Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 665 He really is a cunning person.
"Oh~" Lin Yi looked enlightened. "So it was you—wait, you just mentioned Liangzi?"

"Van Gogh took Ryoko's advice and created 'The Starry Night'...?!"

"Holy crap, Liangzi actually existed in the 19th century?" Lin Yi's expression was extremely strange.

Tian Bufan said, "The logic is flawed. The appearance of 'The Starry Night' was entirely due to Van Gogh's subjective will. Fusheng Weiliang Tianzun would not intervene in things that affect the timeline. As for that event in the 19th century..."

“It wasn’t just him, it was you too, you all participated…” Tian Bufan said, “It’s just that you don’t remember it yet. Time travel… and we have to avoid paradoxical cycles, so many things are only in our memories at certain stages.”

"This..." Lin Yi opened his mouth, then narrowed his eyes. For some reason, the bizarre image of Wei Liang discussing stockings and fantasy with Van Gogh inexplicably surfaced in his mind...

Wait, wait!! Wait!!
In the story of Napoleon inventing stockings... could Liangzi have played a part in pushing things along?
No way...? Surely not...?
Tian Bufan said, "Any more questions about time allocation? If not, we can put the 'High-Rank Alien Angel' issue on hold. Once we awaken Difa, eliminating the 'High-Rank Alien Angel' will be a piece of cake."

"I seem to be fine for now..." Lin Yi said.

“If there are no problems, I’ll be leaving now. I won’t accompany you on the rest of the journey. Call me when you really encounter problems,” Tian Bufan said. “If I stay here too long, Wei Sang might be left to fend for himself.”

According to the plan, he would only accompany Lin Yi for a while. For the rest of the time, he would have to take control of Lin Yi's body. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult for Wei Shan to protect Lin Yi's body and deal with the crises in the campus all by himself.

Don't forget, although the campus is relatively safe now, there is still the principal in the "Burial Body" and "Primordial Ash Apostle" states.

The "burial body" is fine, but as for the principal, it's better not to confirm it yet. Once it's confirmed, Wei Shan will definitely be hesitant to act.

"Okay, sure," Lin Yi said.

Mao Feiyang and Kuai Hongji both nodded.

"Alright, everyone, see you tomorrow." Tian Bufan smiled slightly. The next moment, Lin Yi noticed that his aura was constantly diluting like gas until he could no longer sense his aura.

"Young Master Tian has left..." he murmured.

"Okay." Mao Feiyang nodded. "Next, we'll go liberate the 'Mage Master,' then leave the campus immediately. Oh, by the way! Kuai Kuai, here's your stuff."

As he spoke, he slightly spread his five fingers, and a cloud of mist quickly appeared, then swirled and turned into a vortex.

Golden threads intertwined and eventually formed a crystal ball within the vortex.

“The Starry Dream Crystal…” Looking at the Starry Dream Crystal in Mao Feiyang’s hand, Kuai Hongji showed no surprise whatsoever, only a sinister smile. “I thought you’d forgotten.”

Mao Feiyang revealed a sly glint in his eyes: "How could I forget the tools of my trade?"

As he spoke, he tossed the "Starry Dream Crystal" directly at the unsuspecting Kuai Hongji, leaving Lin Yi with a look of utter shock.

"Holy crap, you Russian, watch out!" Lin Yi exclaimed.

This thing looks so fragile, what if it breaks if I don't catch it?!

But Kuai Hongji then easily grasped the "Star Dream Crystal" with a single move, and then it disintegrated once again, turning back into wisps of mist that disappeared into his body.

After Kuai Hongji put away the "Starry Dream Crystal", a pattern with a strange glow appeared on his arm.

“Old Lin,” Kuai Hongji said.

"Huh?" Lin Yi asked, taken aback.

"time."

Lin Yi quickly glanced at his watch: "2:58."

"Let's go." Kuai Hongji tightened his clothes, picked up the old kerosene lamp, and led Mao Feiyang out of the passage.

“Clatter…”

The sound of chains rattling, accompanied by distorted shadows on the walls, slowly disappeared into the passageway.

……

May 12, X023, 3:00 AM, Art Building, Observatory Area.

