Cat 148: The Scummy Cat

Chapter 148: The Scummy Cat

[Want To Be Human] Livestream channel:

“Ahhhh! It switched to first-person view, the perspective is slowly rising, scared me to death—who the hell is so immoral as to just pick up my backpack?!”

“It’s Mr. Qu~ Come on, Mr. Qu is an insanely popular NPC, nothing immoral about it! He finally did what everyone wants to do!”

“Which Mr. Qu?”

“The Mr. Qu from the ‘Mingya High School’ instance.”

“He followed the kitten into the ‘Mermaid’ instance this time? Haven’t seen him at all before—so what’s he been up to here?”

“No idea, but the Mr. Qu from Mingya High can move between two instances. Feels like he has huge admin privileges. I’m starting to suspect he’s actually the system.”

“Hahaha, what if your theory is right? Maybe he is!”

“If you can find the system, it isn’t the system. Right now the system’s busy ramping up the difficulty for the kitten, okay? Can the kitten get away from Mr. Qu this time? Let’s watch!”

“Mr. Qu’s inner monologue at the moment: ‘Level 5 streamer, your cat looks lonely, let me take her home for some—treatment.’”

At that moment, Yan Jiyun was just as stunned.

Shitshitshit! It was Mr. Qu!

How was he here? When did he show up?

Was their commotion too obvious, and they got discovered?

Or had this Mr. Qu the second been following them the whole time, knowing their every move?

Yan Jiyun was alarmed. He tried to leap out of the backpack as fast as possible, but hadn’t even managed to make the jump when Mr. Qu anticipated him—forcefully pinned him back in and, swinging the bag, strode off downstairs.

Qi Feng was dealing with Teacher Lin at that moment; if Yan Jiyun called out now, the mission could be disrupted or even fail. He chose to stay silent. He figured Mr. Qu wouldn’t harm him; besides, he was pretty confident in his ability to escape.

Damn it, he’d been so focused on Teacher Lin and Liu Yixuan, he forgot to listen for other subtle sounds—caught red-handed by Mr. Qu.

Whether Mr. Qu from instance A or B, they always carried the scent of sandalwood. But which Mr. Qu could haul him away so easily?

The silent Mr. Qu—it was Mr. Qu the second, from instance B!

He must have been lurking in the shadows, watching all along.

As Mr. Qu carried Yan Jiyun downstairs, a system chime sounded in his ears. Qi Feng had completed the mission; they weren’t far apart, so Yan Jiyun was included in the completion range.

Where was Mr. Qu the second taking him?

While Yan Jiyun was still fretting, the system announcement hit.

[Congratulations, player, for completing main quest 6: ‘The Real Culprit.’]

Teacher Lin was indeed the one who killed Yang Pingping. She had also exploited Jiang Shiwen’s feelings for Han Ruibai, provoking Cheng Su. As a homeroom teacher, no one knew the students better—by observing their every move, she’d managed her revenge.

Yan Jiyun figured, a year ago Jiang Shiwen must’ve liked Xiao Yue—after all, her name was on The List.

Qi Feng: “Why did you kill Jiang Shiwen?”

Teacher Lin shrieked, “Because she was disloyal! How could she love Xiao Yue and then just forget him a year later? She was infatuated with another boy, so I set her up to get beaten by Cheng Su. I didn’t expect Cheng Su would be so aggressive and kill her—that’s retribution for her betrayal!”

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

Teacher Lin began, “I was his family tutor in graduate school. What a genius! He didn’t even need a tutor—his family said he should live like a normal person. But geniuses shouldn’t be normal! He just needed to be admired and followed. Why settle for average!”

Qi Feng: “So you kept telling him there was no value in being ordinary, right? He stayed aloof for years, until the training camp, where he found Han Ruibai—a friend who actually reached his heart. When you found out, you came to school to tell him he didn’t need friends—he was different, not ordinary. But really, he wanted to be an ordinary person. You kept unsettling his mind, controlling him.”

