Chapter 42: High Achievement Academy (Part Seven)

Chapter 42: High Achievement Academy (Part Seven)

The involved person, Manager Jie, was unaware that the players were speculating whether his personal skills were related to Superman. He was carrying his stick... well, not exactly a mistake, as it was something he casually dismantled from an escalator. Initially several meters long, he had folded it several times to a manageable length, and it had now become his new favorite weapon.

The school had many teaching buildings, all housing classrooms. Although it also had facilities that normal schools should have, like libraries and laboratories, it was unclear how long they had been abandoned.

Jie Fangcheng fought from south to north, and after battling through four buildings, he glanced at the time.

"It's time for lunch..."

He casually placed the teacher NPC he was holding onto the corridor.

This was a senior year teacher, and compared to the first and second-year teachers, the senior year teachers evidently had some level of competence, daring to resist when Jie Fangcheng was beating them just now.

Manager Jie flew into a rage, resembling a disciplinarian catching a student sneaking out at night to surf the internet and refusing to repent, swinging his stick even faster.

"You dare to retaliate? Haven't you reflected on your actions at all?? Huh???"

A teacher holding their head protested, "What's wrong with our actions? They are permitted by the school!"

"?? Just because it's allowed, it's right? Don't you have your own thoughts? Your own conscience?? Do you have, uh..." Jie Fangcheng couldn't come up with another parallel sentence, simply mumbling "whatever whatever," cursing while hitting, creating chaos throughout the teaching building. Adjacent to several other buildings, whether it was players or NPCs, everyone was watching as teacher NPCs frequently screamed and ran out from the building.

Director Wei had already disappeared.

The few security guards he brought with him were still there, exchanging glances before drawing something from their waists.

Upstairs, Tan Chen's "Lost Hawk Eye" skill activated, her expression changing suddenly.

"Guns..."

Although everyone had acquired many powerful personal skills since becoming players in the Infinite Game, very few players were now afraid of guns. However, firearms were definitely considered strong weapons in instances.

Especially in the hands of NPCs, their firepower was indeed considerable.

Yue Haiyang looked somewhat anxious, "Should we go help him?"

Someone turned their head to give him a look as if they were staring at an idiot.

Only then did Yue Haiyang snap back to reality.

In the instance, sometimes the threat from players can be more terrifying than the instance itself, especially in competitive ones. It would already be considered polite of the players not to sabotage each other, let alone help others.

However, their relationship was just average; not helping would be fine. But this Zhang An... why does he seem not worried at all?

Soon, Yue Haiyang understood why he was not in a hurry.

The security guards were well-trained. Not long after they entered the teaching building, everyone heard several thuds.

Then, silence descended within the teaching building.

"Are they dead...?"

Just as Tong Xinxin's words fell, a scream that resonated throughout the campus emanated from the top floor, as a security guard was thrown down from the corridor.

Immediately after, it was like water being poured into hot oil; the trained security guards who had entered began fleeing from the teaching building, screaming like the teacher NPCs.

The slowest runner, limping heavily, was almost out of the door when a pale hand stretched out from the corridor, swiftly dragging him back in, followed by a shriek echoing from inside the building.

After a while, everyone saw a familiar figure casually walking out from the building, shouldering his stick, with his shirt still impeccably clean.

Then the person looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand as he squinted at the second-year teaching building, waving at the players crowded in the corridor.

"Hey—"

The previous scene was too heart-stirring, Yue Haiyang asked with a chilling fear, "Why is he greeting us? Is he trying to console us? He's not planning to beat us up as well because he wasn't satisfied earlier, right??"

At this moment, Jie Fangcheng continued to shout from downstairs, "It's almost time—come down for meals—"

Damn it!

Yue Haiyang was furious, but his voice was low: "At a time like this, can we not talk about eating?!"

This guy had nearly beaten all the school NPCs, without considering how to clear the game next, or contemplating the strength of the biggest boss, why was he only thinking about eating?!

