AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 929 - 430: Arrival! Teaching Building "Taboo Area B-5F"!_2

Chapter 929: Chapter 430: Arrival! Teaching Building "Taboo Area B-5F"!_2

But even though he sought stability, as Class Teacher-040 had said, in this kind of campus, improbable events were highly probable.

He began to notice eerie figures appearing at the corner of the stairway. The reason he referred to them as "some" was that he couldn’t discern how many there were with his naked eye.

These were shadows formed from countless overlapping refracted images, each one shielding its face with a hand—a sneering angel. However, every single figure bore distinct details, as if different people attempted to sketch the same sneering angel, and then those various depictions were merged into one.

The collective sneering angels coalesced into one entity, shrinking back into the corner.

When Lin Yi glanced at it, its form subtly shifted over the course of two seconds.

As he walked past the corner, the walls of the stairway began to warp. Deep grooves and bumps emerged on the surface, as if something had been buried alive within the walls—entities that had desperately struggled to break free before they were ultimately consumed.

From within the walls, strange whispers emanated, entering Lin Yi’s perception.

Cold, malevolent, unsettling, dark... Yet mixed with a mysterious itchiness that defied explanation, evoking an irrational urge to smash through the wall and assist the imprisoned being within.

Li Huiyuan’s expression turned pale. She, too, was summoned by those voices, but her will remained relatively steadfast. By tightly gripping the object in her hand, she was able to suppress the discomfort caused by the call.

「Buzz... buzz... buzz...」

Lin Yi’s ears started picking up waves of sound, as though he were an old-fashioned radio tuning into mysterious frequencies from unknown stations. These signals, however, served only to distract him, offering no other purpose.

He found himself mere steps away from the fifth floor of the Teaching Building.

These few remaining steps seemed as distant as crossing from the storm-tossed hull of a ship to its deck amidst turbulent waves.

[som...lyset...]

[fant...]

[fantmoer...]

[till...]

The nocturnal species began their low, mournful chants, blending with the wall’s haunting whispers, ceaselessly invading Lin Yi and Li Huiyuan’s minds, gnawing at their sanity.

Li Huiyuan’s breathing grew ragged. A golden flame flared in her gaze, her eyes flickering erratically, teetering on the brink of bewilderment yet holding firm with her last vestiges of will.

Lin Yi knew he couldn’t delay further. He channeled that sensation again, letting radiant light gather in his eyes before speaking in a resonant voice:

「De som jager lyset i tåke blir til slutt fantomer——!!!」

The Singer’s form became the nexus of transcendence, and the Cautions descended from the void!

A powerful breath capable of tearing through the warped corridor surged forth, and the low voice thundered through the distorted space like a raging storm!

Invisible blades of wind surrounding him transformed into a hazy mist that cloaked his figure. At this moment, he resembled a Mist Chasing Light Seeker.

He began to feel the golden aura within him surging faintly, though at a pace still slower than what he had experienced at the Stone Bridge in the Art Building.

After all, the Cautions were akin to gears, with every invocation stirring his energy more intensely. Back at the Stone Bridge, he had recklessly burned through his strength, repeatedly calling the Cautions, deepening its resonances countless times...

Here, however, twice was enough.

Using the interval during which the Cautions transformed language into supernatural power, Lin Yi led Li Huiyuan through the undulating layers, breaking free of the warped corridor and stepping onto the stairway leading to the fifth floor of the Teaching Building!

...

As Lin Yi and Li Huiyuan entered the stairwell, a figure in the fourth-floor hallway suddenly froze, staring at their retreating backs.

The figure stood near the Teacher’s Office of Group B Class 12, appearing to have just left a classroom to head to the restroom. Upon seeing Lin Yi and Li Huiyuan—especially Lin Yi—the individual paused, furrowing their brow.

If Lin Yi were here, he would immediately recognize the person. It was none other than Zhao Lingxiao, the former Dormitory Supervisor-36-X0230507012, with whom he’d had minor interactions—the one who wore a cheerful smile but lacked mutual trust.

Just then, Zhao Lingxiao caught the echo of Li Huiyuan’s piercing scream from the stairwell.

She didn’t hesitate to rush toward the sound, but as she reached the stairwell, Lin Yi had already led Li Huiyuan into the ascending corridor toward the fifth floor of the Teaching Building.

She found nothing.

「Strange... I was sure I heard a woman’s voice...」 Zhao Lingxiao muttered, 「and that silhouette...it sure looked like that irritating guy who has zero chivalry...」

Grumbling under her breath, she turned and headed to the restroom.

...

May 10, X023, 9:36 a.m., Teaching Building "Taboo Area B-5F."

「Tap! Tap!」

Lin Yi had just steadied himself when the behind-disoriented Li Huiyuan collided into him.

The impact nearly caused Lin Yi to topple, but with his current physical strength, he firmly held onto Li Huiyuan, bracing against the inertia without falling.

「We’ve arrived,」 Lin Yi said softly, stabilizing Li Huiyuan.

Li Huiyuan gradually regained her composure. Her frantic breaths became deep gasps as she touched her chest, took several steadying breaths, then asked nervously, 「Lin Yi, was that the layer fluctuations the Teacher warned us about? Were those disgusting things nocturnal species? They felt similar to the ones in the elevator, but there’s something slightly different...」

After becoming a Sports Student, Li Huiyuan had indeed changed. While clearly frightened, she hadn’t lost sense of control, but instead managed to maintain a rational outlook when confronted with abnormalities.

Lin Yi explained, 「Yes, those were nocturnal species. That difference you felt might be related to the wall’s whispers.」

With their shared tactile perception from earlier leaps in awareness, Lin Yi knew that what he sensed, Li Huiyuan must have felt as well.

「The whispers... from the walls...」 Li Huiyuan frowned. 「Maybe... let’s not dwell on it. So, this is the fifth floor?」

She turned toward the stairwell behind them, where the exit clearly displayed "5F," confirming they had indeed reached the fifth floor of the Teaching Building.

She suddenly seemed dazed.

Lin Yi noticed and asked, 「What’s wrong?」

Li Huiyuan shook her head faintly and chuckled self-deprecatingly. 「I was just thinking about the content of the Teaching Building Rules... Although Boss and the Sports Student Code say we can follow our judgment in most situations, it feels unsettling to actually do something that violates the rules...」

Lin Yi paused briefly, then quickly understood. Li Huiyuan must have been referring to the rule that stated: [The Teaching Building has only four floors, no basement, no elevator, and absolutely no Block D. If one accidentally discovers areas outside these four floors, one must avoid them at all costs.]

「Some rules no longer apply to us,」 Lin Yi said. 「The rules are correct; the error lies with us.」

「We are gradually stepping out of the categories of people bound by parts of these rules.」

「There’s something I’ve realized lately.」

「What is it?」 Li Huiyuan asked.

Lin Yi answered, 「Rules are like pre-filled examination papers... If we were ordinary Experience Students, the questions we faced would align with those exam papers. They’d belong to Trial A, Trial B, Trial C, or Trial D...」