When Kuai Hongji led Mao Feiyang to the entrance of the passage and into the hall, which was classically styled yet filled with a cult-like religious atmosphere, Lin Yi saw an unbelievable scene through Mao Feiyang's perspective.

All the fanatics, including their leader, were kneeling on the ground, facing the entrance to the passage, their buttocks sticking up high, like a bunch of little bastards handing over a surrender document.

"Splash... splash..."

As the sound of iron chains drew closer, the glow of old kerosene lamps spread out of the passage first, illuminating all the fanatics.

Kuai Hongji narrowed his eyes.

The fanatical leader, sensing the light of the old kerosene lamp, shouted without looking up, "Your Majesty!! Please lead us onto the right path!!!"

"Your Majesty—!"

The fanatical believers chanted in unison, seemingly intending to place Kuai Hongji on the throne.

“Gurgle…”

Yan Jinming and the other veteran art students didn't dare to breathe, all eyes were focused on Kuai Hongji, as if Kuai Hongji's decision would create an extremely important historical turning point.

Kuai Hongji's face beneath his hood was expressionless. He merely glanced at it before stepping out of the passage and slowly walking towards the exit.

"Your Majesty—!!!"

The fanatics knelt on the ground and turned their heads with a "rustling" sound, like a group of pointers floating on the water, slowly moving with the magnetic field.

After taking a few steps, Kuai Hongji stopped.

"call……"

A sigh came from beneath the hood.

"That's fine..."

The fanatical leaders were overjoyed at the mere mention of those two words, their bodies trembling with delight as they lay prostrate on the ground.

"Despite receiving the wrong outline, your dedication to research over the years is commendable..."

"Considering your determination, I'll show you the way..."

The fanatical leaders were overjoyed and wished they could stay close to the ground.

Kuai Hongji raised his hand, and wisps of light and shadow intertwined, holding the "Star Dream Crystal" in his palm amidst a hazy mist.

"Close your eyes, relax your mind. If you show any resistance from now on, this path will be ruined... You only have one chance, so make the most of it."

As he spoke, ignoring the reactions of the fanatic leaders and their thoughts, he began to set up the runes.

With the blessing of the "Starry Dream Crystal," when Kuai Hongji was setting up the secret runes, the light in the entire hall seemed to dim, except for the religiously-themed glass above Kuai Hongji's head, which continued to shimmer.

Above the dome, the thick dark clouds and torrential rain seemed to become much more transparent at this moment. In the distant sky, countless stars shone brightly, as if they were about to fall from the dome onto Kuai Hongji.

At this moment, Kuai Hongji seemed like a divine messenger descending to earth, his body surrounded by a dreamlike gauze garment woven from starlight.

One after another, the secret runes fell into the bodies of countless fanatical believers without any hindrance, imprinting themselves on their souls.

"This...this...this...this is?!" Upon seeing the vast starry sky, the fanatical leader was so excited that he became incoherent, and wisps of light burst forth from his body, resembling a human-shaped aurora.

"I...I feel as if I've glimpsed...the secrets of the stars...!!!"

The faint, candle-like light that once shone in the deep-set eyes of one fanatical leader after another began to disappear, replaced by flowing starlight, like the shimmering surface of a lake under the night sky.

"Among those who chase the light through the mist... there are also different levels." Kuai Hongji put away the "Star Dream Crystal" and said leisurely, "You cannot bear the brilliance of the vast stars. Spread them out to your believers scattered in other places."

"Go ahead..."

"Go ahead..."

Kuai Hongji's voice seemed to possess a certain magic. As he spoke, he slowly turned around and left the hall under the watchful eyes of countless veteran art students.

As Kuai Hongji walked past the veteran art students, they stood ramrod straight, sweat pouring down their backs, barely daring to breathe.

They didn't breathe a sigh of relief until long after Kuai Hongji and Mao Feiyang's figures disappeared at the entrance of the hall.

“Buze…Buze…Buze…”

The fanatical leaders, their faces filled with fervor and excitement, left one by one.

The veteran art students tried to stop them, but some of them stopped them, saying, "Be careful, don't bother with them!"

"how?"

"Something's wrong!"

"This is very wrong!"