"But now we can't do anything, we can only go and eat," said Zhang An as he turned around and was the first to head downstairs.

Tong Xinxin watched him, blinked, and quickly followed.

"Hey," she called out to Zhang An.

Zhang An turned his head slightly.

Tong Xinxin smiled, her eyes filled with scrutiny, "Before I entered the game, I heard that besides our guild's vice president, someone in the game has an instance clearance rate of over 40%. Do you think it could be this Jie Fangcheng?"

Zhang An just gave a faint smile, "Perhaps."

But if someone were to pull up Zhang An's dungeon clearance records now, they would find, beneath the lonely "Clearance Record: 1", that the only level-one dungeon he cleared is marked in grey, followed by a number that no one has ever seen before.

1#0%.

Tong Xinxin initially had no plans to enter the dungeon, but she heard from a friend that the vice president seemed to be quite infuriated, apparently because someone broke his record in a level-one dungeon.

The Chaoyang Guild is excellent, and Tong Xinxin really likes it. Although she hasn't had contact with the president, everyone says that the president is a particularly responsible person.

During last year's national dungeon event, the survival rate stayed around 30%. The top ten guilds generally had higher clearance rates, but if discussing the highest, it would undoubtedly be the Chaoyang Guild.

5#%.

The national dungeon event allows for free team formation, and the difficulty level is not high; for players who frequently venture into dungeons, it could even be considered a vacation.

But even if it's a vacation, it is still a horror dungeon. What does a 54% survival rate signify? It represents that half of the Chaoyang Guild's players survived, which is Ji Chaoyang's greatest achievement as the president.

Tong Xinxin is proud to be a member of the Chaoyang Guild... but that doesn't mean she likes every person in the guild.

Like that vice president, for instance.

The moment Tong Xinxin realized he was angered, she immediately entered the dungeon to avoid being assigned some nauseating tasks by that kind of person.

But once she entered the dungeon, she discovered that her team had two rather quirky individuals.

One had not cleared many levels but was extremely cunning, and the other...

Damn it!!

By coincidence, just as Tong Xinxin descended the stairs, an NPC teacher who had a bit of insight into the recent happenings passed by, and the good brothers Jie Fangcheng intercepted this NPC.

"Hey brother, I want to ask you something, why isn't our school principal around?"

Though these teacher NPCs were cautious around people from their department, they were relatively normal towards teachers from other grades.

Hearing this question, the teacher, although appearing somewhat flustered, still responded.

"The principal went to a meeting this morning, I'm not sure when he will be back."

"Oh, oh, oh." Jie Fangcheng nodded, engaging in a bit of small talk, "You seem in a rush, where are you heading?"

The teacher NPC wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I heard there's a violent thug in the school who started a killing spree from that building over there, and has been murdering all the way to this building. Everyone is unsure if this is just a rumor. Be careful if you encounter him, I heard this thug is quite handsome, wearing a teacher's uniform from our school, with a very girly white rabbit and carrot headband on his head, and holding a..."

The NPC's gaze landed on the "teacher" in front of him, and his voice gradually diminished.

Jie Fangcheng raised his hand, displaying the stick he was holding.

"Holding a stick?"

NPC: "......"

NPC: "Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!"

The screams and footsteps swiftly receded into the distance.

Jie Fangcheng gazed at the fleeing figure, a wry smile on his face: "Why the rush? I'm not planning to raid this building until this afternoon."

Tong Xinxin: "......"

It has to be said that at this moment, Tong Xinxin somewhat admired Zhang An. His facial expression remained unchanged, his suit was still impeccably neat, and his entire demeanor still exuded that gentle scholarly aura. When he spoke now, it was as if he hadn't witnessed the preceding events at all.

"Let's go, the cafeteria is serving meals now," he said.

Jie Fangcheng slung the stick over his shoulder.

"Let's move!"

The two of them led the way, one strolling along the campus paths as if window-shopping, while the other strutted as if on a fashion runway. From behind, their tandem presented an oddly harmonious sight.

.

