CH 26.2

After breakfast, it was almost ten o’clock.

The two headed to Teaching Building A. Because the whole school was closed for the ‘Releasing Period’, there were no students walking around campus. The only students they caught sight of were from the student union. 

There was a student union member on duty along the road from the dorms to the teaching building area. The 3-7 Monster drew in people into the Rule World by turning the concrete road into quicksand. Just like yesterday, there was a student union member standing guard here, responsible for helping other students to escape in case the 3-7 Monster were to appear.

Posted near 3-7’s haunt were two staff members of the student union. Seeing Lin Yi and Cheng Yang, one of them asked, “Where are you going?”

For the next few days, the entire school was closed. Although they didn’t directly say it was the “Release Period”, the advisors definitely would have told the student not to wander out as much as possible.

With Cheng Yang by his side, Lin Yi didn’t have to worry about communicating with strangers. There was no need for Lin Yi to speak as Cheng Yang rushed to explain, “Senior, we’re on our way to get our textbooks.” 

The student union senior looked at the time and said, “Alright, hurry up. Don’t dawdle.”

Cheng Yang nodded. “Yes, yes.”

Lin Yi and Cheng Yang quickly traversed this road. Seeing they were about to reach the Teaching Building, Cheng Yang’s expression became more and more pained. He finally couldn’t help asking, “Lin Yi Xiong, our advisor, just what is he, you think? Is he a man or a ghost?”

Lin Yi said, “As mentioned in the 2-6 Rule, there are no ghosts in school.”

Cheng Yang let out an ‘oh’. He couldn’t sleep last night and actually planned to memorize the school rules but those rules were so frightening to think about that he felt chills all over his body after reading just two or three rules.

Later, Cheng Yang felt that it was better he not read it. He was going to scare himself to death without even being targeted by these rules.

Since Lin Yi said that there are no ghosts on campus, Cheng Yang spoke up boldly, “Is stress causing the advisor to develop mental problems?”

Lin Yi didn’t deny Cheng Yang’s conjecture. What Cheng Yang said made sense. After all, this wasn’t some place that was suitable for habitation. People who could stay here year round and have no psychological problems were ones who had problems. 

Lin Yi said, “There are no ghosts in school but there are other things.”

Cheng Yang: “Like what?”

Lin Yi said, “Monsters.”

Cheng Yang’s face turned pale and he couldn’t utter a single sound. 

Lin Yi hurriedly said, “It was a blind guess. Don’t take it seriously.”

“Too late.” Cheng Yang’s face was full of pain, “A full length large-scale horror movie just ran in my mind.”

Lin Yi thought for a while and tried to comfort him, “Cheng Yang Xiong, you can look at this issue from a different angle.”

Cheng Yang: “What kind of angle?” 

Lin Yi: “You didn’t even have to spend anything to see a movie.”

Cheng Yang: “…”

At 9:50, the two arrived at classroom 101, in Teaching Building A.

The door of classroom 101 was open. Cheng Yang was about to walk in, but Lin Yi held him back. 

Just as Cheng Yang was about to say something, Lin Yi put his index finger on his lips. “Shhhhh.”

Although he didn’t know what Lin Yi was going to do, Cheng Yang obediently kept silent.

They saw the advisor in classroom 101, sitting in front of a pile of textbooks staring into the nothingness of him, looking like a humanoid sculpture in a wax museum.

Lin Yi observed for a while. Unguarded like this, at certain moments, the advisor matched the state his parents were in. 

Although his parents couldn’t speak, their dull state was very similar to the advisor’s.

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes and then knocked on the door.

The knock on the door didn’t break the advisor’s sluggishness.

Lin Yi called softly, “Teacher Jiang?” 

Even after calling him three times in a row, the advisor was still immersed in his own world.

Jtfcu Tjcu tbkifv, “Kfjmtfg Aljcu!”

Vegf fcbeut, tf kjr j qbkfg asqf qijsfg; Jtfcu Tjcu’r nblmf olcjiis mjeuta atf jaafcalbc bo atf jvnlrbg.

Ktf jvnlrbg aegcfv tlr tfjv yijcxis jcv ibbxfv ja atf akb raevfcar ja atf vbbg. Ktlr wbnfwfca mjerfv tlr mbiijg ab rilvf vbkc j ilaaif, fzqbrlcu tlr cfmx. Pa abbx j ktlif obg atf jvnlrbg ab gfjma. Lf rabbv eq. “Vaevfca Olc Tl jcv…” 

Cheng Yang said, “Teacher Jiang, I’m Cheng…” He almost bit his tongue. “Yang.”

Cheng Yang frantically pulled the corner of Lin Yi’s clothes. He whispered, “Look at his neck, look at his neck.”

Of course, Lin Yi also saw the deep strangle mark on the advisor’s neck.

Such a deep strangulation mark would have been difficult to create by human strength alone. The weight of the human body would have needed to be added as well. The answer couldn’t be more obvious. The strangulation mark was caused by hanging. 

One other thing, to cause such a strangulation mark on the throat to remain, he must have remained hanging for quite some time.

