Rules-related weird stories: 4016

Moreover, water evaporates when exposed to sunlight, right?

And at night, it can absorb moisture to regain vitality.

Besides, the manifestation of pollution in the campus is fog, and fog itself is a part of water!

Also, the initial descent of abnormal weather isn't that scary. It's when rainfall starts that abnormal weather truly becomes terrifying.

So, that kind of "rain" is an even stronger pollutant?

Everything seems to add up!

The Nightwalkers actually have "water" properties!

Indeed, Jia Baoyu was right, things made of water are all dangerously messed up!

Lin Yi blurted out all his conjectures in one breath. Tian Bufan smiled after listening, "You've thought so much just from the formation of the mutated sculptures? However, conjectures are just conjectures, don't jump to conclusions so easily..."

"As for the concept of Nightwalker 'Super,' I find it very interesting, but I don't feel like the source of pollution in the campus is an aggregate of Nightwalkers at that level. Unless they can truly undergo a qualitative change from quantitative change, otherwise, no matter how many ants there are, gathering together just creates a large ant colony."

"Imagine, an elevator car filled with Nightwalkers is already quite a lot, right? What about an entire campus filled with Nightwalkers? Although there are many, no matter how many there are, they still die when exposed to sunlight."

"Things that can't stand the sun, their life form is too low-level... I even think that, if we're talking about the source of pollution, that concept-level sculpture is more qualified."

"Concept-level sculpture..." Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded, "That's true. Getting back to the point, you dragged a few sports students to carry mirrors to shine on the Nightwalkers, trying to drive them out of the elevator?"

Tian Bufan sneered, "I originally thought I could drive them out of the elevator, but interestingly, they kept shrinking back into the elevator."

"Probably thinking that the outermost layer of Nightwalkers, after being dried by the sun, could become a protective film."

"I had to shatter their naive idea, so I asked a helpful senior from the sports students to use a baseball bat to smash that part whenever the surface Nightwalkers were dried, re-exposing the Nightwalkers' fresh bodies..."

"Finally, we killed all the Nightwalkers in an entire elevator car, and I successfully entered the elevator."

"What's it like inside the elevator?" Lin Yi asked curiously.

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed when I say it," Tian Bufan shook his head slightly, "The interior of the teaching building elevator isn't much different from the interior of the dormitory building elevator. The only difference is the button panel."

"The floor panel of the teaching building elevator shows that the teaching building has a total of 8 floors, and above the 8th floor, there is also a '↑' button covered by a red glass cover, with an '×' marked on the glass cover, just like the button panel in the dormitory building elevator."

"Entering the elevator is actually safe, as long as you don't press the floor button, the elevator won't operate, or if you step on the edge of the elevator, the door won't close. I have enough time to observe the situation inside the elevator."

"I think the reason why the student rules prohibit trainees from taking the elevator is partly because they are worried that the floor buttons and the number of floors written on the rules are different. This contradictory phenomenon can easily cause cognitive conflict among the trainees, thus making them doubt the rules..."

"You should know that once you start doubting the rules, it's no different from seeking your own destruction."

"Another reason is that when an ordinary trainee presses the elevator button, the door opens, exposing an entire elevator of rotten flesh-like Nightwalkers, it's easy to cause a mental breakdown right away, right?"

If their sanity points instantly drop to zero, it's no different from dying on the spot.

Lin Yi was slightly silent. He had imagined many environments inside the teaching building elevator, and even more outrageous scenes, but he didn't expect the teaching building elevator to be so reasonable and unexpected.

"That also means... the teaching building elevator and the dormitory building elevator are the same kind of elevator, so they have the function of going back and forth to the art building, and even their operating principles may be the same."

"However, the teaching building elevator seems to only be usable during abnormal weather..."

Tian Bufan speculated, "If the reason why the teaching building elevator is prohibited from being used is due to the two points I mentioned, it means that as long as we have sufficient understanding, we can also freely use the elevator, but the premise is that we only use the 1st to 4th floors in the elevator. And during abnormal weather, once the layers start to stretch, we can reach the 5th to 8th floors through the elevator."

"Of course, this is just my guess. In principle, I don't recommend any of us to try... because so far we still can't know more information related to the elevator, and it's also hard to say whether the 1st to 4th floors reached by the elevator are still the 1st to 4th floors of the campus under normal layers."

Lin Yi thought for a moment, then nodded. Exploration requires a gradual approach, step by step, and the same place, if enough intelligence and knowledge are grasped before entering, the risk factor will be greatly reduced.

"In addition to that, the transformation direction of Nightwalkers, besides becoming sculptures, can also be into non-human classmates," Tian Bufan said slowly, "Today, I had dinner with Wei Shan. After dinner, we left the cafeteria and returned to the teaching building at about 16:30."

