Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 646 The Anchor Point and Foundation, It's Actually...?!

Lin Yi gasped sharply: "The answer the principal sought at sea would actually become the foundation for the return of the 'Supreme Heaven'?"

“Of course,” Tian Bufan added. “The principal once heard a call from the depths of the Gray Mist Sea. That call could very well be from the ‘Supreme Heaven,’ or it could be a summons from the ‘First Apostles.’”

"Almost every batch of the 'First Apostles' who set sail before ended up with one or two lost in the Gray Mist Sea. They have existed for almost eternity, and if they could be summoned back to the mortal realm, theoretically, they would be a significant fighting force for humanity."

"Comparable to the sect's patriarch?!" Lin Yi exclaimed in surprise.

Tian Bufan narrowed his eyes, his gaze full of profound meaning: "Theoretically, yes. With the gray fog invading and the world in grave danger, if we could summon back the strongest group of people from ancient times, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous benefit."

"Night Watchman-03, you know him, the one standing on the edge of the cliff holding the ancient lamp 'Mingzhao'."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat: "What's wrong with it?"

"It stands there, a lighthouse in the darkness, the anchor of the Black Moon Outpost. Since ancient times, it, its predecessors, and so on... countless 'mourners' who have inherited the ancient lamp's 'illumination' and borne the name of 'Night Watchers' have had one responsibility: to respond to the call from the depths of the Gray Mist Sea, attempting to summon back the 'First Apostle' of ancient times."

"In the sea of ​​gray fog, lost souls ultimately become phantoms."

"But even phantoms have a way home."

"The Night Watchmen stand guard through the endless, long night, protecting the Black Moon Outpost, and like lighthouses, guiding the Apostles home."

Lin Yi stared blankly, lost in thought: "So, this is the true essence of the 'Night Watch'..."

Tian Bufan slowly said, "Yes."

Lin Yi then said, "If that's the case, then the principal's voyage to sea must be a double-edged sword, right?"

"What summoned him might not be the 'Supreme Heaven,' but rather the 'First Apostles.' Wouldn't it be a good thing if the Headmaster brought back the 'First Apostles'?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Bufan couldn't help but sneer: "Old Lin, you can't think of things too simply."

"Even those who leave home young and return old can experience earth-shattering changes, let alone those lost in the Gray Mist Sea? Gray Mist Sea, oh Gray Mist Sea... are you sure those 'original apostles' are still the same as they were?"

The boy who slays the dragon ends up slaying the dragon, and the dragon who survives becomes the savior.

Is it really going to come true, as Liangzi predicted?!
"Did Liangzi say all of this to the principal?" he asked.

“Yes, but the principal won’t listen,” Tian Bufan said. “Humanity’s last glimmer of hope, the steely will, can’t be persuaded by Fusheng Wei Liangtianzun’s few words. Not all advantages are good, at least in this respect, the principal is.”

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi asked, "When Liangzi made this prediction, what was the probability that it matched the facts?"

Tian Bufan said, "About 99%."

"Only 99%... no, snatching the spoon?!" Lin Yi's voice rose eight octaves. "You call that 'only'?!"

“Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun is quite rigorous; unless it’s absolutely accurate, he can only say ‘it’s just so-so,’” Tian Bufan said. “But his predictions have never been wrong; his logic has been verified by time.”

"The reason he left a margin of error of 0.1% is because he left himself a way out."

"Alright... as expected of Liangzi." Lin Yi sighed helplessly, yet also somewhat admiringly. "So you mean those 'original apostles' have long since fallen, but the headmaster and the Night Watch, unaware of or completely disbelieving this, are still generation after generation, persisting in lighting the way for their own return, and for the 'High Heavens'?!"

Tian Bufan said indifferently, "That's precisely why it seems so tragic, isn't it?"

The goal that generations have devoted their entire lives to achieving has led to destruction.

The being they sought to summon was the mortal god "Supreme Heaven," who would bring about a "divine creation of the world," destroy all of humanity and even all living beings, as well as the "First Apostles," a group of beings no one was qualified or capable of opposing.