Teacher Lin laughed hollowly, then suddenly shrieked: “How can you call it control? I loved him! More than his parents or anyone else! I wanted to see him soar!”

Qi Feng: “But in the end, he had no friends. He was left isolated and terribly lonely.”

Xiao Yue had seen the light, but Teacher Lin made him anxious and pained. Someone who knew light would never want to return to darkness.

So, the lonely Xiao Yue chose suicide.

That was the truth.

Yan Jiyun heard Gu Wenzhu’s hurried footsteps and meowed: “Meow! Meow! Meow!”

Gu Wenzhu brushed shoulders with Mr. Qu, his hat pulled low. He heard the cat’s cry, but when he’d met up with Qi Feng and Lan Mo before, Yan Jiyun hadn’t shown himself from the backpack.

Yan Jiyun felt his heart chill—so close, yet his teammate didn’t recognize him!

He cried again, louder: “Meow meow meow!”

Gu Wenzhu, come save your teammate!

Gu Wenzhu stopped short, recognizing the backpack as the one Qi Feng had carried earlier. He caught the detail: “Excuse me, that backpack—”

But his words weren’t finished before the other took off at a run with the bag.

Gu Wenzhu realized something was wrong and quickly used his Restoration Card to give chase.

At the same time, a new system message popped up for all players.

[World Channel: All main quests in the ‘Mermaid’ instance are complete. The instance will close in 10 minutes and will never reopen. The portal to the next instance is open—players who do not leave within 10 minutes will remain here forever.]

Gu Wenzhu shouted up the stairs, “Qi Feng!”

He knew Qi Feng had finished the quest, and now the instance was about to close.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun felt Mr. Qu the second pick up the pace and run, the backpack bumping and jostling him as the zipper was pulled shut—his paws couldn’t pry it open at all!

Hearing Gu Wenzhu calling Qi Feng gave Yan Jiyun a flicker of hope—maybe they’d catch up.

If they didn’t let him out, how would he reach the portal?

Wait—the one carrying him was Mr. Qu the second; he knew the instance was about to collapse, so was he actually bringing him to the next one?

Gu Wenzhu chased after Mr. Qu the second, but his restored legs were still weak, and he wasn’t running very fast.

Yan Jiyun could only keep yowling, hoping Gu Wenzhu would catch up. With Gu Wenzhu calling, Qi Feng would surely come.

They’d all learned from Lan Mo about Mr. Qu the second; the destination was the music building!

Suddenly Mr. Qu the second spoke: “Guoba, stop yelling. I’m bringing you home.”

Yan Jiyun: ……

I don’t need to go home with you, my can opener is still behind me!

“Meow meow meow! Meow meow meow!”

The wailing from the bag grew louder and louder—Yan Jiyun had never yowled so much, he thought he’d pass out from the effort.

The music building was close, and Mr. Qu the second picked up speed.

Meanwhile, players who’d heard the system announcements were streaming in from all directions.

Yan Jiyun’s cries didn’t bring Lan Mo and the others, but they did attract Mr. Qu.

Suddenly Mr. Qu the second stopped dead.

That familiar, slightly haughty tone: “I know you’re here.”

Mr. Qu the second: “Step aside.”

Mr. Qu: “Now that you’re here, don’t leave. Stay.”

Mr. Qu the second: “But you’ve already lost.”

Mr. Qu: “As long as you’re here, I haven’t lost. At worst, we perish together.”

Mr. Qu the second repeated, “Step aside!”

Because of Mr. Qu’s sudden halt, Yan Jiyun’s head thumped into his hard back.

Wait—wasn’t it supposed to be that the two Mr. Qus couldn’t see each other?

What was going on now?

They could not only see, but argue with each other?

And what about the instance closing? What role was Mr. Qu playing here—a mere ordinary teacher?

Yan Jiyun reviewed all the clues about both Mr. Qus from the two instances. He remembered what he’d said to Qi Feng when they’d first met in instance A: if the two instances merged, a new main line could emerge.

