The only thing currently certain is that any NPC in this game instance can cause Li Muyang to lose HP.
Now that Li Muyang has been called away by the homeroom teacher, something is bound to go wrong.
Behind the building corresponding to the office area, Yan Jiyun found a pipe that he could climb up. After observing the height of the floors, he climbed up along the water pipe.
The window to the second-floor office was open, only the mesh screen was closed. While the teachers in the office weren’t paying attention, Yan Jiyun pushed open the mesh and slipped inside, hiding behind the thick curtain.
Opposite Mrs. Li sat a teacher around fifty years old, who was speaking gently to her.
“Parent of Li Muyang, this is the situation: the parents of Class 6, Grade 4, have written a joint letter. They do not want their children to be influenced by Li Muyang. They hope you can help him transfer to another school as soon as possible.”
“What’s wrong with my son? He only missed some classes because he had throat surgery! He studies hard every day and memorizes everything seriously. Laoshi, if the parents in this class discriminate against my son, we’ll just switch classes.”
“I’m very sorry, Parent of Li Muyang. I’ve already spoken with the homeroom teachers of other classes and even held a meeting to discuss this. In the end, we believe the child should transfer to a special education school.”
The grade director took out a report card from the drawer. “This is the child’s report card from last semester and this semester.”
Hiding behind a potted fortune tree, Yan Jiyun finally understood why Mrs. Li had come to the school: the school wanted the child to withdraw?
At that moment, Li Muyang arrived at the office.
As soon as Mrs. Li saw her son, she rushed up and grabbed him. Sharply, she said, “Come here now! We’ll kowtow to the teacher together. If not, you won’t be allowed to go to school!”
She forced him down by the shoulders, making Li Muyang kneel on the ground with her. Her grip was strong, and Li Muyang didn’t even have time to react, let alone resist.
Forced to kneel with his mother, Yan Jiyun glanced nervously at Li Muyang’s HP bar, thinking he wasn’t hurt yet. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a system prompt popped up.
[Li Muyang’s HP has dropped to 60%.]
Thank you so much, Mrs. Li!
Yan Jiyun guessed that the biggest threat to Li Muyang’s HP was his mother. Every one of her actions seemed to drain part of his life.
What happens if they can’t complete the main quest in the game instance? He remembered the young voice from yesterday saying that his life and death are his own responsibility.
If he failed to complete the mission, he could really die in the game. Even his cat outer shell might not protect him.
Sure, having the cat shell let him move flexibly, but rescuing Li Muyang from his mother’s hands was still a big challenge.
In Li Muyang’s home, he could use the layout to his advantage. But in this crowded office, no matter how fast he was, there was a high chance he’d be caught. Instead of rescuing Li Muyang, he would get himself dragged in.
There were nine other players. Just now, they had already started planning the rescue. Hopefully, they were competent enough.
When Mrs. Li first arrived, she could still hold it together. Teacher Zhao watched coldly from the sidelines, and none of the other teachers reacted as she forced the child to kowtow.
The entire scene could be summed up in one word: indifference.
The grade director said, “Parent of Li Muyang, this is the school’s decision. Please don’t make things difficult for us, and don’t make your child kowtow like this.”
This was only to make the teachers look less heartless.
But the director didn’t actually step in to stop Mrs. Li.
Triggered by the grade director’s words, Mrs. Li shrieked, “I’m making things difficult? It’s you who are bullying us! You only care about grades and not about the child’s development. You don’t deserve to be teachers, to educate anyone! What right do you have to deny a child education? Our family has a legal enrollment slot, there’s no reason for him to leave! We’re not transferring schools!”
From Yan Jiyun’s point of view, Mrs. Li was speaking up for her child, but he didn’t agree with her way of physically lashing out at her son.
Now everything came together: Li Muyang had surgery due to illness, fell behind in school, and was being excluded by students and their parents.
Guangming Elementary was a key elementary school. On his way there, Yan Jiyun had seen nearby property listing. The surrounding house prices aren’t cheap, starting at 50,000 per square meter. Getting an admission slot must have been difficult for the family. Mrs. Li was a housewife, and his father didn’t seem very powerful. It’s definitely impossible for the father to have a high-ranking position in his company.
Teacher Zhao adjusted her glasses, her face not only stern but clearly showing impatience.
“Mrs. Li, Muyang is indeed behind in his studies. We’ve considered holding him back. But based on my observations, he doesn’t participate actively in group activities, has poor relationships with classmates, and consistently ranks at the bottom in grades. Many parents have reported that his performance negatively affects their children’s learning. That’s why we made this decision. I hope you can understand.”
Of course, Mrs. Li didn’t accept this.
