DSMC Chapter 109

Hello guys! I have quite a bit of unpublished chapters stock here, so I’m hosting a small event for this series.

From today (1 April 2026) to next Friday (10 April 2026), I’ll be:

1. doubling ko-fi bonus: instead of 1 chapter every 2 ko-fis, it’s 1 chapter for every ko-fi! Link to my ko-fi: [here]
2. adding NU review bonus: for every written review in NovelUpdates, I’m posting 1 bonus chapter. Please be honest in your review, no over-glazing or bashing. Yes, I do accept negative reviews too if you don’t like the series (though why would you read this far if you don’t like the series…). However, I’ll be capping the total number to 10.
   Link to NU page: [here]. Also, if you post an NU review, please leave a comment in any chapter of this series, telling me which reviewer are you. Especially in case I forgot to check there. Thank you!

Yan Jiyun, Chu Mo, and Qi Feng relied on their agility, dodging left and right to narrowly avoid the terrifyingly dense barrage of tentacles. Otherwise, they wouldn’t just have been pierced through — they might’ve been skewered like kebabs and ended up as a meal for the tentacle monster.

Chu Mo was nearly losing his mind from being chased. “Why does this thing have so many of them?! What kind of monster even is this?!”

Yan Jiyun remained relatively calm, focusing all his attention on dodging the tentacles bursting up from underground.

As the number of tentacles increased, the earth-shaking tremors returned.

No wonder this area was a barren flatland. No trees could survive here. With such a massive monster growing beneath it, how could anything live?

Yan Jiyun said, “Guns won’t be very effective now.” Unless they had some kind of massive bomb to blow the thing up.

But bombs weren’t readily available. They had to be crafted by players using materials from the shop.

This system was really strange. It never let them solve things in one step. It sold guns, but not bombs. The more powerful the weapon, the rarer it was.

Qi Feng was forced into a sideways roll by the tentacles, narrowly avoiding being pierced. Even so, his mind remained clear. “Think of another way.”

Driven by pure survival instinct, Yan Jiyun continued issuing commands to the system with his thoughts while leaping onto a tree.

The next second, alcohol and flammable cloth appeared in his hands.

Since heavy weapons were scarce, they’d have to get creative.

He bit off the bottle cap, stuffed the cloth into the opening, then pulled out a lighter. Without hesitation, he lit the cloth.

The fabric ignited instantly. Yan Jiyun hurled the alcohol bottle toward the writhing mass of tentacles. As the alcohol burned, heat built up inside, causing the glass bottle to explode.

He wasn’t sure if this method would work. It might just end up like a makeshift alcohol lamp.

Fortunately, it worked.

The bottle exploded, though it only slightly damaged the tentacles emerging from the ground.

Qi Feng still hadn’t found a suitable tree and continued dodging, while Chu Mo spotted one and climbed up as well. “That didn’t do much.”

Yan Jiyun’s tree was being attacked from both sides by tentacles, which slammed against it as if trying to knock him down. As he climbed higher, he said, “You’ll see the effect soon. Consider it a test, but with no guarantees. We don’t have better options unless we can quickly make explosives.”

As he spoke, the spilled alcohol spread across the dry leaves on the ground. Flames began to ignite, and the fire quickly started spreading.

The blaze was growing!

No tentacles emerged from the burning area. Any that tried were immediately scorched and recoiled.

Chu Mo was even more excited than Yan Jiyun. “It’s afraid of fire!”

He immediately bought more bottles of alcohol and smashed them onto the ground.

Yan Jiyun did the same, especially since alcohol was cheap and plentiful in the shop. He shouted to Chu Mo, “Don’t throw them on the ground, throw them at the tentacles! They’ve got grease on them, they’ll burn!”

Earlier, he had felt the slick mucus on the tentacles. It likely contained oils, which would burn easily. If they could scorch them, they might be able to drive the monster back.

If they could kill it, even better.

At first, only one or two tentacles caught fire, and the monster didn’t react much, it simply withdrew the burned ones underground. But soon, every tentacle that emerged to attack them began to burn.

The monster thrashed wildly, slamming its tentacles against the ground. The earth shook so violently that Yan Jiyun nearly fell from the tree.

The dry leaves on the ground ignited fully, and the tentacles looked like they’d been thrown into a barbecue pit. Yet they still couldn’t see the monster’s main body.

Qi Feng was no longer being chased and ran toward Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo. “Get down, we need to leave now.” Seeing how high Yan Jiyun had climbed, he added, “Don’t climb too high. These trees are rooted in the monster’s nest. If it stops disguising itself, it’ll overturn them.”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, both Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo felt their trees begin to shake.

This crow’s mouth!

