Cat 159: The Charitable Black Cat
by CristaeChapter 159: The Charitable Black Cat
Yan Jiyun’s solo mission had yielded abundant rewards.
First: they now knew the name of the current instance—“Innocence”—which truly suited every aspect of its design;
Second: he’d gained insight into Teacher Qu’s family situation, which would be invaluable for their future tasks;
Third: he’d now identified exactly who Teacher Qu was.
Not only had he gained all this, but Yan Jiyun had also received a gift from Squad Leader No. 6.
[Congratulations, player! You have received the item “Handsewn Bracelet,” gifted by one of Teacher Qu’s personalities. Usable within the game only; invalid outside the game.]
He touched his neck, but the item wasn’t there—it had gone straight into his pet item inventory.
Its effect remained unclear, but this was the first time he’d ever received an item from an NPC in the game; a rare occurrence indeed.
But which personality had given it to him? And why give it to him and not to Qi Feng?
After returning from his “roam” through the nightmare, he found that four hours had passed in-game. Lan Mo, Gu Wenzhu, and Qiu Xi were all awake, gathered around Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun.
Qi Feng pushed away Lan Mo’s hand, which was reaching for his cat’s face. “What are you doing?”
Lan Mo jumped, startled by the simultaneous awakening of both Qi Feng and his black cat. “Why did you wake up so suddenly? No, wait, why couldn’t we wake either of you earlier?”
Gu Wenzhu was sharper. “Did you two enter a task?”
Qi Feng nodded, explaining that they’d entered a nightmare instance. Without going into detail, he shared all the critical information they’d gathered.
Gu Wenzhu analyzed, “So Teacher Qu’s family was actually unhappy? That’s different from what we learned in the Mermaid instance. We were led to believe—via Xiao Yue—that his family was happy. Looks like the personality prettified itself, misleading us completely.”
Lan Mo commented, “So that means we’ll have to cross-check every personality’s info. If Xiao Yue can lie, so can Squad Leader No. 6.”
Qi Feng nodded: “It’s possible.”
Yan Jiyun listened quietly as they discussed their next plan, but honestly, he was starting to get drowsy. Playing with kids wasn’t as easy as it looked.
He let out a huge yawn. Seeing this, Qi Feng yawned too.
The school bell was already ringing—it was almost time for morning exercises.
The homeroom teacher personally came by to make sure everyone got up; Yan Jiyun couldn’t even catch up on sleep if he wanted to.
Just in case, Qi Feng carried Yan Jiyun with him downstairs for morning exercises.
All the players slacked off during the routine, but as long as they were present, the teachers didn’t mark absences.
Yan Jiyun was almost marked down for skipping, but the class monitor made an excuse for him, helping him escape trouble.
No new main quest 3 appeared for any player until after breakfast and returning to class.
After Yang Da Tou’s demise, a new math teacher had arrived the next day.
Yang had originally handled math for Classes 1, 2, and 3. The new teacher took over seamlessly—a young, good-looking man who looked fresh out of college.
Time slipped by. Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi began to worry about Yan Jiyun. They spent the first period scouring the whole school but came up empty. Still, they didn’t trouble Qi Feng or Lan Mo, since in their eyes, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng weren’t that close.
Two entire days had passed; five days remained until the game’s end.
Yan Jiyun wanted to meet the new teacher. But before he acted, not long after breakfast, the class monitor from Class 5 suddenly collapsed and had to be taken to the infirmary.
Perfect—a new event.
Many players rushed out upon hearing the news, but Qi Feng stayed put, unusually calm, not chasing after the commotion.
Though this might trigger main quest 3, it wasn’t the only way forward.
They’d been tracking cases of students collapsing, but never activated a quest for food poisoning or fainting, suggesting those were side stories, not the mainline.
Yan Jiyun felt the real focus should be the Squad Leader brothers.
Lan Mo and the others set off after the food poisoning lead. Qi Feng remained in the teaching building, still watching the Squad Leaders, and kept trying to find out where Yan Jiyun had gone. Was he hiding out or had he been grabbed by an NPC?
Where on earth was he?
He thought about the painting from the night before—it might be good for more than entrapment. Maybe it would save their lives at a critical moment.
The painting was too big, so they’d hidden it in a dorm cabinet, not bringing it out during the day. Not that it was needed yet.
Qi Feng sketched out the whole logical flow of the instance, jotting his notes while waiting for the second period teacher to arrive, then snuck out with Yan Jiyun.
