Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 664 Mao Feiyang? "Bai Fangshuo"

The fluctuations caused by the "Higher Alien Angel" in the "Starry Night" layer were hidden very deeply, just like the undercurrents of the deep sea that cannot be transmitted to the surface of the sea, and were not clearly observed by "Night Watchman-02".

Even so, "Night Watchman-02" could still vaguely sense something, but now that the "High-Rank Alien Angel" was recklessly self-destructing its location, "Night Watchman-02" was greatly surprised and its expression became serious.

Without bothering to assess the situation at the observatory, "Night Watchman-02" prioritized defeating the "High-Ranking Alien Angels" and brazenly rang the quantum giant bell, "Sanctuary"!
"Duang~~~"

The sound waves were almost solidified, but instead of spreading outwards in a ripple pattern, they condensed into a crescent shape and slammed into the "high-level alien angel" above the barrier!
"Howl—!!"

The "High-Rank Alien Angel" was in pain, but could only retreat unwillingly into the endless night.

At the Black Moon Outpost, which is infinitely close to the layer of reality, the power it can mobilize is very limited. If it were deeper in the layer, it would be confident in directly killing units of the "Night Watch" level—provided, of course, that the Night Watch does not possess a transcendent artifact of the "Sanctuary" level.

After forcing back the "High-Rank Alien Angel" with a single blow, "Night Watchman-02" merely glanced at the shadows of the circular stone wall before turning his attention back to the phantom of the "angel" in front of him.

The phantom of the "angel" was the unit he had been fighting against throughout countless long nights of "gray fog invasion."

Compared to this, the "High-Ranking Alien Angel" is indeed somewhat lacking.

……

Above the clock tower, on the second floor, next to the quantum giant clock "Sanctuary".

The towering figure of "Night Watchman-02" stands majestically.

After a long silence, he suddenly spoke: "For a fleeting moment just now... I seemed to sense the presence of that 'repeating machine kid,' and that kid named Mao Feiyang..."

"Little Mao...?" Just as the Night Watchman's voice faded away, another, somewhat weak voice slowly rose into the air.

Beside a fragment of wall next to "Night Watchman-02", a figure leaned against it, half-dead.

The figure is now just a simple skeleton, with very little flesh and blood, as if it had been gnawed by wild dogs.

But upon closer inspection, one would discover that the flesh of this skeleton is slowly growing in strands at a considerable rate, and although the head is covered with cracks, it is relatively intact. Judging from its appearance, it is actually... Mu Daxian.

"Night Watchman-02" promised Lao Mo to save Mu Daxian, and he did just that, but he didn't know that something was happening: Mu Daxian's body was being reconstructed in this way.

Overall, it seems that Maki Daiken's situation isn't bad...

“He is the most talented art student I have ever seen... even... I feel that he is more likely than me to join the ranks of the Night Watchmen…” Mu Daxian was a little weak, but his tone was much more proud because he had discovered Mao Feiyang, this rough gem.

"'The most talented art student'?" Night Watchman-02 chuckled.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with him?" Mu Daxian asked.

"Night Watchman-02" shook his head slightly: "He's fine... but, never mind, you wouldn't understand... his status is perhaps far beyond your imagination..."

"What...what did you say...?!" Mu Daxian's bones trembled in shock, and his flesh and blood shuddered.

"Night Watchman-02" glanced at him indifferently: "In your understanding, my position is already the highest path you know, isn't it?"

“That’s right,” Mu Daxian said.

“But… this is not the end of the journey.” “Night Watchman-02” sighed. ““Night Watchman”, heh… stepping into the “Supreme Judgment” is merely the threshold to their arrival…”

Mu Daxian was stunned.

He stared intently at the Night's Watchman.

The Night's Watchman he was gazing at was staring blankly at the void before him.

In the void, eighteen spirited figures seemed to twinkle like stars.

Those eighteen "First Apostles," who were honored with titles, represented the most powerful era in human history since the dawn of civilization.

"The Age of Black Fog".

……

X023年5月12日，2:44，一线天地势的夹道台阶之上。

Kuai Hongji's figure emerged from the white mist that flowed like a waterfall, one hand holding an old kerosene lamp, the other tightly gripping the chain as if afraid it would break.

