Lu Qingjia opened Zhong Liyu’s hand, a smile that was neither here nor there on his face, and said, “My Old Uncle, may be a soft-hearted person who tends to interpret others with the utmost goodwill, but he is not a dull-witted fool.”
“On the contrary, he is cautious and clear-headed; otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived in the Game for so many years.”
“According to what he said back then, it should be at the watershed near the Advanced Zone, where the difficulty of tasks increased dramatically, and he found it increasingly difficult to cope.”
“Even so, he still had a good chance of advancing to the Advanced Zone. But just as he was about to step in, he was ambushed and lost his life.”
“He understood my character and was unwilling to reveal more, but his unwillingness before dying still leaked a few words.”
Lu Qingjia raised his gaze, his dark eyes turning an inorganic pitch black: “Since you’ve been to that instance and concluded that my current abilities are insufficient to handle it, it means that even my cunning does not hold any special advantage there.”
“Moreover, you probably still don’t know who the real culprit behind my uncle’s death is. This is easy to understand; after all, the information you possess can be easily extracted from you. The Game rules naturally won’t allow you to easily replay the Game that occurred in that instance. Not only that, but the entire world might also produce a huge rejection towards you; you probably won’t be able to stay there for long.”
“So you can rest assured, I am not the reckless fool who rushes in just because I hear a clue. Is there any difference between you telling me the coordinates and what I learn from others? It’s just a matter of time.”
“At worst, I think the Game would be quite willing to negotiate terms with me.”
Zhong Liyu sneered: “It wouldn’t dare. I’ve already warned it that if it dares to pull you into that world without permission, I’ll cut off its balls and make sure it never thinks of successfully prying into someone else’s marriage.”
Lu Qingjia: “…”
Being the boss really does come with a complete lack of dignity.
Lu Qingjia shrugged: “See? This is why we can’t reach a consensus. Your self-righteous protection is my biggest stumbling block.”
Zhong Liyu hurriedly said, “I can go in with you.”
“And then?” Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow. “Am I supposed to strap you to my belt for every instance?”
Zhong Liyu would love that; could there be such a good thing?
But before he could speak, the other party said, “When a player of administrator level can only see one person in their line of sight, it means they’ve lost their qualification.”
“You haven’t been joking around with that silly leopard for too long and forgotten the cruelty of the Game, have you? Even the Game itself must abide by the rules of its own existence.”
After saying this, Lu Qingjia left the backyard and saw several female employees huddled together, excitedly whispering about something.
As soon as they saw him approach, they immediately shut their mouths, but the knowing looks in their eyes were a bit overwhelming.
Lu Qingjia asked, “Is there anything to eat?”
Wenwen quickly replied, “Yes, yes! The kitchen is stewing old duck soup; it should be about ready. I’ll have the chef make some fried rice.”
She glanced at Zhong Liyu, who was still in the backyard, and cautiously said, “Um, Mr. Zhong came from the city; he probably hasn’t had lunch yet. Should we prepare a portion for him too?”
Lu Qingjia nodded: “Don’t put green onions in his.”
This casual reminder visibly excited the female employees again, and a few of them went to the kitchen together, whispering and discussing once more.
Zhong Liyu stood in the yard, frowning, lost in thought, when a faint voice echoed in his mind: “Who did you say you were going to cut off their balls?”
“Whoever dares to cause trouble will have theirs cut off.”
“Oh my! A down-and-out person who was kicked out of their home and shamelessly begging their ex for shelter is now acting all high and mighty?” The Game’s tone was eerie. “I even stood by your side before; I must have been blind.”
Zhong Liyu replied, confused, “This isn’t a race; what does it matter if you stand by me? You don’t expect me to owe you a favor just because you supported me verbally, do you?”
“By your logic, I also risked getting beaten up to support you in stealing someone else’s partner. I haven’t seen you give me any benefits.”
Game: “Damn it, thinking about that makes me angry. You call that support? You clearly just wanted to see me get beaten.”
Fortunately, they weren’t in Absolute Territory at the moment; otherwise, this leopard and dog would have already started fighting.
Game mocked, “No wonder someone kicked you out; serves you right. Just go hug your blanket and cry.”
Zhong Liyu: “You don’t understand; he doesn’t want me to lose my position as an administrator.”
