Arc 2: Internet Addiction Treatment Center
Chapter 20: Revenge
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
After placing the NPC at the dormitory entrance, Qin Dongwan didn’t have the kindness to stay and wait like a babysitter for her to wake up. Confirming there were no terrifying shadows around, she turned and left, heading to the playground with Luo Shu. It was at this moment that a piercing scream rang out, startling her so much that she almost bumped into the person in front of her.
Following the sound, she arrived to find the dormitory entrance, which should have been empty, now crowded with people. Among them were players mixed with NPCs, though it wasn’t immediately obvious who was who. What was clear was that everyone instinctively kept their distance from something in the center, unwilling to approach.
Some timid girls were already sobbing softly, wiping away tears. They stood in small groups, borrowing each other’s warmth to muster a bit of courage. After searching the crowd for a while, Qin Dongwan finally spotted Tang Zihang, who wasn’t particularly conspicuous. She squeezed through the crowd and made her way over, patting him on the shoulder:
“What’s going on here?”
Tang Zihang was clearly startled as well, but beyond fear, his eyes showed a mix of sympathy and shock. Realizing something was wrong, Qin Dongwan pushed through the crowd and took a few steps forward. The glaring red that had appeared several times over the past few days once again filled her vision, sending a shiver down her spine. The cold crept up from her feet, inch by inch, consuming her.
The girl lying on the ground was disheveled, her clothes in disarray. Her pale skin was marked with vivid bruises and handprints. Her once-black hair, unwashed for days, had become a tangled mess. The dirt on her face couldn’t hide the terror frozen in her expression. Her wide eyes stared blankly at the sky, devoid of life. Even more horrifying were her arms, covered in bulging veins that seemed ready to burst out of her body at any moment, threatening to spray blood everywhere.
When they entered this instance, they were wearing their own clothes. Qin Dongwan pressed her lips tightly together as she examined the corpse. After a moment of low murmurs from the crowd, she stepped forward and draped her long coat over the body. Though the girl’s body was already cold, her dignity in death had to be preserved, even if she suffered an irreparable humiliation in life.
“Xiao Qin… it’s Xiao Qin…”
As she turned, Qin Dongwan sharply caught the sound of a sob from within the crowd. A girl in white, standing on the outskirts, pointed at the lifeless body on the ground, tears streaming down her face as she whispered:
“It’s Teacher Zhu… it must be Teacher Zhu. He’s a pervert, a rapist… wuwu!”
The rest of the girl’s words were abruptly cut off in her throat. In her agitation, she failed to notice the man approaching from behind. Without warning, he grabbed her neck, his large hand clamping down with such force that her eyes bulged, and her limbs flailed desperately in a futile struggle. It was the same dormitory supervisor who had gathered them on the playground earlier. His towering figure exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression, and the grip he had on her neck seemed intent on choking the life out of her.
“Hey, hey, stop it!”
The boys nearby hesitated, frozen in uncertainty. Tang Zihang, however, pushed through the crowd and rushed forward, shoving the dormitory supervisor in an attempt to rescue the girl, whose face had already turned purple. Yet, an invisible force separated the two, keeping them apart despite the mere inches between them.
“Wang Xue!”
Another sharp female voice rang out nearby. The girl named Wang Xue, seemingly drawing strength from nowhere, suddenly broke free from the man’s grip and grabbed his arm with force. Those standing close could see her hand gradually turning a deep purple, the thin layer of skin appearing as if it were carelessly draped over her bones—so fragile that a gentle tug could peel it away.
In the next moment, the girl leaped into the air with a sudden burst of force. Her hands, now transformed into sharp claws, tore viciously at the man’s scalp, ripping his entire skull cap clean off and sending it flying. Blood gushed out like a high-pressure fountain, spraying wildly, while brain matter mixed with frothy blood splattered onto the ground in a grotesque mess. Still unsatisfied, she swung her claws forward with a powerful strike. The towering man was instantly torn in half by the immense force, his body swaying unsteadily for a moment before collapsing heavily to the ground.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden and horrifying turn of events. Many players bent over, unable to hold back their nausea, vomiting uncontrollably. Qin Dongwan, having anticipated the transformation, had already grabbed Luo Shu with one hand and Tang Zihang with the other, pulling them back to safety.
As the sound of screams erupted nearby and the stench of vomit assaulted her senses, she slowly turned her head, bracing herself for what she might see.
Even though Qin Dongwan had mentally prepared herself, the sight of the dormitory supervisor’s shattered corpse was still too overwhelming. She staggered, nearly falling onto Luo Shu. The petite girl, expressionless and eerily composed, caught Qin Dongwan lightly before letting go. She then stepped forward in her high heels, indifferent as she approached the remains.
“So you just killed him like that? Aren’t you afraid the other teachers will see?”
