Cat 155: Mr. Qu’s Nightmare

Chapter 155: Mr. Qu’s Nightmare

When it came to outlasting someone’s patience, Yan Jiyun had a natural, tremendous advantage.

He usually favored hiding behind curtains, but this time he chose to conceal himself inside a desk cubby.

Yang Bighead knew it was easier to hunt a single target than to chase a group, so he zeroed in on this damn child!

Minute by minute, time slipped away, and Yang Bighead gradually grew impatient.

Yan Jiyun simply crouched, waiting for him to run out of patience. He dared not relax as he had that afternoon, basking in the sun until he drifted off—this time, his mind was focused, listening closely for Yang Bighead’s movements.

He sensed Yang Bighead’s breathing was getting heavier and faster; he must be on the verge of another fit of rage.

Aren’t math teachers supposed to have good tempers? Yang Bighead sure lacked composure. Barely fifteen minutes had passed, and he was already nearing his breaking point.

No longer content to sit and wait for the boy to reveal himself, Yang Bighead inhaled deeply and resumed his search—checking beneath every desk in the room. He suspected the kid was using his small size to sneak from one hiding place to another right under his nose.

He circled the room multiple times, checking behind every curtain twice, but still found no trace.

Now Yang Bighead’s state of mind was shaky—panic rising, anxiety growing.

Ten minutes passed, with Yang Bighead flitting around like a headless chicken, searching for Yan Jiyun.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun was pondering a question: why was Yang Bighead still active even though Main Mission 2 had ended? Was it because he was being restrained by Yan Jiyun’s presence?

He needed to figure out how to leave the classroom undetected.

The multifunction building was dead quiet. With his keen hearing, he should have heard any noise from downstairs. As it was, there was nothing.

Not a sound after Qifeng completed the task.

Mr. Qu’s goal was to kill the child personality, most likely Yan Weilán—otherwise, why would Yang Bighead target him before any other NPC? Clearly, it was premeditated. After discovering the painting could hide people, Yang Bighead’s thoughts turned wicked—he wanted to snatch more children. Only he knew for what dark purpose.

Yan Jiyun knew, given his current size, he stood no chance against Yang Bighead in a fight. His only option was escape.

His objective was never Yang Bighead, but Mr. Qu. No reason to throw his life away in a head-on collision.

Yang Bighead, having found nothing, stepped out of the classroom. Seizing the chance, Yan Jiyun bolted from his hiding place under the last desk and scurried into the first row, crouching below a desk nearest the open window. Yang Bighead hovered in the hallway, not leaving.

He was waiting for Yang Bighead to come back in and resume searching. As soon as Yang Bighead turned his back, Yan Jiyun would leap onto the windowsill and make a run for it.

Yan Jiyun silently urged Yang Bighead to come in and stop wasting everyone’s time.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps ascending from the first floor to the fourth.

Anxiety flashed through Yan Jiyun—why was Qifeng coming back? The task was complete; why hadn’t he left?

He’d already said he could handle Yang Bighead and leave the multifunction building alone.

But Qifeng wasn’t alone—he’d brought Lan Mo, Qiu Xi, and Gu Wenzhu as well.

Of course, Yan Jiyun was glad they came to rescue him, but would this put everyone in danger?

Still, he trusted Qifeng and Gu Wenzhu to improvise a clever solution. They wouldn’t have risked it if they weren’t confident.

Qifeng, mimicking what Yan Jiyun had done earlier, lured Yang Bighead away from the classroom door on the fourth floor.

After a short commotion, Yan Jiyun heard Yang Bighead tumble down the stairs—a clear sign the group had handled him.

He figured they’d set a tripwire at the staircase, sending Yang Bighead tumbling without so much as lifting a finger. A fine tactic.

This extra instance didn’t test brute strength, but wisdom—after all, their bodies had been reduced to childlike size!

Now Yan Jiyun had to decide whether to reunite with the team in cat form or in human form.

Qifeng knew he was still inside. If he didn’t appear soon, his teammates would worry, but if he rejoined them as a human, everyone might stick together, and his meager transformation card wouldn’t last.

He had to wait for them to leave before sneaking out alone.

After the group took down Yang Bighead, they headed to the fourth floor, calling for Yan Jiyun.

Lan Mo: “No one here.”

Qifeng: “I saw him distract the math teacher and go upstairs myself—it’s impossible I was mistaken.”

Lan Mo: “Now that the math teacher’s dealt with and disappeared as an NPC, maybe Yan Jiyun got caught while hiding—”

Gu Wenzhu interrupted, “No. Yan Jiyun is always careful; he wouldn’t do anything rash. I believe he’s fine. Plus, I’ve been checking the player count—he’s still here.”

