DSMC Chapter 148.1

[Want to be Human] Livestream:

“AHHHHHH, it’s first-person view! The camera is suddenly getting higher and higher, scared the hell out of me. Which bastard has such poor morals and picked up my backpack?!”

“It’s Qu-laoshi~ Upstairs, Qu-laoshi is an incredibly popular NPC. What’s immoral about it? I think he just did something everyone’s always wanted to do!”

“Which Qu-laoshi?”

“Qu-laoshi from the [Mingya High School] instance next door.”

“So he followed Kitty Baby into the [Mermaid] instance this time? We haven’t seen him at all. What has he been doing in this instance?”

“No idea. Qu-laoshi from [Mingya High School] can apparently move between two instances. His meta permissions feel incredibly high. I’m starting to suspect he’s the system itself.”

“Hahaha, what if your theory is actually right?”

“If you can find the system, then it isn’t the system anymore. Right now the system is diligently increasing the difficulty of the instance for Kitty Baby, okay? Can Kitty Baby escape from Qu-laoshi’s hands? Stay tuned!”

“Qu-laoshi’s inner thoughts right now: Level 5 Streamer, I think your cat might be lonely. I’ll take it home and help treat it.”

At this moment, Yan Jiyun was also somewhat stunned.

‘Holy shit! It’s Qu-laoshi!’

‘How was he here? When did he appear?’

‘Had we made too much noise and gotten discovered?’

‘Or had Teacher Qu No. 2 been following us all along and known every move we made?’

Yan Jiyun was horrified. He immediately tried to jump out of the backpack as quickly as possible, but before he could leap out, Teacher Qu had already predicted it. Teacher Qu swiftly shoved him back into the backpack, picked it up, and turned to head downstairs.

Qi Feng was currently fighting Teacher Lin. If Yan Jiyun shouted now, the mission might end up delayed or fail, so he chose to stay silent for the moment. Teacher Qu probably wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, he trusted his own ability to escape from Teacher Qu’s grasp.

Damn it. He had been paying too much attention to Teacher Lin and Liu Yixuan and had neglected to listen for the subtle sounds around him, allowing Teacher Qu to catch him red-handed.

Whether it was Teacher Qu from Instance A or Teacher Qu from Instance B, both carried the scent of sandalwood.

Which Teacher Qu was carrying him away?

The silent Teacher Qu was Teacher Qu from Instance B!

He must have been hiding in the shadows and watching them the entire time.

As Teacher Qu carried Yan Jiyun downstairs, a system notification sounded before his eyes. Qi Feng had already completed the mission. Since Yan Jiyun wasn’t far away, he was also counted within the completion range.

Where was Teacher Qu No. 2 taking him?

Just as Yan Jiyun was growing anxious, another mission notification sounded.

[Congratulations, player. You have completed Main Mission 6: “The Real Culprit.”]

Teacher Lin was the one who had murdered Yang Pingping. She had also used Jiang Shiwen’s feelings for Han Ruibai to provoke Cheng Su. No one understood students better than a homeroom teacher. As long as she observed carefully, she could learn every detail of her students’ actions, allowing her to carry out her revenge.

Yan Jiyun guessed that a year ago, Jiang Shiwen had liked Xiao Yue, since her name was on that list.

Qi Feng asked, “Why did you kill Jiang Shiwen?”

Teacher Lin shrieked, “Because she wasn’t loyal! If she liked Xiao Yue, why couldn’t she keep liking him? A year later she’d already forgotten that boy. She fell for another boy instead, so I arranged for Cheng Su to teach her a lesson. I never expected Cheng Su to be so effective and kill her outright. This is Jiang Shiwen’s punishment for betraying Xiao Yue!”

Qi Feng asked, “Why are you so obsessed with Xiao Yue?”

Teacher Lin began speaking. “When I was in graduate school, I was his tutor. Such a talented child. He didn’t need a tutor at all, but his family actually wanted him to live like an ordinary person. A genius doesn’t need that, okay? He only needs to be admired and followed. Why should he become an ordinary person?!”

