DSMC Chapter 195

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Hahahahaha!! The other players think Kitty Baby is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he himself is nervously shaking out his hand. That contrast is just too freaking cute~”

“I’m seriously only shipping Kitty Baby and his pooper-scooper now. They’re trusting each other more and more.”

“Does the master still not know Mimi’s true identity? If Mimi’s identity gets exposed, wouldn’t that be exciting?”

“I actually have this faint sense of anticipation for his identity being exposed, hahaha!”

“Waiting for the identity reveal, hehe.”

“The process is thrilling, but right now there are twice as many copies as there are players. Can they really leave the instance? I’m so worried.”

“No, my heart can’t take this. My Kitty Baby absolutely CANNOT  get hurt! But this instance can also make so many little black cats. Damn, they’re so cute! Trash-game livestream, you’ve ruined my youth!”

While the viewers were worried about whether Yan Jiyun could successfully leave the Top-level instance, Yan Jiyun himself had gained an entirely new understanding of himself.

He discovered that ever since entering the Top-level instance, he no longer had a cat’s eyesight. Before, things had been slightly blurry and not particularly clear, but this time, he realized that his eyesight might have reached 5.2 or even 5.3, which was considered very good eyesight.

As everyone knew, although cats had excellent dynamic vision, they were naturally nearsighted. After turning into a human, he had mainly relied on his hearing rather than his eyesight. But only now did he realize that his vision was actually better than when he first entered the instance. He could see the characters on the license plate of the car downstairs perfectly clearly. He guessed that his eyesight had already reached 5.3.

Could it be because he was using a Human Form Time Card, and using it for a long time caused this kind of “side effect,” allowing its functions to level up as well?

If he got the chance to leave the Top-level instance, he would have to ask the system about this.

He could see the movements and expressions of the people downstairs very clearly. Combined with his extraordinary hearing, even though he was crouching on the sixth floor, it was as if he were standing right beside them and listening to their conversation.

Two copies had been eliminated at once, leaving five people.

Chu Mo gave Qi Feng a thumbs-up. “Impressive. I didn’t expect you to have another trick up your sleeve.” He was also quite curious. “Who is he? Can he come out and meet us?”

Qi Feng himself had not expected Yan Jiyun’s marksmanship to be this good. But when someone praised the person behind him, he naturally felt proud. However, he decisively refused to reveal Yan Jiyun’s true identity. He knew very well that it would be strange for Yan Jiyun to appear here as a newcomer, and keeping his identity hidden was also a way of protecting him.

He answered honestly, “It’s inconvenient to tell you, but he is definitely someone I can trust.”

Anyone whom the clones of his Caramel were willing to follow was a trustworthy companion.

Su Qiuming was actually the first to support Qi Feng. “It’s better not to tell us, so that when another wave of copies appears, we don’t expose our allies as well. The more people who know, the more dangerous it is.”

Chu Mo nodded. “That’s true. I didn’t think it through. Speaking of which, now that the copies of Qi Yunchu and Yu Zhe have been killed by us, wouldn’t it be easier to find the real ones next? Should we stick together? If we split up again, we’ll still have to identify our teammates all over again.”

They all knew very well that the copies had appeared in several waves, so many times that they were almost numb to it. Everyone was more or less mentally exhausted, and if the chaos continued, it was inevitable that they would eventually make a wrong judgment.

By now, everyone’s Sanity Value should be approaching the danger threshold.

The five people who had been confirmed so far, including Qi Feng, were all originals, not clones.

Qi Feng did not belong to any guild, and he had worked with Chu Mo before, so there was no history of grievances between them. Su Qiuming and Qi Feng had a complicated history of grudges, but neither of them said anything, so the others did not know about it. Xu Xian looked left and right, so anxious that he was practically wearing his lips raw, yet he still did not know how to speak.

Xu Xian did not dare say or ask anything. “Feng-ge, Ming-ge, what should we do now?”

Su Qiuming leaned back against the hood of the car again, bending one leg with his hiking shoe resting on it. He did not care about taking the initiative and said to Qi Feng, “For now, I’ll listen to you.”

Qi Feng had started out fighting alone, and no one knew when he had developed a new partner. He looked around the shopping mall, but could not see anything.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye exchanged glances. “We’ll listen to Feng-ge’s arrangements too.”

