Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 675 Revisiting the World Tree (Make the most of the last 14 hours of free access, dear~)

Even more so, the head of that enormous creature that he had seen in the sea many times was a projection of the "angel's" power on the layer level—it was one of the "angel's" heads, which appeared in the layer of the sea after being "broadcast" by the "quartermaster's" platform!
All the calls were just tricks the "angels" used to find his coordinates!
This method has been used over time, so he would hear about it from time to time without his knowledge. At that time, he was in a state of "not understanding anything" with his memory completely blocked. Therefore, even if he accidentally fell into the trap, he would anchor himself back in the way that a "clumsy and cute newbie" would do!
It has been from the very beginning!
"And 'I' deliberately manipulated my memories to prevent myself from being exposed before Young Master Tian and Kuai Kuai finished their preparations!"

Even if an "angel" were to spy on his "past," which even he himself was unaware of, the truth would remain unseen!
This is what it means to deceive even oneself!

So, he's definitely out of trouble, but "Night Watchman-02" seems to be in trouble...

Lin Yi said in a low voice, "The 'Quartermaster' was tainted by the 'Angel's' aura, and then... I helped 'Night Watchman-02' find the 'Quartermaster,' which is tantamount to indirectly helping the 'Angel's' aura corrupt 'Night Watchman-02'?!"

“That should be the case,” Kuai Hongji said.

"Wouldn't I have harmed him?" Lin Yi felt a little guilty.

Kuai Hongji calmly analyzed, "This isn't your problem, but rather an open conspiracy by the 'angel.'"

"Without the 'Quartermaster,' 'Night Watch-02' would be unable to withstand the next wave after another of the 'Angels' projections."

"The Night Watchman-02 desperately needs a Quartermaster; whether he has one or not, he won't last much longer."

"The art building only has three 'night watchmen' left. No new 'night watchmen' are being born, so it's only a matter of time before it falls. Once the art building is lost, the 'quartermaster' will also be activated—don't forget, the 'quartermaster's' layer is actually somewhere in the sea below the art building."

"The 'angel' projection may have even sensed the 'quartermaster's' presence long ago, but its goal wasn't simply to 'storm the art building,' but to eliminate us."

"It will remain inactive until its prey appears."

Lin Yi understood.

The sword has become a demonic sword, but the demonic sword will only kill him. As long as the demonic sword does not find a target, it will remain in the hands of the "Night Watchman" in the form of the sword.

"Therefore, giving 'Night Watchman-02' the 'Quartermaster' role now can effectively delay some of the 'Angel' projections' offensive, giving us some more time."

"Then we can't expose ourselves to 'Night Watch-02's' senses now, right?"

A cold smile played on Kuai Hongji's lips: "How could we be exposed?"

He shook the old kerosene lamp in his hand.

"I am currently the dormitory manager (014-X02300506094)."

Mao Feiyang nodded seriously: "I'm even 'Bai Fangshuo' now, student ID number 'X0230506097'."

Lin Yi was taken aback, then couldn't help but smirk and utter two words: "Wonderful."

……

Having understood the "angel's" infiltration of the art building, the group made thorough preparations and proceeded in an orderly manner. Before long, they emerged from the corridor and arrived at the signpost.

Even now, the lobby of the art building is still filled with a large number of art students sitting upright and painting. Their bodies are here, but their wills are fighting within the layers, resisting the invasion and aggression of strange things.

At this moment, Lin Yi was able to see the force that held these art students together.

A subtle, extraordinary power flowed among the art students, like an electric current.

"So it has this effect?" he exclaimed in surprise. Back then, his understanding and strength were insufficient to see this aspect. Now, after experiencing both dimensional ascension and dimensional reduction, his overall strength and status seemed to have been enhanced in some way, and he could see the mystery between the art students at a glance.

Kuai Hongji said, "Yes, the so-called art department is actually the application of secret rune power."

“Painting and depicting shapes is actually the study of esoteric patterns, but esoteric patterns are too profound and unfathomable, so they can only be gradually accepted by people in the form of art.”

