DSMC Chapter 104.2

After finishing his preparations, Yan Jiyun started heading toward the town.

According to the watch’s compass, he should move southeast.

The forest covered an enormous area. Even with five hundred players landing here, it didn’t feel crowded. Some players might even have been blown by the wind into more remote corners.

However, the first round of mutual attacks had already begun. The number of players was still decreasing. Some players were eliminated, while others gradually accumulated points. The more points a player accumulated, the better their game experience would be. They occupied the most advantageous position.

Yan Jiyun had a natural advantage in the forest. The ground was covered with dry branches and fallen leaves; anyone stepping on them would make subtle noises, making it impossible to approach him silently. Of course, that was unless he encountered players lying in ambush or those using “talent skills.”

But Yan Jiyun didn’t want to meet anyone. If he could avoid them, he would. He tried to conserve his stamina for the dangers ahead. Unfortunately, his luck remained the same. So far he hadn’t encountered a single prop box from fallen players. Relying on luck to pick up free points seemed difficult as others had probably already looted them.

Danger lurked everywhere in the forest. Not only did he have to worry about attacks from other players, but also wild beasts suddenly appearing.

Although Yan Jiyun had just come out of the zoo instance, that was a zoo where animals were trained or possessed human-like awareness. Here, however, they were real wild beasts. He had already heard the sound of a player being chased by a large animal in the distance. Looking at the ground, he saw not only large animal footprints but also fresh human bloodstains.

This was the true meaning of “leaving the instance alive.”

He had to quickly bypass this area. Blood would attract more beasts.

He had made another miscalculation. He shouldn’t have used a three-hour time card right away. Now he couldn’t turn back into a cat even if he wanted to. He could only run for his life in human form.

And worse still, he ran into someone camping and waiting to ambush lone players.

He spotted a man crouching on a tree ahead. If it weren’t for his sharp sense of smell detecting the scent of mosquito-repellent medicine on the man, he wouldn’t have noticed him at all. If he had passed under the tree, the man could have jumped down and stabbed him from behind, ending his arena trip in a single strike.

Luckily, his sense of smell was still reliable.

The man was very alert. He noticed Yan Jiyun. As he turned his head, Yan Jiyun also saw him clearly. The man had smeared camouflage mud across his face, blending perfectly with the forest colors. A dagger was clenched between his teeth, clearly waiting to ambush players. If he hadn’t encountered Yan Jiyun, he could have trapped several more victims.

Yan Jiyun thought he probably should have smeared green mud on his face too. A miscalculation.

His experience really was inferior to veteran players.

If Yan Jiyun wanted to reach the town, he had to pass through here. But he couldn’t be sure whether the man had set up traps ahead.

This person had deliberately chosen this location to ambush players. His thinking was clear. He knew that anyone heading toward the town had to pass here. Another possibility was that wild beasts roamed nearby, allowing him to harvest points from players injured by beasts. It was killing two birds with one stone, relying on his own ability.

This person was probably at least an Intermediate-level player. He had hidden himself silently.

Neither of them moved. They simply watched each other.

The man crouching in the tree had plenty of patience. Several players had already passed earlier and had their points “taxed” by him. He had been excitedly waiting for the next little prey to appear. But this one suddenly stopped moving. His vigilance was like a small wild animal.

His livestream chat was already going wild.

[Playing Safe to Survive¹CN name: 苟一苟 (gǒu yī gǒu). It’s a gaming slang meaning “playing safe/lie low/avoid risk in order to survive”. 苟 means “careless/negligent” in this context.] livestream channel:

“Doggy²his viewer called him “狗狗” (gǒu gǒu), meaning “doggy”. It’s also homophonic with his livestream name, so that might be one of the reasons he’s nicknamed that., one more and you’ll have a five-kill streak!”

“Hahaha, let’s see which little cutie just ran into him.”

“Huh? Why isn’t the little cutie moving? Did he discover our Doggy?”

“No way, no way. Doggy hid so well! How did he notice? I think Doggy might have finally met his match.”

“Doggy, charge! Get that fifth kill!”

“Even from the god POV camera I can’t tell he’s crouching on the tree. How did this player find him?”

“Does anyone know who that player is? I’m going to check his livestream!”

“Don’t know.”

“Never seen him.”

“Not familiar.”

“I’ve never seen such a pretty little face before. He must be a newbie who just came out of the Easy-level instance. As a face-con I’ve failed! Going to investigate now~”

“Back with info! Doggy lost in the name department! That guy is called Kitty Baby! So cute. I want to switch sides.”

“Kitty Baby? Curly-haired cat? Sounds adorable. His hair is kind of curly!”

“Doggy, allow me to switch sides for a moment.”

“I’m back! He really is called Kitty Baby.”

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun didn’t know that his viewer count had suddenly spiked. Many people had come over just to check him out, while his own viewers also went to watch the other streamer. And when they did, they were shocked.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Holy shit! The opponent’s livestream is already Level 4! Our Kitty Baby’s is only Level 1! Even adding up four instances, it hasn’t been a month. I calculated it, the total livestream time across all four instances is only 10 days.”

“I was happy Kitty Baby entered another instance so quickly and started streaming, but it’s actually the Peak Competition, truly a hell-level start. To reach Level 4, that streamer must have spent over half a year in instances! That means he’s been in the game at least two years. A veteran player!”

“This intense? Our Kitty Baby is just a tiny sapling. His time in-game isn’t even a fraction of that guy’s! What should we do? My darling baby won’t die in this Peak Competition, right? For the first time I hope the system won’t be too harsh on him!! Sob sob sob sob— Cheering for Kitty Baby with tears!”

