Chapter 82

Chapter 82

The NPCs entered, the vibrating steel bars swaying up and down.

As they walked and chatted, they didn’t notice two figures darting past their feet and quickly hiding in an unoccupied cubicle where no NPCs were working.

"Thank you." After confirming that they were safe for the moment, the student thanked Ji Xinghai. Her voice was very soft and hoarse, and she took another deep breath to pull herself out of the despair of waiting to die.

Disassembled into pieces and transformed into a completely plastic appearance, even if seen by her own kind, they wouldn't think she was still alive. She had thought she was doomed.

"Hmm, this is the NPC office. Be careful from here on."

Ji Xinghai nodded, signaling the matter was closed, and turned to leave.

Saving the student was just a side effect; when he wasn’t hungry, he would casually pick up an egg rolling off the table—a habit inherited from his memories.

The word ‘save’ felt too heavy; he wasn’t a charitable soul.

He had been merely curious about what would happen if disassembled limbs reassembled themselves. Now that he had seen the result, he was satisfied. What else mattered?

This situation left both the rescued student and her live-stream audience at a loss.

Was saving someone such a trivial matter?

Seeing that Ji Xinghai truly didn’t care, the initially nervous student relaxed. She scratched her head awkwardly and looked closely at his East Asian face beneath the thick greasepaint: "Are you from the Y Continent? Are you Ji Xinghai?"

An Easterner, young, handsome, powerful, and a gentleman—she could only think of one person in this game.

Recognized, Ji Xinghai did not deny it: "This place isn’t safe."

"This is for you, thank you for saving me. I’m Rosa, a student from L Country. If you need anything, find me."

Ji Xinghai looked at the special candy in his hand. When he looked up again, the Barbie doll-like student had already walked far away—her plastic body and high heels did not hinder her swift movements on the steel bars.

This was the typical interaction among students, maintaining a balance between distance and closeness, between interest and emotion.

His fingers closed, and he pocketed the special candy.

'Bubble Roll': Special functional gum, a one-time use item. It allows you to shrink or enlarge your body as long as the sweetness lasts, which can last up to 30 minutes.

In this instance, it was a useful item.

Ji Xinghai’s progress was smooth. Besides obtaining much information and accidentally saving another student, he had successfully infiltrated the enemy camp. Meanwhile, the Black Tower Command was also busy.

From the time Ji Xinghai entered the main building of the school until he moved with the NPCs to the office, the staff recorded all the footage and meticulously analyzed each frame, creating a 3D model in record time.

Students inside the instance didn’t need to push the main storyline, but they were quite curious about the situation within.

The personal residences of the dolls had already been thoroughly explored by the students inside, yielding limited information.

"According to our Brother Hai, it looks like they didn’t spend much on this, so it’s definitely not the focus," joked a staff member, pointing at the 3D model created by the engineers working overtime.

"Where the budget goes, love follows. The school is absolutely the focus of this instance."

The analysis group of the Black Tower was also gathered around the central table, using data to reconstruct the 'school model.' From the classrooms to the central cylinder and the pipes in the sky, everything was scaled down. They were speculating on how this peculiar structure might appear and function in the inner world.

What was the intrinsic relationship between the dolls and the controllers?

"Have you heard of the Oedipus complex?" the leader of the analysis group suddenly looked up, having been pondering the prototype of the instance.

"In ancient Western culture, the Oedipus complex typically occurs in boys, representing a potential ruler challenging the existing authority. Success means ‘growth’ and ‘inheritance.’ In modern society, the Oedipus complex can refer to overthrowing authority, the controller, to achieve true independence and growth."

The leader’s speech quickened:

"For children, students are dolls.

"For the education system, children are dolls.

"For the entire society, everyone is a doll, and only by overthrowing the upper layer of control can one gain liberation.

"However, this overthrow is not a simple physical ‘killing’ but more likely another form of ‘killing.’ Otherwise, the previous students wouldn’t have turned into dolls and lost their mental values."

