions.

A safe environment.

Whether it was his original class where Wei Liang was or the Teacher’s Office where Class Teacher-040 was present, both could provide this sense of security.

Light rain slanted gently as the thin mist grew increasingly dense, like turbid river water being continually stirred by invisible hands. The chilling tide qi pricked like needle points into the thick mist, landing on Lin Yi’s skin, causing a wave of discomfort.

Lin Yi suddenly felt a swaying tendency under the corridor bridge. The bridge that should have geometric form inexplicably turned into the wooden planks of a rope bridge, swaying left and right with his running, seemingly trying to toss him into the water.

Water?

Lin Yi’s pupils shrank as the sound of "splashing" water echoed in his ears, like the sound of waves crashing at his feet.

The source of the sound was the side of the corridor bridge. Unusual weather had caused the moss on the outside of the bridge to connect into a line, making the corridor bridge irregular and distorted.

A gust of wind swept in, flinging water droplets hard to distinguish as either waves or fine rain, lashing against Lin Yi’s body.

Lin Yi’s footing faltered, nearly toppled by the sudden force.

He staggered to stabilize his stance, yet in his ear, the sound of chains clanging in the wind echoed again...

Chains...?

Surely not an iron chain bridge?

Of course not, because soon after, he heard a series of following calls...

[Lin Yi...]

[Lin Yi... Lin Yi...]

[...]

From the twisted ceiling of the corridor bridge, numerous broken sculptures hung down. They grinned weirdly, swaying, nodding, and calling, as if hailing, yet also like singing...

Amidst the waves rolling, mists surging, the corridor bridge at this moment seemed to have become a path leading to an isolated island in the sea; the water above each side could sweep Lin Yi into the ocean at any moment.