Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 582 Sweeping Away Tomatoes
Lin Yi's body stiffened abruptly. He turned around in disbelief and was shocked to see that although Old Mo was frozen, he was still continuing to speak: "...Boy..."

"Old Mo!" Lin Yi's eyes were filled with surprise and joy as he rushed to Old Mo's side. "You've recovered?!"

Old Mo seemed a little slow to react. Hearing Lin Yi's words, he remained stiff, but the look of relief in his eyes couldn't be frozen: "You...are...back..."

"I've returned following the route you arranged!" Lin Yi wanted to say something more, but Wei Shan said, "Old Lin, let's eat first."

Lin Yi nodded: "Oh right, Lao Mo, let's go eat first, we'll talk later."

Old Mo nodded stiffly, like a slow-moving clock-telling bird.

It seems Lao Mo is recovering well. Lin Yi was genuinely happy; this was one of the best pieces of news he had received today.

Lifting the plastic curtain and entering the student cafeteria, Lin Yi was surprised to find that there were quite a few students having their regular meals inside.

He then turned his attention to the food purchase windows. At a glance, he noticed that all five windows were surprisingly open, and the chefs inside appeared to be working normally.

He was a little confused and subconsciously began to have some doubts about what had happened at breakfast.

"This is too fake..." Lin Yi couldn't help but say.

"Where is it fake?" Wei Liang asked.

Lin Yi then said, "The cafeteria has reopened in just half a day?"

Wei Liang shook his head: "I don't know! Let's just eat, why worry about so much?"

"Yes, you're right." Lin Yi nodded; recovery was a good thing.

But he couldn't help glancing towards window number 10.

But this time he saw that the area around food purchase window number 10 was completely dark. He couldn't see the people queuing up, nor could he make out the outline of food purchase window number 10. The entire food purchase window looked like it had sunk into the sea.

"The food purchase window at number 10 is hard to see; it seems it was really badly damaged by Kuai Kuai..."

He slowly released his senses, reflecting the surrounding environment into his mind bit by bit, and tried to probe into the darkness to observe the number 10 food purchase window.

As soon as his senses entered the darkness, a faint feeling of dizziness was fed back into his will.

"One cafeteria, two layers!" Lin Yi gradually understood that the multi-layered napkin theory had been proven.

The other passageway is actually the entrance to another level of the cafeteria.

Those who pollute the environment—whether they are sports students or art students—are all those who dine at that level.

The entire channel is actually the path for "layer transition".

The concept of layer transition is certainly profound and unfathomable, but just as the authorities found some ways to transform polluters, the builders of the campus must have also found some layer-level pathways to establish the campus.

It's like the elevator from the campus to the art building.

Ultimately, it's all just a method that was officially modified.

When students see sports students or art students in the cafeteria, it's a result of these different backgrounds overlapping.

In each other's eyes, the person may still be the same person, but in their own eyes, the other person's environment may be very different from their own perception.

The chef in the green apron should be the one on the shelf at window number 10.

He searched around but couldn't find the chef in the green bib.

I don't know why, but I feel a little unhappy.

He came here to devour tomatoes, but the tomato vines are nowhere to be found?
Can't you be a little more professional?
"Weisang, I can't find the chefs in green aprons?" Lin Yi asked. "Have you seen any of them?"

Wei Shan shook his head: "No... So your sweep plan has fallen through?"

Lin Yi pursed his lips: "It can't be said that it's completely a waste of time..."

After all, even the food purchase window number 10 was bombed, so the chefs in green aprons were somewhat affected...

"Hey!" Lin Yi had a flash of inspiration, pointed to the sky, and mimicked the shape of a beef noodle soup. "I've got it!"

"How so?" Wei Shan asked.

Lin Yi then said, "When we put down the plates, a chef in a green apron will pop out from the food purchase window number 10. We can just wait for him to come to us, right?"

"But the food purchase window number 10 was blown up!"

"Even though they've exploded, don't underestimate the power of the mechanism!" Lin Yi said. "If there really aren't any tomatoes later, we'll just camp out and pick a few."

Wei Shan's eyes lit up, and he immediately got excited: "I like this!"

