This stalker NPC was way too persistent.
The character art looked average and he kept causing the player character to get stuck. There was absolutely no fun in continuing to deal with him.
Time to leave.
Bai Fuling had no intention of wasting more time entangled with this NPC. He still wanted to explore the rest of the game.
Thus, he unleashed the full speed of his hand movements, frantically mashing the [Unstuck] button while rapidly controlling his character toward the school.
Meanwhile, the middle aged man failed to catch the bizarre stranger again and again. Watching the yellow raincoat weirdo calmly stride away as if nothing had happened caused his entire face to darken into a pig liver shade.
Behind him, the blond haired youth casually walked over with his schoolbag slung over one shoulder.
“Hahaha! Damn, old man, you actually have a day like this too?”
“You brat…!!”
“Alright, alright, stop nagging already. Didn’t I come to school exactly like you wanted?” The blond youth had completely shed his earlier resistance and now looked downright entertained. Raising his chin proudly, he declared, “That guy’s my friend. Got a problem with that?”
Whether they actually knew each other or not was irrelevant.
Anyone who opposed his father automatically counted as his friend.
Come to think of it, was that person the new transfer student?
He certainly did not remember anyone in the academy dressing that strangely before.
“Pang Chengyu! Is this how you go around making random shady friends everywhere?!”
“So what if I do?” The blond haired youth, Pang Chengyu, swung his bag lazily and clicked his tongue. “Mind your own business instead of mine.”
Without bothering to listen to his father’s furious shouting anymore, he leisurely walked forward.
Normally, he hated setting foot inside this suffocatingly strict school.
But now that there was suddenly someone interesting around, even his steps felt lighter.
From a distance, he spotted the eye catching yellow raincoat.
Originally, Pang Chengyu had wanted to catch up and casually introduce himself, or maybe ask which class the guy belonged to.
Unexpectedly, halfway there, the yellow raincoat figure abruptly changed direction.
Instead of heading toward the teaching building, he walked straight toward the flowerbeds beside it…
And toward the trash cans beside the flowerbeds.
Clang!
The yellow raincoat youth flipped open a trash can lid without the slightest hesitation.
Pang Chengyu: ?
The completely unexpected action caused him to freeze on the spot.
Before he could even react, the yellow raincoat youth had already moved on to the next nearby trash can.
Clang!
Another lid flew open.
Pang Chengyu: ??
By the time he recovered from his daze, the yellow raincoat youth had already checked every single trash can surrounding the flowerbeds.
At several of them, the person even paused briefly and performed the action of opening a backpack and stuffing items inside,
Despite the fact that he clearly was not carrying any backpack at all.
After checking all the trash cans, the strange youth calmly turned back toward the teaching building as though everything he had just done was completely normal.
Before leaving, he even casually plucked a handful of flowers from the flowerbed.
Pang Chengyu: “……”
Pang Chengyu: “……???”
=
Bai Fuling stared at the newly acquired items inside his inventory:
[Wooden Stick ×1]
[Three Day Expired Dried Bread ×1]
[Apple ×1]
[Rose ×2]
He looked somewhat disappointed.
Trash cans, boxes and cabinets were practically mandatory search spots for RPG players. Zero investment, high probability of loot.
Naturally, Bai Fuling would never pass them up while passing through.
But whether due to bad luck or simply because of the game’s settings, the trash cans had failed to produce anything particularly valuable.
If it was just a matter of bad luck, then no problem.
He could simply keep looting more trash cans until something good eventually appeared.
But if this was intentional game design, then it meant scavenging through trash and containers was not the correct path toward early game wealth accumulation.
In that case, he would need to find another route.
A farming build?
A mining build?
Or maybe a business management playstyle?
While pondering seriously, he continued controlling his character forward.
The text prompt in the upper left corner changed the moment he stepped into the academy grounds.
[Go report to Classroom D at the end of the fourth floor corridor.]
Following the instructions, Bai Fuling eventually found the designated classroom.
The classroom door was tightly shut and there was no window on the door itself.
As he approached, two selectable options appeared beside it.
→ [Wait]
→ [Push Door]
Bai Fuling selected [Push Door].
The door did not budge at all.
A line of text appeared in the center of the screen.
