With Yan Jiyun’s current abilities and physique, he was absolutely no match for the axe-wielding Dr. Chi. The fact that he hadn’t been scared out of his little heart was already impressive.
Yan Jiyun didn’t have time to think. When he saw Dr. Chi, he darted straight into a shadowed spot just big enough to hide a cat, his entire mind screaming one thing: Run!
Cats are naturally timid and easily frightened. When startled, they might even suffer stress reactions.
Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth couldn’t run as fast as Yan Jiyun, but they had items on hand, so dealing with Dr. Chi shouldn’t be a problem… right?
But seriously, why on earth was a doctor using an axe as a weapon? Was he planning to bury them all here?
Hoodie-wearing youth shouted to Yang Xue as they ran, “We didn’t even provoke him! Why is he chasing us?!”
Yang Xue reacted quickly, getting up and saying, “It probably has something to do with that pile of bones we just dug up. This is the infirmary area, and he’s the school doctor. I think… the only one!”
Hoodie-wearing youth: “But we didn’t get any task notification. Damn it! He’s chasing us already, so why hasn’t a task popped up?”
Yang Xue: “I don’t know. Stop talking and run! He’s catching up!”
Oddly enough, the school grounds were now completely empty. Just moments ago, there were still P.E. classes on the sports field. But now, it was as if someone had hit the clear all button, not a single soul in sight. A perfect setup for murder and arson[mfn]not really arson. It’s a popular saying for all sorts of horrible crimes.[/mfn]!
Yan Jiyun realized they were running in the same direction as he was hiding, and Dr. Chi was right behind them, heading his way.
At that moment, all three of their systems pinged with a notification:
[Player Yan Jiyun has triggered a side mission: Rampaging Dr. Chi.]
[Mission Details: Please subdue the rampaging Dr. Chi within three minutes. Reward: 500 points.]
As they ran, joy lit up Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth’s faces.
Hoodie-wearing youth: “Finally, a side mission! This was way too hard to trigger!”
Yang Xue: “Focus on dodging that axe first.”
Hoodie-wearing youth: “How the hell do we dodge that?! I’m terrified he’s going to chop us in half!”
The two of them started running in a zigzag pattern to avoid getting hit by the axe.
Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun was hiding inside one of three hollow bronze statues. He couldn’t understand how the mission got triggered. He was pretty far from Dr. Chi. Had he not hidden far enough?
Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth also ran toward the statues. Dr. Chi, axe in hand, chased them down, a terrifying smile on his face. Even the bright sunlight couldn’t dispel the chill he gave off.
Originally, Yan Jiyun had wanted to dash back to the cafeteria to find Li Muyang, but Dr. Chi was too fast. If he ran again, he’d be spotted. It was daytime, and the school didn’t have many buildings or plants that could hide him. Dr. Chi was a quest NPC after all, he’d find him easily.
Dr. Chi calmly caught up and said to Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth, “Weren’t you two brave just now? Why are you running?”
“My treasures… I have so many. Now that you’ve seen them, you should become my treasures too.”
Clang!
The axe, sharp enough to cut through iron, flew toward the fleeing players. Thankfully, they used their life-saving props and narrowly escaped the attack.
The axe embedded itself into one of the bronze statues.
Yan Jiyun felt like his ears were about to go deaf from the impact. Just how strong was this psycho doctor?! He looked up at the massive axe above him, and all his fur stood on end.
Now that Dr. Chi had lost his weapon, it was good news for Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth. They still had props left. The two of them working together should be able to take him down.
Yan Jiyun remained hidden in the statue, listening to the sounds of the fight and their fragmented conversation.
Dr. Chi: “You dug up my treasures.”
Hoodie-wearing youth: “You killed people. You’re going to face justice.”
Dr. Chi: “I only freed them from their suffering.”
Hoodie-wearing youth: “They were just kids!”
Dr. Chi: “This world is filthy and chaotic. Their parents didn’t love them, and they’d grow up twisted anyway. Leaving this world early was a blessing. Now that you’ve ruined my plans, I think you two would make perfect additions to my collection.”
Damn, this sick pervert!
Yan Jiyun peeked through a crack and saw the players using their props. Despite that, Dr. Chi had surprisingly high combat power and managed to fight back for quite a while.
As he listened to the scuffle, Yan Jiyun wondered — where had the doctor hidden those eyes?
Eventually, the two players subdued Dr. Chi and tied him up.
Despite his creepiness, without medical tools Dr. Chi’s combat ability wasn’t as strong as the players’. Yang Xue’s punches were brutal and she landed one squarely on his face.
Watching Dr. Chi collapse to the floor, bleeding, Yan Jiyun instinctively covered his face with his paw. That looked painful.