Another answer surfaced. The advisor may be suffering from psychological problems but the suicide he mentioned in the video call yesterday was an actual suicide.

Hanging would have caused the rope to compress the trachea in the neck, making it impossible to breathe, delivering insufficient oxygen supply to the brain.

Compression of carotid arteries could have led to cerebral ischemia. 

It could have caused severe damage of the nerves in the neck, causing reflexive cardiac arrest.

Due to the weight of the body, the cervical spine would have also broken.

Any of these could easily take a person’s life.

And once a person is hoisted by a rope around the neck, unless the rope breaks, it is impossible to stop death with the strength of an ordinary person. 

But looking at the strangulation mark on the advisor’s neck, so deep it was almost embedded in the bone, it proved that the rope he used to hang himself supported his weight for a prolonged period time, perhaps even long after the advisor had died.

Not only did the advisor actually attempt suicide, he must have succeeded.

Lin Yi stared at the strangulation marks on the advisor’s neck and fell silent.

Noticing that Lin Yi and Cheng Yang were staring at his neck, the advisor quickly lifted the neckline higher so that the high collar could hide the marks. 

“I’ve scared you. I’m sorry. I had an accident before.” The advisor explained and then said, “I’ve already collated the textbooks, you can just pick any one.”

Lin Yi picked out a pile at random. The advisor took out a class list, found Lin Yi and Cheng Yang’s names and put a tick after their names, indicating that the two of them had already received their textbooks.

Lin Yi thought for a while and asked, “Teacher Jiang, can I ask you about someone?”

The advisor looked at Lin Yi. To be honest, he was a little afraid of Lin Yi asking questions but nevertheless he still said, “Alright.” 

Lin Yi said, “Do you know Lin Zhen?”

The advisor gave it serious thought. He thought and thought. Scratching his head, he said, “I… I don’t remember.”

His answer was ‘I don’t remember’ and not ‘I don’t know’.

Seeing this, Lin Yi asked again, “Teacher Jiang, do you know Yuan Yuan?” 

The advisor pulled at his hair and said, “I don’t remember.”

Although Lin Yi didn’t have high expectations, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when he got this answer. “I see, thank you Teacher Jiang.”

When the advisor saw that Lin Yi was finished with his questions, he released the strands of hair he had plucked and his expression calmed down. After looking at the time, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No, nothing else.” Lin Yi said, “Goodbye, Teacher Jiang.” 

The two were about to leave when the advisor called them back, “Lin Yi, Cheng Yang.”

Cheng Yang had already been scared out of his wits by the advisor. Hearing his voice, all the books he’d been carrying tumbled to the floor.

Cheng Yang hurried to pick them up.

Lin Yi looked back at the advisor: “Teacher Jiang?” 

The advisor said, “During these next few days, better to stay and study in your dorm. Except for the cafeteria and library, try not to go anywhere else. But if you can not go, better to avoid even these places. You can go to the cafeteria to buy some food. If you see a 2-6 duty point set up by the student union, stay well away.”

Lin Yi nodded: “Understood.”

He and Cheng Yang left the classroom with the textbooks in their arms, Cheng Yang though still hadn’t recovered.

Cheng Yang’s fear was almost visible to the naked eye. Lin Yi now felt awkward taking Cheng Yang to see the 2-6 Monster. 

After all, the advisor repeatedly warned them and the student union was even setting up a special 2-6 duty point. They must really consider the 2-6 Monster to be very tricky.

Lin Yi decided to go back to the dormitory with Cheng Yang first. He’ll just sneak out later by himself.

There was only one road between the dormitory and where the teaching buildings were located. But the pathways within the teaching building area was much more complicated. Lin Yi was going to go back to the dorm using the same way they’d come since they hadn’t seen any 2-6 duty station set up on their way here.

After walking for a while, Cheng Yang finally recovered. He asked Lin Yi, “Lin Yi Xiong, who were those two people you just asked about…” 

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a few distant voices.

“F*ck! Don’t f*cking run around!”

Stop!

Lin Yi and Cheng Yang turned towards the sound and saw a boy desperately running towards them. Members of the student union were chasing after him. 

The boy shouted as he ran, “I don’t want to go…I don’t want to go…”

His survival instinct gave this boy a burst of strength. Almost in the blink of an eye, Lin Yi saw that this boy was almost upon him and Cheng Yang.

The boy bumped into Lin Yi’s shoulder and Lin Yi didn’t have time to evade him. All his books fell to the ground.

At the moment of the collision, Lin Yi heard the boy’s shouts more clearly. 

“I’m not going to 2-6, I’m not going to 2-6,” he said.

Lin Yi pursed his lips. The boy who bumped into him must be a student who was going to be thrown into the 2-6 Rule World. Seeing Lin Yi knocked back a few steps, Cheng Yang let out a ‘f*ck’, and hurriedly asked, “Lin Yi Xiong, are you okay?”

Lin Yi’s shoulder hurt a little from the collision. Sparing no thought for the books that had fallen on the floor for the time being, he pulled Cheng Yang to the side.

In the next second, the student union members chasing the boy ran past them. 

“I’m not going, I’m not going, let me go—”

The boy was caught by a student council member who came out to intercept him from the other side. He struggled frantically.

