AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 214 - 100 "The Cultivation of Art

Chapter 214: Chapter 100 "The Cultivation of Art

Lin Yi suddenly felt his mind was in chaos. Although it seemed like Wei Liang hadn’t done anything, if Lin Yi truly started to unravel his actions through various clues, he instantly realized that the events Wei Liang experienced were far, far more complicated than what he had claimed.

There was even a possibility... that there were problems with Wei Liang’s memory regarding the last seven days he spent here!

He had left alive, but he didn’t remember what had happened to him, or perhaps... he did remember, but he forced himself not to think about it, just like one would avoid looking at the legs of a table when the lights in the classroom were out. Only Wei Liang... he had been deceiving himself the entire time!

That was very hard to accept, but... it wasn’t impossible.

"Liangzi..." Lin Yi suddenly realized that his understanding of his close friend was pitifully scant...

Was Wei Liang really the Wei Liang he knew?

It couldn’t just be... simple contamination, could it?

Impossible.

There was definitely a problem.

"Liangzi, oh Liangzi..." Lin Yi subconsciously clenched his teeth, deeply worried for Wei Liang.

He continued to observe the changes in the Art Students, and then he noticed that some of the cascading starlight was somehow drawn in and slowly absorbed into Mao Feiyang’s body.

"This...?!"

Looking down, he saw an object on Mao Feiyang’s body that was attracting the starlight like a closed-circuit television’s signal receiver—the Student Souvenir Coin!

"The Student Souvenir Coin?!"

"The Student Souvenir Coin is attracting the starlight?!"

But where did the starlight come from?

From that phantasmal Milky Way!

And how did the Milky Way come to be?

It was made up of countless white powder light orbs that floated out from the murals and bas-reliefs.

So—the starlight was a kind of more complex Contamination aggregate!

And the Student Souvenir Coin was a coordinate that attracted Contaminants, guiding them towards the Art Student’s body! A medium!

Art Students holding the Student Souvenir Coin would continuously be contaminated, this is—Artistic Influence!

"So-called Artistic Influence, is it a process of being contaminated, or accepting contamination?!"

Lin Yi’s heart pounded wildly.

He recalled Tian Bufan’s speculation in his mind.

There might be a path among the Art Students: "Normal" Art Student—"Abnormal" Art Student—Non-human classmate—Sculpture.

Considering the "sculpture-like" greenish-gray skin and the lowered body temperature exhibited by the Art Students during the starlight absorption process, it was indeed possible that there was a "Sculpture" stage in the Art Student pathway!

"Sculpture class..."

"Artistic Influence..."

Lin Yi suddenly thought of many things, all seemingly enshrouded in a massive conspiracy; the conspiracy loomed over him like a gigantic whirlpool, as if it could swallow him at any moment!

Art Students... what exactly are they?

The Artistic Journey, what on earth is it?!

Lin Yi felt a chill all over.

This kind of Artistic Influence filled him with a silent fear, and the sensation of its invisible erosion overwhelmed him with dread, no less than the calling in agonized screams.

Subconsciously, he began to resist this change, but his resistance was futile.

The Artistic Journey would not stop for the will of man.

The starlight, like trickling streams, kept flowing in, and through the Student Souvenir Coin, it entered Mao Feiyang’s body...

Then, he noticed that from Mao Feiyang’s body, four conveyor belts extended out into the unknown void...

Without a doubt, the Contamination that Maozi had "consumed" inside the Art Building was being simultaneously diverted to him, Tian Bufan, Wei Shan, and Kuai Hongji—just like when they encountered the green apron Pocket Chef while walking through the fog!

"We still don’t know exactly what the Art Student pathway entails, but if Maozi’s contamination intensifies and he becomes like a sculpture... then all of us are doomed to the same fate of turning into sculptures!"

"We must rescue Maozi from the Art Building!"

"We have to do it!!!"

Lin Yi made up his mind at that moment.

Whether it was for Mao Feiyang, for himself, or for others.

He took a deep breath and calmly continued to observe the powder particles, starlight, and other forms of contamination, as well as the changes undergone by the Art Students.

To do a good job, one must first sharpen his tools. Once a goal was set, every detail that could be captured would become a clue for his rescue and deductions.

He needed to remember as much as possible.

...

Unknowingly, the Milky Way had dissipated. Lin Yi even felt that he hadn’t properly observed...

But when he looked up at the Renaissance-style clock in the Art Classroom, he suddenly noticed that the time displayed was 11:40.

"11:40?! Damn!" Lin Yi was shocked, "Have I been observing the Milky Way until now?"

Was he still observing? It was more like almost drowning in the Milky Way!

Truly a case of dying before achieving victory...

Yet, what surprised Mao Feiyang even more was that he had just come to his senses, and Lin Yi hadn’t, because as Mao Feiyang had sunk into his actions, Lin Yi, as the primary observer, had also fallen into deep contemplation.

Now that he had ceased his observation, it was partly because Mao Feiyang had stopped his actions, and partly because the Milky Way had disappeared on its own.

"Oh no, it’s mealtime!"

Mao Feiyang slapped his forehead and stood up, but as soon as he did, he noticed an Art Student sitting not far away from him, watching him. Seeing him "awake," the student smiled and approached.