Rules-related weird stories: 4016

Chapter 416 《Secret Files - HX - S1》

“The power struggle between official factions is like a storm vortex. 039 doesn't want to get involved, and neither do I. But the matter is of great importance. More and more people are worried that this isn't just a factional game, but that the higher echelons of the officialdom have begun to be infiltrated by unknown forces.”

“Factional games are minor; infiltration is major.”

“Especially since Yuan Datou and Mu Daxian somehow learned about the 'Supreme Judgment' pathway. That's the key…”

“The 'Supreme Judgment' pathway…” Lin Yi pondered. “What kind of pathway is that? And what does 'knocking' mean?”

Homeroom Teacher - 040 explained, “'Knocking' means attempting to transform, to climb from a lower position to a higher one… Have you read novels? You can understand it as a kind of 'ascension' in life form… But the key issue is the 'Supreme Judgment' pathway.”

“Does this pathway have some hidden secret?” Lin Yi couldn't help but ask.

Homeroom Teacher - 040 glanced at his face. “Who told you… that this pathway exists?”

“Hiss…” Lin Yi instantly gasped, a chill running through him. “Are you saying… someone tricked Yuan Datou and Mu Daxian?!”

“That's right.” Homeroom Teacher - 040 pondered. “First, the 'Supreme Judgment' pathway… According to records, six 'Supreme Judgments' have appeared in the Art Building throughout history, but no related pathways have been passed down. It's as if when a certain opportunity arrives, the Art Building will spontaneously nurture and give birth to a 'Supreme Judgment'…”

“Even if this pathway exists, it hasn't been recorded by any force. Moreover, even if there is an opportunity, the prerequisites for embarking on the pathway must be incredibly harsh. How could someone like Yuan Datou easily meet them?”

“Secondly, it's not like no one in human history has entered this pathway… 'Principal' and 'Convenience Store Owner' are both complete 'Supreme Judgments,' but their 'formation' relied heavily on luck. Even they themselves can't explain the reason. The authorities once conducted some experiments on them with their cooperation, but the results remain top secret to this day, and that experiment was halted after only half a month…”

“That experiment was undoubtedly a failure, but how much of a failure, no one knows.”

“Conversely, if the authorities had obtained the 'Supreme Judgment' pathway, the school district wouldn't have reached this point.”

After thinking it over, Lin Yi pondered, “Could it be that the authorities actually found the pathway, but couldn't implement it for some reason, like the cost being too high?”

“Possibly, but the more that's the case, the less likely they would let Yuan Datou act alone, even with Mu Daxian. It's not enough.” Homeroom Teacher - 040 said with certainty, “Because I also definitively investigated that 'Supreme Judgment' is just a smokescreen. Their real purpose is to collect 'Ashes'.”

“Collect… 'Ashes'?” Lin Yi hesitated. “Didn't they say that Ashes can't be borne?”

“Ashes just can't be borne by existing known life forms, not that they absolutely can't be borne.” Homeroom Teacher - 040 corrected. “Like you, for example. Aren't you bearing 'Ashes'?”

“But I'm human!”

“Whether you're human or not, you know better than I do.” Homeroom Teacher - 040 retorted.

“…” Lin Yi was speechless for a moment. “If I'm not human, am I some kind of beast?”

“I don't know what you're made of, but a human can't be stabbed through by a dagger carved with secret纹 and still recover… No, even if it's just an ordinary dagger, it's hard to recover from being stabbed through, right? Even a regular sports student doesn't have your kind of recovery ability!” Homeroom Teacher - 040 said very frankly, “I haven't studied 'Mystical Genealogy,' but I feel like you might be a 'werewolf' or something…”

“Those things are rare, but I believe in the rigor of science.”

Homeroom Teacher - 040 suddenly looked Lin Yi up and down again. “Hey… now that you mention it, if you were a 'werewolf,' it would explain why this school uniform has become so tattered… It's just that there's a bit less hair…”

“Hey, where are you looking?!” Lin Yi hugged himself tightly, feeling very awkward. “And please! Werewolf? Is that science?!”

He raised three fingers as if swearing.

“I'm definitely not!”

Even if I were a boneless demon with no hair, I wouldn't be a furry werewolf!

