While casually wiping his knife, Yin Xiu listened as the woman in front of him began to talk about things at school.
"I'm a special cafeteria lady at this school, responsible for serving meals to some poor kids who get bullied by the other students," the auntie said, looking at Yin Xiu with loving eyes.
Bullying? Pitying?
Yin Xiu shook his head; it shouldn't be him.
The auntie serving the food continued slowly, "Occasionally, one or two kids who get bullied by other students will come to my place to eat. Then, after a while, they disappear. The school always has a number of bullied transfer students coming in one after another, and they leave after a while. This has been going on for a long time."
Yin Xiu lowered his eyes in thought. It sounded like... those bullied students were somewhat like players who entered the instance and were restricted by the rules, bullied by monsters, and then persevered to complete the instance and leave, and then the next batch of players entered.
but...
"It seems like there's no bullying at my school?" Yin Xiu pondered. There were no rules about being bullied, and the school rules even required students to be friendly and not ostracize others. His classmates were also strangely enthusiastic towards him, which was completely different from the school his aunt had described.
"Yes, because the bullying happened a long time ago." Aunt smiled as she gazed at Yin Xiu's confused and bewildered face. "Then one day, among those bullied children, a very special child suddenly appeared."
"He is completely immune to bullying from other students at school, and he is not intimidated by any security guards or teachers. However, he also does not abide by any school rules. Anyone who provokes him will become a victim of his blade."
"He only came in once, but only once, and he killed all the students and teachers, changing the entire instance."
Auntie's gaze was fixed on Yin Xiu's face, which was outlined by the firelight. "So the school is very gentle now, and the core is completely different from before."
Yin Xiu pondered in bewilderment, had this instance ever encountered such a ruthless person before?
So ruthless that he single-handedly changed the entire instance?
"Then why weren't you killed?" Yin Xiu looked up at the woman in front of him.
Auntie smiled and squinted her eyes, "Because I discovered a weakness in him during our time together, he let me go. Then I took my sister into the kitchen passage and escaped. That time at the school, everyone except my sister and me died, including the principal, dormitory supervisor and other teachers."
The more Yin Xiu listened, the more familiar it sounded, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that such a brutal thing was something he had done.
"What's the name of this school again?"
Auntie smiled slightly, "SSS-level dungeon, Deep Sea Academy."
Yin Xiu was still thinking, but the comments section had already started buzzing.
"I remember, I remember! When Brother Xiu came out of the newbie dungeon, a prison guard stopped him and read out his criminal record. It mentioned an SSS-level dungeon that was completely wiped out, also known as Deep Sea Academy!"
"Hiss... So this instance is a new instance created after the massacre at Deep Sea Academy? The background is entirely based on Deep Sea Academy?"
"Wow, no wonder he's the same Xiu-ge from before..."
"I just checked the town's guide to Deep Sea Academy. This dungeon was indeed originally themed around school bullying, just like that woman said. Every player who enters will be ostracized by the entire school's strange behavior. They have to be self-reliant and not be assimilated, which is very difficult."
"So this new dungeon is the background after Brother Xiu killed all the monsters in the school? No wonder the school is so empty."
After glancing at the discussion in the live chat, Yin Xiu was a little confused; he no longer remembered this instance.
So he had been to the school before? But it seems his memory of him wasn't very pleasant.
Yin Xiu, still somewhat skeptical, confirmed, "Do you remember what that child's name was?"
"Of course I remember." Auntie nodded with a smile. "His name is recorded in all the instances, a high-risk player in red, Yin Xiu."
Yin Xiu clicked his tongue, lowered his head expressionlessly, and said, "Oh."
It really is him.
"However…" The cafeteria lady gazed thoughtfully at Yin Xiu, "It has been many years since I last saw him. He seems to have changed a lot. Now his expression finally looks like he has a desire to live. He has grown up."
Yin Xiu looked up and stared straight at her. "What was I like when I first came to school six years ago?"
"You seem indifferent, but you actually have a little expectation written on your face. But later, you wouldn't even let anyone approach you while you were eating. You sat alone in a corner, and you seemed very disappointed."
Yin Xiu lowered his eyes, rolled up his sleeves, and said in a low voice, "You said you survived because of a weakness. What is that weakness?"
The auntie serving the food smiled and straightened her posture. "You haven't changed from the past to the present. Your weakness is that you become soft-hearted when faced with people who are nice to you."
Yin Xiu paused for a moment, as if he himself was unaware.
"So..." The auntie serving the food slowly wiped the smile off her face, "Have you noticed that your classmates are all very nice to you?"
"..." Yin Xiu thought about it carefully and realized it was true.
"This time at school, all you need to remember is to stay true to yourself and be the person you are." His aunt slowly leaned closer to him, her slender neck encircling him, and whispered in his ear, "This time, you can't just kill your way through. You need to be careful of the new entity behind the school."
"That existence?"
"As long as you're still in the instance, it will definitely come looking for you."
She didn't reveal anything more and pulled her head back.
Yin Xiu nodded silently, vaguely sensing it as well.
Was that the one who had appeared before him several times before, and who bore a resemblance to Li Mo? The entire instance was filled with an eerie sense of surveillance, which came from the boss behind the instance, the little black octopus that looked similar to Li Mo.
"You just need to remember what you think a human should look like in this school. Occasionally, you'll inevitably make mistakes in your understanding." The cafeteria lady pointed to Yin Xiu's pocket. "Come here, or eat candy. Do everything you can to restore your understanding of humans and maintain it."
Although it sounds simple, it is difficult given that Yin Xiu is the only player in the entire space right now. Even if his perception of humans is wrong, no one will remind him of what humans are actually like.
"Alright, our late-night chat is over. You can go home now." The cafeteria lady got up happily and walked towards the red monster in the corner. "I need to prepare my midnight snack now."
The dying monster looked at the auntie serving food in terror and began picking and choosing on the counter, looking for a suitable knife.
Yin Xiu nodded silently, then turned and walked out. As for what the red monster would do to her, he couldn't care less. Anyway, it wasn't his fault that it died, so he couldn't break the rules.
After leaving the cafeteria, tentacles silently emerged from Yin Xiu's sleeve, their eyes staring intently at him. "Are we going to the teaching building now?"
"Yes." Yin Xiu nodded. "Go and receive the rest of your body."