Yan Jiyun quickly climbed down. When he was about two meters from the ground, the tree was uprooted by a massive force. The ground itself flipped over!

Chu Mo, still excited, said, “It’s coming out!”

The monster had a head like a small mountain, resembling an octopus. It might be some kind of evolved land-dwelling octopus.

The fire was still burning. It seemed their flames had successfully forced the monster out.

The ground peeled upward bit by bit, and the few remaining trees in the clearing were all overturned.

Its tentacles continued to stretch wildly, chasing after the three of them.

Chu Mo sounded disappointed. “Does it only have tentacles? I can’t even see its head clearly.”

While running, Yan Jiyun glanced back and saw a writhing “mountain” moving toward them. “Isn’t that it? It really does look like a mountain.”

Qi Feng asked, “Do you still have alcohol? If not, I’ll keep buying.”

As the fire spread across the dry leaves, the “mountain” began shifting in their direction.

Yan Jiyun nearly slipped as the ground churned beneath him, but managed to steady himself.

The three of them continued dodging desperately. One misstep and they could fall, only to be snatched away by the tentacles.

Yan Jiyun replied, “I still have alcohol. I can keep throwing it. It’s having some effect.”

The flames grew larger, and the chaos intensified.

Qi Feng said, “Not enough. It’s turning over the soil to smother the fire. Once the flames die down, it’ll attack again.”

Chu Mo shouted, “Then let’s burn the whole Demon Forest down!”

Yan Jiyun couldn’t help but respond, “Start a forest fire and you’ll end up in prison.”

Qi Feng almost lost his composure at that.

Chu Mo retorted, “This is an instance! There are monsters here!”

Yan Jiyun laughed. “I know, just saying. I was the one who started the fire anyway.”

It was strange. They were actually debating morality. Once inside [Destiny], people’s moral values really did change. Acting too normal almost made one seem suspicious.

Qi Feng suddenly said, “Not entirely wrong. We shouldn’t burn the whole forest. But burning this monster isn’t a problem. And if the fire takes out other monsters in the forest, that’s not a bad thing either.”

Yan Jiyun glanced ahead. “It might not burn completely. The monster can put out fires. That ‘mountain’ itself hasn’t caught fire from the start.”

That meant it likely had high moisture content, hard to ignite.

That realization frustrated them. The monster could extinguish flames, making much of their effort seem pointless.

Chu Mo sighed. “Then we really do need to burn the whole forest. Let’s turn it into dried squid.”

Qi Feng remained calm. “Not necessarily useless. The fire on its tentacles hasn’t gone out. We still have a chance.”

Yan Jiyun bought a can of gasoline from the shop. “Its tentacles have oil, so we can keep using the same method. The fire was too small before. Let’s go bigger this time.”

At the same time, Qi Feng also pulled out a can of gasoline.

Chu Mo immediately followed suit.

The monster slowed down while trying to put out the flames, giving the three of them an opening.

This time, Qi Feng poured gasoline directly onto the dry branches and leaves. They had entered a denser part of the forest, so there was more fuel here.

With flames already burning on the monster, the gasoline caused the fire to surge skyward.

For the first time, the monster let out a piercing scream, like the cry of a crow.

It was working!

The screeching continued as the fire spread further, mixing with the smell of burning oil and thick smoke.

Yan Jiyun’s sharp sense of smell made it unbearable. Covering his nose, he said, “We need to leave the forest now. This whole area might go up in flames.”

Chu Mo replied, “Then what are we waiting for?!”

Qi Feng nodded. “Let’s go.”

Faced with life and death, none of them hesitated.

The monster continued shrieking, its countless tentacles thrashing wildly. Now, the flames clinging to them were truly hard to extinguish.

The fire grew stronger, slowly spreading toward its main body.

The monster was in agony from the flames. Furious, it still endured the burning pain as it chased after the three “ants” who had driven it to this state.

Its body moved slowly, but its tentacles could extend endlessly. Burned or not, they continued pursuing Yan Jiyun and the others.

Screech—!

Screech—!

It was shrieking!

With his sharp hearing, Yan Jiyun picked up the increasingly piercing cries, and his head began to ache. Instinctively, he sped up.

In no time, he left Chu Mo and Qi Feng behind.

All three were sprinting for their lives, dodging the tentacle monster, with no time to speak. By the time Chu Mo and Qi Feng came back to their senses, Yan Jiyun had already disappeared from their line of sight.

Chu Mo turned to Qi Feng. “Where’d he go?”

Qi Feng replied, “He suddenly sped up, he’s up ahead.”

They were still dodging the tentacles behind them, moving quickly themselves, but Yan Jiyun’s sudden burst of speed caught them off guard.

