Chapter 193: The Genius Kindergarten (Part 6)

Chapter 193: The Genius Kindergarten (Part 6)

Jie Fangcheng was truly irate.

He was already unimpressed with the players in this game, following Zhang Dao'an's death. Now, he had even been rudely awakened from his sleep.

May it end swiftly.

Holding a wooden stick almost as tall as himself, Jie Fangcheng was sorely tempted to clobber everyone in the room—these human and spectral irritants—so he could cease being bothered by their mere presence.

Yet, it was morality that restrained him.

He couldn’t see the names of these people anymore. Perhaps because he was no longer in his own world, he also could not discern their scents. Consequently, he could not determine who might actually deserve a beating.

Like the spectral classmate who had been peeping in the restroom; despite his voyeuristic tendencies, Jie Fangcheng had held back from dispatching him.

Even when swatting away the ghostly child earlier, he had still exercised restraint.

The ejected ghostly child splatted against a wall and quickly slid down. Once on the floor, it shook its head, evidently disoriented, and looked up.

Not far away stood the man who had just swatted him away, his expression unreadable but his grip on the stick noticeably tighter.

"If you're going to fight, take it outside! What's the point of being in a resting room if you're not going to rest?!"

Jie Fangcheng had no interest in the quarrels and vendettas between players and NPCs. Through the grueling trials of the game "Don't Respond," he had started to grasp the essence of such games.

While others relied on intelligence and clues to clear levels, both of which were not his strong suits, he excelled in brute force.

What was the objective of this instance again?

To become an obedient child approved by parents?

How difficult could it be to gain an NPC's approval? Just ask the NPCs in "Don't Respond," who would dare not to recognize Jie Fangcheng?

As for players and NPCs, Jie Fangcheng found little distinction between them; he disliked both equally.

Though, for now, the ghosts were a greater nuisance—spying, attacking, and most of all, causing a ruckus that disrupted his sleep.

If you're going to fight, go outside! Can't you see someone is trying to sleep here?!

It's a rest room for resting, after all. These little ghosts seriously lack awareness!

The ghost he had just swatted away was utterly confused. It felt as if the guy with the stick across from him was getting angrier by the second, nearly snapping the stick in two.

？？？

Wait a minute... who was it that got hit by a stick out of the blue? Something seems really off here.

The ghost thought as much, then hesitantly rose to its feet and looked at Jie Fangcheng, lingering indecisively.

Clearly recognizing Jie Fangcheng's overwhelming prowess, the little ghost hesitated for a moment before deciding not to charge at him. Reluctantly, it took two steps back, turned around, and exited through the door to the second rest room.

Dodged a bullet!

Zhou Yian breathed a sigh of relief.

With a complex expression, he looked at Jie Fangcheng, about to say something, when he saw the man place his stick down. Scanning the room, he picked the most remote bed—still untouched by dust and wood shards—and lay down.

Pulling up the kindergarten's small blanket over him, he closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep as if nothing had happened.

The serene scene on the bed contrasted sharply with the surrounding, battlefield-like ruins. Zhou Yian: "..."

This guy... this guy is something else.

Zhou Yian wanted to say something, but it was obvious that the other man had no interest in collaborating with the players to complete the mission.

Zhou Yian was quick on the uptake; he understood why the other man could act so brazenly.

He had the strength! With just a wooden stick he had picked up casually, he had sent the ghost child flying. Who knows what other formidable items or abilities he might have? If it were Zhou Yian, he too would be sleeping soundly right now. Who cares about hide-and-seek?

Such casual indifference wasn't something an average player could pull off.

Zhou Yian looked at Jie Fangcheng with a touch of envy.

Though he was no slouch in the strength department, Zhou Yian doubted he could take on the "parents" even if he could handle the ghost children.

Moreover, the recent incident reminded him that while he had his strengths, his weaknesses were equally crippling.

His offensive measures required time to activate, and he wasn't some overpowered character with both magic and physical attributes. If an NPC got too close, he'd be at a severe disadvantage. For example, after the fall he just took, his insides felt like they had been rearranged and were now causing excruciating pain.

