Chapter 48
In the corridor.
The monster teacher dangled the curly-haired little cub, his grin stretching almost to his ears.
“Seems your brother cares about you quite a bit.”
Xing Nuo, held in mid-air, looked at the monster teacher’s eerie smile, then turned to look at his brother inside the classroom.
“Brother…likes…Zaizai…”
Shen Baizhou’s affection for Xing Nuo was evident in his every action.
From the moment he first saw Xing Nuo, he had been captivated by the then-babbling, barely-verbal little cub.
Whenever Shen Wen wasn’t around or wasn’t paying attention, Shen Baizhou would poke Xing Nuo’s cheeks or playfully tug at his cowlick.
In the beginning, Xing Nuo couldn’t speak much, only babbling incoherently.
Poked and teased by his brother, he would pout, tears welling up in his eyes.
Shen Baizhou, after making the little one cry, would innocently withdraw his hand, pretending he hadn’t done anything.
Shen Baizhou, who adored Xing Nuo, stood up, having confirmed he hadn’t been mistaken. He was going to find his brother.
Just as he reached the middle of the classroom, a shrill, piercing laughter echoed from the doorway.
“Students, did you miss me?”
The monster teacher reappeared, licking his lips, his gaze sweeping over the students.
A student, disgusted by the sight, let out a small “Eww” and quickly turned away.
The monster teacher, enjoying their expressions of disgust and helplessness, cackled triumphantly.
“Be afraid! Be very afraid! Soon, you’ll all be my lunch!”
He held up the little cub and dangled him in front of Shen Baizhou.
“Shen Baizhou, look, your little brother knows you’re here! He insisted on coming to find you!”
Then, he spread his hands, feigning helplessness.
“You know I’m a helpful teacher, so I had to bring him to you!”
A student, seeing Xing Nuo being held captive, gasped.
“You’re disgusting! How can you grab a child like that?!”
“He’s threatening Shen Baizhou! Only Shen Baizhou can defeat him!”
“He’s resorting to underhanded tactics because he can’t win a fair fight! Despicable!”
Compared to the terrifying and repulsive monster teacher, the students, although also wary of Shen Baizhou, felt a sense of trust towards him.
After all, they had been classmates for over a month. Apart from his obvious academic struggles, Shen Baizhou hadn’t done anything wrong.
But this monster teacher was different, his cannibalistic intentions clear, as if he couldn’t wait to devour them!
The monster teacher, seeing their anger, grinned.
“Good, full of energy, I like energetic students!”
“Students like you,” he said, his face full of relish, “are so crunchy and delicious, they make my mouth water!”
Xing Nuo’s head ached from the teacher’s laughter. He covered his ears, his little feet swinging.
“Brother…save Zaizai!”
He looked up at his brother, reaching out his small arm.
Shen Baizhou, ignoring the other students’ gazes, strode towards the doorway.
Just as he reached out, the monster teacher dodged, avoiding his grasp.
“What do you think you’re doing?! Disobeying the teacher’s orders?!”
He was using the little one as a hostage; he couldn’t just let Shen Baizhou take him.
Seeing Shen Baizhou’s expression turning cold, the monster teacher straightened up, a smug look on his face.
“Afraid now? I’m telling you, your brother is in my han—Hey! Hey! Hey!”
Suddenly, his hand was empty.
“Wait, where’s the child?!”
He looked at his empty hands in disbelief, then slowly looked up.
He met Shen Baizhou’s cold gaze.
Shen Baizhou held Xing Nuo in his arms and quickly removed the small chair that was still attached to his bottom.
Xing Nuo hugged his brother’s neck tightly, rubbing his face against his chin, his expression pitiful and wronged.
His curls drooped dejectedly as he complained:
“Bad teacher…grabbed Zaizai!”
With his brother there, Xing Nuo felt safe and pointed at the monster teacher.
“He’s…a bad teacher!”
The monster teacher’s scalp tingled, a chill running down his spine. His barely-formed human body started to flicker and dissipate, black smoke seeping from it.
He swallowed nervously and took a step back, forcing a smile.
“Haha, a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding!”
He retreated to the corner by the blackboard, his eyes falling on the PE teacher who was still embedded in the desk, looking like a black tablecloth.
Monster teacher: “…”
The PE teacher seemed to have given up, lying there motionless, watching as the monster teacher dug his own grave.
Before the monster teacher could say anything, Shen Baizhou spoke:
“Xing Nuo, close your eyes.”
Shen Baizhou didn’t want the little one to see what was about to happen. He covered Xing Nuo’s eyes with his hand.
The next moment, Xing Nuo heard the monster teacher’s cries of pain.
Although his eyes were covered, Xing Nuo couldn’t stay still, wriggling in his brother’s arms.
