Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 653 The Principal's Code of Conduct

"Maozi, put the notebook away first."

"Hmm." Mao Feiyang nodded, walked to the desk that looked like an old tree root, picked up the notebook that was only two-thirds full, and put it into the green robe of an art student.

"This notebook...? Is it now 'The Principal's Notebook'?" Lin Yi asked.

Tian Bufan said, "Isn't that right? The principal didn't come back, but didn't we take the notebooks and leap over to find him?"

"This notebook was originally given to you by Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun, but chronologically speaking, it was given to Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun by the principal. It's just that we have given it the awakening of its mission."

"Cause and effect are interconnected... just like the ouroboros."

Lin Yi pursed his lips: "So, the Russian took this notebook, met up with Kuai Kuai, left the art department, then rejoined us and left the campus, and our mission was officially over... right?"

"The mission on the surface, that's the correct way to put it," Tian Bufan said. "This mission is an agreement between Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun and the authorities."

"Of course, freelance work is our main focus."

Lin Yi then subconsciously followed up, saying, "Now you should be able to tell me what that 'side quest' is, right?"

Tian Bufan shook his head helplessly, then said with a half-smile, "Didn't you already know?"

Lin Yi was taken aback: "You mean...?"

As he was speaking, fragments of memories from the gray world finally followed and slowly flooded into his mind.

Tian Bufan slowly explained, "Before the 'Black Moon Blood Calamity' occurred, the 'First Apostles' explored the existence of the 'Root' through the Great Voyage. In countless encounters with the 'Angels,' they gradually discovered the essence of the 'Root' through the 'Angels'..."

"The essence of the 'root'?" Lin Yi felt a slight pressure. "Is it the kind of 'books and ashes' relationship you mentioned before?"

This ashes are not the same as those ashes; they are the burning of the world by the "Root," not the ashes of the Ashes Apostles derived from the "Holy Sun."

“That’s right.” Tian Bufan nodded slightly. “If this wisp of ash cannot be extinguished, it will ignite the entire world, causing it to reignite into a flame. Once this flame appears, it will burn the world and even the entire dimension of time to ashes.”

"The world that you and I know will become a real ruin, no, not even ruins will remain."

Lin Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Collapse? Black hole?"

Tian Bufan said, "Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun speculated that it would become nothingness, just like the night sky after fireworks, utter nothingness."

"So... what's our side quest?" Lin Yi had a vague guess. "Is it to put out this cloud of ashes? Us?"

"Holy Sun" seems to refer to some kind of plan.

He pointed to himself, his face covered in "Huh? Me?" emojis, as if he were possessed by Benboerba.

Tian Bufan said, "Of course, that's not all... There's also Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun, Difa, and the 'First Apostles' who are still surviving and accumulating strength at the Black Moon Outpost."

“We’ll release them, then set sail together to the ‘root’…”

Lin Yi tentatively blurted out, "...Extinguish?"

“It can’t be extinguished.” Tian Bufan shook his head with a wry smile. “The entire dimension of time is a book, and we are symbols within it. The ‘root’ is the ashes that ignited the book… What we can do is not to extinguish the ashes, but to try every possible means, using the strongest power we have, to tear off the pages stained with the ashes…”

"Time and dimension may be torn apart as a result, and only those parts that remain will survive."

"This is our mission, or rather... our destiny."

"From the moment we are born, we are destined to rush towards this... the final fate."

"'Destiny'...Ouroboros...Time loop..." Lin Yi squinted, as if some memories were trying to break through the blockade, but could not appear.

"In my limited fragments of memory, I seem to have heard the 'Holy Sun' say something about origins or something, and the 'Mist Whisperer' knew us... saying we were some kind of 'hybrid,' fragments of the 'Holy Sun'..."

"What exactly are we? Since we are neither the 'original apostles' nor beings like the 'Mist Nightmare Hunters,' then what are we?"

Tian Bufan pursed his lips and said, "Do you still remember the World Tree sculpture in the lobby of the art building?"

