Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1306 - 1302: Mingxi - "I Am the Anomaly

"Click", and the light turned on.

On Su Ming’an’s wrist, Du on the watch suddenly lit up, and in an instant, the corridor was as bright as daytime, as if a 800-watt lamp had descended.

At the same time, a hometown tune played out, momentarily dispelling the terrifying gloom:

"Good fortune come~ Wish you good fortune come~ Good fortune come~ Bringing joy and love~"

"Good fortune come~ We wish for good fortune, thriving and prosperous across → all ↑ seas ↓!!!"

The lively tune drifted through the air, for a moment, everyone was very quiet, only sounds were heard beside the ears. Any terrifying atmosphere seemed to turn whimsical under this song.

"Isn’t Hui Bei here?" Su Ming’an walked up to the second floor, turned around and saw Hui Bei, Noel, and Lv Shu standing on the stairs, looking at him all together, like three wooden figures.

Hui Bei said softly, "There might be a vision blocking mechanism just now, that’s why you couldn’t see me."

Whether anyone believed this or not, it was a reason anyway.

Su Ming’an seemed to have accepted it and did not question further. He looked across, the restroom at the end of the corridor was lit, and a dripping sound was heard. On both sides of the long corridor were non-reflective glass, shadows of Posa trees shaking outside like ghostly figures.

He stepped forward. Through shadowy contours on the ground, he glimpsed three people quietly following behind him, as if ghostly shapes in tow. They followed him quietly with no sound of footsteps, only a wet, soft noise like lumps of flesh squirming on the ground.

"Drip, drip, drip."

The sound of water was crisp, making it indistinguishable whether it was tap water or blood.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The black windows failed to reflect any light, faintly revealing chairs and tables within the classroom, as if full of black figures...

The next moment, the silhouettes seemed to have sensed Su Ming’an’s gaze, turning one by one to look at him, black heads rotating, eyes glowing blue silently staring at him.

"..."

...No escape.

For some reason, a sudden thought sprung up in Su Ming’an’s mind.

He quickened his pace, walking into the restroom at the end before these eerie creatures completely turned to him.

—Facing him was a giant mirror.

The mirror was a haze of gray, reflecting no shadows.

The nose was filled with water vapor, skin felt as if soaked in invisible water. Su Ming’an turned his neck, glancing around, mop, trash can, washstand, everything appeared normal.

When his head turned at a certain angle—abruptly he saw the three people closely behind him.

The three were almost inseparable from his back, chest and abdomen nearly pressed against him, yet eerily separated by a thin gap, making no sound, staring at him steadfastly.

Su Ming’an was startled, had he not turned his head, he wouldn’t have noticed these three were already this close. Though he’s in Bright State now, such closeness surprisingly eluded his perception.

The breath they exhaled didn’t hint any breeze.

Golden hair, white hair.

Like entangled water ghosts, cold ocean scent crashing forth. This made Su Ming’an momentarily mistake the three before him for not human-shaped, but rather some marine creatures lurking deep in the sea.

A chilling sense of danger emerged. Shadows beneath them twisted, bloated...

"..." Then, Su Ming’an averted his gaze, acting as if nothing happened, calmly said, "I heard water sounds, shall we check the source?"

Noel nodded, going to inspect the washstand faucet. Lv Shu crouched to check the floor. Hui Bei raised his head to check the ceiling.

The four quietly inspected, as if separated by a thin glass, uncertain when the glass would shatter, not knowing when the monster would burst out. The strange atmosphere spread in silence.

"Ka—ka ka ka—"

Suddenly, Su Ming’an heard a crisp sound of a mirror shattering, looking up he saw their four reflections gradually appearing in the mirror.

—Anomaly occurred.

Mingxi campus rule 019: [If more than one reflection is seen in the bathroom mirror, immediately turn on all faucets except the second one, wash your face then leave. Do not look at the mirror surface again during the process.]

Four reflections appeared in the mirror, response measures needed immediately.

Lv Shu promptly said, "I’ll turn the front faucet, Su Ming’an, you turn the one at the back."

They quickly twisted the faucets, Noel and Hui Bei joined to help.

