Rules-related weird stories: 4016

“Uh… well, since you've put it that way, the truth is, I did sign it.” Lin Yi blurted out, not caring. He'd just muddle through for now.

Doesn't that mean that Li Huiyuan, Pan Jian, Zhou Yuting, and those people all know something?

And they still dare to laugh and joke?

Wait…

Tian Gongzi and them know too?

No, am I the only one who doesn't know?!

“Hiss—”

He sucked in a cold breath, suddenly realizing that the blue bus was the node in his memory from this period. He couldn't remember anything before that. Could the confidentiality agreement be so outrageous that it forcibly induced amnesia after signing?

But… that doesn't seem right. It seems like he's the only one being kept in the dark.

He couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, suddenly feeling that the more he knew, the more he didn't know.

The female dorm manager gently stroked the bookshelf in the historical academic literature section, and suddenly sighed faintly: "'Historical academic literature'… it's not because they are 'historical' books, but because they are 'history books,' some books that exist in 'obsolete history'…"

“You should know that since then, some books have been abandoned. In order to quickly adapt to the 'new era,' the number of history books printed has been greatly reduced, and professional basic books have become widely circulated… Between survival and death, this kind of spiritual food and human geography are not so important, especially human geography.”

“Heh heh… humanities, geography…”

She shook her head with a wry smile: “Do you know, I was only a few years old in X999. When I was a child, I wanted to go to the Arctic to see it, but after the disaster, the Arctic has completely become a forbidden zone…”

“A corner of a legendary outpost appeared in the Arctic Circle, and then that area was put under control…”

The female dorm manager sighed and said nothing more.

Lin Yi was silent for a moment, then asked doubtfully:

“Then since you know everything, why did you apply to enter the campus?”

Lin Yi found that his desire to explore the library had suddenly decreased a bit. Some of the secrets of this female dorm manager seemed more worthy of exploration.

He glanced at his watch.

4:33.

If the female dorm manager didn't mind him being annoying, he could chat with her for a few minutes.

The female dorm manager curled her lips: “Didn’t I say it before? Isn’t it all for the money! I requested to apply for Master Ma Xiu’s 'On the Inspiration of Astral Secret Patterns on the Barren Present World' academic research course! Is your memory that bad?”

“Uh… but isn’t it not worth risking your life for 30,000 yuan?” Lin Yi said softly.

“Damn…” The female dorm manager cursed, “Everyone who comes here doesn’t think they’re going to die, okay? Boldness comes from skill, who knew it would be more bizarre here than the rumors outside! If I had known this would happen, I would have definitely asked for more money!”

“Uh… you also said in the elevator that you wouldn’t have come if you had known…” Lin Yi reminded her.

The female dorm manager rolled her eyes: “I was just saying that casually. In the current environment, it’s too difficult to earn money… With this opportunity, naturally everyone wants to earn some money. So many people apply for the experience quota at S City University, but they can’t get it! If I hadn’t asked someone to say a few good words for me, I wouldn’t have been able to come!”

Lin Yi suddenly said in a dog-like and cheap manner: “You… used connections to come in to find death? With that ability, why would you worry about not having 30,000?”

“Get lost! Do you believe I’ll hit you!” The female dorm manager corrected him helplessly, “I just happened to say that my major was more relevant, so I asked the teacher to help me say a few words, it’s not that kind of money relationship…”

“Okay, okay…” Lin Yi muttered, “Sure enough, people are either troubled by love or troubled by money, or both. You keep reading, I’ll go look around.”

“Don’t peek at me!” The female dorm manager said suspiciously.

“Damn, do you really think I’m stalking you?” Lin Yi was speechless.

“I might not believe it if it were someone else, but you…” The female dorm manager looked Lin Yi up and down, “I wouldn’t doubt anything you, you perverted exhibitionist, would do.”

《Perverted Exhibitionist》

「Damn, it’s not like I want to be like this!」 Lin Yi was too lazy to explain, waved his hand, and walked towards the Oneirology section.

You can't tell how many books are in a section just from the counter area. After all, the starting point of a section may only have one or two rows of bookshelves, but the further you go, the more bookshelves there are.