Qifeng: “It’s possible he used an item to leave the building, and the math teacher never noticed.” He, too, trusted their new teammate’s ability.

Gu Wenzhu: “Let’s hope he used an invisibility item.”

Qiu Xi nodded enthusiastically—he’d never seen Yan Jiyun fail to clear a challenge.

They checked every classroom with open doors or windows, but still couldn’t find Yan Jiyun.

The four left the multifunction building with a trace of regret.

Keeping some distance, Yan Jiyun slipped out after them, taking a shortcut to the dorm and arriving just ahead to wait at the entrance.

First came Lan Mo and Qiu Xi, chatting about how to deal with the NPCs. Lame-legged Gu Wenzhu trailed behind, followed by Qifeng, who always brought up the rear, calm and reliable—a true pillar.

If they’d been adults, a string of six-footers, the sight would’ve been striking. But as elementary students, they looked like a group winding home after an exam, a mix of joy and gloom.

Crouched in the shrubbery by the dorm entrance, Yan Jiyun waited for Qifeng to approach. Spotting him, he leapt onto his shoe and grabbed his leg!

Startled, Qifeng froze mid-step—barely breathing. Were it not for the extra weight on his leg, he’d have rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming.

Caramel had really joined the instance with him!

Suppressing his joy and shock, Qifeng scooped up the now-tiny kitten, wrapping him in his school jacket.

Already light at ten-odd pounds, he’d now shrunk to four months old—barely five pounds, chubby but tiny.

With teammates in front and NPCs all around, neither Qifeng nor Yan Jiyun made a sound.

Yan Jiyun sighed in relief: finally, he could reunite with Qifeng in cat form.

Life, however, rarely allowed for perfect solutions—for now, preserving his transformation card took priority, since it could be a lifesaver at a critical moment.

Qifeng held his cat close, all the darkness lifted from his face.

Back in the rooms, the others saw the NPCs had left, then checked Yan Jiyun’s dorm and still found no sign of him.

Yan Weilán, who shared the room with Yan Jiyun, had already gone to evening study.

With no idea where else to search, they gathered to rest. Only when everyone sat down did Qifeng speak: “I found Caramel.”

Lan Mo: “What? Where?” He’d just sunk into bed after a day’s exertion, but hearing this, sprang right up. “Where was he? Why didn’t you bring him back?”

Qifeng produced the yawning black kitten from his jacket. “Right here.”

Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi had not headed back to their own rooms; Qiu Xi stroked the kitten’s head, making a gesture.

Gu Wenzhu translated, “He says that’s wonderful.”

Yan Jiyun bounded onto Qifeng’s bed—the one that carried his scent—and promptly sprawled out to rest.

Now that he was in cat form, he wouldn’t have to turn human for a good while.

From morning to night, he hadn’t had a decent rest—he decided to sleep. Kitten life demanded naps.

He vaguely heard, as he nodded off, a teacher downstairs telling students to prepare for evening study.

Having already suffered through “study sessions” in the mermaid instance, Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi were still traumatized, discussing the possibility of playing hooky.

And so, they simply decided to skip, switched off the lights, and huddled in the same room to rest and exchange thoughts on the day’s discoveries, trying to deduce the story.

Qifeng told them, “The class monitor of Class 3 is probably one of Mr. Qu’s personalities—the current Major Personality in this instance is plotting events to murder him.”

Lan Mo: “Yan Weilán’s gone to class now—shouldn’t we be protecting him?”

Qifeng: “In principle, yes. But we’ve gone a whole day without rest. Let’s sleep. We’re only children, after all—if we don’t replenish our strength, we won’t pass.”

All agreed. After some discussion, Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi also returned to their own dorms to rest.

They couldn’t take the NPCs’ places—who knew what might happen if they did?

None of the NPCs downstairs came up to make them attend class. Yan Jiyun heard Qifeng climb into bed and then fell into the deepest, sweetest sleep—he even started dreaming.

When he woke again, six or seven hours had passed. Little Qifeng lay flat at his side, breathing evenly, deeply asleep.

Yan Jiyun crawled up from his pillow and rubbed his head against Qifeng’s smooth cheek—once, twice, but still couldn’t wake him.

This couldn’t be right; why wouldn’t he wake?

Qifeng himself had reminded him to stay vigilant at all times in the instance, but now he lay sleeping without a care.

Something was off.

When had he fallen asleep?

And when had Qifeng drifted off?

Several hours had passed, and the NPC children had also returned to rest—everybody sleeping deeply.

Yan Jiyun tried stomping on Qifeng’s belly—soft, but still no response.

Across the room was Lan Mo, also lying on his back.

Yan Jiyun hopped onto his bed, slapped his face, even jumped on his belly, landing hard, but still couldn’t wake him.

He glanced at the game system—nothing turned gray, the game functioned normally, even the inventory hadn’t changed.

