DSMC Chapter 133

[Want to be Human] livestream channel:

“Is that player stupid? He actually tried to track our little cat. He picked the wrong target this time!”

“Is this how the instance is supposed to be played? I’m confused… the killer got discovered by our Kitty Baby this quickly? Can someone tell me who the killer is?”

“Not necessarily a killer, right? Couldn’t it just be a coincidence?”

“Huh? I thought this was an exam-type instance? I only watched the beginning and assumed the whole thing was about exams, so I dropped it. Can any expert help sort out the plot? I really want to know! Our Kitty Baby is absolutely god-tier in story instances, so I’ll watch whatever instance he enters!”

“I also want to know what the plot of this instance actually is. Why didn’t the cat keep following Han Ruibai? He really looks like the protagonist to me. Only protagonists get nearly killed by villains. This is straight out of a novel!”

“Sister upstairs, are you watching a romance drama? Only in romance stories does the male lead get attacked and then suddenly someone jumps out to save him.”

“But isn’t that exactly Han Ruibai’s plotline? Look, he got knocked out, then the cat showed up. When he woke up, he saw his stepbrother Xue Ping. If the cat hadn’t told him the truth beforehand, he might’ve thought Xue Ping was the one who saved him.”

“That actually makes sense. Every time the cat interacts with NPCs, the vibe is kinda… weird. Like there’s this subtle, indescribable hint of BL energy.”

Yan Jiyun wanted to chase after Long-Haired No. 2, but if the man noticed him, he definitely wouldn’t let it go so easily again.

Was he really the killer? And if so, how did he escape right under everyone’s noses?

Earlier he tried to kill Han Ruibai; but this time, it was someone else.

Or maybe someone else committed the murder?

Still, Long-Haired No. 2 remained the prime suspect.

Like most of the players, Yan Jiyun headed to the school building to watch the scene.

Aside from the players trapped in classrooms for evening self-study, the rest gathered openly at the scene.

NPCs weren’t useless, they’re here to provide the victim’s identity.

“Ahhh, I think it’s Jiang Shiwen from Senior Year Class 6!”

“Oh my god, Jiang Shiwen fell from upstairs… did she die?”

“She fell like that… there’s no way she survived.”

A player stepped forward and checked her breathing. “Dead.”

The moment those words fell, all players present received a system notification.

[Main Mission 1: “Jiang Shiwen’s Death”]

[Mission Details: Find the killer who murdered Jiang Shiwen.]

Who was Jiang Shiwen?

The teaching building of Mingya High School had red-brick exterior walls and six floors, shaped like an “L.” The long side had two entrances, while the shorter side had one. Jiang Shiwen’s body had fallen near the second entrance on the longer side.

Hiding in the greenery behind the crowd, Yan Jiyun scanned the surroundings. Most NPCs showed similar reactions. Aside from those close to her who were crying, others looked more surprised than shocked.

He watched as players rushed upstairs to investigate matters related to Jiang Shiwen, but he wasn’t in a hurry. With so many players packed into a single campus, someone would quickly uncover useful information. He just needed to find a spot and sift through it.

Logically speaking, an instance like this — similar to a murder mystery game — shouldn’t involve more than 50 players.

Yan Jiyun had played such games with friends before. Online sessions usually had fewer than 10 players, and offline games ranged from 4 to 8. Rarely more than 10. But now, this campus instance has deployed around 100 players to investigate one death. It was like mobilizing an entire police department for a single case, truly overkill.

Even considering that some players were still stuck in classrooms, there would still be about 50 active players and that’s still a lot.

Jiang Shiwen’s death might just be the beginning of the instance.

Was Long-Haired No. 2 really the one who killed her?

His appearance didn’t seem like a coincidence, so was it premeditated?

To uncover the truth, they’d need to know whether Long-Haired No. 2 had ever met Jiang Shiwen. If they had, what could have led to her death? Was there a connection between them?

Unlike players, who disappeared immediately upon death, Jiang Shiwen remained on the ground. She’s an important NPC, so her body was available for examination.

Soon, school staff arrived, along with police and a forensic examiner. The school leadership showed up as well.

The forensic examiner discussed the cause of death with the police on-site. After the players dispersed, Yan Jiyun also got a look at her condition.

She had indeed died from falling from a height as the forensic examiner confirmed. Aside from that, there were no other injuries.

After her body was taken away, the school leaders and teachers remained. One young female teacher, probably around twenty-eight or twenty-nine, kept crying. Yan Jiyun guessed she was Jiang Shiwen’s homeroom teacher.

