Rules-related weird stories: 4016

He discarded distracting thoughts, preventing himself from thinking so much, and focused on listening to the Watchman's voice...

The Watchman hadn't discovered anything unusual and continued, "We can't trace who was the first person in history to absorb supernatural power, but the first person to actively use the absorbed supernatural power and gradually explore the methods of using various auras... without a doubt, it was her."

"The green aura faction of the 'Black Moon Apostle'…"

"The blue aura faction of the 'Dawn Walker'…"

"The golden aura faction of the 'Supreme Judgment'…"

"And so on..."

"She laid the foundation for the basic knowledge of various factions. She almost found all the methods, cultivating every path..."

"'Lawbinder,' 'Roadmaker,' 'Transcendent'... she had many titles, but ultimately chose 'Lawbinder.'"

Lin Yi, hearing this, thought to himself that he could really understand. Although the title Lawbinder sounded weird, it was still much better than "Roadmaker."

Who in their right mind would call themselves "Roadmaker," seriously?

"Then how did she become... a 'criminal,' imprisoned in that bedroom?"

The Watchman said, "In the beginning, the 'First Apostles' launched voyage after voyage to explore the mysteries of the 'Source,' but few Apostles participated in every voyage... only the Lawbinder."

"Continuous voyages, coupled with her own talent, made her understand the 'Source' far better than other Apostles, and she became even more obsessed with pursuing the mysteries of the Source."

"Eventually, the problem accumulated and exploded. She began to develop some mental problems. For her safety, the Apostles decided to temporarily prevent her from continuing the voyage plan... Because of this, they had huge differences and arguments."

"The final result was that the Lawbinder failed in the final vote and was left in the Outpost."

"This was nothing... but it just so happened that this voyage took a lot of time. In the initial period, it was fine, but as time increased, the Lawbinder gradually became abnormal..."

"When the Apostles returned from their voyage, they discovered very serious traces of battle inside the Outpost... That's right, the Lawbinder had been subdued and imprisoned, but before that, she had already killed the partners guarding her and divided them into pieces, burying them in various parts of the Outpost..."

"The content of that nursery rhyme is about this..."

"Later, the remaining 'Apostles' built a prison for her and imprisoned her there. That prison is in one of the places in that bedroom."

"Unfortunately, to this day, I still haven't found the location of the bedroom."

Lin Yi pondered and said, "'02,' so the item you're looking for is that 'prison'?"

The Watchman denied, "Why would I look for the prison? I'm not looking for the prison, but the item I'm looking for is theoretically in that bedroom."

"'Theoretically'?"

"Over the years, I've searched almost the entire art building. Now it seems that only that bedroom is left."

"But '02,' the little girl, no, the Lawbinder, is locked up there... Wouldn't it be like walking into a trap if we go looking for it?"

The Watchman said, "Don't worry, just the 'prison' is not enough to lock her down. The real insurance is the 'Time Exile' set for her by the 'Dream Architect'…"

"The Lawbinder is now trapped in an endless dream. Her consciousness has long sunk into the depths of the unknown layer. The hallucinations you have are largely due to the resonance of some aura she left behind when you were 'dreaming,' similar to reading something in a special way. Don't be afraid."

Lin Yi pursed his lips. He believed the Watchman's words very much, but he disagreed a little here:

"Is it just 'reading'? But I feel like she's talking to me right next to me..."

"Could it be a penetration at the layer level?"

"The 'Dream Architect' that '02' is talking about should be the founder of the 'Dreaming Path,' one of the original Apostles, right?"

Lin Yi had a strange guess: "'02,' you said... could it be because the 'Dream Architect' exiled the Lawbinder, so in these countless years, even though she has fallen into Time Exile, her consciousness has been penetrating outward through the layers, like... a gas canister thrown into the seabed. Even though it has sunk, its air holes have been leaking, and these gases have been drifting upward, shattering countless small bubbles, but they have still been absorbed by those Dreamers on the upper layer?"

"So... those Dreamers who were accidentally penetrated by the Lawbinder's aura lost their time anchors while dreaming and were more or less involved in Time Exile...?"

"Hiss..." The Watchman's side made a sound of inhaling cold air.

"Repeating-machine kid, you wouldn't be suggesting that... the culprit behind the Dreamers getting lost in their dreams is the... 'Dream Architect' himself?"

"I didn't say that, don't slander me!" Lin Yi quickly denied. It was a real injustice. He didn't say anything. He just gave a guess that came to him in a flash of inspiration.

But the Watchman was faintly silent.

And the Watchman's silence made Lin Yi's heart thump even faster.

Could it be...?

Ah, no, it couldn't be...

Could it be...?

Ah, this...

"Cough cough!!" Lin Yi quickly used his wit and thought of something when he mentioned layer penetration, so he quickly brought it out to change the subject, "That, '02'…"

"You said…"

"You just said that the establishment of the Black Moon Outpost was to prevent the pollution of the 'Source' from penetrating into the real world from here. Doesn't this mean that it is somewhere on Earth? It's just that they are connected through the penetration between layers, like, like..."

He subconsciously wanted to reach out his hands and gesture like branches intersecting each other, but in his consciousness, he couldn't make this movement.

The Watchman's topic was successfully diverted: "At first, yes, but shortly after the Black Moon Outpost was built, with the understanding of the 'Source' brought about by the voyages of the 'First Apostles,' they predicted the harm that the 'Source' would cause, so they devised a way to drag the Outpost, along with the world of this layer, into a spatial layer deeper than the real world. You can think of it as some kind of Reverse Side."

