CH 75

(Good Teacher or Bad Teacher)

Edited by Silver Wind 

After Fang Qi looked through the entire story, he sighed with emotion: “I didn’t expect that it would be so restorative.”

He initially thought that this was a dark childhood story.

The Blonde Lady seemed lost in thought. “But if that’s the case, what’s going on with the children that appear at night?”

Those children kept plastering themselves on their windows to stare at them every night, and the entire dormitory could not sleep well as a result of it. 

Fang Qi: “Uh…”

It did not seem to make sense.

If the Dean rebuilt the kindergarten to protect these twelve students, why were there so many children in the kindergarten? Could it be that their gained information was meant to confuse them?

All of the players started doubting the truth of the story. After all, the Dean did not look affable at all, and she gave the impression that she would tear off her pretence at any given moment and start massacring in all directions.

Shen Dongqing threw down the newspapers. “We just need to go out and ask.”

When the other players looked in the direction he was facing, their bodies quivered instantaneously— a black and thin figure stood outside the window, staring at the people inside the classroom with dead eyes, and it was unknown how long she had been standing there for.

The Blonde Lady faltered as she said: “Are we going out?”

It felt like standing inside was a lot safer, for the Dean seemed to be barred outside the classroom. If they went out, wouldn’t they be walking right into the trap? 

Shen Dongqing felt strange: “If we don’t go out, how are we supposed to solve the riddle?”

After he said that, he twisted open the classroom door and walked out before anyone could stop him.

Perhaps because everyone knew about the backstory of Haiduo Kindergarten now, the original bright and beautiful kindergarten had reverted back to its true appearance. After being abandoned for a period of time, the entire kindergarten was suffused with a kind of rundown atmosphere.

None of the children could be seen, only leaving the decoloured playground installations and the crows that were lingering around the grass lawn. 

When he turned his head back, he noticed that even the classroom windows were draped in spiderwebs.

The Dean stood in a place that was not far away from the classroom, and a small figure peeked his head out from her dress. And as though he was afraid of Shen Dongqing, he shrank back again to hide, not daring to show himself.

However, Shen Dongqing was not conscious of his fear at all as he waved at Shun Shun with a crinkled-eyed smile.

Shun Shun mumbled: “Scoundrel!” 

The Dean was still wearing a perpetual dead face and not a trace of amiability could be seen. Even the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes brought its own harshness as she said coldly, “All of you have violated the rules of the kindergarten…”

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Zhou Wenyan: “I can escort the twelve students and bring them to the place they’re supposed to go.”

The Dean’s movements halted, and her expression went through the subtlest change, as if she was judging if Zhou Wenyan’s words were true or false.

Finally, she asked: “What do you want?” 

Zhou Wenyan leaned half of his body against Shen Dongqing’s shoulders, which made him look wilful. “I’m not making a trade with you, I just feel like doing it.”

Towards the people who ought to die, Zhou Wenyan would never show them any mercy, and he would even send them on their way.

But towards the people who should live, Zhou Wenyan would not be miserly with his compassion either.

“Aera atja jcv cbatlcu wbgf.” 

Ktf Gfjc rajgfv ja atf qjlg klat vffq fsfr.

Vtf tjv rffc j weialaevf bo qijsfgr: atf jnjglmlber, atf rfiolrt, atf alwlv… Dea rtf tjv cfnfg wfa remt jc lcvlnlveji. Ktfs kfgf lcmgfvlyis tjgv ab vfrmglyf klat kbgvr, jcv atfgf kjr qgbyjyis bcis bcf qtgjrf atja rtf mbeiv erf, ktlmt kjr atja atfs kfgf atf qfbqif rtf tjv yffc kjlalcu obg atf fcalgf alwf.

“Follow me.”

The Dean held hands with Shun Shun as she walked towards the resting room. 

* * *

Inside the resting room, twelve porcelain dolls were lying on their small beds in a neat and orderly manner, and not a single one of them were missing.

The Dean carried one of the porcelain dolls and caressed it gently.

The porcelain doll trembled and they could faintly hear her saying, “Mother Dean.” 

