AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 784 - 360: The Staircase to the Left_2

Chapter 784: Chapter 360: The Staircase to the Left_2

"Is there another way?"

Old Mo walked to the entrance of the corridor and then said, "All the rules in the school area tell you to go up and down the stairs by following the right side, and you will soon know why."

Lin Yi thought of many things but did not rush to answer. In fact, he was not completely ignorant about "going up the stairs on the left-hand side," because during his sleep on May 7, he had followed Maozi in his dream, ascending the stairs of the Teaching Building on the left side! And at that time, Maozi was indeed going up the stairs on the left-hand side!

And the way back, which should have been "the same way returned," turned completely different because Maozi went up the stairs on the left, entering a completely different staircase and ultimately passing through some odd areas to reach the Dormitory building.

"Could it be that every staircase in reverse would lead to other Layer Transition paths?"

Old Mo reached out to Lin Yi.

"There will be a section of ’Layer Transition’ ahead, which might make you feel very uncomfortable. Hold my hand, and no matter what happens, I will pull you to the side of the Bell Tower."

Lin Yi then took Old Mo’s hand.

Old Mo’s palm was like that of a somewhat rigid mannequin, icy cold with not a hint of warmth.

"Follow me."

Old Mo spoke softly, then stepped onto the steps at the entrance of the corridor, moving his feet in the direction on the left side.

One step, two steps...

The stairs of the Bell Tower are made of stone stacked together from the same material as the ocher stones on the walls, resembling some kind of limestone, overall quite smooth on the surface but still with some pits and imperfections, giving a solid feeling underfoot.

When Lin Yi first took two steps following Old Mo, he felt quite normal, aside from a somewhat awkward sensation, almost no other feeling.

However, after taking the third step, Lin Yi suddenly felt the ground under his feet become uneven, to the point where even his center of gravity began to shift...

He wanted to observe the changes in his surroundings, but could not.

Maintaining such a center of gravity and moving forward was extremely difficult.

If he got distracted, he would probably fall over.

This fluctuating sensation was indeed somewhat similar to ’Layer Transition,’ and Lin Yi had received guidance from Old Mo before and was now adapting. Although not effortlessly, he was somewhat practiced.

Of course, to achieve this level of concentration, looking around would definitely not work.

But soon enough, without observing his environment, the environment came to him.

His perspective began to uncontrollably twist and stretch in a bizarre way. This shift was illogical, like a novice baker kneading dough with inconsistent force, making each press what one might call "random strength."

And this random and illogical spatial fluctuation began to assault his visual and spatial perception, evoking in him a sort of nausea like motion sickness.

They traveled through such Layers for a while, and by the time the feeling of the baker kneading dough had almost disappeared, Lin Yi suddenly found that they had changed from descending to ascending the stairs...

"This...?!"

Now Lin Yi had the leisure to observe his surroundings, and he was profoundly shocked by what he saw.

The staircase was still the same staircase, the candlelight on the walls was still there, but the steps that should have spiraled downwards had now turned into an upward spiral!

Old Mo explained, "Remember the concept of the ’precision instrument’ I mentioned before? Now imagine two interlocking screws, or the gears of a grinder. When the first screw turns, the other interlocking screw will be driven, starting to mirror its movement."

"But in that case, we should be mirroring downwards, right?" Lin Yi asked. Being a professional in architectural design, such questions were not difficult for him.

Old Mo gave him a glance: "What if... one of the threaded rods is fixed?"

"Fixed? Wait... are you saying...?!" Lin Yi calculated in his mind, "Once single-point fixed, the side that retraces its steps will be lifted or lowered by the other rod at double the speed!"

"But Old Mo... how can you be sure that the other rod remains constant?"

Old Mo pointed to his head: "Anchor a layer with absolute willpower as a reference... then just climb up."

"Absolute willpower"

Lin Yi took a deep breath in secret, he almost forgot that Old Mo was a tough guy who, by willpower alone, locked himself into a state of being undead until the last drop of blood, then stubbornly held out until the Convenience Store Owner came back!

That is indeed absolute willpower.

"So that’s how it is... No wonder Experience Students are not allowed to take the stairs on the left." Lin Yi suddenly understood.

Old Mo nodded: "They do not possess such willpower, wandering aimlessly would only involve them in the cracks between unknown layers, ultimately lost in the endless maze of stairs, accompanied by fear and the collapse of their spirit until death..."

"Once dead, they will ’drift’ to some dead corner just like the red-numbered lamppost, becoming one of those Dead Body Sculptures..."

"’Dead Body Sculpture’?" Lin Yi was startled, instantly thinking of the stalactite cave at the end of the stairs Maozi saw, the cave filled with fierce sculptures. Could those be the Dead Body Sculptures?

"What does Dead Body Sculpture mean exactly?"

"It’s just a sculpture that’s thoroughly dead." Old Mo said, "Many Pseudo-Humans are hidden in the Green Forest Belt of the campus. During the day, the supernatural power within them gets dispersed, turning into a substance similar to sculptures but not actually sculptures... Those by nature are Pseudo-Humans, but to differentiate whether they can move or not, they are termed ’sculptures’."

Lin Yi understood, after all, those Pseudo-Humans are indistinguishable from sculptures when they are motionless.

The rules written about sculptures are essentially to prevent Experience Students from knowing the concept of "Pseudo-Human".

Because in terms of life forms, Pseudo-Human Sculptures are closer to Nocturnal species.

And Dead Body Sculptures seem to be those things that are so dead that they couldn’t be deader, absolutely nothing like the Nocturnal species or the possibility of Pseudo-Humans transforming.

Lin Yi pondered: "So to speak... Dead Body Sculptures, are they truly death?"

"You can broadly assume so for now, but there are always exceptions... Never underestimate them just because they are Dead Body Sculptures, and never let your guard down at any time." Old Mo cautioned.

Lin Yi nodded, committing Old Mo’s teachings to memory.

Perhaps, Mu Daxian had also speedily mastered a lot of "theoretical knowledge" in this way?

Lin Yi looked up at the stairs above, the staircase spiraling upwards like an endless Fibonacci sequence, a few more glances could make one feel slightly dizzy.

He promptly withdrew his gaze, continuing to walk upwards.

The higher he went, the more unstable the stone steps beneath his feet felt, occasionally making a ’rolling’ noise, just like that stone bridge over the river in an old village, which always emitted strange sounds when too many people crossed it.

And above, from the dark Fibonacci sequence stairs, some ’thud, thud, thud’ noises started to drift down, akin to raindrops hitting on some solid and weighty metal.

Old Mo suddenly warned in a grave voice: "Watch your step, don’t slip. After entering the mist, it will become extremely difficult. Don’t get distracted by the Sneering Angel."

"Fog zone... Sneering Angel? Isn’t it said that here lies the domain of the Night Watchman?" Lin Yi asked, puzzled.

"The Night Watchman concentrates all his power on opposing the ’Angel’ descending, leaving his back vulnerable. That’s when the Angel Sculpture will attack him." Old Mo said, "Mosquitoes can’t kill humans, but in that top-level game of strategy, any minor influence could cause a butterfly effect, potentially leading to a complete breakdown of the battle situation."