He couldn’t keep Caramel cooped up forever—cats needed room.
As he went out, he bumped into the Squad Leader carrying homework books to the office.
With their newfound “detective club” bond, the Squad Leader asked, “Have you seen Yan Jiyun? He hasn’t been in class all morning.”
Qi Feng replied, “We didn’t see him after going out yesterday either.”
The Squad Leader looked stricken: “Could Yang Lao Shi have hurt him?”
Qi Feng shook his head. “No, Yang Lao Shi was already taken away by the police.”
Yang Da Tou’s part in this instance had ended. After they’d knocked him out last night, police came to take him away. School life returned to normal.
At that moment, Yan Jiyun wondered whether he should show up, since he still needed more useful information from the Squad Leaders.
Qi Feng was about to continue downstairs when Squad Leader No. 2, Yan Weicheng, called out, “Yan Weilan, come here—I have something to say to you.”
“Okay, Big Brother, wait for me a sec.” Politely, the Squad Leader quickly turned to Qi Feng, “My brother wants me. Make sure you find Yan Jiyun, okay? I hope he’s safe.”
Then he ran to Yan Weicheng, whose face looked grim.
Sensing that something was off, Qi Feng followed at a distance, while Yan Jiyun peeped from the backpack, noticing the stark contrast in their attitudes from yesterday.
Yesterday, Yan Weicheng had been caring; today, he was obviously angry, barely able to conceal it.
The conversation was private—so both moved to a secluded corner.
Qi Feng picked up on the tension and quietly trailed them.
Yan Weicheng demanded, “Why did Yang Da Tou grab you yesterday? Why you?”
Yan Weilan replied innocently, “I don’t know why Yang Lao Shi tried to catch me. He’s a child trafficker.”
Yan Weicheng fixed his gaze: “Yan Weilan, tell me the truth—did you do something to that teacher?”
Yan Weilan lowered his eyes. “Big Brother, why won’t you believe me? I didn’t do anything.”
Yan Weicheng: “Look at me and answer me.”
Yan Weilan looked up and met his gaze. “It has nothing to do with me.”
Yan Weicheng didn’t respond or say he believed him, just stared, then quietly asked, “Was today’s poisoning of our class monitor your doing?”
Yan Weilan: “Is this how little you trust me? I barely know your class monitor, and we’ve never had a disagreement.”
Yan Weicheng: “He’s my friend. You killed my bunny once—you have to let me make friends too, not expect me to revolve around you forever.”
Yan Jiyun found their brotherly exchange surprisingly mature; Yan Weilan was definitely more complex than he’d assumed.
Yan Weilan scrunched his face. “I didn’t kill your bunny. It was sick, and I gave it medicine—I didn’t know it would die. I’ve never stopped you from making friends.”
Yan Weicheng: “Fine, I’ll take your word—for now.”
Yan Weilan’s reply was subdued. “You just don’t trust me.”
Yan Weicheng: “It’s not that. Go to class.”
Yan Weilan pressed his lips together, silent.
Yan Jiyun found him rather pitiful. What was going on with Yan Weicheng? Did he actually suspect his brother of poisoning? Or was it something else in the past that made him wary?
So yesterday’s concern wasn’t over the poisoning at all—it was because Yan Weicheng and Yan Weiqing suspected Yan Weilan had done something to other students; following him to the cafeteria had been to keep an eye on him. In their minds, maybe clever Yan Weilan was the “bad kid.”
What a shocking reversal overnight.
[Wannabe Human] Livestream:
“The kitten’s finally figured out the Squad Leader’s real face? Rejoice! Don’t let that Squad Leader fool you—he’s the big boss of the instance!”
“But wait, isn’t the main quest in this instance about finding Teacher Qu? What does the Squad Leader even have to do with it?”
“I still can’t figure out how this merged instance is supposed to work. Wasn’t the main quest different before? Any veterans want to enlighten us?”
“The Innocence instance really is simple: find the mastermind behind the school’s incidents. All the events seem unrelated to the kids, but the true hidden force is the Squad Leader. Spoiler, I guess?”
“No worries, go on. It doesn’t help much anyway; there could still be twists.”
“No way—I’ve watched at least ten players do this instance and there’s no twist. The final boss is the Squad Leader, who hides behind an innocent mask.”
“So the kitten’s walked right into the Squad Leader’s trap?”
“That kid is a real actor—plays innocent so well! But why poison the other class monitors?”