The Dean handed the porcelain doll to Shen Dongqing, saying: “I can only protect them inside the kindergarten, and I was never able to send them out. I’ll be troubling all of you.”

The Dean spoke with immense solemnity.

Shen Dongqing hugged the porcelain with great caution. He showed a rarely seen seriousness as he stated: “I will send them back home.”

The twelve porcelain dolls were distributed among the five players and they carried them to the kindergarten’s entrance. 

Fang Qi: “Why do I feel so strange? It feels like it’s more dangerous outside?”

Blonde Lady: “Shut your crow mouth!”

Fang Qi clamped his mouth shut in a hurry, expressing that he would not say another word from that moment onwards.

The Dean walked up to the front and pushed open the rusted iron gates. 

Creak—

The obscuring miasma outside rushed over, wanting to penetrate the kindergarten. However, it seemed to be obstructed by a layer of invisible and intangible protective screen, and no matter how they tried, they could not come in. Hence, the things inside the miasma could only howl, and the sounds they issued caused chills to run down their spines.

Male Student: “This, this is?”

Before the Dean could answer, Shun Shun spoke first: “They’re all bad teachers, they’ve been chased out of the kindergarten!” 

Countless figures could be seen inside the miasma as they paced around the peripheries of the kindergarten, never departing.

They were the old teachers of the kindergarten and some of them were players.

Fang Qi even discovered that there was a player who had died in the kindergarten inside the fog.

Proudly, Shun Shun declared: “I did it! I chased away all the bad teachers; I am a little hero!” 

The former NPCs and players all had malicious intentions towards the kindergarten before.

One of the methods to clear this copy was to get through the seven days safely by being a good teacher in a cautious and conscientious fashion. As long as the players did not harbour any malicious intentions towards the kindergarten, their lives would not be in danger.

As for the children who climbed the walls in the middle of their night, they were probably there to observe the players, and they could not inflict substantive harm to them.

The copy was simple in truth, but the reality was the players who had managed to survive so many copies to get to an A-level usually had psychological shadows. 

They did not trust their companions, trusted the NPCs even less, and they only needed the smallest primer like the opening words to make them trigger the death ending.

Which was why this game copy was deemed as an A-level.

* * *

As Shen Dongqing hugged the porcelain dolls, he took the initiative to step out first. 

The other players no longer hesitated and followed after him.

After leaving the kindergarten’s territory, Shen Dongqing turned his head back subconsciously. The Dean was still standing at the entrance but the wrinkles on her visage had softened. Meanwhile, Shun Shun had his little face raised as he waved his hands at them furiously.

Shen Dongqing grinned at him before he twisted his head back and plunged into the miasma.

There were living souls inside the twelve porcelain dolls, and towards the deceased, they were exceptionally tempting; they were jealous of these living souls and they wanted to devour them whole. 

Therefore, once they left the Dean’s protected jurisdiction, the deceased were unable to hold themselves back and they charged at them.

Shen Dongqing sent a ghost flying with one kick, and like sugar-coated hawthorns on a stick, he happened to knock into two more.

Their intelligence was not very high and they could not climb up afterwards.

But when the number of people with lacking intelligence moved closer together, their numbers were too great in total, which made them look like a great mass of crows surging forward. The sight of them made scalps numb. 

With a bitter expression, the Blonde Lady held onto her protective charms, ready to fling them out at any given time.

After waiting for a long time, however, she came to a sudden realisation— why were none of the ghosts coming from the front?

The Blonde Lady peeked her head out to look and happened to see the mystical scene of Shen Dongqing beating up the ghosts with his bare hands. Her entire person became stupefied in response.

“How, how is this possible?” The Blonde Lady stuttered. 

Fang Qi was immersed in his recollection. “Have you ever seen a scene of a Big Boss carrying a chainsaw while he chased and slashed at the BOSS?”

Blonde Lady: I don’t really dare to watch that scene.

After the pair finished admiring Shen Dongqing’s heroic bearing, they were ready to be his little brothers and follow in the footsteps of the Big Boss obediently.