As he spoke, tears glistened in his eyes, and he looked as if he was about to cry from being moved: “Actually, what does it matter whether I am an administrator or not? As long as I am with him.”
“Besides, even if I lose my qualification, you, a temporary promoted waste, are not better than me.”
Game: “Pfft! Do you really think the sun won’t rise without you? I’ll revoke your permissions right now. After all, you’ve triggered two warnings for investigating that scammer, and this time, disrespecting the main god will just make it three.”
Zhong Liyu: “Excuse me? In our place, what crime is disrespecting the main god? Does a casual warning mean the main god is abusing power? Especially targeting an administrator-level player?”
“Do you want me to count how many times Miss Zhu has cursed you during meetings? If you treat all of them equally and issue warnings, I would gladly accept.”
Game’s fur stood on end; of course, you would gladly accept. You would only lose your administrator position, while I could be beaten to death, and that would be a minor issue compared to a complete heartbreak.
This was a problem Game didn’t dare confront head-on, so it could only mumble, “I know you’re just sticking around to use your permissions for something later.”
Zhong Liyu didn’t respond, returning to the hall, where he saw Lu Qingjia eating. A simple meal was also placed at the seat opposite him.
The receptionist, Xiao Wei, said, “Mr. Zhong, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? This is what the boss had the kitchen prepare for you.”
Zhong Liyu looked at the fried rice in front of him, which was different from Lu Qingjia’s plate as it didn’t have green onions, and he knew this was a special instruction.
His eyes lit up: “Jiajia—”
“After you finish eating, take down the carpets in the corridors of each floor to wash them clean, then break down half a cow that was purchased for the kitchen, and finally water the orchard and vegetable garden. Your salary is two thousand five hundred a month; I’m not hiring you just to eat.”
“Oh!”
Originally, Lu Qingjia planned to take a break before entering the Game again, but Zhong Liyu’s arrival disrupted his plans.
To be honest, with Zhong Liyu around, Lu Qingjia couldn’t calm down to think about everything.
On the contrary, the instance world, though fraught with danger, provided him with a certain buffer.
So that night, Lu Qingjia sent another application to the Game: “Enter the Game.”
Game: “So soon? Moderate gaming is beneficial for mental and physical health, Player. Don’t let the Game occupy your entire life.”
Lu Qingjia was so amused he almost laughed: “You make it sound like it’s an easily uninstallable online game.”
That was true; the Player’s will must be respected, and the Game granted two hours of preparation time.
Zhong Liyu seemed to sense something and knocked on Lu Qingjia’s door in the middle of the night. However, there was no response from inside.
He could be sure the other party hadn’t entered the Game yet and was probably still in the preparation phase.
The door was locked, and Zhong Liyu was quite worried, so he peered through the door.
Lu Qingjia’s room was quite large; after all, besides work, it was also his living space.
Rather than a bedroom, it was more like a medium-sized apartment, complete with a dining area, living room, and even a simple kitchen. The decor was warm and comfortable, with two bedrooms, though one was already empty.
Zhong Liyu’s gaze shifted to Lu Qingjia’s wardrobe, where he was putting on what looked like a silk garment.
His perfect figure presented a jade-like quality under the light, and Zhong Liyu suddenly felt a rush of heat in his nose upon seeing such a stimulating scene.
Just as he was about to check if something strange was dripping down, he saw the garment Lu Qingjia had taken off slowly fall, revealing a silk dress.
At that moment, his figure seemed to shrink a circle, becoming slender and graceful, without any sense of incongruity.
His hair quickly grew longer, and his facial contours softened considerably, transforming him into a tall, elegant classical beauty.
“Poof!” In that instant, Zhong Liyu’s mind unlocked quite a few things.
Hearing the noise, Lu Qingjia became alert: “Who?”
As he walked toward the door, he took off the dress, his hair returning to its original state, casually pulling on a bathrobe and tying it at the waist, revealing a solid chest.
Zhong Liyu felt quite disappointed—don’t take it off so quickly.
Yet, while he hurriedly cleaned up the traces, he thought the bathrobe actually looked quite beautiful.
When Lu Qingjia opened the door, he appeared to have no abnormalities.
“I came out without bringing a piece of clothing; can you lend me a few?” Zhong Liyu said.
Lu Qingjia scoffed: “Do you think my clothes will fit you?”