Wang Xue turned her head. Her face was now covered in purple and blue veins, and the whites of her eyes had spread to completely cover her black pupils. Her eye sockets were deeply sunken. Despite her horrifying appearance, she still seemed to understand Luo Shu’s question. She muttered something unclear before violently grabbing her own neck.
Qin Dongwan struggled to decipher her lip movements but managed to make out two words: “Go away.”
“A'Shu, hurry—”
The crisp sound of high heels clicking against the ground had just rung out when the agile girl suddenly leaped forward. Under the stunned gaze of everyone present, the "girl" named Wang Xue twisted her neck at an impossible angle. The tendons and muscles entwined with her bones couldn’t withstand the force and snapped, triggering a gruesome spray of blood that rained down like a storm. Her lifeless body collapsed to the ground, limp and motionless.
Two NPCs had now died in quick succession, and in such a chaotic setting, many were left frozen in shock, unsure of what to do. Even the questions about why Qin Dongwan and Luo Shu had suddenly returned from the treatment room were momentarily forgotten. The eerie silence didn’t last long, though, as it was soon broken by the arrival of other teachers.
Qin Dongwan immediately recognized the dormitory supervisor NPC she had first encountered upon entering the instance. Despite wearing ten-centimeter high heels, the woman moved swiftly, as if the filth and corpses on the ground were nothing but air to her. She stepped directly onto the sticky mess, her heels now stained with viscous liquid, yet she remained completely unfazed.
Some of those who had just finished vomiting began to retch again, though their stomachs were already empty. All they could bring up now was bile and water.
“What’s going on here? I told you to go back to the dormitory, but now you’re trying to run to the playground, huh? It’s already 3 PM. Fine, since none of you are listening, dinner will be delayed by an hour. At five o’clock, gather at the playground for exercise!”
At this moment, the most terrifying thing wasn’t the bad-tempered NPC, but the two corpses lying on the ground. These bodies were visibly far from anything resembling normal humans. Many NPC students had already started heading back to the dormitory, while the players remained frozen in place, trying to observe the teacher’s reaction.
“Oh!”
The female teacher suddenly snapped out of her daze and looked down at the ground. Her face showed no trace of fear; instead, she frowned, stepped around the corpses, and bent down to clean her shoes. To her, this scene seemed almost routine. She glanced at the mess with disgust before turning to shoo the students away.
“Go, go, go! This has nothing to do with you!”
For some reason, Qin Dongwan felt that the teacher’s gaze lingered longer on her and Luo Shu. Perhaps it was because the two of them had just escaped from the treatment room, or maybe they had picked up some kind of scent.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The sudden fire in the treatment room presented yet another problem, but the male dormitory supervisor who had sent the two of them there was now dead and unable to provide any testimony. The only ones who could report that they had been to the treatment room were the NPC students and the players. Qin Dongwan glanced around discreetly and noticed some people whispering to each other quietly.
For now, with no one stepping forward to accuse them, the matter could only be temporarily brushed aside.
The female teacher didn’t linger for long. Like herding ducks, she supervised the students one by one into their rooms. While talking on the phone, she walked off toward another location and quickly disappeared from their view.
The dormitory conditions were terrible. Although it was supposedly a two-person room, the bed was old and creaky, making it uncomfortable to lie on. A single iron window was covered with newspaper, blocking any view of the outside. This seemed to have been part of the original design, and Qin Dongwan didn’t dare tamper with it. She casually searched the room and found it sparsely furnished, with nothing but a desk for writing, a flashlight, and paper and pen.
She tested the flashlight and found that it worked, though she wasn’t sure how much battery was left, so she decided to conserve it. The black ink pen was half full, and while the paper had some oil stains, it was still usable.
Having shared a bed in the previous instance, Luo Shu, who was already lying down, shifted slightly to make room when she saw Qin Dongwan sit down. She didn’t show any other reaction.
The next moment, however, the girl moved closer and let her wrist brush against Qin Dongwan’s skin. The warmth of human contact finally eased Qin Dongwan’s nerves, and she let out a long breath in this rare moment of relaxation.
“I think the treatment room earlier is an important part of the plot,” she said as she organized her chaotic thoughts, trying to sort out the clues one by one. “Teacher Zhu in the treatment room is probably a sexual predator, and Xiao Qin, the girl lying at the dormitory entrance, was most likely one of his victims. Many of the earlier events, if viewed solely as common supernatural phenomena in an instance, now seem to have traces that can be followed.”
Although she didn’t hold much hope, Qin Dongwan asked about the news on electroshock therapy. Luo Shu’s usually blank face showed a brief confusion as she slowly shook her head, but then she suddenly switched to a fierce expression.
“What does this have to do with electroshock therapy? Hurry up and explain—stop dragging it out!”
Author's Note:
Qin Dongwan: Damn it, she really knows nothing.
Luo Shu: Ignorant but capable of fighting. [smile.jpg]
