DSMC Chapter 122.1

Yan Jiyun was telling the truth. Ever since he was just a one-month-old kitten, his hearing had been exceptionally sharp. He wasn’t lying.

Qi Feng and Chu Mo had already noticed his keen hearing back in the Demon Forest, but they hadn’t expected it to be this good. He didn’t even need to press his ear to the ground to pick up distant sounds.

Having been in the game for years, they had seen all sorts of strange things, so they weren’t overly surprised. Their earlier reaction had just been instinctive, and they didn’t dwell on it.

The three of them had discovered a formation in the chapel, and the sound of the guards’ horses was drawing closer. With no other way out, they could only head back up to the church rooftop.

They had thought the church was the exit, but all they found was a magic circle on the ground. How to activate it was still a problem.

This was all medieval mysticism. Yan Jiyun truly had no idea how to activate the formation.

However, he did notice that the formation Qi Feng had drawn in his notebook looked quite convincing.

When they finally climbed back upstairs, panting, they discovered that the three dragons were no longer on the rooftop. They were fighting in the air above.

No wonder the guards had found them. These guys had caused too much commotion.

Dragons were already difficult to control, and now that they had lost their “transportation,” escape became even harder.

Since things had turned out this way, they had no choice but to try another method. Perhaps this magic circle was the key to leaving.

Chu Mo said, “Looks like hitching a ride out isn’t happening. Let’s draw the formation instead.”

Qi Feng quickly added the final strokes in his notebook and handed it to Chu Mo. “Here.”

Chu Mo pushed it back. “I meant you draw it.”

Yan Jiyun nodded as well. He trusted Qi Feng’s ability to replicate the formation perfectly. While his own memory was good, his drawing skills weren’t.

Qi Feng pulled out several colored chalk sticks from his pocket.

Yan Jiyun was a little stunned. “Why do you have everything in your pockets?”

Qi Feng got straight to work drawing. “Picked them up along the way. They’re useful for marking things.”

After copying the magic circle once, he already understood how to draw it. He barely needed to look at the notebook anymore, only occasionally glancing to compare details. Otherwise, his strokes were smooth and confident.

Yan Jiyun stood near the rooftop railing, watching the black and silver dragons still spitting flames at each other, while the red dragon hovered nearby trying to mediate, completely unsuccessfully.

He had to admit, running a dungeon with Qi Feng was much more comfortable. When he played alone, he had to stay constantly alert, never daring to relax for even a moment.

But that kind of comfort could also breed dependence and laziness. Over time, he might lose his ability to think independently, and in a game like this, that was dangerous. Besides, he had noticed that Qi Feng had been deliberately looking out for him after realizing he was a newcomer. Qi Feng was a good person. But Yan Jiyun himself was still too weak.

Meanwhile, Chu Mo was muttering to himself, trying to figure out the password, as if calculating something.

The mounted guards were now only five hundred meters away.

Yan Jiyun’s ears twitched slightly as he reminded Qi Feng, “They’re almost here.”

Qi Feng continued drawing lines. “Just a little more. There are too many fine details in this formation. It’s hard to draw.”

Yan Jiyun wasn’t worried. “Those guards are probably here for Lucifer and the others.”

Chu Mo had somehow moved to stand beside him. “Looks like it.”

However, just as Qi Feng was about to finish, he realized he might not have enough chalk.

He said regretfully, “I don’t think this is enough to complete the formation. Can one of you go downstairs and get some charcoal? There should be some in the church kitchen.”

Yan Jiyun volunteered immediately. “I’ll go.”

Chu Mo suggested, “I’ll go with you.”

Yan Jiyun refused without hesitation. “No need. I’ll be quick. You stay and help Qi Feng keep an eye on the guards. They’re not just after Lucifer, they’re also after the gladiators who escaped. The more people we have here, the better our chances of completing the formation.”

Coincidentally, his experience card was about to run out again. Turning back into a cat would make moving around easier. He was familiar with the scent of the kitchen, and going alone would actually be faster than bringing Chu Mo along.

Chu Mo looked a bit surprised. “You can even hear that?”

Yan Jiyun turned away. “Just a guess.”

Qi Feng had expected Chu Mo to take on the task of fetching the charcoal, but instead, the newcomer volunteered. As Yan Jiyun turned to leave, Qi Feng suddenly felt a vague sense of unease. He glanced at his departing figure, but said nothing.

All the church windows were decorated with stained glass, blocking out sunlight and leaving the stairways dim.

After reaching the next floor, Yan Jiyun relaxed and transformed back into a cat, following the scent of bread toward the kitchen.

By this time, the guards had already arrived near the church. Their main objective was still to capture the three dragons, and they had brought ropes and various capturing tools.

Yan Jiyun’s priority was to find charcoal quickly so Qi Feng could finish drawing the magic circle. They needed to leave the Dragon Door as soon as possible.

The aroma of fresh bread guided him to the kitchen.

Inside, there was only a plump cook, standing with her back to him by the oven.

Yan Jiyun circled outside but couldn’t find any charcoal. It was all piled up in a corner inside the kitchen.

If he entered as a human, he would definitely get chased out. The cook would probably think he was there to steal bread. Given her size, he might not even win in a fight.

