Rules-related weird stories: 4016

Chapter 195: The Basic Overview of "Art" (Bonus 2000 words!)

Mao Feiyang stepped onto the damp soil covered with fallen leaves. His foot slipped, and he lost his balance, rolling down the hillside.

Fortunately, the slope wasn't very steep, and there were many camphor trees growing there. Mao Feiyang rolled a few times before crashing into a tree trunk, his lower back aching.

"Ouch, my back…"

He opened his eyes, covered in dirt, and suddenly noticed a human-shaped sculpture slightly bent over, looking down at him.

"?! !"

Mao Feiyang's pupils instantly dilated, his face turned pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"Sc-Sculpture!"

Mao Feiyang used both his hands and feet, dragging his butt across the ground amidst the fallen leaves, stumbling backward. But he hadn't moved far before he bumped into a cold, hard rock.

He turned his head and saw another pure white human-shaped sculpture.

The human-shaped sculpture was still and unmoving, but Mao Feiyang felt uncomfortable all over, as if he was being watched by them.

He turned his head again and found that the previous human-shaped sculpture had come behind him, reaching out a hand towards him, its face frozen in an expression of greed and madness.

Mu Daxian jumped down from the small slope and used a paintbrush to draw directly on the eye area of these sculptures.

The static human-shaped sculptures immediately used extremely stiff body movements to slowly move their hands to their heads and slowly cover their eyes.

When they made these movements, they seemed extremely restricted, as if forcibly twisting their petrified bodies, so that cracks appeared directly at some joints due to forced stretching. Even worse, the arm of one sculpture directly broke off at the elbow due to the strong twisting force, falling to the ground and rolling down the hillside.

At the same time, their faces twisted, their mouths opened and closed, showing a look of agony that seemed extremely painful, but they couldn't make any sound.

[Ah—Ah!!]

[Ah—Ah… …]

This sound could not be captured by the ears, and it seemed to be transmitted into the spirit, and was captured by Lin Yi.

They still wriggled their bodies and slowly retreated, like a herd of beasts driven away by a jungle explorer holding a torch.

Mu Daxian reached out and pulled Mao Feiyang up from the ground: "My fault… Are you okay?"

"N-No problem."

Mao Feiyang looked around warily. At this time, he had accidentally rolled to the edge of the green belt. It was dusk, and the light and shadows here were mottled. Some human-shaped sculptures came over, drawn by his scent.

"The 'pollution' on your body is very deep. It's not surprising that they're staring at you."

Mu Daxian glanced at the sky and then at the green belt where the mist was surging. He decided to take Mao Feiyang back to the cobblestone road first.

"They are the… the human-shaped sculptures mentioned in the rules, right?"

Mao Feiyang asked, still in shock.

Mu Daxian nodded: "Yes, a kind of low-level pseudo-human stuck at the edge of the layer. They can't enter the campus, and they can't reach the art building. They wander in the darkness like lonely ghosts."

"They feed on 'pollution', are attracted by 'pollution', fear the light, but… yearn for the light."

"Pitiful, but not worthy of pity."

Mao Feiyang pursed his lips and asked: "Can you kill them?"

Mu Daxian said: "It's too easy, but there are too many of them. It's not worth wasting energy to deal with them."

He paused and added: "They're useless now. What we really need to pay attention to are some newly born sculptures. When we encounter newly transformed human-shaped sculptures, we need to eliminate them as soon as possible… Do you still have your student commemorative coin?"

Mao Feiyang was stunned for a moment, then reached out and touched his pocket: "It's still here."

"That's good. Let's go."

Mu Daxian nodded and reminded, "Always pay attention to your student commemorative coin. If it's lost, we'll go to the convenience store to replenish it."

"Uh, okay."

Mao Feiyang quickly followed.

On the road ahead, Mu Daxian no longer replenished the numbers on the streetlights, but simply took Mao Feiyang along the cobblestone road towards the cafeteria.

As they approached the cafeteria, there were gradually more students on the road.

Mao Feiyang curiously looked at these people. Most of them were trainee students wearing their own clothes, and a few were sports students wearing blue and white sportswear.

Soon, Mu Daxian brought him to the cafeteria area. Mao Feiyang saw the notice board in front of the cafeteria and was about to go over, but Mu Daxian stopped him.

"No need to go over there."

Mao Feiyang was stunned for a moment, then pointed to the notice board and said: "There's a notice board over there, and it seems like there are cafeteria rules…"

Mu Daxian shook his head: "That's just for the trainee students to see. Art students don't need to abide by anything other than the art department rules."

Mao Feiyang curled his lips, thinking that the art student rules stipulated going to the cafeteria once every 24 hours, but you don't seem to be following that…

"But… the rules seem to say that you can choose to abide by them."

