AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 922 - 427: Ways to Go Above the 5th Floor of the Teaching Building

Chapter 922: Chapter 427: Ways to Go Above the 5th Floor of the Teaching Building

"So... if we happen to encounter that thing, we should destroy it... uh, I mean, eliminate it?" Lin Yi asked.

Class Teacher-040 nodded, and a rare glimmer of killing intent flashed in her eyes: "You can act first and report later."

In truth, there had been some mishandling on her part. The correct course of action should have been to capture that nonexistent person the moment she encountered it.

Unfortunately, it was already too late by the time they realized it.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Class Teacher-040 seemed to have caught a spark of inspiration.

"Huh? Eliminate it? Encounter?"

"No, no..." Class Teacher-040 squinted, her brows furrowed as she muttered, "That word seems to remind me of something... ’destroy’! Yes, ’destroy’!"

"I’ve got it!"

"What if it’s some kind of ’creation’? Then it wouldn’t really be human!"

"’Cre...ation’?" Lin Yi chewed over the word. For some reason, it felt inexplicably familiar, as if it ignited a spark of inspiration within him.

Class Teacher-040 continued, "In ’architectural studies,’ there’s a fringe technique for constructing puppets. It involves dismantling and recombining components from dead body sculptures or non-human units to create a brand-new unit..."

"Units constructed in this manner are essentially what the layman would call ’puppets.’ They possess temporary mobility, and since lifeless objects don’t perceive pain, they’re somewhat immune to sunlight damage on their bodies."

As she spoke, Class Teacher-040 frowned again, puzzled. "But what I don’t understand is, if someone were to do this, they’d need some sort of energy to drive the puppet... This method of constructing puppets originates from the occult, which inherently requires ’mysterious materials’ as raw ingredients."

Hearing this, Lin Yi’s inspiration expanded. Suddenly, he recalled that Mu Daxian had seemingly performed a similar operation in the past. Except in his case, Mu Daxian actually used Weird Art Students—those Zealots!

And back then, as Mu Daxian was assembling things, he instructed Maozi to keep watch while he stepped away for a bit!

Thinking about it, everything seemed to form a perfect loop—Mu Daxian had gone to retrieve mysterious materials!

Lin Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, "In the depths of the Green Forest Belt, along the path leading to the Art Building, there’s a basin that produces ’mysterious materials,’ but it’s occupied by zealots!"

"I know now!"

"It’s the Mountain Man! No—it’s Yuan Lijian!"

"I saw the Mountain Man go to that place. He stole some of the energy material and then constructed that puppet in the classroom!"

The true loop had been revealed!

Everything made sense now!

"Wait, wait..." Class Teacher-040 looked disoriented. "What are you even saying?"

Her lack of information naturally left her unable to match Lin Yi’s mental pace.

Lin Yi hurriedly shared the details of his sighting of the Mountain Man in the Green Forest Belt. This was just yesterday... However, because he’d seen the Mountain Man through Kuai Hongji’s Phantom Vision, he "adjusted" his timeline to reflect when Old Mo had taken him to the Art Building.

Overall, it all took place at night, so there shouldn’t be any issues—at least in Lin Yi’s opinion, the logic held up.

"So, you’re saying this was all Yuan Lijian’s doing?" Class Teacher-040 rubbed her temples, her expression suggesting that this cohort of students was truly exhausting to deal with. "Then it seems his motives aren’t so pure."

"Maybe they’re very straightforward. It could all just be part of his plan," Lin Yi analyzed rationally. "You mentioned earlier that humans are inherently selfish..."

"Wait, I didn’t say that," Class Teacher-040 interrupted.

"..." Lin Yi paused briefly. "Fine, that’s not important. What I mean is, humans are inherently selfish. Perhaps he entered this space under the guise of an Infiltration Force mission to gather ashes, but it’s likely he had his own personal agenda as well."

In Lin Yi’s impression, whenever the Mountain Man had spare time, he’d be tinkering with his little parts, much like some struggling authors secretly typing out manuscripts during work hours, seizing every free moment.

"Yuan Lijian’s private affairs... Could they be related to Yuan Da Tou’s death?" Class Teacher-040 speculated.

Lin Yi shook his head lightly. "I can’t say for sure, but it’s best to be cautious with him. I feel his motives aren’t pure."

Class Teacher-040 gave Lin Yi a penetrating look, thinking to herself that his motives seemed questionable as well—though she certainly wouldn’t say that aloud.

"Hmm. In any case, narrowing the scope of suspicion to Yuan Lijian is a good thing."

Lin Yi was displeased and scoffed, "What do you mean, ’narrowing the scope’? Teacher, you just said that ’unlikely events are highly likely in the campus,’ so in the absence of proof against the main instigator, defaulting to the Mountain Man seems perfectly reasonable—for now, I’m sticking to that conclusion."

"And what’s your plan? Do you intend to secretly spar with him?" Class Teacher-040 asked, her tone tinged with concern.

"What? Are you worried about me, Teacher?" Lin Yi’s eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Scram!" Class Teacher-040 snapped, her expression instantly sour as if her tail had been stepped on. "I’m only worried about you disrupting my investigation plans!"

Lin Yi shrugged. "Then you can relax. I don’t intend to involve myself with him. I’ve got plenty of my own affairs to handle."

"Figures... Everyone who enters this campus has their problems..." Class Teacher-040 muttered helplessly.

Lin Yi wore an equally helpless expression. "At least for now, all the problems seem to be coming straight to me."