DSMC Chapter 106.2

Perhaps all three forks led to Angel City, but the obstacles they faced could be different. The first checkpoint on the middle and left forks might be a man-eating monster. Further ahead it might become harder, or possibly easier. The right fork might simply have heavy fog. The road before the fog might not be dangerous, but once inside, players might not even be able to see the path clearly, making it even more dangerous.

It was too frustrating.

Behind every path lay countless dangers. The game simply hadn’t given them any real choice.

The eight players decided to form a team and head together down the fog-covered right fork.

At this time, the players who had to rely on their legs to reach Angel City still hadn’t arrived.

Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo crawled out of the bushes.

Chu Mo brushed grass clippings off his body and asked Yan Jiyun, “Which way are we going? None of the three directions seems likely to bring any benefits.”

Yan Jiyun felt Chu Mo’s thinking was very clear. Although he was someone to be wary of, at this moment their ideas coincided perfectly.

Since the situation was uncertain, Yan Jiyun didn’t intend to say much. “What do you think?”

Chu Mo remembered how he had been tricked by the other party in the forest earlier. This time he wanted to regain some dignity, so he began to show off his intelligence.

Chu Mo: “The right side has fog. Usually that means a higher level of danger. The left and middle directions might have clearer challenge mechanics.”

Yan Jiyun: “Which direction do you lean toward?”

Chu Mo: “Still the left.”

Yan Jiyun: “My choice is also the left.”

He had two considerations: first, the five players hadn’t actually seen the monster either, just a wheel on the ground. The two players on the middle road, however, had seen a monster actively eating. Only the middle road had obvious danger. The right road might not have monsters, but whatever problem lay there might be impossible to guard against. Second, Du Ye had the confidence and sensitivity of an experienced player when dealing with game instances. Yan Jiyun himself had a cat’s sense of smell and could detect the strong earthy scent, while Chu Mo had sensed danger just by getting slightly closer, purely from his experience.

After discussing it, the two decided to move at full speed.

They got on their bicycles and rushed forward as fast as possible.

Recently, Yan Jiyun had rediscovered the thrill of speeding on a bicycle. He pedaled with great force. Seeing this, Chu Mo refused to fall behind.

Both of their livestream chats started cheering them on.

[Playing Safe to Survive] livestream channel: 

“Puppy Brat, overtake him!”

“I think Doggy hasn’t realized the other side is a newbie.”

“The other party doesn’t act like a newbie. Even Doggy got fooled. He looks smart and reliable.”

[Want to Be Human] livestream channel:

“Is our kitten being carried by a big boss?”

“Really? I actually think Kitty Baby is evenly matched with that veteran player. His presence isn’t suppressed at all.”

“Even though we can’t guess what kind of scene and checkpoints the Peak Competition will set up, I think the direction they chose is correct. Right now it’s the effect of one plus one being greater than two. If Mimi were clearing it alone, he might be stuck hesitating about which path to take.”

Although Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo had exited the Demon Forest, the dangers they faced might actually be greater than those inside the forest.

In the Demon Forest, the most dangerous things were players. After leaving the Demon Forest was when they would truly face crisis. There was also another possibility: perhaps they had never actually left the Demon Forest at all.

Along the way, aside from the sound of their wheels against the ground, there was nothing else.

Yan Jiyun’s watch even displayed the distance they had traveled, it’s almost five kilometers now.

Both of them were pedaling hard.

They had been silent the entire way. The surroundings were too quiet, and Chu Mo felt there should be some sound.

He said, “Seems like we haven’t encountered any monsters.”

Yan Jiyun glanced at him and felt that saying something like this might become setting up a flag. He wanted to roll his eyes at him.

Didn’t this guy realize they hadn’t encountered a single player along the way?

The five-person group had even seen a bicycle wheel, but the two of them hadn’t seen even a tire.

Yan Jiyun said, “Don’t you think it’s too quiet?”

Chu Mo: “That’s true, but I think maybe we chose the right route. This road might not actually be that dangerous.”

[Playing Safe to Survive] livestream channel: 

“Lol, they chose the most dangerous route!”

“Doggy, who gave you the confidence to think this road isn’t dangerous?”

