Arc 2: Internet Addiction Treatment Center
Chapter 18: Teacher Zhu
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The girl who had been the first to finish reciting earlier squeezed out from the crowd, raising her hand high. The players, who avoided the NPCs like the plague, were all startled and instinctively kept their distance from her.
Yet, as if completely unaware, the girl fearlessly approached, reaching out to take Wan Shu’s hands. Her soft, gentle voice whispered reassurance in their ears:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll go with you.”
As a vicious supporting villainess, Luo Shu rarely had a good attitude toward other women. She rolled her eyes impatiently, instantly dousing the girl’s enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water. She didn’t seem timid in the slightest—probably determined to follow because she expected some kind of clue. But she hadn’t anticipated that the two of them weren’t afraid at all and would outright refuse such a generous offer of company.
Qin Dongwan sidestepped, effortlessly avoiding the girl’s outstretched hand. She had no intention of letting a third party intrude on their “world of two.” The fewer people going to the treatment room, the better—if things got too chaotic, a larger group would only make escaping harder.
The girl parted her lips, about to say something, but before she could, Qin Dongwan had already followed the old professor into the thick fog, with Luo Shu close behind. Left standing alone, the kind-hearted girl’s beautiful face showed a faint trace of reluctance, but it quickly faded. With a sigh, she returned to the group.
****
Having already stepped into the thick fog and carefully avoiding the sewage, Qin Dongwan quickly realized that the fog didn’t just obscure vision—it also muffled the noise from the noisy playground. It was as if an unbridgeable chasm had formed, completely cutting off all sound.
The old professor led the way in silence, neither reprimanding nor scolding them. As they walked, Luo Shu instinctively avoided the strange puddles without needing a reminder. Unknowingly, the two had already drawn closer to each other. Beside them, the murky water had gathered into a slow, trickling stream. The stench grew stronger, making their heads swim with dizziness.
The thick fog blurred everything, making it impossible to distinguish directions. Only the faint silhouettes ahead remained visible, moving slower and slower. Qin Dongwan, with her long legs and fast pace, nearly bumped into the old professor several times.
Before long, they arrived near the restroom she had seen once before. A tree nearby silently shed its withered leaves, one drifting down into the sewage right before Qin Dongwan’s eyes.
She watched as the leaf, once yellowed with decay, was instantly stained pitch-black and then quietly dissolved into the greasy, murky water.
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, the old professor immediately noticed her hesitation. His hoarse voice carried an unquestionable sternness:
“We’re here. Both of you, get in!”
The wind rattled the sign at the entrance of the treatment room, making a creaking sound as if it might fall off at any moment.
The old professor stepped forward first, pushing open the door and explaining the two’s misdeeds to the teacher on duty inside. The man wore glasses, his face refined and pale. He wasn’t the same person Qin Dongwan had seen before.
As the old professor rambled on, the male teacher merely nodded and responded with a few indifferent “Mm”s. Surprisingly, he showed no signs of anger. His murky old eyes flickered with a sharp glint. After a simple “I’ll leave them to you,” he turned and walked into the fog.
The door was shut tightly, keeping out two different dangers.
The treatment room wasn’t very large, containing only a narrow bed covered with a white sheet. Beside it stood various instruments that Qin Dongwan couldn’t understand. Needles and iron rods were mixed together, while the air, though sealed off from the stench outside, was instead thick with the scent of rust.
A small hanging lamp above swayed back and forth, casting light on the male teacher sitting upright on a wooden stool. His features were undeniably handsome, but his face was unnaturally pale, carrying a faint, elusive smile.
Only when the old professor had presumably walked far away did he adjust his suit and stand up. Even the thick lenses of his glasses couldn’t hide the strange yearning in his eyes.
“Who’s first?”
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Under his feet lay the discarded wrapper of a recently eaten snack. When he stepped on it, a sharp crunch echoed through the room.
Qin Dongwan had initially wondered why a teacher would be eating snacks here, but in the next instant, her expression hardened. Her instincts, honed by a woman’s intuition in the face of danger, screamed at her—this man harbored ill intentions.
Some NPCs were ghosts, while others were so lifelike that they were indistinguishable from ordinary people. The male teacher’s unfiltered gaze landed directly ahead of Qin Dongwan, and with no hesitation, he stepped forward, reaching out his hand.
A wave of deep-seated disgust surged through her. She instinctively took a step back, grabbing a nearby iron rod as an improvised weapon.
She hadn't expected there to be such repulsive figures among the teachers here. Even in a world shrouded in terror, primitive desires refused to fade. Who knew how many innocent girls had fallen prey to him before, for him to be so practiced in these coercive movements?