“Living Towards Death,” Lin Yi said.

“We are ‘born from death,’ born from the death of the ‘Holy Sun,’ inheriting a portion of its authority and surpassing it…”

"Our power is the source of the 'Ash Apostles' power, permeating the entire timeline, just as Barry Allen created the Speed ​​Force and extended it throughout the entire timeline."

"As I told you before, the principal's power, drawing upon the essence of the 'Ash Apostles,' permeates time, projecting itself onto the school in the form of a 'Primordial Ash Apostle'—that's what I meant."

"Our power is the source of the Principal's 'Original Ash Apostle' power... but it may not be 'our power at this moment.' It could be from the past, or it could be from the future, because time in higher dimensions is not linear. So once layer-level or dimension-level power manifests, it will continuously permeate the entire dimension, just like the permeation and spread of the 'Root.'"

Lin Yi's expression was complicated as he asked again, "Then... what is that 'Red Star,' that navigation device?"

“This… I don’t know.” Tian Bufan shook his head. “You could ask Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun, but he doesn’t seem to be able to tell us right away.”

"At a time like this, you're still hiding things?" Lin Yi was furious.

Tian Bufan said helplessly, "Our existence may be a paradoxical cycle. When we have accomplished something, we may also disappear."

"Or perhaps we are already dead, merely ghosts in a time loop, or perhaps we never existed at all, just an unyielding paradox..."

"No one knows us, but we have long transcended time. Only the existence of time will be remembered by the Heavenly Venerable Fusheng Weiliang."

Tian Bufan said softly, his tone calm yet revealing an unspeakable sadness.

"In the abyss of fog and darkness, lost souls seek illusions... This admonition has long foretold everything."

Lin Yi pursed his lips, and suddenly felt a surge of uncomfortable emotions in his chest, wanting to be released, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.

"Boss... Li Huiyuan, our homeroom teacher, will they forget about us?"

"Maybe... Maybe the timeline was overwritten, and we never even existed in their lives?" Tian Bufan smiled helplessly. "Don't worry about it too much... You'd better hope that the boss who regained her memories is on our side." "Suddenly, I hope she's not on our side..." Lin Yi said dejectedly. "If she's an enemy, I won't care too much. If she's on our side, and we disappear, will she sometimes think, 'There was once an idiot I could kick but couldn't kill?'"

"Idiot, I bet the boss wouldn't think that much about it," Mao Feiyang said cheekily.

“Okay…” Lin Yi shrugged. “Then I don’t want to think about it anymore… So what we need to do now is go back to the art building and meet up with Kuai Kuai, right?”

“Yes,” Mao Feiyang said. “At this point, we still need to hurry up and release ‘her’. But that’s alright. Last time when I went to the bedroom, I opened a back door for myself. After Kuai Kuai meets up with us, we can quickly get there.”

"It won't take much time."

As Mao Feiyang spoke, he walked to the desk and placed his hand on the "Star Dream Crystal." A magical scene unfolded as mist began to seep out from around the "Star Dream Crystal." Within the mist, countless intricate patterns emerged, enveloping the "Star Dream Crystal" and slowly swirling and twisting. Then, a miniature vortex appeared in Mao Feiyang's hand.

The vortex swallowed the "Star Dream Crystal" and gradually disappeared into the air.

"This...?" Lin Yi was stunned by Mao Feiyang's actions, but he quickly realized what was happening. "You transferred the 'Star Dream Crystal' to Kuai Kuai?"

"It's not that simple," Mao Feiyang rolled his eyes at him. "Wasn't it originally planned for you to handle it? But some unexpected things happened before you came back, and we didn't have much time to deliver things to Kuai Kuai."

"So I put it away." Mao Fei raised his arm, revealing some intricate patterns on his wrist, like a wreath woven from the vines of the World Tree.

"Starry Dream Crystal?" Lin Yi asked in surprise.