When the white light appeared, Kuai Hongji staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Mao Feiyang rushed forward to support him from behind, asking with a worried expression, "Are you injured?"

"It's alright...cough..." Kuai Hongji had just waved his hand when he coughed up a mouthful of black gas, as if he had carbon powder in his mouth.

"How did the 'High-Ranking Alien Angel' hurt you?" Mao Feiyang pressed.

Kuai Hongji waved his hand again, and after calming down a bit, he said, "Although the coordinates of the star track were only exposed for a moment, I didn't want to give it a chance to deduce them, so I concealed them for a while longer... and thus... endured some of its attacks. It will be fine after a while."

"That idiot, his IQ is indeed a bit low... I fooled him and he didn't even notice that I was injured. Otherwise, if he had held on a little longer, I might have really suffered a lot."

Lin Yi's will spoke through Mao Feiyang: "Don't talk for now, Kuai Kuai, you should rest for a bit."

"We can't rest... It's too close to the observatory here, there are too many unstable factors. Let's retreat back to the passage first." Kuai Hongji said as he dragged himself down the alleyway.

"Oh, right." Kuai Hongji seemed to suddenly remember something, pulled a student ID from his pocket, and handed it to Mao Feiyang, "Your new identity..."

Mao Feiyang looked over and saw that what Kuai Hongji was holding was clearly Bai Fangshuo's student ID.

Mao Feiyang naturally accepted the student ID, then smiled and nodded: "Okay."

"You understand." Kuai Hongji released the student ID, which then fell into Mao Feiyang's hands.

“Of course… everything is in the plan,” Mao Feiyang (Bai Fangshuo) said.

After exchanging student IDs, Kuai Hongji led Mao Feiyang down the steps.

……

In the desolate, narrow passageway, "Dormitory Manager-14-X0230906094" walked slowly, carrying an old kerosene lamp. Behind him, "Bai Fangshuo" gripped the chains tightly, following closely behind...

...On May 12, X023, at 2:53, Kuai Hongji pushed open the iron gate, brought Mao Feiyang out, and then leaned against the wall of the passage to slowly recuperate.

On the other side, the iron gate quietly closed, separating the two worlds.

Mao Feiyang silently watched Kuai Hongji, while Lin Yi wanted to speak several times, but chose to let Kuai Hongji recover first.

In the dimly lit passageway, the flickering light of an old kerosene lamp cast the shadows of Kuai Hongji and Mao Feiyang on the wall, like two evil demons whispering to each other.

Finally, Kuai Hongji had recovered enough and spoke first: "Am I too early, or are you too late?"

Mao Feiyang scratched his head: "Uh...it seems alright?"

"Is this good?" Kuai Hongji said sinisterly. "If the timing had been even more precise, we could have even joined forces to severely injure the 'High-Rank Alien Angel.'"

"The depths of the layers are its domain, but we can emulate Van Gogh and use its strengths to turn the tables on it, sealing it within the 'Starry Night' layer."

"Van Gogh? To imitate?" Although Lin Yi inside Mao Feiyang had not spoken, a glint flashed in his eyes at this moment.

It sounds like Van Gogh was once an extremely powerful being in the supernatural realm, and "The Starry Night" was not only his painting, but also his...weapon? Uh...exclusive weapon?
In fact, it is not impossible. The "Starry Night" layer contains coordinates leading to the "Star Prison," so it is highly likely that Van Gogh was able to borrow the power of the "Star Prison."

Moreover, Maki once mentioned that Van Gogh was one of the most outstanding students in the art department... No, there was an art department back then?
Forget it, let's stop thinking about it and just ask them directly... Lin Yi quickly pulled himself out of his wild thoughts and turned to look at Mao Feiyang.

After being rebuked by Kuai Hongji, Mao Feiyang was now whispering, "Uh... well, what you said is right, but isn't that a bit too idealistic?"

At this moment, Tian Bufan's voice rang out: "Kuai Kuai's idea is indeed a bit idealistic."

Lin Yi was overjoyed; Young Master Tian was back too!
When Mao Feiyang left the "Principal's Office," Tian Bufan withdrew from the "Dream Boundary." His reappearance now means that he has returned through the "Dream Boundary."

Tian Bufan added, "Although there have been some setbacks, every step we've taken so far has been within the right range."

Kuai Hongji pursed his lips: "Your tone and format are like a navigation menu."