Most spells for dark mages were offensive; they lacked defensive or healing spells. That fall had left Zhou Yian incapacitated for a considerable amount of time.

He needed teammates!

With that in mind, Zhou Yian's gaze shifted back to Jie Fangcheng, who was lying on the bed.

If talking about teammates, this guy would undoubtedly be the best choice; his strength was just too terrifying.

However, he probably didn't need a teammate who would only hold him back.

Zhou Yian sat on the ground, taking his time to recover. Only when the pain had significantly diminished did he slowly rise to his feet.

At that moment, Zhou Yian, who had been considering guarding against other players, had a change of thought.

He should really collaborate with the other players instead of fighting alone.

Where were the other players now?

Zhou Yian was the only one left in the first rest room; the other three civilian players had moved to other rest rooms.

Regaining his composure, Zhou Yian drew out a wand embedded with a blood-red gem. Closing his eyes, he chanted a string of incantations. The wand emitted a luminescent red glow.

After the red light dissipated, two wraith knights appeared around him.

Leading skeletal horses, the wraith knights knelt on one knee.

"What are your orders, my master?"

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Yian could summon up to five wraith knights. However, his current injuries, coupled with his transformation into a five- or six-year-old child, adversely affected his capabilities.

The wraith knights would adapt their behavior according to their master's condition. If the summoned beings surpassed the strength of the summoner, there was a risk of backlash.

Given Zhou Yian's present strength, summoning two knights was the safest option.

He extended his hand, and one of the wraith knights respectfully lifted him onto the skeletal horse.

Seated in the wraith knight's arms, Zhou Yian pointed towards the door of the rest room.

Though he lacked expertise in spatial magic, as a dark mage, Zhou Yian possessed unique abilities to locate individuals.

A swarm of beetles emanating the scent of decaying leaves crawled out from his fingertips, forming a guiding line.

"Let's go; we have people to find."

As the door to the rest room swung open, the wraith knights and their young master vanished within the confines of the first rest room.

The rest room grew silent.

After a short while, Jie Fangcheng, who had been lying on the bed, twitched his ears slightly.

His eyes remained closed; initially, he appeared disinterested.

However, two or three seconds later, Jie Fangcheng sat up.

A sigh resonated within the rest room.

.

Third Rest Room.

Liu Feiyao clutched her abdomen, her mouth wide open as she took several rapid, soundless breaths. Her damp bangs clung to her forehead.

She was hiding between two discarded sinks, cautiously peeking out one eye.

The third rest room was a long-abandoned laboratory filled with various odds and ends.

After fleeing the second rest room, Liu Feiyao immediately found a new hiding spot within the third.

Underneath the dilapidated lab bench was a narrow cabinet filled with medical journals and the like. Liu Feiyao crawled inside, using these publications to conceal herself.

Struggling to calm her wildly racing heart, she fervently tried to recall the tips she had read about completing this particular mission.

Liu Feiyao was not like Zhan Xiaoming, who was born into the game world. His parents were veteran players. Although they eventually died in a mission, Zhan Xiaoming still had an uncle.

Even though this was his first mission, he had experienced numerous simulated runs prior to it.

His uncle even meticulously chose for him a Giant bloodline, ranked 370th in the bloodline hierarchy, to enhance his strength. He also provided him with various useful items for his current level.

Zhan Xiaoming had a multitude of fallback plans in his system inventory. In moments of panic, he had the luxury of retreat; facing the "parents" wouldn't be entirely without hope.

But Liu Feiyao didn't have such options; she entered the game from another smaller world.

Unlike Zhou Yian, who hailed from a magical world and already possessed great strength and virtually all the heritages from his home, Liu Feiyao was different.

Her world was a technologically backward one, likely an E-ranked world by system standards, where even automobiles hadn't been invented.

That world had no spiritual energy or magic. Moreover, it was backward, barbaric, and cruel. Liu Feiyao, a low-status commoner girl, lived a life worse than the pets of the nobility.

