Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 580 Negotiation Completed
"Who cares about your sacrifices? They'll only remember the one time you succeeded, not the countless times you failed..."

Tian Bufan pursed his lips: "Why ask questions when you already know the answers? No one in the world today will remember us, but Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun will, and people in the future will too... History will leave its mark, and people will remember all those who sacrificed for this."

"Like the Codex?" the serpent sneered. "What if what's etched in history is a joke? Who remembers 'the Creator' or 'the Judge'? Even the Night's Watch's understanding is based on the 'theory of the Creator's sin'!"

"They will never understand what they are searching for with all their might!"

“But the ‘Principal’ knows!” Tian Bufan said, “He broke out of this cycle! Zero! I’m not lying to you, this truly is the closest we’ve ever come to success!”

"This time, it's not just us, but also the 'principal'—he's finally not the same person he used to be!"

"We need your help! You know why, and you know us too, after all, you've failed countless times."

[Hehehe...hehehe...]

The giant snake laughed.

"So, what do you want me to do this time?"

"I understand you, just as you understand me."

"What you need to know even more is that 'time' itself is a curse. The cumulative effect of each failure will push our carefully laid plans in an even worse direction..."

Tian Bufan said, "Our world is ravaged, unable to even survive the initial stages of pollution. The 'Principal' was the first to understand the risks, so he broke out of the cycle and added 'leverage' to it. Shouldn't we follow suit?"

"Leverage, doubling down... the more you win, the happier you become."

"What about defeat?" the giant serpent sneered, a cold wind blowing through the leaves, causing ice crystals to form on the trees. "Aren't you even considering defeat?"

"Only victory is allowed; defeat is not permitted," Tian Bufan said.

"What a ridiculous obsession." The giant snake scoffed. "Why don't you let Wei Liang give you the title of gambler? I think you're the real gambler then."

"It seems you've agreed to my conditions," Tian Bufan said.

"You haven't said how can I agree?" the giant snake retorted.

Tian Bufan slowly said, "The same old rule applies. At the most crucial moment, you help me intercept the 'angel' or other negative forces, and I promise you, this time, we will go to save 'her.'"

【boom--! ! ! 】

Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, the giant serpent seemed to have received the most terrifying stimulus, its heart churning violently, to the point that the entire world trembled and teetered on the brink of collapse.

"Are you serious?!"

"We don't lie to our own people," Tian Bufan said earnestly.

"Then it's a deal." The giant snake agreed without hesitation, afraid that Tian Bufan would change his mind, and added at the end, "You know how to summon me."

"I don't know," Tian Bufan shook his head. "To be more precise, Lao Lin doesn't know either."

"Yes, yes..." the giant serpent murmured, "In my excitement, I almost forgot that I have to erase my memories every time I want to avoid the 'angel'..."

Lin Yi was shocked. How could this giant snake know so much about them?!

They even know about erasing memories?

Furthermore, what exactly are the "old rules" that Young Master Tian mentioned and the "every time" that the Great Serpent mentioned?

The giant snake chuckled in a low voice: "Hehehe... 'Old Lin'... How long it's been since I've heard that title..."

"If I listen any longer, I'm afraid it will bring back some bad memories..."

"The negotiations end here. You've convinced me once again...Young Master Tian."

"My shadow will follow you... but you know, like Wei Liang, my power can only be used once. Once I am summoned, the 'angel' will surely appear as well."

"It's less about me fighting against 'angels' and more about me attracting 'angels.'"

“I know,” Tian Bufan said.

"Then we'll meet again... no, I hope we'll never meet again."

"Ho ho ho..."

The outline of the giant serpent in the abyss slowly faded away.

A low murmur seemed to drift on the wind:
[Rr ved mine dypbl pupiller, sprekker mitt stjerneskelett, forsyner min rmne...]

[Brenn min beinflammende ild, gjr min blgeornament uendelig, knuser min minnestav……]

【Bind min tidskokong, sluk min navn, begrav min uoppdrettede katastrofe……】

【store stjerner……】

【store stjerner……】

【Nr den svarte mnen vissner, kommer srgemoerne tilbake fra det uendelige dyphavet……】

Lin Yi was startled. The murmured song was so similar to the song that the Russians had sung in the cemetery!
Could it be that the giant serpent is also one of those buried in the cemetery?!

