DSMC Chapter 143

Yan Jiyun hadn’t suddenly sprinted toward the music building because he’d gone crazy. He had just come up with a new and rather bold idea.

Since Teacher Qu had brought him into Instance B, was it possible that bringing Teacher Qu to the music building would allow them to return to Instance A?

Besides that, there was another line of thought he wasn’t entirely certain about yet. He needed to observe a little longer first.

Just as he had guessed, after Teacher Qu’s trust in him increased, the man actually chased after him when he ran out, following him all the way to the music building.

Yesterday, after running over from Instance B, Yan Jiyun had tried to return but couldn’t find any entrance at all. This time, however, with Teacher Qu following behind him, things were different — the sealed “barrier” around the area had opened!

He squeezed through the crack in the door, and Teacher Qu chased him into the music building.

So as long as Teacher Qu was within the music building’s vicinity, the doors would automatically open.

After rushing inside, Yan Jiyun found that the building itself hadn’t changed much. It was quiet, carrying a subtle eeriness that was difficult to detect. Like the old teachers’ dormitory where Teacher Qu lived, it was damp and humid. The feeling made Yan Jiyun, covered in fur, extremely uncomfortable. His fluffy coat had completely lost its puffiness.

“Guoba, Guoba, where are you?”

After entering the corridor, Teacher Qu couldn’t see where the little black cat had gone and could only call out to him.

Having finally managed to get inside, there was no way Yan Jiyun would leave the music building so quickly.

He didn’t want to muddle through missions in two different instances. He wanted to figure out whether he was actually jumping between instances, or whether the two instances had merged into a more complicated, higher-level instance after the system update.

For newcomers, the instance would simply become more advanced and complicated.

For veteran players, it would just become more complicated, with both the main missions and side missions increasing in difficulty.

Yan Jiyun suspected that everything they were seeing now was not the truth.

After the system update, perhaps the instances had been reconstructed into an entirely new one. Maybe it was no longer about the original two storylines at all.

If he hadn’t seen those paintings in Teacher Qu’s room earlier, he never would have considered this possibility. But now he knew — the true main storyline of the instance might have already changed.

Yan Jiyun remembered that he’d originally traveled from the third floor of Instance A to the third floor of Instance B, triggering Instance B’s plotline. After that, he had been unable to return.

At the time, Teacher Qu had been following behind him.

This time, Teacher Qu was following him again.

He successfully reached the third floor.

Teacher Qu’s voice seemed to be growing farther and farther away, becoming increasingly faint. Soon, only Lan Mo’s footsteps remained behind him.

Lan Mo was still muttering to himself. “Holy shit. I never thought the music building could actually be entered. How did nobody discover this before?”

The moment Yan Jiyun stepped onto the third floor, he heard a melodious piano tune. The notes rang out like heavenly music leading toward paradise.

It seemed that he really had returned from Instance B to Instance A.

The music building in Instance B was old and dilapidated, gloomy and damp. Every window was shut, letting in almost no light. Spending even a minute inside felt chilling and oppressive.

The music building in Instance A, however, though somewhat aged, was exceptionally well-maintained. The floor tiles were polished until they shone like mirrors. During daytime classes, sunlight streamed everywhere. There were noisy students and, of course, the music teacher whom players feared more than anything.

Holy shit, Teacher Qu—

The moment Yan Jiyun emerged from the third floor, he saw Teacher Qu dressed in a casual suit.

A gentle smile rested at the corners of his lips, making him appear as soft as water. Teacher Qu slowly crouched down. Then, with astonishing speed, he scooped up Yan Jiyun, who had just arrived from Instance B.

“Wuyun, we made an agreement yesterday. You were supposed to behave and not run around. But you didn’t listen to your teacher. You need to be punished.”

‘Damn it. The way all versions of Teacher Qu picked him up was exactly the same! Where was Teacher Qu from Instance B? Hadn’t he been right behind him? Why hadn’t he grabbed him first? Teacher Qu No. 2 had disappeared again!’

Yan Jiyun struggled desperately to get out of Teacher Qu’s arms.

If he could escape from Instance B’s Teacher Qu, then surely he could escape from Instance A’s version too.

Then he realized he’d been overthinking. Teacher Qu had absolutely no intention of letting him go. Gentle Teacher Qu, it’s not appropriate to pet cats at school!

Teacher Qu said, “Wuyun, your punishment is coming to class with me.”

Yan Jiyun, who had transformed from Guoba into Wuyun: “…”

He immediately began struggling with all his strength. ‘I don’t fucking want to go to class! Let me go!’

During the struggle, he spotted a familiar figure. 

Without hesitation, he shouted toward the person, “Meow!”

The student who heard the cry immediately turned around and looked toward Yan Jiyun and the Teacher Qu holding him.

The student began walking toward them. Yan Jiyun struggled even harder.

That had to be Qi Feng! It had to be his poop-scooping servant! Save him already!

But at that moment, the person even more excited than Yan Jiyun was Lan Mo, who had just emerged behind him.

Lan Mo lunged at Qi Feng. “Feng-ge! Fuck, I finally found you!”