Without rushing to check the other room, he jumped back to Qifeng’s side to ponder.

Seven hours had passed since he fell asleep—he’d dozed off right at the start of evening study, around 7 p.m. Seven hours later meant it was 2 a.m.

He might be a cat, but he didn’t want to be a literal night owl. Stupid game!

Resting his chin on Qifeng’s chest, he kept thinking.

They were inside Mr. Qu’s mental world. By day, personalities were poisoned to death; at night, the Math Teacher with evil thoughts snatched children; and in the dark, personalities could die in nightmares within the instance. The game’s mission was to counter this, to save Yan Weilán.

Why?

Wasn’t Mr. Qu the main personality?

Was Yan Weilán actually his real self?

If the main personality was killed, the strongest splinter would seize full control of Mr. Qu’s body?

So far, known facts:

1. The split personalities: Class Monitor’s triplet brothers, Xiao Yue, Mr. Qu Type-1, Mr. Qu Type-2.
2. Xiao Yue died in the Mermaid Instance.
3. Dialogue with Mr. Qu Type-1 triggered a new main storyline.
4. In the new storyline, a personality is using legitimate means to try to murder the class monitor. Thus, killing a split without a valid method triggers a backlash—a war between personalities.
5. The current game quest is to protect Yan Weilán.
   About Mr. Qu’s main personality: his mood manifests as the weather in the instance. They need to find the version of him that entered the instance when feeling sorrow.

Was this the only clue to the true main personality?

They were making slow progress.

Day three was nearly here and they still had little information about Mr. Qu.

But now, neither Qifeng nor Lan Mo could be roused, and Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi must still be fast asleep. The NPCs were all motionless. The silence was so eerie you’d jump if a pin dropped.

Was he the only one awake in this world now?

Could he move freely through Mr. Qu’s mind?

He hopped to the windowsill, undid the latch, pushed open the window, and poked his black head out.

It was late—no one would spot a black cat out here.

He glanced around outside, then ducked back in.

No one in sight—this was nothing like the school world he’d seen.

Damn, this was terrifying. He really was trapped inside Mr. Qu’s psyche, and Mr. Qu was likely having a nightmare!

Yan Jiyun reached with a paw to shut the window, but just then, the system pinged to life.

[Ding.]

[Congratulations, player—you have triggered a solo game quest: “Roam Through Mr. Qu’s Dreamscape.” Complete the mission for a generous point reward.]

[Mission details: In the dead of night, Mr. Qu fell asleep as usual. But after drifting off, he was gripped by a nightmare—he’s shaking all over, terrified and crying. Please help him sleep soundly, so he can greet a beautiful new day. If he remains trapped in the nightmare after dawn, the mainline quest will refresh. Please resolve Mr. Qu’s nightmare before morning.]

[Kindly note: this quest carries a certain level of danger. Good luck, player.]

Yan Jiyun just wanted to curse—at the game, at Mr. Qu!

All he did was sleep—why had the world changed when he awoke?

Where were the other players?

As the system finished its notification, he heard a distant, intermittent whimper. It was more frightening than any horror story.

Yan Jiyun shrank back and closed the window, only to find the room flooding. Water was seeping in beneath the door.

Damn it, what kind of nightmare was this?

[“Just Want to Be Human” Livestream Room]

“Hahahahaha, oh my god, woke up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break only to find the kitten doing quests.”

“I thought I’d have to wait till morning to see him working—didn’t expect him up so soon. Is that instance the same as the no-survivors scenario some pro watched earlier?”

“Doesn’t seem the same. This looks even harder? And the solo quest—I never saw one in other playthroughs.”

“Exactly. Our kitten isn’t like other players—he always triggers plots others don’t. Let me explain: first, he finds the answer to the world, and then the answer makes him go searching for another answer.”

“What does that mean?”

“He even confused the expert—hahahaha!”

Basically, everything Yan Jiyun now confronted was what Mr. Qu faced—he had to weather it alongside him.

Yan Weilán was still just a child, comfortable at home—he’d never have such dreams!

He still hadn’t found the real main personality; Yan Weilán was the story’s protagonist, not necessarily the core.

Mr. Qu was a real headache!

Seawater kept seeping into the room.

Yan Jiyun leapt onto the bed, then onto Qifeng’s chest, and began to stomp.

“Meow~”

“Meow~”

“Meow~”

Wake up, Qifeng!

“Meow meow meow!”

“Meow meow meow!”

“Meow meow meow!”

Yan Jiyun let out even louder calls—he didn’t want Qifeng to drown!

[Livestream]

“Kitten, run! Don’t worry about the human—solo quest means only you count, the others won’t wake up.”

“He’s still trying—his cries are breaking my heart. Wish I could jump in and clear the mission for him.”

