Today is the first day, and I'm walking on campus with Sun Huawen. It doesn't feel any different from usual.

Most of the students are still normal.

It's only a little past 6:15 in the evening.

We can't go back to the dorm yet.

It's rare that even though it's not the end of the semester yet, the library is already packed.

But this situation won't last long.

When abnormal people occupy the majority, the library will relieve the pressure.

A hidden function of the library is to measure the ratio of dead people to living people.

Library full: Congratulations, your surroundings are still relatively normal. As long as you follow the rules, you can survive.

Library has vacant seats: Only those who strictly follow the rules have been eliminated.

Library seats occupy 50%: On average, for every two people you encounter, one person has a problem.

Library seats occupy more than 50%: You're already surrounded...

If survival is cruel enough, most of the people who can survive have something special.

Can I survive?

I ask myself.

"I think just following the rules is not enough if we want to survive. Following rules is something machines are best at. I think in the end, without breaking the rules, we must be flexible and adaptable," Sun Huawen suddenly said to me as we were walking.

"How do we become flexible? How do we adapt?"

"I'm not quite sure yet, but survival is not an easy task. We must fight for our lives to have a chance to survive. I have a feeling that, while not breaking the rules, we must create something new ourselves."

Next, I summarized Sun Huawen's words.

[Establish new rules that allow you to survive without breaking the existing rules.]

I must have accumulated good karma in my previous life to have met a friend like Sun Huawen.

Being with highly intelligent people makes me feel like my intelligence is elevated.

"Sun Huawen, I've made up my mind," I said to Sun Huawen with a serious expression, "even if I die, I'll be buried with you. After thousands of years of archaeology, we'll be exhibited together in a glass case."

"No, I'm quite strict with myself. I only allow women to be buried with me."

A shallow friend.

I didn't mind you, but you mind me.

Unconsciously, we arrived at the cafeteria with Sun Huawen.

After having dinner, we should be able to go back to the dorm.

The cafeteria was brightly lit, unlike usual, and each food station was serving meat buns.

[Don't eat the meat buns from the cafeteria.]

The text message told us not to eat the meat buns, but they were still shamelessly being served.

Who on earth needs meat buns?

Who are the ones buying meat buns?

"Be careful of those who buy meat buns," Sun Huawen and I thought the same thing.

"Sun Lao Da! Gu Ge!"

Tao Ran and Xiao Ze sat down across from us, each holding a tray of food.

"Today in class, we saw something incredible. It was truly unlucky and frightened my bright, watery eyes," Tao Ran hurriedly spoke as soon as he sat down.

At this moment, Zhou Yi Qiang and Huang Pang walked over from somewhere. Zhou Yi Qiang slammed the cola onto the table, sat down, crossed his hands under his chin, and said to Tao Ran with a serious tone, "Please start your story."

All the people from our dormitory had gathered together.

"We saw the Student Union in class," Xiao Ze took a bite of tomato scrambled eggs and said, "let Tao Ge continue, he seems eager."

"On that gloomy afternoon, with trepidation, Xiao Ze and I walked into the classroom. The teacher stood motionless on the podium, revealing a more mysterious smile than the Mona Lisa to the students below. At that moment, my mood was like that of Louis XVI on his way to the guillotine."

Zhou Yi Qiang became impatient and said impatiently to Tao Ran, "Stop talking, you're dragging it out. Xiao Ze, you tell the story."

"Alright, I'll tellthe story," Xiao Ze said with a smile. "So, as Tao Ran mentioned, we saw the Student Union in class today. They appeared... different."

"Different? How?" Sun Huawen asked, intrigued.

"Well, they seemed to have lost their human qualities," Xiao Ze continued. "Their eyes were empty, their movements were stiff and robotic, and their voices were monotone. It was as if they were under some sort of control."

"Did they say or do anything strange?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Yes," Tao Ran chimed in. "They announced that from now on, all students must eat meat buns in the cafeteria if they want to be considered 'normal.' It was a bizarre requirement."

"That's why they were serving meat buns today," I realized. "But why would the Student Union make such a demand?"

"We don't know," Zhou Yi Qiang replied. "But we have a theory. We think that those who eat the meat buns might become like the controlled Student Union members."

"You mean they could lose their humanity?" Sun Huawen asked, concerned.

"It's just a theory," Xiao Ze reassured. "But we thought it would be best to avoid the meat buns, just in case."

"That's a wise decision," Sun Huawen nodded. "We shouldn't take any unnecessary risks."

As we continued discussing the strange events on campus, we agreed that staying vigilant and observing our surroundings would be crucial for our survival. We couldn't rely solely on following the existing rules; we needed to adapt and find ways to protect ourselves.

"We should also try to gather more information," Sun Huawen suggested. "The more we know about what's happening, the better equipped we'll be to navigate this situation."

"Agreed," I said. "We should share any new findings or observations with each other. Together, we'll have a better chance of figuring out what's going on."

With a sense of determination, we finished our dinner and made our way back to the dormitory. The campus seemed eerily quiet as we walked, and we couldn't shake off the feeling that something was deeply wrong.

Little did we know that our journey was just beginning, and the challenges we would face would test our resilience, adaptability, and friendship in unimaginable ways.