“Let's get back to the point. Yuan Datou was tricked into collecting 'Ashes.' What's that all about?”

Homeroom Teacher - 040 continued to correct: “Your logic is wrong. It's not that they were tricked into collecting 'Ashes,' but… Let me put it this way!”

“According to my secondary investigation of 039's investigation, I discovered from many clues that since the end of the 70th Ash Mist invasion, four groups of people have come in to look for 'Ashes.' Three of them were discovered by 039, and they were all 'accidentally' killed by the 'Angel' during the collection process…”

“As for Yuan Datou's matter, it's like it's really completely over.”

“His death is like being buried by yellow earth.”

Hearing this, Lin Yi seemed to understand something and couldn't help but ask, “Could it be… Yuan Datou was a sacrifice? It's true that he was tricked into coming in, and it's also true that he tried to knock on the 'Supreme Judgment' pathway, but their 'understanding' of the whole thing was wrong!”

“You finally figured it out.” Homeroom Teacher - 040 said, “Those who wanted to collect 'Ashes' used 'Supreme Judgment' as a gimmick to trick Yuan Datou and Mu Daxian into completing the preliminary task of collecting 'Ashes' for them.”

“The sacrifice of Yuan Datou and Mu Daxian should have been within their plan. After Yuan Datou died, the infiltrators erased the relevant records, and the whole incident was concluded. Then the matter would be seamlessly over.”

“In the whole incident, Yuan Datou was a piece of firewood used to light a candle.”

“After the candle is lit, the firewood turns into charred charcoal and is discarded, and it won't be noticed by anyone.”

“But Mu Daxian survived after the 70th Ash Mist invasion… and after the 70th Ash Mist invasion, he became a chess piece that is still running in a game that has already ended.”

“His existence has caused the event to take a turn for the better, and many clues have begun to be amplified and noticed.”

“In 039's words, if a 'anchor person' is needed to pry the whole event, this person is very likely to be Mu Daxian.”

“Her decision to go to the Art Building… may also have Mu Daxian's involvement.”

Hearing this, Lin Yi couldn't help but rub his forehead and let out a long sigh: “It sounds like a very thorough operation… Whether it's the infiltrating party or Teacher 039.”

What a top-tier game! The homeroom teacher - 039 glimpsed a game of chess, then insisted on bringing a chair and forcefully becoming a player.

So awesome…

Then I…

"Will they come looking for me?" Lin Yi asked.

"Once they discover you, they definitely will," Homeroom Teacher - 040 said.

"Moreover, based on my observation, new Harvesters have indeed appeared within the school district, and they're in our class."

"Our class?!" Lin Yi quickly went through the information of his classmates in his mind.

"When did that person enter the school?"

"Later than you."

"Could it be… Mountain Man?" Lin Yi immediately thought of that unlucky guy.

"Mountain Man?" Homeroom Teacher - 040 was slightly taken aback.

"Do we have such a person in our class?"

Lin Yi quickly said, "That's what I call him.

It refers to that experience student in our class who is very old and looks like a mountaineer."

"You're talking about 'Yuan Lijian,' right?

That's right, he is the Harvester of Ash," Homeroom Teacher - 040 affirmed.

Lin Yi quickly asked, "His surname is 'Yuan,' what is his relationship with Yuan Datou?"

"This is interesting," Homeroom Teacher - 040 walked to the bookshelf, took out a document from the bookshelf, and handed it to Lin Yi.

"This is?" Lin Yi looked over curiously, then his gaze froze.

He saw the words written on the document -- [Excerpt from 《Secret Archives - HX - S1》]

"Secret Archives…?!"

He reached out and took it, and saw the contents:

「In mid-May of X999, a group of backpackers accidentally entered a village while hiking in the mountains outside S City.

According to the people involved, the furniture in the village was neat and intact, quilts and clothes were drying in the field, and soybeans and other crops were spread out, but it was completely empty.

The people involved felt that something was wrong and prepared to leave, but the sun had already set, and night was about to come.

After discussion, they decided to set up tents outside the village and spend the night by the moonlight before leaving.

That night, figures suddenly moved in the originally empty village.

The people involved saw many stiff figures walking in the village through the cracks in the tent, using the dim moonlight, and were frightened out of their wits.

