AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 59 - 59 28 This place seems a bit uneven

59: Chapter 28 This place seems a bit uneven.

59: Chapter 28 This place seems a bit uneven.

May 7, 2023, 11:53, Cafeteria’s first floor, Student Cafeteria.

Lin Yi and Wei Liang lined up obediently at the meal service window along with some students.

The meal service window in the Student Cafeteria was located straight inside the entrance, resembling the large transparent glass found in hospital pharmacies, with a gap below allowing trays to pass through.

Each window’s glass was labeled with a striking number, marked by a red circle with a numeric code, arranged from left to right as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

The #1 and #5 service windows were each tucked into dimly lit corners of the Student Cafeteria, yet these had the longest lines.

Lin Yi looked around curiously and then realized that there were no service windows numbered 6 to 9 on the first floor.

“Service windows #6 and #9 are on the second floor,” Wei Liang explained, noticing Lin Yi’s confusion.

“Oh,” Lin Yi nodded in acknowledgment of Wei Liang’s explanation.

He and Wei Liang queued at window #3, which almost exactly centered in the cafeteira, where the lighting was brightest and security seemed utmost.

After consenting with a sound, Lin Yi glanced at the long dragon-like queue and then bowed his head and closed his mouth.

After the recent event, he understood that the Student Cafeteria harbored a dangerous element not noted in the cafeteria rules—the environment.

Or to be precise, the lighting.

The cafeteria rules clearly stated:

[The lighting in the Student Cafeteria area is on 24 hours a day, do not enter unlit areas.

Stay away from dark areas of the cafeteria.

If flickering lights occur in the Student Cafeteria, please immediately, without hesitation, exit through the Student Passage!

A cafeteria with lights out is unlike a classroom; there are no safe areas!]

Despite the clarity of the instructions, he had almost been caught in danger if Wei Liang had not awakened him, almost sinking into that inexplicable abyss.

And he also realized, the gap between reality and imagination was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

Only when you physically enter the cafeteria do you truly grasp the meaning of its rules.

And sometimes, when you understand the meaning of the rules through firsthand experience, it might already be too late.

Yet, trying to understand the rules solely by reading them is far too absurd.

As for this cafeteria, particularly the current Student Cafeteria, due to lighting issues, even during the daytime, the intensity of the light was already as dim as twilight.

The dim light filled the entire cafeteria, shadows skew across one side like evening dusk, while the other side was utterly devoid of light, like a pitch-black dead angle.

Only the tungsten bulbs struggled to emit light, brightly illuminating the cafeteria area, but even this light gradually dimmed from the center outward.

At the outermost regions, areas exposed to sunlight were bright, but areas without sunlight recoiled into the shadows.

This environment reminded Lin Yi of one place—the corridors of the Teaching Building.

The same tungsten bulbs…

The same shadows…

The same “flickering lights” mentioned in the rules…

Everything was so similar.

However, what differed between the cafeteria and the Teaching Building was the depth of the cafeteria’s shadows.

If the Teaching Building’s unlit corners were merely small, the unlit areas of the cafeteria were vast.

Moreover, the shift of the daylight meant this expanse was mobile.

Now at noon, the shadowed area was smallest, but by evening, it would likely engulf both the #1 and #5 service windows.

Lin Yi’s eyelids twitched slightly.

“If it really gets past 20:00, then only a small illuminated area would remain in the cafeteria…”

[Stay away from the dark areas of the cafeteria, do not enter places without light!]

“‘Do not enter’ doesn’t just apply to ‘people,’ but also to…

‘attention!'”

“Damn it… it means not even a glance is permissible!”

“That’s too harsh!”

And moreover…

“Although the cafeteria lights are on 24 hours a day, there is still the uncontrollable factor of ‘flickering’ or even ‘extinguishing’!”

“A darkened cafeteria…”

[A darkened cafeteria is different from a classroom, there are no safe areas!]

Lin Yi subconsciously shivered and immediately suppressed his thoughts, daring not to continue pondering in that direction.

He gathered his thoughts, followed Wei Liang’s footsteps closely, focusing his gaze on Wei Liang’s heels while silently proceeding with the line.

Suddenly, a plain voice with a hint of inquiry rang in his ear:

“Student, are you in line?”

Lin Yi was slightly stunned, then heard a few more “Student.”

After confirming that the other party was indeed addressing him, his gaze shifted from Wei Liang’s heels, tracing the cafeteria’s grayish-blue patterned tiles towards the source of the voice.

But just as his neck turned slightly, a pair of legs clad in black shoes and white pants entered the periphery of his vision.

As his gaze widened with the turn, a dark green apron hem appeared in his line of sight…

His pupils abruptly contracted, a strong sense of crisis surged from his heart like a storm, sweeping over him.

A rule from the cafeteria rules #10 flashed through his mind instantly:

[During meal queuing and dining, ignore any communication attempts from strangers around you.

If you have companions, focus your attention on interacting with them, ignoring all abnormal situations around you.]