Driven to the brink in her original world, she, a physically weak girl, had no choice but to take up arms. After killing over a dozen people, she was captured by the nobility and nearly tortured to death. Just when she was about to die, a ray of white light appeared.

A brand-new world unfolded before Liu Feiyao's eyes.

It was said to be brutal, with missions teeming with monsters capable of tearing players apart.

Outside of missions, players plotted against each other. Murders for items happened frequently. There was no law against killing; power was the only measure.

Some high-level players in certain districts treated lower-level players as pets, like the top player in Zone C, "Tianzi," who kept many beautiful elven players. He even publicly sought pure-blooded elves to mate with his "beloved pets" and produce more beautiful elves.

Of course, such behavior had been criticized before, but all who criticized "Tianzi" ended up dead.

In "Three Thousand Worlds," there are no rules aside from the absolute fairness of the system contract. Among players, might makes right.

Is it cruel?

— Not at all.

Liu Feiyao was extraordinarily grateful for this game. Compared to her predetermined life in her original, filthy, and cruel world, everything here was so fair and beautiful.

Through her efforts, she could attain anything she desired. By risking her life, she at least had some control over her future.

Upon entering the game, Liu Feiyao devoted herself tirelessly to absorbing knowledge.

New players were allowed a month's free stay at the player base, complete with free room and board. After that, staying at the base incurred a costly daily fee.

However, completing a mission waived the fee for seven days, making many players opt for a seven-day mission cycle.

Liu Feiyao took advantage of this one-month "new player protection period" to extensively browse the system's forum, memorizing mission tips and tricks.

After doing all this, she used her one chance at a simulated mission— a benefit provided by "Three Thousand Worlds." The system offered new players a single free simulated mission run.

Any subsequent simulations would cost money.

Liu Feiyao's mission simulation ranking was a C-level.

The ranking wasn't high, but for Liu Feiyao, who didn't even know what a car was prior to this, reaching this point was already the result of her relentless efforts.

So, when Zhan Xiaoming left the resting room out of fear, seeking sanctuary elsewhere, the option of "leaving the resting room" didn't even exist in Liu Feiyao's considerations.

According to the collective experience of players, the chances of survival within the rules far outweigh those when the rules are violated.

In other words, even if her odds in the resting room were as low as one in ten, there was still that "one" chance for life.

Breaking the rules and leaving the room would mean certain death for a player like Liu Feiyao, who started with nothing.

She was scared too, and it was her first encounter with a ghost, but Liu Feiyao still persevered.

Under intense mental focus, her hearing seemed to be greatly amplified.

Hidden in the dim, cramped cabinet, Liu Feiyao heard the sound of the resting room's door opening.

Following a faint door-opening noise came some erratic footsteps; it seemed the ghost was not adept at walking.

Liu Feiyao further receded into the depths of the cabinet.

In the pitch-dark cabinet, she could almost hear her own heartbeat.

Silence.

The surrounding quiet was terrifying, making time seem to pass incredibly slowly.

The footsteps paused for a moment, resumed, then paused again, but never came the sound of the cabinet door being opened and searched.

Liu Feiyao paused and quickly realized: since it was a game of hide and seek, only the "ghost" could seek the commoners.

Those who didn't draw the ghost token, even if they were actual ghosts, had no right to open cabinets in this game.

Was this an hidden rule?

Her mind raced.

Just then, the footsteps slowly neared the lab table where Liu Feiyao was hiding.

The footsteps stopped.

Liu Feiyao's heart pounded violently, almost leaping out of her chest.

"Thump, thump, thump."

A child's clear voice came from outside.

He was mimicking the sound of her beating heart!

Liu Feiyao silently opened her mouth wide. Her pupils contracted at that moment, almost scared to death by the sound. But she pinched herself sharply, swallowing a mouthful of saliva tinged with the taste of blood.

Can't be afraid! Fear is defeat!!

As if heeding her mental command, her wildly beating heart was gradually, forcefully suppressed.

Liu Feiyao was soaked through, but the rhythm of her heart was indeed slowly steadying.

She had been through the worst forms of torture. Could this ghost truly be more terrifying than the people she faced before?

