Suddenly, a rustling sound rose to his ears, with rolling mist piling layer upon layer, resembling shadows wandering about.

At that moment, Lin Yi's last shred of wishful thinking shattered; he was certain that this mist was not mere mountain fog, but that dense fog which represented contamination.

But what was worth some relief was that the mist had only just begun to rise, and it would need a considerable amount of time to reach the density of May 6th. Furthermore, no raindrops symbolizing abnormal weather had yet fallen, and he had made sure that the Teaching Building was within his vision—this alone was enough to anchor him to this path.

A path "I am on my way to the Teaching Building."

"Li Huiyuan!" Lin Yi called out loudly, and Li Huiyuan immediately shuddered in response, "Wait for me right there, but don't look back!"

In the mist, one must not look back, as per the student rules stated, and referring to their compliance with the student rules when they first entered school, Lin Yi believed that some of these rules might still be effective for Li Huiyuan.

His words stood like ironclad laws, and Li Huiyuan indeed stopped in her tracks at the sound.

He quickly caught up to Li Huiyuan and took her hand: "I have a way to anchor myself, hold my hand, and if you feel anything wrong, tell me immediately, I will, cough, I will take you back to the Teaching Building."

"If necessary, don't force it," Li Huiyuan, already accustomed to Lin Yi's way of thinking, mercilessly pointed out.

Lin Yi kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, coughed dryly, and did not respond.

Then he took a deep breath, walked hand in hand with Li Huiyuan towards the Teaching Building, and he also began to use the traditional skill—

"I am Lin Yi, my student ID number is X0230506098, I am on my way to the Teaching Building..."

"I am Lin Yi, my student ID number is X0230506098, I am on my way to the Teaching Building..."

"I am Lin Yi, my student ID number is..."

No matter the time, no matter how many times he recited this information, as soon as he opened his mouth, Lin Yi could always feel his own will as if receiving some kind of blessing.

Oddly enough, this blessing had a forceful sense of "he who praises my true name shall see eternal life in reincarnation."

He, of course, knew this was a psychological effect, but it was this kind of mental suggestion that could keep him steadfast in his will at critical moments, unaffected by external factors.

As he walked and murmured these words, he was like a Taoist priest with talismans, proceeding into the netherworld, commanding all ghosts to make way.

They hadn't gone far when Li Huiyuan suddenly spoke with some discomfort: "Lin Yi, can you stop saying those words? It makes me... feel uncomfortable. Can you recite them silently in your mind?"

The "discomfort" Li Huiyuan spoke of was exactly that—the discomfort of its literal meaning. Lin Yi could feel that when Li Huiyuan spoke, her tone was a bit rushed and her breath was very unstable.

"You...?" Lin Yi seemed to realize something.

"Lin Yi... When you pronounce those words, my heart races..." Li Huiyuan said through clenched teeth, "I have an uncontrollable urge to snatch your Student ID card..."

"And I know exactly where your Student ID card is..."

Li Huiyuan raised her hand, her five fingers ceaselessly clawing at something: "It feels like my hand isn't my own, with an incessant compulsion to take your Student ID card."

Her complexion was pale, even unsightly. The thoughts did not belong to her, or rather, not to her conscious will, yet she could not stop herself from wanting to act upon them, as if her spirit were under control.

That kind of greed, that craving, upon hearing Lin Yi recite his name and student ID number, sprouted like Jack's magic beanstalk from the ground, then wildly and savagely grew in her heart, usurping her lucid will.

Lin Yi's brow furrowed deeply; after Li Huiyuan had lost her Identity Credential, it wasn't apparent Under the Sun, but with the sunset and the arrival of night, her condition rapidly deteriorated.

No wonder "one can't stay overnight"—it wasn't a case of "shouldn't stay overnight," but rather sheer "impossibility" of enduring a night under the relentless onslaught of contamination.

"Let's return to the Teaching Building first, other matters can wait until we see the class teacher," Lin Yi said.

Lin Yi stopped reciting his name and student ID, taking Li Huiyuan by the hand and headed step by step toward the Teaching Building.

From an angle Li Huiyuan couldn't see, his expression was gravely serious.

Because indeed, he had been reciting his name and student ID mentally, but without uttering a sound, yet Li Huiyuan seemed to hear him speak, drawing her toward him.

To prevent Li Huiyuan from committing any evil acts, Lin Yi clenched his teeth and ceased the silent incantation in his mind.

The wind in the mountains was growing stronger, but the dense fog lingered in the air like wisps of cotton that refused to disperse, then piled up thicker like snowflakes.

Lin Yi felt a sense of suffocation, as if he could see a path leading to the Teaching Building under his feet, but on both sides of the path, two rows of tsunami-like waves loomed.

These waves, made entirely of thick smog, appeared under the dim moonlight as high walls built of grey-white foam, with a faint halo undulating on their surface.

At that moment, the sound beside his ear started again, like the echoing "wooing" of a train speeding closely past, and the scene before his eyes began to flicker again like skipped frames.

He noticed his field of vision stretched endlessly, the ground beneath his feet leading to the Teaching Building was being pulled like rubber by some immense force, then stretched infinitely while the two rows of fog walls beside him grew wildly, piercing into the high sky.

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