Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 644 "Side Jobs"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

Tian Bufan was right. The "Master of Mystic Arts" had explored almost all categories of mysticism and could be considered a true all-rounder. Whenever the boss was involved with "Apostles," he would definitely make contact with her.

I'm not afraid of having connections, I'm afraid of being enemies.

Tian Bufan continued, "Once we release the Creator from the exile of time, many of the 'First Apostles' lurking in the shadows and layers of history will become restless and gradually reveal themselves."

"The 'original apostles' had a major disagreement in ancient times, which led to the formation of two almost hostile factions..."

"If the leader during the memory recovery and he was at his peak was from the Difa faction, that would be fine, but I'm afraid he wasn't."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat. He thought of Wei Liang's words, which he had been shouting amidst the pile of corpses: "I want her dead."

At that moment, a strong sense of unease arose in his heart.

Could the boss really be an enemy?
A struggle flashed in his eyes. He thought about how he had developed a great liking for his boss after spending the last few days with him. But if his boss were to stand on the opposite side, he would feel really bad.

Tian Bufan said, "The principal established the campus for two reasons. First, to use the Dark Zone to block the Gray Fog invasion and prevent it from spreading into the Alliance's real world. Second, I suspect, it's to 'contain the 'boss'."

"If the leader possesses a 'respected name,' then everything makes even more sense."

"The eldest sister has no name because she truly hasn't thought of her 'true name' or 'title.' Once she remembers it, the throne that belongs to her in the dimension of time might return to her side, allowing her to ascend the throne."

"The Throne?!" Lin Yi's pupils contracted sharply. "A blue-gold crown once appeared above the boss's head! Could it be related to the Throne?"

“A crown…?” ​​A strange light flashed in Tian Bufan’s eyes, as if he had thought of something.

Have you made a discovery?

Tian Bufan nodded slightly: "Now that you mention it, I am quite confident that the boss belongs to the Difa faction."

"Oh? How so?" Lin Yi's eyes lit up, and he became excited.

“He didn’t say much,” Tian Bufan said. “The crown on the boss’s head isn’t very obvious, but it’s quite possible it’s the ‘Supreme Crown.’ If it is, that would be great. Among the ‘First Apostles,’ there are no more than three beings who possess the ‘Supreme Crown.’”

"I think the principal probably discovered some clues from the leader, but he couldn't confirm the leader's identity. So, taking advantage of the leader's ambiguous memory, he joined forces with the authorities to establish a campus, took the leader into custody, and through continuous cognitive rewriting, allowed the leader to survive as 'one of them' for the time being."

Because of the uncertainty, we'll try to contain them first;
Furthermore, due to the issue of memory, it is possible to guide people towards the human side by presenting them as blank slates.

The principal's plans are as prudent as ever.

"What about our side jobs?" Lin Yi asked. "Shall we start now?"

He didn't actually know the specifics of the side job, but that didn't stop him from asking Tian Bufan. After all, when help was needed, he only needed to be an executor of orders.

“This is the side job. My friend and I have already started working on it.” Tian Bufan pointed to the countless images in front of him.

Lin Yi waved the notebook in his hand, puzzled, and said, "You said before that I should bring the notebook over first. Now that I have the notebook, can you tell me the specific details of the side job?"

"Of course." This time, Tian Bufan didn't keep Lin Yi in suspense any longer and finally gave him the answer he wanted to know: "We have several side jobs."

"One method is to observe the situation in other places through the 'Principal's Office.' While those other places aren't as dangerous as S City University, the cost of 'inspecting' each one is too high. Even if some cost is incurred, it's difficult to capture as many extraordinary and strange fluctuations from layers and dimensions as efficiently as in the 'Starfield.'"

Lin Yi opened his mouth, but Tian Bufan didn't give him a chance and continued, "I know what you want to ask. That's right, knowing these things won't help our operation this time—otherwise, why would it be called 'side work'?"

"But we might need it in the future."

Lin Yi's mind raced, and he tentatively asked, "Are we going to other dark zones?"