"The 'First Apostles' used this method to exile the 'Source'... Speaking of which, it can be considered 'Space Exile.'"

"In this way, even if the power of the Source invades the Reverse Side, the Black Moon Outpost will serve as the vanguard of destruction…"

"It can be said that if the world is destined to be destroyed, then the first to be destroyed must be our Black Moon Outpost."

"But, to put it another way, if the Black Moon Outpost's defenses can't resist the invasion of the gray mist, then no force in the real world is sufficient to confront, or even restrain, it."

Lin Yi heard this and his expression turned solemn.

Just then, he noticed his consciousness suddenly veering into an unknown layer, the whole process exceptionally smooth, as simple as eating and drinking...

When he came back to his senses, he found himself in the depths of a dimly lit stairwell, with a rusty iron door in front of him.

That iron door stood there alone, like a sentinel in a corner forgotten by the world, covered in rust. The reddish-brown rust patches spread like some kind of malignant disease, some dark, some light, as if the years had haphazardly daubed it with a brush of decay.

At the edge of the door, the rust had peeled away in layers, revealing the rough and uneven metal surface beneath, like a gnawed bone, exuding an aura of age and decay. The original color of the door was long unrecognizable, leaving only this mottled rust color, presenting an eerie hue in the dim candlelight.

A cold aura permeated the area around the door, the darkness almost tangible, seeping out from the cracks in the iron door. Those cracks were like narrow eyes, coldly and grimly peering out at the world.

Occasionally, a faint breeze would pass, the candlelight flickering gently, and the iron door would begin to emit a slight "creak" sound. That sound seemed particularly jarring in the silence, like the painful groan of a chronically ill person, or the low hum of some unknown creature lurking in the darkness, making people feel goosebumps and chills.

Looking inward from the iron door, there was an even deeper darkness, like a bottomless black hole, as if just one step closer would be swallowed by that endless darkness, forever sinking into this cold and eerie abyss prison...

Two pieces of iron were nailed to either side of the iron door, like Spring Festival couplets. The material seemed somewhat similar to the iron piece on the iron door in front of the clock tower stairwell, and there were also some similar carvings on it.

It's just that these carvings had long been corroded, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Intuition told him that the bedroom was behind the door.

"'02'...?" Lin Yi called out softly.

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"I'm here..." The Night Watchman's voice was very low and also carried a hint of caution.

"We seem to have arrived..."

"I know... because I've never been here before."

"What do we do next?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"I..."

"How did you get in before?"

"The last time my vision was clear, I was already in that bedroom... So what do I do now?"

"I don't know either..." the Night Watchman said, "You better not open the door without permission. Anything with the attribute of 'door' here, unless you're absolutely sure, you have to be careful..."

"You seem to be advising me to back off?"

The Night Watchman replied with dignity and composure, "We always make sure we don't cause any accidents before we take action. Try it and see if your consciousness can penetrate it. If it can't, then stop here."

The Night Watchman's sudden change of attitude surprised and puzzled Lin Yi.

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

The Night Watchman said, "Because your words just now reminded me... The Law-Weaver's will has been infiltrating the layers. I think the reason I haven't been able to find the bedroom for countless years is because of this."

"She hid the bedroom, only letting some special people in... If she wants us to go in, we will be able to go in..."

"Wouldn't that be extremely dangerous?"

The Night Watchman shook his head, "When she's already able to invade part of the present world, it means that neither you nor I are in a 'safe' state. I guess she can't penetrate out of the 'Time Exile' yet. Everything here is pre-set by the transcendent power she once left behind, like some kind of self-protection and external detection mechanism..."

"Then why would she let me in? Do I have something special?"

"Whether you're special or not, why ask me? Is there something wrong with your brain? If reason can't let you judge the accuracy of something, then try to follow your instincts... Like the last time 'Sanctuary' triggered the first wave of energy, your body didn't even have time to react. Many choices should have been intervened by your instincts, so you might as well try it now."

"Get closer to that door. If you feel danger or resistance from your subconscious... we'll leave immediately, I'll protect you."

The Night Watchman had already said so much, so Lin Yi no longer hesitated and immediately replied, "Okay."

So he moved his consciousness and slowly approached the iron door...

"Ding! Ding! Ding..."

In an instant, the figure of that thin man, constantly hammering some kind of embryonic artifact, appeared in his mind again.

After a flash, he was already in front of this iron door.

An incredible reaction occurred. Clearly, when he looked at the iron door from afar before, he still felt chills down his spine, but when he came to this iron door, his emotions were surprisingly calm, and his instincts seemed to be tamed.

He just stood there quietly in front of the iron door, letting the corroded aura invade his nostrils, like a traveler on a strange road, returning to a familiar place after countless years.

The stairwell outside the door was still the same as before. There were old water tanks piled in the corner. There was no water in the water tanks, but some dusty farm tools were inserted in them, and several old wooden boards were placed beside them.

The doormat at the door was still the same as before. The pattern was so worn that it could not be seen clearly, and the corner near the door was still a little curled up.

The wall next to the door was still the same as before. Several pieces of plaster had fallen off, revealing the rough cement wall inside. Small advertisements for unlocking and sealing balconies had been pasted on the wall, and there were still some traces of the small advertisements that had been torn off that could not be cleaned.

It seemed that opening this door meant there was family behind it.

"'Family... people'?"

"What is that...?"

Lin Yi felt a little confused. His mind was muddled, and then some pictures unconsciously appeared in his mind. When he was a child, he would rush home after school, impatiently drop his schoolbag as soon as he got home, and then flip through comic books at home, but family...

"Where is family?"

"What is family...?"