DSMC Chapter 125.1

The identity of the person on the other side had already been confirmed amid Yan Jiyun’s internal swearing.

Standing across from him at this moment was Qi Feng.

Qi Feng remained composed. He, too, saw Yan Jiyun standing opposite him, a trace of surprise in his eyes.

His gaze swept around briefly. Just before falling, there had been a cat pressed against his chest, warm and comforting. His body temperature ran high, and with the extra weight of the cat, he had even started sweating. But now the cat was gone, and he felt as if something inside his chest was missing.

The thing he feared most had happened again — Caramel had been separated from him, this time by an uncontrollable force.

There was only one thought in his mind:

‘Where is Caramel? Where did the system send it?’

Just moments ago, he had wanted to hold it tightly in his arms, yet could only watch as it vanished.

And when he clearly saw his opponent, the situation became even more troublesome.

Why was Yan Jiyun, the person he had been unable to find all this time, now his opponent?

Yan Jiyun seriously suspected the game was deliberately matching players who had interacted the most.

Qi Feng had faced situations like this before. But his past opponents had never been newcomers, so he had no reservations. This time, however, it was someone new to the game. Winning against him would feel unfair.

This was a choice.

Yan Jiyun forced a greeting, “Didn’t expect us to become opponents.”

The “pooper scooper” who had just been holding him moments ago was now his enemy. Who could’ve predicted that?

Qi Feng stood still. He didn’t ask why Yan Jiyun hadn’t reunited with them after leaving Dragon Door. There was no need to know anymore.

He simply said, “This outcome is normal.”

Yan Jiyun sighed inwardly. Got it. The system must do this kind of thing all the time.

He remembered what Qi Feng had said when their temporary team disbanded, that if there was direct confrontation, he wouldn’t attack him or Chu Mo.

But this match determined who would leave the game. It didn’t fall under any exception.

Of course, Qi Feng wouldn’t go all out to kill him.

Yan Jiyun had never expected to win against Qi Feng anyway. According to the rules, one of them had to stay behind.

They hadn’t spent much time together in human form. They weren’t even proper teammates.

The system aimed to make two people who originally knew each other break up and betray each other. In other words, testing people’s hearts.

It really proved Yan Jiyun’s earlier complaint: In the end, the pooper scooper would eliminate his own cat.

The prop store was closed.

Yan Jiyun stayed where he was. He wanted to see what Qi Feng would do.

This was too hard.

The person in front of him wasn’t an enemy.

How was he supposed to choose?

Qi Feng was in the same dilemma, but only for two seconds. Then he made his decision.

“I have a very important reason to win this match,” he said. “I hope you won’t blame me.”

He had to win. The system hadn’t specified whether there would be one match or multiple rounds, and he still had to find Caramel. So he couldn’t lose here.

Yan Jiyun caught the meaning behind his words and felt a slight sting. “Alright, I understand. I couldn’t beat you anyway.”

The system thrived on these setups. It didn’t want cooperation. It wanted suspicion, betrayal, estrangement, and conflict.

If Qi Feng were facing anyone else, he wouldn’t hesitate. The newcomer was good, he shouldn’t fall here.

They stood still for a full minute without making a move. Then, the system issued a warning:

[WARNING! Passive gameplay detected. Begin immediately or face penalties.]

If not for their pet-owner bond, Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun had actually worked very well together.

And now the system wanted them to fight each other.

Yan Jiyun had no experience attacking someone he knew. It was hard to even make a move.

Qi Feng, on the other hand, remained calm. “Come on. We can fight without using props.”

Yan Jiyun had no advantage in close combat anyway, it would be like scratching an itch to Qi Feng. Qi Feng would rather conserve energy.

Yan Jiyun knew Qi Feng’s strength. No matter how he struggled, it would be useless, unless Qi Feng chose to give up.

With the system pressuring them, they had no choice but to act.

Yan Jiyun wondered, what counted as losing? Surrender? Death?

Qi Feng didn’t use props, so neither did he.

Yan Jiyun rushed forward. Despite the struggle in his heart, he knew he wouldn’t hurt Qi Feng. If Qi Feng wanted to leave, he was willing to give him that chance, but at least he had to put on a show. After all, in human form, they had only met twice. Their relationship wasn’t at the level where he’d yield outright, and Qi Feng wouldn’t want that either.

Qi Feng easily dodged his punch and even commented, “Your combat skills are too poor. If you attack like that, you should counter like this instead.”

Seeing that Yan Jiyun didn’t seem angry, he even gave him pointers.

Yan Jiyun smiled and kept punching. “The person who taught me didn’t put in much effort.”

Left hook, right hook— no matter what he did, Qi Feng dodged effortlessly.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Damn it, why did Kitty Baby run into this big boss? Why doesn’t he turn back into a cat? Maybe the big shot would go easy on him!”

“What are you thinking? Wouldn’t it be easier to just strangle a cat? There’s not much psychological burden involved. It’s just a dead cat; what impact could it have on him?” 

“Hahaha, you’ve all been hyping up this cat forever. Finally, my favorite moment has arrived! He meets his match!”

“Same, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Level 5 streamer, hurry up and kill him!”

Yan Jiyun was getting tired, but it wasn’t completely pointless. Qi Feng had shifted from defense to offense.

Qi Feng added, “Your attacks have no structure.”

Yan Jiyun was actually enjoying himself. He wasn’t going to win anyway. “Structure doesn’t matter. What matters is whether it works.”

He was, in fact, playing passively.

“Fair enough,” Qi Feng admitted. “With time and practice, you’ll get stronger.”

Yan Jiyun steadied his breathing and stood in front of him. “I won’t regret losing to you. How about you give me more pointers before I lose? Who knows, maybe I’ll make it out.”