Qi Feng had nothing to refuse. This was exactly the result he wanted. At this point, he wanted to have all the information in his hands. With Yan Jiyun and Caramel’s clones helping them, they could quickly find the copies and eliminate them one by one, then unite all the players and clear the instance together.

“Can we join you?”

Behind them, Yang-ge was supporting Yin Zi, whose face had gone pale from blood loss.

Apart from Qi Feng, the other four all looked at Yin Zi and Yang-ge warily.

Yan Jiyun had just helped them eliminate a copy, so Qi Feng only asked them, “What was your relationship with that man just now?”

Yang-ge said indignantly, “The three of us entered the game together. We had always worked together to fight the monsters in the instance. When we were in Building A, Yin Zi and I were separated from him for ten minutes. After that, we stayed together the whole time. We never thought that in those ten minutes, a copy would take advantage of the opening.”

Yin Zi said, “We really aren’t clones.”

Xu Xian was the most likely among them to offend people when he spoke. “How can you prove that you aren’t copies?”

Yin Zi looked troubled. “We have no way to prove it.”

At this point, the probability of proving that an unfamiliar person was a copy was practically zero. It was simply impossible.

Qi Feng glanced at Xiao Hei, who had just jumped back into his arms, and decided to try another approach.

“We have no way to distinguish them ourselves, but the cat in my arms might be able to help me.” Qi Feng skillfully stroked Xiao Hei’s neck. The little guy looked completely relaxed. It already had some of its owner’s memories, and now it was completely relaxed and trusting toward Qi Feng. “How about this? If the cat is willing to approach you, then I’ll believe that you aren’t clones.” There was an element of gambling in what he was doing.

Xu Xian did not quite agree with Qi Feng’s approach. He wanted to open his mouth and argue that Qi Feng was being too hasty, but before he could say anything, Su Qiuming pulled him behind him, preventing him from interrupting.

Yin Zi glanced at the black cat in Qi Feng’s arms, whose eyes were a vivid emerald green. Her shoulders shrank as she took a step backward. “I-I’m afraid of cats. I’ve never been liked by small animals since I was little. Doing this can’t prove that we aren’t copies.”

Qi Feng gave Yin Zi a meaningful look before asking Yang-ge, “What about you? If neither of you is willing to use this method to distinguish yourselves, then the two of you may not be able to join our team. I have to take responsibility for my teammates’ safety.”

Crouching upstairs, Yan Jiyun sighed inwardly. ‘Some people’s charisma really did reveal itself without them even realizing it.’

Once Qi Feng said that, who wouldn’t want to be his teammate? A responsible person would make their teammates feel at ease no matter what kind of environment they were in.

Xu Xian, who had wanted to argue just now, also stopped making trouble.

Yang-ge hesitated for a moment before reassuring Yin Zi, “Yin Zi, don’t worry. A cat with spiritual awareness won’t do anything to us.”

Yin Zi reluctantly nodded, her expression aggrieved. “Fine.”

From upstairs, Yan Jiyun clearly saw everything the woman was expressing. He remembered that she had not sounded like this just moments ago. Strange. Her personality had changed way too quickly.

At this moment, Qi Feng put Little Heihei down on the ground. “Xiao Hei, go.” 

Xiao Hei did not need Qi Feng to explain anything. It walked straight over to Yin Zi and Yang-ge, then stopped in front of them without approaching any further.

After two seconds, it moved its nose, inching a little closer, but still did not touch either of them, much less rub against their legs. Then it ran back.

The expressions Chu Mo and the others directed at the two changed.

Qi Feng calmly said, “Sorry, you two. My little companion doesn’t really trust you.”

Yan Jiyun had to admire Qi Feng’s move.

Little Heihei was originally Yan Jiyun’s clone, so he understood “Caramel” very well. It would not casually rub against strangers. It had Caramel’s memories and behaved similarly to Caramel. It really could distinguish people who were not good-natured.

Regardless of whether Yin Zi and Yang-ge were copies or not, Qi Feng had no intention of letting them join the team for the time being, so he used Little Heihei’s behavior as a way to send them away.

If they were clones, the two sides would soon be separated. If they were both genuine players, it would not affect their friendship either.

Yan Jiyun watched the entire thing. There was nothing wrong with Xiao Hei’s behavior. That only meant it did not like those two people; it did not mean they were copies.