[During class hours, the door is locked]
The classroom was locked during lessons?
Bai Fuling was slightly surprised before immediately beginning a mental brainstorm.
What did that mean?
Would entering and exiting classrooms in the future require specific time windows too?
Was this one of those game buildings that only opened during fixed hours?
But if attending classes became a mandatory time consuming event, wouldn’t that seriously interfere with exploration freedom?
There were still no additional prompts anywhere around him.
Instead, Bai Fuling’s desire to solve the puzzle became even stronger.
Since the [Push Door] option existed, that meant there had to be some method to break through it.
A locked door wasn’t a problem.
As long as he found a way to force it open, that would solve everything!
Bai Fuling tapped open his inventory.
According to classic puzzle game logic, the items he had found earlier while rummaging through trash cans would definitely become useful later.
In any case, the first step was obvious.
Use every single item in the inventory on the door one by one.
Pang Chengyu followed behind and made his way upstairs.
His earlier moment of stunned confusion had caused him to fall a considerable distance behind but fortunately, he had not completely lost track of the yellow raincoat youth.
He climbed up to the fourth floor, turned the corner and saw the brightly dressed figure standing at the doorway of the classroom at the very end of the corridor.
Class D…
So he really was a newly transferred student.
Pang Chengyu thought to himself that transfer students were almost always assigned to Class D at the beginning.
Perland Academy enforced an extremely strict point based system alongside an absurd number of school rules and regulations.
Grades affected points.
Discipline affected points.
Every month, the academy reorganized students into classes ranked from A to F according to their total scores.
The best resources and privileges were concentrated in the top classes.
As for the lower ranked classes, especially the final tier, an elimination system was enforced. Students at the bottom of Class F faced the possibility of expulsion at any moment.
Oppressive.
Stifling.
Rigid.
That was the true atmosphere of this school.
Pang Chengyu hated it.
Originally, based on his overall performance, he had been assigned to Class B but because of repeated truancy and disciplinary deductions, he had already dropped down to Class D this month.
Which just so happened to place him together with the transfer student.
It was currently class time, so all classroom doors were locked from the inside. They would only be opened once the lesson ended.
The new transfer student probably didn’t know that yet.
Seeing the other party standing blankly outside the classroom door, Pang Chengyu intended to walk over and explain things while taking the opportunity to introduce himself.
But the moment he took a single step forward, the other party moved first.
The youth in the yellow raincoat suddenly reached into empty air and somehow pulled out a wooden stick from nowhere.
Then, without the slightest hesitation,
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He started violently smashing the classroom door.
Pang Chengyu: “!”
And it still wasn’t over.
Immediately afterward, the yellow raincoat youth produced a strip of dried bread out of thin air and repeated the exact same behavior using the bread.
Pang Chengyu: “……”
Wait! no….
Why are you using bread to smash the door??!!
Apparently dissatisfied with the results, the yellow raincoat youth quickly switched items again and pulled out an apple.
However, before he could actually do anything with it, the classroom door finally reacted.
Click!
The dark wooden door unlocked from inside before slowly opening.
Standing there was an elderly professor with white woolly curls.
The door opened!
Bai Fuling’s eyes lit up immediately.
Looking at the woolly haired pixel NPC in front of him, he casually shoved the apple into the professor’s hands.
Since he had already taken it out anyway, he might as well give the NPC a gift to farm some affection points.
That way, it would probably become easier to skip classes later.
A cluster of black lines popped up above the woolly haired professor’s head. He did not accept the apple but Bai Fuling still noticed the red progress bar above the professor increase slightly.
Mm.
The heartbeat meter went up, right?
That meant giving gifts was still effective.
Bai Fuling believed this firmly.
The woolly haired professor frowned deeply.
“What kind of outfit is that…? And who are you?”
Whoa.
Didn’t expect the NPCs in this game to actually possess aesthetic judgment.
Bai Fuling was delighted.
He had originally assumed NPCs simply wouldn’t care what players wore. Looks like the game had been designed with impressive detail.
Faced with the question, he skillfully entered the nickname that had successfully passed registration earlier inside the car.
“I’m Cabbage Fresh Fresh.”