Seeing the bread on the table, Yan Jiyun came up with an idea. He could lure the cook away, then sneak back in to grab the charcoal.

The freshly baked bread looked appealing. He jumped onto the counter and pressed a paw into it.

It was hard. Not the soft, fluffy texture he expected. He wondered if biting into it would hurt his teeth.

Of course, that wasn’t the point. He picked a smaller loaf, clamped it in his mouth, then deliberately knocked a small basin off the table. The clatter immediately caught the cook’s attention.

She turned around and saw a black cat holding bread in its mouth. Startled, she stepped back. “Oh my God, where did this black cat come from?! Give me back my bread!”

Yan Jiyun ran off with the bread, but when he waited for her to chase him, he realized she hadn’t followed.

What kind of NPC doesn’t follow the script?

He crouched in a corner and listened as the cook muttered, “God, I saw an evil black cat. Please drive it away. Thank you, God! Please make it leave! So scary!”

She clutched the wooden cross on her chest and began praying fervently.

Yan Jiyun hadn’t expected this kind of behavior from an NPC. Maybe she couldn’t run fast, or maybe she simply knew she couldn’t catch a cat and chose not to bother.

After all, losing a small piece of bread wouldn’t affect her work much.

A miscalculation.

He needed another way to lure the cook out of the kitchen.

By now, the guards had already reached the church entrance.

Yan Jiyun dropped the bread he had been carrying and gave it to a few stray tabby kittens outside. When he returned, the cook was still at the oven.

This time, he decided to take a bigger loaf. Surely she would chase him then.

He slipped back into the kitchen, jumped onto the counter, pulled aside the cloth covering the bread, and selected a long loaf. Fortunately, this one wasn’t as hard.

Once again, he deliberately knocked over a salt jar.

Clang!

The cook turned around again. “Oh my God! That terrible black cat is back! Go away, go away!”

She held up her cross toward him. “God, make it go away!”

Yan Jiyun stood still.

She didn’t dare come closer either.

Alright, he understood now. This cook NPC must have a built-in fear-of-cats trait.

If it were any other NPC, they would have chased him halfway across the city by now.

If she wouldn’t leave, then he wouldn’t be able to get the charcoal. Since she wouldn’t chase him out, why not turn things around and force her out instead?

Yan Jiyun decisively dropped the bread, bared his teeth at the cook, and began circling just out of her reach, deliberately pressuring her toward the doorway.

The plump cook was indeed afraid of black cats. Holding a baguette in front of her chest like a weapon, she cried, “Evil black cat, don’t come any closer!”

It was Yan Jiyun’s first time playing the role of a “villainous cat,” and he felt he was doing quite well. He continued advancing step by step until he forced her completely out of the kitchen.

He even pretended he was about to pounce and bite. The cook screamed and ran off.

He had thought most NPCs in the game would be predictable, but clearly that wasn’t the case. This showed just how rich and varied the character designs were. They’re completely unpredictable.

After confirming the cook had run far away, Yan Jiyun transformed back into human form, wrapped several pieces of charcoal in a cloth from the table, and hurried upstairs.

At the same time, some guards dismounted and began heading into the main church building.

He quickly ran upward, shutting the door on each floor behind him. There were no locks, but even delaying them for a moment would help.

By the time he reached the rooftop again, Qi Feng was still drawing the formation, his chalk worn down to a tiny stub.

Yan Jiyun handed him the wrapped charcoal.

Chu Mo asked, “Didn’t run into the guards downstairs? I saw them enter the church.”

Yan Jiyun replied honestly, “They’re already on the stairs. I shut the doors along the way, but there are no locks, so it won’t hold them long.”

Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo began barricading the rooftop door, buying time for Qi Feng to finish the formation.

Qi Feng’s chalk finally ran out. Without hesitation, he grabbed a piece of charcoal and continued drawing.

Whether the formation would work or not, it was nearly complete. It wasn’t as large as the one downstairs, but still sizable.

There wasn’t much upstairs to block the door with. They only found a few wooden planks to brace it.

The sound of the guards climbing the stairs grew closer. Even Chu Mo could hear it now.

The two exchanged a glance.

Yan Jiyun asked, “Done yet?”

Qi Feng added the final stroke. “Last line… done!”

But the completed formation showed no reaction at all.

Yan Jiyun didn’t want to undermine Qi Feng, but he still said, “Doesn’t seem like anything’s happening… Maybe it needs some kind of trigger?”

Chu Mo said, “I remember some formations need blood as a catalyst.”

Who would’ve thought this small instance dungeon would include Western fantasy elements? Before entering the game, they had all been staunch materialists, no one studied magic.

Yan Jiyun frowned at the idea of cutting for blood. “What if we get tetanus?”

Just as he finished speaking, Lucifer and the silver dragon suddenly stopped fighting. Instead, they began launching fireballs at the knights below.

Fireballs rained down, burning some of the equipment the knights had brought.

Lucifer was especially fierce. He swooped down and slammed into the knights with a wing, knocking them aside.

Yan Jiyun heard the footsteps of the knights on the stairs pause briefly, as if they were deciding whether to capture the dragons or drag the gladiators back to the arena.

After all, both the dragons and the gladiators had escaped from there.

But after a short hesitation, they continued climbing.

They still intended to capture Qi Feng and Chu Mo.