He thought Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth would lock Dr. Chi up, but to his surprise, they simply dragged him back to the infirmary and picked up the phone on the desk to call the police.
“…” Today, he learned how to make rational use of the game mechanics. It’s a very scientific solution.
Turns out, dealing with villains in the game world could be that simple and violent.
Ten minutes later, the police arrived and took Dr. Chi away.
Looking at the cuffs on his wrists, Dr. Chi smiled at the players and said, “I’ll be back.”
The hoodie-wearing youth got goosebumps all over. “Does he think he’s the Big Bad Wolf? Defeated by the little lambs, but still plotting a comeback?”
Yang Xue: “You never know. This is a game built on cruelty.”
[Side mission “Rampaging Dr. Chi” has been completed. Point rewards will be issued after the instance ends.]
Yan Jiyun earned points again without having to lift a paw. By now, he’d already made it back to the cafeteria kitchen, beating Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth there. He curled up in a spot visible from Li Muyang’s perspective. The moment Li Muyang opened his eyes, he spotted Yan Jiyun tucked in the corner.
At this point, the second afternoon class was about to begin.
Li Muyang got up from the floor, completely ignoring Wang Mian, and walked straight toward the black cat. “Sesame, let’s go back to class.”
Wang Mian stopped him just as he was about to leave. “Wait, Li Muyang. It’s safer to stay with me.”
Li Muyang didn’t quite get it. “Uncle, I need to go back to class. Mom’s going to check my homework tonight.”
Wang Mian thought of the woman they had left in the equipment room. Li Muyang’s mom probably hadn’t woken up yet. Hopefully she hadn’t escaped.
Li Muyang crouched down and said to the cat, “Sesame, find a place to hide for now, okay? After I finish this next class, we’ll go home together.”
Yan Jiyun rubbed against Li Muyang’s leg like a normal cat, indicating he understood.
Wang Mian, who was completely ignored: “…”
Li Muyang left the kitchen and headed straight back to class. No one in the class seemed remotely curious about his earlier disappearance.
Wang Mian, still pretending to be a security guard, escorted Li Muyang back to the teaching building. Yang Xue and the hoodie-wearing youth were still dealing with Dr. Chi and hadn’t returned yet.
Yan Jiyun, meanwhile, headed toward the back building. The trees there were the best vantage point. He could keep an eye on Li Muyang at all times.
The final class of the day passed without any unexpected events. Curled up on a branch, listening to the teacher’s lecture, Yan Jiyun was just about ready to fall asleep.
“Students, today’s class ends here. Don’t forget to finish your homework. Class dismissed.”
The class monitor shouted, “Stand up!” and all the students stood up and chorused, “Thank you, teacher!”
Among the forty-something students, Yan Jiyun didn’t hear Li Muyang’s voice. Considering Li Muyang had undergone surgery, it made sense. He mouthed the words but made no sound.
Li Muyang packed up his things and headed home like the others.
The other students left in groups, chatting and laughing. Only he walked out of the school alone with his backpack.
Now that the other players had realized they couldn’t restrict Li Muyang’s actions, most opted to secretly protect him. Only after he exited the school gates did the watching players breathe a sigh of relief.
It was 4:35 PM.
By now, Li Muyang’s HP had dropped to 45%. Since Yan Jiyun had stirred up trouble in the infirmary earlier, Dr. Chi hadn’t had the chance to do anything to Li Muyang, so his health hadn’t fallen further.
Finally, he was about to leave this hellish, cannibalistic school.
It was now twenty minutes to five. He entered the game at eight last night, so there should be less than four hours to go until the game ends.
In these remaining few hours, Yan Jiyun felt he had to stick even closer to Li Muyang.
Mrs. Li would beat him when her emotions were unstable, so that needed to be monitored. He wasn’t sure whether anything else might happen after Li Muyang got home.
Yan Jiyun followed the stream of students and caught up to Li Muyang.
Since some players had seen him and knew he was the cat raised by Li Muyang, he no longer needed to sneak around excessively.
Aside from the one player caught on the surveillance monitors that morning, the other eight players had all regrouped. They followed Li Muyang from behind, while Yan Jiyun casually walked at his side, sometimes hopping onto walls along the way, sometimes ducking into bushes to avoid oncoming vehicles. His path was winding and elusive.
Li Muyang kept glancing at Yan Jiyun to make sure he was still following. He stayed safely on the sidewalk the whole way home. Nothing unexpected happened on the way, not even a stray dog running into traffic to cause a rear-end collision.
[Livestream Channel]
“I used to want to skip past Li Muyang’s walk home. I thought it would be boring. But ever since the cat showed up, it’s like I’m watching a wholesome documentary in the middle of a horror game. If I had a cat walking me home from school every day, I’d have looked forward to it too.”