Qi Feng said, “So you’ve always told him there was no value in being ordinary, right? Influenced by you, he maintained the image of an academic god for years. Then he entered the training camp and met Han Ruibai, a friend who could actually reach his heart. When you discovered that, you came to the school and told him he didn’t need friends, that he was different, not ordinary. But the truth is, he wanted to be ordinary. You’ve been disturbing his heart and controlling it all along.”

Teacher Lin let out a strange laugh before suddenly shouting madly, “How is that control? I loved him! I loved him more than his parents did! More than anyone else! I wanted to see him become better and better!”

Qi Feng said, “But he lost his friends. He was isolated. He was lonely.”

Xiao Yue had seen the light, but Teacher Lin’s control left him anxious and miserable. Once someone has seen the light, they don’t want to return to a life without it.

And so the lonely Xiao Yue chose suicide.

That was the truth behind Xiao Yue’s death.

Yan Jiyun heard Gu Wenzhu’s approaching footsteps and let out a cry, “Meow! Meow! Meow!”

Gu Wenzhu brushed past Teacher Qu, who had his cap pulled low. He heard the cat’s cries, but during his meetup with Qi Feng and Lan Mo, Yan Jiyun had never appeared outside Qi Feng’s backpack.

Half of Yan Jiyun’s heart sank. A teammate was right beside him and still didn’t recognize him!

He called out twice more. “Meow meow meow!”

‘Gu Wenzhu, come save your teammate!’

Gu Wenzhu suddenly turned around. He recognized the backpack as the one Qi Feng had been carrying earlier and didn’t overlook the detail. “Hello, that backpack—”

Before he could finish speaking, the other party took off running with the backpack.

Realizing something was wrong, Gu Wenzhu immediately activated his Perfect Legs Time Card and chased after him.

At the same time, another system announcement appeared, one audible to all players.

[Public Announcement: All main missions in the “Mermaid” instance have been completed. The instance will close in 10 minutes and will never reopen. The entrance to the next instance has been opened. Any player who fails to leave within 10 minutes will remain trapped in this instance forever.]

Gu Wenzhu decisively shouted upstairs, “Qi Feng!”

He knew Qi Feng had completed the mission, and now the instance was about to close.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun could only feel Teacher Qu carrying the backpack as he started running. The inside of the backpack jolted violently. The zipper had been pulled completely shut, and there was no way his paws could open it.

When he heard Gu Wenzhu call for Qi Feng, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hopefully they could catch up. But how was he supposed to find the exit if he wasn’t let out?

Wait a second.

The one carrying him away was Teacher Qu No. 2. He knew the instance was about to collapse.

So was he taking Yan Jiyun to the next instance?

Gu Wenzhu chased after Teacher Qu No. 2, but although his card had restored his ability to run and jump, the strength in his leg muscles was still lacking. He wasn’t very fast.

Yan Jiyun had no choice but to meow desperately the entire way, hoping Gu Wenzhu could catch this ride with Teacher Qu No. 2. Once Qi Feng heard Gu Wenzhu calling him, he would definitely give chase.

All of them had learned about Teacher Qu No. Two’s existence from Lan Mo.

The destination was the music building!

As Teacher Qu No. 2 sprinted toward the music building, he suddenly spoke. “Guoba, stop crying. I’ll take you home soon.”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

‘The hell I need to go home with you! My pooper scooper is still behind us!’

“Meow meow meow! Meow meow meow!” The miserable cries of a cat rang out from inside the backpack. The louder he cried, the louder he became.

Yan Jiyun had never meowed this loudly in his life. He felt like he was about to meow himself into oxygen deprivation.

The music building was right in front of them. Instead of slowing down, Teacher Qu No. 2 sped up.

At the same time, players who had heard the system announcement were converging from all directions.

Yan Jiyun’s cries failed to attract Lan Mo and the others, instead, they attracted Teacher Qu.

Teacher Qu No. 2 abruptly stopped.

Teacher Qu, whose voice always carried a hint of arrogance, spoke. “I knew you’d come.”

Teacher Qu No. 2 replied, “Move aside.”

Teacher Qu: “Now that you’ve come, don’t leave. Stay here.”

Teacher Qu No. 2: “But you’ve already lost.”

Teacher Qu: “As long as you don’t leave, I haven’t lost. At worst we’ll perish together.”

Teacher Qu No. 2: “Move aside!”

