Chapter 13: Lights Out in the Classroom

"Damn it!"

The fierce knocking sounded as if it were pounding on Wei Liang's body, causing him to cry out. His feet, as if smeared with butter from '82, slipped swiftly to Lin Yi's side.

But as soon as he arrived, he saw Lin Yi briskly walking out from the row of seats.

"Why are you out here again?" he asked, puzzled.

Lin Yi pointed toward the back row of the classroom, signaling Wei Liang to rush over with him.

"To that side!"

Following Lin Yi's direction, Wei Liang suddenly realized Lin Yi's intention.

"Once the lights in the classroom start flickering, you must duck under the desk immediately and hold tight to the legs of the chairs!"

However, the main part of the amphitheater classroom was not designed with desks, as it normally used cushions built into the armrests of the chairs during classes.

Therefore, technically speaking, the desks near the back row shelves were the real "desks."

Indeed, as Lin Yi rushed over, the remaining twenty or so students he deemed "normal" also abandoned their reading immediately, bowing their heads and running towards the desks.

But those embedded into their seats, who seemed off, showed no reaction whatsoever. Instead, with the incandescent lights flickering, the excitement in their eyes intensified.

"Buzz-Z-Z..."

Another incandescent light began to flicker.

The third one, the fourth one...

One after another, incandescent lights began to flicker.

When all the incandescent lights began flickering, the large amphitheater turned into a dance hall with only black and white tones.

Lin Yi and Wei Liang dashed under adjacent desks and then instinctively grabbed the same table leg.

Then, quickly retracting their hands, they said in unison, "Here, you take it."

"Oh, come on, don't be polite, you grab the top and I'll grab the bottom, let's coordinate!" Wei Liang waved his hand, first capturing Lin Yi's hand, then pressing it against the table leg.

Lin Yi didn't have the leisure to argue at that moment, but then he suddenly noticed the classroom's light seemed to dim a bit more...

He looked up sharply at the ceiling, only to see that one of the light bulbs had gone out!

"Damn, are you trying to get us killed? Don't look up!" Wei Liang really wanted to press Lin Yi's head down, but his arms were too short to reach.

"Don't panic, as long as not all the lights are out, there should be no problem..." Lin Yi reassured, adding, "Besides, I only glanced once."

"Aren't you afraid they'll go out all at once?" Wei Liang said exasperatedly.

"There should be a process, right?" Lin Yi replied.

However, before he could finish speaking, a series of "Pop! Pop! Pop..." sounds came from the ceiling, the lights going out rapidly, as if struck by machine gunfire, yet still in a discernible pattern.

"Ah, this... Is it speeding up?" Lin Yi opened his mouth in surprise.

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop..."

The light within the classroom visibly dimmed.

Lin Yi wanted to say more but was silenced by an angry glare from Wei Liang: "Stop it, Old Lin, don't jinx it!"

"Don't panic, if my calculation is correct, there are still thirty seconds before it all goes out..." Lin Yi defended, "We have enough time."

"Do you actually believe that?" Wei Liang sneered.

"I believe it."

"..."

Taking advantage of their conversation, Lin Yi threw one last glance at the amphitheater classroom.

"One two three four five..."

He quickly glanced, taking in all the motionless students in his sight. Due to the rush, he couldn't count the last few thoroughly, but he had already nailed down the number of odd ones to between thirty-five and thirty-seven.

"Stop looking around!" Wei Liang pounded Lin Yi's back heavily, his voice urgent and worried, "Focus on the leg of the desk!"

"18." Lin Yi replied, but, fearing Wei Liang was too worried, quickly diverted his gaze.

In that moment, he noticed Wei Liang beside him clasping the desk leg tightly with both hands, his expression serious and focused, resembling a warrior in a temple holding incense, bowing solemnly to a deity.

The only incongruent part was that this warrior was squatting under a square desk, which made the originally solemn atmosphere suddenly seem silly and dumb.

Just then, knocking sounds outside the classroom grabbed everyone's attention.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The violent knocks transmitted from the classroom door, causing it to tremble fiercely. Soon, this vibration spread to all the classroom's walls in every direction.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The classroom floor also began to tremble, the incandescent lights above clanging like a string of wind chimes swept by a raging storm.

"Pop! Pop! Pop..."

The lights flickered off one by one in the shaking, and soon, when Lin Yi silently counted to "30," the last light went out exactly as he had calculated, with a final "Pop!"

The entire classroom was plunged into darkness, with only sparse light seeping in from outside the windows.

Due to the temperature difference inside and outside, a layer of white frost formed on the windows, and the rain etched lines across the glass.

The chilling air spread from outside to inside the windows, and an indescribable sense of eeriness gradually permeated the classroom walls.

Lin Yi and Wei Liang no longer had the mood for banter, their faces both grave.