DSMC Chapter 191.1

Yan Jiyun grabbed the closest weapon to him, which was a submachine gun. 

Now that Qi Feng was outside dealing with the NPCs for him, he could relax a little. At least he no longer had to worry about being attacked from both front and back, and could focus entirely on finding the fake Chu Mo and fake Wen Ye, the two clones.

He crouched behind the cover, listening to the gradually dying sound of gunfire, and began shifting his position.

Since this was an escape from the City of Sin, and there was also a time limit, what he needed to do now was reach the next location as quickly as possible.

The fake Chu Mo and fake Wen Ye were both clones. He didn’t know whether Qi Feng’s gun could kill them, but he knew that players could be shot and killed by NPC players.

However, since the game had dragged him into it, there was a ninety percent chance that the only way to kill these two clones was within this City of Sin game.

Yan Jiyun felt much less worried now that he had someone backing him up.

He slung the submachine gun over his shoulder and ran in the direction of the flow of people.

When he had been outside the game while Qi Feng was inside it, he had also been running toward the center of the city the entire time.

A minute had passed. Qi Feng and he should have already cleared the first stage, and now they had to charge into the second.

The fake Chu Mo and fake Wen Ye hadn’t appeared in the first stage, so they might show up in the second. He had to be even more careful.

The fake Chu Mo should have the original’s memories. If his memories could trace back to the game from a month ago, then the fake Chu Mo should have an impression of him.

He had already exposed himself when he was outside. Had the fake Chu Mo deliberately pulled him into the “City of Sin”?

Even if the fake Chu Mo hadn’t been certain at first whether he was the Yan Jiyun from his memories, after entering the game, he should now know that Yan Jiyun was a player.

Yan Jiyun didn’t care about that. Once inside, either the clone would disappear or he would disappear. And now that he had someone to rely on, it could only be the clone that disappeared.

He smeared some yellow mud over his face. His clothes had changed after entering the game, and he was now dressed entirely in camouflage. With some yellow mud on his face as well, the fake Chu Mo and fake Wen Ye shouldn’t be able to recognize him so easily.

But it was different for him. The clones carried the scent of cats. No matter how deeply they hid, he could still dig them out.

The next location he was heading toward was the market in the city — or, more accurately, a flea market.

After entering the market, there were more civilians wearing headscarves to protect themselves from the heat. Most of them were sitting inside little stalls made from tattered cloth.

There were also quite a few armed soldiers in camouflage rushing in alongside Yan Jiyun.

He first found a place to hide.

He hid behind a one-story building that gave off a strange smell. The surroundings were chaotic, with plenty of footsteps. It wasn’t impossible to distinguish the fake Chu Mo and fake Wen Ye by their footsteps, but he would have to concentrate even more.

He didn’t know how many people were watching Qi Feng play the game from outside the screen, and it was even more impossible for him to turn back into a cat at a time like this.

Speaking of cats, where had Xiao Bai gone?

Yan Jiyun couldn’t find Xiao Bai anywhere nearby, but he heard someone driving a tank straight into a civilian’s house.

Had the second stage begun?

The rattling sound of machine gun fire rang out again. The scene was bloody and violent. Unarmed civilians were knocked to the ground. Even knowing that they were only NPCs, Yan Jiyun couldn’t help frowning. He really disliked this kind of violent game.

He couldn’t understand why so many people liked playing shooting games. When you were actually placed in an environment like this, it was practically a nightmare.

Everything in the tank’s path could be flattened, and with only a submachine gun in his hands, he had no way to deal with it.

Yan Jiyun cautiously poked his head out. Someone was standing on top of the tank.

It was actually the fake Chu Mo.

Fuck, the clones really were this instance’s darlings. The cheats they were given were way too ridiculous.

All the enemy soldiers around Yan Jiyun had already been dealt with by Qi Feng outside, and now all he needed to do was find an opportunity to deal with the clone.

He slung the submachine gun behind his back and circled around the rear of the building.

He saw something reflecting light on the second floor. A man wearing silver ornaments was lying by the second-floor window, and he had a sniper rifle in his hands!

Yan Jiyun waited for the right moment, then deftly climbed up from the metal scaffolding outside. He quietly approached the man and slammed the butt of the submachine gun on his back into the man’s head. The man’s sniper rifle was aimed at the civilians, so clearly he wasn’t a good person either.

He pushed the man aside, decisively taking his position, and began aiming the sniper rifle at the fake Chu Mo standing on top of the tank.

Yan Jiyun had never used a sniper rifle in an instance before, but the operating principles shouldn’t be all that different from playing a game. Besides, during his breaks, he had also practiced using guns in his personal space.