“Yay! Brother…defeated…bad teacher!”
He couldn’t see, but he could still offer his enthusiastic support, clapping his small hands.
“Give brother…little red flower!”
Shen Baizhou, having kicked the monster teacher, his lips curving into a smile, his monolid drooping slightly, his eyes soft, retracted his foot.
“Okay, and one for Xing Nuo too.”
Xing Nuo giggled, covering his mouth with his hand.
“Zaizai…brave too…outside…so dark…children…no come out…Zaizai…came…find brother…”
He continued his story, gesturing with his small hands.
“Bad teacher…grabbed Zaizai…Zaizai…ran fast…followed firefly…and Xiao Qi…found brother!”
He swung his little feet, his covered eyes crinkling into a smile.
“Brother…other children…caught…by bad teacher…we go…save them!”
Shen Baizhou hummed in agreement and carried Xing Nuo out of the classroom, his brow furrowing as he looked at the pitch-black corridor.
The teaching building across the way, ten stories high, each floor filled with similar yet different instances.
In some classrooms, monsters were on a rampage, the rooms filled with a bloody mist.
In others, players, their eyes bloodshot, had turned on each other, the floor littered with dismembered bodies, monsters swarming to devour them.
Shen Baizhou finally realized how brave Xing Nuo had been, coming here alone.
“It’s okay, brother will take you back to kindergarten.”
He continued to cover Xing Nuo’s eyes as he led him towards the kindergarten instance.
In the kindergarten classroom.
After Xing Nuo left, the children, frightened by the eerie darkness outside, had returned to the classroom, their necks shrinking like frightened quails.
Little Fatty sat dazedly in his seat, sniffling occasionally.
The monster teacher announced the lesson content: each child had to sing a nursery rhyme to his satisfaction.
“I’m sure you’ve all learned the ‘Little Rabbit’ song. I expect to hear beautiful singing!”
The monster teacher’s smile was cold and sinister as he looked at Little Fatty.
“Come on, Little Fatty, you sing first.”
Even children had an innate sense of danger.
Little Fatty, sensing the monster teacher’s terrifying aura, trembled and shook his head vigorously.
“No…waaaah…”
The other children joined in, their cries echoing through the small classroom like a mournful symphony.
But the monster teacher wasn’t moved.
He grabbed Little Fatty by the back of his neck, saliva dripping onto his face, and grinned menacingly.
“You won’t sing? Then I’ll eat you first!”
The children, crying, started singing the nursery rhyme, one by one, the time slowly ticking by.
The monster teacher called a halt, watching as the clock ticked closer to the end of class, and cackled.
“Well, I wasn’t satisfied with anyone’s singing today! Be good little snacks for your teacher!”
He reached out and grabbed Little Fatty, his mouth opening wide, just as he was kicked to the ground.
Just as the children were losing hope, Xing Nuo, like a little knight, descended from the heavens, his brother there to rescue them!
“Wow! Xing Nuo’s so amazing, he chased away the bad teacher!”
“Yay! Yay!”
“Xing Nuo came to save us!”
The children’s eyes were filled with adoration.
Shen Baizhou put Xing Nuo down, and he ran to the fallen monster teacher and stomped on him with his little feet.
“Bad…for grabbing…Zaizai! Bad teacher!”
The other children, mimicking him, their little chairs still attached, waddled over and stomped on the bad teacher.
“Bad guy!”
“Hit you! Hit you!”
The monster teacher’s face was covered in small footprints. He was about to retaliate when he looked up and met Shen Baizhou’s cold gaze.
He instantly deflated, looking at the tender little cubs he hadn’t managed to devour, his expression twisting in frustration.
“Just you wait!”
The monster teacher, knowing he couldn’t win, quickly retreated.
His form vanished from the classroom, his virtual self returning to its true form through the spatial rift.
Back in the office of the school instance, he cursed Shen Baizhou and Xing Nuo, fuming.
The other monster teacher who had gone to the high school classroom also returned, looking dazed and defeated.
They exchanged glances, tears and blood mixing on their faces.
They discussed how to get revenge.
The principal, his large belly preceding him, walked in, frowning at the two monsters, his nostrils flaring.
“You’re both useless!”
Just as they were about to explain, the principal raised a hand, silencing them.
“I’m here to inform you that our school instance has a new core boss. It’s been officially upgraded to SSS+ level!”
A smug look appeared on his fat face.
“From a small D-level instance to one of the few SSS+ level instances, truly a remarkable achievement!”
The principal sighed in satisfaction, patted his belly, and led the two monsters towards the conference room.
“Our new boss is here. Remember, don’t anger him!”
The two monsters nodded eagerly and followed the principal.
The moment the door opened, they saw a familiar face.