A competitive streak suddenly flared up in Chu Mo. He used to be a master at running away. How could he lose to a temporary teammate? No way. He sped up as well.

Seeing this, Qi Feng had no choice but to increase his speed too.

[Playing Safe to Survive] livestream channel: 

“Damn, these three are going all out! If I didn’t know they were running for their lives, I’d think they were doing a triathlon.”

“Hahaha, first time I’ve seen Doggy run like he’s about to pass out. He’s usually all about hiding, but now he’s forced into combat~ totally not his style.”

“Go Doggy! Catch up to that cat! Wait… where did the cat go?”

“I’m convinced Doggy lost to the cat.”

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Wow, Kitty Baby is running so fast this time! When are they getting out of the Demon Forest? There are way too many monsters here!”

“That tentacle monster sounds awful… I can barely stand it. Mimi must be suffering even more on-site. No wonder he’s running so fast.”

“Kitty Baby met two veteran players this time, so can he just coast now?”

“You wish. His human-form time is limited every run. He clearly prefers staying in cat form, so he’s destined to go solo. And those two veterans? One stronger than the other, one smarter than the other. How could he switch between forms without being discovered?”

“True. If you want to see him carried, you’re better off watching him pretend to be a black cat NPC. He’s not the type to slack off anyway.”

“I think you’ve all been watching his stream too long and forgot that this is a brutal game. He’s running for his life too. Though honestly, that veteran behind him is impressive! He grabbed a Pegasus first and always pulls huge viewer numbers. Compared to him, the kitty’s audience is just a fraction.”

Even while sprinting, Yan Jiyun didn’t stray from the direction of Angel City.

He couldn’t maintain top speed for long, and soon slowed down, allowing Chu Mo and Qi Feng to catch up.

The fire in the forest grew stronger. The tentacle monster, roasting in the flames, gave off an increasingly “fragrant” smell, and its pursuit slowed further. By now, no more tentacles were emerging from the ground behind them.

Without realizing it, they had run all the way to the edge of the forest.

The blaze raged on. The monster was being roasted alive, its tentacles thrashing wildly and toppling trees. Flames spread outward from its lair, consuming everything in their path.

They could hear not only its shrieks, but also the cries of other monsters. Perhaps what they were burning was the true Demon Forest.

Before long, the evolved octopus monster’s cries faded, until they disappeared entirely.

Even from a distance, Yan Jiyun could smell the charred aroma of the creature. He felt… hungry.

The forest where players first landed had bears, snakes, birds. But beyond the so-called “exit,” the forest was eerily silent. No beasts, not even birdsong.

This was the real Demon Forest.

Perhaps the system’s “Demon Forest Exit” was misleading. It should’ve been called the “entrance”. Only by passing through it could they truly reach Angel City.

Chu Mo spotted light filtering through the trees. “We actually made it out just like that?” He’d thought they’d be stuck fighting much longer.

Yan Jiyun thought, ‘Finally… I can stop running. My legs are about to give out.’

From their vantage point, they could see a grand city in the distance. It looked magnificent, like something out of the medieval era.

If they were tourists, they’d have taken countless photos. But as players, no matter how beautiful or grand it was, they couldn’t afford to relax.

Yan Jiyun estimated the distance. His experience card wouldn’t last much longer.

In the [Crazy Zoo] instance, he earned 200,000 points, plus 600,000 from livestream conversions, so 800,000 total. He had already spent 180,000 on a three-hour Human Form Time Card before entering the Peak Competition. Then brought 10,000 points in, left 30,000 behind, and converted the remaining 580,000 into experience time. He had topped up another three hours after entering the real Demon Forest, leaving him with only 6.6 hours remaining. All in all, it’s an insignificant amount in an instance with no time limit.

Yan Jiyun glanced at Qi Feng beside him. “Let’s go into the city.”

Qi Feng nodded. “Mm.”

He didn’t speak much, only giving warnings or discussing strategy. This was completely different from how Yan Jiyun knew his pooper scooper in cat form. It felt like two entirely different people.

Chu Mo had already walked ahead, turning back. “You two coming? We need to get inside before dark.”

Yan Jiyun wanted to say something to Qi Feng, but after hesitating, said nothing and followed Chu Mo.

Many players, driven out by the fire, were also heading toward the city, panting as they ran.

It would take around 30 minutes on foot to reach Angel City.

Yan Jiyun checked the player count:

[Surviving Players: 399/500]

Nearly a hundred had been eliminated just by the Demon Forest. The top-ranked players probably suffered even greater losses.

The system chimed in: [Please pay attention to your entry time. 30 minutes remain until sunset. Players who fail to enter the city before sunset will have to stay outside overnight~]

Everyone sped up.