Wei Liang's lips twitched, giving him an expression that said, "You guys do your thing, I know nothing about it."

Soon it was his turn to order, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere, so Lin Yi couldn't help but nudge him: "Liangzi."

"what?"

"It's your turn to order."

"Ah, oh my god, oh my god! Auntie, give me a big tomato stir-fry with cherry tomatoes... no, I mean, a potato and beef rice bowl!" Under the strange gaze of the chef in the blue apron, Wei Liang wiped his sweat and muttered guiltily, "Oh my god, what the hell did I say..."

"You eat tomatoes often...?" Lin Yi asked in a low voice.

"I'll eat your big hammer! What tomato? I don't understand at all!" Wei Liang carried the tray to the card reader, and Lin Yi followed him to the window.

But just as he approached the window, he vaguely sensed the presence of the chef in the green apron!
He followed that feeling and looked over, and found what appeared to be the illusory figure of a chef in a green apron in the path Wei Liang was moving along.

The chef in the green apron was still standing where he had secretly switched the yogurt, but his figure was somewhat dim, as if the coating had not completely penetrated.

"I understand!" Lin Yi's eyes lit up. "It's not that the chef in the green apron is missing, it's that there's a problem with that layer!"

Wei Shan's eyes were full of confusion; he only cared about one question: "So, should we still open our hearts to the chef in the green apron?"

Lin Yi's lips twitched slightly: "Keep this plan in mind, let's see if I can get my hands on some tomatoes first."

He guessed what was going on: the layer containing the chef in the green apron must have been affected by the explosion at window number 10, preventing it from penetrating the layer so clearly.

"So, the green-bib chefs were weakened overall, which allowed the cafeteria to recover better?" he speculated.

"What would you like to eat, classmate?" The chef in the blue apron couldn't help but ask when he noticed that Lin Yi was a little distracted.

"Spaghetti bolognese, please..." Lin Yi blurted out, but immediately realized something was wrong. This was a chef in a blue apron, don't mess with this, please don't mess with this. So he quickly corrected himself, "Uh, no, I mean, no tomato, I want the beef tenderloin!"

He casually ordered a few dishes, and the chef in the blue apron served him his food using a spoon.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't actually pay attention to the chef in the blue apron. If the chef in the blue apron had given him some tomato-based dishes, he would have eaten them without hesitation.

His attention was entirely focused on the chef in the green apron next to Wei Liang. He watched as the chef, as usual, secretly switched Wei Liang's yogurt, but this time, Wei Liang didn't react at all.

"Why is Liangzi eating tomatoes too? Is it on purpose or by accident?" Lin Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.

But it was soon his turn to swipe his card.

He slowly took his student ID out of his pocket.

With the appearance of the student ID, those malicious and greedy gazes once again began to appear in the darkness, and he used this as an opportunity to infiltrate his senses in reverse.

From an angle unseen by anyone, a chilling smile crept across his lips... You see me, right? Very well, I... see you too!
In the darkness, figures began to appear in his perception. Some were chefs in blue aprons, some were pseudo-human classmates, and some were nocturnal creatures that were completely inhuman and hidden in the depths of the darkness.

All of these things were hidden in the shadows, and as the light and shadow weakened, these shadows formed different layers in Lin Yi's vision and perception.

He now understands that those mentally unstable classmates who were contaminated were simply having their consciousness passively infiltrated by layers of information, observing things they shouldn't have, which is why they started to exhibit mental abnormalities.

The depth of pollution and the depth of understanding determine the breadth of one's vision and the degree to which one can remain rational.

The closer a strange creature is to a "human," the shallower the layers are; the further a strange creature deviates from a "human," the deeper it is hidden within the layers.

The sound made when the night-walking creature squeezes the layer and moves within it is a "rustling" sound.

He swiped his card calmly and then put his student ID into his pocket.

Only at this moment did those gazes, filled with intense malice, greed, and fanaticism, dissipate and cease their focus on him.

But he had already identified those units.

After swiping his card, it was his turn to carry the plate away, but he hesitated for a moment.

Looking at the box of yogurt sitting quietly on the plate, he couldn't help but frown.

