DSMC Chapter 129

T/N: Compared to previous arcs, this one has more horror-theme.

The last campus instance was [Going Home After School]. That was Yan Jiyun’s first instance, set in an elementary school. But after all, it was a 24-hour Newcomer instance, and the main storyline was just one child’s day, so the school setting only lasted for less than half a day. Now, however, this [Mermaid] instance was entirely set in a high school campus.

When he first entered an instance, all the missions seemed very difficult. However, looking back now, he realized that once later instances appeared, the tasks in the previous instance seemed much simpler. Now, each one was getting harder than the last.

During the 10-minute break between classes, what could players do?

After class, there were players even more anxious than Yan Jiyun. They rushed out of the classroom immediately.

He carefully counted. Compared to the NPCs’ expressions, about a dozen students in the class were looking around as soon as class ended. There were roughly thirty students in this class, meaning about half of them. This instance had a total of one hundred players. If distributed at fifteen per class, that would mean at least six classes, and that was an ideal scenario. It didn’t rule out the possibility that the system assigned players randomly, and this class just happened to have more.

While observing, Yan Jiyun realized something — were all players in this instance at the same age level?

He remembered that there weren’t any players under 18 inside [Destiny]. The youngest player he had encountered was a girl who had just finished the college entrance exam in the second instance. They were all randomly matched players, so how could every single one of them appear to be around 16 years old? 

A reasonable guess was that the instance had intentionally lowered their ages. In [Crazy Zoo], it had turned them into animals. Making players younger wasn’t a big issue.

Yan Jiyun casually picked up the small mirror his NPC deskmate was using to squeeze acne and looked at himself.

Oh wow. His face had become younger too. It was exactly how he looked at 16 or 17, much more youthful.

Although he was originally only in his early twenties and already looked like a college student, now he truly had the appearance of a high schooler.

This game was incredible. It could even reverse aging.

Well, not exactly. It was probably just an illusion to maintain consistency with the instance roles, like applying an excessive beauty filter to all players. But the game was far more advanced than a filter. Even if everyone looked smoother, their appearance, intelligence, height, and weight were still there. Only the face had been adjusted to match their teenaged selves. 

[Congratulations, player, you have unlocked character information.]

[Role: Student]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Senior Year (3rd Year), Class 18 (Arts Exam Class)]

[Arts Exam Direction: Music (Vocal)]

Yan Jiyun looked at his identity information. It was very brief. He could only understand that he was studying music.

The system must have detected that he was tone-deaf and thrown him into a vocal class, right?

Why not throw him into a dance class instead? Wouldn’t that squeeze his body even more? Damn it!

Actually, when they purchased information, none of the sellers had mentioned that this was a music instance. Could it be that because the difficulty increased, the content had also changed?

This instance released its tasks very quickly, so he needed to think about how to handle the upcoming exam first.

While other players rushed out nervously to find their teammates, he also got up from his seat and walked out into the corridor.

Who knew how many traps there were inside a Level 4 Hard instance? He couldn’t expose his identity or companions right away.

Like an NPC, he headed straight to the restroom after class.

Most players looked anxious as they searched for their teammates. They also seemed confused about the Level 4 difficulty.

Similarly, Yan Jiyun didn’t understand why this had happened either. But he knew it must be because the system had a bug, which increased the game’s difficulty. His luck was truly something else. Both times the system updated happened right when he entered an instance.

Wasn’t it said that instance updates and system updates were different, and wouldn’t affect the instance?

If the main storyline had changed after an update, that would be understandable. The difficulty wouldn’t necessarily increase. He would just lose the points spent on buying props. But now, what he lost wasn’t just points; everything he had gathered earlier might have been heavily discounted or even completely invalid.

A Level 2 difficulty instance was basically easy mode compared to Level 4.

Yan Jiyun hadn’t expected to be unlucky enough to encounter this. Why would a system update change the instance’s difficulty? Wasn’t this sending newbie players to their deaths?

Although he felt increasingly anxious inside, he still tried to calm himself.

Level 4 instance? Then, so be it. He would just treat it like the Newcomer instance, distinguishing between Introductory mode and Challenging mode. He had simply entered Challenging mode, that was all.