“This is discrimination! You didn’t teach him properly, and now you’re blaming my child? And those other kids? They’re the problem! Always looking down on others, so rude! They’re the ones you should be managing!”
Yan Jiyun’s gaze fell on Li Muyang’s half-lowered face. The chaos in the office didn’t seem to reach him. Kneeling on the ground, his head bowed, eyes blank. He looked like he was used to all of it. The hysterical mother, the heartless and cold teachers, everyone deciding his fate. He was like a lamb waiting for slaughter, helpless and powerless.
Suddenly, Mrs. Li snapped and swept all the notebooks off Teacher Zhao’s desk.
Teacher Zhao tried to stop her. “Please, Ma’am, we can discuss this calmly!”
Mrs. Li roared, “What the hell are we discussing? You’re just bullies!”
She started smashing things in the office. The other teachers rushed to stop her, but she was strong. Completely enraged by the homeroom teachers and grade directors, the female teachers couldn’t restrain her at all.
Amid the chaos, Yan Jiyun darted out from behind the potted plant to the underside of the desk nearest Li Muyang. He reached out a paw and patted the boy’s arm, which rested limply on his lap.
Li Muyang was like a broken doll, but when he saw Yan Jiyun, he felt the warmth of the soft paw pads on the black fur. His eyes regained a trace of warmth and his expression shifted.
He whispered, “Sesame… what are you doing here?”
Yan Jiyun gently hooked his claws into the boy’s shirt and glanced toward the door. Li Muyang understood. He looked at his raging mother, then at the black cat. He couldn’t let anyone know Sesame was here, they might take him away!
In a move he normally wouldn’t dare make, he scooped up Yan Jiyun and ran straight for the office door, completely ignoring the shouting mother and the chaotic teachers behind him.
Maybe because… he was already used to it.
At the same time, a small ceramic flowerpot smashed right where Li Muyang had just been kneeling!
Yan Jiyun happened to see the broken flowerpot and spilled soil.
If Li Muyang had been a second slower, that pot would’ve hit him square on!
Good thing he ran fast, otherwise, the protagonist’s HP bar would’ve taken a serious hit.
At that moment, the short-haired girl pretending to be a janitor was standing at the doorway. She had parked the cleaning cart right in front of the office entrance, blocking everyone’s line of sight, allowing Li Muyang to slip away smoothly.
Meanwhile, the red-haired man disguised as a security guard burst in. “Who’s causing trouble in here?”
The office sounded like a marketplace, with teachers yelling from every corner. “Security! Restrain this parent, she’s gone mad!”
Wang Mian and Yang Xue had been outside earlier and overheard the argument between the teachers and Li Muyang’s mother. No matter how she treated her son in private, right now she was clearly defending him. And the school’s actions were disgraceful. So instead of subduing Mrs. Li, Wang Mian deliberately separated the teachers, revealing how they were bullying both the parent and the child.
With Teacher Zhao and the grade director held back, Mrs. Li had a hand free and crashed into the two women. The fake kind expressions on their faces instantly cracked, they bumped foreheads painfully — just watching it was enough to make them all wince.
Only then did Wang Mian restrain Mrs. Li. He forced a straight face, trying not to laugh, and asked, “Laoshi, are you okay? I’ll escort this parent out immediately. Should we call the police?”
The teachers knew they were in the wrong. The grade director said, “It’s not good for the child. No need to call the police.”
So Wang Mian led the still-struggling woman away. Her nails were long and Wang Mian was nearly scratched across the face.
Since he was undercover, Wang Mian quickly left the office with Mrs. Li. By the time the other teachers realized they didn’t recognize him, he was long gone. But since he wasn’t real security, he couldn’t actually take her out of the building. Instead, he and Yang Xue worked together to knock her out and stash her in a sports equipment room.
Then Wang Mian asked Yang Xue, “Where’s Li Muyang?”
Yang Xue smiled and pulled back the blue cloth covering the cleaning cart. “You think I can’t handle one kid? I hid him in here, it should be safe for now. We’ll send him home after school.”
Inside was the unconscious Li Muyang.
Wang Mian gave her a thumbs-up. “Yang Xue, you’re brilliant. The game never said we couldn’t tie up the protagonist.”
He laid Li Muyang down on a mat, beside his mom.
But then Wang Mian noticed something odd. “His stomach… why does it look so bloated?”
Yang Xue explained, “He was carrying a cat when he came out. After he fainted, the black cat never left his side. I noticed this morning that he had a cat in his backpack, it must be this one.”
Yan Jiyun knew Yang Xue and had a pretty good impression of her. She was quick and decisive. Earlier, when crossing the road, she had handled sudden dangers calmly, unlike some players who just coasted and picked up easy wins.