"So early?" Lin Yi was a little surprised. At that point, he was still circling around the student restaurant looking for the location of the convenience store.

Tian Bufan said, "Because I wanted to confirm what kind of behavior the Nightwalkers inside the elevator would exhibit before the sun completely set."

"Because according to the art student rules, we can deduce that the interior of the teaching building elevator at night must be empty, so that art students can take the elevator to leave, that is to say, they will leave the elevator at an appropriate time."

"You messed with the Nightwalkers in an elevator again?"

"This time it doesn't count, just observation."

"So what did you see?"

"Wei Shan and I were squatting outside the elevator corridor. At first, we didn't find anything until I saw a non-human classmate passing by us grumbling, and then opened the elevator."

"That point in time was about 17:50, that is, when the sun completely set and the layers of the campus began to decline."

Tian Bufan described the scene at that time unhurriedly. A non-human classmate opened the elevator, and the rotten flesh-like Nightwalkers began to squirm out of the elevator, and then began to twist and separate from each other, turning into independent, putty-like humanoid substances.

"Some of them still retain the shapeless appearance of rotten flesh, while others begin to shape, turning into something with a human form, and after 18:00, accompanied by the opening of the floor lights, they become 'non-human classmates'."

Lin Yi immediately thought of the changes that occurred when the humanoid sculptures entered the light from the fog, and couldn't help but gasp, "Humanoid sculptures can also become non-human classmates!"

Tian Bufan nodded: "I saw it too. They are almost the same type of life. I got some information about this when I was chatting with the physical education students while barbecuing. I'll tell you more about it later."

"The night-walking species that cannot turn into non-human classmates slowly crawled like leeches to the outside of the teaching building stairs before 18:00, hiding in the darkness where they would not be illuminated by lights and away from the lampposts."

Lin Yi thought of the alien unit he encountered on the way back to the dormitory building, which did not have a human form but still clung to his back. It seemed that it was mostly this kind of night-walking species.

He asked: "However, why can some night-walking species turn into non-human classmates, but some can't? What is the reason for this difference? Is it related to identity anchoring?"

"You're right, only night-walking species that have anchored their identity can turn into non-human classmates," Tian Bufan said. "Or rather, as long as the night-walking species has anchored its identity, it can turn into a non-human classmate."

"After the non-human unit leaves the sculpture form, it can act like a human under the light, but its mobility is greatly affected by the intensity of the light."

"Ordinary night-walking species do not have the 'right' to enter the light at all, and can only hide in places away from the light."

"According to the information I got from the physical education students, before dawn, all non-human units need to leave the illuminated area to avoid being scorched by the sun."

"When evacuating, they will hide in the elevator nearby. Those who don't have time to hide in the elevator will escape the teaching building area and hide in the green belt."

"It is said that... the depths of the green belt is a gray world shrouded in mountain mist all year round, where even sunlight cannot penetrate."

"When daytime arrives, the non-human classmates located on the edge of the green belt will return to the form of human sculptures, while the night-walking species hiding in the elevator can still maintain their mud-like state because they are not exposed to sunlight."

"I see," Lin Yi showed a look of understanding. After knowing the difference between night-walking species, non-human classmates, and human sculptures, and seeing the scene of the human sculpture transforming into a non-human classmate with his own eyes, many details were immediately understood.

"By the way, did you ask how the night-walking species came about?" Lin Yi asked. He actually wanted to ask Xu Shunkang, but Xu Shunkang and the others were vague and only talked about the concept of night-walking species without going into too much detail.

Tian Bufan nodded and continued: "In fact, the level of night-walking species can be divided simply by life and death. One type is converted from living people, and the other is converted from dead people."

"The conversion of dead people is easy to understand, like that little genius."

"After a person is killed and contaminated, the body is transformed and mutated, and converted into the form of white powder particles, reborn in another form. However, this type of night-walking species does not have much thought, only a kind of almost pure instinct, and a strong desire for 'identity'."

"There is a type of non-human classmate in the classroom with hollow eyes and a magical smile on their lips. This type is the non-human classmate converted from the dead."

"They will gradually lose the ability to maintain their human appearance and turn into a humanoid, soft, clay-like substance... But if they can obtain an identity anchor, they can maintain their human form."

"I prefer to call them 'dead non-human classmates'. They have no possibility of transforming back. The only ending is to be killed by the physical education students, or to be cleaned up by the security guards when wandering around the campus."

"The conversion of living people is also easy to understand, but the concept is a bit more complicated. An example would be someone like Li Huiyuan."