He didn't intend to browse and study anything, he was just interested in Oneirology, so he planned to take a casual look.

Entering the Oneirology section, he felt a faint sense of restlessness in his heart, as if a desire to explore had begun to grow in his heart.

「No wonder they say the library has a scholarly atmosphere, I can't help but want to read as soon as I come in.」 Lin Yi clicked his tongue.

His eyes swept across the bookshelves, curiously looking at one book after another.

《Secret Realm of Dreams》…

《The Book of Dream Interpretation》…

《The Fusion of Art and Dreams》…

《Dream Divination: The Dream Art of Predicting the Future》…

《Dream Boundary: The Cycle of Life and Death》…

Every book looked extremely mysterious. Just looking at the title made him feel like they were some kind of deceitful thing, but in this place, this kind of mysterious… ah no, this kind of occult thing, seemed to be the mainstream.

「How about… getting one to read?」 This idea quickly sprouted in Lin Yi's mind.

The library rules encourage people to come in and browse around, so reading a book shouldn't be a problem, right?

So he reached out and took down a copy of "Dream Boundary: The Cycle of Life and Death" from the bookshelf, but just as he took the book down, he suddenly found that a person had suddenly appeared in the empty space where the book had been removed.

That person was staring at him with wide eyes, separated from him by only a bookshelf.

Seeing Lin Yi, that person's head tilted slightly, and a somewhat sinister smile appeared in the gap of the bookshelf.

Lin Yi was taken aback, and almost summoned the baseball bat with a trembling hand, and then inserted it into the guy's mouth through the bookshelf.

But he still thought of that rule in the "Library Rules":

【When you meet other people, please note:

Ignore the eyes of others;

Do not talk to strangers, not even the librarian;

You can believe the librarian's words, but do not accept any requests from him.】

So he silently moved a few steps away, intending to avoid this guy, but that guy seemed to be sticking to the bookshelf and moving with him.

If he didn't move, that guy on the other side didn't move either. As soon as he moved, that guy also moved.

He narrowed his eyes and decided to ignore it. If he had to, his baseball bat was not to be trifled with.

No matter what that guy was, the most that would happen after killing him was that he would eat some pollution and accelerate the process of being polluted… What did he have to panic about? After all, his current pollution threshold might have exceeded that of ordinary Nightwalkers.

Okay, no need for "might," it was 100% exceeded…

Polluters have one thing in common: low-pollution ones chase high-pollution ones, and high-pollution ones like to devour ones with high pollution purity.

He possessed both qualities, deep corruption and high purity. To some extent, even Nightstalkers would respectfully address him as "Great Mist-Shrouded Light-Chaser." Of course, to another extent, he might also be the prime sustenance the Angel Statue most desired to devour.

A walking Tang Sanzang, who wouldn't be tempted? It's reasonable to be targeted.

Lin Yi chuckled self-deprecatingly. He was now a sought-after delicacy wherever he went—yes, in the literal sense.

He opened "Dreamland Boundary: The Cycle of Life and Death" and began to read...

Latest Novel at 69shu Ba!

Foreword:

"The boundary of dreams is the boundary of the world, vague and mysterious..."

"I have traversed layers of mist, attempting to decipher the meaning behind the symbols hidden in dreams, to understand why some dreams are like dark abysses, leaving me with lingering fear even upon waking..."

"This book records not only research on dreams but also my exploration of the deepest, most hidden corners of the mind and the world's boundaries during dream-building. I hope every reader who opens this book can find resonance with their own dreams and embark with me on this journey into the fantastical and mysterious Dreamland Boundary..."

"—Dream Architect - HX - S-023"

Seeing the signature at the end, Lin Yi was immediately startled.

"Dream Architect designation! This was actually written by a Dream Architect?!"

Instantly, the professionalism of this book increased by more than one level.

Unlike the old men and women in Chinese infomercials who change their appearance every time they promote a product, the author of this book doesn't need to say things like, "As everyone knows, my X family has been researching dream-building for generations," "Since my grandfather's time..." or "Now I'm going to make a decision that goes against my ancestors and record the dream-building process in a book," and so on.