So he wasn’t surprised that Yang Xue knocked out Li Muyang. Now that he had been discovered, there was no point in hiding. He was just a cat, no one would guess he was a player.
The red-haired man was startled when Yan Jiyun crawled out of Li Muyang’s jacket, but quickly realized it was just a cat. His surprise turned into delight.
“Aww, a kitty! Its eyes are gorgeous! Little Cat, come on, let Uncle hold you~”
“Wang Mian, maybe don’t try petting it. It’s pretty aloof.”
He reached out to scratch[mfn]btw, the original text said Wang Mian tried to RUA the cat. It’s a slang that means rub/pet[/mfn] the black cat’s chin, but Yan Jiyun swiped at him with a paw and leapt behind Yang Xue.
“Cats and macho men are a perfect match. How can Mimi[mfn]咪咪; a pretty cute and childish way to call small animals.[/mfn] be so fierce?”
Yan Jiyun was thoroughly annoyed. Seeing the red-haired man about to come after him again, he leapt onto a saddle rack.
Wang Mian chased him persistently, but the cat didn’t give him any attention, instead jumping onto a nearby shelf.
Wang Mian sighed in defeat. “Why am I not welcomed by cats and dogs anywhere?”
Yan Jiyun perked up his ears. He heard footsteps approaching the equipment room. Five people were coming. He immediately darted behind an upright high jump mat.
[Livestream Channel]
“It’s so funny, he’s gonna regret this!”
“See? Infiltrating other players’ teams is that easy.”
“I really want to see the shocked expressions of these players when they find out this kitty-cat is a player!”
“That innocent and slightly confused face when the kitty popped out of Li Muyang’s jacket is too adorable. I took a screenshot.”
“Are you sure that’s not wariness?”
“None of us got to pet the kitty yet. How dare this beefcake go first? Little Cat, give him a kitty punch again!”
Just as Wang Mian was about to try petting Yan Jiyun again, someone else entered the equipment room. It was their teammate, the hoodie-wearing youth. But he wasn’t alone, four more people followed behind him.
The hoodie-wearing youth’s hands were tied behind his back.
Wang Mian and Yang Xue immediately drew folding knives from their legs and lower backs.
Yan Jiyun crouched in a shadowy corner, watching silently. He wanted to observe how conflicts between players would unfold.
The bald guy leading the group was as buff as Wang Mian, though shorter. His yellow teeth showed as he spoke, “Hand over Li Muyang, or I’ll crack your buddy’s skull with one blow.”
Wang Mian snorted, “Hand him over to you? He wouldn’t live much longer after that.”
Bald Guy: “We’ve got the numbers. We can protect him just fine.”
Yang Xue twirled her knife so fast it dazzled the eye — a clear show of intimidation.
She said, “Li Muyang was able to leave the school alive only because he was in our hands.”
The bald guy looked at her pretty face and licked his lips. “Little Beauty, I’ll let you go if you hand him over.”
Yang Xue was disgusted that she wanted to vomit, but she remained level-headed. “Not a chance.”
Bald Guy: “So you’ve figured out that the number of points you earn depends on Li Muyang.”
Yang Xue didn’t answer directly. “Isn’t it spelled out in the main mission? Why even ask?”
Yan Jiyun thought: ‘I had no idea.’
Bald Guy continued, “The more time you spend with Li Muyang, the more times you protect him, the higher your score. So you’ve figured it out too.”
Yang Xue didn’t confirm or deny it. “You could try protecting him with your own strength instead of trying to steal him. Compete fairly.”
Bald Guy chuckled. “Sorry, but we’re not interested in fair play. There’s a limited number of points in this instance. The more players there are, the less we each get. Only if you disappear can our scores go up.”
Wang Mian lost patience. “Then what the hell are we still talking for?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the hoodie-wearing youth suddenly slammed his head backward into the guy restraining him. As his captor cried out in pain, the hoodie-wearing youth bolted toward Wang Mian, who cut his ropes.
The bald guy shouted in fury, “Fuck!”
And just like that, a fight broke out in the school’s sports equipment room.
Three versus four, equal combat power on both sides.
As the two groups went at it, Yan Jiyun quietly slipped over to Li Muyang and patted his face with a paw.
Li Muyang woke up, immediately recognized Yan Jiyun, and upon hearing the fighting nearby, clutched the cat tightly to his chest in fear.
Usually a quiet and low-profile kid, he slowly inched toward the door and slipped out of the equipment room.
When the fight finally ended, only the unconscious Mrs. Li remained inside.
Yang Xue kicked the bald guy on the ground and turned to Wang Mian and the hoodie youth.
“Where’s Li Muyang!?”