Mao Feiyang couldn't help but say.

Mu Daxian said: "You can abide by them, but there's no need to. Theoretically, you can know all the rules in the campus, but the problem is, if you encounter an emergency and you choose a method that doesn't belong to you because you know too much, it will be fatal."

"But if you only know the methods that belong to you, then you won't make mistakes, understand?"

Mao Feiyang pursed his lips: "That's right… Hey, wait, aren't you going through the student passage?"

"We are art students, we take the other passage."

Mu Daxian called out in front, "Let's go, we'll go back after eating. During this time, try not to leave the art classroom except for meals."

The other passage and the student passage weren't much different. It was just a staircase going up. If he had to say something, Lin Yi saw some doors in the other passage, but Mao Feiyang didn't ask, so he couldn't get any more information.

As he walked, he saw several sports students taking off their coats while walking and then putting them on inside out. This made them look no different from ordinary coats.

"Yo, Daxian? Rare to see you coming to eat?"

A sports student saw Mu Daxian and greeted him head-on. His tone seemed very familiar.

Lin Yi took a look and thought, oh ho, what a small world. Isn't that Old Du, who was barbecuing with Tian Bufan?

"San Shi, you kid is still alive."

Mu Daxian joked unceremoniously.

"Damn, don't say such unlucky things!"

Old Du spat, "If anyone's going to die, it'll be you first. What, bringing your little brother to eat?"

Old Du glanced at Mao Feiyang.

"Eating, together?"

Mu Daxian said.

"Get lost, you want to fleece me again?"

Old Du waved his hand, quickening his pace up the steps, "See you later, Daxian, come to the gymnasium to play when you have time! I'll treat you to swimming!"

"Looking for a beating, aren't you?"

As soon as he heard about the gymnasium, Mu Daxian became annoyed.

It wasn't until Old Du walked away that Mao Feiyang stroked his arm: "Was that a sports student just now?"

For some reason, when Old Du looked at him, he had a feeling of facing a ferocious beast, as if he would be knocked down by Old Du at any moment.

"Du Lei, familiar people call him Old Du or San Shi, he can be considered my old comrade-in-arms."

Mu Daxian introduced, "In this kind of battle where you can lose your life at any time, it's quite rare to have a friend you can chat with."

"I see…"

Mao Feiyang opened his mouth, "I see a lot of people in the classroom…"

"There are many people, but very few can keep living."

Mu Daxian said, "San Shi has already survived 5 battles… many people can only last 3 times at most."

"Battles? What are those?"

Mao Feiyang couldn't help but ask.

Mu Daxian said: "Every once in a while, some dirty things will crawl out of the sea, trying to occupy the art building and the campus… The night watchmen will observe the fluctuations of the sea and ring the bell of Doomsday in advance to issue a warning."

"From the day the bell rings, it lasts from three days to seven days, which is called 'Doomsday'. During this period, it is assumed that the battle has begun, and the entire school is on alert, which is why I made an exception to bring you to the campus."

"Ah?"

Mao Feiyang still didn't understand the battle and became even more confused when he heard this, "The battle has begun, and we're still coming to eat?"

"That's why we're coming to eat after it has begun."

Mu Daxian said, "It's just started now, you still have a chance to eat something good. Once the battle starts, it won't be so easy to go back and forth smoothly."

"Oh…"

Mao Feiyang nodded, seemingly understanding.

Lin Yi got anxious when he heard this. Big brother, you've already started in hell mode, what are you 'oh'-ing about? Quickly ask what this battle is all about, get more information out, don't just keep saying 'oh, oh, oh' all the time, damn it!

Mao Feiyang followed Mu Daxian a few steps, and then belatedly said: "Um… can you explain the battle in detail?"

Mu Daxian glanced at him: "Knowledge is a curse. The more you know, the more you can't help yourself. If I tell you that once you know more things, you must stay in the art building with me to participate in the battle, are you still sure you want to know?"

"Uh… never mind then."

Mao Feiyang shook his head repeatedly. He didn't want to be involved in any battles.

The environment on the art building side was already outrageous enough. Even the virtual images were very intimidating. Now, if another battle is revealed, it sounds more and more wrong. He thought about it and decided to forget it.

"Can you… say a little bit about the superficial stuff?"

But he was a little itchy and wanted to know, like a scumbag wanting to rub without going in.

How could Mu Daxian not know Mao Feiyang's thoughts? Originally, he was too lazy to care about Mao Feiyang, but he couldn't stand the fact that Mao Feiyang could absorb five people's worth of white powder particles.

Don't look at him like a little black skinny monkey. With a little training, he will definitely become a fierce general under the art department in the future. If he can survive a few more battles, he can basically be independent like him.

