AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 110 - 51 Cafeteria Mystery (All Cloned to Me!)_2

Chapter 110: Chapter 51 Cafeteria Mystery (All Cloned to Me!)_2

It was hard to tell whether it was the sky or the sea.

"Huff...huff...huff..."

A breeze stirred, and the mist gently tumbled, as if shadows lingered deep within the Lin Ye.

"Shhhh—shhhh—shhhh—"

That rough sound, like stones dragging on the ground, came intermittently to his ears like auditory hallucinations.

A faint chill wandered deep within the Green Forest Belt, gathering in the dark, shuttling through the shadows... yet never daring to step beyond the Green Forest Belt.

The glow of twilight created a stark boundary around the Teaching Building.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze from the Green Forest Belt.

"I’ve seen enough," he said to Wei Liang, "let’s go, it’s time for dinner."

Wei Liang asked in surprise, "You didn’t doze off this time?"

Lin Yi thought about it and hesitated, "Maybe...it’s because it’s not dark yet."

He glanced at his watch.

17:00.

"17:00 on the dot... plus standing Under the Sun, so... up till now, everything is still relatively normal."

He looked westward again.

In the western sky, a gorgeous sunset dyed half the heavens red, like a vast wave breaking over the mountains.

"Today is much better weather than yesterday; if we eat quickly, we might even be able to leave the Cafeteria before the sun sets."

"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same," Wei Liang said earnestly, "but the mountain weather becomes unpredictable at night, and the temperature difference between day and night is significant; who knows how thick the Mist will be when we return to the dorms later."

Lin Yi nodded slightly.

The two chatted as they walked towards the Cafeteria.

...

The mist lingered among the Green Forest Belt, a breeze brushed through the treetops, parting the thin mist...

From the depths of the Green Forest Belt came the strained footsteps, a row of terracotta warriors-like figures, dragging their heavy steps and bodies, slowly moving toward the edge of the Green Forest Belt...

Their soles scraped against the gravel ground, producing a deep and rough friction sound.

"Shhhh—shhhh—shhhh—"

...

May 7th, 23 X, 17:16.

Lin Yi and Wei Liang followed the Cobblestone road, disordered with street lamps, and after about fifteen minutes they moved from the School Building Area to the area in front of the Cafeteria.

Along the way, they encountered many students who seemed to be in a hurry, appearing to be highly strung but without any other problems.

However, as Lin Yi looked at the sign in front of the Cafeteria, he suddenly became rooted to the spot as if struck by a Freezing Technique!

He stared at the sign ahead, a tinge of fear appearing in his eyes.

His limbs grew cold, and fine beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

His pupils, breathing-like, expanded, contracted, then expanded and contracted again...

His gaze fixated on the area... behind the sign.

He... didn’t see the Cafeteria!

Just like he hadn’t seen the Gymnasium in the School Building Area, he now didn’t see the Cafeteria!

But from the Teaching Building to the Gymnasium, one needs to walk past the sign and then a few more steps before overlooking the mountain base from a certain angle.

However, the Cafeteria... should be right behind the sign, with no twists and turns needed!

And now, he didn’t see the Cafeteria!

"Damn, I...is there a problem with me?"

The fine beads of sweat merged into a drop the size of a bean, sliding down his face from the brow bone along the bridge of his nose to the chin, and then dripped off...

His pupils trembled uncontrollably, and he felt a pathological twist in his vision, as if light and shadow had become strangely jumbled...

"How could the Cafeteria disappear?"

"Isn’t the Cafeteria behind the sign?"

"Did I... remember it wrong?"

A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes, subconsciously pondering the issue of where the Cafeteria should be... doubt creeping in.

"No, no, no!!"

"I had lunch at the Cafeteria this afternoon!"

"The notice board’s behind is the cafeteria! There’s a [Student Passage] leading to the cafeteria!"

"Right, right, right! This is correct!"

He took a deep breath, realizing he had some disordered perceptions about the cafeteria at this point.

But once he realized this, he immediately began to affirm the location of the cafeteria in his mind with firm resolve.

"The cafeteria is right in front of me!"

"The cafeteria is right in front of me!!"

"Damn it!! The fucking cafeteria is right in front of me!!!"

Although he was utterly convinced the cafeteria was in front of him, behind the notice board there was nothing!

The mountains stood still, the breeze was still stirring, between the mountains and fields the trees rushed by, the dusk turned the layered woods to ashes.

Only... the cafeteria that should have been there was nowhere to be seen!

No — it wasn’t just the cafeteria that was gone, the Student Passage was gone!

The road was gone!

Everything was gone!

Lin Yi suddenly discovered that the notice board stood atop a cliff!

"Damn..."

"What the hell...?!"

"When did this happen...?!"

He looked down at his watch.

17:17.

"Time... is passing normally! So where am I? No, no, no... I can’t doubt my location!"

"I am right in front of the cafeteria!"

"I am right in front of the cafeteria’s notice board!"

"I haven’t gone anywhere! I am right here!"

"I... I am here! I must be right here!"

Even though Lin Yi was telling himself this with utmost certainty, the twisted light and shadows kept assaulting his vision and his brain started to feel dizzy, like he was losing his sensation of gravity!

He wanted to close his eyes and focus his attention to stabilize his cognition, but the scene of walking onto that nonexistent path after breathing in a mouthful of sea breeze while closing his eyes immediately came to mind. Thus, he clenched his teeth hard, refusing to close his eyes no matter what!

But the consequence of not closing his eyes came quickly.

It seemed to him that the cobblestones under his feet started to shimmer with colorful lights, their elliptical shapes, so regular in their physics, twisted strangely...

A strong visual conflict that could not be named attacked him as if it were imposed from the void or surging out from within him, eroding his will continuously.

He felt his breathing getting difficult, he felt a bit oxygen-deprived...

A suffocating feeling, accompanied by visual conflicts, weighed on him, making his feet soften and he stumbled, about to fall.

At the critical moment, he suddenly thought of something!

"Reference points!"

[If you can’t find a numbered streetlight at first glance, please look down closely at the ground under your feet, and find any reference points to make sure you are still on the road. If you notice the ground is warping, stretching, or undergoing any illogical changes, quickly grasp your Student ID card and map tightly in your hands and repeatedly remind yourself of your name and student number.]

"The student code mentioned some ’reference points’ that could ensure I was ’on the road’!"

The situation was drastically different, it couldn’t be copied verbatim, but — the idea of reference points might be the only way to save myself!

In a critical moment, Lin Yi’s thoughts raced, his brain flooded with ideas like a dam breaking.

And now, he needed to find a way to ascertain his position within an extremely short period of time —

Before he got lost in this twisted unknown world!

Before he lost the ability to breathe due to sensory distortion, leading to death by suffocation!

Before his spirit collapsed into insanity and madness from his crumbling perception!

"Reference points, reference points, reference points..."

"Cobblestones?!"

The cobblestones underfoot were already twisted, no longer serving as possible reference points!

"Reference points!!"

"Damn it, where the fuck are these damned reference points —?!"

He realized his vision was beginning to blur, his will was getting fuzzy, he was about to lose his last bit of sanity!