Rules-related weird stories: 4016

Chapter 354 Flesh Mural "Obsession Sculpture" (Bonus 2000 Words)

A thick, bloody stench mixed with the scent of iron rust filled the howling wind, the blood mist swirling everywhere, as if dyeing the lights in the hall with a layer of terrifying crimson.

Seeing Lin Yi's reaction, Old Mo knew that this guy was indeed quick on the uptake, instantly pulling his vision layer to the most realistic aspect of the art building's hall.

He nodded slightly, commenting, "It seems you have a self-protective camouflage layer… so you always see what you think 'should be' first, and then you discover what 'ought to be'."

"It's like… a kind of 'adaptive' gradient… truly amazing."

['Adaptation'?]

['Adaptation' again?!]

Is 'adaptation' really that valuable?

Almost everyone Lin Yi met would mention 'adaptation' after understanding his situation, making it seem like he had a label similar to 'Batman's superpower is being rich'.

《What's your superpower?》

《I can adapt to many environments…》

Is he Darwin, the mutant?

Lin Yi didn't bother to complain further because he had already found the source of the gale—a hole in the dome above!

Above the hall's dome, there was a stained-glass painting pieced together from countless colored glass panes, extremely similar to the stained-glass paintings in every church that told religious secrets. Now, that stained glass was shattered, covered with cracks as if struck by something terrifying.

It was also missing a corner, as if damaged in that strike. Fierce gales and rain poured into the hall from that breach. After the rain entered the hall, it was quickly shattered by the wind and mixed with the bloody aura, forming the current blood mist.

On the surrounding walls of the hall, the murals that seemed to depict the legends of believers and gods faintly emerged with a mysterious glow amidst this blood mist. Some transcendent power permeated from those complex and fragmented patterns and symbols, guarding the art building's hall like water ripples, preventing the blood mist from seeping into the murals…

「That mural…?」 The instant Lin Yi looked at the wall, his heart was fiercely tugged—in his distorted perspective, the mural was actually wriggling subtly. The lines that made up the mural were not something else, but seemed to be… bodies?

More precisely and terrifyingly, it was human flesh. One body after another seemed to be embedded into the wall. The lines of their limbs faintly outlined the traces of the mural. They seemed to be integrated with the art building, their bodies growing into the wall's rock, maintaining a bizarre and eerie way of slowly growing.

Everything about them seemed to be integrated with the art building.

「What exactly are they… those people? Why do they look… like grotesque sculptures, a necropolis of the dead? But that aura… isn't evil?」

「The murals in the art building's hall are blocking the blood mist from seeping in. Could it be related to them? But… what is their situation?」

In the hall below the murals, there were many art students wearing dark green, loose cloaks. They held paintbrushes, distributed haphazardly throughout the hall, not knowing what they were doing.

Their hands were all raised, like scholars holding brushes but not knowing what to write, but there were no easels in front of them.

All the art students were frozen in place, as if turned into motionless sculptures after being subjected to some kind of vicious curse. Green auras constantly emerged from their bodies, and with the appearance of the green auras, some blood mist seemed to dissipate from their bodies—all that blood mist came from the art students' bodies!

"What… what's wrong with them?" For some reason, Lin Yi felt an indescribable sorrow when he saw this scene. It was an emotion he sensed through 「Perception」.

Old Mo sighed and said, "They are preventing the expansion of the hall's breach."

He pointed to the hole in the dome's glass.

Lin Yi was shocked: "'Preventing expansion'? Can't it be repaired?"

Old Mo explained, "The art building wasn't built using conventional construction methods, and repairs can't be done using conventional methods either… Only architects have the ability to carry out construction at the layer level, but for some reason, the authorities no longer bother to focus on cultivating architects… Although the art building is still trying to cultivate architects, in reality, there hasn't been anyone like that for a long time. There haven't even been any seedlings with 'architectural' talent…"

"Old Mo, how do you know so much about the art department?"

"Big Golden Retriever told me," Old Mo said frankly, then added, "What you see is just the surface of the breach. It's a breach at the layer level, but it's ultimately folded into a degree that you can observe."