“Hmm,” Mao Feiyang said, “It’s just a little trick from the art department, similar to how those art students paint the smiling angel on the wall, but I have more micro-management skills.”

"It's not too late to hand it over to Kuai Kuai when we meet up."

As Mao Feiyang spoke, he walked toward the door of the "principal's office," but just then, Lin Yi suddenly spoke up: "Hey, wait a minute!"

"What?" Mao Feiyang asked.

Lin Yi said, "I suddenly thought of something. Since we're already here, why haven't we seen any rules or regulations for the principal?"

"The Principal's Code of Conduct?" Tian Bufan countered. "At this point, what's the point of having a Principal's Code of Conduct?"

Lin Yi was taken aback. Yes, the rules within the campus are used to regulate the units with corresponding identities and to provide them with a safe environment in critical moments. Does the principal need the rules?

It seems... that's not necessary.

Tian Bufan said, "If you insist on adhering to the Principal's Code of Conduct, then I can tell you clearly now... the principal himself is a walking 'Principal's Code of Conduct.' Hearing this explanation, are you more disappointed or more shocked?"

Lin Yi frankly said, "If this had happened before I came here, I would have been both shocked and disappointed, but now... I suddenly feel quite normal."

The principal... does not need the constraints of rules, or rather, any rules are powerless for someone of the principal's level.

“If you are really interested…” Mao Feiyang released the doorknob of the principal’s office and turned to walk towards the desk.

Arriving at the desk, Mao Feiyang reached under it and pulled out a drawer that had been hidden for a long time.

"Look, this is the 'Principal's Code of Conduct' you wanted to know."

Lin Yi's gaze sharpened, and he quickly looked over. He saw a file bag that looked like it was sealed in transparent plastic in the drawer, and there was only a thin piece of paper inside.

The words were written on the paper with a steady, deliberate stroke:

When you see these words, it means you are qualified to inherit the role of "Principal".

Before leaving, I left the "Principal's" identity card on the back of this paper. Take it out; you will inherit the title of "Principal" and will be required to strictly abide by the "Principal's Code of Conduct."

[Principal's Code of Conduct]
As the principal, you don't need to follow any set rules, but you must always keep the following three points in mind:
1. Fear is a human instinct, courage is a hymn to humanity, but to stand firmly on the side of humanity after perceiving the power of the "root," an unparalleled willpower is the quality truly worthy of praise.

As a human being, and a human being for life, the "principal" needs to consider events from a human perspective at all times.

2. Do not interfere with the development of any units within the campus that are not at the "Apostle" level or below. Human development requires the support of the extraordinary, and the campus is the catalyst for this process.

3. When you perceive any threat beyond reality invading the campus, you can directly deliver a devastating blow.

Having come this far, I think there's no need to say more about the rest.

The rest is in your hands, successor.

Time will remember everything we have done.

"This is the 'Principal's Code of Conduct'? It's so short..." Lin Yi reached out and gently stroked the plastic-like cover, where countless vibrant colors flowed, so beautiful that it made people doubt.

"It's less of a 'Principal's Code of Conduct' and more of a 'Principal's' advice to his successor," Tian Bufan said. "Stop fiddling around; you didn't intend to become the 'Principal,' did you?"

Lin Yi slowly loosened his grip, but narrowed his eyes, pondering, "On a certain timeline, did I assume the position of 'Principal' from this moment on?"

Tian Bufan fell silent.

Mao Feiyang also fell silent.

Soon, Tian Bufan said, "The 'Principal' will return from the Gray Mist Sea."

Lin Yi pursed his lips: "Hmm... So, no one needs a successor, right?"

“That’s right,” Tian Bufan said affirmatively.

"Are you still looking? If not, I'm going to close the drawer," Mao Feiyang said.

"I'm not watching anymore," Lin Yi said.

If he becomes the "principal," it means he will stay here permanently.

He wouldn't need to take this step if the "principal" could return.

(End of this chapter)