Thanks to Manager Jie's influence, the cafeteria witnessed a record low in the number of diners today.

The teacher NPCs who were beaten up had gone to the infirmary, and those who hadn't were divided into two groups. The first group were the smarter ones who fled at the sight of others being beaten, avoiding the cafeteria primarily out of fear of unintentionally becoming the next victims there.

The other group were the ones remaining in the two untouched buildings, presently engrossed in conversation. They were seated just a table away from the players, and the rumors had morphed into: "Have you heard? A thug killed all the teachers in four buildings! Why else would only we be here for lunch today?"

Yue Haiyang listened with utter delight.

These players were daily worried about being killed by NPCs, when had they seen NPCs worried about being killed?

"Brother Jie," Yue Haiyang called out with heartfelt sincerity and genuine admiration, "your actions today were swift and decisive! Watching from the sidelines, I found it exhilarating and incredibly satisfying!"

"Not at all," Jie Fangcheng responded modestly.

Yue Haiyang drained a bowl of soup as if it were wine, then fixed a fervent gaze on him.

"What's our next move?"

Yue Haiyang had already figured it out.

Brother Jie possessed this kind of power, he was obviously a hidden big shot!

The approach to clearing levels of someone like this big shot was clearly different from the average person, truly worth learning a thing or two from!

Although Yue Haiyang didn't quite understand why Brother Jie suddenly went on a rampage, beating everyone across the school, he must have stumbled upon some extraordinary clue.

Look, while everyone else was still uncertain about how to clear this dungeon, he had already sprung into action!

Accompanying such a big shot into a dungeon was both mind-boggling and enlightening, making this dungeon experience truly worthwhile!

He wondered why, during his self-introduction, Brother Jie mentioned his clearance count as one.

Could this be a display of the big shot's modesty?

No matter, following the big shot is always the right choice!

Thinking this, Yue Haiyang noticed the big shot in front of him hesitating before dryly replying, "Uh... finish off the other two buildings in the afternoon?"

"Oh, oh."

Look! The big shot completes what he starts! There's something to learn!

Yue Haiyang continued to watch him intently.

Jie Fangcheng was also looking at him.

Yue Haiyang: "......"

Yue Haiyang slowly caught on: "Big shot... you don't... have a plan for the next step, do you?"

Jie Fangcheng admitted honestly: "Yes."

Yue Haiyang's eyes widened: "Then why did you go from this building to that building beating people?"

Jie Fangcheng seemed even more surprised: "Didn't you see what those teacher NPCs were like one by one?"

"I saw, but what of it?" Yue Haiyang asked.

Jie Fangcheng opened his mouth to say something, but then recalled the indifferent expressions on the faces of these players today when they brought up the idea of "clearing the dungeon by killing the failing student NPCs".

A divide.

There really was a significant divide between him and these players.

Jie Fangcheng closed his mouth.

At this moment, Zhang An, who was sitting next to him, spoke up.

"These teachers, through suppressing the weaker students and praising the top performers, curry favor with the better students in the class on one hand, allowing these influential students to choose their own classes. On the other hand, they demean the weaker students, damaging their self-esteem, to encourage them to allocate more points to their own subjects, thereby improving the overall performance in that subject. It's even possible that through this method, these teachers are driving the underperforming students to suicide by jumping off buildings. This kind of behavior is absolutely reprehensible."

"Ah..." Yue Haiyang paused, his expression somewhat uneasy, "but they are all NPCs, is there a problem with that..."

"They are NPCs, are you an NPC?" Zhang An countered.

Everyone understood at this point.

This bullying phenomenon occurring amongst NPCs was a setup in the dungeon, which is why other teacher NPCs found it commonplace, their inherent programming dictated so, hence they saw no issue.

But the players were not NPCs. Players had personalities, character, morals, and souls. To turn a blind eye to such occurrences, or even have some players suddenly realize that these NPC teachers' teaching methods could be tactics for clearing levels, to be used on students next time... isn't that somewhat...

A very soft voice from a girl at the neighboring table reached them.