The childlike ghost outside emitted a surprised "Eh," its voice close to the cabinet door as if it were pressing an ear against it, straining to hear sounds from within.

"Wow, you're really good," exclaimed the ghost child, followed by a somewhat disappointed tone, "What should I do? I can't go in if you won't come out."

A winning gamble?

Despite what the ghost child at the door said, Liu Feiyao's vigilance only heightened.

Soon enough, she understood the meaning behind the ghost child's words.

"Then I have no choice but to... open the cabinet door."

！！！

Liu Feiyao bit her lip hard. One hand was positioned at the cabinet door, ready to resist the ghost child's potential assault.

But at that moment, she heard the sound of counting emanating from the door of the cabinet.

"One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven..."

Liu Feiyao was briefly puzzled, but quickly caught on.

Hide and seek!

If this was a game of hide and seek, the "ghost" had to give the "commoner" players time to hide before the hunting could begin.

To look for her in the cabinet, the ghost child had to count down.

Alternatively, this might be a deceptive trick by the ghost child, just to get her to open the door. At this moment, Liu Feiyao could only trust her instincts.

Run!

"Ninety, eighty-nine, eighty-seven..."

Liu Feiyao burst through the cabinet door. The ghost child was beside the lab table, eyes closed, still counting.

Upon hearing the sound, the ghost child turned its head, eyes still closed.

A correct gamble!

Liu Feiyao felt a moment of relief. She quickly turned and her first instinct was to head back to the second resting room.

The ghost child, swollen from the waist down, was the same one she had seen in the second resting room.

If he's here now, could it mean that the second rest area might be safe?

Just as Liu Feiyao turned, the arm of the ghost child with closed eyes elongated unnaturally, as if broken and then straightened.

The arm lunged at Liu Feiyao in a swift motion.

In the nick of time, Liu Feiyao sidestepped, narrowly evading the blow.

However, the ghostly hand grazed her abdomen, slicing her flesh open. Strangely enough, no blood oozed from the wound—only torn skin was visible.

Liu Feiyao let out a stifled groan but ignored both the specter behind her and her own injury, scrambling to put distance between herself and the ghost child.

"Eighty-three, eighty-two, eighty-one..."

In the room, as quiet as a graveyard, the voice of the ghost child remained steady.

Gritting her teeth, Liu Feiyao crawled almost to the door of the rest area.

Then, she twisted the doorknob—

It won't budge!

An experienced player would have various lock-picking skills.

But Liu Feiyao didn't.

Finding the doorknob immovable, Liu Feiyao resorted to ramming the door several times.

The door was both thick and heavy. Her child-sized body felt as if it was tearing the wound even more when she bumped against it.

"Forty-one, forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight..."

Liu Feiyao took a deep breath, swiftly calming herself.

Her mind raced at this critical moment.

The ghost child's previous attack confirmed that hiding in a cabinet could trigger a game of hide-and-seek.

But if she were found outside the cabinet, she'd be immediately assaulted.

They were already in the hide-and-seek stage. If she hid in a cabinet again, the ghost child would be allowed to open it upon discovery. And in such confined quarters, Liu Feiyao had zero chances of winning.

She had to take a gamble!

Slipping off her shoes, she took two steps towards the ghost child.

The ghost child, eyes still closed, remained oblivious, continuing to count down.

"Thirty-two, thirty-one, thirty..."

Liu Feiyao's eyes darted around the room, quickly locating her target.

The lab was filled not just with various chemicals, but also an assortment of lab equipment.

Items like test tubes, microscopes... and a metal distillation rack.

Liu Feiyao lunged for it, using all her strength to pick up the distillation rack.

The ghost child heard the noise and displayed a smug grin on his face, as if he was sure of his impending triumph over his prey.

The next moment, the metal distillation rack came crashing down on his swollen legs.

"Ahhhhhh!" The ghost child let out a piercing scream, his elongated arms flailing in the air as he angrily tried to seize the one who had attacked him.

Liu Feiyao was just an ordinary person; when struck by the arm, she was sent flying, crashing into a lab table and toppling a pile of glassware before coming to a stop.