“These two are incredible. It’s really one plus one greater than two… the difficulty doubled.”

“But they both chose this road from the start.”

“So they’re two unlucky guys?”

“The unlucky flag has arrived!”

And just as Chu Mo finished speaking, Yan Jiyun heard the thumping footsteps of something chasing them from the forest.

Yan Jiyun said, “Go! Something’s chasing us from behind!”

Even without Yan Jiyun’s reminder, Chu Mo heard it too. He glanced back, and sure enough, something really was chasing them!

“What the hell is that? A huge dark shadow! So big!”

Yan Jiyun felt mentally exhausted. Why did entering an arena require riding a bicycle and sprinting nonstop? This was exhausting, okay?

Didn’t he just eat a few extra meals during his break? Now he was being forced to lose weight.

Yan Jiyun: “Ge, don’t say anything anymore. When we don’t mention it, it doesn’t come. As soon as you mention it, it shows up.”

Chu Mo: “How can you blame me for that?”

Yan Jiyun: “Of course I can blame you. Didn’t it appear right after you opened your mouth?”

Chu Mo: “Just a coincidence!” He refused to admit he had a crow’s mouth.

While pedaling, Yan Jiyun thought that this temporary teammate might as well part ways with him soon. Their personalities didn’t match.

The shadow behind them kept chasing, only slightly slower than them.

From far away, Yan Jiyun could already smell the strong scent of blood coming from it. This thing might be eating live animals or people.

“It’s getting closer. Our bicycles might not outrun it,” Yan Jiyun said to Chu Mo.

“Just keep running. If we don’t try, how will we know? Let’s try to break the limits of humanity.”

Yan Jiyun: “…But he wasn’t even human right now. His body didn’t dissipate heat well, and he couldn’t pedal for too long. He needed rest.

What should they do?

His three-hour time card was almost up as well.

What else could they do? Just run first!

Suddenly, the rear of Yan Jiyun’s bicycle was hooked.

Although the footsteps behind were heavy, the speed wasn’t slow at all. This monster had long arms and legs!

In front of it, Yan Jiyun was like an ant.

He immediately abandoned the bicycle and rolled to the side. Not only was the bicycle hooked away, it was also crushed flat under the monster’s foot.

What the hell was this thing?

The bicycle he worked so hard to grab was just scrapped like that?

If he hadn’t reacted quickly, that stomp might have landed directly on his body!

Chu Mo heard the loud crash and squeezed the brakes to stop. He turned back and asked Yan Jiyun, “You okay?”

Yan Jiyun had thought he would just run away. After all, they hadn’t agreed to team up.

He quickly climbed to his feet and dodged aside. “I’m fine. This thing is very destructive. We can’t outrun it.”

Chu Mo also knew that once the monster locked onto them, there was no escaping. After dealing with Jiang You, it would definitely turn and chase him next. Neither of them could outrun it.

This monster was at least five meters tall, with powerful limbs. Its head was pointed, two antennae on top, skin dark green, a flat mouth filled with densely packed sharp teeth that made one’s skin crawl.

Chu Mo said, “Why do I feel like this guy is the monster those two players from the middle path described earlier?”

Yan Jiyun agreed deeply. “Have you considered that maybe it actually is?”

Chu Mo had seen monsters even more disgusting than this before, but other monsters didn’t keep chasing them nonstop.

Yan Jiyun usually entered puzzle-solving instances. When had he ever encountered something this revolting? He didn’t even feel like commenting on it now.

Seeing them run, the monster chased them while making a sharp scraping sound like peeling paint from a wall.

There was truly nothing about it that people could like!

Chu Mo was still riding his bicycle when the monster suddenly lunged toward him instead of chasing Yan Jiyun.

Chu Mo quickly threw away the bike. “It seems like it doesn’t like bicycles.”

Yan Jiyun caught up with him. They could only keep running forward.

The monster was over five meters tall. Climbing trees might not even let them escape its attacks.

Chu Mo said, “Use props!”

Yan Jiyun: “What props are we supposed to use?” His points weren’t many anymore. “We need to find its weakness first.”

Chu Mo was being chased by the monster and couldn’t think clearly. “But it keeps following us! How do we find it? Damn it, why is it chasing me specifically?”