Then, remembering the text prompt in the upper left corner of the screen, he added:
“The new transfer student.”
Another bunch of black lines appeared above the professor’s head.
“I’m asking for your real name… Where’s your student ID?”
He was even questioning the name itself.
This really was advanced AI recognition!
While casually thinking that, Bai Fuling controlled his pixel character to put the apple away and take out the student ID that had originally come with the inventory.
The woolly haired professor accepted the student ID and examined it carefully.
Six little dots appeared above his head like a prolonged ellipsis.
After a long silence, he finally handed it back.
“Alright… alright then. Student Cabbage Fresh Fresh.”
“Since today is your first day, your tardiness won’t be deducted from your score. I’ll give you one day to familiarize yourself with the school rules and regulations.”
“Find an empty seat and sit down for class.”
Bai Fuling took back his student ID.
At the same time, the text prompt in the upper left corner changed.
[You have successfully reported in.]
That was it?
There wasn’t even a next step instruction?
Then this probably meant he could now do whatever he wanted.
A free exploration phase.
He liked that.
Bai Fuling blinked as he recalled the RPG games he had played before.
Next should be the stage where he searched for random quests or hidden prompts.
There definitely had to be interactive NPCs inside the classroom.
He needed to identify characters with deeper interaction potential.
Thus, he walked over to the first row and initiated interaction with Student No.1, the classmate sitting closest to the aisle.
“Hello.”
Student No.1: “?”
Bai Fuling: “Hello.”
Student No.1 hesitated slightly before awkwardly replying, “Uh… hello?” Then he lowered his voice and added, “Talking during class isn’t allowed.”
Bai Fuling: “Hello.”
Student No.1 paused, then cautiously asked, “…Um, are you trying to sit here? Sorry, there aren’t any empty seats on this side anymore.”
Bai Fuling: “Hello.”
Student No.1: “?”
Seeing that the NPC had neither offered a quest nor anything besides repetitive question marks, Bai Fuling immediately understood.
This NPC’s standard dialogue pool had already been exhausted.
No special quest.
So he instantly switched targets and turned toward the next student.
“Hello.”
“Transfer student, what exactly are you doing?!” the woolly haired professor at the podium scolded as he rapped the desk sharply with a ruler. “Hurry up and find a seat!”
Bai Fuling glanced at the suddenly shaking dialogue box on screen and frowned slightly.
…He hadn’t even finished using the exhaustive interaction method on every NPC yet.
Why had the earlier NPC already triggered another pop up?
Ignoring the professor entirely, he continued attempting interactions with the seated students one after another.
“Hello.”
“Transfer student!”
Another vibrating dialogue box appeared on screen.
Bai Fuling paused briefly before stopping his attempts to interact with the students.
Alright then.
It looked like during classroom lessons, the room’s logic settings included not only [Door Locked] but also [NPC Interaction Disabled].
But that was fine.
There was no rush to get acquainted with the classmates anyway.
Since there was currently nothing worth exploring inside the classroom, then it was time to go investigate outside instead.
He controlled his character, turned around and headed toward the classroom door.
A gigantic exclamation mark popped above the woolly haired professor’s head.
“Where do you think you’re going during class time?! Leaving without permission is a severe violation of school rules and regulations!”
More school rules again.
Why were there so many restrictions in this game?
Bai Fuling stopped moving.
Surely class sessions weren’t actually fixed mandatory story events, right?
But there weren’t even any pop ups for skill learning or tutorials either.
…No.
Since the game still allowed him to move freely, that meant there had to be flexible ways around the situation.
After thinking briefly, inspiration suddenly struck him.
If he wasn’t allowed to leave through the door, then he could simply bug his way out through a shorter route instead.
For example, The window.
Although he wasn’t certain whether the game included fall damage mechanics, he still had healing food items in his inventory from the trash cans earlier.
That should work as emergency backup.
Besides, if you were playing a game, then naturally you should do whatever you wanted.
Bai Fuling looked perfectly relaxed.
This was only the beginning of the game.
Everything should be tested at least once.
Even if he actually died from the fall, it wouldn’t matter much.
At worst, he could just reload another save file and start over.
The elderly professor standing at the podium stared sternly at the strangely dressed transfer student with tightly furrowed brows.