He looked at the chef in the green apron with a puzzled expression.

The chef in the green apron was slightly taken aback and looked at him.

The two stared at each other, separated by an almost non-existent layer.

Lin Yi's meaning was clear: Where's my tomato?
Why is my yogurt so sour? They won't give me tomato instead of yogurt?
But the chef in the green apron held the tomato tightly in his hand, as if he had made up his mind.

Lin Yi was getting more and more confused. Wait, wasn't the "tomato" system part of the game?
But after staring at him for a while, Lin Yi felt that the chef in the green apron looked somewhat familiar.

"Holy crap!" Lin Yi exclaimed, "I remember now!"

"Isn't that the chef in the green apron from yesterday?!"

"It's an old acquaintance, I know him by heart!"

Lin Yi was overjoyed, but he also quickly figured out why the chef in the green apron wasn't giving him tomatoes—it was probably because he had pulled them too hard yesterday, leaving the chef with a lingering trauma.

But even though he was a little wrong, didn't the chef in the green apron also do something wrong?
Why haven't you given it to me yet?

Lin Yi frowned, then grabbed the yogurt and took the tomato from the chef in the green apron.

The chef in the green apron was visibly stunned; a hint of humanity, which he didn't normally possess, almost appeared on his face.

It glanced at the yogurt in its hand, then at the tomato in Lin Yi's hand, and then silently put down the yogurt and began to scoop the tomato out of its body.

Seeing this familiar movement, Lin Yi's tightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

correct!

That's right now!

Now we've entered the right cycle!

He then began taking tomatoes from the chef in the green bib, and then very subtly snatched them away.

The chef in the green apron, whose face was already pale, turned deathly white.

A moment later, Lin Yi returned with a full load, carrying food and a plate of tomatoes to his seat.

Wei Liang handed it over casually, and then when he saw Lin Yi's plate, his lips twitched violently: "If I had known you would do this, I would have been a good person."

"Things change!" Lin Yi smiled. It seems that Liangzi is gradually starting to accept the information that he had previously blocked out.

Could it be that Wei Liang will perform differently in the last two days?

It's worth noting that Wei Liang also "lost his memory" in the last two days.

Just then, Lin Yi heard a noise coming from the food purchase window.

The source of the disturbance was Weishan.

"They all have them, so why am I missing out?" Wei Shan stared stubbornly at the chef in the green apron and reached out to ask him for tomatoes.

This fierce and intimidating appearance made Lin Yi's scalp tingle, and he even felt that he had obtained the "Canteen Rules" for nothing.

If the "Cafeteria Rules" had an expression, it would be a confused look on Gao Di's face at this moment: Dude, do you guys even need to get the rules?

The chef in the green apron's eerie smile vanished completely. What's going on these past two days?! He usually doesn't produce that many tomatoes in months, and now he's been drained dry!

Wei Shan was very displeased when he saw that it wouldn't give him a tomato. He grabbed the green-bib chef's hand with a quick, penetrating motion, and then reached into its chest. After a short while, Wei Shan pulled out a tomato.

He curled his lip: "So stingy."

After saying that, he took the tomatoes and left.

The chef in the green apron, having lost the last tomato, froze in place, frozen in his final pose, as if time itself had stood still. Soon, a petrifying tendency emanated from his body, quickly enveloping him and turning him into a chef sculpture.

Wei Shan glanced at the petrified chef in the green apron, then turned and walked away.

But as he turned around, the corner of his plate accidentally bumped against the edge of the chef sculpture.

After Wei Shan left, a slight crack appeared on the part of the chef sculpture that had been bumped, and beneath the crack, there seemed to be a tiny bit of... blue.

This change was naturally detected by Lin Yi's senses. After Wei Shan sat down, he asked, "Wei Sang, did you say it was intentional?"

"You mean the chef?" Wei Shan asked.

Lin Yi nodded, and seeing that Wei Shan admitted it directly, he asked directly, "Can he turn back into the chef in the blue apron?"

Without much thought, Wei Shan said directly, "Just like the Grimace turning back into a human, there are prerequisites."

(End of this chapter)