“So heartwarming. Even the usual random accidents aren’t catching my attention anymore.”
“The other players are so clueless. They still haven’t realized the cat is a player. God’s perspective is such a luxury.”
Indeed, the other players hadn’t realized that “player Yan Jiyun” was the black cat. Besides him, the players had split into two camps — Yang Xue and her two teammates in one, and the bald man and three others, including Qiang-ge, who had previously broken into the surveillance room. Three versus five, a total of eight players.
After twenty minutes, the walk home was finally done.
Today was a happy day for Li Muyang. Even though he had no friends, he had the company of “Sesame” the cat.
To reach his apartment complex, he had to pass a shopping mall. Just then, Li Muyang suddenly stopped. Three older students from the same school were blocking his way.
One of them, a boy around 1.6 meters tall, draped his arm over Li Muyang’s shoulder. “Li Muyang, come play arcade games with us.”
Li Muyang shook his head. “I don’t want to.”
The older boy didn’t care about his refusal. “That’s fine too. Then just lend us some money to spend.”
Li Muyang shook his head again, eyes showing resistance. “I don’t have any allowance.”
Being refused twice in a row annoyed the older boy. He reached to yank Li Muyang’s backpack, but before he could do anything, one of the players leapt into action. Yang Xue swiftly tossed the boy aside, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him against the wall, giving him a good beating.
“Hey kid, has no one ever told you not to bully others? Bullies will get what’s coming to them eventually, you know that?”
The three older students saw a bunch of adults surrounding them, and one of them was even bald and raising his fists threateningly. Being cowards, they realized they were outmatched and ran off.
One of them shouted fearfully, “We get it! We get it, Jiejie!”
Wang Mian said, “That was easier than I thought.”
But just as she spoke, all the players heard a woman shout, “Li Muyang! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get home to do your homework!”
Yan Jiyun instantly tugged at Li Muyang’s pants. After spending the whole day together, Li Muyang understood and quickly unzipped his backpack to let the cat crawl inside.
From the gap in the bag, Yan Jiyun spotted Mrs. Li walked out of the shopping mall, carrying a bag of groceries.
Yang Xue and the others looked at each other in confusion. Wasn’t Mrs. Li locked up in the school gym’s sports equipment room? Why did she look completely fine? When had she returned home?
No matter what, she looked perfectly normal now — gracious, chatting happily with other housewives.
One of them said, “My son did really well on his last test. He got a full score in math! I’m going to cook him beer-braised duck tonight.”
Mrs. Li’s face twitched slightly before forcing a smile. “My son came first in Chinese last time, too.”
The other woman glanced at Li Muyang, who was standing off to the side, and chuckled behind her hand with disbelief. “Really?”
Everyone in the complex knew about the Li family’s situation. Her son’s poor grades were common knowledge, yet she still tried to cover it up. She’s clearly obsessed with saving her face.
Realizing she had been caught lying, Mrs. Li grew embarrassed. She said goodbye to the other woman and yanked Li Muyang along the path home. Kids and parents were happily chatting and walking around the complex, but her expression grew darker with every step.
“I gave up my job and quit just to stay home and teach you, but all you bring me is humiliation.”
“How did I give birth to a son like you? Why don’t you know how to be grateful to your mother?”
“You’re such a disappointment!”
She yanked hard on his arm. Li Muyang tried to break free, but her grip was too strong.
The other players quickly moved in to intervene, trying their best to stay in character. But Mrs. Li sent them all retreating with just a few words.
“Help! Someone’s trying to kidnap my child!”
“Molester! Help! Police!”
“You lay one more finger on me and I’ll call the cops!”
The players hadn’t expected her to pull that card. It was rush hour, and people were everywhere. She immediately drew the attention of the complex’s strict security team.
The guards blocked the bald man and others from entering and became wary of unfamiliar faces. Even Yang Xue and her team couldn’t sneak in.
The players were forced to watch helplessly as Mrs. Li dragged him away again. Everyone could guess what would happen next — once she got home, she was likely to hit him. His HP was probably going to drop again. Now, they had to come up with a new way to break into the tightly-guarded complex.
Only Yan Jiyun had made it in safely, still hiding quietly inside Li Muyang’s backpack.
But as soon as they got out of the elevator, he smelled something wrong in the hallway — a pungent, acrid odor.
His mind raced with possible dangers. Without hesitation, he jumped out of the backpack and darted into the nearby stairwell.
Seeing the black cat run off, Li Muyang chased after him. “Sesame, where are you going? Come back!”
Just as she was about to open the door, Mrs. Li cursed, “Damn cat!”
She dropped the groceries and chased after them both.