What is perhaps more despairing and devastating than the sorrow of bringing about one's own destruction is that someone once warned them, but they did not believe it.

The pain of having once held the "emergency stop" button in one's own hands but then losing it is the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

Lin Yi's mood suddenly became heavy.

At that moment, the constantly distorted and fluctuating layers of the image around them gradually calmed down...

"Let's put aside what we need to discuss for now, we'll be there soon," Tian Bufan reminded them.

Lin Yi's spirits lifted, and he quickly began to observe his surroundings.

As the layers stabilized, the chaotic dimensional cracks contracted and shrank like a dried-up riverbed, while Lin Yi's will emanated from those cracks like wisps of smoke, eventually coalescing into a semi-transparent form with a human body and a smoky tail, resembling a genie.

Stardust and mist seemed to float around him, these were the residues left on him by the Bird's Nest lights and "Starry Dream Crystal".

When the last ghostly figure emerged from the crack, the dimensional rift completely vanished without a trace. The ghostly Lin Yi, as if suddenly feeling gravity, began to fall. Fortunately, after falling for a while, he immediately floated back up.

He first looked at the place where the dimensional rift disappeared. Although he could not sense any trace of the dimensional rift, he could vaguely see traces of star trails.

He immediately understood that this was the “protection of the Star Prison” that Tian Bufan had mentioned. Through this barely perceptible link, he was able to sense the location of the “Principal’s Office.” This was not an illusory coordinate, but the path he could take back.

After regaining his balance, he began to sense everything around him.

He was surrounded by a world so dark it seemed to glow. The world should have been pitch black, but the black seawater shimmered with a cold light, reflecting scattered rays of light that seemed to have fallen from nowhere.

Is it starlight?

Lin Yi was unaware of this.

Because above the sky is a chaotic mist, and above the mist is unknown darkness, he cannot see starlight or the night sky, let alone determine whether this place is part of the world.

"Is this the Gray Mist Sea?" he murmured. "Young Master Tian, ​​are you there?"

"I'm here, Lao Lin, I'm here." Tian Bufan didn't appear out of nowhere like a ghost, but rather spoke his voice in Lin Yi's mind.

Without the blessing of the "Star Dream Crystal", Tian Bufan could no longer materialize and once again merged into Lin Yi's will.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, thanks to the blessing of the "Starry Dream Crystal", is able to maintain his ghostly form like a genie in a lamp.

“It’s good that you’re here…” Lin Yi asked again, “Is this the Gray Mist Sea? It does look different from the Black Sea.” Tian Bufan said, “This is the depths of the Black Sea, which has been shrouded in gray mist since ancient times, hence the name Gray Mist Sea.”

The surging waves rolled and churned, splashing asphalt-like water droplets into the sky, like dust kicked up by a water truck, leaving holes in the ghostly Lin Yi's will.

Lin Yi's physical form quickly recovered, seemingly unaffected, but in reality, it caused a burning, stinging sensation deep within his soul.

The surface of the Grey Fog Sea seemed even more viscous than the Black Sea, its texture resembling molten obsidian, yet the rhythm of the waves was no different from that of ordinary seawater.

Thick fog floated in the world like sand, and the pungent, salty smell of blood seemed to permeate the soul.

A strong wind howled and spun continuously, making a "whooshing" sound, like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

The black sea was vast and magnificent, with waves piled up, some several meters high and others tens of meters high, like an outer planet with uneven gravity, occasionally whipping up devastating tsunamis.

Beneath the waves, one can vaguely see fragmented sculptures resembling corpses. These heavy bodies rise and fall with the waves of the gray fog sea, as if gravity itself has undergone an irregular change.

The sculptures don't have a single general form. Some resemble distorted birds and beasts, others are distorted combinations of humans and animals, and still others are bizarre shapes that are impossible to discern. It's as if all the strange creatures recorded in the global annals of the bizarre have been sculpted and dumped here.

"Young Master Tian, ​​how do we establish anchor points?" Lin Yi asked.

Tian Bufan's voice echoed in his mind: "Go to the sea and collect some scraps. Kuai Kuai should be ready."