Because of the sudden stop, Yan Jiyun’s head smacked into Teacher Qu’s hard back.

How strange. Wasn’t Teacher Qu supposed to be unable to see Teacher Qu No. 2?

What was going on now? 

Could the two of them actually see each other? Could they even argue?

Then what exactly did the instance closing mean?

What role was Teacher Qu playing in this instance? Was he really just an ordinary teacher?

Yan Jiyun mentally reviewed every detail concerning both versions of Teacher Qu from the two instances. He remembered that when he first met Qi Feng in Instance A, Qi Feng had said that once the two instances merged, a new main storyline might emerge.

Now they had completed all the main missions of the [Mermaid] instance.

In essence, the story was about the genius Xiao Yue and his fanatical “solo stan,” Teacher Lin. Teacher Lin worshipped him, loved him, and controlled his heart. When the genius finally found the light that could save him — Han Ruibai — Teacher Lin felt things had slipped beyond her control. Using her own methods, she drove the genius Xiao Yue into a corner, until he ultimately escaped through an extreme choice.

The “Mermaid” mentioned in the main storyline was actually the musical composition “Mermaid”. It had a melody but no lyrics. Presumably, it contained the words Xiao Yue never had the chance to say to Han Ruibai. 

And the “mermaid voice” likely referred to Han Ruibai. Teacher Qu had praised his singing in class, suggesting he truly possessed a golden voice. Yan Jiyun had also heard from Cheng Su that Han Ruibai worked extremely hard, frequently getting up early to do vocal exercises. All of that supported the conclusion that Han Ruibai was the “Mermaid.”

By the end of the instance, the identity of the “Mermaid” wasn’t actually that important. The crucial thing was uncovering Xiao Yue’s storyline. Once that was done, the identity of the “Mermaid” naturally followed. 

Although the main mission was complete, a major question still lingered in Yan Jiyun’s mind. Teacher Lin had been obsessively “guiding” her students and treating Xiao Yue as her faith. But why hadn’t she started acting when Xiao Yue committed suicide? Why did she wait an entire year before targeting the students who had been close to Han Ruibai during the training camp? What had triggered her to begin targeting them?

Before he could think it through, Teacher Qu No. 2 and Teacher Qu No. 1 started fighting.

Yan Jiyun really couldn’t handle being trapped in a backpack while people fought around him. He genuinely felt like he was going to throw up.

Weakly, he let out another meow.

With Teacher Qu blocking the way, Teacher Qu No. 2 couldn’t enter the music building. And the only way for players to transition to the next instance was by following Teacher Qu No. 2.

The delay gave the surviving players from Instance A enough time to arrive, sprinting over like Olympic runners.

Yan Jiyun could already hear Gu Wenzhu and Qi Feng’s voices.

Thank goodness for Teacher Qu No. 1!

Seeing the man in the cap trying to leave with his cat, Qi Feng immediately joined the battle between the two Teacher Qus without a second word.

In truth, he didn’t want to help either Teacher Qu. But Caramel’s meows were growing weaker and weaker, and his anger was steadily rising.

Qi Feng still held the stick he had used against Teacher Lin. Teacher Lin had already been stunned with the baton. He had used her phone to call the police, and Liu Yixuan had been slapped awake. From that point onward, the players were no longer needed; as the main mission was complete.

He swung the stick at Teacher Qu, who moved with athletic ease despite wearing a suit, and said to Teacher Qu No. 2, “Hey, Hat Man. Did you zip my backpack shut because you wanted to suffocate my cat in there?”

Teacher Qu No. 2 frowned. “What do you mean your cat? It’s mine.”

Teacher Qu dodged the incoming stick and said with a dark expression, “Obviously it’s mine. Every one of you is trying to steal it.”

After hearing Qi Feng’s words, Teacher Qu No. 2 finally took the backpack off and opened the zipper slightly.

Yan Jiyun immediately stuck his head out and took a huge breath of fresh air. Then he rolled his eyes dramatically at Teacher Qu No. 2.

The players who arrived first finally got a clear look at the two identical Teacher Qus. All of them were stunned.

Meanwhile, the entire [Want to be Human] livestream chat was flooded with only two words:

“Scumbag cat.” 

“Scumbag cat.” 

“Scumbag cat.”