He had already calculated it. Props or not, he couldn’t beat Qi Feng. So why bother using one?

Qi Feng understood that Yan Jiyun was still a newcomer, not yet hardened by bloodshed. He still held onto certain principles.

He didn’t want to eliminate a newcomer. But this was part of the process. Defeating him wasn’t unfair, it was just bad luck and a cruel system. That was why he didn’t like teaming up with newcomers — he always ended up watching capable ones get eliminated.

Yan Jiyun’s stamina dropped. Qi Feng seized his wrist and twisted it behind his back. “You’ve lost.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t feel humiliated or angry. Instead, he turned his head and asked, “If I begged you… would you let me go?”

Only then did Qi Feng realized that Yan Jiyun had no fighting spirit at all. He had already accepted that he would lose.

And in truth… he would.

“You don’t need me to spare you,” Qi Feng said, looking at the resolve to die in the eyes of the newcomer before him. He hinted, “Heaven never seals off all exits. There might still be a turning point.”

Yan Jiyun understood. Whether Qi Feng was just comforting a newcomer or there really was a chance to survive, he still felt reassured.

He suddenly recalled the [Hide and Seek] instance. Players who were eliminated in the instance hadn’t actually died in the end. They survived, but had to accept punishment as losers. That had been a Newcomer instance; maybe letting them live was a kind of leniency for newcomers. But did he still count as a newcomer now? Would the system really give defeated players a chance to return?

Qi Feng’s clear hint made him realize something else as well. Qi Feng truly wouldn’t give up the chance to win.

And Yan Jiyun had no reason to ask a veteran player to yield. This was a matter of life and death.

His expression shifted slightly as he pulled away from Qi Feng. If he just stood there doing nothing, the system might judge him for passive combat again.

He shook out his wrist and threw another punch at Qi Feng, but this time it carried no strength. It was soft and limp.

Qi Feng sneered deliberately, “Don’t waste your energy. You’ll only lose to me. Better save your strength.”

He wasn’t saying that to Yan Jiyun. He was saying it for the system to hear.

Yan Jiyun raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is that so?” He caught the implication in Qi Feng’s words.

The two of them looked as if they had completely turned against each other.

Qi Feng knocked Yan Jiyun to the ground again. In truth, Yan Jiyun wasn’t that exhausted. He simply went along with Qi Feng’s motion and fell, even exaggerating his breathing.

No matter what, he wouldn’t turn back into a cat in front of Qi Feng.

Watching the time on his Human Form Time Card tick down, when Qi Feng threw him down once more, Yan Jiyun lay flat on the ground, panting heavily, and raised a seemingly weak hand. “I surrender!”

The system gave him no chance to take it back.

[Player has voluntarily surrendered. You will be teleported out of the arena in three seconds.]

Using those three seconds, he quickly shouted to Qi Feng, “Hey, Qi Feng— if I don’t get the chance to come back, then live on for both of us.”

Qi Feng replied, “Alright, I will. Thank you for letting me win.” Then he watched helplessly as Yan Jiyun disappeared before his eyes.

His emotions were complicated. But that complexity was soon overwhelmed by worry for his cat.

Caramel’s whereabouts were unknown. Who knew if it might run into a cruel player?

What if someone discovered that his cat was actually a player?

He had to win the next match. He had to stay and find Caramel.

[Congratulations to player Qi Feng for becoming the No.1 surviving player in Division 7 of this Peak Competition!]

Looking at the system notification, Qi Feng felt no joy at all.

Standing in the waiting area of the Peak Competition, he felt a bit lost. His Caramel was still inside the instance. Suddenly, it hit him — he shouldn’t have let Yan Jiyun lose. What if Caramel also lost?

It had been a long time since Qi Feng had exited a game so easily. Now standing in the vast plaza of the Peak Competition, he felt deeply out of place.

He had just… come out? The game ended just like that?

This time, there had been no fierce battle with another player, no life-and-death struggle with NPCs, no storm of flying items, not even a moment of near death. He wasn’t injured at all. Compared to every previous instance or arena he’d been in, this felt unreal.

Though he emerged completely unscathed, his heart was filled with uncertainty and guilt.

Qi Feng stood there with a dark expression. He had thought winning would let him stay in the game to find Caramel. But now that he was out, how was he supposed to find it?

If he was out, what would happen to Caramel?

He hurriedly opened his pet system and checked the notifications.

The system showed that Caramel was still in the instance, meaning it was still alive and hadn’t exited yet.

Just like before, after leaving an instance, he immediately checked the pet notification panel.

But the most recent notification was still from the previous instance. Since entering the Peak Competition, he hadn’t received a single new notification.

Why was there nothing this time?

Just as uncertainty crept in, Chu Mo also exited the tournament.

Seeing Qi Feng standing alone beneath a tree, Chu Mo walked straight over. He glanced around. Many other players from different matches had also come out.

The final duel felt almost like a joke. All the effort they’d put into gathering clues earlier now seemed pointless. Who would’ve thought that in the end, victory would simply be decided by combat ability?

Chu Mo was still concerned about their temporary teammate. “Did you see Yan Jiyun?”

Qi Feng let out a faint sigh inwardly and replied calmly, “He was my opponent.”

Chu Mo opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Since Qi Feng had come out, that meant someone had to remain behind.

That was how the instances always worked. It was normal that Yan Jiyun couldn’t beat Qi Feng. But someone so lively and clever being eliminated like this still weighed heavily on him.

Chu Mo didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he stayed beside Qi Feng, watching the players exiting the Peak Competition.

Once no more players came out, the exit would close permanently, and those left behind would be trapped in the instance forever.

Neither of them spoke. They simply waited in silence.