Now the team had completed all the “Mermaid” main quests.

In the end, the whole tragedy was down to genius Xiao Yue’s deranged “superfan,” Teacher Lin, who worshipped and loved him, controlling his heart. When the genius found the light—Han Ruibai—Teacher Lin lost control, driving Xiao Yue to his limits, where he found release in the most extreme fashion.

The “Mermaid” named in the quest referred to Xiao Yue’s composition. The song had no lyrics; presumably, they were what Xiao Yue never got to say to Han Ruibai.

And the mermaid’s “voice” surely meant Han Ruibai—Mr. Qu had praised his singing, and Cheng Su mentioned his powerful work ethic and early-morning warm-ups. All evidence pointed to Han Ruibai being the “Mermaid.”

In the end, the mermaid’s identity mattered less than tracing Xiao Yue’s story; that would naturally reveal the rest.

But Yan Jiyun still found something nagged at him: Why did Teacher Lin wait a year after Xiao Yue’s death before targeting students from the training camp close to Han Ruibai? What triggered her spree now?

Before he reached a conclusion, Mr. Qu the second and Mr. Qu started to fight.

Being bounced around in a backpack while a fight raged was more than Yan Jiyun could handle; he thought he’d vomit for sure.

He let out another weak mewl.

With Mr. Qu blocking the path, Mr. Qu the second couldn’t enter the music building, and the only way for players to change instances was to follow Mr. Qu the second.

All this delay, and the surviving players from instance A were sprinting toward them.

Yan Jiyun could already hear Gu Wenzhu and Qi Feng shouting.

Thank you, Mr. Qu!

Qi Feng, seeing the hat-wearing man about to leave with his cat, didn’t hesitate—he rushed straight into the melee between the two Mr. Qus.

Actually, he had no wish to help either Mr. Qu, but Caramel’s yowls were becoming weaker and weaker; his anger only grew.

He was still clutching the stick he’d used on Teacher Lin. Teacher Lin had already been electrically stunned and he’d phoned the police with her mobile. Liu Yixuan had been slapped awake and there was nothing left for the players to do—the main quest was finished.

He swung the stick at Mr. Qu—even wearing a suit didn’t stop the latter from moving swiftly. Qi Feng shouted at Mr. Qu the second: “Hey, Hat Guy, you zipped my cat in there tight enough to suffocate—trying to kill her?”

Mr. Qu the second frowned. “Your cat? Mine, actually.”

Mr. Qu dodged the swing, face dark: “Mine. Everyone’s fighting over the same thing.”

Hearing this, Mr. Qu the second finally set the backpack down and unzipped it a crack.

Yan Jiyun poked his head out, gasping for breath, keeping up a good glare for Mr. Qu the second.

Players sprinting up caught sight of the two identical Mr. Qus and all stopped, shocked.

On the “Want To Be Human” channel, the barrage was now just two words over and over:

“Scummy cat.”

“Scummy cat.”

“Scummy cat.”

Emerging from the crowd, Lan Mo said, “God, is Caramel about to faint from rolling his eyes so hard?”

Mr. Qu the second opened the backpack further. “That can’t be.”

Mr. Qu caught the keyword: “Caramel? Clearly, she’s called Dark Cloud.”

Mr. Qu the second glanced over: “Guoba.”

Still panting, Yan Jiyun almost blacked out again hearing all these names: “….”

Thank you all—my name’s Yan Jiyun, but you can call me Xiaoyan, Xiaoyun, Yanyan, or Yun’er!

Yan Jiyun continued to feign near-fainting as Qi Feng readied himself to snatch his cat back any moment.

Mr. Qu the second was also worried about accidentally hurting the cat, so he opened the bag farther.

Seizing the moment, Yan Jiyun braced and leapt—right over Mr. Qu the second’s shoulder, landing squarely on the floor.