“Why wouldn’t they fit? Just lend me something loose. Oh, and I don’t have any shower gel or shampoo, nor towels or toothbrushes.”
“Tsk! In the middle of the afternoon, you didn’t prepare any of these and are just waiting to ask for them?”
“I washed over a hundred meters of carpet, cut half a cow, and watered several acres of land this afternoon. Where was I supposed to prepare?”
“Is that how your employees talk to the boss?”
“Boss, I was wrong; just give me a break!”
Lu Qingjia sighed: “Wait!”
Just as he was about to close the door, Zhong Liyu blocked it: “Are you going to let me choose myself? I’m afraid you don’t know my size.”
“Are you sure?”
Zhong Liyu’s face turned red, and he smiled shyly: “Well, you know me well enough, don’t you?”
Lu Qingjia picked up a nearby ornament and threw it at him: “Get lost; I’ll have someone bring it to you.”
“Don’t! It’s late at night; the girls should have all showered and changed into their pajamas. Isn’t it inappropriate to make them do this for such a small matter?”
Lu Qingjia laughed: “Are you trying to get me to let you into the Game again?”
“Is that possible?”
“What do you think?” His expression turned cold, and he sneered: “Of course, with your skills, I can’t stop you from coming in or not.”
“However, you first need to weigh whether you have the ability to not reveal any flaws throughout, ensuring I won’t discover you.”
“Once I find out you’ve followed me in, I’ll call Madam An and have her come personally to take you back.”
Zhong Liyu opened his mouth, reluctantly saying, “Fine, anyway, your Clearance Ticket hasn’t been used yet. With your skills, even if you can’t handle it, getting out of the Game in time shouldn’t be a problem.”
He walked in on his own: “Then let’s agree that before you use the Clearance Ticket, I won’t interfere with you in the Game without your consent.”
Lu Qingjia nodded; for now, this was a relatively satisfactory consensus: “Alright, let’s leave it at that.”
“Then you don’t need to avoid me, right?” He eagerly sat on Lu Qingjia’s bed: “Has the exchange window opened? This is your first intermediate instance; you must have more time to prepare. What exchange items are available?”
Lu Qingjia smiled: “How does my long hair look?”
“Good—” Zhong Liyu quickly shut his mouth.
Lu Qingjia looked at him like he was an idiot and coldly laughed: “You might not know, but in the last instance, I also unlocked the ability to see through things.”
“Although it’s not as impressive as your ability to see through objects, I could still clearly see a certain idiot frantically wiping their nosebleed after entering the living room.”
Zhong Liyu’s head sank lower and lower, almost buried in the ground.
Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he suddenly looked up at Lu Qingjia, who was standing with his arms crossed: “So are you going to wear that into the Game?”
“Can we start our agreement from the next instance? I feel like I’m losing out here.”
Lu Qingjia had never heard such a ridiculous negotiation and chose to ignore him.
The items in the exchange window were certainly not limited to transformation dresses; this dress required quite a few Points, a full three thousand, and most low-level players wouldn’t earn even a thousand after fighting hard in an instance.
But Lu Qingjia felt that this dress had an outstanding effect on appearance transformation and would be very useful in the long run, so he bought it without hesitation to give it a try.
He didn’t plan to enter the Game directly in female form; instead, he changed into more convenient clothing, gave Zhong Liyu the middle finger as he stared at him dressing, and then entered the Game.
At the moment he disappeared, Zhong Liyu almost instinctively followed him in, but thankfully he remembered Lu Qingjia’s warning.
Looking at the bathrobe that Lu Qingjia had just worn on the bed, Zhong Liyu lunged forward and gathered the pile of fabric.
After the sensation of weightlessness ended, Lu Qingjia found himself surrounded by people coming and going, all young men and women dressed in white shirts and uniforms. The boys wore brown plaid long pants, while the girls wore pleated skirts of the same fabric.
Each face radiated vitality, and many even greeted Lu Qingjia as he passed by.
The class bell rang, and two boys grabbed Lu Qingjia’s shoulders: “What are you daydreaming about? It’s the last class; once it’s over, we get a break!”
“After school, we’re going to the karaoke; the class flower from Class One is coming too. This time, you can’t ditch us; she said she’d only go if you go.”
Lu Qingjia was thus led into the class belonging to his character, and as soon as he entered, his pupils constricted.