Seeing that Lan Mo was completely unharmed, Qi Feng didn’t say much. Instead, he pushed him aside first. “Wait a moment.”

Lan Mo immediately guessed what he intended to do and quickly grabbed him.

“Feng-ge, don’t tell me you think that’s Caramel. I already verified it in another instance. Its owner is Qu-laoshi. That little black cat is the instance guide NPC.”

Qi Feng raised an eyebrow. “…?”

There was no way he wouldn’t recognize his own cat. Qi Feng decisively pushed Lan Mo aside and said with absolute certainty, “It’s not an NPC. That’s my Caramel.”

Although he was still resisting Teacher Qu, Yan Jiyun’s movements softened considerably after hearing those words. In an instance where every other player treated him as an NPC, his own pooper-scooper could still recognize him.

A warm current flowed through his heart.

Teacher Qu continued holding down the wildly struggling Yan Jiyun. “Wuyun, stop moving.”

By then, Qi Feng had already reached Teacher Qu. “Laoshi, that’s my cat. Could you return him to me?”

Teacher Qu, who had finally managed to keep Wuyun still in his arms, let the warmth disappear from his face. “Students aren’t allowed to keep cats. How could you possibly have one?”

Even though the black cat looked only six months old, Qi Feng had personally raised him.

The two men locked eyes.

Staring at Yan Jiyun, Qi Feng said, “I raised him myself. He’s my cat. Please return him to me.”

Lan Mo tugged at his sleeve. This wasn’t like the calm and composed Feng-ge he knew. How could he be so certain it was his cat? It was clearly an NPC! 

Quietly, Lan Mo said, “Feng-ge, we can think this through.”

Qi Feng replied, “Don’t try to talk me out of it. That’s not an NPC. It’s my cat.”

Teacher Qu’s thin lips pressed into a straight line. Then he chuckled softly. “And what if I refuse?”

Qi Feng proposed, “Then let the cat choose its own owner.”

One hand tightened around Yan Jiyun’s paw while the other stroked the fur on his back. Teacher Qu said, “Students are supposed to listen to teachers. Teachers don’t listen to students. You children are far too naughty. As for the cat… it’s mine. No one is taking Wuyun away.”

Teacher Qu wasn’t just obsessive. He was stubborn. Once he made up his mind, nobody could change it.

Inside, Yan Jiyun cursed. ‘This guy is seriously sick in the head. But how had Qi Feng recognized me? And why would he confront an NPC over me? That didn’t make any sense.’

Yet somehow, it also made him happy.

So his position in Qi Feng’s heart was still pretty important.

But what now?

Teacher Qu’s obsessive side was showing signs of erupting into anger.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Here we go! We just arrived and already have a love-triangle showdown! Hahahaha! Today’s title should be changed to*’Who is the Cat’s Real Owner?'”

“Damn, this is the first time I’ve seen a player and an NPC fighting over a cat instead of a mission. And what a flirtatious little scumbag cat he is. Can I assume this Level 5 streamer is Kitty Baby’s real owner?”

“But isn’t Mimi a human? He only turned into a cat after entering the game. How could he have an owner? Damn it, I don’t even care about the plot anymore. The real mystery is our Mimi! I want to know whether he actually has an owner. If he does, this is turning into some really weird play.”

“AAAAAHHHH [face turning yellow.jpg] I want to see it so badly! The owner’s pretty handsome too. A youthful owner and a youthful kitten, running toward each other from both sides!”

“Owner~ Owner~ Owner~ Hehehe~ Hehehe~ Hehehe~”

“Kitty Baby, tell us. Who exactly is your owner?”

“Does nobody think it’s weird that a Level 5 streamer got matched with the kitten?”

Yan Jiyun had never imagined that one day he would become the embodiment of a “femme fatale.”

After being knocked unconscious by the scent of sandalwood and mysteriously brought to the music building, he absolutely did not want to be taken away alone by Teacher Qu. 

Seeing Qi Feng at that moment had nearly brought tears to his eyes. But this wasn’t the direction he wanted things to go. He had personally witnessed how terrifying Teacher Qu could be. The man could snap someone’s neck with a casual lift of his hand.

At this point, Yan Jiyun stopped meowing entirely.

He was genuinely afraid Teacher Qu might kill Qi Feng. If Qi Feng died, how was he supposed to return to the real world? Without Qi Feng, wouldn’t he become a stray cat?

A reality he had never consciously acknowledged suddenly became crystal clear. This was a problem he’d ignored all along.

He didn’t want to become a stray cat.

Yan Jiyun stared fixedly at Qi Feng, who stood before Teacher Qu without yielding an inch.

His presence wasn’t inferior to Teacher Qu’s in the slightest. 

Even Lan Mo stood nearby worried that Teacher Qu might simply drag Feng-ge away.

Although he knew the little black cat was an NPC and posed no threat, he had never met the cat’s owner before and had no idea how strong he might be.

Qi Feng looked at Caramel, trapped helplessly in the NPC’s arms.

Alongside his concern came regret that he hadn’t realized sooner that Caramel had entered this instance too. At that moment, he had nearly forgotten about Caramel’s second owner.

