Rules-related weird stories: 4016

The rolling fog rushed up the steps like a solid substance, heading towards the corridor.

"Sha Sha Sha..."

She heard the distinct sound of stone scraping against the ground behind her, and she could sense something emerging from the fog, about to touch her shoulder.

She plunged into the doorway and slammed the office door shut with a resounding "BANG!!"

She leaned against the door, her chest heaving.

After a few breaths, she realized she was drenched in sweat.

She glanced at the pendulum clock on the wall. The pendulum had started moving again at some point, and the hands now pointed to 21:41.

"BANG BANG BANG!"

"BANG BANG BANG!"

"BANG BANG BANG!"

The office door was still being pounded by a tremendous force, and the calls of "Teacher, Teacher..." echoed incessantly from outside.

But she seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief. After smoothing out her slightly disheveled clothes, she got up and walked back to her desk, calmly placing the folder on the surface.

Before long, the knocking stopped.

She glanced at the pendulum clock on the wall.

21:43.

Then, she opened the drawer and glanced inside. When she saw the neat row of blue envelopes in the corner, she finally relaxed completely, collapsing into her chair and letting out a long sigh of relief.

...

Group B, Class 2.

After sitting back down in his chair, Wei Liang still looked shaken.

Lin Yi's eyes were also narrowed into slits, his mind filled with the flickering lights of the corridor and the rolling fog.

At that moment, Lin Yi was utterly convinced that the teaching building wasn't safe, at least...the corridor was definitely unsafe!

He immediately thought of the military-grade blast-resistant glass installed in the classroom windows...

It seemed that only the classroom was safe!

But in the classroom...

He looked around. As the class teacher locked the classroom door, the students, who were practically embedded in their seats, seemed to be stirring with malicious intent.

He could feel undisguised gazes, strange and naked, locking onto him.

So, was the classroom really safe?

He reopened the student handbook and found the rule about returning to the dormitory.

"The time to return to the dormitory is really only from 21:00 to 22:00, but once the fog rolls in, the campus will definitely be raining at that time!"

He felt a headache coming on. Did that mean he had to spend seven days and nights in the classroom to complete this experience?

He thought of Xu Shunkang and Xie Huayang, and what Xu Shunkang had said to him before leaving.

He murmured, repeating Xu Shunkang's warning:

"After we leave, you must be careful of everyone except yourselves."

"Because...the night is their domain..."

"Remember, following the rules is the only way you can protect yourselves."

"However, theoretically speaking, spending the night in the classroom is still relatively safe. I hope to see you tomorrow... Good luck."

"The night is their domain..."

"Spending the night in the classroom is still relatively safe..."

"Following the rules is the only way we can protect ourselves..."

Just as Lin Yi was pondering the meaning of Xu Shunkang's words, Wei Liang's voice came from beside him.

"Damn, what the hell was that thing?!" Wei Liang cursed and gasped for breath. Seeing Lin Yi approaching, he couldn't help but ask, "Old Lin, have you gotten involved with something unclean?"

"I heard that this place used to be an abandoned village a long time ago, maybe even some kind of ghost village!"

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him: "If it really had such a terrifying past, how dare you come last time?"

Wei Liang muttered: "Because I believe in science!"

Lin Yi teased: "The last guy who said he believed in science flew away on a sword after saying that."

"Then I'll believe in metaphysics!"

"Believing in metaphysics will scare you to death here sooner or later."

Wei Liang looked distressed, and spread his hands: "Okay, okay, isn't it all for the money! As long as I pretend to study and get through seven days, I can get 30,000 yuan, including food and lodging, and even get to watch H-manga. Anyway, we've reached the internship period, wouldn't you come if you were me?"

Lin Yi sneered: "It would have been better to tell the truth earlier, why bring up science and metaphysics."

Wei Liang curled his lips, but the scene of that classmate inviting them to take the elevator was still lingering in his mind.

He couldn't help but say: "Old Lin, did you notice that something was wrong with that person from the beginning?"

Lin Yi looked at him and asked: "Do you really want to know?"

"Hey!" Wei Liang put on an angry expression, "If I didn't want to know, why would I ask you? What about you, what's the matter? Are you hiding some secret and don't want to tell me?"