Lin Yi immediately thought of the gymnasium's 「City Wall Form」. Cracks at that layer level were extremely difficult to repair. If the art building was like that too, then it was completely understandable.

What Lin Yi didn't expect was that art students were related to architects.

"Old Mo, can art students become architects? I mean… is there a path for art students to become so-called 'architects', like the Dorm Manager becoming the Grinning Angel?"

"'Path'?" Old Mo was taken aback. "That's an interesting way to put it. You can understand it that way… But in reality, 'architect' isn't a fixed profession. Anyone who has the ability is an architect and doesn't need to be recognized by others or the authorities."

"The drawing skills that art students learn are related to the 'design major' that architecture must master. Only by mastering the ability to 'unfold blueprints' can one further begin the construction project from 'paper' to 'reality'."

"Unfortunately, the consumption of 'spiritual will' and one's own 'transcendent power' often far exceeds the limit that the body can bear… All of them together can only barely prevent the gray mist from damaging the art building."

"Come with me… We'll go to the clock tower to find Mu Daxian. That kid is used to messing around, I'm really afraid he'll mess up and lose himself."

Old Mo retracted his gaze from the art students, then strode forward, leading Lin Yi into the art building's hall, and began to slowly traverse the hall.

"Don't touch them. They are a whole now, like a living 'matrix'. If you accidentally inject them with forces that shouldn't be injected, it might cause the situation to develop in an uncontrollable direction."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly and carefully avoided the art students.

But as he moved through the hall, he began to discover that the blood mist wasn't simple. It didn't seem to be formed by blood seeping out of their bodies, but rather, it seemed like the art students' bodies were undergoing a change similar to annihilation.

This change was very similar to how the Wrathful Angel was broken down by the old kerosene lamp in the 「Feast」.

"Old Mo, I seem to see their bodies decomposing. Will they… die?" Lin Yi couldn't help but ask.

"Not for now," Old Mo said. "This is a process of 'interaction'. Their bodies are constantly being replaced with transcendent power, which, within a certain range, is considered an effective boost."

Walking slowly, Lin Yi began to feel a subtle pulling sensation from the surrounding environment. This feeling was completely different from the two physical sensations of the wind blowing on his body.

More than the wind, it was like countless threads sticking to his skin, pulling him in a certain direction.

At first, he didn't think much of it, but gradually, it gave him goosebumps and a strong sense of discomfort.

Gradually, he discovered that some blood mist also began to appear in his body. Blood seemed to be seeping out of his pores, shattered by the wind, and integrated into the environment.

"Old Mo, look at my hand!" Lin Yi looked at his hands in horror, only to see the skin on his hands cracking like dry, ashy grass, turning into white powdery particles that annihilated into the wind.

Old Mo glanced at Lin Yi and focused his attention on the front: "Has it already begun to forcibly requisition the transcendent power of everyone who enters the art building's hall… It seems they won't last long."

"Forcibly requisition?" Lin Yi's expression was a little unsightly. He thought to himself, damn it, the power bank is a power bank wherever it goes. After charging Old Mo, he was automatically inserted into the USB port by the art building?

At least the bus has to be paid for, damn it…

Lin Yi quickly quickened his pace, not because he was selfish, but because he was also a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, barely able to save himself. Showing compassion at this time was irresponsible for his own life.

Just as he quickened his pace, the corner of his eye suddenly noticed that in the dark, narrow corners around the hall that were almost ignored, there were actually sculptures hidden, each with different expressions and forms.

These sculptures were curled up in the corners like living people, maintaining a sneaky posture of peeking out from the darkness, their dim, stone-carved eyes filled with longing.

They greedily sucked the blood mist, as if it were the most delicious thing in the world. They also occasionally looked at the broken hole, as if the world outside the hole was the place they longed for.

Some of them stared intently at the art students in the hall, their eyes filled with pity, sympathy, greed, slaughter, hatred… all kinds of complex and contradictory emotions.

Still others looked at the center of the hall, the place where the most perfect work of art in the art building, 《Born to Die》, was located.

And there was another portion that, when Lin Yi noticed them, seemed to sense something and turned to look at Lin Yi.

«Them… … ? !»

