Volume 12: Former Boss Reduced To A Garlic-Peeling Little Sister
Actor
After all, this old man is not some kind of demon1
Shen Maomao had entered repetitive dungeons before. Quite a few, in fact.
But this was the first time she’d ever re-entered the same repetitive instance.
The instance2 was a distant memory. Back then, Ren Yue was still around, Golden Retriever was still around, Lou Jingmo was still around. Back then, she still held goodwill and hope for the world. She had no plans for the future, thinking she could just hide behind Lou Jingmo and make it to the end.
As it turned out, no one could hide behind someone else forever. And Lou Jingmo… she wasn’t omnipotent.
The classroom door was pulled open from the outside. The sagging door scraped against the floor, letting out a piercing shriek.
The sound startled Shen Maomao awake. She turned to see Director Liu standing at the door, peeking inside. “Teacher Lou, you really have a way with them,” she said. “I can’t believe these little troublemakers are actually listening to you.”
Shen Maomao slapped the roll call book down on the desk, conveniently covering the electric razor underneath. She first said to Chen Meihan, “Please, sit,” before looking up at Director Liu. “Can I help you with something?”
“I’ve brought a few teachers to observe,” Director Liu said. “They’re here to learn how you young teachers conduct your classes. They’ll listen to you this period and Teacher You next. Don’t be nervous. Just do what you were doing and pay us no mind.” She stepped aside, letting the teachers behind her file in.
The teachers had brought their own little stools. They walked silently down the aisle to the back of the room and sat in a neat row. Director Liu was the last one in, and she found a spot to sit as well.
While they weren’t looking, Shen Maomao slipped the electric razor into her item bar. She then picked up the roll call book and announced, “The next student whose name I call can share their hobbies and talents. Of course, you don’t have to.”
Shen Maomao continued down the list. The bear children3 were remarkably obedient, doing exactly as she said. About halfway through the class, they grew a little bolder. The students called on later were more talkative, and Shen Maomao even had to cut a few of them off to give the others a chance.
She managed to get through the entire class by fishing in troubled waters4 like this. The students, however, seemed quite pleased. Director Liu was also satisfied, praising her, “Xiao Lou, you’re quite impressive! What did you do to make them so well-behaved?”
Shen Maomao said, “I don’t know.”
Director Liu was silent for a moment before trying to smooth things over5. “Maybe it’s because you look so cold6. They’re probably a little scared of you, hahahaha.”
Shen Maomao had no desire to chat. She was curious about Chen Meihan’s current state and where this instance was on the timeline. So, she said to Director Liu, “Director Liu, I’d like to have a talk with one of the students.”
Director Liu reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “A talk? Excellent! Have a good one! We’ll be on our way, then. Don’t forget about the second period.”
Shen Maomao pretended to accidentally knock the roll call book off the desk, then naturally bent down to pick it up.
Director Liu retracted her hand. “Alright, we’re leaving now. Go on with your talk.” With that, she turned and led the other teachers away.
Shen Maomao looked at Chen Meihan. “Chen Meihan. Come outside with me.”
Chen Meihan got up from her seat. A little girl next to her immediately grabbed her hand, glanced at Shen Maomao, and whispered, “Don’t go! The witch is going to take you and shave your head!”
Chen Meihan smiled. “It’s fine. If she dares to shave my head, I’ll scare her to death tonight.”
“But you won’t be pretty without hair…” the girl said.
“I’m an obedient kid,” Chen Meihan replied. “The teacher said she won’t shave the heads of obedient kids. Oh, enough talk. Let go of me, I’m going to go play with the teacher.”
The little girl reluctantly let go, her face full of worry. She watched Chen Meihan walk away as if she were a moth flying into a flame.
Shen Maomao took Chen Meihan’s small hand and led her to the best place for a conversation—the side staircase.
Once there, she opened the door and saw the mountain7. “Do you know who I am?”
“Of course I remember you! Aren’t you Maomao?! How did you get so big!”
For a second, Shen Maomao had the strange feeling that Chen Meihan was an elder she hadn’t seen in years.
But now she could be sure: the instance’s current timeline was set after their last playthrough.
Meeting a familiar ghost stirred a feeling in her heart that was hard to describe, and it sparked a desire to talk. She couldn’t help but ask, “How did you recognize me?”
Chen Meihan bared her teeth. Her normal, human-like teeth instantly transformed into a row of sharp triangles, a jarring sight on her cute face. “I remembered your scent!” she said, leaning in to sniff Shen Maomao. “This is it! That’s the one!”
Shen Maomao: “…”
Chen Meihan continued, “How’s that good friend of yours?! Did you two start tearing at each other8 after you went back? And what about that cold person? Isn’t she with you?”
