The System Teaches You How to Be Human

Huang Mao’s sudden change in attitude puzzled Si Yisi. What kind of shock did he experience to dare say something like that out loud?!

At first, Huang Mao’s reaction was panic, but still composed, perfectly fitting the mindset of an experienced player in an escape game. Now, however, his behavior seemed completely off… almost as if some external force was controlling him.

Speaking of external forces, Si Yisi couldn’t help but think of how the difficulty of the initial world they were in had increased several times compared to Shen Chen’s memory.

Who could be controlling the difficulty of the escape game?

There were two possibilities.

One possibility was that a powerful, senior player had entered the game. The other was that something was wrong with the small world that was designed for this escape game.

Huang Mao’s abnormal behavior made Si Yisi lean more toward the second possibility.

“It’s you! You’re the ghost!” Huang Mao pointed frantically at Si Yisi, his finger aimed straight at Si Yisi, as if he were about to poke him in the nose.

His terrified expression, which seemed so genuine, affected the other players in the room.

Mo Wuchang gasped, but he wasn’t looking at Si Yisi; he was looking at Huang Mao.

The young woman, as always, looked listless, her eyelids drooping as she hugged herself, trembling.

Chen Mengxi also gasped, her eyes already red. “Chen Chen… you…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but the hidden meaning was clear to everyone.

Si Yisi, too, was affected, and tears fell uncontrollably. The amount of tears was even more sincere than Chen Mengxi’s. “Cousin, believe me, he’s talking nonsense… We’re cousins.”

Mo Wuchang, standing nearby, thought to himself; You’re acting, you’re acting. Boss, you really want to slap that Huang Mao out of your way, don’t you? In his heart, he felt quite pleased; Heh, I know the boss best.

Mo Wuchang’s guess wasn’t wrong.

Si Yisi couldn’t stand Huang Mao standing in front of him, looking more and more irritating. However, Shen Chen was a crying, pitiful little thing. What should his reaction be at this point?

Cry from fear, and cry some more.

Si Yisi shook his head, desperately denying, “It’s really not me, it’s not me!”

“But the game says there are only six players,” Jia Yingrong interjected. “The ghost could have mixed in with the players from the start. How can you prove you’re innocent?”

Chen Mengxi nodded quickly, her beautiful face streaked with tears, making her appear even more delicate and pitiful.

Si Yisi’s gaze shifted uncomfortably, finally stammering, “The game might be misleading us… it says there are only six players, but that doesn’t mean one of the players isn’t actually not human.”

“What do you mean?” Mo Wuchang asked, picking up on the thread.

“It’s also possible that one of the players is carrying something related to the ghost… and got classified as one.”

“I…” Si Yisi stammered, “Big Brother Mo Wuchang and I saw it on the bus. The ghost from the air conditioner put something into Qi Muyang’s pocket.”

Chen Mengxi just kept sobbing quietly.

Her crying was pure and beautiful, sounding so heart-wrenching, as though she had already convinced herself that Si Yisi was the ghost who had infiltrated.

Chen Mengxi’s smoke screen was quite interesting. She and Si Yisi were cousins, so it made sense that family members would know each other better than anyone else.

“Words alone aren’t proof; no one can prove you’re telling the truth,” Jia Yingrong’s body tensed, and the contours of his well-toned muscles became faintly visible.

“Doesn’t your cousin know what kind of person you are?” he said.

“But… but we’ve only met once or twice,” Si Yisi said timidly.

Chen Mengxi: “…” Seems like I’m starting to run out of excuses.

“Tsk!” Mo Wuchang slammed the table, his eyes sharp as he defended Si Yisi. “What kind of man picks on a child? You believe everything that Huang Mao says?!”

“If he says that eating crap tastes good, are you all going to eat it too?” Mo Wuchang grumbled. “This kid has been with me the whole time, and if we’re talking about the one who found the scene of the incident, isn’t that the most suspicious ghost candidate?”

Mo Wuchang looked toward Huang Mao.

But after he gave Huang Mao a deadly glare, this Huang Mao, whose name he didn’t even know, suddenly clutched his chest and began convulsing.

“You…” Huang Mao’s eyes bulged out, foam spilling from his mouth.

In the span of just one or 2 seconds, no player was able to react in time to help him, and after Mo Wuchang glanced at him, he suddenly died.

***

“…He’s dead.” Jia Yingrong crouched down to check Huang Mao and then frowned. “His body’s already cold and stiff. How could this happen?”

When someone dies, there was usually a bit of warmth left in their body, but since this was a game, no one could know what strange and bizarre ways of dying could come up. So, Jia Yingrong simply questioned it and didn’t probe deeper.

Si Yisi scratched his nose. Cold and stiff? Did that mean the body was already dead?

It sounded like he had been possessed by a ghost, or maybe his body had already died, but his soul, still filled with fear, lingered to stay in the body… Just to act out this little drama.

At first, Si Yisi couldn’t understand the escape game Shen Chen had participated in, or the mechanics of this small world.

But now, looking at it, he noticed many problems.

Chen Mengxi in Shen Chen’s memory seemed as if the world had favored her; everything she did was effortless, and she even had an amazing ghost boyfriend. If he guessed right, Chen Mengxi should be the protagonist of this world, and her ghost boyfriend was the mysterious, unnamed male lead.

