DSMC Chapter 153.2

Yan Jiyun’s child-sized body couldn’t break free from the man’s grip at all.

He shook his head frantically. “Mmph! Mmph!” But the man’s strength was overwhelming, he could ignore every struggle.

After their bodies had shrunk with their age, the system had also limited the strength they could normally use.

Moments later, the man released him only to throw him roughly onto the floor. Working quickly, he tied Yan Jiyun’s hands with rope.

If Yan Jiyun were a cat right now, he’d already be hissing and baring his claws.

The moment he hit the ground, he saw Qi Feng and Yan Weilan nearby. Both had their hands tied behind their backs.

Qi Feng asked, “Why did you come in?”

Glancing at the masked adult before looking back at Qi Feng, Yan Jiyun answered, “I saw you disappear, so I came in to look for you.”

The man wore an incredibly ugly plastic mask. Lowering his voice deliberately, he threatened them, “All of you stay put. If you make any noise, I’ll stab you to death.”

Yan Jiyun shuffled over until he was sitting beside Qi Feng and Yan Weilan. 

Pretending to be frightened while still baring his fangs, he demanded, “Who are you? Let us out!”

The masked man completely ignored Yan Jiyun’s questions. He turned around and left through the revolving door they had just entered.

Qi Feng had entered first, with Yan Jiyun following right behind him. When Qi Feng came in, Yan Weilan hadn’t even had a chance to speak before Yan Jiyun arrived as well.

In truth, Yan Jiyun hadn’t needed to worry so much about Qi Feng. In a dangerous situation, Qi Feng could still use his items. But Yan Jiyun had panicked out of concern. It was all because Qi Feng looked so small and childlike now, which was misleading. 

Only then did Yan Weilan ask them, “How did both of you get caught by the bad guy too?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “We came after you. Are you alright?”

Yan Weilan shook his head. “I’m fine. After the masked bad guy threw me in here, he went back out. Thank you for coming to save me. But don’t be scared. After my Dage finishes cleaning, he’ll come to the dorm to make sure I’m safe. If he can’t find me, he’ll call the police.”

Hearing that, Yan Jiyun actually relaxed. As if a horror game would ever let the police save them that easily!

Neither he nor Qi Feng contradicted Yan Weilan, they simply nodded perfunctorily. “I hope so.” 

No sooner had the words left their mouths than the system finally caught up, almost as if it had lagged. They had already found Yan Weilan nearly a minute ago before the notification finally appeared. It was as though the system hadn’t expected them to complete the new main mission so quickly.

[Congratulations on completing Main Mission 1: “Find Yan Weilan”]

[Main Mission 2: Escape the Functional Building.]

[Mission Details: Escort Yan Weilan out of the Functional Building within 30 minutes. Failure to complete the mission within the time limit will reduce the players’ remaining mission time by 48 hours.]

A full two days of reduction, and they had already spent a day and a half inside the instance. Losing another two days would leave them with only 4 days remaining.

[“Escape the Functional Building” countdown: 29 min 50 sec]

Yan Jiyun turned to Qi Feng. “Let’s escape.”

Qi Feng lifted one leg and held it out in front of Yan Jiyun.

Yan Jiyun blinked. “Now isn’t exactly the time to show off your tiny legs, is it?”

Qi Feng couldn’t help laughing. “I’m telling you to take the razor blade out from the side of my shoe.”

Yan Jiyun lowered his head in embarrassment; his horizons had been too narrow.

Qi Feng’s habit of picking up useful tools wherever he went really was invaluable. At crucial moments, they always came in handy. It also saved quite a few props.

Turning around, Yan Jiyun reached behind himself with his bound hands and felt along the side of Qi Feng’s shoe.

Watching nervously from the side, Yan Weilan reminded him, “Yan Jiyun, don’t cut your hand. You pricked yourself just holding a needle this afternoon.”

Feeling around for the blade, Yan Jiyun said, “Class Monitor… don’t raise a death flag.”