When he had been close to the copy just now, he had not noticed any unusual scent coming from it. They were exactly the same as humans, flesh and blood humans. They were not cheap imitations, but one-to-one copies whose memories could even be completely reproduced.

Having unfamiliar people distinguish other people could easily lead to accidental harm. Qi Feng’s method of having Xiao Hei distinguish humans was very useful.

Instead of looking at whether the other party was a copy, they could look at their morality and determine whether they were worth helping.

There was another point: Xiao Hei was also a clone. Perhaps it had some means of identifying other copies as well.

The copied cats had only just appeared, and a cat’s cognitive system was different from a human’s, so they could not be generalized. Both Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun were still figuring things out, and they did not have much time left now.

Yan Jiyun guessed that their five-person team would not split up for the time being.

However, even if they did split up now, it would not matter much. As long as they had Xiao Hei’s scent on them, there should not be much of a problem.

After Yin Zi and Yang-ge were rejected by their team, they chose to stand farther away from them. Because Yin Zi was injured, they did not leave immediately.

The fact that the others did not attack them was equivalent to letting them leave.

Xu Xian was impulsive by nature. After watching them leave, he said, “Aren’t they copies? Why let them go?”

Su Qiuming explained to him, “Because we’re not sure, we used the excuse that the cats don’t like them to get them to leave. We have no way of confirming whether they’re copies, so there’s no need to attack everyone indiscriminately.” After speaking, he looked at Qi Feng. “Right, Qi Feng?”

Qi Feng couldn’t say Su Qiuming’s explanation was wrong, but it was more or less accurate. “Something like that.”

For now, they didn’t know that cats could be copied too, but there was no need to explain that to them yet.

Yan Jiyun was currently in a semi-free state while using his time card. He was still coordinating with Qi Feng, so he wouldn’t be acting alone for the time being either.

Xiao Bai suddenly looked in a certain direction. Yan Jiyun also heard some movement coming from that way, originating from the sixth floor.

Yan Jiyun immediately packed up the sniper rifle and slung it over his back. His current position was too easy to discover. “Xiao Bai, let’s go.”

His current plan was to avoid revealing himself for the time being and protect his main account’s identity.

Xiao Bai was more timid than the other copied cats. Whenever there were too many people around, it stuck close to Yan Jiyun. To Xiao Bai, Yan Jiyun was its main account, its boss who could protect it.

Yan Jiyun was convinced that Xiao Bai was a defective product. He refused to admit that being timid was a flaw of his own!

There were two sets of approaching footsteps around the sixth floor, but they were coming from opposite sides rather than together.

No, there were more than two sets of footsteps. There were some downstairs as well.

Yan Jiyun picked up Xiao Bai and ducked under the reception desk at the front of a Chinese restaurant.

Damn it, what was going on? Why were there suddenly so many people? The players were still trembling with fear, yet the clones had already joined forces?

There was an escalator to Yan Jiyun’s right, but if he went out now, he would expose his identity.

The footsteps approached quickly, and soon quite a few familiar faces appeared.

Every one of them was armed.

Tsk, they were certainly quick.

Yan Jiyun had just discussed things with Qi Feng. When they encountered players, they would first take them into the game to look for items, then come back out to deal with the clones. Unfortunately, the clones had Qi Feng’s memories.

That’s right. The person now standing at the head of the group of copies, right where Yan Jiyun had been crouching earlier, was another fake Qi Feng!

A large number of copies had poured into Building C, at least twenty or so, while there were only twenty-nine players in total.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye immediately stood close together. “Thank goodness neither of us has a copy.”

Qi Feng said, “Your clones already died in the City of Sin.”

Chu Mo replied, “So that’s why you were sure there was nothing wrong with us.”

“Right.” Given their abilities, they would certainly have prioritized eliminating their own copies. Yan Jiyun had just happened to run into them and taken care of the job.

They had all seen the copies suddenly appear. Clearly, they were making a major move.

This was a showdown between Qi Feng and his copy.

The fake Qi Feng upstairs addressed the copies he had gathered. “Conveniently, there are five real players here. They’ve given us an opportunity. Kill them!”

Among the copies were two Xu Xians, one Su Qiuming, one Qi Feng, and two Qi Yunchus. The rest were copies of unfamiliar players, with some players having more copies than others. Even Yin Zi and Yang-ge, who hadn’t left yet, each had two copies.

Xu Xian cursed, “Did he gather every single copy nearby??”