The leader’s words were profound, broadening the theme.

From the love-hate relationship between humans and dolls, they expanded their thoughts to the educational factory and societal waste. The only certainty was that the Hungry Academy had chosen an extremely extreme background for the students, leading to this twisted school and its joy-killing system.

The minister listened to the ongoing discussion of the analysis group without speaking, instead watching the clown on the big screen.

He had always believed that Ji Xinghai was an unexpected arrival in JiuZhou, a temporary cheat, and wondered about the soul within that body, from what dangerous world and with what thrilling experiences.

Could an outsider grasp the distinctly Y Continent-themed instance so quickly?

From the first instance, he had exhibited a ‘JiuZhou essence,’ familiar with the natural and cultural environment of JiuZhou, thinking and acting with a JiuZhou mindset.

It was the taste of a ‘native,’ making the audience completely unaware that his soul might come from elsewhere. They naturally categorized Ji Xinghai as one of their own, leading to the official acceptance of the rumor that ‘Ji Xinghai is a government-designated student.’

Thinking of this, the minister recalled another matter.

From the first instance, Ji Xinghai had accepted the name ‘Ji Xinghai’ without any hesitation. A normal person would not treat a completely unfamiliar alias so casually.

As if he really was ‘Ji Xinghai.’

Outside the instance, the perceptive minister smoked to calm the surging tide in his heart, while inside, Ji Xinghai quietly listened to the sounds in the office.

The NPCs were complaining. It turned out that they hadn't gone out due to an emergency but rather for a sudden meeting.

A meeting...

Do they really need to hold a meeting during their break? That's a bit too realistic.

"Does the recent increase in pollutants have anything to do with us? It's the guards at the entrance who failed to check properly, allowing those kids to bring so many prohibited items inside. At this rate, I doubt tomorrow's thorough search will yield any results."

"Yeah, it's the same every year. If they want to do something, they should go after the unscrupulous vendors who sell these prohibited items. What's the point of coming after us?"

Perhaps it was because it was their break time, or perhaps everyone had some pent-up emotions about meetings, but the NPC teachers were much more active than before. They were actually chatting and venting.

Ji Xinghai sat on a steel bar, listening intently.

"Those people are truly resourceful. Despite such strict inspections, they still manage to smuggle prohibited items. I wonder how they even conduct transactions."

"Maybe they're adults who got contaminated and mixed in with the children. They're just useless trash that only causes minor nuisances without causing major disruptions." The three-legged mechanical body said rather harshly.

The NPC teacher with a mountain-shaped head remained silent, quietly listening to his colleagues' discussion.

"They might not want to be like this. After getting contaminated, they can only live in hiding. They can't do anything else besides these jobs."

"Hmph, if they can't resist even a little contamination and get assimilated, there's no need for them to exist." The three-legged mechanical body sneered. "If they just gave up those meaningless illusions that don't benefit the city, they could return to normal, but they refuse to. Can we call this being forced?"

"You have a point." The other NPCs were convinced. Pollutants weren't addictive; as long as one didn't accept them internally, they wouldn't be assimilated. Even if they did get assimilated, they could return to normal by firmly rejecting them.

In essence, getting contaminated is a choice made by those individuals.

"I suspect there are people like that among us. Otherwise, why would prohibited items keep appearing despite repeated bans?" The octopus head of the three-legged mechanical body glowed, its eyes slowly scanning the surroundings.

*Clap.* An NPC teacher's notebook fell to the ground but luckily got stuck between the steel bars.

Red scrambled code flashed across its hood, but since it was blocked by a partition, no one saw it.

The NPC teacher bent down to retrieve the notebook but noticed a standing prohibited item next to it.

"!"

*Shh, I know you're contaminated.* A piece of paper larger than the prohibited item appeared on the notebook, and the tiny prohibited item winked at it: If you don't want to die together, consider your options!