“Only I want to see the kitten soaking wet again? Last time he bathed was in the midnight canteen mission…”

“Someone just said Qifeng can’t wake—what a slap in the face—”

“Hey! Wasn’t this supposed to be a solo game? Game’s going to eat its words…”

After Yan Jiyun’s relentless stomping and yowling, Qifeng coughed and suddenly woke!

He took a deep breath.

“Caramel?”

Yan Jiyun gave him another meow, signaling him to look at Lan Mo. Qifeng alone had been roused—Lan Mo remained unresponsive.

Qifeng gently patted Yan Jiyun’s head, about to call the others, but the moment his shoed foot hit the floor, he felt water.

“What’s going on?”

A second later, the game issued a notification.

“Solo quest?” Qifeng glanced at Caramel, perched on his shoulder. “It really is solo—Caramel doesn’t count as a person.”

Yan Jiyun protested with a sharp meow: I am a person!

Qifeng wasn’t bothered by the water; he simply sloshed across and shook Lan Mo, but no matter how hard he called and shook him, Lan Mo didn’t react.

“Caramel, let’s check the next room for Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi.”

Yan Jiyun clung to his hair: Good idea.

After receiving the mission, Qifeng’s quest progress had synced with Yan Jiyun.

He tried to open the door to the next room, but being so small, he had no strength for it.

He called for a while, but, like Lan Mo, Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi remained unresponsive.

“If nobody can wake, then we’d better solve the mystery of this flooding.”

Yan Jiyun: “Meow.” Agreed.

Qifeng assumed he was afraid of the water and reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you stay dry.”

He fetched the washbasin from the balcony—just the right size for the four-month-old kitten.

Yan Jiyun: …

Great. He had his personal boat now.

With his biggest concern for Caramel addressed, they could start the mission.

First, they needed to find the source of the sobbing and the flood. Was the water tears or dreamed-up seawater?

Yan Jiyun perched on Qifeng’s shoulder—still no reason to touch the floor, since the flooding wasn’t deep yet. So far, it washed just shallowly over the floor, barely past Qifeng’s shoes.

They didn’t know the source of the water, but they did know where the crying came from.

Yan Jiyun looked toward the stairs, and Qifeng understood his meaning.

At the stairwell, they saw the water streaming down, with no sign of slowing.

The crying and the flood both came from above.

Qifeng stepped carefully upward through the water, and Yan Jiyun wondered if his shoes were waterproof—he was treading so lightly.

The sobbing continued.

Each story they climbed, still no one in sight, only thicker water above.

Finally, they reached the rooftop. The wailing grew louder.

Hearing such sounds in the dead of night would terrify anybody.

The door to the rooftop was left ajar, as if to make their passage easier.

There they saw a child standing atop the concrete railing.

“Wuuuu… wuuu… wuuu…”

“Mama, I’m scared—don’t throw me in the water. I don’t want to learn to swim.”

“I don’t want to go. Please—please don’t make me. I’m scared.”

The child faced away from them, but from the back looked just like Yan Weilán.

Yan Jiyun couldn’t speak, so Qifeng asked, “Why are you standing here crying?”

His words were blunt. The child paused, then resumed sobbing.

Yan Jiyun thought, This child probably doesn’t respond well to harsh words.

He didn’t hesitate to call out gently, “Meow~”

The child turned, stopping his crying. Yan Jiyun saw he was a dead ringer for Yan Weilán, but not identical to either version of the class monitor’s siblings.

But his eyes showed fear. He shrank his head, utterly lacking the self-assurance the class monitor usually displayed.

The child sniffled. “Why are you allowed to have a cat?”

Qifeng: “Because I’m an adult.”

Child: “But you look the same age as me.”

Qifeng nearly forgot he was a little kid now—his answer made no sense.

Qifeng: “I mean my mental age is older than yours.”

Yan Jiyun: Good save, litter box lackey.

Child: “My mom says cats are a waste of time. She won’t even let me chat with kittens after school.”

Qifeng: “Sounds miserable.”

Yan Jiyun: … Do you even know how to talk to a child? Isn’t this the time for comfort and love? You’re supposed to embrace him, not rub it in!

Child: “Can I pet your cat? He looks very cute.”

Qifeng refused outright. “No.”

Child: “…”

Yan Jiyun was very satisfied with Qifeng’s answer. How could he let anyone just pet his own cat? Clearly, he could not!

Qifeng realized he’d answered too fast and added, “Unless you have canned food.”

Child: “I have cans.” He stood up on the platform, and his empty hands now somehow held two cans.

But as soon as he spoke, his expression twisted with malice. The cans flew through the air, hurling at Qifeng and Yan Jiyun!

“But why do you get to have a cat? Go to hell!”