In a blink, the black cat vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Mr. Qu the second and Qi Feng gave chase; Lan Mo, Gu Wenzhu, Qiu Xi, and the rest followed, dashing into the music building, and the other players swarmed in after them.

Mr. Qu from instance A frowned as they passed, then turned and followed them into the music building.

Yan Jiyun charged ahead onto the third floor. He followed the path from last time, with Mr. Qu the second on his heels—but upon reaching the third floor, nothing inside the music building had changed. Daylight still streamed in, and the door to Mr. Qu’s classroom stood wide open.

What was going on?

Was the channel between the two instances blocked?

Didn’t Mr. Qu the second have a shortcut into instance B?

He struggled to recall what they’d done to get to instance B yesterday. He’d been chasing after the hat-wearing teacher, and there’d been piano music—but only fitful notes, and he didn’t know where it came from.

Now there was no piano music!

[Time until instance closure: 6 minutes 10 seconds]

Almost half the time had been wasted.

Yan Jiyun was first to the third floor, running faster than usual. At the top, none of the others had arrived yet.

He ducked into the third-floor piano room. There was no point wasting his transformation card anymore; being a cat was really inconvenient now.

So as not to draw suspicion to his real identity, Yan Jiyun jumped up onto the piano bench, used his transformation card, then sprawled out on the piano as if he’d just returned from instance B without anyone knowing when.

Qi Feng and the others wouldn’t know if the cat had run upstairs or not.

Lan Mo, knowing how much Qi Feng valued the cat, offered quietly as he caught up: “Feng, let me help find the cat.”

Qi Feng sighed, “Don’t go too far—the timer’s running out, and we might not even find Caramel.”

Lan Mo started to say something, then spotted a student in the open music room: “I’ll ask that NPC if he’s seen a cat come upstairs.”

Qi Feng stopped him: “I’ll go. You check the other classrooms on the third floor.” He had no confidence in finding a cat that was deliberately hiding—he couldn’t even find it at home, let alone here!

Time was precious. Qi Feng darted into the music room while others tried every door on the third floor, attempting to exit the instance—but no one succeeded.

Qi Feng pushed open the door. He found a student draped over the piano. Stepping closer, he gave a gentle nudge.

Yan Jiyun opened his eyes wide, lively gaze landing on Qi Feng. He blinked, as though seeing Qi Feng for the first time, looking dazed. “Qi Feng?”

Qi Feng knew a new player had come in, but didn’t get why he appeared here now.

Was he doomed to never find his lost Caramel?

“This is the ‘Mermaid’ instance. Lan Mo said you went to the ‘Mingya High’ instance—how are you back?”

Yan Jiyun had guessed this would be the question: “I just went into Mingya High’s music building to look for clues, got to the third floor and was knocked out by something—came to, and saw you. So what’s going on now?”

He could only play dumb.

Qi Feng: “Long story short, the ‘Mermaid’ main quest is done, the instance closes in five minutes, and we’re searching for the channel to ‘Mingya High.’” He quickly connected the dots—this rookie had come from ‘Mermaid’ to ‘Mingya High’ before. “Did you find any clues, any idea how to get across?”

Yan Jiyun showed quick adaptation, pretending to contemplate. “I remember chasing after some hat-wearing teacher—there was piano music in the building, but I didn’t know where it was coming from.”

Qi Feng: “Do you remember what was being played?”

Yan Jiyun lowered his head sheepishly: “I can’t even read music.”

Qi Feng: “Sorry.”

Yan Jiyun prompted, “Did you find any sheet music or anything? After all, this is a music instance.” He shifted aside on the piano bench. “Your turn.”

Prompted, Qi Feng recalled the ‘Mermaid’ music score. He looked at Yan Jiyun: “I’ll give it a try.”

Yan Jiyun mumbled, “You really have it?” silently patching himself with ‘I just got here, I know nothing.’

The scores Qi Feng had found had all ended up with Mr. Qu the second, who, as an NPC, hadn’t been with the group—who knew where he’d gone after chasing the cat.

