Chapter 17: Collective Delusions... The Sophomore Syndrome

Because whether it was the architecture or the tree roots, there was no guarantee of absolute certainty.

The terrain changed too rapidly; a path that once offered escape might now be blocked, and what was once a dead end might now lead to freedom...

As for the Stalk Rabbit, it did know the way, but it couldn’t speak. Whether you stewed it, spiced it, or braised it, you’d get nothing out of it.

Track its scent? The whole area reeked with their pungent musk—who could tell which path led in or out?

“We should do as the notes suggest: light several lanterns, observe the flow of the air, and follow the wind. That way, we’re sure to find a way out.”

The new suggestion came from a bespectacled, scholarly-looking youth—a loyal follower of Xu Tiange.

“Light lanterns? That’s for warding off the living dead. Finding dragon veins and pinpointing burial sites isn’t like that at all!” Fang Ju objected immediately.

“How is it not? The three elements of geomancy are wind, water, and energy. The so-called arts of dragon-finding, cave-locating, sand-examining, and water-seeking are, in essence, all about following the flow of energy to seek fortune and avoid calamity. The forms may differ little.” The bespectacled youth had an excellent memory, quoting references as he pushed up his glasses and countered Fang Ju. “If I misunderstand, then Fang Ju, why don’t you explain your perspective?”

“Well…” Fang Ju was at a loss.

He simply found the guy irritating. Xu Tiange clearly liked Ye Chao, yet this boy trailed after Xu day and night—obsequious and sly.

He hadn’t expected his instinctive retort to be so deftly countered! Truly sly and despicable—proof that his own discerning eye was as sharp as ever.

Thinking this, he slapped Ye Chao out of his daze: “Ye Chao, you tell us—where did he go wrong?”

This wasn’t shirking responsibility, but a firm belief that Ye Chao could provide the perfect answer.

He’d done so countless times before; each time he passed the question, Xu Tiange’s eyes would light up like Guan Junyuan’s bald head, while Wang Zhi’s face would darken as if he’d lost his parents…

Ye Chao didn’t disappoint: “According to my research, the note-based ancient text ‘Tomb Robber’s Account’ is actually called ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light,’ which was the most popular novel before the Catastrophe. Much of its content isn’t factual, and it’s far from reliable as a reference.”

“What? ‘Tomb Robber’s Account’ is a novel, not real?”

The students erupted in an uproar.

“That’s impossible! Our teachers even mentioned it in class…”

“Ye Chao, how dare you slander a sacred text like that!”

Ye Chao remained unruffled. “I’ve come to the same conclusion after restoring several ancient artifacts. There are even interviews with the author from that time…”

The students remained skeptical, shouting noisily.

It was as if someone had claimed that ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ wasn’t historical fact, or that the legendary Mr. Lu Xun, who coined so many web-famous sayings, never existed…

“If you don’t believe me, I have the lost fourth and seventh volumes here, along with interviews with the author. I even have the legendary… second part, all of which can prove my claim.” As he spoke, Ye Chao projected several pages of manuscript.

Proof? The timeline alone made that impossible.

“Trust me. After we return to the city, we can discuss this in detail. If you trust Wang Zhi instead, pretend I said nothing.”

“We believe you! Of course we do!”

“Who’s Wang Zhi?”

“If you’ve got the books, everything you say must be right…”

All eyes turned toward Ye Chao, burning with fervor, as if he were a goddess or a beautiful youth undressing before their very eyes…

After all, these were the lost volumes of ‘Tomb Robber’s Account’—the stuff of every Jiang City youth’s dreams.

Most importantly, it was Ye Chao.

If someone else claimed to have them, it would be boasting; but if Ye Chao said so, it might really be true.

In the virtual space, Alpha-chan listened to the conversation outside, her little face twisted like a Van Gogh abstract.

Now she understood, finally understood, why the students outside obsessed over tomb robbing, dragon veins, and all these things.

She almost thought she’d traveled to another world, but it was all because of a single book: ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light.’

This world actually believed ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ was a true account? Not only that—they all studied it together, as if afflicted by a collective bout of adolescent delusion!

And they were seniors in high school…

Thirty years—only thirty years had passed, yet it now took research to determine that ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ was a novel? What in the world had happened here?

In short, with the lost volumes of ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ in hand, Ye Chao instantly overwhelmed Wang Zhi, making the other students docile and obedient, not daring to go against his word.

Then he shared his plan.

There was no need to agonize over the decision—those who wanted to follow the ancient architecture could do so, those who wanted to track the roots could track the roots, or light lanterns, or follow animal tracks. Why not split up and search separately? Wouldn’t that be much faster?

“Split up? Ye Chao, I expected a more ingenious plan from you!” Wang Zhi, having been bested, stubbornly rose to his feet again.

“This underground palace is enormous—what if we get lost? Even if some make it out, what about the rest, wandering around aimlessly? If something happens, can you take responsibility?”

“You didn’t actually think it through; you just wanted to grandstand, banking on the fact that with those books, everyone would protect you.”

Ye Chao, oh Ye Chao, I never thought you’d come up with such a poor idea. Let’s see how you recover from this!

Wang Zhi was smug, the light behind his glasses splitting in two—one beam at Xu Tiange, one at Ye Chao, both oblique.

Xu Tiange frowned slightly, and Wang Zhi quickly reined in his gloating.

“Well… he does make a point!”

“Even if the ones who get out can call for help, the lost ones will be hard to find in such a vast underground palace…”

“Even if we leave marks, the Stalk Rabbits could mess them up…”

The students began to debate, unwittingly swept along.

Ye Chao, however, remained calm and gave Wang Zhi a thumbs-up. “Wang Zhi, we’re as in sync as ever!”

It was like the straight man praising the comic for catching his setup.

Wang Zhi’s face turned instantly black. In sync, my foot.

Just as his suspicions rose, he heard Ye Chao say smoothly, “If it were before, splitting up would be a bad idea. But just now, I acquired a new ability!”

He lifted his red smartphone. “I can connect all sorts of terminals—phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, wireless cameras, walkie-talkies, and any other pre-disaster devices capable of networking—so everyone can stay in touch.”

“You saw me call 110 earlier. That was it. While I can’t reach the city, short-range contact is no problem.”

“Not splitting up now would be a real waste!”

Ye Chao was bluffing, of course.

On his own, it would be impossible; many devices operated on incompatible frequencies and couldn’t possibly connect. But he had Alpha-chan, as promised earlier.

“E-even if you can keep everyone in touch, after splitting up, if one group gets into trouble, it’ll still be hard to pinpoint their location for support, right?” Wang Zhi made one last, desperate attempt.

Ye Chao gave him another thumbs-up. “Wang Zhi, you’ve hit the nail on the head again!”

The way this person seemed to read his mind was uncanny.

“It’s not your place to praise me!” Wang Zhi snapped.

Fang Ju, sitting back to enjoy the show, couldn’t help but grin. It was just like his own world.