After walking for a period of time, the Blonde Lady suddenly realised that they were missing a person, so she looked over her shoulder and saw the Male Student standing rooted to the ground. 

The Blonde Lady said urgently, “Keep up, will you?”

The Male Student’s face was distorted with what looked like immense joy. When he heard the Blonde Lady’s voice, he spat, “Idiots, we can clear the copy right now!”

The Blonde Lady and Fang Qi: “Ah?”

The game’s voice sounded from within the miasma: 

【 You have left Haiduo Kindergarten, do you choose to clear the customs or continue to complete the secondary ending 】

Itching to get on with it, the Male Student exclaimed: “I choose to clear the customs!”

Just as his voice landed, a bright light flashed past and the Male Student disappeared from where he stood, leaving three rocking and swaying porcelain dolls on the ground.

Fang Qi did not even think about it before he went back to pick up the dolls. Resolutely, he said: “I’m following the Big Bosses.” 

The Blonde Lady thought about it. It was doable; with the two Big Bosses around, the dangers would be minimal at best. She was better off finishing the secondary ending and there might be a rare prop drop at the end.

Having made the decision, she helped Fang Qi by taking one of the dolls.

After distributing the load properly, the pair chased up to the Big Bosses with due haste.

* * * 

“Idiots, they could have cleared the copy but they chose not to.”

That was what the Male Student said with proud complacency as he stood in an expanse of white light.

After all, the winds and clouds in the game could change at any given time and they could meet their deaths because of a slight slip up. It was better if they left the game copy earlier while they could.

As for the life and death of those NPCs— it was already said that they were NPCs, so what if they died, it was none of his business. 

With some malice, the Male Student thought, it would be best if that group of players encountered something perilous and became annihilated in their entirety.

When he imagined the panic-stricken expressions on the faces of Zhou Wenyan and Shen Dongqing, he could not restrain himself from laughing out loud: “They can continue acting like pretentious pricks, pei!”

After he gloated over their misfortune, however, the Male Student seemed to realise something as he mumbled to himself: “Why hasn’t it ended?”

The white light gradually scattered. 

The Male Student closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw a familiar scene— a discoloured slide, discoloured swings, and a small child standing on top of the slide.

The child tilted his head and smiled at the Male Student.

Although his smile was incredibly adorable, the Male Student felt like he had been thrown into an ice cellar and he was shrouded by the chill.

After freezing for a moment, the Male Student lifted his legs and ran outwards. 

However, he could not run out of this kindergarten no matter how he ran. Whenever he got close to the entrance, he would be teleported back to the starting point instantaneously.

That child on the slide was still smiling at him.

He was always smiling at him.

Shun Shun asked: “Are you a good teacher or a bad teacher?” 

The Male Student started to tremble uncontrollably as he forced himself to say: “I, I’m a good teacher…”

Bad teachers had to stay outside the kindergarten! Who would dare to admit to it!

Shun Shun giggled, “Okay, you’re a good teacher.”

He pushed himself forward and went down the slide. Then, he climbed the steps, planning to slide down again. 

The Male Student let out an exhale, still harbouring hope in his heart.

As long as the other players brought the porcelain dolls to the place they were supposed to go, they should be able to clear the copy!

The Male Student, who had been wishing for their downfall previously, was now praying for them like his life depended on it.

He looked outside the tall walls of the kindergarten. 

At this moment, Shun Shun’s voice rang out from behind him, and it was filled with some doubt. “But… A good teacher never says that he is a good teacher ah?”

The Male Student felt his shoulders sink, and Shun Shun, who had clearly been on the slide a moment ago, was now lying on the Male Student’s back. It was unknown when or how he had climbed on him. Shun Shun clapped his hands as he said: “That’s right, only bad teachers would say that!”

“No, no, that’s not it…” Before the Male Student could explain himself, he felt his body stiffen as a bone-piercing chill spread from his chest.

Before his vision went black, he heard Shun Shun jump off his back as he issued a mischievous laugh like he was mocking him. 

“Hehe—”