Shen Maomao answered truthfully. “After we went back, I cut off all contact with her. Later, by a twist of fate9, she passed away. As for that cold big sister…”
The thought of her made Shen Maomao’s heart clench, but it didn’t hurt much. It was as if she’d gone numb.
“She has other things to attend to, so it’s just me this time.”
“No way—” Chen Meihan said, disappointed. “I thought you two would get into a fight. If I’d known, I would have just eaten you in one bite back then.”
For once, Shen Maomao felt like laughing. “You think that cold big sister would have let you get away with it??”
Chen Meihan shook her head. “Fine, I admit it. Part of the reason I let you go was because I couldn’t beat her.” She sniffed Shen Maomao again. “You seem to have gotten a lot stronger, too. Is your mommy still around?”
Shen Maomao knew she was talking about Faye.
Faye had been with her all these years, but she’d never had the heart to use the card. It hadn’t even occurred to her to take it out and look at it.
But this clearly wasn’t the time to reminisce about old times. The class bell was about to ring. Shen Maomao said to her, “Don’t leave after school lets out for lunch. I have something to ask you.”
Chen Meihan shot back, “Why should I listen to you! Hehe! I’m not helping you!”
Shen Maomao took out the electric razor.
Chen Meihan fell silent for a second.
Shen Maomao took out the electric razor.
Chen Meihan really thought it was for shaving heads. Her eyes went wide. “You can’t do this! I’ll get angry!”
Shen Maomao flipped the switch. The bzzzzzz echoed in the side staircase, scaring Chen Meihan so much that she stumbled back two steps. “Wait! We can discuss this! How about we meet here at noon? Be there or be square?”
“I hope you remember,” Shen Maomao said, “the monk can run away, but the temple can’t10.”
Chen Meihan nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay, fine! You should get to class. I have to go back and scare the other teachers… And I’m telling you, you’re not allowed to shave my head! The only reason everyone in class is so obedient is because I’m keeping them in line. If you dare shave my head, I’ll make you fail your mission, and you’ll never leave this place!”
Shen Maomao took her hand and started walking back, saying, “That’s fine by me. Then you’ll never have to grow new hair again.”
“Hiss—!” Chen Meihan sucked in a breath of cold air11. She immediately swore to herself that she would find a way to get rid of this person as soon as possible.
Shen Maomao went back to get her book and came face-to-face with the math teacher who was about to take up his post immediately12. Thanks to Dingdang, however, the noseless math teacher only glanced at her before looking away. They brushed past each other and lived in peace with each other.
She headed to Class Two. Compared to Class One, the atmosphere in Class Two was strange. All the students were drowsy, looking like they could fall asleep at any moment. If she remembered correctly, the math teacher from just now had taught their first period.
From the looks of them, the math teacher had clearly used some trick to keep the little devils from acting up.
Looks like I won’t need the things I prepared.
Shen Maomao stood at the lectern13 with her book and roll call book. The students below lifted their eyelids to size her up, too drained to even mock her hairstyle.
She scanned the room, a plan forming in her mind. “My surname is Lou,” she said directly. “I’m your new Chinese language teacher. Normally, we’d use this class to get to know each other, but since you all look tired, let’s just use this period to sleep.”
The room went quiet for a moment. Every student looked up at her, seemingly shocked that she would make such a decision.
“Go on, sleep,” Shen Maomao said. “I’ll keep an eye out for the director. We can get properly acquainted next class.”
The moment she finished speaking, six students slumped over, followed by the rest in a chain reaction.
In the end, only one little boy remained awake, gritting his teeth as he glared at her. “You’re all in this together!”
“We’re not,” Shen Maomao said.
The boy ground his teeth14. “I don’t believe you! You’re all dead!”
“Oh.”
The little boy: “…”
Shen Maomao patted his head. “Sleep.”
The boy could no longer fight off his drowsiness and collapsed onto his desk, fast asleep.
Shen Maomao sat down behind the multimedia computer and quietly watched them sleep for the entire period. She didn’t leave until the bell rang.
The boy who had fallen asleep last was the first to wake up, but he only caught a glimpse of her departing back.
…
After leaving, she didn’t go straight back to the office. Instead, she went to check on her own class. Just as she’d expected, the entire class, including Chen Meihan, was in the same drowsy state.
She walked over to Chen Meihan’s desk, knocked on it, and jolted her awake. “What happened?”
Chen Meihan struggled to open her eyes. “That woman is dead… so dead!”
“What did she do?”
“I don’t know…” Chen Meihan let out a huge yawn. “She gave us candy. I think there was something in it…”
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Shen Maomao told her to go back to sleep and left the classroom.