When the day came that he met whoever was behind this game, it wouldn’t be too late to beat them up ^u^

Yan Jiyun lingered at the restroom entrance. He didn’t know whether Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi had entered the same instance. Logically, since they entered as a team, they shouldn’t have been separated.

Before entering, the instance prompt said 50 players, but now it showed 100. No matter how he looked at it, it shouldn’t split him from Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi.

The break time was only 10 minutes, and already two precious minutes had been lost.

Neither Gu Wenzhu nor Qiu Xi appeared near the restroom.

Senior students should all be in the same building, and with 100 people, there would be more than six classes. But they could still be on the same floor.

…no one came out?

Since everyone had become younger, could it be that someone’s appearance had changed so much before and after the college entrance exam that he couldn’t recognize them?

Another possibility was that their current classroom wasn’t here.

Seeing that other players had the same idea, Yan Jiyun followed the NPCs into the restroom, trying to look like an ordinary NPC. Before meeting up with Gu Wenzhu and the others, he tried not to expose himself.

As for the exam, he wasn’t too nervous. The side mission didn’t say it must be completed — if he couldn’t finish it, there would just be the next one.

Of course, he would try his best. There were many ways to handle a normal exam.

His field of vision was a bit broader than ordinary people’s, therefore, cheating shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

He went to wash his hands. Just as he finished, he saw three male students shove a refined-looking boy back into the restroom.

A boy with a scar between his brows rudely pushed the refined boy. “Han Ruibai, what the hell do you mean? Don’t you know Cheng Su is my girlfriend? And you still dared to confess to her?”

Han Ruibai didn’t seem intimidated by the boys and said with displeasure, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The scarred boy deliberately shoved Han Ruibai toward the sink. “Don’t know? Weren’t you with Cheng Su last night?”

Han Ruibai’s expression remained calm. “She came to me, not the other way around. I think you’ve misunderstood.” He was extremely composed despite the situation.

Yan Jiyun was blocked at the door and couldn’t get out. He still wanted to meet up with Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi.

Han Ruibai… a named NPC. Could he be related to the main storyline?

Yan Jiyun wasn’t particularly interested in this kind of high school romance drama. Could this really be the game’s main plot? Wasn’t it a bit too sloppy?

Plus, the storyline felt overly childish. Even middle schoolers wouldn’t do something like this anymore. Ah, it was embarrassing.

Yan Jiyun instinctively avoided the NPCs and stepped back. This was the restroom, and the smell inside was quite strong.

He just wanted to get out. Although he didn’t want to miss the plot, his nose was quite sensitive. He really didn’t want to stay inside any longer.

The boys were still bullying Han Ruibai.

Yan Jiyun wanted to leave, but they were blocking the sink area.

He spotted a gap and tried to slip out, but one of the boys, perhaps addicted to bullying, shoved him. “Are you blind? Didn’t you see we’re busy here?”

Yan Jiyun staggered back two steps from the push.

He really couldn’t stand the smell of the men’s restroom anymore and frowned. “You’re blocking my way, and you’re blaming me?”

He knew he shouldn’t casually provoke NPCs, but since they started it, he wasn’t going to hold back.

The three boys shifted their attention to Yan Jiyun, leaving Han Ruibai aside.

The one who pushed him said, “Got a death wish? Don’t you even recognize Yu-ge?”

Of course Yan Jiyun didn’t recognize them. He wasn’t a student at this school.

He didn’t see Gu Wenzhu or Qiu Xi coming to find him. Coincidentally, his mood wasn’t great after what the system had done, and these NPCs had just walked right into it.

Although he didn’t know whether this Han Ruibai was related to the plot, he really disliked this kind of school atmosphere.

So he directly shut the restroom door and rotated his wrist. “Classmates, if you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for provoking me when I’m in a bad mood today.”

He grabbed the broom behind the door and swung it at the three boys, every strike landing on them. The three snatched his broom away, but that worked out perfectly. He threw punches directly, left and right, combined with the moves Qi Feng had taught him. He was so fast that he knocked the three inexperienced students to the restroom floor in no time, leaving them groaning in pain.