Yet Su Ming’an showed a peculiar smile. He walked to the washstand, accurately turned— the second faucet.

In an instant, terror flared in their eyes.

"Su Ming’an, you turned the wrong one! Don’t turn the second, quickly close it!" Noel quickly said.

Su Ming’an didn’t respond, instead he twisted the faucet larger and larger, the gurgling sound continued, and crimson blood gradually flowed from the faucet.

Rules were violated, anomaly triggered, laughter echoed all around, pale ghostly hands emerged from the ground, grabbing their legs, bringing a damp and sticky sensation.

"Su Ming’an, you—!" Noel’s eyes widened, not expecting Su Ming’an would actively violate the taboo, it’s simply seeking death.

Lv Shu also blinked in confusion, not understanding why Su Ming’an did this.

While Su Ming’an stood amidst the darkness, tilting his head, white hair fluttering in the cold wind. Blue Moon’s slanting light softly illuminated his chin, accenting the sharp lines, eyes flickering with luminescent light, like shattered glass pieces.

Under the obscure moonlight, he curled his lips into an unusual smile.

"...I almost forgot to mention." He said softly, letting the pure white hair sweep past, gently spoke words that shocked the three into terror:

"—I am also an ’anomaly’."

"I as this ’anomaly’ mixed among you, and you only realize now... However, you can’t escape..."

He raised his hand, extending it toward them...

The three turned serious, then bolted away, the hurried sound of running echoed down the corridor.

Su Ming’an watched them run away with a smile, his white hair flowing smoothly, eyes glimmering with cold light, the bizarre smile on his face more ghostly than the water ghosts on the ground.

However, he soon restored a normal expression, threw a punch, shattered the mirror on the washstand.

"Silence." He said lightly.

The cracking of the glass stopped instantly, and the eerie disturbances around disappeared.

He stepped forward again, crushing the slender water ghost hands underfoot, releasing a piercing scream. He took out a cloth to wipe his hands and lifted his disheveled hair.

—He certainly wasn’t "abnormal."

However, upon first encountering these few people, he sensed something was off. So he devised a simple trick, acted out a scene, and, capitalizing on the current bizarre phenomena, pretended to be the "abnormal," frightening the group to flee without looking back.

Of course, none of these three were the real deal. If it were actually Noel, they wouldn’t be so foolish. If it were the real Lv Shu, they’d rather stay than run so quickly.

Su Ming’an raised his hand and made a gesture over his head, a beautiful rose hat formed in his palm—it’s the "Rose Hat" that resists instant death.

He glanced at his system panel; just now, the system notifications were incessant:

...

[You have violated the Kaidan rules, affected by "Xiaojin’s" curse, triggered instant death!]

[Instant death resistance activated!]

...

[You have violated the Kaidan rules, affected by "Wen Yan’s" curse, triggered instant death!]

[Instant death resistance activated!]

...

The Rose Hat protected him against instant death judgments time after time, with system notifications ringing continuously, yet he remained unharmed. Facing the eerie ghost hands and mirror, he fearlessly struck them back, forcing them to retreat.

It turns out that going all out in an Analog Horror setting is so thrilling, like playing an invincible version of a 4399 game, stepping through traps without a scratch.

But he didn’t forget that the Rose Hat was acquired on the Mingxi campus; while invincible against most ’abnormals,’ it doesn’t guarantee invincibility against all ’abnormals.’

The air was filled with the music of good fortune, Su Ming’an adjusted his hat and walked out of the restroom.

"Ghost hands and mirrors belong to still-type abnormals, they don’t leave their domain. Whereas Hui Bei is a mobile-type abnormal, part of the WARNING sequence, with a large range of activity," Su Ming’an muttered to himself.

As he passed by a classroom, he glanced sideways; black ghost shadows sat inside, chaotic and dark.

He directly pushed the door open, ready to draw his sword, intending to sweep these shadows away.

With a "click" sound.

To his shock, as he stepped inside, the pitch-black classroom instantly became bright, the shadows on the seats transformed into normal-looking high school students. They were chatting and playing around, girls giggling about gossip, boys huddling together playing Arubas...