Yan Weilan immediately shut his mouth. Afraid his words might somehow cause Yan Jiyun to cut himself, he obediently stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Qi Feng calmly guided him. “You’re almost there. Gently… move your hand a little farther to the right. You should feel the paper. I wrapped the blade in paper, but it can still cut through it. Don’t squeeze too hard, or you’ll really cut yourself.”

If an adult had been doing this, it would’ve been over in seconds. But Yan Jiyun’s hands were simply too small, he couldn’t quite control where he was reaching. Being a kid was such a pain.

Finally, he found the razor blade. Unable to resist, he grumbled, “Why are you wearing shoes after taking a shower instead of slippers?”

Qi Feng taught him something new. “To avoid unexpected situations in an instance. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, we generally don’t bathe.”

Yan Jiyun silently committed that lesson to memory. No wonder every time Qi Feng disappeared and returned after entering an instance, he would rush into the bathroom immediately. He had never let his guard down for even a moment. Compared to that, Yan Jiyun realized taking leisurely showers inside an instance was practically gambling with his own life.

Having retrieved the blade, he simply replied, “Got it.”

Watching the blade come free, Yan Weilan asked, “So what now? Yan Jiyun, are you going to cut Qi Feng’s ropes while I keep watch?”

Without hesitation, Qi Feng said, “Not yet.”

Turning to Yan Jiyun, he continued, “Give me the blade first. I’ll cut my own ropes.”

Yan Jiyun understood immediately why Qi Feng had rejected Yan Weilan’s suggestion. Although the little Class Monitor had acted nothing but obedient and well-behaved, he was still an NPC, so they couldn’t fully trust him.

Pretending to doubt himself, Yan Jiyun said, “Sure. I’m worried my hand might shake and I’ll cut the wrong place. I mean, I managed to stab myself with a sewing needle.”

Yan Weilan let out a relieved sigh. “That’s true.”

As they spoke, Qi Feng had already skillfully sliced through the ropes with nimble fingers. The moment his hands were free, he immediately cut Yan Jiyun loose. Only after that did he untie Yan Weilan.

Now they needed to find a way out of the hidden room.

Qi Feng pushed against the spot where the masked man had operated the hidden entrance, but nothing moved. Perhaps there was another mechanism they hadn’t discovered.

“No luck?” Yan Jiyun pressed an ear against the wall. “The soundproofing here is incredible. I can’t hear anything outside.”

Qi Feng shook his head. “It won’t budge. We’ll have to find the mechanism.”  Without wasting even a second, he immediately began searching every corner of the roughly 70 sqm room. 

Yan Weilan eagerly wanted to help. “What can I do?”

Yan Jiyun immediately assigned him a task. “Help us find the mechanism. Otherwise we can’t get out. If the masked man comes back before then, we’re finished.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Both he and Qi Feng were now eight- or nine-year-old children, and it would be incredibly difficult to face a grown man. Moreover,  they still didn’t know what kind of NPC the masked man was, how strong he was, or whether he had any accomplices. 

Yan Weilan enthusiastically joined the search.

Inside the windowless room stood bookshelves, a desk, an old worn-out sofa, and several paintings hanging on the walls. The lighting, however, was an unusually dim yellow. The paintings were dark oil paintings whose contents couldn’t be made out clearly unless viewed up close.

Unfortunately, all three of them were too short to reach them.

After looking around, they realized there wasn’t a single movable chair they could stand on.

Seeing Yan Weilan diligently searching for mechanisms, Yan Jiyun quietly said to Qi Feng, “Qu-laoshi from Mingya High School was an art teacher, and there were lots of landscape paintings in his house.”

Qi Feng pondered for a moment. “You mean… these paintings might be hinting at something?”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Back then, I accidentally stepped on a painting of the old teachers’ dormitory that Qu-laoshi had painted, and was immediately pulled into the old dormitory, triggering a pursuit mission. The Qu-laoshi in that mission wasn’t the same personality I met outside.”

Qi Feng considered the possibility. “Could every painting represent one of Qu-laoshi’s split personalities?”

Yan Jiyun: “Maybe.” Then he tapped his chin in silence, a flash of inspiration struck. He had finally grasped a crucial thread.

