Wei Liang rolled his eyes and said exasperatedly, "Fine, fine, I give up; I’m going in first."
He took a deep breath, struck a dashing sword-drawing pose, and swiftly swiped his card to open the door. As the door cracked open just a bit, he twisted his body and slipped into the dorm like a nimble fish.
Lin Yi moved quickly to shut the dorm door.
As soon as he had closed the door, his expression darkened like a quick change of faces, and the moved look that had filled his face melted away like ice and snow, leaving no trace.
"Damn, can’t you let me be moved for a bit longer?"
He removed his school uniform, slowly winding it around his hand like a boxer wraps his bandages.
His gaze slowly moved to a certain position behind him.
It was the path he had taken, a section bathed in the soft orange-yellow glow of an incandescent lamp.
Now, on this path, several entities that looked like students—but were clearly non-human—were approaching him with staggered, stiff steps, like wooden puppets manipulated by rough hands, resembling the faceless nurses from Silent Hill.
Lin Yi’s eyes narrowed slowly, his expression becoming more serious as in that curved hallway, the non-human classmates seemed endless.
And when their faces became visible in the light, Lin Yi’s pupils couldn’t help but fluctuate violently.
All these non-human classmates looked like Wei Liang!!!
Some were fatter, some thinner, and none had completely accurate features, but they all bore Wei Liang’s likeness, each facial expression screaming, "I am Wei Liang."
It was as if a group of students, based on their understanding of "Wei Liang", had crafted their version of the Wei Liang they saw.
"Sculpture class." Lin Yi’s mind suddenly exploded with the term, intuition telling him that this might be related to the so-called "sculpture class"!
[Our school has dedicated classrooms for art classes, but no sculpting classes are offered. If anyone claiming to be an art student invites you to try a sculpture class, ignore them. If you cannot ignore them, refuse sternly. If you cannot refuse, inform the class leader, sports student, or gym teacher at all costs.]
The regulations only mentioned a few things related to sculpting classes, providing no real clue.
Lin Yi thought of Wei Liang’s change in appearance and how his skin turned ghastly pale gray when he fell, similar to a sculpture yet distinctly different...
"What in the world is going on? Could it be... Liangzi messed something up last time he was here, and what’s with these non-human classmates that look so much like him?"
These "fake·Wei Liang·non-human classmates" one by one passed dorm 1410, passed 1411, and then all stopped in front of him.
"I am Wei Liang, my student ID is X0230506096, I am on my way back to the dorm..."
"I am Wei Liang, my student ID is..."
They murmured one by one, but the real Wei Liang had already entered the dorm.
"Old Lin... let me in, I want to get back to my dorm... I want to get back to my dorm..."
The fake Wei Liang nearest to Lin Yi said hoarsely, while fumbling in his pocket.
"I... my student ID card... my student ID card is lost!"
"Old Lin, open the door quickly, don’t let that fake person spend the night with you..."
"Hurry up and open the door, I... I’ll drag him out and kill him!"
As it spoke, it moved closer to Lin Yi.
"Lolis have three virtues, light body, tender..." Lin Yi suddenly said, looking at it.
"Huh?" It paused mechanically, as if the question exceeded its logic. After thinking for a moment, it quickly repeated, "Old Lin, hurry and open the door... my student ID card is lost... someone picked up my student ID card, and got in..."
The true sandbag-sized fist wrapped in a school uniform smashed heavily into its face, sending it flying backward, its neck twisted weirdly as it collapsed, knocking down several other fake Wei Liangs along the way.
Whether it was Lin Yi’s strength or their fragile body build, that punch broke its neck, leaving half its head dangling, marked by a vicious plaster-like gaping wound resembling an open mouth.
"Too bad, you’re not." Lin Yi spat contemptuously, ruthlessly shattering its self-perception of "I am Wei Liang."
Hearing this, the fake Wei Liang tried to struggle, but the others around also started clamoring: [Too bad you’re not, too bad you’re not...]
[I am Wei Liang, I am the real Wei Liang!]
[No! I am, I am Wei Liang, my student ID is 0230506096!]
The other fake Wei Liangs cried out, their self-identity hitched on shattering their peers’ recognition.
As the neck of that originally twisted fake Wei Liang shattered, it began trembling violently, struggling like a frothing dying patient.
As its perception was destroyed, a pure white mist continuously seeped from the torn neck, attracting the other fake Wei Liangs coming from the curved passage. One by one, they stretched their necks, turned around, and started to suck up the mist.