"Okay, wait a minute, Kuai, Kuai Kuai?! What has Kuai Kuai prepared?!" Lin Yi's mouth gaped open, as if it could fit a basket of eggs.

Tian Bufan said speechlessly, "You've prepared the materials to set up the anchor point, don't you think that if we go down to the sea and shout like peddlers, the principal will hear us and summon him back?"

"Uh..." Lin Yi was speechless for a moment, and quickly landed on the sea.

As he got closer to the sea, some familiar-looking long, narrow objects appeared in his field of vision.

"What is that...?" Even the blurry outline gave Lin Yi a sense of familiarity. He looked closely and was surprised to find that they were rows of somewhat dilapidated iron poles, and at the top of those poles, there seemed to be some dome-like structures.

And on the shafts of those clubs, there were some signature... scarlet paint marks!
"...A red-painted lamppost?!"

“This…what on earth is going on?!”

No matter how clever Lin Yi is, he could never connect the streetlights with red paint numbers with the black sea!

Besides, he's not that smart...

Tian Bufan chuckled and said, "These past few days, Kuai Kuai has been laying traps in the greenbelt. What do you think she's been doing?"

"Isn't this tampering with the Matrix of the fanatics?" Lin Yi was taken aback.

“That’s just one link in the chain,” Tian Bufan said. “Kuai Kuai banished the streetlights with red paint numbers, letting them drift out along the trajectory of the layers.”

"This trajectory isn't constant, so Maozi and I just used 'Star Prison' to find some nearby lampposts and guided them to drift here."

"Once we're done using it, we'll have to dismantle it. We can't give other strange creatures in the Gray Mist Sea the chance to find this anchor point."

Listening to Tian Bufan's explanation, Lin Yi felt his scalp itch, as if his brain was about to grow.

He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Just how many schemes has Kuai Kuai been setting up these past few days?"

Tian Bufan said, "Not many, really not many."

"Just a tiny bit?" This time, Lin Yi wasn't fooled. He took the initiative to continue the conversation and asked tentatively.

Tian Bufan smiled and said, "Anyway, everything is going according to plan."

Lin Yi nodded, showing no sign of doubt, but asked curiously, "Then how should I use these lampposts?"

He needs some explanation, otherwise just imagining it feels very abstract.

Unless—he already knew it.

Tian Bufan said, "It's not as complicated as you think. You just need to get back into the swing of things when you're building it."

"As expected..." Lin Yi revealed a hint of relief.

It's true that "picking up flowers in the morning and evening" is a famous Chinese proverb.

He landed on the sea.

To be precise, it's a spot less than a meter above the surface of the sea where the waves would rise.

Looking at the gelatinous sea surface, he felt a subtle attraction to his spirit. In a daze, he seemed to see a concave whirlpool, which seemed to have some strange magic, and he almost fell into it like a scallion.

Beneath the sea surface, streetlights floated as if unaffected by the laws of gravity, like dental floss stuck in a jelly.

“Try it, use your senses to grasp them,” Tian Bufan said. “Just like reaching out to grab a cup next to you, imagine grabbing them.”

"Oh..." Lin Yi immediately released his sensory tentacles, which were now very condensed, like ropes piercing into the surface of the Gray Mist Sea.

Just as his sensory tentacles pierced the surface of the sea and entered the underwater world, a powerful song suddenly came from the seabed, like the heavy roar of an ancient whale song amplified by a pipe organ. Each vibration was comparable to the striking of the quantum giant bell "Sanctuary," and the shock caused his sensory tentacles to collapse for a moment.

Lin Yi's sensory tentacles collapsed and reassembled, then collapsed again, becoming increasingly resilient in the repeated collapses and reassemblies, eventually becoming entangled with a lamppost.

With a strong pull, he yanked the lamppost out of the sea.

Looking at the lamppost in front of me, which was partially corroded, a sense of familiarity gradually welled up in my heart.

On the blood-red paint surface, the words "Black Moon Outpost-023" were clearly visible.

(End of this chapter)