When Lin Yi saw these sculptures, his first feeling was terror, the kind of terrifying sensation of being secretly watched by cold sculptures hiding in the dark, which could strike directly at one's mental defenses at any time, but soon he shuddered!

«Wait… … this feeling? !»

He suddenly realized that this feeling of being watched was exactly what he had sensed when walking in the corridor!

Yes! That feeling of being watched!

They made no secret of their desire for Lin Yi, as if Lin Yi were a moving cake, the «fragrance» emanating from him constantly stimulating them… …

«These are the special sculptures that Lao Mo mentioned!»

«They… … want to eat me?»

But it seemed that not all the sculptures gave him that feeling, which was strange.

While following Lao Mo, Lin Yi diverted some of his attention to observe them from time to time. Lao Mo noticed Lin Yi's behavior but did not stop him or remind him of anything.

It wasn't until they arrived at the «Born to Die» sculpture in the center of the art building's lobby that Lao Mo slowly opened his mouth: “Those sculptures… … do you know what they are?”

“Hmm?” Lin Yi was taken aback by this inexplicable question and didn't immediately understand what Lao Mo meant, but he knew that Lao Mo wouldn't speak for no reason, so he thought for a moment before answering tentatively, “Could it be… … related to the art students?”

Lao Mo's words were shocking: “You asked just now if the art students here would die? They are the answer you want.”

“What? ! ! !”

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Lao Mo said calmly: “Here, in this lobby, all the art students you see now have the potential to become a part of them… … ”

“Under normal circumstances, the relationship between extraordinary power and art students is similar to the relationship between trace elements and the human body. When excessive extraordinary power begins to wash over their bodies, their bodies will begin to undergo irreversible changes, eventually becoming those… … sculpture-like monsters.”

“Then are they… … still considered 'art students'?”

“No longer.” Lao Mo shook his head, “They are no longer human, nor are they sculptures, night walkers, or even fanatics… … They are 'sacrifices' with strong obsessions. You can think of them as a kind of 'obsession entity,' or use another definition… … 'obsession sculptures.'”

“'Obsession sculptures'? ! ” Lin Yi muttered to himself, a feeling of sadness gradually spreading in his heart, “Fighting for the art building, and in the end, dying and turning into this?”

Lao Mo was silent for a moment: “We will remember their sacrifice and continue to fight.”

“Their behavior is driven by 'obsession,' and even at the moment of death, they are thinking about repairing that hole.”

“They may still remember why they exist, but they only exist for this obsession… … ”

“The reason you feel like you are being watched is because the extraordinary power in your body has attracted their attention… … ”

“Their obsession drives them to constantly pursue and devour more powerful extraordinary power, and then use it to repair that hole… … ”

“They have already died, but their obsession is more firm and pure than will… … ”

“I can't use right or wrong, good or evil to describe them… … because their obsession has surpassed 'reason.' As long as any unit carrying extraordinary power is targeted by them, they will kill them at all costs—even former art student classmates are no exception.”

“If you have the same goal as them, then they will not harm you, but if not, then once they have the opportunity, they will attack you.”

Lin Yi didn't speak, his emotions becoming more and more complicated, not knowing what to say. Perhaps he couldn't accept this ending for the art students, or perhaps he felt some respect because of it, or perhaps he felt some other sadness and a tragedy that seemed impossible to avoid.

Lao Mo slowly said: “I remember there are some rules in the art building similar to 'Don't wander around in the art building.' One of the purposes of these rules is to prevent art students from being killed by 'obsession sculptures'… … ”

“And the existence of obsession sculptures actually becomes a 'defense work' for the art building to a certain extent. They will not leave the scope of the art building lobby, but anything that gets close to here, as long as it appears within their reach, will be killed by them, especially—the Grinning Angel.”

Lin Yi seemed to think of something: “Are they to the art building lobby like the 'Shadow of the Source' is to the campus?”

From Lin Yi's understanding, both «Obsession Sculptures» and «Shadow of the Source» are special units that exist based on a certain behavioral standard, more like the big BOSS in the restricted area than NPCs on the map.