Tian Bufan said, "Whether we go or not is not up to us. If Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun needs us to accompany him, we will, but most of the time it won't be necessary."

"Okay..." Lin Yi replied, but he was thinking to himself.

"We only accompany Liangzi when he needs us?"

Tian Bufan continued, "There's another side job I'm doing: releasing the Creator."

Lin Yi nodded slightly, but he already knew about this matter. Wasn't it too hasty to use this as Tian Bufan's answer?
"Is there anything else?" he asked, unwilling to give up.

Tian Bufan said, "Then there's no side job. Besides, our time is so limited, even if we were to do side jobs, we couldn't do it on a grand scale, could we?"

"Moreover, releasing the Dharma is not a simple matter."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that she's being held in that bedroom. Just like using the celestial globe to activate 'Starry Night,' releasing the Dharma Master will require a lot of preparation."

"I'm just doing these preparatory work."

"Then... is there anything I can do?" Lin Yi asked.

Tian Bufan said, "I won't trouble you with the side jobs. We can manage on our own right now. I'll tell you how to summon the principal first, and then you can try summoning him. Maozi and I will be there to cover for you."

"Once you summon the principal back, take the opportunity to transfer this 'Star Dream Crystal' to Kuai Kuai."

"That headmaster has had a crush on the 'Astrologer' since he was a child. Once you summon him back, it will be incredibly difficult for us to touch anything the 'Astrologer' left behind."

"Hiss..." Lin Yi gasped inwardly, as if he had heard some shocking gossip.

Seeing Lin Yi's changing expression, Tian Bufan was somewhat speechless: "Don't overthink it. If you saw an 'astrologer,' you'd... be quite impressed too."

"Back then, the principal was just a little kid who liked mature, older sister-like characters; it's human nature."

Lin Yi shrugged: "I didn't say anything... Weren't you the one patching up the principal's problems?"

Although he said that, Lin Yi still had a general idea of ​​the image of an "astrologer" in his subconscious.

mature and sophisticated...

Then the image of his homeroom teacher, 040, flashed into his mind...

Back then, there probably weren't any stockings, right?

"Astrologers"...aren't they supposed to be wearing magician's robes?

Could it be... no?
No, no... I can't think about it anymore!

Lin Yi wiped his mouth, and under Tian Bufan's increasingly strange gaze, quickly asked, "Then how do I summon the principal?"

Tian Bufan held up two fingers.

Lin Yi was taken aback, then made a peace sign: "Wow?"

“I mean, two steps.” Lin Yi: “…”

"Um, I'd like to hear more details."

Tian Bufan said, "The first step is to find the layer of the image related to the principal in 'Star Prison.' I've already found it. Although it's a bit blurry, it's barely acceptable, better than nothing."

"The second step is to establish an anchor point through that layer, allowing your will to leap to that anchor point, and then radiate outwards to call upon the principal."

“Once the principal catches the ‘band’ you’re calling for, he’ll have a way back.”

"Then, all we need to do is wait for him to come back."

Lin Yi said thoughtfully, "It sounds pretty simple."

Tian Bufan affirmed, "The difficult part is the preparation stage. Once the preparation is complete, the operation can be carried out in one go."

"My will will be with you as we call out to find the principal. If his condition is not good, we will need to activate the backup hidden plan."

"What plan?" Lin Yi asked.

"Destroy the anchor point to prevent him from finding his way back."

Lin Yi was startled, suddenly thinking of the "Primordial Ash Apostle": "Young Master Tian, ​​do you think that 'Primordial Ash Apostle' could be the Headmaster?"

"Didn't we have some guesses before? What else did you come up with based on that?" Tian Bufan asked.

Lin Yi said, "I was just wondering if that 'Primordial Ash Apostle' is a time paradox. For example, because the headmaster we're summoning next has already fallen, we cut off his path back, and then he, in the form of a 'Primordial Ash Apostle,' infiltrated time and descended upon the past campus?"