This school seemed to be a relatively expensive private institution; the quality of education aside, the hardware and software facilities were quite impressive.
There weren’t many students in the class; just now, he had passed by and looked at the windows of other classes, and the largest class had fewer than forty students.
The class Lu Qingjia stepped into had a total of thirty-two desks, but aside from the two boys who were getting close to him, the few scattered individuals inside were all Players.
Including Lu Qingjia himself, there were actually twenty-three Players in this round.
What kind of difficulty was this?
Clearly, the other Players saw that another Player had joined and their spirits dropped to the lowest point, but fortunately, the number had already been shocking before he arrived.
Finding his seat, he sat down and waited for the teacher to come in, but strangely, they had waited nearly five minutes, and the teacher still hadn’t arrived.
Most of the students in their class were Players, which was fine, but the other classes were already restless. The noise from outside the classroom could be heard, and since it was the last class before the break, even the class leaders were too lazy to manage.
A few people in the classroom stood up directly; in this round, everyone’s appearance had changed to varying degrees, at least there was no horrifying sight of middle-aged men in school uniforms sitting in the classroom.
One male Player, who still looked somewhat anxious, said, “Sitting here is pointless. If one teacher doesn’t come, it could be said they have something to do, but if all the teachers don’t come to class, I think we need to investigate.”
A few people expressed support; after all, in the Game, whoever obtains information first gains the upper hand.
But just then, the fixed projector on the classroom ceiling turned on, and the electric screen above the blackboard slowly descended.
A voice came from the classroom speakers: “Next is a unified video lesson; please have the class committee pull down the classroom curtains.”
An NPC student obediently complied, while Lu Qingjia noticed that students in other classes hadn’t moved, and the class discipline was still a mess. It seemed the students at this school had quite a rebellious style.
However, the brightness of the projector was quite good; even without pulling down the curtains, the experience was slightly worse but didn’t hinder seeing the projected content clearly.
The image that appeared next plunged the previously noisy teaching building into several seconds of silence, followed by a chorus of terrified screams.
Because the screen showed a room that appeared to be the school’s large conference office, and at that moment, the originally solemn office was a scene of bloodshed.
Almost all the school staff were inside, but they were sprawled in pools of blood, their deaths tragic. The video footage even captured many struggling before dying.
The white walls were splattered with blood, and countless bloody handprints from the struggles made the scene feel grotesque.
The school motto “Cultivate Virtue, Be Independent and Strong” above the room was splattered with blood; this scene was too horrifying and bloody.
For the Players, it was bearable, especially for the student NPCs, as the tragic corpses inside were people they saw every day, and many had even joked with them just ten minutes ago.
At that moment, two living figures appeared on the projector: one was a well-dressed man in a suit, wearing glasses, presenting a refined and scholarly image.
The other was a well-dressed female teacher with her hair tied up.
One of the students who had pulled Lu Qingjia back exclaimed, “Teacher Ji, Teacher Du?”
He immediately revealed the surnames of the two survivors, but it was unclear who was Ji and who was Du.
However, there was no need to distinguish, as the male teacher spoke up the next second: “Hello everyone, I believe some students may not be familiar with me.”
“Let me introduce myself; my name is Ji Ye, and I am the English teacher for Class Three, Class One, and Class Five.”
“I apologize for taking up your class time, but as graduation approaches, there are some things I must tell you here.”
As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the screen: “I’m sorry!”
“I’m sorry; it is the school’s lack of virtue and the teachers’ incompetence that has turned you students into—”
Ji Ye spoke while raising his head, the camera capturing every expression on his face.
His humble and gentle demeanor, the slight arch of his features, and his consistently patient gaze seemed to look through the camera at the countless trash in front of the screen.
He opened his mouth and slowly said, “You have been taught to become arrogant, foolish, dark, cowardly, selfish, cunning, and of no benefit to society.”
“To place such trash into society is the dereliction of duty of the teachers and the school. What difference does it make for teachers who cannot fulfill the responsibilities bestowed upon them by society and the times, whether they live or die?”
“So, students, there is no need to panic; this is a natural outcome.”
“Here, I must also inform you of some unfortunate news: due to your unqualified status, I have decided to delay your graduation and re-educate you on the rules and respect you should adhere to as human beings.”