Lin Yi sighed: "I'm afraid I'll scare you to death if I tell you."

Wei Liang was stunned for a moment, then decisively said: "Damn, then don't tell me. I'm timid and can't stand being scared."

"Already backing down?"

Wei Liang got up and patted his clothes: "I'm not as smart as you, I can't think as well as you, but judging from your previous performance...maybe I'm better off being a dumbass who doesn't know anything, the probability of surviving by following the rules is higher."

"To be honest, after this experience course is over, I will definitely never come to this godforsaken place again."

After saying that, he left his seat and headed straight for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Lin Yi quickly asked.

"Going to find H-manga!" Wei Liang's voice came from the back of the lecture hall, "Is there anything you want to see?"

Lin Yi wanted to refuse, but still said: "Just grab a couple of worker-class manga."

After saying that, he suddenly thought of something and asked: "By the way, Liangzi, do you have a small notebook and pen over there?"

"Yeah, wait a minute, I'll bring them to you," Wei Liang called out.

Soon, Wei Liang came over with a small stack of manga, and handed Lin Yi a palm-sized flip notebook and a black ballpoint pen.

"Thanks, Liangzi," Lin Yi took the stack of books from Wei Liang's hand.

"You can read these first, I'll go over there and scavenge for resources," Wei Liang pointed to the podium in the classroom.

The podium was the central stage of the amphitheater classroom. Behind the podium was a row of bookshelves, displaying set after set of manga.

"Be careful," Lin Yi urged.

The classroom door was next to the podium. For some reason, Lin Yi always felt that this door was dispensable.

Even though the class teacher had locked it with who knows how many turns of the bolt.

"Don't worry, there's nothing to it," Wei Liang patted his chest.

Lin Yi smiled helplessly.

After Wei Liang walked down the stairs, Lin Yi first took the notebook and black pen in front of him, then opened the notebook, and then stared blankly at the paper.

He recalled everything since entering the school gate, and then wrote down some records in the notebook:

"1. The teachers and students in foggy weather are problematic, I heard they are art teachers and art students."

After writing this sentence, he thought about it, fearing that writing too much would cause too much thinking, so he decided to only write the simplest facts.

So he heavily scribbled out "I heard they are art teachers and art students" afterwards.

Then, he continued writing:

“2. It is safe under the illuminated streetlights. If you get lost, wait under a streetlight; you might actually encounter a security guard.”

“3. Security guards are taller than normal people, with a huge iron chain wrapped around their waist. Following a security guard allows you to walk through the fog.”

“4. The teaching building has a basement…”

Writing this, he thought of the teaching building rules, paused, and added a “?”

He stopped to think for a moment, then crossed out the entire sentence.

Then, he rewrote:

“4. The homeroom teacher has a white acrylic name tag on their chest, which reads 'Group B, Class 2.'”

Then, he suddenly remembered that the student handbook suggested recording his name and student ID on paper to prevent forgetting them, so he added after the fourth rule: “My name is Lin Yi, and my student ID is X0230506098.”

Having written this, Lin Yi put down his pen and took a deep breath. He felt clear-headed and not at all fatigued. A thought solidified in his mind:

Only recalling personal experiences and things that don't conflict with his own understanding of the campus won't produce the previous feeling of fatigue.

So, he started a new page and wrote:

“Thinking about confusing things causes fatigue. Fatigue makes people sleepy, and sleepiness attracts classmates—(Note: It is said that the dormitory is a place to sleep. Think about more problems when you return to the dormitory. Just record things now.)”

After writing this, he tore off the paper and put it in his pants pocket.

But just then, the paper touched another crumpled piece of paper in his pocket.

The crumpled ball of scrap paper he picked up from the homeroom teacher's office!

He had encountered a series of strange events, so he had even forgotten that he had a paper ball hidden in his pants!

He subconsciously wanted to take out the paper ball, flatten it, and take a look, but he was afraid that even a single glance would trigger his “endless wild thoughts.” So, to be on the safe side, he decided to wait until he returned to the dormitory to look at it.

So, he tried to smooth out the paper ball in his pocket as much as possible, to avoid the rough edges constantly rubbing against his thigh, which was uncomfortable.