Young people fought recklessly, but he didn’t give them any chance to fight back.

“Next time, don’t touch people so casually.” Yan Jiyun said as he stepped over the broom on the ground. 

The boy who had just threatened Han Ruibai was unwilling to accept defeat. His face twisted, and he pulled out a folding knife from his pocket, aiming to stab Yan Jiyun from behind!

At this moment, Yan Jiyun had already expended quite a bit of energy, and he was close to the opponent. If he tried to dodge, he might still get injured.

Just as he was about to lament getting stabbed right after entering the game, Han Ruibai — who had been standing aside without reacting — suddenly shoved the scar-browed boy into the wall, nearly forcing his face into the urinal!

The boy snarled, “You’ve got guts! Han Ruibai, you’d better not walk alone from now on!” He glared angrily at Yan Jiyun again. “And you—”

Yan Jiyun silently raised the broom. “Classmate, say one more word and I’ll shove this broom head into your mouth.”

The scar-browed Liu Yu: “……”

The warning bell rang. Yan Jiyun sighed. Truly, these NPCs had completely wasted his break time.

He walked out of the restroom, washed his hands again, and headed toward the classroom. Han Ruibai walked behind him.

Yan Jiyun recalled that shove just now and generously thanked him. “Thanks.”

Han Ruibai said coldly, “He pushed me first. I just pushed back. I wasn’t helping you.”

Yan Jiyun nodded faintly. He scanned the corridor, roughly distinguishing who were players and who were NPCs by their behavior.

He watched Han Ruibai return to the classroom. When Liu Yu passed by their class, he viciously pointed at both Yan Jiyun and Han Ruibai.

Yan Jiyun found it strange. He had just fought with NPCs, yet no side mission was triggered. It seemed these two might not be important NPCs.

The bell rang, and the teacher returned to the classroom, immediately distributing the test papers.

The group of players who had rushed out to find teammates all ran back, likely because, like him, they had received the mission requiring them to pass the exam.

Moreover, when he passed by other players earlier, he had overheard their conversations.

Different classes had different exam tasks. Dance classes tested basic dance skills, music instrument tracks tested instruments, language (broadcasting) classes tested Mandarin pronunciation, and art classes tested sketching.

As for regular college entrance exam classes, they were tested randomly from either Chinese, math, or English. Yan Jiyun felt those exams were easy. His situation, however, was different. Out of all possibilities, he got the one he was worst at.

The male teacher on the podium said, “Students who fail this test must stay for evening self-study!”

Compared to other classes like dance fundamentals, Yan Jiyun felt every test was a way to eliminate players. Who knew what would happen to those who had to stay behind?

Yan Jiyun began to take the side mission seriously. A Level 4 instance wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

The students in front began passing the test papers backward. Han Ruibai took one and passed it back. Only then did Yan Jiyun realize Han Ruibai was actually sitting right in front of him. What a coincidence.

There’s always a way out.

Yan Jiyun lazily poked his elbow with a pen tip. “Hey, can you do me a favor later?”

Han Ruibai turned back. “What?”

Yan Jiyun covered his mouth with the test paper. “Let me copy your answers.”

Han Ruibai looked at him in confusion. “Aren’t your grades pretty good? Why copy mine?”

Yan Jiyun glanced at the game’s “friendly reminder.”

Damn. So the “do not deviate from reality, do not perform actions that do not match your character” meant maintaining the persona assigned by the system. Was he set as a top student?

He said, “I helped you just now. My hand’s sore and I can’t write. You should take responsibility for that.”

Han Ruibai saw him spinning the pen skillfully with his right hand. “But it’s not your brain that’s injured.”

Unexpectedly sharp-tongued for an NPC, Yan Jiyun whispered, “So are you helping or not?”

Han Ruibai looked at him. “Copy if you want. If you can.”

Just as Yan Jiyun was about to ask what he meant, the sharply dressed male teacher looked over.

The teacher pushed his glasses and said sternly, “No talking. No cheating. Answer if you can. Leave it blank if you can’t.”

This teacher’s face was different from real-life teachers that usually pretended to be strict. This one was genuinely stern, with an eerie aura Yan Jiyun disliked.