And what about Shen Chen? Si Yisi thought for a moment, and suddenly, four words appeared in his mind; ‘The Vicious Female Supporting Role’.

No, vicious… male supporting role.

After Si Yisi was unilaterally dragged into the escape game by Shen Chen to help him change his past, the difficulty of the game increased, and Huang Mao suddenly acted out of character, accusing him of being a ghost.

This was likely because the actions of Shen Chen had been noticed by the small world. And in order to eliminate Si Yisi, the re-casted side character, the world had set off a series of butterfly effects.

With tears streaming down his face, Si Yisi’s lips curled up slightly.

So, I’m very likely going to be at odds with a small world? Wow, this is interesting.

***

Damn! However, Mo Wuchang just felt like he’d been slapped in the face.

He had just accused someone of being suspicious, and that person had conveniently died. What was this?

Mo Wuchang seized the opportunity, “Don’t you think his death looks suspicious? If you ask me, both of you players seem like ghosts. One suddenly wanted to switch rooms, and the other wears glasses, looking like a shady person.”

Jia Yingrong, who had been hit by the glasses comment: “…”

“You, you…” Chen Mengxi gasped for air.

“What’s with the gasping? Are you a 70 or 80-year-old lady?” Mo Wuchang encouraged himself inwardly. He looked at Si Yisi, hoping for a supportive glance from his boss.

At this moment, Si Yisi’s inner balance did shift a bit; Mo Wuchang does seem pretty useful.

“With so few of us left, don’t even think about finding out who’s the ghost. What if you’re falling for the ghost’s trick of sowing discord?” Mo Wuchang kept going. “Anyway, if my little brother is the ghost, then I’d be the first to suffer.”

“You all do whatever you want, I’m outta here~”

After saying that, Mo Wuchang handed Si Yisi a large pack of tissues, casually wrapped his arm around Si Yisi’s shoulder, and turned to leave.

Chen Mengxi, unable to catch her breath, sat beside the table with an expression that was difficult to read, her clothing crumpled in her clenched hands.

Si Yisi, who was being forcefully dragged along because of his shorter height: “…”

“Let go.” Si Yisi glanced at Mo Wuchang.

The self-assured, invincible aura around Mo Wuchang instantly deflated. He hurriedly moved his hand off Si Yisi’s shoulder and apologized.

“Boss! I’m your little brother, I didn’t mean any offense, I’m really sorry!”

“By the way, Boss, what should we do now?” Mo Wuchang clearly regarded Si Yisi as the cornerstone of their plan.

Even though the boss was small, short, and crybaby-ish, he was a big shot who wielded tears as his weapon. Who else would he listen to if not him?

“Wait and see.” Si Yisi calmly replied. Then, he suddenly hiccupped and his stomach growled.

“Let’s go eat first.” Si Yisi smoothly changed the subject.

Back when Si Yisi had robbed the ghost on the bus, he had earned quite a few coins. After giving a portion to the old landlord, he still had some left.

He was thinking that he could probably make a second trade, so in the afternoon, he planned to go with Mo Wuchang to catch someone.

The landlord was firmly blocked at the door, still glaring at them with a gloomy expression.

Even when Si Yisi took out the coins, the landlord remained cautious.

“Place them… on the table,” the landlord’s hoarse voice came through.

Mo Wuchang looked at the old landlord and felt as though his frail figure was going to sink into the gray-white wall.

The sound of coins clinking cheerfully filled the air. The landlord quickly grabbed the coins, and with his spotted hand, threw something at Si Yisi and the others.

Mo Wuchang reflexively raised his hand to catch it.

It was a red… toilet plunger.

Mo Wuchang: “???”

What he caught was the handle of the plunger, and he now held it up high like a comical Statue of Liberty.

Si Yisi reacted a bit quicker than Mo Wuchang. He twitched the corner of his mouth and immediately rushed forward to grab—The landlord’s withered hand.

This time, Si Yisi forcibly took a few coins from the landlord’s hand.

[Players are not allowed to ste…] The announcement that spread through the entire rental room was cut off abruptly as the landlord seemed to no longer want to stay even a moment longer and ran off.

The voice stuttered mid-sentence.

[Not allowed to ste…]

[Steal…] The words couldn’t be completed.

“It’s not stealing,” Si Yisi said softly, his tone as gentle as a breeze brushing across the face. “It’s a mutually agreed transaction.”

[…]

For a moment, Si Yisi could almost hear the sound of someone spitting blood.

He innocently, weakly, and pitifully slumped his hand, thinking; Steal? I hadn’t stolen anything. Shen Chen was a legitimate player.

“What are you doing holding a toilet plunger? Go back and discuss it.” Si Yisi called Mo Wuchang, who foolishly set the plunger down.

The plunger, of course, belonged in the bathroom.

***

The fourth night began.

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

The hour, minute, and second hands of the clock moved incessantly, sounding like a death knell in the unnaturally quiet room.

Tick!

It was 4 o’clock.

Mo Wuchang groggily got up. As soon as he woke, he felt an urgent need to pee. He glanced at the clock; 3:40 A.M. It wasn’t yet the top of the hour, so he relaxed, got up, and headed for the bathroom.

There was a strange, indescribable smell in the bathroom. Mo Wuchang held his breath and went in, undoing his belt.

Just at that moment, a damp head suddenly popped up from the toilet, the water swirling!

“Ah—!”