"Teacher Jie did the right thing."

It was Xu Xiuxiu.

The players remained silent for a moment.

Tong Xinxin's eyes were darting around.

She didn't have much of a reaction to Zhang An's speech; in her mind, these students were nothing more than a set of data.

Sympathize with a bunch of data? How could that be possible?

Clearly, some of the players present shared her sentiment, as they merely grimaced at this time. However, given Jie Fangcheng's strong abilities, no one dared to openly object to his actions today.

Although they didn't dare to object, a bit of dissatisfaction was indeed present.

Everyone there were veteran players who had cleared many levels, possessing their own secret weapons and strategies for clearing levels.

Starting off by severely beating up the NPCs was definitely not in their usual strategy; in fact, everyone felt somewhat relieved to see Jie Fangcheng recklessly assaulting the NPCs today.

After all, being previously chased by these NPCs and now witnessing a player intimidating them to this extent, anyone would find it refreshing.

But what aside from the sense of refreshment?

Did Jie Fangcheng's barrage of indiscriminate punches carve out a bright future?

Not only did it not, but he also scared off Director Wei, a crucial NPC needed for various aspects like rearranging classes, something that wasn't under the players' control.

The higher the number of levels a player has cleared, the more accustomed they become to adhering to the rules of the dungeon. Jie Fangcheng's wild fists not only disrupted the NPCs but also some of the players.

Tong Xinxin didn't seem to mind, but she found Zhang An's behavior a bit strange.

This person had a somewhat nefarious vibe in his actions since entering the dungeon, from confiding in Director Wei to voluntarily visiting the student dormitory guard room; all on the first day. His behavior somewhat bewildered Tong Xinxin, as his methods seemed rather radical and unorthodox, not aligning with the players' side.

He even deliberately let the players witness the teaching methods of the top-performing teacher, as if leading them step by step onto a path mirroring that of the dungeon teacher NPCs: flattering the good students while pressuring the underachievers.

And now, he spoke these words.

What exactly is he aiming to do?

Even Jie Fangcheng looked at Zhang An with a hint of surprise.

Manager Jie didn't have Tong Xinxin's circuitous thoughts; he just didn't expect the person who mentioned "killing the students" in the morning to say such words by noon.

Why was this? Was it because the morning was less sunny and more gloomy, which made the methods a bit harsher?

Everyone had their own thoughts, and naturally, not everyone considered Jie Fangcheng's assaulting of all NPCs a good thing.

Someone muttered under their breath.

"Beating up all the NPCs for self-satisfaction, how are we going to clear the next level?"

The condition for clearing the game is "the average score of the students exceeding 562 points", which certainly isn't guaranteed by just killing off the teacher NPCs.

Jie Fangcheng looked directly at the person who spoke, "What does me attacking NPCs have to do with not being able to clear the game?"

The person who spoke didn't dare to say any more, they just lowered their head in dissatisfaction and continued eating.

This group of people...

Jie Fangcheng began to miss the group of players led by Qi Chanyang.

Everyone silently finished their meals and returned to their respective dormitories to rest. Jie Fangcheng, carrying his stick, reached the dormitory, where Wang Xi only dared to glance at him cautiously.

"Brother Jie, I also think those teachers were quite excessive. I'm on your side, okay!"

Jie Fangcheng paused, feeling somewhat helpless inside.

He listlessly placed his stick in a corner and got into bed.

"Don't worry, I am someone who reasons well, I generally don't resort to physical violence."

Having said this, Jie Fangcheng quickly fell asleep wrapped in his blanket.

Wang Xi wiped the sweat from his forehead and also lay down.

Classes began at two in the afternoon, and Jie Fangcheng leisurely woke up at one fifty. In the dormitory, Wang Xi had already left ahead.

Jie Fangcheng leisurely got dressed, stretched lazily, picked up his stick, and then opened the door.

Then he froze.

"Huh? Teacher Zhang? You haven't left?"