When she got back to the office, Dingdang was still working on her lesson plan. Shen Maomao tapped on the desk, and Dingdang finally snapped out of her daze. “Whoa? Is it time for lunch already?”
“It’s only second period,” Shen Maomao said.
Tears welled up in Dingdang’s eyes. “I thought a whole lifetime had passed.”
After her moment of drama, she asked, “So, how was it? How are those little butt children15? I’m terrified of kids. When they start crying, I just want to die.”
Shen Maomao gave an objective assessment: “They’re fine.”
“I wonder if bribing them with food will work,” Dingdang said. “I was planning on getting some stuff from the general store later to hand out.”
Shen Maomao hesitated for a second. “I’d advise against it.”
Dingdang was confused. “Eh? Why not?”
Shen Maomao couldn’t be bothered to explain. “Just do as I say.”
Dingdang nodded. “Okay, okay.”
Soon, it was noon. She told Dingdang to go eat first while she went to the classroom door to intercept Chen Meihan.
The big one and the little one went behind the building. Chen Meihan climbed onto a small flower bed, trying to bring herself to Shen Maomao’s eye level. “Alright, what do you want to ask? Spit it out. I’m a very busy person.”
Shen Maomao opened the door and saw the mountain. “Where’s the exit?”
Chen Meihan: “…Do you have to be so direct? Not even a little small talk? You’ve changed. You used to like me…”
Shen Maomao just watched her quietly.
Chen Meihan immediately lost interest. She sighed. “You’ve changed so much. You’re not as fun as you used to be.”
Shen Maomao just watched her quietly.
Chen Meihan: “…”
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Chen Meihan finally caved. “It’s no use asking me. I haven’t had it easy these past few years. You know what the kid’s family was like. I don’t have the resources to help you anymore.”
“A few years ago, when the black umbrellas were rampant, I took the opportunity to become a ghost. But the era of the black umbrellas is over now, and so is my era… wuwuwu…”
“The instance has a new boss?” Shen Maomao asked.
Chen Meihan’s neck was getting tired from looking up, so she just sat down on the flower bed. “Yeah. I waited years for my chance to rise to the top. But ever since you guys left, I could feel my status here dropping. I held on for a few years, but I still failed.”
“Who’s the new boss?” Shen Maomao asked.
“I can’t. There are employee regulations. I’m not allowed to say.”
Shen Maomao seized on the key word. “Employee?”
“Yeah, isn’t that what you adults call it? We get to live here, but the price is that we have to work according to the script, and we can’t reveal too much information.”
After clearing so many dungeons over the years, this was the first time Shen Maomao had ever heard such a thing.
Chen Meihan definitely had more free will than any npc she’d ever met. Taking everything into account, Shen Maomao preferred to use the word “awakening”16 to describe an npc that possessed such a strong sense of self.
She sat down next to Chen Meihan, looking at the employee dormitory17 behind the teaching building—a building that hadn’t been there before. “You mean, you’re actually an actor?”
Chen Meihan’s eyes lit up, as if she loved the idea. “Yes! Why didn’t I think of that! I’m practically a superstar!”
“So everything that happened back then was part of the script?” Shen Maomao asked. “You were just acting according to the script?”
Chen Meihan shook her head. “If you’re talking about the first time we met… I didn’t know much back then. I could only act on instinct. If I had to describe it… maybe it’s because I was born for this?”
Shen Maomao thought she understood.
The plots of game dungeons were mostly based on reality, but in reality, when the victim died, they were dead. So the game adapted real events and created corresponding npcs. Chen Meihan had never experienced what the original owner18 went through. She was born a ghost—the Chen Meihan who had already jumped to her death. She had only inherited her memories and was acting according to a predetermined pattern. From a certain perspective, that was also a performance.
“But even though the script has changed now,” Chen Meihan added, “if I work hard, maybe I can make a comeback!”
“How?” Shen Maomao asked.
Chen Meihan pointed to the building in front of them and whispered, “There’s a black umbrella in there. You should know how powerful those things are, right? The one inside is the origin of all black umbrellas. It’s incredibly strong! If you can give that black umbrella to the new boss, you can make them to slaughter one another19. Then I’ll be the big brother20, you can be my little brother21, and we can walk sideways22 through this crappy school and no one will dare stop us. You’ll be able to come and go as you please.”
Shen Maomao stared at the small gray building in the distance. The midday sun was bright, and the second-floor windows reflected the light, making it impossible to see anything from below. She knew Chen Meihan was trying to use her, but she had her own calculations to make. “Which room is the umbrella in?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Chen Meihan said. “I don’t dare go near there.”
“What’s inside?”