“No idea, but either way, you’ll fight the Squad Leader. There’ll be little boss fights at various story points.”
Yan Jiyun didn’t think the Squad Leader was the type to poison anyone.
Even if he wanted to, the 5th class monitor hadn’t even been in contact with him all morning—unless he’d swapped places with a brother, but as long as they didn’t speak, nobody could tell.
Still, Yan Jiyun could recognize the Squad Leader’s footsteps. From morning routine to breakfast to class, he’d stuck to the schedule, and hadn’t interacted with the 5th class monitor. Unless he’d recruited an accomplice.
After warning his brother, Yan Weicheng returned to the classroom. Yan Weilan, dejected, headed to Class 3—he looked distinctly low-spirited.
Qi Feng only watched, making no move. Once the Squad Leaders were back in class, he trailed Yan Weicheng to Class 5, watching how he interacted with classmates.
Yan Jiyun, meanwhile, couldn’t help worrying about Yan Weilan’s state of mind.
Sometimes the road to ruin starts with misunderstanding. If only someone would believe him, much could be prevented.
Yan Jiyun slipped out from the backpack once he confirmed no one was around, darting downstairs. Qi Feng couldn’t possibly catch up with his stubby legs now.
Qi Feng watched his cat disappear, unsure whether to give chase or not. In the end, he let Caramel go; when the cat wanted space, he’d never be able to find him.
They were still on campus; when hungry, Caramel would come back. Qi Feng understood the cat’s patterns by now—he wasn’t glued to his side, and took bathroom breaks as needed.
“A true veteran cat owner,” Yan Jiyun thought, “learning to let go.”
Too much worry is no good—a little distance is healthy.
He picked a vacant classroom to nap, waiting for Gu Wenzhu and friends. Sure enough, Lan Mo, cutting class elsewhere, spotted him dozing on a desk.
Yan Jiyun spun a yarn about being knocked out and waking up alone in this empty classroom.
Lan Mo believed him—after all, they hadn’t found him anywhere last night.
Lan Mo worried, “You sure you aren’t hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Yan Jiyun, guilty, quickly changed the subject. “How’s your progress?”
Lan Mo dumped all the updates and details to him.
Yan Jiyun nodded. “Okay, I’ll head back to class. I still think the Class 3 Squad Leader is suspicious.”
Lan Mo: “Really?” He couldn’t see anything odd about him. “Need help?”
“No, I’ll go. Qi Feng’s upstairs, right?”
“He is—ask him if you need help.” Lan Mo was very trusting.
“You too. Take care,” Yan Jiyun replied.
Returning to class at this point was a bit suspicious. If Qi Feng ever suspected “Caramel”’s identity, he’d notice that he and Caramel were never in the same place at once.
So Yan Jiyun deliberately kept some distance from Qi Feng, operating alone unless things got dangerous.
Back in Class 3, time in human form running low, he focused on finding Teacher Qu’s personality in the “Innocence” instance.
Yan Weilan wasn’t the boss, but rather the goal—everything about him fit the profile of Qu’s core personality. He couldn’t be captured or killed by players; to do so would be to fall into the trap set by another of Qu’s personalities.
The “Mermaid” instance had already established: Qu’s second persona said Qu’s core self used Lin Laoshi to eliminate Xiao Yue and seize control of the mermaid world; the more personalities he destroyed, the stronger his power within himself.
That nightmare had only made Yan Jiyun more convinced that “core” Qu was fragmented for self-protection, splitting himself to fight the others.
The new main quest was to find Qu’s core self. The game never said there was only one.
So while Yan Weicheng guarded against his little brother, Yan Jiyun tried to protect Yan Weilan.
He entered class partway into a period and was scolded by the teacher before sitting down.
The Squad Leader shot him several looks; Yan Jiyun winked mischievously, and the Squad Leader finally smiled.
During the second break, Yan Jiyun asked, “Want to go to the student shop? I’m starving.”
The Squad Leader eyed him with concern. “Didn’t you eat breakfast?”
Yan Jiyun looked around and lowered his voice, “I need to tell you about my adventure last night—it was wild!”
The Squad Leader’s eyes widened, all earlier sadness gone. “A detective story?”
“Yeah, yeah, want to go?” Yan Jiyun urged.
The Squad Leader had planned to clean the blackboard for a classmate but ditched that, grabbing Yan Jiyun’s arm and dragging him along.
On the way out, Yan Jiyun caught sight of Qi Feng in the hallway; nodding at each other, each got on with his business. Qi Feng had some classmates with him—perhaps making a fresh discovery.