Landing on the floor and seeing stars, Liu Feiyao knew this wasn't the time to rest.

She hadn't aimed for the ghost child's head, unsure if she could effectively knock him out.

But the ghost child was slow and had an issue with his legs. If she could injure them, perhaps she could outrun him.

And it seemed like she had succeeded!

Taking advantage of the ghost child's furious howling, Liu Feiyao mustered her last bit of strength to hide behind a cluttered lab table.

In those brief seconds, she had already mapped out an optimal escape route in her mind.

Liu Feiyao needed to buy time.

She had lost all sense of time and had no idea what hour it was, but the kindergarten was bound to start the afternoon session.

If she could just make it to two o'clock, surely the ghost child wouldn't be able to kill her during class time, right?

She had to hold on until then, no matter what!

"Four, three, two, one... Come out!!!"

The game of hide-and-seek had begun.

At that moment, Liu Feiyao's nerves tightened, her brain seeming to overclock itself—painful, yet incredibly clear.

Listen carefully.

The sound was coming from the left; the furious ghost child had clearly lost all reason.

Take two steps to the right, move away from the lab table, and slip next to the bookshelf—this would obstruct his line of sight.

Behind the bookshelf was a platform more than half a meter high. She could loop around it when the ghost child followed her. Once she successfully maneuvered around the platform, she could return to the area filled with lab tables, which offered even more cover.

Liu Feiyao moved with precise steps, skillfully weaving around within this rest area.

The ghost child could only vaguely sense her location but was unable to pinpoint it precisely.

The abandoned lab, designed for adults, had high lab tables and sinks, which at this moment served as a maze-like barrier thwarting him.

The infuriated ghost child moved about aimlessly, as if he were chasing a cunning rabbit.

He let out frustrated roars but was unable to catch his prey.

It's working!

Liu Feiyao moved with agile steps, maintaining a fast yet cautious pace under the ghost's pursuit.

The ghost child, hobbling around with a damaged leg, was painfully slow, leaving him no choice but to vent his frustration by sweeping all the bottles and jars from the lab tables to the floor.

Shattered glass littered the ground, but Liu Feiyao paid no mind, stepping on it when she had to.

Thankfully, no matter what kind of injury she sustained, there was no bleeding.

Could it be... that this space is illusory? Only the pain is real?

After all this time, the third rest area was dead silent; not only was there no sound coming from within, but there was also no noise from other rest areas.

And besides her and the ghost child, there was no one else around... What about the ghost child?

"Splish-splash—"

There was the sound of running water.

Liu Feiyao was taken aback for a moment, then instantly realized what had happened.

The ghost child had figured out she was locating him by sound.

He turned on the tap, and the sound of running water immediately drowned out his footsteps.

Even as clear-headed and rational as Liu Feiyao was, she couldn't help but feel panicked at this moment.

She had no skills or items; if caught by the ghost child, it would mean instant death.

But she couldn't stay put!

The ghost child had been pursuing her so doggedly; he clearly had some sense of her location.

Run!

To the... to the left!

At this point, she had tried every trick and tactic she knew; there were no other options left.

Liu Feiyao chose to trust her intuition once more.

But this time, her intuition failed her—

As Liu Feiyao rushed to the edge of the platform, turning her gaze, the ghost child appeared right in front of her.

A cruel, bloodthirsty smile suddenly broke across his face, his sharp nails lunging directly at Liu Feiyao's chest.

This is it...

Hindered by inertia, Liu Feiyao, an ordinary person with no formal training, had no chance of dodging such an attack.

With a "pop," it was as if a balloon had been punctured.

Liu Feiyao's body was lifted into the air by the long arm.

In her death throes, she kicked her legs, letting out agonized wails.

Even knowing that her end was near, Liu Feiyao extended her hand, desperately gripping the arm that had pierced her chest.

She used every last ounce of strength to struggle, refusing to die so easily.

Since leaving her small world to enter this game, Liu Feiyao had harbored a single wish in her heart.

She wanted to go back.

She wanted to become an exceptional player before returning.