Yan Jiyun lowered his head and looked at the test paper. He recognized every word, but together, they made no sense.

Some players whispered while the teacher turned away.

Good, everyone was the same, clueless about music theory.

Other players began showing their tricks, like peeking at desk mates, secretly flipping books, all kinds of methods.

Yan Jiyun was always cautious. Sitting in the middle-back row, he observed which methods worked best. He didn’t know Han Ruibai well. He couldn’t rely on just one option.

NPC behavior was controlled by the game and he couldn’t rely on them too much. And every decision now had to consider this was a “Level 4 hard instance.”

He had never even entered a Level 3 instance before, so he still didn’t fully grasp the difficulty.

Even when the teacher turned around, he seemed to notice everything.

His small eyes kept watching them.

Unlike veteran players, Yan Jiyun couldn’t flip books quickly enough.

He wondered if his hands were fast enough—

Then the teacher answered for him, walking up to a cheating player and pulling out the open book.

The teacher smiled coldly. “Li Ping’an, cheating.”

He tore the test paper to pieces in front of him. Li Ping’an’s face changed slightly. When the teacher returned to the podium, he sat frozen.

Yan Jiyun guessed he had received a system notification.

What happened if a player failed a mission?

From his angle, Yan Jiyun saw Li Ping’an’s fingers trembling, his face growing paler.

What had the system told him?

After that, no one dared whisper anymore.

The class lasted 45 minutes. The exam seemed manageable.

He guessed passing was required to proceed.

Students had to attend class. That was their role. Skipping class would break character and trigger penalties.

For example, a top student asking for leave due to illness would be fine, but skipping class wouldn’t match the role.

He hadn’t triggered the penalty yet.

He kept watching Li Ping’an. Aside from turning pale, nothing happened.

The teacher had made it clear that should he fail the test, he must stay for evening study. Cheating meant zero points, so definitely staying.

Yan Jiyun didn’t want that on the first day.

His eyesight was better than normal. He could see others’ answers without turning his head.

To others, he looked like a well-behaved high school student with bright eyes. Maybe because his true form was a cat, his eyes were slightly larger, and his vision matched his cat form.

After twenty more minutes, his paper was still blank.

Han Ruibai had already reached the last page.

Yan Jiyun finally wrote his name.

Then gave up on most questions.

His deskmate even covered his own paper tightly to block him.

Yan Jiyun: “……”

Why would an arts student care about beating him in academics?

Just as he was thinking, an NPC reported someone cheating.

“Laoshi, Liu Ke is cheating. He copied my answers!”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

The teacher tore Liu Ke’s paper too. “Didn’t I say no cheating?”

“If you see others cheating, report it.” Liu Ke seemed calmer.

Yan Jiyun realized, even classmates could be monitors.

Good thing his deskmate blocked him earlier.

Suddenly, Han Ruibai shifted and exposed his paper. Yan Jiyun quietly copied. When the teacher looked, he pretended to spin his pen.

He memorized answers quickly and wrote them down. After finishing one page, he poked Han Ruibai to flip it.

Suddenly, Han Ruibai’s deskmate raised his hand. “Laoshi, Yan Jiyun and Han Ruibai are cheating!”

The teacher rushed over, but Yan Jiyun blocked him. 

“Laoshi, I don’t know why he’s accusing me.” Han Ruibai said.

Yan Jiyun also defended himself in a calm manner, “You can compare our papers.”

The teacher did, and found differences. “Write properly,” he said.

Yan Jiyun exhaled. That was a close call. He then realized that his deskmate was a player, not an NPC. Yan Jiyun noted him as a “must avoid”. 

The exam continued, and finally, the bell rang. As a result, he passed the exam safely. Although he still didn’t know how he scored. 

Seeing another 45 minutes of Human Form Time Card he must use, he felt pain. 

The next class was the final class of the day. It was a vocal training class.

Damn it. He was tone-deaf. …should he just skip?

T/N: btw, I will translate “teacher” as “laoshi” if it’s a character calling the teacher in a dialogue (e.g, someone saying “Laoshi, bla bla bla” or “(name)-laoshi, bla bla bla”. 

Otherwise, I will translate them as “teacher”.