The setting sun fell from the window onto the desktop, shimmering with a golden hue. The signature pen, compass, eraser tape lay silently on the textbooks. Familiar "Five Years of College Entrance Exam, Three Years of Simulation," "One Book for All," "Must-Answer Questions"... stacked high one after another.

Outside the window, tree shadows swayed, streaks of golden-red light filtering through gaps, touching Su Ming’an’s eyes, feeling both scorching and burning.

—As if a lifetime has passed.

Witnessing this scene, it seemed that even the death marks faded.

"Hey, Su Ming’an, you’re back? What did Old Shen say? Is tonight self-study or a mock exam?" A close-cropped male student pat his shoulder.

Su Ming’an looked up, the boy’s appearance was remarkably familiar.

"Bo... Bolong?" Su Ming’an spoke.

"It’s me, what’s up? Just told you to ask the old class, any results?" Bolong scratched his head jokingly.

Su Ming’an knew Bolong. Before the World Game began, they were close friends, eating and playing ball together; the stories with Bolong were long and numerous, but that’s another story...

His eyes flickered, he looked around at the students again, surprised to discover—he recognized every student, and even the classroom’s arrangement was familiar to him.

On the blackboard, "Heaven Rewards the Diligent, Aim High" was a slogan that hung for all three years of high school. The duty roster and seating plan behind the door had his name written on them. The second-to-last seat by the window had his pencil case on the table...

He was back.

He was back...?

The setting sun caressed his cheeks, eyes flooded with golden light, each student seemed gilded with a layer of beautiful golden edge. The colors named youth and future spread beneath their feet, through the narrow gaps, square desks, spacious platform, corridor outside the door, and waving flag... until three years later, just like the rushing Jiang Shui, they galloped together toward the vast avenue stretching thousands of miles.

He walked to his seat, there were a few simple items on the desk, books, pencil case, cup, scratch paper. By the desk was a large blue-black hanging bag. High school books were thick and numerous; they wouldn’t fit in drawers or backpacks, so they’d have to be placed in the desk-side hanging bag.

He picked up the pencil case, it was a limited edition of the [FATE] series, illustrated with Rin Tohsaka and saber. Uncle Zhao had bought it for him; back then, Uncle Zhao kept grumbling after the purchase, "Just an iron box, a little iron piece, with an anime character painted on it; dare to sell it so expensively, and yet some people fall for it..."

"Hey hey, buddy, you haven’t answered yet, is tonight self-study or exam?" Bolong hurried over, winking with a laugh, "Though today’s the first day of school, if there’s no exam tonight, I’ll sneak off to check out the field, I haven’t seen the school’s field yet."

Su Ming’an replied: "Don’t get caught by Director Zhang; I heard he loves patrolling the playground at night, targeting those who skip self-study."

Uttering the words surprised even him; it seemed instinctive, like every time he reminded Bolong. This dialogue they maintained throughout the three years of high school.

Yet he thought he had forgotten.

—He thought he had long forgotten.

About self-study, about playing ball, about Bolong, about everything in the past... He thought "he" had already died, dying means forgetfulness. Whether he died in the rain of White Sand Paradise or in the survival of every day. The overnight rain submerged his mouth and nose, he lay drowned in the rain, like a waterlogged lamb.

He knew all this was "abnormal." This type of "abnormal" with unknown escape rules, the only choice was to go with the flow, seizing the moment to find a solution.

Yet Bolong laughed heartily, bearing the brightness unique to high school students, patting his shoulder: "Got it! I heard from the vice class leader, probably no exam tonight, I’m off!"

Bolong strode outside, stepping into the densely golden sunlight, his silhouette growing distant.

Su Ming’an lowered his gaze at the pencil case in his hand, it was quite old but he had kept it nevertheless.

He’d thought long ago if the pencil case remained, then his past was still there. If the pencil case was gone, then his past was gone too.

At that moment, he caught a whiff of fragrance.

Rose scent, along with the smell of sun-heated air, approached the back of his neck, the warm breath sprayed against his skin, raising goosebumps.

His eyes moved slightly, his whole body tense.

From a very close distance, a girl’s soft voice uttered:

"... You finally came back, I’ve waited so long for you..."

"Ming’an."