Chapter 514: The Prime Suspect

【Main quest updated: Familiarize yourself with the surroundings】

【Quest description: You have successfully entered the instance; please familiarize yourself with the surroundings, play your role well, and explore the storyline.】

【Current quest progress: Important NPCs encountered: 3/?】

Three?

The quest suddenly progressed, and Yang Yixie immediately asked the group about the situation.

Team progress is shared, so Chen Xiaoshuang on Meng Kexin's side counts as one, Qi Junyi in front of him counts as another—what's the third?

Xi Rensheng said he just extorted 50 yuan from someone, so that person should also be a key NPC.

Based on his description, Yang Yixie roughly guessed the other's identity.

As for NPCs wielding a lightsaber, it seems only Yue Chengzhang fits.

At this time, Mitra Academy was truly bustling; all future prominent figures gathered at the school then.

So, which NPC is he waiting for?

【Meng Kexin: I've already sent Chen Xiaoshuang to the Academy, just got the dorm key; after settling in there should be free time. Do you need me to meet you?】

Meng Kexin now has her own side quest, but the instance can't completely tie her down, so she can go meet the two people in the Academy.

Yang Yixie looked at Meng Kexin's message, and a question mark slowly popped up in his mind.

The person they're supposed to pick up isn't Chen Xiaoshuang? Then who is it?

Who else, as an important NPC, is worth them waiting for at the entrance?

While they were dazed, the people entering the school seemed to fast‑forward; soon it was dusk, and at the school gate only he and Qi Junyi remained, foolishly waiting.

Yang Yixie:......

If this instance is mainly plot‑driven, it means his choice might have missed an option, and irrelevant time gets accelerated.

In other words, from the start they could never wait for anyone; after missing the plot's starting point, that useless time was simply skipped.

"Isn't it? Where's that person!"

Qi Junyi's forehead veins bulged; anyone waiting a whole day without meeting their target would grow impatient, let alone he was forced to cut down time with his family.

He decisively turned and left, clearly abandoning the decision to wait foolishly.

"Who loves to wait for whom? I'm not playing the sucker today."

Qi Junyi walked away stylishly; in the blink of an eye, Xi Rensheng also arrived beside Ying Duo.

"Partner!" Xi Rensheng promptly handed the money he just extorted to Ying Duo; after all, it's in‑game currency, who knows when it might be useful.

Ying Duo also accepted it decisively and immediately forwarded a message to Meng Kexin.

【Ying Duo: @Meng Kexin, how's the situation over there?】

【Meng Kexin: Probably we hadn't started cleaning yet, and suddenly it auto‑finished in a second.】

【Ying Duo: Do you know who Chen Xiaoshuang's roommate is?】

Generally, one of the people a student knows best is a roommate, so Chen Xiaoshuang's roommate is likely a suspect for an important NPC.

【Meng Kexin: Chen Xiaoshuang has no roommate; the Chen Family and Mitra Academy have long cooperated, so there are single rooms and even dedicated labs.】

Meng Kexin is fairly familiar with the inner workings, but this instead blocked one of Yang Yixie's paths to explore the plot.

It's not like they could now run a lap of each dorm, meet everyone, and confirm who the important NPC is, right?

Seems they could, though it's not impossible…

Speaking of which, does the Academy have dorm supervisors?

Yang Yixie has always been a player who ignores unimportant NPCs; even if there were dorm supervisors checking rooms, Ying Duo would have to be in the dorm for that to work.

This kind of thing should be asked to Luo Jinyou…

No, Meng Kexin might also know.

【Ying Duo: Generally at this time, where do students appear?】

Since the time suddenly shifted here without continuing, there must be a triggerable plot.

【Meng Kexin: At this point, it should be the cafeteria.】

"Let's go to the cafeteria."

Yang Yixie opened the mini‑map, immediately confirmed the next destination, and arranged for Meng Kexin to meet them there.

"By the way, is the Mitra Academy cafeteria tasty?"

Xi Rensheng and Yang Yixie hurried toward it, somewhat absent‑mindedly thinking.

Their current focus is racing against time; they must arrive before the relevant plot ends, or time will resume flowing.

"...... I don't know."

Yang Yixie truly wasn't sure; for most of his time at Mitra Academy he controlled Ying Duo via phone or computer, and compared to eating, his stored nutrient packs were definitely more convenient.

——————————————

"Want to try it? I heard the beef rice bowl here tastes great."

The brown‑haired girl stood before the menu, beginning to recommend to those beside her.

"How about pairing it with some stir‑fried exotic veggies? The portions look huge; shall we go Dutch?"

"I'm fine with anything, you go ahead."

Unlike her gentle demeanor, the person beside her seemed even colder, tucking a strand of deep‑blue hair that partially blocked the view behind their head, never raising their gaze, focusing intently on the book in their hands.

"Ah, it's you!"

Yue Chengzhang saw the familiar blue silhouette in the distance, immediately waved at them, and briskly approached the two girls.

"Are you okay? Did you go to the infirmary for a check? What did the doctor say?"

At this moment, Yue Chengzhang was undeniably a hot‑blooded youth, perhaps a bit overly so.

"I'm fine."

The girl lifted her eyes, glanced at him, then said no more and lowered her head.

"So you're the one who smashed her thing?"

Min Xingyao, hearing that, curiously raised her head and looked at the Yue Chengzhang before her. Hmm… at a glance, he was a textbook brute.

The rune devices in Mu Lingxiao's hand are all products of the Church's senior rune masters; any single component could ensure an ordinary person lives without worry for food and clothing.

In other words, she kept a low profile, even deliberately avoiding the Academy's people who came to recruit her, and didn't want to pursue this further.

Otherwise, this person simply couldn't afford the compensation.

Yue Chengzhang clearly didn't grasp the intricacies here; he was still more concerned about whether anyone had been injured.

"Um, I'm really sorry..."

Yue Chengzhang's apologies today were unusually verbose, and he seemed to be getting more practiced at them.

And at that moment, Ying Duo and Xi Ren Sheng rushed to the cafeteria, instantly spotting the three people a short distance away.

The main issue is that this instance treats NPCs far too perfunctorily, all of them with black hair and black eyes, so these three with different colors stand out markedly.

When Ying Duo saw the silhouette of blue long hair in the distance, he knew they had come to the right place.

Twins of Time and Space, Divine Oracle of Space.

If we were to name the most likely instigator of all this, then after Space made her appearance, she became the prime suspect.