DSMC Chapter 108.2

Qi Feng recognized the curly-haired young man. Some time ago, when he was waiting in a Newcomer instance for Caramel, he had exchanged a few words with Qiu Xi, and this young man had greeted him. Since he knew Qiu Xi, he was probably a new player.

Chu Mo ran in front, Yan Jiyun in the middle, and Qi Feng behind.

For the first time, Yan Jiyun was fleeing for his life together with his pooper-scooper. Somehow, it felt meaningful. A sense of security really mattered.

But the gameplay experience? Not so great.

The players’ screams were getting closer, and the giant monster was charging toward them at high speed.

Crash!

Thud!

Smack!

Those were the sounds of players being flung into trees, coughing blood, and falling to the ground. Even if they didn’t die, they’d be half-dead.

Everything pointed to one thing: this monster was far more vicious than the previous one. It could track players accurately, meaning better vision, faster speed, and more precise attacks.

The players it slammed into the ground made no sound afterward. Hearing the trio running, the monster began charging straight toward them.

Chu Mo glanced back and shouted, “I can feel it getting closer! Any ideas?!”

None of them had seen this monster before. They had no answer.

Qi Feng said, “There’s a bend ahead. We might be able to lose it there!”

Chu Mo might not hear, so Yan Jiyun repeated, “There’s a bend ahead. Maybe we can shake it there!”

Chu Mo ran like the wind. “I see it!” Saving that guy had been the right call. Riding a Pegasus really gave a different perspective than staying on the ground.

The three of them turned at the bend. Chu Mo’s eyesight was good. “There’s a cave ahead, do we go in?”

Yan Jiyun relayed the question. “There’s a cave. Do we enter?”

Qi Feng said, “No.” Then added to Yan Jiyun, “No need to relay. I can hear. Save your energy.”

Chu Mo frowned. “If we don’t go in, we just keep running?”

Yan Jiyun understood immediately. “If the monster collapses the cave, we’ll be trapped inside. We can’t go in!”

Chu Mo sighed. “Fine, we keep running. Then what’s the point of the bend?!”

Yan Jiyun thought the same. But he had just finished one instance  and was already running again. It was exhausting.

And right beside him was such a tempting target. He really wanted to jump onto his master’s shoulder instead of running on his own legs.

Qi Feng said, “It should help. If the monster relies on sight, once we turn, it might lose us.”

They ran along the rocky slope. Whether it blocked the monster’s vision or not, the violent tremors began to subside.

It worked!

Yan Jiyun thought, ‘As expected of my shit shovel officer. He’s amazing.’

Though he praised him inwardly, he showed nothing on his face. “The movement slowed, but it still feels like it can see us.”

As soon as he said that, he felt a rustling beneath the ground, much faster than branches being pushed aside, like something burrowing underground.

“Something’s below us! Watch out!” Yan Jiyun warned. His hearing was sharper than theirs, and now wasn’t the time to worry about hiding it. Survival came first.

Qi Feng was running almost side by side with him. The moment Yan Jiyun finished speaking, something wrapped around both their waists.

Yan Jiyun was yanked off the ground, his feet dangling as he grabbed onto it.

‘Wait, this wasn’t a vine!’

The surface felt slick. “What is this thing?” Disgusting… like a giant octopus tentacle.

Qi Feng remained calm. “It’s a tentacle.”

Chu Mo wasn’t spared either. “But how is there an octopus on land?!”

Qi Feng replied, “Not necessarily an octopus. There are all kinds of strange monsters here. We need to figure out how to deal with it.”

Yan Jiyun was flung into a patch of low plants, then dragged out again. Branches scratched his body painfully, and the constant swinging made him dizzy. He felt like he might vomit.

He had to act. He quickly bought a dagger from the shop and stabbed it into the tentacle around his waist.

The creature’s skin was too thick. The blade wouldn’t go in at all.

Yan Jiyun shouted, “It’s too tough! I can’t pierce it!”

Chu Mo was being whipped around as well. “Damn, it can run and has tentacles? This thing has way too many abilities!” He slashed with his sword, but it only chipped the blade. “Even the sword doesn’t work!”

Qi Feng was slammed toward a tree, but just before impact, he planted his feet against the trunk and twisted his body. The tentacle missed, and he avoided injury.

In his hand, a handgun appeared. He fired a burst at the thick tentacle.

Bang!

The tentacle was hit, and the smell of cooked meat filled the air.

Amid the scent, Qi Feng dropped steadily to the ground.

Yan Jiyun: “…” The smell of the meat was actually pretty good!

Damn it! His nose was too sensitive. Why was he even thinking about food at a time like this?

He tried to mentally call the system to buy a handgun.

[Purchasing a handgun requires 5000 points. Your balance is insufficient. Transaction failed.]

Not enough points? No way to exchange for a firearm?? This was a disaster!

Bang!

The tentacle wrapped around Yan Jiyun’s waist loosened, retracting back after being hurt.

Yan Jiyun flipped cleanly and landed on his feet without falling. Qi Feng glanced at him, thinking this newcomer had pretty good skills.

Chu Mo was still being flung around. Qi Feng fired another shot at the point where the tentacle touched the ground, and it retracted as well.

Yan Jiyun couldn’t help but praise him: his master’s shooting really was precise.

Qi Feng said, “Looks like we can only deal with this monster using firearms. Knives and swords won’t work. Its skin is too thick.”

