AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 257 - 121 What does ’won’t live long’ mean【Extra 1000 words!】_2

Chapter 257: Chapter 121 What does ’won’t live long’ mean【Extra 1000 words!】_2

"Bad luck, she could die terribly, and we wouldn’t be able to do a thing,"

Upon hearing the two words "cannon fodder," Lin Yi instinctively frowned, feeling that using others as pawns to test the rules of the campus was somewhat inhumane. Yet, he could not articulate a rebuttal.

Tian Bufan’s analysis was extremely objective and rational.

They had grasped more knowledge and elements of the rules, while Li Huiyuan had run into a dead end... In such a desperate situation, if she agreed to become cannon fodder, then they would act together, win if they could. If she disagreed, then they’d go their separate ways, win or lose would be up to her.

Lin Yi understood why Tian Bufan had let Li Huiyuan listen to their conversation: because it was indeed an open and honest negotiation, and they could even ignore Li Huiyuan, letting her fend for herself.

Because they too had just begun to explore the campus.

Because they did not necessarily need cannon fodder.

Moreover... who’s to say they themselves weren’t cannon fodder?

Once they started exploring the campus, they were, after all, nothing more than slightly bigger cannon fodder.

So, everything depended on Li Huiyuan’s own decision.

"You don’t need to decide right now," Tian Bufan said blandly, glancing at Li Huiyuan, "You and Old Lin are in the same classroom, so you still have time to choose. Of course, you’d better make a decision quickly..."

"Starting a dungeon from the lesser mobs and working your way up to elite mobs is a completely different difficulty from joining midway to fight the elite mobs,"

"You might still have a bit of time, but all things considered, there’s not much time left for you,"

Li Huiyuan remained silent, torn, as though caught in a deep vortex of thought.

"I’m back, sorry for the wait," At that moment, Wei Shan’s voice came from not far away; he had disposed of his shoes and was walking back along the mountain path.

"Let’s head back to the Teaching Building then," Lin Yi nodded as Wei Shan fully rejoined them, then glanced at Li Huiyuan.

"I..." Li Huiyuan took a deep breath, as if she had made an incredibly tough decision, and then said with some trepidation, "I want to tell the class monitor about losing my Student ID card, and then... then make a decision, is that alright?"

Her eyes carried a glimmer of hope as she looked at Lin Yi and Tian Bufan, afraid that this request might lead to abandonment, depriving her even of the right to be cannon fodder.

Tian Bufan smiled slightly: "As we said earlier, you have time; of course, you can do that."

Li Huiyuan sighed with relief: "Then... that’s settled. Thank you."

...

May 8th, X023, 11:45, on the Cobblestone path leading to the Teaching Building.

Lin Yi shared with Tian Bufan what he had seen at the Student Cafeteria entrance regarding the Experience Student traversing the blue apron-wearing chef.

Tian Bufan nodded slightly: "I actually saw that too when I arrived... An interesting phenomenon. Do you have any speculations about it?"

Lin Yi had indeed thought of something and began to share his ideas: "I think it’s somewhat like what Wang Yangming said about ’nothing exists outside the mind’... "

"Even though to us, that blue apron-wearing chef stands right there, because those Experience Students do not perceive its existence cognitively, they allow the fact that ’it does not exist’ to become ’effective’ for them."

"It seems like... those Glass Plank Walkways in scenic spots."

"Oh?" Tian Bufan’s eyes lit up, revealing a hint of delight, "You actually thought of the Glass Plank Walkway? Tell me more!"

Lin Yi hadn’t expected Tian Bufan to take interest in this analogy: "I feel like the ’perception’ works like the glass on the Glass Plank Walkway. For us, the glass is transparent, and we can see the world beneath it, or rather, the ’layer’ underneath."

"But for the Experience Students, the glass is opaque, indistinguishable from the floor tiles, so they can’t see another ’layer’ under the glass, nor can they induce the blue apron-wearing chef located in that ’layer’."

His inspiration, in part, came from the plastic curtain at the entrance of the Student Cafeteria.

"Moreover, I suspect that the ’glass’ durability and transparency might be related to our perception."

"Walking on it, we can capture more information, and when our perception begins to change or distort, the properties of this glass might change, allowing us to see the blue apron-wearing chef, or, we might also fall into the ’layer’ beneath the glass."

"That blue apron-wearing chef is like a person stuck to the backside of the glass; it can see us, perhaps even communicate with us, but I’m not sure if it inherently contains some special mechanism, nor do I know what would happen if we were to interact with that blue apron-wearing chef."

"But the best course of action for us now, is to ignore it while avoiding any contact with our five senses."

Tian Bufan chuckled: "You’ve made rapid progress upon awakening, haven’t you?"

Lin Yi, somewhat embarrassed, touched his nose: "With a bit more confidence, of course, I won’t be so timid, and I’m also bolder in thinking through problems."

"Young Master Tian, what about you? What are your thoughts?"

"How can you be so sure that what I’m thinking isn’t what you just said?" Tian Bufan asked.

Lin Yi cleared his throat: "I always feel that no matter how much I figure out, you’re able to figure out more. It’s possible that while I was speaking, you had already noticed more details..."