He continued to write: “5. The physical education students seem to be good people.”

“6. When going to the toilet, you need to firmly believe that there is a toilet ahead. (Note: Could it be that firm will is the key to survival?)”

Writing this, he thought of Wei Liang, picked up his pen several times and put it down again. In the end, he couldn't help but add: “Seeming foolish might also work.”

After writing six rules, he twirled his pen, recalling if he had missed any details.

He wanted to write about the chefs with blue aprons, but he didn't know what to write about them. In the end, he thought of the chefs with green aprons and those students with somewhat stiff movements, and wrote down the last rule:

“7. Be careful of people whose smiles look fake; they are problematic.”

Just as he wrote this sentence, Lin Yi suddenly noticed something was wrong.

So he frowned, looking at the notebook…

Suddenly, he noticed the light and shadow on the notebook flickered!

「Huh?!」He subconsciously became alert, so he looked up at the classroom ceiling.

As he looked, his pupils instantly contracted.

Among the many incandescent lights hanging on the classroom ceiling, one light, whether due to aging wires or poor contact, was flickering 「bo—zz—bo—zz—」!

The moment he noticed the incandescent light flickering, a bone-chilling sensation instantly emerged from his internal organs, spreading along his meridians and blood vessels throughout his body, making him feel icy cold.

Although he had only been enrolled for less than half a day, he already understood something very important: the real problem is often hidden beneath an ordinary appearance, let alone an obviously problematic phenomenon!

「Bo—zz—」

The incandescent light flickered again.

Lin Yi vaguely felt a subtle change in the atmosphere within the classroom, and he began to feel uncomfortable all over, as if he was being targeted by something dirty.

He slightly rotated his neck, his gaze cautiously and carefully surveying his surroundings.

He saw that in the eyes of those strange classmates who were originally sitting in the classroom, a trace of fluctuation suddenly appeared, as if someone had thrown a small stone into a stagnant pool, stirring up a faint ripple.

As the light continued to flicker, their originally somewhat scattered pupils gradually gathered their spirits, and an indescribable look of longing gradually emerged from the ripples, eventually spreading throughout their bodies.

At this moment, a dull thunder rumbled outside the classroom.

「Rumble—」

Pure white lightning flashed across the night sky, and raindrops fell in the dim night. Weak light swept across the campus under the thick fog.

Lin Yi, who was observing the situation in the classroom, caught a glimpse of the classroom window out of the corner of his eye…

By the faint light, he saw shadowy figures wandering outside the window. The figures, which had been huddled under the thick fog, seemed to step on the fog, invade the teaching building, walk onto the corridor, and come outside the classroom!

At this moment, the homeroom teacher's instructions before leaving echoed in Lin Yi's mind like a loud bell:

“Once the lights in the classroom start flickering, you must squat under the desk as soon as possible and grab the legs of the desks and chairs!”

“Don't close your eyes!”

“Don't look around or look up!”

“Keep your eyes on the patterns on the ground or the legs of the desks, and silently recite your names and student IDs in your mind!”

“Do not communicate with anyone!”

“Ignore any sounds!”

“Until the lights in the classroom return to normal!”

“One last thing!”

“Be careful of anyone who enters the classroom after I close the door! Do not communicate with them in any way!”

Lin Yi's brain quickly went over the information again and again. He quickly closed the notebook, put it in his pocket, and shouted loudly at Wei Liang: “Liangzi, come here! Quick!”

The flickering of the incandescent lights was actually not difficult to notice, but there were too many incandescent lights in the classroom, so some people didn't realize it at first.

Like Wei Liang.

“Should I choose this set of 'Erotic Tales from the Studio' or this set of 'Spider Cave Goddess Descends 1V7'?” Wei Liang, who was pondering which comic book to choose in front of the bookshelf, suddenly heard Lin Yi's urgent call.

Almost as a conditioned reflex, Wei Liang turned around without hesitation and rushed towards Lin Yi's location.

Just as he lifted his foot, the classroom door was slammed by a huge force.

「Bang, bang, bang!」

「Bang, bang, bang!」

「Bang, bang, bang!」