“Came over to watch the newbie. Followed the stream.”

“He’s really a little cutie. But thinking he might get harvested by our Doggy makes me feel a little pity.”

“Who harvests whom isn’t certain. Don’t speak too soon. We think Cat Cub is strong too!”

“A veteran player versus a Level 1 newbie streamer. How can he win? I’m afraid to watch.”

“Cat cult and dog cult are always enemies!”

Yan Jiyun also knew he was facing a veteran player. He maintained the stance: if the enemy doesn’t move, neither does he.

So far, neither of them had spoken first. Trash talk was even less likely.

The opponent occupied the only passable route. The surroundings were blocked by vines and plants taller than a person. If he wanted to pass there, he’d have to cut through with a knife little by little.

Yan Jiyun had no intention of clearing a path for now. But he also didn’t want to show weakness immediately. Until he knew what abilities the opponent had, he would never attack first.

Across from him, Chu Mo also wouldn’t rashly attack a player. He preferred ambushes. Now that he’d been discovered, his desire to attack had dropped by 50%. The remaining fifty percent depended on how the other player reacted. If the other side attacked first, he would naturally defend himself.

In the moment Chu Mo lost focus, the player who had been watching him suddenly climbed a tree, and climbed even higher than him!

Oh ho. Not bad.

That skill was enviable.

Yan Jiyun’s tree-climbing skills had been trained, though he didn’t notice the flash of admiration in Chu Mo’s eyes. That was because he had heard the distant sound of a beast smelling blood and rushing toward them. The beast was extremely fast — it would reach them in about five seconds.

That was why Yan Jiyun had climbed the tree instantly!

Just as Chu Mo withdrew his admiring expression, he heard a loud crashing sound.

A massive brown bear appeared in their field of vision.

Having just come out of the zoo instance, Yan Jiyun had learned plenty about animals. He knew a bear’s sense of smell was five to seven times stronger than a dog’s. If he hadn’t climbed the tree, the bear would definitely have charged straight at him.

Fighting it was impossible. Better to wait until it moved on.

Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo crouched on their respective trees, not daring to move.

The bear kept ramming the trees around them. It had also smelled the herbal scent on Chu Mo and began bumping against the tree he was on.

Chu Mo had been squatting, but now he had to hug the trunk to keep from being shaken off.

Watching from across the way, Yan Jiyun saw the bear smashing the tree. History really repeated itself. The last time he saw something like this was… when Caesar chased him around in the previous instance. He never wanted to experience that again.

Clearly, this veteran player had never experienced a bear ramming a tree before. Yan Jiyun noticed he seemed a little scared. He heard him mutter a curse under his breath.

Yan Jiyun wondered if he could use this chance to slip away.

Before entering this instance he had washed away all scent from his body. At least he didn’t carry any strange chemical smells.

The bear continued pacing beneath Chu Mo’s tree. It had likely smelled the trace of blood on him from when he killed a small snake earlier. Could it really smell that?

Why was the bear still ramming his tree? Why not the other player’s tree? This was discrimination!

Even though Chu Mo was a veteran player, he had no experience being chased by a bear. Leaving was impossible, staying wasn’t any better.

The bear weighed several hundred kilos. It might not break the tree, but blocking his escape route like this was extremely frustrating.

Even worse, the player on the opposite tree had already jumped to another tree.

Damn. When did he jump over there? How did he make no sound?

As for when did Yan Jiyun jump…

Of course he jumped while the bear distracted Chu Mo. Using the branches, he lightly leapt to another tree. During the three days he rested in the zoo instance, whenever he didn’t transform into human form he played this same game with Caesar. Watching that rich kid fail to catch him was satisfying. Over time he had gained plenty of experience.

When Chu Mo lost focus again, Yan Jiyun jumped to another tree even farther away. After that tree, he was already on the path toward the town, meaning he had passed Chu Mo and was no longer within his threat range.

Suddenly Chu Mo spoke weakly, asking for help, “Hey, can’t you help me? Save me.”

Yan Jiyun hugged the trunk in front of him. “Sorry man, I don’t dare. I’m afraid of bears. I really can’t help.”

Only then did Chu Mo calmly ask, “Tell me, how did you jump across?”

Oh, asking about that? Yan Jiyun didn’t mind sharing. He had the urge to explain.

Yan Jiyun demonstrated a forward-lunging motion.

“Watch carefully. First do this posture, then push with your legs and you can jump to the branch across. It’s simple. I’ll demonstrate.”

Then Chu Mo watched Yan Jiyun lightly leap to another tree, getting even farther away.

From the tree, Yan Jiyun waved at him. “Ge, did you see? If not, I can show you again.”

He jumped from one tree to another. His voice drifted farther and farther away. Standing on a large tree, he turned and shouted, “Ge, did you learn it? If not, I can demonstrate again. No need to thank me~”

Chu Mo watched the slightly curly-haired player get farther and farther away until he disappeared from view. How the fuck can he learn anything!! 

Chu Mo stared hopelessly at the huge bear pacing below the tree. 

“Holy shit!”

Somehow it felt like he’d just been played!

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  CN name: 苟一苟 (gǒu yī gǒu). It’s a gaming slang meaning “playing safe/lie low/avoid risk in order to survive”. 苟 means “careless/negligent” in this context.
• 2
  his viewer called him “狗狗” (gǒu gǒu), meaning “doggy”. It’s also homophonic with his livestream name, so that might be one of the reasons he’s nicknamed that.