Zhang An was leaning against the corridor wall, reviewing his teaching plan in his hands.

Seeing Jie Fangcheng, he finally smiled.

"Yes." Having said this, he asked, "Do you have any plans for the afternoon?"

"Ah." Jie Fangcheng revealed that he had only been downcast for a few seconds at noon. At this moment, he had already spiritedly hoisted his stick back onto his shoulder, "I plan to go and take down the remaining two buildings."

These teacher NPCs are too detestable! Not fighting them won't appease the resentment in his heart.

Zhang An simply nodded: "Hmm."

Jie Fangcheng looked at him, "You seem quite supportive of my decision to beat up these NPCs, huh?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Zhang An smiled, "I don't like them either."

Oh man! A true confidant!

Jie Fangcheng patted his shoulder: "Young man, you have a promising future. What did you do before?"

"A teacher."

"?"

"Really a teacher," Zhang An said with a gentle smile, "but not a tutoring class teacher, a university professor."

"Oh, oh, oh, a university professor, impressive, impressive."

Zhang An continued to smile, then casually mentioned: "How about Teacher Jie? What did you do before?"

"A manager in the finance department."

Zhang An nodded in understanding: "Manager Jie."

The two of them chatted as they walked towards the teaching building, parting ways at the intersection.

Jie Fangcheng pointed to the remaining two buildings: "I'm heading over there."

"Alright."

Once Zhang An reached the corridor, he could faintly hear the screams emanating from the distant building.

A smile played on his face as he leaned against the window.

Suddenly, another person stood beside him.

Zhang An turned his head, it was Liu Hui from the Ronghua Guild.

Liu Hui was also watching the opposite teaching building, a look of pleasure on his face.

"Did you know that person before?"

Zhang An shook his head.

Liu Hui looked across, "These NPCs have been tormenting players all along, never thought they would see this day too. When he comes back, could you thank him for me..."

"You're mistaken," Zhang An straightened up, his expression slightly cold, "To him, there is no difference between us and those NPCs. He just detests those teachers, he's not helping us."

"What are you talking about? We are humans, those are just some NPCs..." Liu Hui frowned.

Zhang An glanced at him, chose not to explain further, and just patted his shoulder.

"We are just deceased individuals as well, but some of the dead are not as endearing as those NPCs."

.

Upon returning from his venture outdoors, Jie Fangcheng didn't forget to clean his stick first. He mysteriously acquired a couple of cleaning cloths from some office, and treasured them as he meticulously cleaned his stick before bringing it back to the office.

The players were now showing subtle signs of splitting into two factions.

One faction was led by Tong Xinxin, who found the act of Jie Fangcheng beating up NPCs exhilarating, but rationally believed that his actions were too reckless.

Naturally, the other faction was spearheaded by Jie Fangcheng himself.

He enjoyed his ruthless spree and even paid attention to 'after-sales service', intimidating those teachers by casually making rounds in their vicinity.

The offices were eerily empty, with even those with limping legs having to attend their classes, since neglecting teaching duties at Gaoji Academy was virtually a capital offense.

Those without classes hid wherever they could find refuge, some under desks, others in restrooms, resembling a large scale game of hide-and-seek.

This actually made discussions among the Chinese language group of players more convenient.

"The situation is fairly clear now. To raise the students' scores to above 562 points before the final examination, we need to attract students with higher grades to our class as much as possible. For the students with lower grades..."

The player who spoke stole a glance at Jie Fangcheng and changed his wording: "...we should motivate them a bit."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The benefits of Jie Fangcheng's frenzied rampage became apparent quite quickly, as all the teacher NPCs had fled, allowing players to freely search for student information in the offices.

Soon, some players made discoveries.

"Look at this! This is the grade sheet from the last major exam!"

Everyone immediately gathered to inspect the sheet, soon realizing that the students' grades followed a very regular pattern.

Almost every student had a consistent pattern: if their math grade ranked high in the class, their grades in other subjects would also be at the top.