The NPC teacher: ...

The audience watching from their screens, nearly screaming in shock: ...

Good grief, he's even threatening the NPCs now.

After a brief silence, the NPC teacher picked up the notebook and continued sitting there, pretending nothing happened.

A long time passed, and the second half of the class began. As the other teachers prepared to leave, the NPC teacher said, "I have something to take care of, so I'll be a bit late. You guys go ahead."

The other NPCs didn't ask what it was and soon left, leaving the NPC teacher alone. Ji Xinghai emerged from the corner, quickly climbed onto the table, and faced the NPC teacher.

"What do you want?"

The NPC teacher, facing the palm-sized clown doll, seemed to be in a position of absolute strength. However, seeing the clown doll playing with a lollipop, it was clear that the situation was reversed. The NPC teacher was the one being threatened and controlled.

Contaminated adults are anomalies in this world, outcasts. Once discovered, they would lose everything and become vermin in the sewers—something it absolutely didn't want. So it chose to pretend.

This was why Ji Xinghai had revealed himself.

No matter the species, once a weakness is found, it becomes a valuable bargaining chip. And what they wanted to trade was information.

"Relax, sit down and rest. I mean you no harm," Ji Xinghai said. "What good would it do me to expose your secret? Do you think I want to die along with you? I'm not that desperate."

The NPC teacher's emotions didn't immediately calm down. Anyone whose fatal weakness is exposed would struggle to remain composed. But Ji Xinghai wasn't wrong; given his status as a prohibited item, he wouldn't easily reveal its secret.

So the NPC teacher eventually sat down.

"I thought toys coming to life was just a child's innocent fantasy."

"Is it? How unfortunate. Perhaps it's real, but they just can't feel the life in their toys anymore when they grow up." The clown doll smiled in response.

This conversation somewhat eased the tension between them.

"In fact, I don't quite agree with the term 'pollutants.' Is happiness something shameful? If living doesn't involve enjoying happiness, then what's the difference between humans and tables, chairs, or computers? They're all lifeless objects. But humans..."

Ji Xinghai tapped his head with a smile: "Have emotions. Even if parts of their brain are removed or replaced, the emotions remain."

Scrambled code appeared on the NPC teacher's hood as it sat motionless.

"Think about it. When a child is born, is this how the world expects them to grow up?"

He shrugged and changed his tone: "Child, I have no expectations for your future, your health, or your life. I won't wish you health and happiness. You just need to live according to the world's demands, becoming a tool or fuel to prolong the lifespan of this city, which has no real value but exists nonetheless.

"As for your life, dear, it means nothing."

Ji Xinghai saw the frantic scrambled code on the NPC's hood, reflecting its current state of mind.

From the earlier conversation, it was clear that merely coming into contact with pollutants wouldn't immediately cause contamination. To become a toy, one needed to go through an "assimilation" process.

This "assimilation" likely refers to "feeling happiness."

Therefore, the NPC teacher can feel happiness, and its beliefs have already changed.

Therefore, it carries with it a photo of its childhood toy, showing itself hugging the toy happily. Even though it knows this is dangerous, it still keeps it close at all times.

However, it also fears the rules of this world. It doesn’t want to become an outcast, living a life of exclusion, so it chooses to hide itself.

Ji Xinghai won’t force it to face the cruelty of the world, but he needs its cooperation.

"Being locked in that hood every day must be suffocating, right?"

The NPC teacher’s electronic expression suddenly shifts, almost into a shape of shock. "What are you going to do?"

"Treating people as expendable objects and viewing happiness as ‘pollution’—the mistake isn’t yours, nor those who haven’t opened their eyes to the world. The error lies in this world that has gone to extremes, in the group that sets these rules."

"It’s not my fault…" it mutters to itself.

"If I give you a chance now, would you like to try another kind of life? A life where you can laugh, cry, and like anything as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else.

"Do you want to?"