A school official said, “Lin-laoshi, go back and comfort the students.”

Teacher Lin wiped her tears. “She was such a good child… next year’s college entrance exam, she would’ve definitely gotten into a good university.”

The official sighed as well.

Yan Jiyun waited for more information, but they stopped talking.

Tch. The system really wasn’t giving anything for free.

He saw Teacher Lin head upstairs, so he slipped out of the greenery and followed her.

At this time, no one would pay attention to a black cat. Even if they noticed, they wouldn’t care. Stray cats on campus were completely normal.

Though grieving, Teacher Lin was physically fit. She climbed all six floors without panting.

The senior classes occupied the fifth and sixth floors, around over twenty classes in total. The third and fourth floors were for second-year students, while first-years used the first and second floors.

The hallway lighting was dim. Yan Jiyun stuck to the shadows, quickly following Teacher Lin into the office.

The teachers on duty were still supervising evening study sessions, so the office was crowded.

Yan Jiyun quickly slipped under a desk to avoid being spotted by other players.

With red-rimmed eyes, Teacher Lin asked, “Why aren’t you in class? What are you doing here?”

The players posing as students said they heard about Jiang Shiwen’s death and felt upset, asking if they could help.

Teacher Lin pressed her temples. “Go back to class. The police will investigate Jiang Shiwen’s case.”

From under the desk, Yan Jiyun noticed that many desks had already been rummaged through. Clearly the players hadn’t left earlier because they hadn’t found any useful clues.

Too many people had made a mess of everything. Even if clues existed, they were incomplete now.

After Teacher Lin drove the players out, Yan Jiyun overheard them discussing what they’d learned.

“Jiang Shiwen had great grades. She ranked top three last semester, and her monthly test scores didn’t drop. No reason for suicide.”

“Doesn’t ‘mermaid’ point to singing? Jiang Shiwen wasn’t an arts-track student; she probably wouldn’t join this year’s National Singing Competition. If it were competition-related, being killed by a rival would make more sense.”

“Let’s check who’s participating in the National Singing Competition. What if Jiang Shiwen is actually on the list?”

Yan Jiyun had considered checking the participant list too, but so far, nothing pointed directly to the competition. Was Jiang Shiwen’s death really connected to it?

Still, their reasoning wasn’t wrong. Eliminating possibilities via the competition list was a valid approach.

But Yan Jiyun had another lead: investigating the mysterious Long-Haired No. 2.

Outside, a few players were still discussing:

“Where do we even find the competition list?”

“Wouldn’t that be handled by the arts-class teachers?”

“But we’re not in the arts class. We’ll have to ask a teacher.”

The three of them went back to the classroom to ask Teacher Lin which teacher was in charge of the National Singing Competition.

Teacher Lin was still shaken by Jiang Shiwen’s fall and hadn’t recovered yet. Their knock startled her again, and she hurriedly wiped away her tears with a tissue.

“Is there something else?”

“Laoshi, we’d like to ask who is responsible for the National Singing Competition.”

Teacher Lin shook her head. “I’m not sure. I think it’s Qu-laoshi from the arts class? I can’t quite remember.”

The players asked again, “Where is Qu-laoshi’s office?”

Teacher Lin replied, “In Building B, the music building.”

Wasn’t Building B the same one as the piano classrooms?

But for convenience, the school also used simpler labels: Buildings A, B, C, and so on.

The classrooms (school building) was A, the music building B, the laboratory building C, the administration building D, the gymnasium E, the library F, and the cafeteria G.

The dormitories were even simpler—just numbered. Buildings 1–3 were for girls, and 4–6 for boys, with evenly distributed numbers.

After getting their answer, the three players immediately headed to the music building.

Yan Jiyun had just come from there, and Teacher Qu had already left. It might be a good time to check his office.

After the three players left, Teacher Lin cried for a while longer before leaving the office to comfort her class.

Yan Jiyun didn’t follow the players to the music building. Instead, he searched through the empty office.

He wanted to understand why Mingya High School had a separate music building. He needed to learn about the school’s history and specialties.

There should be some kind of promotional brochure.

Sure enough, Yan Jiyun rummaged through a desk and found a school anniversary booklet.

Never underestimate something like this. There might be unexpected clues. The instance might set traps or provide vague hints, but it wouldn’t hand out information without logic.

He flipped open the table of contents.

The booklet was divided into four sections:

School History: how long the school had existed and major events in its past;
Notable Teachers: profiles of distinguished and highly educated faculty;
School Achievements: awards in science, sports, art, music, academic competitions, and more;
Future Outlook: generic promotional content. Not important.