He hurriedly tried to memorize these commandment-like voices, but the serpent only chanted them once, so he didn't remember them at all. Only the repeated "store stjerner" was imprinted in his mind and translated as "vast stars".

As the giant serpent vanished, a figure slowly emerged from the abyss, stepping on withered leaves.

"Shh...shh..."

Lin Yi stared wide-eyed at the figure, only to see that it was of normal build, similar to his own, but shrouded in mist. The figure had an indistinct outline, but it was not clear, as if it had a face, yet it was also faceless.

“I will slumber in your shadow until you need me to come out again,” the faceless being “Zero” said slowly. The next moment, it seemed to melt away and disappear from the spot.

"Negotiations concluded, everything went smoothly," Tian Bufan murmured.

"This...this is it?" Lin Yi asked in surprise, "Isn't it like we don't need to sign any agreement?"

"A written agreement is nothing more than a 'cognition' tool for both parties to see... In reality, there are countless cases of unilaterally tearing up agreements, so what's the point?" Tian Bufan said. "Agreements are meant to protect the weak. True negotiation is already reached when our understanding is clear; signing or not signing is just a formality."

"Then... if we chat like this, will it hear us?" Lin Yi couldn't help but ask.

"It doesn't matter, just ignore it," Tian Bufan said, slowly leaving the crack in the layer.

……

Layer fissures, side of the forest of corpses.

Seeing that Puppet No. 5 had returned safely, Kuai Hongji smiled for the first time: "So smoothly?" "After all, they are all 'old friends,' so they gave me some face." Tian Bufan remained noncommittal as he spoke, withdrawing his consciousness from the puppet and returning to his main body.

The same goes for Lin Yi.

But after he returned, he fell silent, as if something was on his mind.

"Tear it down, Lao Lin," Tian Bufan said, but Lin Yi didn't respond, so he said it again, "Lao Lin?"

"I'm here," Lin Yi said, controlling Tian Bufan's body to dismantle the puppet.

Then, Tian Bufan and Kuai Hongji began their return to the campus.

Seeing that Lin Yi remained silent throughout, Tian Bufan asked, "What are you thinking about now?"

Lin Yi slowly said, "Why... does the giant snake know that my consciousness is here? Even if it can sense it, it couldn't possibly know my name."

Tian Bufan said, "Its existence transcends the ordinary layer level, so it's not surprising that people know about it, is it?"

Lin Yi pursed his lips: "It still knows Liangzi, and it knows I'm 'Old Lin.' At the very end, it even called you 'Young Master Tian.' It said it understands you, just as you understand it..."

"What secret exists between you... no, 'us' and the Great Serpent?"

"and……"

"Old Mo's statement is also incorrect; the giant snake did not get lost in the cracks of the layers."

"It seems it can leave at any time, depending on whether it wants to."

"Why is it willing to stay in the layer rift? Is it really just to prevent the 'angel' from descending upon the campus?"

Tian Bufan said, "Old Mo's information all came from the Night Watch, but they don't know the truth... Nobody knows the truth..."

"Seeing it lurking deep within the cracks of the layers, one might assume it's lost. Of course, in the end, it's all the same; it's there, blocking the 'angel's' infiltration of reality."

"The existence of the giant serpent is also part of the strategy to deal with the 'Gray Fog Invasion,' but others are unaware of this and simply assume it's a unit from the Gray Fog side."

"It seems it's not... So it's a human-side unit?" Lin Yi asked, even he himself thought it was impossible. How could a giant snake be a human-side unit?
“How could that be?” Tian Bufan said.

"Then what side is it on?"

“It doesn’t lean towards either side, but if you insist on asking, I can only say it’s… the Apostle side,” Tian Bufan said slowly.

"The Apostle's side!"

"I almost forgot, there's this other force!"