“These art students use themselves as a fulcrum to connect with each other, thus forming a matrix, like a so-called ‘array’ to amplify the collective power, making it 1+1+1+1… greater than the original sum.”

After saying this, Kuai Hongji planned to bypass the art students and head towards the entrance of the art building lobby.

But Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and his gaze unconsciously turned to the center of the art building's lobby.

The World Tree artwork, named "Living Towards Death" by the principal, is over there. The huge oak tree looks dilapidated yet still seems to be growing, its state somewhere between life and death. It's as if it suffered a devastating blow at some point, but was frozen in place at the moment of death, and it seems that nothing has changed over the years.

"What?" Kuai Hongji asked.

Lin Yi slowly said, "Could we go take a look? Without attracting the attention of the 'angel'?"

Kuai Hongji said, "The 'Angel' doesn't directly examine us; its corruption is attached to the 'Quartermaster,' and the 'Quartermaster' is attached to 'Night Watchman-02'... If we are to be exposed, it will only be if you use some power at your peak."

"This is not enough to meet the criteria for being locked down."

The implication is that while you should be careful, you're not yet qualified to sit at the table, so your worries are unnecessary.

"Uh... okay." Lin Yi thought to himself, "Oh no, I really did put myself on top of that big-breasted girl's butt—I'm giving her a second opinion."

"What time is it?" Kuai Hongji asked.

Lin Yi said, "3:59... That should be enough time to get back to the campus, right?"

Upon hearing this, Kuai Hongji said nothing more and led Mao Feiyang towards the World Tree.

Lin Yi could have temporarily separated his consciousness from Mao Feiyang's body, but he didn't. Instead, he remained inside Mao Feiyang's body to avoid being discovered by accident.

As they drew closer to the World Tree, fragments of memories in Lin Yi's mind became clearer, and the vague sense of familiarity he had felt before slowly spread through his heart like ink...

"Stop," Lin Yi suddenly said.

Mao Feiyang stood on the huge platform in front of the World Tree.

Mao Feiyang seemed to have a premonition of something and quietly said, "How about I get in the 'passenger seat'?"

“That works too,” Lin Yi said.

Before he could finish speaking, Mao Feiyang's body trembled slightly, and Lin Yi took over his body.

Then, Lin Yi reached out and gently stroked the edge of the base, then lightly ran his palm along its rough texture...

The base has a mysterious symbol, like an ancient and broken badge. The complex lines and engravings look like a pattern formed by the fusion of some kind of weapon and the moon. Overall, it feels very similar to the patterns on ancient tarot cards, or some even more ancient ritual symbols.

The pattern had been eroded by time, almost invisible, but as Lin Yi's palm touched it, it still conveyed a captivating aura. He slowly raised his head, looking at the dome of the art building. The dome and the surrounding stone walls were adorned with murals, as if the gods and Buddhas were gazing upon the roots of the World Tree…

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Images flickered like phantoms.

The dome of the Black Moon Outpost he had seen in his visions in the past, and the dome he saw now as he looked up, flashed back and forth in his mind like two rapidly switching images.

"That's a huge step forward..."

……

"It's alive... but not fully alive..."

……

Wei Liang's voice slowly rose and then quickly disappeared.

“This place… I seem to have lain here before…” Lin Yi murmured. “This is the ‘operating table,’ isn’t it? I used to lie here, surrounded by Liangzi and the ‘original apostles’?”

Kuai Hongji shook his head slightly: "I don't know... I really don't know about what happened back then."

Lin Yi didn't take Kuai Hongji's words to heart, and his gaze slowly moved to the World Tree.

The World Tree, split open, where life and death intertwine, grows here as if it were an ancient epic in itself.

The roots of the World Tree intertwined and extended down from the edge of the platform, spreading into the ground, but there were some hollow places at the roots, as if something was missing.

If this is the World Tree, then what's missing over there seems to be—Nidhogg.

In Norse mythology, the black dragon Nidhogg bit through the triple root system of the World Tree, causing a surge of resinous blood to erupt as an acid rain cloud that corroded the golden shield of Valhalla. The coordinate axes of the nine realms collapsed, and the Jotunheim Boulder crashed into the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard. Nidhogg flew across the battlefield, carrying the remains of the tree roots, its dragon scales shedding branches and debris from the World Tree...