Yan Jiyun only needed to focus on the first three, especially the second and third.

There was nothing unusual about the regular subject teachers. Good schools always had strong faculty, many with high academic qualifications.

But the most outstanding was still Teacher Qu, who had graduated from a world-class music academy. With those credentials, he could easily have been a professor at a top national music university.

As expected, Teacher Qu was the most unusual one. He was full of suspicious points.

Why would someone with such credentials choose to teach at a high school?

Yan Jiyun kept flipping and reached the third section.

Mingya High School had won plenty of science awards, with rows of trophies, mostly first and second prizes.

After flipping through the awards section a couple of times, he noticed that music awards were the most numerous. No wonder there was a dedicated music building. This school specialized in music and had sent many talents to major universities.

Every year, at least one of the top three winners in the National Singing Competition came from Mingya High School. The arts class was the school’s strongest and most enduring program.

Looking at it this way, recruiting someone like Teacher Qu didn’t seem that strange.

On the surface, the booklet showed nothing unusual. Besides Teacher Qu, there were many other music teachers from prestigious schools.

Still, Yan Jiyun’s attention remained fixed on Teacher Qu. After all, he had a hidden mission related to him.

He couldn’t take the booklet, so he memorized the important details before slipping out of the office.

As he passed classrooms, he heard students discussing the girl who had jumped.

Yan Jiyun had already checked Jiang Shiwen’s information. She was from Senior Year Class (6), a regular academic class, not an arts class.

In a stairwell corner, he heard a girl quietly crying, while another comforted her. One sentence made him stop.

“Cheng Su, why would Jiang Shiwen suddenly jump? She was always such a cheerful girl.”

“I don’t know… maybe the academic pressure? She woke up at five every morning to memorize vocabulary and studied classical texts under the covers with a flashlight until midnight.”

“But her parents never pressured her. She was just very disciplined. I don’t understand.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t understand either. She sounded like a perfectly good student.

But the name Cheng Su rang a bell.

Right. She was the girl who had confessed to Han Ruibai, the one Liu Yu liked. And she was friends with Jiang Shiwen?

Maybe he could get some information from her.

But from their conversation, everything about Jiang Shiwen was just her outward persona, nothing directly related to her death.

The crying girl suddenly stopped and clutched Cheng Su’s arm.

“Cheng Su… do you think it could be that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

Her voice trembled. “The piano sound at midnight. I heard that anyone who hears it will die. Last week, after evening self-study, Shiwen passed by the music building and heard piano music… could that be the reason?”

Cheng Su paused slightly, then said, “Maybe it was just arts students practicing late? Don’t scare yourself. They have college entrance exams too, it’s not weird that many of them work really hard. You know Han Ruibai, right? Once I went to the broadcasting room at 6:30 AM, and he was already at the music building doing vocal warm-ups.”

Yan Jiyun felt Cheng Su sounded quite composed, and her calmness soothed the crying girl.

Were Cheng Su and Jiang Shiwen close?

He wanted to keep listening, but footsteps approached, forcing him to slip down the stairs.

At this time, players were busy searching for clues, while NPCs who knew Jiang Shiwen were either shocked or grieving. There wasn’t much useful information yet.

Everything seemed to circle back to the piano room rumor. Jiang Shiwen had passed by the music building at night and heard piano music?

Yan Jiyun suspected the sound was deliberately created. Could the one behind it be Teacher Qu?

He returned to the first floor. Having drawn some attention earlier, he quickly slipped into the greenery.

He hadn’t checked every floor of the music building yet. What floor was Teacher Qu’s office on?

Since other players were there now, he didn’t want to run into them. Better to wait until they leave.

Mingya High School was quite large, and all this running around had basically burned off his dinner.

Cats were animals that ate small meals frequently. They couldn’t eat much at once, and overeating could even make them throw up, so each meal was small. Unlike humans, they couldn’t stay full for hours.

There was no way he could return to the dorm tonight. He needed to find somewhere to sleep.

While thinking this over, Yan Jiyun had already reached the music building. Instead of going upstairs, he crouched below the office where the three players were rummaging around.

He remembered their voices and footsteps. It saved him effort. Now he understood why his dormmate Li Yang had tried to follow him. Using someone else’s path was quicker and easier.

The three players searched Teacher Qu’s office but found nothing.

“Didn’t Lin-laoshi say Qu-laoshi from the arts class was in charge of the competition? Why isn’t there any info? No list, nothing?”

“Maybe it’s stored on his computer and not printed?”