At first, he had been so pleased with himself for dragging Qi Feng into the instance. Now he regretted it just as much. He had brought this enormous problem upon himself.

Qi Feng had just finished dealing with one of his own copies. He wasn’t worried that he couldn’t handle the one that had just appeared.

He could guess why the other copy had shown himself now. First, he didn’t have the most recent memories, so it would be easy to identify him. Second, there were now five players gathered together. Eliminating some of them would save him the time and effort of finding the real players later.

Chu Mo said, “There are too many copies. We can’t beat them, can we?”

Wen Ye replied, “If we coordinate well, we might just barely win.”

Yan Jiyun recognized the person in front of him. This was the fake Qi Feng who had previously tricked Qi Yunchu into going to the lounge and killed him there.

The real Qi Feng had brought the team together through his personal charisma, while the copy had done so through deception. The difference in their character was immediately obvious.

However, fake Qi Feng valued his own life more than most. He had the other copies act as cannon fodder while he stood upstairs, waiting to collect the results. Twenty copies against six or seven people was more than enough to overwhelm them.

The real players had to die. The clones would win this battle.

Yan Jiyun understood Qi Feng’s abilities. Since fake Qi Feng had inherited Qi Feng’s combat skills, Yan Jiyun wondered whether he could quietly slip away from behind him without being noticed. His current hiding spot wasn’t particularly useful for helping Qi Feng and the others.

There were too many copies. Twenty people against five meant each player would have to deal with roughly three opponents. On top of that, they didn’t know whether Yin Zi and Yang-ge were players or copies. Qi Feng and the others were surrounded from both front and back.

However, Qi Feng wasn’t going to sit around and wait to die either.

The copies were all upstairs, while they were still downstairs, with some distance between them.

“Run while they’re still upstairs!” Qi Feng said. Fighting this many people would exhaust them to death. “Before you go, touch my cat.”

Xu Xian couldn’t understand Qi Feng’s obsession with cats. “At a time like this, you’re still asking us to pet a cat? Are you—”

Before he could finish, Su Qiuming was the first to stroke Xiao Hei, then ran off in one direction. Xu Xian had no choice but to follow him, giving Xiao Hei a quick pat as well.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye were stunned, but they quickly petted Xiao Hei too and immediately ran off in the opposite direction.

They had thought Qi Feng would stay behind and fight them head-on. Wasn’t fighting what he was good at?

But Qi Feng had his own reasons. After meeting Yan Jiyun, he had begun to change his way of thinking. There was no need to stubbornly face everything head-on. If he couldn’t win or simply didn’t want to fight, then run!

There was another reason he didn’t want to fight: Yan Jiyun was on the sixth floor. He knew himself well enough to understand that as soon as Yan Jiyun moved, fake Qi Feng on the sixth floor would discover his position.

Qi Feng ran toward Building D with Xiao Hei Hei in his arms, suddenly shouting up at fake Qi Feng, “We’re going to farm equipment!”

Fake Qi Feng was, after all, only a copy. He didn’t understand what the real Qi Feng meant. “Why are you telling me that? Is there some deeper meaning?”

The five players ran as soon as they realized the situation was bad, and the copies chased after them.

After hearing Qi Feng’s shout, the others also changed direction and followed him. Even Yin Zi and Yang-ge gritted their teeth and chased after them.

Although fake Qi Feng didn’t understand what the real Qi Feng’s words meant, Yan Jiyun did. It was a code phrase between them.

Fake Qi Feng couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried. After thinking for a few seconds, he ran down the escalator.

Only then did Yan Jiyun pick up Xiao Bai and head toward the regular stairs.

However, he waited until all the copies in Building C, including fake Qi Feng, had left before following them to Building D.

By then, ten minutes had passed.

At that point, he once again returned to the game lobby. He was still wearing the uniform of a game lobby employee.

The lobby was full of NPCs, but Qi Feng and the others were nowhere to be seen. He glanced at the game machine currently running the City of Sin game. The NPCs inside were all familiar faces.

Using his employee identity, he took a large pile of coins from the front desk and stuffed them all into the game machine.

At the same time, he received another system notification: the next wave of copies would arrive in three minutes.

The next wave of clones is about to arrive. Players, please get ready~]

Time was running short!

Yan Jiyun rubbed his palms together and took a deep breath at the screen. “Time to get to work!”