Tian Bufan narrowed his eyes: "Personally, I still have great faith in his willpower, but we also have the right to consider the worst-case scenario in your conjecture."

"No matter what, let's take action first."

"You hold the 'Ouroboros Ring' in one hand and the 'Star Dream Crystal' in the other, then project your will into that layer."

"The operating principle is very simple. The gravity of 'Star Prison' itself will act like a safety rope to restrain your will. The anchor points built in the layer are like mining areas. Once you have mining areas, you can go find the principal."

Lin Yi listened, then looked puzzled: "I suddenly have a question."

"what is the problem?"

"If it's so easy to infiltrate one's will into the Black Sea, why did the 'First Apostle' choose to set sail? Wouldn't it have been better to simply leap out and explore?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Bufan couldn't help but sneer: "You were smart for a moment, and now you're being stupid again, Lao Lin."

"A leap in will is ultimately like a rootless duckweed, unable to withstand the erosion of strong winds and waves. Besides, even the strongest will can only radiate so far in the black sea."

"If the main body enters the black sea, it can use the body as the origin to continuously release its will to the surroundings. There is a qualitative difference in the exploration power and operability between the two."

"Ouch! I was such an idiot!" Lin Yi honestly criticized himself, then floated up. "I'm ready, which layer should I enter from now?"

Tian Bufan pointed to a scene not far away: "There."

Lin Yi floated over, peered closely at the screen for a long time, and then looked around with a face full of question marks: "Are you serious? There's no trace of the principal left here!"

Tian Bufan said, "Take a closer look."

Lin Yi wore a constipated expression, as if he was searching for a single hair on a black plush blanket. He searched until his eyes were almost blurry before finally finding a tiny clue: "No... this is what you meant by 'somewhat blurry'?"

“‘A few hundred million,’ am I right?” Tian Bufan’s expression was very serious.

Lin Yi pursed his lips: "Alright, I understand which 'hundred million' you're talking about... So, shall I take action?"

"Mm." Tian Bufan nodded.

"Is there anything else I need to remind you of?" Lin Yi asked proactively.

“No need,” Tian Bufan said. “I will accompany you across the dream boundary, and I will tell you what to do no matter what happens.”

"Aww! That puts my mind at ease!" With an extra navigator, Lin Yi felt much more confident operating the vehicle.

Tian Bufan instructed, "Enter this layer of the screen first."

"Okay." Lin Yi replied, and then, as if he had stumbled into a mural, he plunged headfirst into the scene.

"Pop..."

Lin Yi's entry caused a slight ripple in the scene, like a pebble being thrown into a calm lake.

X023年5月12日，1:13，林异的意志体消失在了「星狱」的其中一条图层通道之中……

"Old Lin's gone, I'll go keep an eye on him, I'll leave this place to you." Tian Bufan said to Mao Feiyang, and his ghostly figure faded away.

With Tian Bufan gone, Mao Feiyang was left alone in the empty "principal's office".

Looking at the boss in the picture, Mao Feiyang's brows gradually furrowed: "Difa... Boss... what exactly is the relationship between you two?"

With a flick of his wrist, the "bronze key" fell into his palm.

Stroking the cold, rough "bronze key," he murmured to himself, as if lost in some ancient memory: "Touch my abyss eyes, shatter my star-like remains, corrode my decaying moon... burn my bone flames, annihilate my tide patterns, shatter my monumental boundaries..."

……

X023年5月12日，1：13，未知之地。

Lin Yi's consciousness wandered aimlessly, the surrounding chaotic gray fog making the entire environment look like it had been swept up in a sandstorm.

Lin Yi had no idea where he was going, but his intuition told him that he was moving away from this world at an extremely terrifying speed.

"Young Master Tian, ​​are you there?"

"Yes, I am." Tian Bufan's voice was as steady as ever, even carrying a hint of indifference.

"Are we almost there?" Lin Yi asked.

Tian Bufan said, "I don't know. The longer the jump takes, the farther away we are from the layer where the Black Moon Outpost is located."

(End of this chapter)