“Or maybe he took the documents home.”

“Or maybe it’s not him at all? Lin-laoshi only said ‘I think,’ so she wasn’t sure. If we didn’t find anything, maybe it’s another teacher. Let’s check other desks.”

“Do you hear that? Sounds like piano music…”

“No… but I just saw a shadow pass by the window. Is this actually a supernatural instance? Didn’t an NPC mention the piano rumor earlier?”

“But they didn’t explain it.”

“Holy shit! I just saw another shadow! Let’s get out of here!”

“Is this really a ghost instance?”

“Could be. Schools have always been tied to ghost stories.”

Yan Jiyun was sure the “shadow” they mentioned wasn’t real. When he glanced up at the office windowsill, he saw nothing at all. Still, the way those players talked gave him goosebumps.

Even knowing there was nothing there, it felt eerie. He decided it was best not to go upstairs.

So he crouched downstairs, listening as the three players upstairs seemed to stage their own “battle” with the so-called ghost.

“When we came in, I didn’t expect this to be a supernatural instance! Fuck, I didn’t even buy any talismans!”

“Do we still have to figure out the truth behind the rumor?”

“Shh, don’t talk. The white shadow is coming!”

Yan Jiyun almost wanted to rub his limbs. Did supernatural instances really exist? He had no experience with anything mystical. How would he even deal with that?

Anyway, he hadn’t seen anything. Maybe it was just a hallucination.

“I… can’t… breathe— save… me—”

“Get away!”

Clang!

That was the sound of a stainless steel thermos hitting the ground.

Yan Jiyun thought it over for a while but still couldn’t figure out what was happening.

Based on his understanding, they weren’t encountering anything supernatural. They’d probably been drugged and were out of their minds.

The three players on the second floor were likely attacking each other.

He knew he couldn’t really help them. Still, since he had followed their lead here and they had effectively triggered the danger for him, maybe taking a look upstairs wouldn’t hurt?

He didn’t have any new leads and didn’t want to waste time here, but the voices upstairs were getting weaker, their breathing fainter.

Could it really be something supernatural?

It was happening so close by. Maybe he should confirm it. Even if it was supernatural, there were still three people up there; he wouldn’t be facing it alone.

One strange thing was that quite a few players had entered the music building, yet he hadn’t seen anyone come out, nor had he run into them.

Yan Jiyun skillfully ran up the stairs to the second floor and found the innermost office.

The door wasn’t fully closed. The three players inside still had faint signs of life.

He felt a bit nervous. It was his first time facing something like a “supernatural event.”

Standing with his back to the door, he gently pushed it open with his hind leg, ready to bolt the moment something seemed off.

“Ugh— help—!”

Creak—

A small black cat’s paw pushed the door open just a crack.

Twisting his head, Yan Jiyun peeked inside.

Empty. Nothing there.

Only the three players tangled together on the floor, a complete mess.

He let out a relieved sigh. Just as he thought. They’d been drugged or taken some kind of hallucinogenic substance.

Seeing nothing strange, he stepped forward and kicked each of them in the face. Then he remembered he now weighed only seven or eight jin¹, so the impact was negligible.

With a bit of ruthless determination, he raised his right paw, unsheathed his well-sharpened claws, and scratched three deep lines across each of their faces.

The pain snapped them out of it. They pulled their limbs back, released each other, and finally got some air.

Once Yan Jiyun confirmed they were fine, he slipped out of the office before they fully regained consciousness.

Since the three hadn’t found anything on Teacher Qu’s desk, that meant either Teacher Qu wasn’t involved, or the clues were kept somewhere closest to him.

Closest… where? His residence? But where did he live?

Just as Yan Jiyun was pondering, he saw a long-haired figure in a baseball cap flash past the corridor.

Long-Haired No. 2!

Without hesitation, Yan Jiyun chased after him.

He kept his distance, making sure not to be noticed, and soon saw Long-Haired No. 2 run into the teachers’ dormitory.

He had memorized the campus layout from the anniversary brochure—only a few buildings were distinct, and the only one left was the teachers’ dorms.

He hesitated. Should he follow?

At that moment, he spotted Teacher Qu, dressed sharply in a suit, walking down the campus path with a stack of lesson plans in his arms.

The more Yan Jiyun looked, the more similar Teacher Qu’s silhouette seemed to Long-Haired No. 2’s.

He couldn’t help glancing at the hidden task related to Teacher Qu.

To follow or not to follow… that was the dilemma of the century.

Meanwhile, the three players who had been scratched awake looked at each other’s faces. Each of them had three identical claw marks.