After being scolded, the transfer student in the bright yellow raincoat finally stopped wandering around the classroom and turned back.
“The rules say I’m not allowed to leave through the door, right?”
The woolly haired professor answered severely, “Naturally. During class time, students are not permitted to leave without authorization.”
“Got it.”
The bizarrely dressed transfer student nodded obediently to show understanding.
But instead of heading toward the seats in the back of the classroom, he suddenly strode toward the windows.
The next second,
Whoosh!
He shoved the window open and casually climbed out before jumping straight down!
The woolly haired professor: ?
The students: ?!!
Outside in the hallway, Pang Chengyu had finally reached the classroom entrance.
Originally, he had intended to come over after class ended. Since he was already late anyway, there was no point rushing.
But hearing the commotion inside had made him curious enough to come take a look.
And what he saw was the newly transferred student cheerfully leaping out of the classroom window.
Pang Chengyu: ?
Pang Chengyu raised a hand instinctively.
“Wait, bro, this is the fourth floor!!!”
Author’s Note:
Bai Fuling: There. If I leave through the window, nobody can stop me anymore, right?
#If players aren’t allowed to use doors, players will simply find other paths#
Pang Chengyu: …How did the new classmate suddenly take the Road to Heaven the moment I blinked?!!
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Every small bit of support means something to the person behind the translation.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Escape game freezesChapter 2 · Players aren’t allowed to use the main entranceChapter 3 · Players have created a medical miracle!Chapter 4 · If I hit the NPC more, will the NPC drop gold coins?Chapter 5 · Players earn the title of “bus weirdo”Chapter 6 · Players get a prison experienceChapter 7 · So the red bar isn’t for favorability, it’s for anger!Chapter 8 · The player is a nimble catChapter 9 · The player is a “law-abiding” good studentChapter 10 · Players have no morals and are fearlessChapter 11 · Player: What’s wrong? It’s called “Cai Cai Shui Ling LingChapter 12 · The player is the famous Farmer Detective!Chapter 13 · The player raised a new petChapter 14 · The player is a genius dog-riding boyChapter 15 · The player is a sticky, helpful, and kind comradeChapter 16 · It turns out that players aren’t considered human by NPCsChapter 17 · Players are like angels descending upon my side!Chapter 18 · Player: There’s only one truth!Chapter 19 · Why are players farming at the school?!Chapter 20 · Players came to the cafeteria to buy suppliesChapter 21 · Are NPCs model workers?Chapter 22 · If you’re a gay manChapter 23 · Player: Wheelchairs are a useful mode of transportation!Chapter 24 · So the player is actually part of Cat Returns (?)Chapter 25 · Liao Zhi Qiu, a large pet belonging to the playerChapter 26 · Player: Hello, I picked up this corpse.Chapter 27 · Bai Fuling: Players will never dieChapter 28 · Has the murderer been caught?Chapter 29 · Player: Visiting the mental hospital felt as familiar as coming homeChapter 30 · Players’ Adventure in the Mental Hospital: Round 1Chapter 31 · Player: Kid, fly!Chapter 32 · The player who does good deeds every day is truly a good personChapter 33 · The kitten brought back some local specialtiesChapter 34 · Let this adorable kitten stay forever?Chapter 35 · Players, don’t give up on being human!Chapter 36 · A kitten is just a kitten, isn’t it?Chapter 37 · Players want it, players get itChapter 38 · Angel Player and Unlucky Bear NPCChapter 39 · In short, players choose to throw at NPCsChapter 40 · The player just flew away!Chapter 41 · Player: You need to thoroughly understand the bookChapter 42 · Players love to tease honest NPCs.Chapter 43 · He said he was a little hungry.Chapter 44 · Even if cotton essence mutatesChapter 45 · Pure Love TentaclesChapter 46 · Choose to be a kitten?Chapter 47 · Players’ tears are weaponsChapter 48 · Players do not need to breatheChapter 49 · It’s on fire!Chapter 50 · The player is a top-tier rescue masterChapter 51 · How did the player manage to resurrect after killing themselves?!Chapter 52 · Call the player “Little Cat King”!Chapter 53 · What are the consequences of raising the cat-like alienation