"Experience students lose their student ID for various reasons. After losing their identity anchor, they will be affected by various strange phenomena in the campus, and they will also have various problems such as self-doubt due to fluctuations in the layers, which will lead to instability in their own state. They will absorb the pollution in the white powder particles and transform into night-walking species."

"When they complete the transformation, their form is almost a human sculpture. If the pollution intensifies, they will also degenerate into night-walking species."

"But this does not mean that experience students will become night-walking species after losing their student ID. Although there is a feeling of different paths leading to the same goal, there are essentially some subtle differences."

"Night-walking species converted from living people... are more intelligent, while night-walking species converted from dead people only have instinct."

"There is a type of non-human classmate in the classroom that is more gloomy and will look at people. They are this type of person. I call them 'non-human classmates who have not died yet'."

"They haven't died yet, but they are already on the road to death, and the chance of being transformed back is very slim."

"So even night-walking species have differences, just like using dead fish to make soup and using live fish to kill and cook, it looks the same, but it tastes obviously different." Lin Yi suddenly thought of this analogy, "Emmmm... Is it the difference in the 'freshness of the ingredients themselves'?"

"Yes." Tian Bufan was a little surprised by Lin Yi's Maniac Diary-like analogy. After a pause, he continued, "Moreover, according to the description of the physical education students, human sculptures converted from living people have a chance to be converted back."

"Oh?" Lin Yi's eyes lit up, "How so?"

"Just find your student ID in time," Tian Bufan said. "It looks simple, but it's not simple at all, right?"

Lin Yi was silent for a moment.

It sounds really damn simple, lost and found!

However, once it is lost, it will basically be eaten directly by night-walking species, human sculptures, and green-aproned chefs. How to get it back? Cut open your stomach and intestines?

Moreover, what needs to be considered in doing so is not whether it is possible, but whether it is possible. The student ID has been snatched, and you still go to find them. Do you want to be a repeat customer and add another dish for them?

Unrealistic.

If it were Wei Shan, he might be able to violently tear open the mouth of the non-human classmate, but for most people, it is not practical at all.

Tian Bufan continued: "However, whether it is a night-walking species converted from a living person or a dead person, they all have the ability to absorb white powder particles to replenish their broken bodies."

"Even if they become human sculptures, as long as they are not smashed to pieces, they can be repaired, but because of this, I said that even 'non-human classmates who have not died yet' have little chance of being transformed back. The more pollution they absorb, the more there is no place to vent it. What do you say the final outcome will be?"

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Lin Yi frowned and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Listening to your words, I immediately thought of us... Maozi is constantly absorbing pollution and distributing it to us. Sooner or later, we will also become non-human classmates, right?"

Tian Bufan was silent. Suddenly, only the sound of the pendulum clock remained in the 1414 dormitory.

About ten seconds later, Tian Bufan spoke: "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we leave S University before we are transformed, or... find a way to use pollution."

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes: "You want to become a physical education student or... an art student? But that would require giving up the existing identity anchor."

“That's why we need to find a way to revert them…” Tian Bufan corrected, “Moreover, I suspect that there is a very strict rule for the path from experience student to sports student or art student — 'No overnight stays'.”

“Experience students who accidentally use someone else's student ID need to register with the class teacher before staying overnight; experience students who lose their student ID also need to report to the class teacher before staying overnight…”

“There is a subtle connection between the 'identity anchor' and the sensitive time point of 'overnight'.”

“I think if a person who has lost their student ID cannot enter one of the paths before staying overnight, they will become a non-human classmate.”

“Your class teacher keeping Li Huiyuan behind is definitely helping her embark on one of those paths, and it is very likely to be the sports student path.”

But after the two of them talked to this point, they basically analyzed two clear conversion paths.

The first is:

“Experience Student” — (Killed) — (Continuously Absorbing Pollution) — “Night Walker” — (Gaining Identity Anchor) — “Non-Human Classmate”.

The second is:

“Experience Student” — (Losing Student ID) — (Continuously Absorbing Pollution, Staying Overnight) — “Non-Human Classmate” —

[1, (Continuously Absorbing Pollution) — “Night Walker”]

[2, (Recovering Student ID) — “Experience Student”]

Of course, there is also a third path: “Experience Student” — (Losing Student ID) —

[1, (???) — “Art Student”]

[2, (???) — “Sports Student”]

The question marks on both sides each represent their unique conditions.

But the third path is unclear and can only be explored in the future.

Regardless of whether it is a Night Walker or a Non-Human Classmate on any of the previous paths, they will lose their pollution and turn into a humanoid sculpture after being exposed to sunlight, and will turn back into a Night Walker or Non-Human Classmate after re-absorbing pollution.