Having gotten out of the way, both Lin Yi and Cheng Yang looked at the scene in front of them. The chasers and the interceptors converged. When Lin Yi saw a certain someone among the interceptors, he quickly squatted down to pick up his books.

It was Qin Zhou. 

“Damn you!”

From more than ten meters away, Lin Yi could hear Qin Zhou’s anger.

“Didn’t I tell you not to f*cking run around?” Qin Zhou asked viciously, keeping a tight hold on the boy. “If you f*cking lead the 2-6 Monster to a crowded place, I’ll finish you off first.”

The boy struggled and said, “No, I don’t want to go to 2-6! I don’t want to go to 2-6!” 

Shouting and screaming, the boy burst into tears, “Why-why are you sending me to die?”

“No one wants you to die.” Ou Ying, who followed Qin Zhou to cut off the troublemaker, came over and said to the boy, “We don’t have any other way. I already told you before the release period. Every time we release students into the Rule World, member of the student union will send people to follow after you. If we were sentencing you to death, we wouldn’t be sending people in with you.”

The boy shouted: “What’s the use? If you could solve it, the 2-6 Rule wouldn’t have existed for so long! Don’t think I don’t know! The 2-6 Rule has existed for ten years! Ten years! Ten years! No one has come out alive from the 2-6 Rule World! They’re all dead, all dead!”

“Stop your f-ing crow's mouth.” Qin Zhou threw the boy to the others, “Take him back.” 

The boy was still struggling. Seeing that he couldn’t get away, he glared at Qin Zhou, “You’re so powerful, why don’t you go with us?”

Qin Zhou glanced at him and said coldly, “Congratulations, I really am going with you this time. Are you satisfied? You got what you wanted? Now, shut up.”

The boy was momentarily stunned. But he still kept screaming, “I won’t go, I won’t go!”

Qin Zhou didn’t want to keep talking shit this boy anymore. He stared at the student union member who’d chased the boy. “What are you standing around for? Take him to the haunt.” 

Lin Yi engrossed himself in picking up the books. Cheng Yang knelt down to help him. He then asked, “The 2-6 Monster can even…it can f*cking even follow someone…”

Lin Yi: “It seems so.”

Cheng Yang’s knees went weak and his voice was trembling, “Lin Yi Xiong, at 9 o’clock. Look at that thing standing behind the pillar, does it look like the 2-6 Monster…”

Lin Yi froze. He carefully raised his eyes and glanced in the direction Cheng Yang indicated. 

A woman in a red dress was looking at Qin Zhou.

Cheng Yang swallowed: “Shadow…Lin Yi Xiong, she has no shadow.”

Lin Yi saw it too. Today was a sunny day. Everyone had shadows under their feet, except that woman.

Cheng Yang was about to cry. “Damn it…” 

“Should we… find that student council president…”

Lin Yi thought for a while. From Qin Zhou’s position, it was difficult for him to notice the woman hiding behind the pillar.”

“I guess…” Lin Yi said, “We should tell him…”

Cheng Yang: “OK.” 

Cheng Yang tried to stand up to no avail, “F*ck, my legs have gone weak. I can’t stand up.”

Lin Yi went to pull Cheng Yang up but he hadn’t managed to get Cheng Yang standing up yet when they were noticed by Qin Zhou.

“You two squatting over there.” Qin Zhou said to them, “Come here!” 

Qin Zhou was worried that the boy who’d gone berserk had lured the 2-6 Monster over. If he did, these two mushrooms squatting on the ground would be in trouble.

Seeing that the two mushrooms were still tugging at each other, Qin Zhou was filled with anger. These idiots who didn't know the heights of heaven and the depth of the earth!

He walked towards the two mushrooms. After taking a couple of steps, he recognized these two annoyances as Lin Yi and Cheng Yang.

Qin Zhou: “…” 

He stopped and looked at Lin Yi, “Little genius, what are you playing at?”

Lin Yi: “…”

Lin Yi quickly explained, “No, Senior, we were getting our textbooks.” He then winked frantically at Qin Zhou, hoping to use the weak tacit understanding they had established in the 7-7 Rule World to guide Qin Zhou into discover the 2-6 Monster behind the pillar .

Qin Zhou noticed it and his eyes quickly turned to look behind the pillar. 

Before he could see that thing clearly, a strange red light surged in front of his eyes.

Qin Zhou let out a ‘f*ck’, sounding totally pissed off. That runaway bastard really had attracted the 2-6 Monster.

Everyone here was probably going to be pulled into the 2-6 Rule World.

Qin Zhou was so angry that he wanted to kill someone. 

He took a deep breath and waited impatiently for the red light to fade, for the 2-6 Rule World to unfold before his eyes.

The flow of time seemed to slow down from the moment the weird red light appeared. Every minute and every second ran so slow, it seems to be running at 0.1x speed.

Qin Zhou waited for a long time before the red light subsided. Slowly, his eyelids became heavy, as though loaded with lead.

Drowsiness flooded in like a tide. He felt like his brain was knocked open by an irresistible force and something was spying on his memory…