So far, there have been quite a few opportunities to use modern weapons since entering the game, and this might have something to do with the setting of the instance he had entered. If it were a fantasy instance, things might be different. Like that instance involving Lucifer, where he had to learn how to draw magic circles.

He took a deep breath, then a flicker of memories sprouted inside his mind. He remembered someone, perhaps a retired sniper, had once told him: the first time he shot a criminal, it made him vomit, and he suffered from insomnia for quite some time afterward. Thankfully, the military provided psychologists, but they had little effect. In the end, he still had to adapt on his own.

Yan Jiyun silently repeated to himself that the clones weren’t real people. They were fake.

The difference between a computer game and a game involving real people was simply too great.

The fake Chu Mo used the tank to crush a mother and child walking along the road. The child was only eight or nine years old.

This utterly deranged clone!

Through the scope, Yan Jiyun saw the bloodthirsty smile curling at the corner of the fake Chu Mo’s mouth. He was enjoying the moment of crushing someone to death, and even said things like, “That feels great, let’s do it again,” words utterly devoid of humanity.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yan Jiyun pulled the trigger at the fake Chu Mo.

Bang!

The fake Chu Mo collapsed onto the tank.

Yan Jiyun remained steadily crouched behind the sniper rifle. He could feel cold sweat breaking out all over his back.

He had killed a person — no, a clone — who was utterly evil. There was nothing to regret!

Perhaps this was also where the game tested them, and where the horror of it lay. Not only did the players have to kill people, but the people they killed were clones wearing the faces of their friends. If they were frightened out of their minds, they might even accidentally kill an innocent person.

All fear stemmed from the unknown.

Now, only the fake Wen Ye remained. He didn’t know where the other one was hiding.

The unmanned tank rammed directly into an approaching military supply truck, and a thunderous explosion erupted throughout the market.

Yan Jiyun covered his ears and crouched on the ground as yellow dust shaken loose from the wall rained all over him.

After the explosion, Yan Jiyun’s ears were still ringing. He guessed that Xiao Bai, hiding somewhere in the same area, was in the same state. Their hearing was the same.

He looked at the time remaining.

One minute.

The second stage was over. Next, he would have to face the third stage.

He now had two tasks: first, kill the fake Wen Ye; second, find Xiao Bai and have it lead him out.

Yan Jiyun picked up the sniper rifle and submachine gun from the ground and nimbly jumped down from the scaffolding.

Not far from the market was the terrorist group occupying the city. That was their main base.

Yan Jiyun whistled.

This was the method Qi Feng had once used to find him when he couldn’t locate him in their residential complex, resorting to a cat-finding technique only when he had no other choice.

He silently counted down five seconds in his head: Five, four, two, one.

A black head poked out through a hole in the wall behind him.

Yan Jiyun was already carrying two guns. He said to Xiao Bai, “Charge toward that little truck. Xiao Bai, follow me!”

Xiao Bai followed him as they charged toward the small truck parked by the roadside.

Yan Jiyun quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, while Xiao Bai jumped into the passenger seat.

Their coordination was fairly seamless. After all, they were essentially one entity. The black cat had his memories from when he was a cat, so it wasn’t stupid by any means.

Yan Jiyun started the vehicle and drove straight toward the checkpoint ahead.

He knew which character Qi Feng was controlling. The small truck drove straight up to the NPC standing at the intersection ahead.

The NPC was also dressed in camouflage, just like him. Yan Jiyun had seen this game character before. He was a rather skinny young man dressed in oversized camouflage clothing, and from his fingers, which bore no calluses, it was obvious that he was a poor soul who had been forced to pick up a gun.

The protagonist of the game had to struggle against fate, while he had to struggle against the game itself. They were both victims of this shitty game.

Yan Jiyun shouted at him, “Get in!”

The character controlled by Qi Feng still had a mind of his own. He actually hesitated for a moment.

In this kind of single-player game, aside from gunfights, the characters’ other actions were basically beyond the player’s control. After all, it wasn’t an online game where even kissing and hugging could be performed with astonishingly realistic precision.

The skinny young man hesitated for a second before getting into the vehicle, pushing Xiao Bai aside.

Xiao Bai simply jumped onto Yan Jiyun’s lap and crouched there, which didn’t really interfere with his driving.

The skinny young man had a somewhat Middle Eastern-looking face, with freckles scattered across it. For convenience’s sake, Yan Jiyun would just call him the Freckled Youth.

The Freckled Youth nervously stared ahead. He didn’t speak to Yan Jiyun, while all of Yan Jiyun’s attention was currently focused on getting through the checkpoint.

Once they broke through the checkpoint, they would be deep inside the camp!

The Freckled Youth held his gun at the ready.

Yan Jiyun reminded him, “I’m about to charge through the checkpoint. Keep an eye out.”