This day is Ragnarök, the day of the gods.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze and turned it to the main trunk of the World Tree, where the traces of destruction were still frozen in time, with a large crack maintaining its broken and cracked appearance, as if something had crawled out from inside.

Lin Yi slowly moved around the World Tree, quietly observing everything around it. Everything within the World Tree's range was still, even the light seemed to be frozen in the past.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in his line of sight, startling him.

"Boss?!" Lin Yi's soul trembled in shock, causing Mao Feiyang's body to shudder as well.

"Why did Boss come here?" Lin Yi looked at Boss in surprise. Boss is now on the edge of the World Tree Domain, and is somewhat encroaching on that area, which makes her seem to be frozen in that time as well.

It was precisely for this reason that Lin Yi did not notice her presence at all before he could observe her with his naked eye!
The leader didn't seem to have noticed him either.

Kuai Hongji's gaze also fell on his eldest brother, a scrutinizing look in his deep-set eyes. Then, he said in a somber tone, "Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can't possibly connect her to the 'anchor point' of the 'Supreme Heaven.'"

Kuai Hongji's reminder made Lin Yi's heart skip a beat again.

The "anchor point" of the "highest heaven"!
“No, Kuai Kuai,” Lin Yi gritted his teeth, “that voice from the future also said that no matter what, even if it means death, we must believe in our boss. Do you think she might not be the ‘anchor’ of the ‘Supreme Heaven’?”

"I mean, besides being the 'anchor point' of the 'Supreme Heaven,' is it possible that the boss has any other identities?"

"Have it!"

As soon as Lin Yi finished speaking, as if answering his own question, a lightbulb went off on the top of his head.

"Do you think she might be... a Difa?"

"Huh?" Even Kuai Hongji, who usually had a villainous face, was so shocked by Lin Yi's statement that his mouth dropped open. "Are you out of your mind?"

Lin Yi quickly said, "No, think about it! Difa said that her body has been obliterated by time, and her original body is no longer in the Time Exile. Then, she will use the power of the 'World Tree' to reshape her body..."

As he spoke, he slowly looked at the eldest brother.

"Think about it again, boss. Could it be that Master Di... has been reborn?"

Kuai Hongji secretly gasped: "The personality of a soul... can't be that different, can it?"

Mao Feiyang said, "Perhaps... it's to hide it?"

Kuai Hongji said speechlessly, "Hey, you two, are you serious? These two conditions don't even match up in the slightest, and you're already starting to imagine things?"

"The difference between 'the Anchor Point of the Supreme Heaven' and 'the Rebirth of Law' is so vast that it could destroy the world. Please don't make assumptions so casually."

"How about... we discuss this with Young Master Tian?" Lin Yi suggested.

"Hmm." Kuai Hongji nodded slightly, but then said, "Actually, there is another way."

Lin Yi's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "What method?"

Kuai Hongji said, "You can try testing her first. Testing whether the boss is a creator of laws is much easier than testing whether she is an anchor point of the 'Supreme Heaven.'"

"For example? What do I need to do?" Lin Yi pressed.

“For example, if you touch her head, touch her face, or hug her, if she is a Difa, it might activate some hidden memories…” Kuai Hongji said seriously.

Lin Yi was somewhat tempted, but reason prevailed: "Is there any possibility that if not, my fate will be dire?"

“No matter how bad things get, the boss won’t kill you, and you even managed to get close to her. No matter what she is, aren’t you making a huge profit?” Kuai Hongji shrugged.

"This..." Lin Yi was so excited, the little devil in his heart was spraying him with peach blossoms.

“But forget it. Even if we were to try, we’d have to go back to campus first,” Kuai Hongji said. “Here, we could easily be exposed if we’re not careful.”

"Let's go now," Lin Yi said.

"Aren't you going to take another look?" Kuai Hongji joked. "The current boss is frozen in time, you know. He looks so exquisite. Don't you have any impure thoughts?"

(End of this chapter)