"Because the students' total scores are fixed, they don't want any of their subjects to be at the bottom, so they distribute the points judiciously among subjects. For instance, the student ranked first has only 92 points in math, which is the third highest in the class... Meaning, he gauged that 92 points wouldn't lower his math score too much, so that was sufficient. However, he allocated a higher score to English to avoid falling behind, thus he has 121 points in English."

"So, what can we do to make students allocate more points to the Chinese subject after their evaluation..."

The players' gazes subtly shifted towards Jie Fangcheng.

In reality, everyone had an answer in mind - to mimic the number one ranked Chinese teacher they had heard today, by shaming students with lower grades.

To avoid this humiliation, students would undoubtedly allocate more points to the Chinese subject.

It seemed to be the only solution at the moment.

Jie Fangcheng stood up.

The players nervously took a small step back: "What are you doing?"

Jie Fangcheng hoisted his stick: "I'm going to see if any teacher dares to use this method."

With that, he walked away with his stick in hand.

The Chinese language office was tranquil and silent.

A player muttered under their breath, “Damn, how are we going to clear this stage with him around?”

Xu Xiuxiu retorted, "Are you really willing to treat the students the same way that Chinese teacher NPC did today?"

"Damn it, they're just a bunch of data anyway! What's wrong with treating them like that?"

Yue Haiyang tried to mediate, “Why are we arguing? Aren’t we all just trying to find a way to clear the game?”

Tan Chen, who had been silent until now, spoke with a cold detachment, “Even if they are just a string of data, Zhang An is right. They might be data, but we aren't. I can't get past this moral obstacle, nor do I believe that imitating these teacher NPCs is the correct method. If imitation was the solution, wouldn't these teachers have copied it already?”

After she spoke, a considerable number of players chimed in agreement.

"Yeah, I have no problem killing them in action, but asking me to insult them for no reason at all, I just can't do it."

"I can't do it either."

"The clearance condition for this level is an average score of 562 points. We haven't even experienced a major examination yet, isn't it too early to think about this?"

"Yes, yes, let's discuss it after the first exam!"

The office once again returned to a peaceful silence.

The players slowly retreated to their seats, each with thoughtful expressions.

Tan Chen exchanged a glance with Xu Xiuxiu.

Xu Xiuxiu winked at her, forming the words with her lips, "Anyway, I'm quite happy."

Tan Chen paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

.

It must be said that Jie Fangcheng's efforts to reform the teaching atmosphere were remarkably successful. After making a round in the senior second year section, all the teachers were conscientiously teaching without harassing the weaker students anymore.

However, when Jie Fangcheng passed by the windows, a few braver students turned their heads to sneak a peek, their eyes wide with astonishment as they looked at him.

Jie Fangcheng was in a good mood and, too lazy to return to the office, he casually hummed a tune on his way to the computer room.

The computer room was locked— but this wasn't an obstacle for Manager Jie. With a gentle tap, the door swung open.

Jie Fangcheng found his familiar computer and indulged in a brief game of Solitaire. He was considering bringing up the subject of a computer upgrade with Director Wei during his next visit, hoping that the young man wouldn't refuse.

The last class in the afternoon was Chinese. Only when it was nearly time to start the class did Jie Fangcheng leisurely emerge from the computer room. He went to the office to grab his teaching materials, picked up his water cup, and walked to his class as if nothing had happened, ready to assume his role as the Chinese teacher.

This time, as he entered, the expressions of the students seemed to be much more animated than before.

The students in the last row were particularly focused on him, their eyes burning with intensity, making Manager Jie feel somewhat shy.

“Ahem, you all might have witnessed or heard about what happened today,” said Jie Fangcheng, scratching his head, “In any case, just give the exams your best shot. Don't worry if you don't do well, I won't treat you like those other teachers do.”

The students remained silent. Teacher Jie smiled, “Alright, let’s start the class.”

.

By the time evening study session rolled around, the previously absent Director Wei finally reappeared.

His leg injury had healed, and he first went to the mathematics office to have a chat with his close friend.