You can interact with existences like NPCs, such as security guards, but the BOSS only cares whether you have hatred. If you draw their hatred, you will be attacked… …

However, within the scope of S City University, the combat power of both NPCs and BOSSes is a mystery.

Well, strictly speaking, the combat power of some people in S City University is also a mystery, such as the boss, such as Mu Daxian, and also such as… … Lao Mo in front of him.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi suddenly thought, could it be that the reason why the security guards don't enter the art building is because of this?

Kings don't see kings. What if the two units that are fundamentally fighting against the gray mist or within the gray mist collide and start fighting?

«Obsession Sculptures» are uncontrollable, but aren't security guards uncontrollable?

Controlling one variable is enough to avoid this kind of “internal friction,” right?

Lao Mo patted Lin Yi on the shoulder: “Don't be sentimental, kid. Indecisiveness will cost you your life here. Remember this road, and remember these 'pits' on the road. When you run away on your own later, don't step in the pits.”

“Instead of having time to be sentimental now, you should pay more attention. Don't wait until you step in a pit and are chased by 'obsession sculptures' before you start regretting that you were only busy being sentimental and didn't learn more knowledge.”

“Hmm… …” Lin Yi pursed his lips and nodded. He did have inappropriate feelings of pity, because no one can face the distortion of the sacrificed indifferently… …

But as soon as he mentioned the sacrificed, he immediately thought of something and couldn't help but look at Lao Mo.

As the last drop of blood in the cafeteria, Lao Mo must have fought with some kind of “obsession” in the beginning, right?

When he says that «Obsession Sculptures» are some kind of “defense work,” is he also talking about himself?

But Lao Mo's changes are obviously fundamentally different from «Obsession Sculptures». The biggest difference is that Lao Mo has the characteristics of a “human.”

“Let's go… … don't be dazed.” Lao Mo urged, “The problems behind us are still big.”

Lin Yi quickly followed, taking care to avoid the art students in the meantime, so as not to accidentally affect their “battle.”

Lao Mo began to lead him along the edge of the wall, and as soon as he got close to the wall, the countless flesh bodies wriggling on the wall began to impact his vision again, bringing him some psychological discomfort.

Some arms even stretched out, trying to reach Lin Yi's limbs and making some obscure calls that Lin Yi couldn't understand.

«Could it be that they… … were also transformed from 'art students'?» A terrifying thought popped into Lin Yi's mind, but seeing Lao Mo silently not speaking, he didn't ask this question.

Some absurd thoughts gradually emerged in his mind. He didn't think there was anything wrong with the sports department and the art department when he was in the gymnasium, but now, it seems that the art department has a component where everyone is “consumable”… …

Lin Yi tried his best to avoid observing them, and finally, unable to avoid it, he could only grit his teeth and think of a topic: “Lao Mo… … I have a question, can «Obsession Sculptures» really fight against the Grinning Angel?”

“Yes.” Lao Mo affirmed, “In addition to pollution crushing, the most effective means to deal with magic is to also use magic.”

“The extraordinary power of «Obsession Sculptures» can also penetrate into the layers… … The calls you heard in the corridor before should be a kind of pollution penetration emitted by them.”

“Their penetration power is similar to that of the Grinning Angel. The two can counteract each other. This is also why art students only need to escape back to the art building when they encounter danger, because the art building not only has art teachers but also «Obsession Sculptures».”

Lin Yi suddenly understood: “I understand, so if you encounter a Grinning Angel, you can actually look for «Obsession Sculptures», but the reason why the art student rules stipulate that you should look for «Night Watchers» instead of «Obsession Sculptures» is because «Obsession Sculptures» have BOSS attributes, and if you're unlucky, you'll end up dealing with the art students along with the Grinning Angel.”

Lao Mo nodded, just about to say that your analysis made sense, but for some reason, he always felt that there was something strange about Lin Yi's words. He thought about it and then realized—that's not right, when did this kid Lin Yi read the art student rules?

He froze there with his head half-nodded, looking a bit eerie.

He stared at Lin Yi for a while, then suddenly silently wiped a handful of sweat in his heart and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Forget it, it doesn't matter… …

Anyway, it's already a nuclear power plant with a nuclear leak, so there's no point in discussing the amount of leakage anymore.