So another key factor that determines whether or not they can be converted back is whether the entity was alive or dead before the transformation began. If they were alive, something can be done, but if they were dead, then even a god can't save them.

Lin Yi seemed thoughtful: “In that case… these pieces of information, plus the origin of the Night Walkers, the real reason why the Little Genius sculpture appeared in the green belt has been found.”

After Little Genius was killed, his body was dragged into the green belt by a Non-Human Classmate who had escaped from the teaching building. After receiving a night of pollution infusion, he was exposed to sunlight the next day and turned into a fragmented humanoid sculpture.

Then that day was cloudy, and he had encountered clouds passing across the sky when he returned to the teaching building. Little Genius's 'fragmented humanoid sculpture' should have also encountered this situation, and then, coupled with the fact that a large amount of pollution was gathering in the green belt, it absorbed a large amount of white powdery particles, gradually completing its body, and then embarked on the path to the non-existent ocean, and in the afternoon, he happened to be encountered by him when he fell into the layer!

Closed loop!

Perfect closed loop!

“Knowing this now doesn't have much special significance.” Tian Bufan shook his head slightly. After understanding the conversion paths between Night Walkers and Non-Human entities, many problems can be effectively avoided. Even if someone like Little Genius becomes a humanoid sculpture and returns, they won't be afraid.

“Speaking of which, I didn't expect a sports student to tell you so much?” Lin Yi's expression was a little strange, with some ambiguous meaning, “Could it be that you discovered it yourself and then pushed it onto a non-existent sports student?”

Tian Bufan smiled: “It's a bit of both. They are tight-lipped when it comes to matters of principle, but this kind of thing can still be talked about.”

Lin Yi didn't waste any more time on this question. Anyway, if he asked, it was what the sports student said. If he asked again, it was Tian Bufan who slowly 'decompressed' more information based on the passage of time and the deepening of his understanding.

“By the way, I found that Night Walkers not only exist in the elevator shaft, but also in places in the teaching building that are not directly exposed to light, and also in the toilets… I encountered Night Walkers disguised as Liangzi and Li Huiyuan in the toilets. They seem to be more intelligent than ordinary Night Walkers.”

“That's normal. The Night Walkers squeeze in wherever they can. The Night Walkers who don't have time to squeeze into the elevator will escape to the corners of the building.” Tian Bufan said slowly, “And those in the toilets are very likely to be Night Walkers transformed from 'Non-Human Classmates who haven't died yet' after their pollution has deepened.”

Since they were talking about conversion paths, Lin Yi couldn't help but think of the incident where the humanoid sculptures disguised as Nie Yun and Ge Qing tried to attack them.

But what impressed him the most about this incident was not the attack itself, but the other party's strange wall-facing posture.

“Not only Ge Qing and Nie Yun in the form of Non-Human Classmates, but the Zhou Yuting I saw later in the form of Non-Human Classmates also seemed to be facing the wall, as if licking the paint number…” Lin Yi tried hard to recall the details, “And I don't know if it's my illusion, but I always feel that the streetlights today seem to be dimmer than usual, and even the paint numbers have faded a lot.”

“I don't know if it's affected by the fog, or… licked off by the Non-Human Classmates.”

Tian Bufan then said, “Since you've proposed a guess, then let's substitute it in and see.”

“If the dimming of the streetlights is caused by fog, then we should have encountered this problem on the day we entered the school and yesterday. But obviously, when the abnormal weather starts to intensify, the lighting range of the streetlights will indeed be suppressed, but the light has not been affected.”

“So, the dimming of the streetlights is very likely really related to the Non-Human Classmates.”

“Considering the 'emergency response plan' given by the class teacher, I strongly suspect that this may be a full-scale invasion of the campus by Non-Human entities under the guidance of some strong source of pollution.”

“For example… an invasion driven by that conceptual sculpture!”

“Moreover, Lao Lin, you seem to have forgotten a very crucial thing.”

Lin Yi asked in confusion, “What thing?”

Tian Bufan narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice, and said in a deep voice, “Judging from the situation on the first night, there were figures of that conceptual sculpture outside the C-building classes where I was and the B-building classes where you were, Lao Lin, what do you think this means?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi's pupils instantly contracted in his dark eyes: “Are you saying… that conceptual sculpture is not a unique individual?”

When he said this, Lin Yi only felt a chill running down his spine, as if a cold air was swirling around his body.

An additional 2300 words for the alliance leader “山海隔九州”, still owing 5700 words!!

Thank you to book friend “usjdnshhs” for the reward!!

PS: When you see that I have included the hundreds of words that I usually add casually into the additional word count, you know that I probably won't be able to handle it this Wednesday, sob sob sob, a tough guy sheds tears…