From the side, Yan Jiyun noticed the monster’s eyes. In bright places it ran faster, but under the shade of trees it seemed unable to lock onto its target. He shouted to Chu Mo, “Ge, into the forest!”

Chu Mo trusted Yan Jiyun’s suggestion and dove straight in.

When the target disappeared, the monster paused slightly. It turned its gaze toward Yan Jiyun, who was still in a brighter area. Yan Jiyun didn’t give it a chance to keep looking, he immediately turned and followed Chu Mo into the forest!

In fact, they had never left the Demon Forest. They were still within its range.

Yan Jiyun listened for direction while running. Chu Mo had fast legs, but Yan Jiyun wasn’t slow either. Even in the forest where only scattered light filtered through, he could keep up with Chu Mo precisely.

The monster relentlessly chased after them!

Presumably the other missing players had also run into the forest. If they had all been eaten by the monster, there should be bicycles scattered everywhere.

Yan Jiyun realized something: the monster had poor vision. In the dark forest it probably relied more on hearing.

He caught up with Chu Mo, grabbed him, and gestured for silence. Chu Mo immediately understood.

He hadn’t been wrong earlier. It really was Chu Mo speaking that had attracted the monster.

The two hid behind a tree without moving, and the monster’s footsteps stopped.

They communicated silently.

Chu Mo: ‘Wait for it to leave?’

With his good vision, Yan Jiyun saw the monster’s constantly pulsing neck and made a throat-slashing gesture to Chu Mo.

Perhaps their tacit understanding wasn’t good enough. Chu Mo didn’t understand: ‘Wait to die?’

Yan Jiyun shook his head and repeated the gesture, adding emphasis: the monster’s neck.

Chu Mo finally understood. “OK, got it.”

Yan Jiyun immediately said, “Damn it, don’t make a sound.” He had been dragged into making noise by this temporary teammate with zero tacit understanding.

Hearing the sound, the monster immediately swung a long arm toward their direction!

The two reacted quickly and dodged.

Silent communication had failed, so they could only fight directly.

Yan Jiyun shouted, “Its weak point is the neck!”

Chu Mo: “I have a sword!” He pulled a long sword from his inventory. “This thing should be able to cut its neck, right? But it’s too tall, there’s no way!”

Yan Jiyun had no time to buy a knife from the shop. He said to Chu Mo, “Give me the sword. I’ll try.”

Chu Mo tossed the pop  to him. The next second, Yan Jiyun climbed one of the relatively tall trees. “Lead it over and kite it for a while. I’ll try cutting its neck from the side!”

Chu Mo was still admiring Yan Jiyun’s tree-climbing ability when he suddenly realized he had been assigned the task!

He was usually the one assigning others.

Chu Mo ran around under the tree, kiting the monster. “Are you ready?”

Climbing trees was extremely dangerous. If Yan Jiyun slipped and fell, he’d be crippled if not dead. But he knew Chu Mo definitely couldn’t climb as fast or as steadily as he could.

Yan Jiyun found a suitable position and gripped the trunk tightly. “Come on, I’m ready!”

Chu Mo led the monster toward Yan Jiyun’s tree. The monster had limited intelligence and chased after him. Several times Chu Mo almost had his clothes snagged by its claws. It was a narrow escape from death.

Yan Jiyun watched the pointed-headed monster rush forward. He hid sideways behind the trunk. As the monster lunged toward the tree in front of him, he precisely thrust the sword into the pulsing blood vessels of its neck!

With a slash, foul-smelling blood burst out.

Yan Jiyun hid behind the tree with all his strength, so only his arms got splashed. But Chu Mo under the tree wasn’t so lucky. He had no time to dodge and was drenched in the stinking blood.

The monster let out a long shriek after being stabbed. Even as it died, it flailed its long arms. But its neck had been cut open by the sword, and the next moment its heavy body collapsed backward with a dull thud.

Yan Jiyun looked down from the tree and saw Chu Mo standing stiffly with his eyes tightly shut. The foul blood dripped onto the dry leaves.

He felt a great deal of sympathy for his temporary teammate.

But the sound he made betrayed his mood at the moment: “Pfft.”

He was really miserable.