The foreword of this book is simple and clear, directly signed with a designation.

What is professionalism?

This is professionalism!

Lin Yi opened the main text, and the content was indeed a description of this "Dream Architect - HX - S-023's" journey of dream-building and sensing the boundaries of dreams:

"That was the first time I reached the boundary of dreams, and also the only time I reached the boundary of dreams..."

"It happened in December of X999, near the Spring Festival. I received an order from the organization to go with the 'Moon-III' survey team to the Arctic Circle to find traces of the 'Black Moon Outpost' recorded in the 'Book of Origins'..."

"On the way to meet with the 'Moon-I' survey team, I seemed to hear a certain call. The sound echoed in the wind, traversing and spreading in the arctic storms, vague yet clear..."

"That night, after traveling and surveying along the way, I quickly fell asleep in the camp..."

"As soon as I fell asleep, I noticed an anomaly. I knew I was dreaming, this feeling of interwoven clarity and confusion was very peculiar... I knew I was about to embark on a dream-building journey..."

"Darkness surged like a tide, tightly enveloping me. I moved forward in a chaos, with no solid ground under my feet, only endless emptiness... Weak lights flickered around, like remnants of distant stars, but they couldn't illuminate the path forward..."

"My consciousness began to shout, trying to break through the fog of this dream, but my body involuntarily drifted along with that invisible gravitational pull..."

"I don't know how long I drifted, but a faint boundary line appeared in front of me, as if outlined with silver threads, emitting a mysterious attraction..."

"I approached it, and invisibly, my heart rate accelerated inexplicably, as if I was about to cross a huge taboo..."

"I felt fear, but I also felt an unprecedented desire. As I was about to peek into the taboo, I was like someone reaching out and touching a corner of the veil covering the crystal mural of the Creator. I touched it, and as long as I lifted it, I would see a completely unknown mysterious world..."

Lin Yi was captivated after reading only the opening.

He leaned against the bookshelf and sat down slowly, gently turning the pages, his eyes wandering slowly between the words.

Initially, the words were like a gentle stream, calmly outlining some vague scenes in his mind.

But as he read deeper, his thinking seemed to step into a gradually turbulent river. He felt himself being pulled by an invisible force, towards the depths of the dream, towards the boundary described by "Dream Architect - HX - S-23"...

Lin Yi continued to permeate into the world depicted in the book. He felt as if he was standing in a mist, the ground beneath his feet seemed to be there and yet not there. Every step he took felt like stepping on cotton, without a solid touch.

He knew that the dream world described in the book was beginning to come alive before his eyes. He seemed to see the earliest appearance of life, a faint but hopeful light, like the first star born in the dark universe, and he was following the trajectory of "Dream Architect - HX - S-023," stepping towards the edge of the dream.

His thoughts were so clear, just as "Dream Architect - HX - S-023" was so clear back then...

The light flickered, gradually condensing into a small embryo, beginning its journey of growth in the warm chaos. He could feel that vibrant life force, each cell division was like a life song being played, full of infinite possibilities.

But gradually, as the pages turned, shadows began to spread quietly. The surrounding mist seemed to be alive, slowly wrapping around his ankles. That cold and damp touch seemed to permeate his senses, falling on him.

Some of the mist gathered in front of him into various blurry shapes, neither human nor beast, baring their fangs and claws at him, yet silent. As soon as he approached, the mist dissipated, as if it had been brushed away.

He watched the endless cycle of life and death at the edge of the dream. He began to immerse himself, began to sink, but he seemed to sense a kind of inescapable terror and despair...

Just as this feeling began to erode his mind, he began to run and escape, following the words of "Dream Architect - HX - S-023," wanting to escape these terrifying phantoms, but his legs seemed to be bound by invisible ropes, only able to move with difficulty.

He gradually realized the despair that "Dream Architect - HX - S-023" felt, but he was powerless to break free, and could only let his consciousness follow the words of "Dream Architect - HX - S-023," sinking little by little in this chaotic land of illusion and reality...