“During the next period, Teacher Du will assist me, and I ask all students to cooperate with the teaching and actively participate to strive for an early graduation.”
“In ten minutes, we will come to the classroom to start the lesson; please observe classroom discipline and wait quietly.”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the doors of the classrooms in other classes burst open, and countless people rushed out in terror, flooding towards the school exit.
In an instant, the corridors and stairs were packed with people, even more terrified than during an earthquake.
A few NPCs in the Player class also wanted to leave, but looking around, everyone remained seated.
The two boys who had pulled Lu Qingjia back trembled as they said, “Hey! Hurry up and leave; what are you sitting here for? Are you waiting for that murderer?”
Lu Qingjia hadn’t spoken yet when a Player sitting in the back scoffed, “Leave? If you want to die, go ahead and leave.”
This remark made several NPCs in the class even more uncertain. At that moment, the first batch of students who had run out had already reached the school gate.
Their classroom’s window had a perfect view of the school gate, and everyone saw the first group of students who dashed out. Just a few steps beyond the gate, they suddenly exploded into a spray of blood.
Several others couldn’t stop themselves, and the sounds of explosions rang out like fireworks.
The students who had rushed down the playground screamed and huddled together, no longer daring to take another step forward.
One Player spoke up, “I told you, with this level of difficulty, how could you possibly get out?”
After he said this, he was shot a glare by another Player, but the other seemed quite carefree and said loudly, “What are you glaring at me for? They can’t hear the keywords anyway.”
At that moment, the school’s loudspeaker reminded students to return to their seats in the classroom, to adhere to classroom discipline, and to quietly wait for the teacher.
Now, the students were thoroughly frightened by the continuous shocks; some were crying, while others trembled as they returned to the classroom.
Once everyone was back, Ji Ye indeed entered the classroom right on the dot, not a second more or less than ten minutes.
Through the window on the corridor side, Lu Qingjia noticed that not only their class but also three other classes were simultaneously being entered by someone whose back resembled Ji Ye. Teacher Du had mentioned it was his assistant, but that person had yet to appear.
Ji Ye’s face had already returned to a gentle and tolerant demeanor befitting a teacher. Seeing that most of the class was relatively calm, he showed a satisfied expression.
He spoke, “Well then, let’s begin our first lesson.”
“The theme of this lesson—honesty.”
“Honesty is the foundation of humanity. Although in life, we often have to tell lies for various reasons, and even a moderate amount of white lies is necessary in interpersonal communication, I still hope you all maintain the utmost sincerity.”
“Rather than being habitual liars, even at such a young age, cunning and deceitful.”
“So for this lesson, let’s play a game. From now on, in this classroom, everyone can only speak the truth. We can test how far our conversations can expand under this premise.”
“Class performance will count towards your credits, and if you perform poorly, you might not graduate.”
After saying this, seeing that everyone was silent, he casually picked a student to demonstrate, one of the NPCs.
Ji Ye smiled and asked, “Classmate XX, let’s start our dialogue as a demonstration.”
“What is the worst thing you have done so far?”
The boy, already afraid of Ji Ye, suddenly turned pale when asked this question.
Ji Ye said, “It’s just the first question; you can’t refuse to answer, can you?”
The boy swallowed hard and trembled as he spoke, “Uh, probably last year when I was riding a motorcycle and accidentally killed someone’s pet dog. I ran away without taking responsibility?”
After saying this, he nervously looked at Ji Ye, and seeing the smile still on his face, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the next second, the boy suddenly exploded in his seat, just like the few students who had escaped the school earlier.
Fortunately, the Player next to him was prepared, having somehow acquired an umbrella, and didn’t get his clothes dirty.
But another nearby NPC wasn’t so lucky, getting splattered all over with blood.
“Ah————” he let out a piercing scream, then rolled his eyes and fainted. At this moment, similar disturbances were heard from other classrooms.
It seemed that the pace of the lesson was about the same in every classroom.
Ji Ye took out a handkerchief to wipe his glasses, put them back on, and shook his head regretfully—
“Why must you break the rules right after I just explained them? Even if you confessed to having raped a special student in the classroom last year, leading to their suicide, the teacher wouldn’t do anything to you, you know?”
Ji Ye revealed a strange smile: “After all, this lesson’s rule only requires everyone to speak the truth.”