Lifting the piano lid, Qi Feng asked, “Did you see a black cat in the other instance?”

Yan Jiyun feigned ignorance: “Cat? What cat? Was there a special NPC?”

Qi Feng shook his head: “Never mind.” Ever since entering, only Caramel had approached him—if the black cat didn’t want to be found, it stayed hidden for good, not that he wanted to give up.

He hid a breath. In a previous instance, their team had done a fast-score-memorization mission where the challenge demanded perfection—one wrong note and the whole team was stuck forever.

Lan Mo searched for the cat outside the classroom and ran into Mr. Qu.

Hearing the piano, Mr. Qu walked over, his face instantly darkening. Abandoning his previous calm, he scolded, “Who told you to play that piece?”

Yan Jiyun rushed to close the door, locking it and dragging over a desk to block entry before Mr. Qu could react!

He asked Qi Feng, “How long until you’re done?”

Qi Feng: “About three minutes.”

Yan Jiyun watched the countdown.

[Instance closure countdown: 3 minutes 15 seconds]

Not much time left—doom seemed inevitable. Mr. Qu was clearly system-sent torment—he was everywhere.

Where was Mr. Qu the second? Why not step in to help?

Outside, Mr. Qu was getting ready to kick down the door. Yan Jiyun suddenly called out, “Mr. Qu, who are you really? You play piano; you paint; you were a genius as a child, weren’t you?”

Qi Feng was busy with the ‘Mermaid’ score, but didn’t think much about Yan Jiyun’s guess—it could easily have been logic based on what he’d found in ‘Mingya High’ or just wit.

Or maybe it was just a tactic to delay Mr. Qu.

Outside, Mr. Qu paused his foot in the air. He straightened, brushed his trouser legs, and when he looked up again, the pride was back.

He smiled benignly. “I’m not a genius, just an ordinary teacher.”

Yan Jiyun pressed on. “But we know you graduated from the world’s top music school, yet you work at Mingya High—hardly fitting for your talent, right?”

Mr. Qu dodged, answering irrelevantly, “Your name’s Yan Jiyun, and you’ve skipped my class.”

Yan Jiyun: “Mr. Qu, so I was right.”

Mr. Qu laughed softly. “Ah, yes, you’re right. I was a genius, wasn’t I? A musical genius?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “No, you weren’t just a genius in music—you were a genius in painting, too. What we see is only a small piece of what you can do.”

He spelled out his deductions bit by bit.

Mr. Qu: “Yan Jiyun, you’re quite interesting. How about a chat, face to face?”

Yan Jiyun: “Not a chance, Mr. Qu. You’re a genius. I’m an ordinary man—how do I know if you can hypnotize me or not?”

Mr. Qu’s voice was mesmerizing as he lowered it, “I can’t. I just want to talk. So? What else do you think you’ve figured out?”

Yan Jiyun looked to Qi Feng, mouth shaped silently: How much longer?

Qi Feng understood: One minute.

Yan Jiyun continued, “Of course there’s more. Mr. Qu, do you know how many of you there are?”

Outside, Mr. Qu didn’t answer right away; instead, he chuckled softly, “Why don’t you guess if I know or not?”

Yan Jiyun shot back, “You know.”

Mr. Qu: “Then let’s play a game. You come and find me. If you do, I’ll see you off with a bow. But if you can’t, then you’ll stay here forever. I won’t make you my servant—just tell me a joke every day.”

At that moment—

System-wide public message:

[Public] Player Yan Jiyun triggered a hidden storyline; the main quest is now upgraded.

[Main Quest: Find the real Mr. Qu.]

Yan Jiyun bit his lip, staring helplessly at Qi Feng: “…”

How could a bit of banter turn into a main quest upgrade? So unfair!

Qi Feng happened to glance up and saw the pitiful look—nearly hit the wrong key out of surprise.

The last piano note echoed—

[Public] Main quest upgraded; all players will change scenes in 3 seconds.

[Public] Scene changing—