"Oh? You’re quite hot-tempered. Are you new here? Don’t know the rules?"
The man stepped into the dim light. Shadows fell on his very pale face, making him look scary. He walked closer, one step at a time.
Qin Dongwan quickly moved in front of Luo Shu to protect her. She held the iron rod tightly. Her hands felt a little sweaty.
She had never fought a man before. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to win. But right now, she had no choice. She had to fight.
Maybe Luo Shu’s strange powers could stop the NPC fast, but Qin Dongwan didn’t want her to do it again.
Qin Dongwan struck first. Before he got any closer, she swung the iron rod hard at his leg. She used all her strength. A loud thud echoed in the silent room as the rod hit his bone. The man howled in pain and fell to his knees, his eyes twisting in shock and anger.
He had worked with the old professor for a long time and had rarely met a girl who dared to fight back. His rage burned like fire.
"Stupid bit—"
A sudden warmth touched Qin Dongwan’s skin. In that brief moment of distraction, Luo Shu had already stepped forward, pushing her aside.
No one knew where she got the pure black glove. She slid it onto her delicate fingers. The man looked up, his furious eyes turning into amazement, then greed. But before he could react, Luo Shu kicked him hard.
A piercing scream echoed through the entire treatment room.
He screamed miserably, rolling on the ground while clutching his vital parts. His once-handsome features twisted beyond recognition, and many instruments were knocked over as he struggled, making crisp "ding ding dang dang" sounds as they hit the floor.
Luo Shu rubbed the heel of her shoe against the floor, then bent down and grabbed his hair. Only then did the man belatedly realize that this delicate-looking girl had incredible strength. The feeling of his scalp nearly being torn apart made tears stream down his face uncontrollably. Just moments ago, he had been a lecherous man, but now he lay on the ground, completely powerless after that painful kick drained all his strength, leaving only his hands trembling nonstop.
Luo Shu slapped him hard on both cheeks, each strike landing solidly. His face was beaten so badly that it was almost unrecognizable. Qin Dongwan winced a little just watching, but the corners of her lips curled up as she murmured softly, “Satisfying.”
No normal woman would feel the slightest bit of sympathy for this scum after nearly experiencing such a thing. Luo Shu was swift and ruthless in her actions—Qin Dongwan barely had time to applaud. However, the system's previous notification made her hesitate for a moment, and she ultimately decided to step in at the right time.
The girl’s beautiful purple eyes narrowed slightly. Looking down from above, she pressed her heel against the man’s body, her face filled with undisguised disgust.
“Electroshock therapy room? This place sure is flashy.”
“Don’t waste time on him. Let’s hurry and check for any clues here,” Qin Dongwan instructed.
The goal of this level was to escape from this place. The internet addiction center was filled with both humans and ghosts. If they simply climbed over the wall and ran, who knew what consequences awaited them? They had to come up with a foolproof plan.
“The first step to getting out of here is probably finding out about the ghosts and the taboos of this place. Then, we can take the chance to create chaos. There’s no way we can leave right under their noses.”
Qin Dongwan glanced at the unconscious NPC on the floor, feeling immense satisfaction. Even her search of the room was filled with joy. This was the difference between Luo Shu and Ji Yun—one solved problems with fists, while the other tried to play the saint. The former was decisive, the latter dragged things out. That’s right, she liked to praise one and criticize the other.
Luo Shu was still rummaging through the cabinets, turning everything inside out. Without looking back, she asked, “Then tell me, what taboos do we know so far?”
“The puddles on the ground. I don’t know where the stench comes from, but stepping into them is dangerous. I think it has something to do with this electroshock therapy room. The closer we get to this side, the more puddles there are. Also, leaves that fall on top get burned.”
Qin Dongwan had a good memory. She recalled every clue in an orderly manner and continued, “The thick fog is probably meant to block our vision. It works with the puddles to make us fall into traps easily.”
“That old professor is a ghost. When he brought us here and opened the door today, I saw that his hand looked different from yesterday. It was like a young man’s hand, completely out of place compared to the rest of his skin.”
“If we’re late, there might be a punishment. I saw a ghost shadow near the dormitory, and it smelled like something burnt. So I suspect… this treatment room isn’t as simple as we think.”
From the moment they entered, everything had been too smooth—until they encountered that perverted male teacher. The whole way here had been strangely easy. Even if this was just the first level of the challenge, it shouldn’t be this simple.
The scent of burning grew stronger in the air, completely overpowering the previous smell of rust. A sudden chill crept up her spine, making her shiver uncontrollably. Then, blazing flames shot up without warning, igniting the curtains and rapidly spreading toward them.
