Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 647 Hahahaha... I understand... I understand!
The sensory tentacles kept stroking the lamppost, and a familiar feeling welled up inside, as if a retired athlete had grasped long-lost equipment, or as if a legendary pilot had re-entered the cockpit of a mecha.

This feeling is like—"the soul of the machine is overjoyed!"
He closed his eyes, letting his sensory tentacles shoot out and grab one lamppost after another.

Before long, hundreds of lampposts gathered around him, and it seemed that even more lampposts were surging toward him with the dark currents of the black sea.

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, his bright golden pupils seemingly burning with the sun. Coupled with the streetlights around him, he exuded an aura of "Wang Xianzhi, Lin Yi has come to the Gray Mist Sea, bringing these streetlights to fight you."

Lin Yi ran through all sorts of cheesy phrases like "the lamppost opens the gate to heaven" in his mind.

Along with it flashed countless secret runes and mystical symbols, along with the words of the "Divine Craftsman"—

"The core of forging lies in the overall control..."

"The process is important, but every action needs to be directed towards the desired result in order to be effective..."

Only by having a clear understanding can we manufacture effectively.

He roughly knew how to establish anchor points, and this skill was unlocked quietly, just like a professional skill...

At this moment, Tian Bufan's voice slowly rang out: "You seem to have found a bit of the knack, but you're just one step away from breaking through this barrier."

Tian Bufan pointed with one hand and said, "I'll help you." He continued, "The essence of the anchor point is a 'book staple.' The Gray Mist Sea and the Black Moon Outpost were originally on different pages, but we use this book staple to staple these two pages together."

“We will guide the principal from the paper where the Gray Mist Sea is located, through the staples to the paper where the Black Moon Outpost is located, and then remove the staples.”

"This is the underlying logic of the action."

"As for how to construct a correct and effective layer-level anchor point... remember the campus map?"

Lin Yi was taken aback. A map of the campus?
"How does this have to do with the campus map?"

After exploring about 70-80% of the buildings on campus, Lin Yi thought he knew the campus well enough and stopped paying attention to the campus map. How could he possibly think of any other secrets hidden there?
Tian Bufan said, "In a 'normal' campus map, the distribution of lampposts is completely random. However, there are some special lampposts that are not distributed in the usual building areas, but scattered near the green belt..."

"Can you still remember?"

Lin Yi said, "It's a bit difficult... Let me think about it."

He closed his eyes, and the campus map slowly appeared in his mind—of course, according to Tian Bufan's request, it was the campus map under normal conditions.

"I remembered."

“Very good. Now, filter out those lampposts scattered along the cobblestone road.”

"Wait a moment... Okay, it's been erased."

“Very good. Now, the pattern formed by the remaining lampposts... is the design drawing for the anchor points.”

"Huh?!" Lin Yi exclaimed in surprise, "The design blueprints for the anchor points are hidden inside the campus map?!"

Tian Bufan explained, "The lampposts on campus are like 'book staples,' which 'nail' the campus layer to the art building layer, thus creating the art building layer that appears to be suspended in the sky."

“Each of those lampposts is an anchor point, and each part forms an anchor point with its own building area as a whole. At the same time, the areas can be combined to form new anchor points... firmly binding the campus and the art building area together.”

"The campus map conceals the wisdom of the first generation of architects. It is a secret that almost anyone with a bit of connections can know, but without someone teaching them, almost no one can understand it."

"I see..." Lin Yi suddenly realized, and at the same time, he thought of Lu Zhao.

Back then, Lu Zhao was engrossed in studying a map. Now it seems that Lu Zhao was perhaps searching for the secret of the anchor point. Unfortunately, whether he figured it out or not, Lu Zhao is dead.

“Of course, having a design is not enough. After the layout is completed, multiple folds are needed to activate its effectiveness,” Tian Bufan explained. “The anchor points at each layer have different functions. Some are like pillars, which can be placed there. But our anchor point is a stronghold. We also need to spread our signal into the gray fog sea so that the principal can detect it.”