"what does it mean?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but my gut feeling tells me there's something I haven't grasped—a huge problem! The faith pursued by these fanatics was shattered by that 'dormitory manager,' who's like a projection of the 'Night Watch,' and now they've been indoctrinated with some kind of ideology... We shouldn't easily come into contact with them, lest we become corrupted ourselves."

"Then what do we do...?"

"We don't need to worry about it..."

"Huh? I don't understand."

"You...you don't understand, so be it. In short, all you need to know is that if something really goes wrong with the fanatics, there will be a 'Headmaster' or a 'Night Watchman' to handle it. They are a group, not just a few individuals. In such a major event, you and I shouldn't worry about things that don't concern us..."

"Uh...you're right..."

……

In the passageway with the dilapidated sculpture.

Kuai Hongji, carrying an old kerosene lamp, led Mao Feiyang down the steps at a leisurely pace.

It was probably because Mao Feiyang's identity as "Bai Fangshuo" had been overwritten that Yan Jinming did not recognize him when he left with Kuai Hongji.

Only after Kuai Hongji had walked away did Lin Yi ask, "Kuai... what was that all about?"

Kuai Hongji said, "Can't you see? I shattered their faith and became a new saint in their eyes."

Lin Yi said, "I can sense a little bit, but how did you do that?"

Kuai Hongji said calmly, "This is a long story, and I don't really want to make it short..."

"I should have known better than to have the Russians withhold the 'Starry Dream Crystal' from you!" Lin Yi said angrily.

Kuai Hongji: "..."

"Old Lin," he said quietly.

"Are you going to say it?" Lin Yi asked quickly.

“If the ‘original you’ were like this, I would definitely beat you up.”

Lin Yi: "..."

Kuai Hongji continued, "To make a long story short..."

"The simplest way to defeat fanatics is to shatter their faith."

"If one day, a goal that you've persevered towards with countless efforts still seems unattainable, and suddenly stands in front of you, telling you that you were wrong from the very beginning, would you break down?"

"I..." Lin Yi paused slightly, then began to think.

Kuai Hongji continued, "If you waver even slightly, the cracks will spread infinitely... That's the power of winning hearts and minds."

"So that's why they want to follow you?" Lin Yi asked.

Kuai Hongji nodded.

Lin Yi pondered for a moment and said, "But you don't need them to follow you..."

Although he was not as knowledgeable about astrology as Kuai Hongji, Kuai Hongji's actions just now did not seem like a sudden display of compassion, but rather more like... setting up a matrix.

Kuai Hongji's specialty is arranging matrices.

Kuai Hongji gave a sinister smile. The flickering light from the old kerosene lamp made his already sinister face look even more sinister: "Ants will follow you because of the food in your hand, but will you feed them?"

“As expected…” Lin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, “So you actually set up a matrix on them?”

“That’s right,” Kuai Hongji said indifferently. “With a great battle imminent, we need to gather all the forces we can. These fanatics are numerous and widely scattered. With a little utilization, they can be a considerable force.”

"Moreover, they've gone far down the wrong path, and what they've created, and they themselves, are constantly drawing closer to the 'Alien Angel.'"

"They thought they were heading towards the 'Black Moon Apostles,' but in reality, they were heading towards the 'Alien Angels.'"

"This kind of fundamental error is inherently impossible to correct. Besides, the path of the 'Black Moon Apostles' is not even considered advanced."

Kuai Hongji said disdainfully, then continued, "Originally, it would have been very difficult for us to take them all down at once, but now that they've been delivered to our doorstep, it's a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone."

Kuai Hongji paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, it would be even more interesting if we could use them to lure out that cowardly 'Grandpa'."

Lin Yi fell silent.

He was right.

Kuai Hongji placed a matrix on the fanatical leader, and then used the fanatical leader's fervent worship of him and the pyramid-like swarm effect of the fanatical followers to spread contamination from top to bottom, placing the entire matrix among the fanatical followers, and finally detonating it all at once.

Then, the term "fanatic" will become history, and it will perish amidst a "thriving" frenzy.

Lin Yi pictured Wei Shan in his mind...

Yes, Wei Sang is right, Kuai Kuai... is indeed a scheming person.

……

(End of this chapter)