At this time, Mu Daxian had walked out of the other passage and arrived at the entrance of the student cafeteria. He lifted the plastic curtain and motioned for Mao Feiyang to go in first: "Let's talk while we eat."

After Mao Feiyang went in, Mu Daxian walked in.

Entering the student cafeteria from the other passage gives a different feeling. From Lin Yi's perspective, the entire student cafeteria seems to have turned gray. Although the incandescent lights are on, the light is a bit gloomy and there is no warm atmosphere at all.

People come and go in the student cafeteria, but from a gray perspective, there is always a sense of being thrown into an old TV.

Only two colors seem particularly bright here—blue and green.

The blue of the blue-aproned chef was frighteningly bright here, almost dazzling.

Mao Feiyang couldn't help but squint, as if the blue apron was even more intimidating to him.

Lin Yi suddenly understood why the sports students had to wear their clothes inside out before entering the cafeteria, because even here, they didn't want to attract attention.

Mu Daxian was enveloped in a deep, almost black, dark green, while Mao Feiyang's body uncontrollably emitted a faint green gas, as if he was smoking.

In addition, some people also faintly exuded a green mist.

"I... why am I smoking?" Mao Feiyang was frightened by himself and looked at himself in a panic. When he looked at Mu Daxian again, he was even more shocked, "Damn, you're smoking too, no, you look like you're surrounded by green flames!"

"Don't make a fuss," Mu Daxian waved his hand. "These things have always existed, but entering from here adds a layer of filter, enhancing some of your 'perception,' so you can see more clearly."

The newest novels are first published on 69shu ba!

As Mu Daxian spoke, he led Mao Feiyang towards the food counter: "Everything on campus is contaminated, the only difference is the amount of contamination."

"'Artistic cells' are not an adjective for us, but a unit of measurement. As art students, we can strengthen our senses of the outside world through a meditation-like method, thereby 'perceiving' the 'contamination' of things."

"This thing is very mysterious. Throughout history, different explorers around the world have given it different names..."

"In ancient China, it was called 'Qi', in ancient India it was called 'Chakra', and in Europe it was called 'Magic'... People in different places have different names for it, but now we collectively call it 'Extraordinary Power'—a power that 'transcends what ordinary people can control,' a power that carries 'extraordinary characteristics'."

"'Qi'?" Mao Feiyang's mouth twitched fiercely. "Didn't things seem fine? Why is it suddenly becoming fantasy-like?"

Mu Daxian glanced at him: "Fantasy? That's just an 'definition' that the ancients tried to give to the power they didn't understand, just like..."

"You haven't encountered that kind of thing yet. When you do, you can make a comparison," he paused. "Just like if you told the ancients that thousands of years later, people could travel in the sky on huge iron birds, traveling to the North Sea in the morning and Cangwu in the evening... the ancients would also find it very fantastical."

"People of any era are used to using an understandable explanation to summarize something that cannot be explained with existing knowledge, so there was the initial 'naming method'."

"In short, whether it's 'Qi' or 'Chakra', these are just 'definitions', and now, our definition for it is 'Extraordinary Power'."

"Now that I've explained it this way, is it easier to understand?"

Mao Feiyang opened his mouth and reluctantly nodded: "It's a little easier to understand..."

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes. When he heard Mu Daxian say "just like," his first reaction was "just like a conceptual sculpture," incomprehensible, but the brain gave a definition first in order to forcibly understand it.

A conceptual sculpture is a quantum state object containing extraordinary characteristics.

Mu Daxian nodded: "It's good that you can understand a little."

"People in every era have tried to master this kind of power, but no one has ever been completely successful."

"Some people, by chance, reached a unity with the extraordinary power, gained extraordinary characteristics, and were able to further describe and depict it, slowly becoming tribal leaders, or tribal priests, wizards, and other roles..."

"However, those who play with fire will be burned, those who peer into the abyss will eventually be devoured by the abyss, and those who chase the light through the fog will eventually become phantoms... Trying to master power that does not belong to humans will ultimately result in being assimilated by the power..."

"We art students... are actually people walking on this path of no return."

After going around in a circle, Mu Daxian returned to the main topic, causing Mao Feiyang's heart to skip a beat, and also making Lin Yi's eyes light up, quickly perking up his ears.

"This path... has many stages, and each stage has a signpost. Once you pass a signpost, it's very difficult to retreat."

"You now belong to the kind of people who have passed the entrance and are heading towards the next signpost, and the 'Art Student Code' is to help you avoid the things you encounter on this road."

"Retreat, retreat?" Mao Feiyang was shocked.

Lin Yi was also shocked. He didn't expect that Mu Daxian, who seemed to be guiding Mao Feiyang onto the path of an art student, would actually take the initiative to talk about this aspect.