Yan Jiyun was genuinely hungry, though he’d eaten breakfast. At the shop he bought water, but when he realized he had no money, he quietly put it back.
The Squad Leader noticed: “Forgot your money?”
Yan Jiyun replied honestly, “Yeah, I don’t have any.”
The Squad Leader paid without hesitation. “You can pay me back later, it’s fine.”
“Thanks,” Yan Jiyun said.
As they were leaving, someone tried to shoulder into Yan Jiyun, but he dodged. The kid crashed into the Squad Leader instead. Yan Jiyun quickly pulled him out of the way, saving them both from falling.
“What’s your problem?” Yan Jiyun snapped. “This is a wide corridor and you aim right at us?”
The culprit was a burly kid, taller and broader than both of them; behind him, another grade-schooler had their grip on a third Squad Leader.
The big kid said, “We did it on purpose. Yan Weiqing, didn’t you say your brother has no money? He just bought your buddy a drink but won’t even buy you snacks.”
The Squad Leader protested, “I only have a little pocket money.”
Yan Jiyun was used to dealing with brats. “Tch, it’s his pocket money—he can do what he wants. Who do you think you are? Just a bunch of little punks trying the old shakedown routine.”
“Who are you calling a little punk?” The big kid was upset.
“Whoever answers, that’s who. Only little punks extort others’ pocket money,” Yan Jiyun retorted.
Yan Weiqing nodded vigorously in the background.
The Squad Leader edged closer to Yan Jiyun and whispered, “They’re in my second brother’s class. He always plays with them—never studies anymore.”
Beside the big guy, a bespectacled, brainy kid was calmer, not ruffled by Yan Jiyun. “Who are you? And what makes you think we’re ‘extorting’ anyone?”
Yan Jiyun was surprised there was a smart one in the bunch. “The school cameras see everything—doesn’t take my eyes.”
“Pfft, Shao Xin’s uncle is the principal. You’ll never see any camera footage.”
“Oh, so you’ve got connections? A racket, huh!” Yan Jiyun raised his voice. “Wow, the principal’s nephew shakes down classmates and covers it up—deletes the footage! Terrifying! Boohoo!”
The little thugs had never met anyone as brazen as Yan Jiyun, who obviously feared nothing.
Their bluster faltered as he wailed, and even the bespectacled boy went pale.
Yan Jiyun yelled, “Help! Someone’s bullying us! They’re extorting my pocket money! The principal’s nephew is deleting surveillance footage—help!”
With so many students and teachers around, even the principal was drawn by the commotion.
The bespectacled boy panicked: “Quit yelling! We didn’t extort anyone!”
Flashing fake tears, Yan Jiyun countered, “Then give back the money you borrowed from Yan Weiqing. Or I’ll report the principal for covering up his nephew’s extortion—maybe even post it online!”
More a threat than a request.
These pampered kids had never faced anything like Yan Jiyun before.
Finally, the bespectacled boy dug out a wad of cash. “Fine, take it back. Just stop shouting!”
Yan Jiyun didn’t accept the money, so the Squad Leader’s brother did. The bespectacled kid handed it over and ran off, the big guy shaking his fist at Yan Jiyun as he left.
Afterwards, Yan Weiqing stared in awe. “Wow, brother, you’re incredible.”
The Squad Leader turned to his brother, “Second brother, why didn’t you say they were bullying you?”
Yan Weiqing hesitated. “It wasn’t so bad. They just asked for money, said they’d pay back.”
The Squad Leader fumed, “That’s extortion! Bullies!”
Yan Weiqing said, “Still, you helped me get my money back.”
Yan Jiyun replied, “But that’s only a temporary fix. As long as you’re in the same class, they’ll keep at it.”
Yan Weiqing was suddenly anxious. “What do I do? I share a dorm with Shao Xin too.”
Yan Weilan looked at Yan Jiyun with trusting eyes. “Yan Jiyun, can you help my brother?”
Just then, the system popped up a message.
[Congratulations! New Main Quest 3 triggered: Yan Weilan’s Request.]
Without hesitation, Yan Jiyun said, “I’ll definitely help!”
Yan Weilan suddenly hugged him. “Yan Jiyun, you’re the best!”
Meanwhile, Qi Feng had followed them unnoticed, now watching from nearby.
Yan Jiyun suddenly felt like a heartbreaker with too many love interests—no, he was just a charitable cat, that’s all.