“The current big brother, of course. It seems to be in its egg-laying period23, so it needs a lot of food right now. If I go over there, I’m 100% dead. But you’re different,” Chen Meihan said. “I can feel that you’ve gotten really strong. You can definitely beat it.”
Shen Maomao gazed at the second-floor windows, lost in thought.
It lays eggs. That means the thing in this instance probably isn’t a ghost, but some kind of inhuman monster. Director Liu put us in the room closest to the monster, and she left that strange, sticky liquid on Dingdang’s shoulder. It’s very likely connected to that monster.
With that thought, she stood up. “It’s about time. You should go eat.”
Chen Meihan quickly stood up too. “So, what do you think? Are you going to conquer this school with me?”
“Not interested,” Shen Maomao said.
Chen Meihan was so angry she started to stamp her feet24. “How can you be like this?! You’re dead! You’re so dead! I’m coming for you tonight! I’ll scare you to death!”
“Oh.” Shen Maomao turned and walked away, completely unfazed by her threats.
…
That afternoon, it was Dingdang’s turn to go to the battlefield25. Since Shen Maomao had nothing else to do, she decided to go with her to Class One to hold down the fort26. Dingdang was so moved she looked like she wanted to hug and kiss her, but Shen Maomao dodged aside with a single leap, a look of disgust on her face.
Dingdang didn’t mind. She just followed her into the classroom, waddling eagerly27 while hugging an electronic keyboard.
The little radish head28 Chen Meihan glared at her with wide eyes from her seat, but Shen Maomao didn’t even glance her way. She introduced Dingdang to the class, then moved a little stool to the back and sat down to watch her teach.
Dingdang set up the keyboard on the multimedia computer’s console, introduced herself again, and said she wanted to pick a student who was good at singing to be the music class representative29.
She was a little stiff at first, but as the class went on, she relaxed. She didn’t seem to need to organize her thoughts before speaking and didn’t have any verbal tics30 like “um” or “ah.” She must have had a lot of experience speaking in front of crowds.
For elementary schoolers, music class was already one of their favorite subjects. Plus, Dingdang was pretty and played the keyboard well, so she easily won over the children.
Sitting in the back, Shen Maomao watched her to speak with confidence and eloquence31, feeling a strange sense of emotion.
Dingdang isn’t like me at all, she thought. She’s much more outstanding than I am.
They left together after class. Dingdang patted her chest. “I was so nervous! I can’t believe that class went so well!!”
Shen Maomao offered some neither salty nor bland32 encouragement. “Keep it up.”
Just as they stepped out of the classroom, they ran into the art teacher, who was covered in chalk dust. The art teacher glanced at them, then quickly walked past with her head down, not saying a word.
Dingdang’s eyes widened. “Is she a newbie or a veteran player? Which class does she teach? How did she end up like that?”
Shen Maomao remembered the class schedule clearly. “Class Three.”
Dingdang started to panic. “I saw those other women come back this morning, and they didn’t look so good. Are the students in Class Three and Class Four harder to deal with? What do I do? I’m starting to freak out.”
“It’s fine,” Shen Maomao said. “You did a good job today. Just keep it up.”
“I hope so.”
…
Shen Maomao had another class that afternoon. As soon as she entered the room, a little boy sitting by the wall tattled33, “Teacher! The head teacher of Class Two gave us weird candy! After we ate it, we all fell asleep!”
A chorus of agreement rose from the other students, who were clearly unhappy with the neighboring teacher’s actions.
“I understand,” Shen Maomao said. “I’ll report this to Director Liu. What happens next will be up to her. For now, let’s start class.”
The boy who had spoken up first muttered, “Why do you have to listen to Director Liu… She’s useless.”
Shen Maomao glanced at him. “Your name is Wang Zirui, right? I’ll remember that.”
The little boy’s eyes went wide. He was too scared to speak, and could only cover his noggin34 helplessly with his hands.
“Behave yourself this week,” Shen Maomao said, “or there’ll be a spot for you under the flagpole35 next week.” She scanned the room, her eyes landing on every student. “The rest of you had better behave, too. If anyone dares to cause trouble, Wang Zirui will bear all the consequences.”
Wang Zirui’s eyes turned red, and he looked like he was about to burst into tears.
Shen Maomao added, “So if any of you want to hurt him, feel free to act up.”
The classroom instantly fell silent. It seemed Wang Zirui was quite popular.
Shen Maomao began her lecture. Though her tone was flat and her delivery lacked passion, the students below all sat bolt upright, terrified of getting their classmate in trouble.
Halfway through, Director Liu came by for a spot check36. She glanced into the classroom and left with a puzzled look on her face, probably wondering why these bear children, each usually more of a terror than the last, were being so good today.
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