Just then, a Pegasus wrapped in bandages burst out of the forest, running straight toward Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng.

It rubbed affectionately against Qi Feng.

Yan Jiyun: “…” It dares to rub against his master right in front of him?

Wait, how had it survived the tentacle monster?

It couldn’t fight back against black eagles in the air, but on land it was fast enough to escape?

Yan Jiyun asked, “Are you bringing it into the city?”

Qi Feng replied, “It’s a means of transportation. No harm in bringing it along.”

Yan Jiyun glanced at the pegasus nuzzling him, feeling a faint pang of jealousy. ‘That’s my shit shovel officer… This broken Pegasus should’ve been roasted and eaten.’

He turned and caught up with Chu Mo.

Chu Mo, also annoyed, said, “We saved that horse, and it doesn’t even stick to us!”

Yan Jiyun agreed, “Exactly. Might as well roast it.”

Chu Mo clasped his hands with a grin. “Good idea. If we run out of points and supplies, we’ll roast it for food.”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “That works. But I’d rather not run out of points.”

Despite the earlier gains, they’d spent a lot fighting the monster. They now had less than 15,000 points left.

By typical game logic, the Demon Forest was just the appetizer. Angel City would be the main course, with even harder challenges ahead.

The road to the city was smooth. All the players who escaped the forest gathered at the entrance.

With a wounded Pegasus beside them, Yan Jiyun’s group drew plenty of attention.

At the gates, armored soldiers — straight out of a medieval setting — stood guard.

One of them, holding a blue stamp, shouted, “Everyone, extend your right arm!”

They lined up and entered one by one. Each player had an official stamp pressed onto their right forearm by the soldiers at the gate. The stamp bore a symbol, with each person’s symbol representing a different animal, resembling the twelve zodiac animals.

The players began discussing the meaning of the stamp. Every step in the instance had its purpose. Could the twelve zodiac signs be the key to clearing Angel City?

Chu Mo directly asked the soldier, “What’s this for?”

The soldier replied, “You are outsiders. The symbol will only remain for 24 hours.”

Yan Jiyun followed up, “Do you mean we can only stay in the city for 24 hours?”

The soldier tugged at the corner of his stiff mouth. “You’ll understand after you enter.”

Yan Jiyun figured the stone-faced soldier wouldn’t provide any more useful information.

But getting even that answer was enough.

They had to find a way to leave Angel City within 24 hours.

As for the rest, they would figure it out after entering the city.

After passing the first gate, there was a second one. There were no stamps here, but they had to pay an entrance fee of 100 points.

For players, 100 points wasn’t much. The cheapest bun cost 20 points. So this was equivalent to five buns. Acceptable.

Once they entered, what greeted them was the bustling prosperity of Angel City, completely different from the decay they had imagined.

At that moment, the system popped up: [The gates of Angel City will close in one minute. Players who have not entered, please hurry.]

One minute passed.

[Congratulations to all players who have successfully reached Angel City. You may now enjoy yourselves and rest within the city.]

[Attention: Players may not stay in Angel City for more than 24 hours. Otherwise, you will be permanently trapped here.]

[In-game prop shop is now closed.]

All players: …

The in-game shop closed so abruptly that no one had time to buy anything.

Yan Jiyun’s first reaction was to check whether his Human Form Time Card had been disabled.

He let out a sigh of relief after finding it was still usable.

The system continued: [Player points can be used to purchase all items within Angel City. Players may also exchange points~]

The system deliberately emphasized the word “exchange.”

[Player leaderboard announced.]

The next moment, a ranking list appeared on every player’s interface.

1st place: Qi Feng

2nd place: Pan Xing

3rd place: Yang Xiaozhi

4th place: Chu Mo

…

31st place: Yan Jiyun

Yan Jiyun: “…”

His ranking was very safe.

This leaderboard was different from the popularity ranking in the previous instance. That one was driven by NPCs, while this one was based on the points players collected.

Yan Jiyun hadn’t expected Qi Feng to have so many points. He was ranked first.

His pooper scooper was basically a walking target now. Being number one in the game [Destiny] was not an easy position to hold.

Most players had barely made it into the city alive. Now they were all gathered near the gates, listening to the system chatter.

Suddenly, someone called out toward them with ill intent, “Qi Feng, dare to make a bet with me? If you lose, your points are mine.”

Yan Jiyun looked toward the voice. Wasn’t he Fu Guangming from the New Forces Guild?

He recovered from his injuries in just two days?

Qi Feng raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

Yan Jiyun looked at Qi Feng with admiration. So impressive, as expected of his master!

Fu Guangming clenched his teeth, glaring at Qi Feng as if fire might shoot from his eyes. “…”