Zhang An seemed the same as usual. Even when Director Wei inquired about how someone had taught their Chinese class today, Zhang An gave an honest answer.

After listening, Director Wei let out a cold chuckle.

"Without strict discipline, these students are going to become completely unmanageable! Just wait and see, that Teacher Jie will soon realize how wrong he is! The school implemented all these rules and regulations precisely for the students' academic performance! With his approach, the students' grades will start slipping in no time!”

As if to confirm his statement, the first major exam arrived just as Manager Jie was making noteworthy progress in improving the school atmosphere.

Jie Fangcheng even considered whether to bring the exam papers over in advance for everyone to preview.

But the monthly exam papers were generated on the same day, and there was no need for teacher supervision; students would conscientiously only refer to their own papers during the exam.

The exam scores didn't require teacher grading; the students' scores were released by the evening of the examination day.

Glancing at the score sheets in their hands, the players exchanged uneasy looks.

Inside the mathematics office, Tong Xinxin was the first to speak, her face grim: "During the classroom quizzes, our class averaged 92 points... This time it's only 86 points. The total is... 541 points."

However, judging by the expressions of the other teacher NPCs, their scores seemed unchanged, and a few even looked somewhat pleased.

The players quickly realized that the happy ones were the player-controlled Chinese teachers.

"The overall score might not have changed much, but after evaluation, it might be due to the lingering reputation of these teacher NPCs, or because we didn't adopt the methods of these NPCs, hence the students aren't afraid of us, and therefore... they awarded more points to the teacher NPCs."

Guo Siming silently stared at the papers in his hand.

His classroom quiz score was just over eighty. These past few days, he had staunchly sided with Jie Fangcheng in his teaching approach, absolutely unable to tolerate the actions of the teacher NPCs, thus he treated the students kindly.

But unexpectedly...

74 marks.

Just 74 marks.

Why?

Do these students only respond to the methods used by the teacher NPCs?

Unintentionally, Guo Siming's gaze drifted sideways, landing on the student score sheet in Zhang An's hands.

But Zhang An was just flipping through nonchalantly, leading Guo Siming to doubt whether he had seen correctly.

"Zhang An, what were your students' scores?"

He asked in such a manner.

Zhang An only responded with "not much," then fell silent.

It wasn't until that evening, when all the class scores were released, that Guo Siming discovered what "not much" really amounted to.

Rank 1.

The highest score in Grade 11 Mathematics school-wide.

Guo Siming stared at him in astonishment: "How did you manage this?? Did... did you use that method??"

Just yesterday at lunch, this man had voiced such sentiments. Could it be that those words were just for show?

Zhang An shook his head, offering no explanation.

But if someone had been attentive from his very first math class, they would realize that Zhang An had indeed never uttered any excessive remarks to the students.

He taught the class and, just like the school's teacher NPCs, could recite almost word for word from the teaching materials.

However, during the first classroom quiz, what Teacher Zhang told the students was: the final score would be the sum of this quiz score and the major exam score divided by two.

Here lay the proper utilization of that average score of 19.

The students had scored only nineteen in the previous test, so naturally, they put forth their utmost efforts this time, allocating almost all available points to mathematics.

They were quite fearful of this mathematics teacher. Though he appeared gentle, his eyes remained emotionless even when he smiled.

Zhang An glanced once more at the score sheet posted on the notice board, his gaze inadvertently falling on the scores of a class ranked quite low.

Class 7.

Average score in Chinese... zero.

He let out a soft laugh, then turned around, initially intending to head to the third floor.

But as he passed by the computer room, he halted in his tracks, then extended his hand to push the door open.

As expected, a computer was dimly lit.

Jie Fangcheng was now playing Minesweeper; he greeted Zhang An as he entered.

"Teacher Zhang, here to consult some references again?"

His address for Zhang An had reverted to the third tone.

Zhang An adjusted his glasses: "No, I came to find you."

"Oh?"

Just as the current game of Minesweeper came to an end, Jie Fangcheng looked up.