Under normal circumstances, even through a door, he would still have heard something. When Qi Feng had opened the door earlier, his mouth must have been covered immediately. Qi Feng definitely would have tried to make some kind of noise to warn him away. Given Yan Jiyun’s hearing and how close they had been to the doorway, there was no way he shouldn’t have heard it.

His eyes suddenly lit up. “I have a theory.”

i Feng genuinely liked hearing Yan Jiyun explain his reasoning. Newcomers often had unexpectedly unique perspectives. “Let’s hear it.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Yan Jiyun saw Yan Weilan still diligently searching for the mechanism. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Qi Feng, he quietly said, “Is it possible… that we’re actually inside one of the paintings? Think about it — the classrooms at school aren’t small, the multifunction room we entered wasn’t small either, the storage room next door definitely exists, but this hidden room is enormous. Altogether, it’s at least 70 sqm, about the size of an entire classroom. And there’s one thing we can’t ignore: this is Qu Wanqiao’s mental world, not the real world. Qu-laoshi could completely change the instance’s rules according to his own preferences.”

Qi Feng had been considering the same thing. Once again, their thoughts aligned perfectly.  “So we don’t need to worry whether this is supernatural or fantasy. We only need to find Qu-laoshi  himself and view everything from his perspective.”

“Exactly, that’s what I mean. If we limit ourselves to the elementary school setting and treat this as an ordinary instance, we’ll never get out.” Once his thinking broadened, Yan Jiyun finally gained a much clearer understanding of the instance’s true objective.

No one knew how many split personalities Teacher Qu would unleash against them.

“Qu-laoshi is the key to solving all of this,” Qi Feng said, following Yan Jiyun’s logic perfectly. “So right now, there’s only one way out.”

Both of them looked toward Yan Weilan, who was still actively searching for a mechanism. He was straining with all his might, trying to shove the heavy sofa without the slightest awareness of how tiny his body was.

Bouncing lightly onto the still slightly springy sofa, Yan Jiyun laughed. “Stop pushing. With those tiny arms and legs, there’s no way you’re moving this thing.”

Yan Weilan looked disappointed. “But aren’t we supposed to find the mechanism?”

He really was obedient.

Yan Jiyun smiled. “We’ve got a new idea now, we don’t need to find the mechanism anymore.”

He believed Yan Weilan was one of Teacher Qu’s personalities. Perhaps, he could lead them out of this strange space. There was another reason for his certainty: why was the masked man wearing a mask? Every NPC in an instance followed the world’s internal rules. A villain NPC had no reason to hide his identity, unless he didn’t want the players to recognize who he really was.

Yan Weilan looked confused. “What idea? How are we supposed to get out without finding the mechanism?”

Curled up in the oversized sofa because of his tiny body, Yan Jiyun said, “Close your eyes, and silently repeat in your heart: ‘Let us leave this place.’”

Yan Weilan blinked. “Huh? Will that actually work?”

Yan Jiyun: “Try it.”

Yan Weilan: “But… that isn’t very scientific.”

Yan Jiyun: “Trying won’t make you lose a piece of flesh. Come on, close your eyes.”

Yan Weilan nodded helplessly, his eyes filled with resignation toward Yan Jiyun. “Alright.”

He clasped his hands together in front of his chest. Silently, he prayed, ‘Please let us leave this place.’

And at the very moment Yan Weilan made that wish, a new comment suddenly appeared in the [Want to be Human] livestream channel:

“Holy shit! Isn’t this the Level 5 instance [Innocence¹the instance name in CN is 天真无邪 (tiānzhēn wúxié). 天真 can mean naive or innocent; while 无邪 can mean without guilt. My laoshi said that it can be translated as “Childlike Innocence” too], the one where no player has ever survived? Why is it here?”

“Upstairs, can you explain why nobody survives it?”

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  the instance name in CN is 天真无邪 (tiānzhēn wúxié). 天真 can mean naive or innocent; while 无邪 can mean without guilt. My laoshi said that it can be translated as “Childlike Innocence” too