Could it be that Mu Daxian is so noble, and I've judged a gentleman's heart with the mind of a petty person? Lin Yi couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Mu Daxian glanced at Mao Feiyang and said earnestly: "The things I'm telling you now are like the cover and back of a book. Once you want to open the package and open the book to see the contents inside, then you have to pay for it."

"Before you pay, it's fine no matter how you look at it. As long as you put it back on the shelf, no one will force you to pay."

"Can you understand what I mean?"

Mao Feiyang narrowed his eyes, pensive: "So... can I understand that what you're saying is trying to sell this book to me, to get me to actively buy this book?"

Mu Daxian smiled: "I'm just trying to show you as much as possible those... things that can be shown, whether or not you buy it is up to you."

"But if you want to buy it but don't want to pay, you'll become a fake art student."

"And if you're not qualified to buy it but forcibly want to buy it... those humanoid sculptures you see are examples."

"So, choosing is a very important thing. Once you've chosen something, don't try to do those fancy other things. There's no perfect solution in the world, you have to give up something to gain something."

Mao Feiyang still wanted to say something, but Mu Daxian patted him on the shoulder: "It's our turn, order first. Art students don't have any taboos, eat whatever you want, but it's best not to eat foods containing tomato elements."

As Mu Daxian spoke, he casually ordered a large meat dish, a small meat dish, a vegetarian dish, and a soup, and then directly walked away with his tray, skipping the stage of swiping the card to pay.

Mao Feiyang's mind was entirely on what Mu Daxian said, so he directly said to the cafeteria aunt, "Same as him," and then walked away with his tray.

After randomly finding an empty seat to sit down, Mao Feiyang ate while looking at the students in the cafeteria, looking at this one, looking at that one, his attention constantly moving on the colored mist, as if he was very interested.

"These colors have different shades, is it because the degree of pollution is different?" Mao Feiyang asked.

Mu Daxian stuffed his mouth with rice, and upon hearing this, he said: "That's roughly the meaning, but it's not distinguished like that."

"There's knowledge here too?" Mao Feiyang asked curiously.

Mu Daxian smiled and said: "There are many places with knowledge!"

Mao Feiyang hesitated for a moment: "Then... is this the knowledge on the book cover?"

Mu Daxian was stunned for a moment, then smiled wryly: "You little brat has these little thoughts now, how were you polluted when you first entered the school?"

Mao Feiyang shook his head: "I'm not sure about that... so how is it specifically divided?"

"If you want to know how to distinguish, you must first understand what 'pollution' is all about."

"How do you say that?" Mao Feiyang's eyes lit up.

Mu Daxian ate while saying: "First of all, don't default 'extraordinary power' to be a good thing just because of the words 'extraordinary'. Let's put it this way... this thing sounds good as 'extraordinary power,' but to put it bluntly, it can be regarded as 'nuclear radiation'."

"Because it doesn't have any good effects, it's called 'pollution'."

Mao Feiyang was thoughtful: "So you're saying that the so-called 'pollution' actually refers to 'the pollution of extraordinary power'?"

"That's right," Mu Daxian nodded, "The only difference is that pollution varies from person to person. If you can withstand the pollution and maintain the pollution you receive within a certain range, you can have some 'extraordinary characteristics'."

"I just said that since ancient times, people have tried to master extraordinary power. Although throughout the long river of history, no one has been able to completely master extraordinary power, there are many people who have mastered the tip of the iceberg of extraordinary power."

"Those are just some tribal chiefs, priests, and whatnot?" Mao Feiyang said.

"That's just a part," Mu Daxian scooped a mouthful of rice, tapped the table, "Don't just listen, eat! Can't you say whatever you want to say later?"

Mao Feiyang quickly buried his head in eating.

Mu Daxian finished eating quickly, then continued: "Based on each person's different inspiration and talent, the direction of talent shown after obtaining extraordinary power will also be different..."

"If you have a good brain, you can take the 'art' route."

"Van Gogh was a natural art student. His paintings showed his strong and keen perception of color and was one of the most outstanding students in the school's history."

"There's also Da Vinci. Putting aside his painting skills, his understanding of architecture and sculpture also led the era by several versions, and he was also one of the most outstanding students in the school's history."

Mao Feiyang looked at Mu Daxian's serious appearance and quickly interrupted the spellcasting: "Wait, wait... are the Van Gogh and Da Vinci you're talking about the two people I know?"

Adding 2000 words for the alliance leader "Lin Skylark", still owing 800 words!!

The debt will be paid off tomorrow, hahahaha~~~

Thanks to book friend "Jiangpan Heren Zai Smoking" for the reward!!

PS: I almost forgot, today is the last day of double monthly tickets in May, asking for a wave of monthly tickets~~~