It wasn’t just about vengeance!

And also to... what was the word?

Ah, yes, liberate.

To liberate those who, like her, had been oppressed to the point that even their corpses were desecrated.

She wanted her world to be fair, to become like those other small worlds, and now she had such an opportunity. How could she willingly die?

But it seemed... there really was no other way.

Though no blood flowed out, Liu Feiyao could feel something ebbing away from her body.

Her vitality?

Her strength to struggle grew weaker, and in the end, her hands helplessly dropped to her sides.

Before her eyes, the ghost child revealed an excited smile; he opened his mouth, revealing inhumanly sharp teeth.

Flesh, fresh flesh...

Liu Feiyao also wanted to open her mouth.

Oh, how she longed to bite a chunk out of the very creature that was about to kill her...

But she couldn't; she had no strength left...

She really couldn't bear to let it end like this—

Hummmmm——

Boom!!!!!

Liu Feiyao felt as if she were floating—

No, it wasn't a feeling; she was indeed floating.

This was mainly because the ghost child, whose arm was embedded in her chest, seemed to have been struck by a meteorite from the sky. With a loud "boom," he was suddenly hurled away at high speed.

Not just him; the entire third rest area seemed as if it had been hit by something massive.

Liu Feiyao was at her limit. She strained to open her eyes and saw only clouds of dust swirling around her.

What happened? Was it an earthquake? Or had the entire building been demolished?

Liu Feiyao had reached her breaking point.

Her eyes barely managed to open once before quickly closing again.

In the last moment before her eyes closed, she thought she saw a figure standing in front of her.

The figure held a stick in hand, standing between her and the ghost child.

He seemed to be speaking.

"…Eat people? Huh? Killing and fighting is one thing, but eating people? I'll let you eat people, eat people, eat people… Do you still want to eat or not? In your next life..."

Next life what?

Liu Feiyao couldn't hear clearly. She had lost all her strength and fainted.

The surroundings were dim, but she heard a somewhat familiar voice muttering near her ear.

"...Is this world... any good?"

The next second, it felt as if cool fingers touched her forehead.

It seemed like a moment, yet also felt like an eternity later, Liu Feiyao felt as if she had dreamt.

The first half wasn't so great, but the latter part was warm. There was a golden light protecting her, slowly dispelling the cold sensation enveloping her body.

It was a dream that brought great comfort.

"…Liu Feiyao??"

After an indeterminate amount of time, Liu Feiyao finally opened her eyes.

In front of her, a player named Zhou Yian looked at her anxiously.

Zhou Yian was also in a sorry state, with tattered clothes and a dust-covered face.

Beside him were two skeletal horses; one carrying a one-legged undead knight and the other bearing an unconscious player.

Another player squeezed up next to Zhou Yian.

Upon seeing Liu Feiyao open her eyes, the player put away a green-glowing artifact in his hand and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness, it seems we're all still alive."

Liu Feiyao looked bewildered for a moment before snapping back to reality.

She glanced down at her chest, which appeared unscathed, as if everything that had just occurred had been an illusion.

Observing her reaction, Zhou Yian quickly clarified, "If you open a door or something similar, you'll enter a different 'Hide and Seek' space. Any injuries sustained there are illusory; you can leave the space once the game of Hide and Seek is over."

Saying this, Zhou Yian also seemed puzzled, "How did you get out?"

Liu Feiyao scanned her surroundings.

Strangely, she was now inside a locker in the changing room.

So, had the space outside changed the moment she opened the locker?

Had she concluded the Hide and Seek game, thus leaving that space and returning to the locker in the changing room?

At this point, when faced with Zhou Yian's question, Liu Feiyao felt as if she were worlds away.

She opened her mouth, taking a long pause before finally speaking.

"It seems someone saved me."

"Who?" Zhou Yian asked eagerly, "Did you see his face? Was it a teacher?"

Liu Feiyao shook her head, "I didn't get a clear look, but it didn't seem like a teacher."

"He was very powerful," Liu Feiyao hesitated for a moment, then quickly added, "and also...a very gentle person."