But those villagers did not walk far out of the village, so the backpackers escaped.

When it was dawn, the people involved quickly packed up their things and fled the mountainous area, but found that some lifelike human sculptures had appeared on the original mountain road at some point.

After the people involved left, they reported the matter, but the official personnel intervened in the investigation without results.

In early June of X999, the suburbs of S City were completely closed due to official land planning…」

"This is…?" After reading it, Lin Yi was still a little confused.

What does this have to do with Mountain Man?

But he immediately felt that there was something else clipped behind the document.

When he opened it, it was an old photo.

The photo was a group photo of the backpackers, and there was nothing unusual about it.

"Yuan Lijian is 43 years old this year, and he was 19 years old in X999…"

Homeroom Teacher - 040 stretched out her slender white fingers and pointed to a somewhat childish face in the gray photo, "It's him."

"This Yuan Lijian was among the first people to enter the school district, and he is also the only severely contaminated person in the entire photo who is still alive today."

"He was secretly monitored by the authorities for a period of time, but he left because he didn't show any abnormal behavior.

Later, he disappeared without a trace, until recently when he appeared in the school district."

Lin Yi was surprised and said, "Such a person on record suddenly disappeared and reappeared, doesn't the government pay attention to it?"

"There are too many people like this, and since there were no abnormalities during the supervision period, the government naturally won't intervene, and his entry into the school district is 'justified'."

"'Justified'?" Lin Yi was puzzled.

Just as he was saying this, Homeroom Teacher - 040 suddenly glanced at the door of the office.

Through the slightly open door, you could see a ray of dawn appearing on the mountains in the distance.

The fine light was like pale golden snowflakes spread over the forest, and when the wind blew, it was like waves in a lake.

"It's dawn," Homeroom Teacher didn't answer his question, but calmly retracted her gaze and looked at the light on the ceiling.

"Ah?" Lin Yi was slightly stunned.

After waiting for a few seconds, the incandescent light turned on with a "buzzing" sound, and the warm light filled every inch of the office.

Homeroom Teacher - 040 closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Lin Yi noticed that there seemed to be some invisible power in the air gathering towards Homeroom Teacher - 040, and the skin around her exposed wound seemed to be covered with a faint halo.

It was like charging.

「It's 'Primal Contamination'!」 Lin Yi was horrified, but then he immediately understood.

It seemed that in such an environment, the existence of a 「Homeroom Teacher」 should indeed be able to absorb some kind of contamination and transform it into their own power, which made sense.

Her breathing was even, and her whole spirit seemed to be constantly improving.

Finally, when she opened her eyes, the whole person seemed to be fine.

Lin Yi was a little dazed.

The Homeroom Teacher - 040 in this state was somewhat like the Homeroom Teacher - 039 back then.

Thinking about it this way, Homeroom Teacher - 039 on the night of the 6th suppressed her injuries in this way after being injured…

「They seem to only be able to absorb primal contamination during the day, so over time, even if their will is still as strong as steel, their bodies will still not be able to hold on…」 Lin Yi felt pity in his heart.

At this time, Homeroom Teacher - 040 closed the door of the office and locked it smoothly, and then slowly moved to the sofa.

Lin Yi's attention was attracted by Homeroom Teacher - 040.

In the bright light, he suddenly noticed that Homeroom Teacher - 040 was not wearing shoes.

She was wearing a loose nightgown, but still wearing that tight-fitting suit on her body.

The almost perfect curves of her body were faintly visible as she walked, outlined by the nightgown.

Under the nightgown, the tight-fitting suit covered her feet, like some kind of thick light-colored stockings.

「That kick must have shattered my face…」 Lin Yi muttered in his heart, and subconsciously compared Homeroom Teacher - 040's feet with Boss's feet.

Of course, he was only comparing the strength of that kick.

The conclusion was that Homeroom Teacher - 040's was stronger.

Of course, this may be because Boss's precision controlled his body's tolerance at the time, while Homeroom Teacher - 040 kicked with the intention to kill.

If they were really put together, Lin Yi would still stand with Boss.

After all, according to the centripetal force formula, the longer the length, the greater the force…

And Boss's legs are really long.

As long as Lin Yi's life.