Lin Yi guessed, "So our anchor point is a 'lighthouse'?"

Tian Bufan affirmed, "That's right, so we need to light the lamps, and also to prevent them from attracting any strange things."

Lin Yi said, "Then... I'll build the anchor points first, and leave the last step untouched?"

"Correct!" Tian Bufan said with satisfaction. "Now that you've figured things out, you can start. I'll keep watch for you."

"Okay!" The two were of one mind and immediately agreed.

Lin Yi immediately sensed the tentacles manipulating the red-numbered painted streetlights, and began to place them on the surface of the Gray Fog Sea according to the locations on the campus map.

The seemingly disordered gravity of the Gray Fog Sea provided a convenient location for driving lampposts, and Lin Yi arranged these lampposts one by one, like acupuncture needles.

However, every time he threw the lamppost into the sea, the raging eddies beneath the surface would assault his will with eerie roars.

At first, his will would dim briefly before recovering, but he quickly "adapted," and then the sound waves in the gray fog sea could no longer have much of an effect on him.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

As he continued to set up his installations, tsunami-like waves surged across the surface of the Gray Mist Sea. However, these lampposts seemed to grow on the sea surface like hair, surging along with the waves without being affected at all.

Lin Yi kept replaying the words of the "Divine Craftsman" in his mind. No matter how much trouble the Gray Mist Sea caused, he would keep moving closer to his ultimate goal. Soon, more than half of the lampposts were laid, and the red paint numbers on the lampposts seemed to come alive, gradually wriggling and then transforming into individual characters that floated out, forming rune-like symbols within Lin Yi's anchor point...

As the last lamppost was lowered and the anchor point was initially established, the area formed by the lampposts was already filled with countless secret symbols.

At this moment, Lin Yi's will body had floated back above the Gray Mist Sea. Looking down, hundreds of lampposts stood like soldiers arrayed on the sea surface in an area below, with countless secret patterns resembling a projected star map.

This anchor point is thus constructed, and at this moment, it may be more appropriate to call it an "anchor point matrix".

But at this moment, Lin Yi felt a surge of heat in his heart. He felt his hands were itchy, and a feeling called "muscle memory" was constantly running through his body!

He wants to take the next step!
Fold the anchor point matrix, and then... activate it!

He already knew what to do. It wasn't that he understood the principle, but rather that he had come this far, and the next step was obvious!
"Young Master Tian, ​​I think I understand..." Lin Yi murmured, a strange excitement surging in his chest.

“In that case, let’s begin!” Tian Bufan replied without hesitation.

"Good!" The extraordinary power accumulated in Lin Yi's heart suddenly erupted. He was like a commander-in-chief who controlled the three armies. He waved the battle flag and began to deploy his troops.

"open--!!"

He let out a long howl, and the anchor point matrix instantly began to fluctuate rapidly, like a quilt being shaken.

He didn't really understand the changing patterns of the anchor point matrix, but he had a vague sense of familiarity, like an old horse knowing the way. It seemed like this was done this way, and that was done that way... It was as if he could accomplish something just by doing it this way...

At first, he tried to move the lampposts by himself, but after they were stabilized, each lamppost was as immovable as a stone pillar cast in a sea of ​​gray fog. The entire anchor point matrix seemed to be as solid as a rock from the moment it was built.

So he simply let the waves of the Gray Mist Sea push the anchor point matrix like he was practicing Tai Chi, while at the same time feeling the subtle connection between the runes, the star map and the matrix. Gradually, starlight and runes began to be reflected in his eyes, and the scattered spots bloomed in his pupils like fireworks.

The gray fog sea surged continuously, while the anchor point matrix shifted like a liquid obelisk imbued with Kryptonian technology.