Zhang An asked, "Did you check the notice board?"

"No. What are the scores of my class?"

"A total of 497, and the average score in Chinese... zero."

"Oh." Jie Fangcheng nodded, seemingly unfazed by the news.

Zhang An asked, "You stood up against the teachers who were treating them poorly, yet these students show no appreciation, opting instead to allocate their points to other subjects. Doesn't this make you angry?"

Jie Fangcheng shook his head.

"To you, this might be a game, but for them, it isn't."

Being humiliated for poor performance, even facing the risk of death, it's only natural for these students to allot more of their precious points to subjects they perceive as more threatening.

Zhang An found a chair to sit down, nodding from two rows of computers away.

"As expected."

"What?" Jie Fangcheng had already started a new game.

Zhang An continued, "These NPCs are not generated by the game. They must have once been, like us... like me, living humans, right?"

Jie Fangcheng froze momentarily.

He abruptly lifted his head.

Zhang An's voice was steady, as if he had anticipated this revelation all along.

"I had originally hypothesized that this game was the product of some... extraterrestrial high technology. Hence each NPC seems vividly alive, just like real living humans. This game is rather impressive; no two NPCs are alike. Different NPCs respond differently to the same situation. I've even heard that even when tackling the same instance with identical strategies, outcomes might vary. If it were truly a technological creation, it would have to be from a civilization several levels above that of Earth. But my perspective changed once I reached the game's lobby."

"An extremely primitive game interface, reminiscent of chat software from decades ago. The exterior of the buildings, as long as they were system-produced, were simply copy-pasted. The central screen in the lobby was touch-sensitive, yes, but it offered a... rather subpar tactile experience."

#VALUE! Zhang An chuckled, "If it were a high-level civilization, such shabbiness in the lobby would be inconceivable. So, I surmise that these NPCs were once, just like the players, living humans. But I've grown curious about where these individuals originated from. Consequently, I explored the history of this game. Someone informed me that in the initial stages, the game had only a few instances. As the number of players increased, so did the instances. This more or less confirmed my suspicion that some of the NPCs in the instances are derived from deceased players. Moreover, it's odd that the game seems reluctant to let players survive. The abilities of the NPCs in the instances surpass even the strongest players, yet at the same time, the game seems to want players to survive, creating numerous rules to restrain NPCs, providing players with opportunities for survival. So, I started wondering..."

"Doesn't it seem like two forces are contending within this game? My suspicions were largely confirmed when I encountered you, Manager Jie."

Jie Fangcheng was stupefied, "What have you confirmed?"

"Has there been an incident in the Underworld?"

Unable to restrain himself, Jie Fangcheng exclaimed, "Damn!"

"How did you know?"

To Zhang An, it had already become glaringly obvious.

At first glance, Jie Fangcheng appears to disregard the rules of the instances altogether, yet the biggest leverage any player who has successfully cleared multiple instances relies upon is, in fact, "adhering to the rules to avoid being killed by NPCs".

The function of the rules is to protect the players.

The more instances a player clears, the more ingrained the adherence to the rules becomes.

However, Jie Fangcheng seems to bypass this, possessing a strength surpassing many seasoned players.

This indicates that his power isn't garnered from clearing game levels, but is inherent to him.

Due to his professional background, Zhang An has encountered individuals of this kind before.

Monks, Taoist priests... those belonging to the special group at the pinnacle of the pyramid might potentially possess this kind of power.

Yet it shouldn't be; a common trait among these individuals is viewing monsters as mortal enemies, deriving a certain satisfaction only from their complete annihilation.

The player before him, named Jie Fangcheng, differs from them, as the gaze he directs at NPCs closely resembles that which he directs at other players.

Combining this with the knowledge he had previously acquired, it becomes quite apparent where this person comes from.

Zhang An adjusted his glasses and extended a hand towards him.

"Allow me to introduce myself formally, I am Zhang Daoan, a professor at D University's School of Buddhist Studies, teaching... Marxist Philosophy."