Tian Bufan was uncharacteristically taken aback, and said with a wry smile, "Based on various simulation models and past experience, eradicating the 'High-Level Alien Angel' is certainly feasible, but to perfectly execute our plan, we can only allocate extremely limited resources to it."

"But this amount of resources is not enough to destroy it."

Lin Yi couldn't help but ask, "Can't we take it one step at a time? Eliminate it first, then proceed with the rest. I mean, break it down into one more step?"

His words silenced the three people who were discussing the matter.

Then Kuai Hongji slowly said, "How about we let Lao Lin know more? I've actually been putting up with his slow, drawn-out attempts to regain his 'cognitive' depth for a long time..."

Lin Yi: "..."

Tian Bufan pursed his lips, but thinking that it was already this late, it wouldn't hurt to say a little, so he patiently explained, "Never mind, don't be so harsh. It was all Old Lin's own plan, so it's normal for him to get a little scolded behind his back..."

“That’s how it is, Lao Lin.” He looked at Lin Yi, “Our plan is like stringing different cards onto a rope.”

“Each card corresponds to a task. There are many tasks, but the length of the rope is fixed. Some tasks must be performed. Therefore, after removing these tasks, we must string together more cost-effective tasks into the remaining limited rope.”

"A pie chart?" Lin Yi asked.

“Using a rope as an analogy makes it more intuitive,” Tian Bufan corrected. “The more knots a rope has, the shorter the rope itself becomes.”

"You mean, our time has been compressed?" Lin Yi asked thoughtfully.

Tian Bufan nodded: "Therefore, we need to split our forces into six groups."

"Six routes? You, me, Wei Sang, Kuai Kuai, and Mao Zi, that's only five. The sixth one could be...?"

“May the Heavenly Venerable Wei Liang grant you blessings.” Tian Bufan nodded affirmatively.

Although it was somewhat unexpected, Lin Yi still asked in confusion, "Isn't Liangzi only allowed to make one move?"

Tian Bufan glanced at him: "A general with only 'limited skills' can still be dealt with using the usual 'kill,' 'dodge,' 'strategy,' and 'equipment' tactics."

"A marvelous and ingenious technique!" Lin Yi exclaimed, "So that's how it is!" But he still cautiously pressed on, "Just how powerful is that 'limited skill'?"

He was very curious about how incredible the legendary ability of Wei Liang to save him no matter what happened, as Tian Bufan had said, really was.

Seeing Lin Yi's expression, Tian Bufan thought for a moment and then said very seriously, "It's probably... 'flipping the table'."

"hiss--"

Lin Yi gasped sharply.

After calming down, he realized the severity of the mission. Even splitting into six groups was not enough to deal with the "high-level alien angels," so there was no need to say more about the rest.

"By the way, what about Van Gogh?" Lin Yi asked. "There wasn't a campus back then, so how did he become an art student?"

“There were no gymnasiums back then, but that didn’t stop him from being a sports student,” Tian Bufan said.

Lin Yi: "?"

"I understand it less and less."

Kuai Hongji said, "No need to understand. 'Art student' and 'sports student' are just names. In that era, they naturally had their own names. We just use 'art student' and 'sports student' to refer to them now. But you only need to know that they exist in that path."

"Cobras didn't just appear after eyeglasses were invented, did they?"

Tian Bufan said, "If you want to know more clearly, then I can tell you that Van Gogh could almost be considered an 'Apostle of the Black Moon.' He was a genius, but also someone whose talent was tragically cut short."

"About 'Starry Night'?" Lin Yi asked.

“Yes,” Tian Bufan nodded. “Before he finished drawing ‘Starry Night,’ he bore the seal himself.”

"He mastered the characteristics of 'exile,' observing the starry sky and also a corner of 'Ruins' within the Gray Mist Sea. He exiled a portion of the eerie to the depths of the layers and into the Gray Mist Sea, and a large part of his own corruption originated from this."

"He imprisoned himself, bearing that seal. Later, he mastered the armillary sphere, observed the starry sky, and sensed even greater power. However, due to his own limitations, his mortal body could not bear such immense power, leading him to destruction."

"He followed the instructions of Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun and imprinted the seal onto the circular stone wall of the observatory, thus giving birth to 'Starry Night'."

(End of this chapter)