As the liquid obelisk changed, Lin Yi's mind became as clear as a blue sky after the haze had been cleared. His eyes sparkled with infinite light, and the secret patterns, like stars, were created and destroyed, constantly combining and changing within the matrix, transforming into various forms.

Lin Yi's face began to show a variety of expressions, sometimes confused, sometimes enlightened, sometimes joyful, and sometimes sad. It was as if he saw many things in the anchor point matrix, things that were like countless puzzles and infinite mazes, which he was now constantly solving.

Finally, the vague feelings in Lin Yi's heart came together like fragments, forming a complete puzzle.

At that moment, he covered his face with his hands and laughed, a hearty "ho ho ho," like a restrained villain making a perfect curtain call, or like a Taoist who had transcended the mundane and finally attained enlightenment: "Hahahaha... I understand... I understand...! I've figured it out! I've finally figured out... the mystery of the secret runes!!"

"The real secret wasn't in the Gray Fog Sea, but in the campus map!"

"A proper anchor point matrix cannot be constructed here indefinitely, otherwise it will become food for the strange creatures in the gray fog sea, like the carcasses of animals!"

"Therefore, this anchor point matrix must undergo necessary changes!"

"And the waves of the Gray Fog Sea can provide the necessary assistance for the changes in the matrix!"

"Ocean waves are inherently disordered and have no specific patterns, therefore the anchor point matrix constructed on the sea surface also does not change constantly!"

"However, in order to make it completely unaffected by the fluctuations of the Gray Fog Sea, I need to set up an additional 'password lock' on top of that!"

"And this combination lock... is written on the campus map!! It's made up of those lampposts that are already arranged in a standard order along the cobblestone streets!"

"The streetlights on campus unfold according to a fixed logic every night, but when daylight comes, they assemble themselves in a disorderly manner!"

"The unfolding and shrinking of the campus map is like crumpling and flattening a piece of paper; once the folds are formed, it can be repeatedly opened and closed to a great extent!"

"And the second layer of 'password lock' in this anchor point matrix is ​​actually derived in reverse from the 'normal' version of the campus map—the 'reverse logic' campus map!!"

"It turns out the standard answer to this question has always been right beside me, but I only saw the question stem today!!"

"No wonder, no wonder... When Liangzi is in the dormitory area, he always looks like a dead pig. He must have known everything all along, but the anomalies in the dormitory area are so obvious that even his strange skills can't completely cover them up, so he entrusted everything to me!"

"Young Master Tian, ​​you really are a master of keeping your mouth shut! So many secrets, yet you didn't even give me a hint!"

Tian Bufan had remained silent while Lin Yi was muttering in enlightenment, but upon hearing Lin Yi's words, he said helplessly, "There's no way... Some things simply cannot be explained. We can only guide you to gradually understand them. The plan will continue whenever you reach that understanding."

"Of course, there will be some deviation in the speed of this comprehension, but the deviation will not be too large and is still within our control."

"You've grasped the core of the anchor matrix; now you can use it to search for the principal's whereabouts."

"A wild goose leaves its cry as it flies by, and a person leaves their name as they pass through life. The principal's traces may be faint, but they will not disappear without a trace."

"Okay." Lin Yi nodded. After understanding the mysteries of the anchor point matrix, there was no need for further explanation.

He then used the waves of the gray fog sea as a basis and the campus map as a reference, constantly changing its form of expression in the shape of folds, so that the anchor point matrix always existed in a form that was irregular yet contained hidden patterns.

At a certain moment, the Gray Mist Sea surged with towering waves, and the anchor point matrix arrayed itself in the southeast. In an instant, the star map opened, secret patterns combined, and hundreds of lampposts converged and changed, weaving together in the void to form a vast radar-like structure!
Lin Yifu, struck by a sudden inspiration, immediately called out, "Principal—Principal—"

"You can't just call him that, Lao Lin," Tian Bufan quickly said. "You have to use a name he's familiar with! Summon him using the name of Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun!"

(End of this chapter)