Chu Mo wasn’t bad either, but he had been shaken dizzy. When he fell, he hit the ground hard, yelped a couple of times, and only then got back up. Both he and Yan Jiyun had taken quite a hit.

Yan Jiyun rubbed his back where he’d been scraped by branches. It stung when he moved, but the pain was still bearable.

He had gone through four instances without really getting injured. The worst had been eating barbecue until he threw up. Otherwise, it was just fatigue. This was his first time getting hurt in an instance. Probably no bleeding, just a surface scrape.

After Chu Mo recovered, Qi Feng asked, “Do either of you still have enough points to buy firearms? The shop has a one-hour cooldown between purchases, and I don’t have extra ammo. I’ve only got three bullets left, only enough for one more round of defense.”

Yan Jiyun answered honestly, “No. Can’t afford it.” He’s completely broke.

Chu Mo said, “I can.”

Qi Feng thought for a moment, then looked at Yan Jiyun. “Your points aren’t enough. We might not last until we reach the real exit of the Demon Forest. That monster just killed a group of players. If you’re not afraid, I can go back with you to collect point boxes.”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Okay. I’m not afraid.”

If his pooper scooper wasn’t afraid, what did he have to fear?

Chu Mo hesitated. “But those tentacles are disgusting. Going back would just be walking into danger, wouldn’t it?”

Qi Feng shook the gun in his hand, calm. “At least we have a way to deal with it now. If we don’t take it down, we won’t get out anyway. Either we run ourselves to death, or we get crushed by its tentacles. Just now it only wrapped around our waists. If it hits our faces, we’ll suffocate.”

Chu Mo was convinced again. He had already wanted to go for the loot boxes earlier, but the monster interrupted them.

He shrugged. “Then let’s go back.”

Time was tight. They had just driven the monster back. Who knew when it would return? The three of them carefully retraced their steps.

They moved cautiously, trying not to make unnecessary noise.

Yan Jiyun noticed traces of the tentacles sliding across the ground.

He whispered to Qi Feng, “These are marks left by its tentacles. Can we use them to figure out its location?”

Qi Feng nodded. He crouched down, brushing aside leaves and examining how deep the soil had been disturbed. “You can tell this thing is as big as a mountain.”

Yan Jiyun looked up sharply. A mountain?

That word sparked something. He snapped his fingers. “We’ve never actually seen the monster, but it can cause massive disturbances. Could it actually be a mountain?”

Qi Feng agreed. This wasn’t wild speculation, but instead a reasonable deduction. Even Chu Mo found it plausible.

Chu Mo realized, “That makes sense. Maybe it’s hiding in the forest disguised as a mountain, ambushing players. Otherwise, more than ten players couldn’t have failed to deal with it.”

Yan Jiyun continued, “We only knew it existed because we heard it. But the players who came before us didn’t, so they fell into its trap.”

Those players probably escaped the spike-headed monsters only to run into something even more terrifying deeper in the forest.

This so-called Peak Competition wasn’t really a PvP. It was players versus monsters.

Of course, the game never said what they would encounter, so monsters weren’t surprising.

Qi Feng said thoughtfully, “We have two options: find the monster and deal with it, or look for loot boxes.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t hesitate. “Avoid the monster and get the loot boxes first. I don’t have enough points. I’ll drag you down.”

It wasn’t about bravery. Without points, he felt uneasy. His Human Form Time Card was running out. If this continued, once he turned back into a cat, there’d be no way he could reach the city before nightfall.

Qi Feng nodded. “Alright. Points first.”

Chu Mo agreed. “More points, more security.”

When it came to searching, Yan Jiyun volunteered, “I’ll lead.”

Wherever the blood smell was strongest, there would be point boxes. While the monster was injured and inactive, they had to move fast.

Yan Jiyun rushed ahead first, Qi Feng right behind him, and Chu Mo followed without wanting to fall behind. Both of them assumed Yan Jiyun was an experienced player with a strong sense of direction.

Soon, they found two wooden boxes containing points, the remains of two players who had been chased down by the monster.

[Congratulations, player. You obtained 3,000 points.]

Yan Jiyun opened one and looked at the two veterans.

Qi Feng didn’t move. He gave the opportunity to the newcomer. “You take them first.”

Chu Mo nodded generously. “Yeah, you go first.”

Yan Jiyun immediately opened the second box.

[Congratulations, player. You obtained 5,000 points.]

He couldn’t help but feel it was a pity. Those players hadn’t even spent their points before dying.

After collecting the two boxes, Yan Jiyun led them in another direction.

Less than a kilometer away, they saw a stretch of fallen trees and an open clearing. Ten loot boxes were scattered across the ground.

Since Yan Jiyun led the way, he opened four boxes, while Qi Feng and Chu Mo each took three.

Their total points were decent. After fighting the monster, it was normal not to gain as much as when they first entered the game.

Just as they were about to leave, the ground beneath them began to writhe.

Yan Jiyun stood slightly inward. Suddenly, tentacles shot up from underground, with one nearly piercing his shoulder. Qi Feng reacted instantly, pulling him aside just in time to dodge several emerging tentacles.

Grabbing Yan Jiyun, Qi Feng ran back the way they came and warned, “Move! This should be the monster’s nest!”

Yan Jiyun dodged left and right alongside him, focusing only on escaping.

Who would’ve thought their luck would be this good? they had run straight into the monster’s lair!