But... aren't the Apostles on the human side?
Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered that when Lao Mo was explaining things to him, he said that it was a product created by the Apostles after the "Root," so it was essentially made by the Apostles.

Does this mean they've sided with the apostles?

Lin Yi felt that this wasn't the logical way to think about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Tian Bufan didn't dwell on the topic any further, and simply said, "My business is finished. You can go back to your main body for dinner now."

"Wait, you still haven't told me why it recognizes us! It's one thing for it to recognize us, but it can even call out Liangzi's name!" Lin Yi said unwillingly, as he was very eager to learn the secret of the giant snake.

"Do you really want to know?" Tian Bufan asked.

"Of course it's true!" Lin Yi said with utmost seriousness.

Tian Bufan sighed: "Because of the 'time paradox,' the giant serpent is a product created by the 'original apostle' using the time paradox... In its 'time,' we have entered the campus at different points in time, and have failed countless times."

"Countless times... all failures?!" Lin Yi's scalp tingled, and the image of the fake Wei Liang flashed through his mind. "Could it be that Liangzi also failed countless times, which is why there have been so many fake versions of Liangzi on campus?!"

"Doesn't that mean there are countless fake versions of... us?! How come I haven't encountered any?"

Tian Bufan said, "This matter is very complicated to explain."

"But as I said, this time, the 'principal' seems to have found a new breakthrough..."

"Why did you stop talking about what we were just discussing?" Lin Yi asked.

“Because you’ll discover many things for yourself; I don’t need to tell you beforehand,” Tian Bufan said.

Lin Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Could it be that we're also 'old friends' with the principal?"

Tian Bufan hadn't expected Lin Yi to ask that. After hesitating for a moment, he still said honestly, "I guess we know each other a little bit."

Lin Yi secretly gasped: "What the hell is our status?! Why do we feel like everyone in the world knows us?"

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of people who don't know you: those who are famous and those who are notorious. Lin Yi knew that it was unlikely that he was famous.

So...infamous?
Hiss... Lin Yi subconsciously gasped. Could it be that our team is a famously stinky tofu?
Tian Bufan's lips twitched slightly: "Our business is over. If you have nothing else to do now, go and have some food."

"Then... shall we meet at the cafeteria?" Lin Yi asked.

"No need to meet. You can go your own way. As for whether we can meet or not, that depends on the time," Tian Bufan said dismissively. "If there's time, we'll just have a few tomatoes to tide us over."

Once you overcome a certain level of pollution and gain some understanding, tomatoes become a good thing.

It's like a heavy knife; if someone lacks strength tries to play with it, they might hurt themselves. But in the hands of a skilled swordsman, it becomes a true weapon for killing enemies.

"Well... I'll head out now." Lin Yi said, and the consciousness that had permeated Tian Bufan receded like the tide, following the fluctuations of the layers, entering that distorted space where the physical rules were indistinguishable, and slowly returning to his original body.

As he navigated through the layers, a chilling feeling suddenly washed over him. He felt as if he were being watched by some being, and a terrifying tremor ran through the depths of his soul.

"This is……?"

He suddenly felt a sinister aura swirling around him, and in the dim light, he seemed to see a faint, transparent figure, wandering around him like a ghost.

Those ghosts looked exactly like shadows that had emerged from the abyss where the giant serpent resided, but those shadows were clearly over Tian Bufan's side, so how could they be...?
and many more!

Strictly speaking, the Shadow of Orochi was integrated into Puppet No. 5, but Puppet No. 5 had already been dismantled and destroyed by him.

Therefore, the Shadow of Orochi is not something in the usual sense, but rather a kind of mark!
Moreover, it's a mark that directly affects the will!

Looking at the giant serpent shadow that seemed to have seeped in from another world, Lin Yi's heart pounded faster involuntarily. He didn't know if these serpents themselves harbored any hostility towards him. In his mind, even those on the Apostle side were unfathomable beings, let alone the giant serpents, which were only on the Apostle side in Tian Bufan's guess...

A thought briefly crossed Lin Yi's mind to try and sense the shadow of the giant serpent, but he immediately dismissed it.

(End of this chapter)