Even teammates who entered the game together could be separated. Caramel should have been no different.

Suppressing his earlier excitement, Qi Feng said, “My cat has three spots arranged in a straight line on either side of his nose print.”

Even Yan Jiyun was shocked.

His nose print looked like that? Why didn’t he know that?

If there had been a mirror nearby, he definitely would have examined it several times.

Teacher Qu lowered his head and looked at Yan Jiyun in his arms. His expression darkened.

How was anyone supposed to identify nose prints on a pitch-black nose? He released Yan Jiyun’s front paws. 

Storm clouds gathered across his gentle face. “Wuyun… you really do have an owner?”

Yan Jiyun could practically see the coming tempest written on his face. Using all his strength, he broke free from Teacher Qu’s arms, landed on the ground, and sprinted toward the music building staircase.

Qi Feng and Lan Mo immediately turned and chased after him.

Teacher Qu remained standing where he was.

He frowned, then turned with a dark expression and headed toward the restroom. That cat had no idea where he’d been fooling around. After holding him for only a short while, both his clothes and hands were covered in black grime.

Just how many owners did this cat have, anyway?

Yan Jiyun hadn’t run very far. The only ones who followed him were Qi Feng and Lan Mo. He had already anticipated that Teacher Qu, concerned about maintaining his image, wouldn’t chase after him.

He waited for them at the corner of the staircase on the first floor.

In front of Lan Mo, he didn’t want to expose his identity. But after Qi Feng had brought up the matter of his nose print, there was no longer any reason for him to avoid Qi Feng.

The fact that he was Qi Feng’s cat was beyond dispute.

Seeing Qi Feng striding toward the exit of the music building, he quickly let out a questioning meow. “Meow?”

The sound wasn’t loud, but Qi Feng heard it. He turned around.

With tears welling in his eyes, Yan Jiyun immediately climbed up Qi Feng’s school uniform pants.

Qi Feng hugged his cat tightly.

Lan Mo, who was following behind, almost couldn’t stop in time and nearly crashed into Qi Feng.

It was the first time he had ever seen such a uniquely gentle expression in Qi Feng’s eyes when looking at a cat. He had never seen it before.

Lan Mo had seen Qi Feng show no mercy to NPCs in instances. He had seen him remain cold toward players who bullied them. Even toward teammates, Qi Feng wasn’t exactly warm.

But he’d never seen this version of Qi Feng.

The tenderness in his eyes was practically overflowing! 

For a moment, Lan Mo was completely bewildered. The same question echoed repeatedly in his mind: ‘Wasn’t the little black cat an NPC? Wasn’t the little black cat an NPC? Wasn’t the little black cat an NPC???’

Qi Feng was even more emotional than Lan Mo.

Caramel had been lost and found again.

A flood of complicated feelings washed over him, and the anxiety he’d felt when first entering the instance vanished completely.

However, after calming down, he realized things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

He had just arrived on the third floor, then Caramel appeared. And immediately afterward, Lan Mo appeared as well. He was certain Lan Mo hadn’t been here yesterday.

“Where did you two come from?” he asked.

He deliberately said “you two” instead of “you.”

He had remembered everything Lan Mo had told him earlier and had already pieced the information together. As usual, Yan Jiyun wrapped his front paws around Qi Feng’s neck.

Qi Feng supported his hind paws with one hand. The position allowed Yan Jiyun to observe everything around him while saving Qi Feng a lot of effort. Most importantly, Qi Feng’s cat-holding posture was completely natural.

Lan Mo stared in amazement.

After learning that Qi Feng’s cat had entered the game, he’d only been briefly surprised. He had never actually witnessed how Qi Feng interacted with his cat.

Now he was genuinely shocked. Feng-ge really treasured his cat!

Lan Mo glanced around. “Ge, let’s find somewhere else to talk. Too many people here.”

Qi Feng nodded.

The two men and one cat quickly disappeared from the music building and headed to the small wooded area behind it — this was a famous lovers’ hideaway.

Lan Mo recounted everything that had happened in Instance B.

But Qi Feng had already formed some guesses.

“The instance I was supposed to enter was [Mingya High School],” Qi Feng said. “But after entering, I discovered the name had changed. It became [Mermaid].”

“This side’s main mission has already reached part 4.”

Yan Jiyun blinked.

Over in the neighboring instance, he’d only reached Main Mission 2. But Qi Feng was already on Main Mission 4.

Qi Feng explained the main storyline of [Mermaid]. “I don’t think this instance is particularly difficult. It’s still at the difficulty level of a Level 2 instance. This instance is relatively straightforward.”

Yan Jiyun widened his eyes and stared intently at Qi Feng’s chin, listening carefully. He suspected the information would be similar to what he’d already uncovered.

Qi Feng slowly laid out the portion of the story he had reconstructed.

“Jiang Shiwen is the beginning of the story. During her first year of high school, she was selected to join a preliminary training class for the National Music Competition. There were over twenty students in the class.”

“The school arranged a month-long special training camp during summer vacation. Afterward, three students would be selected to compete in the national finals.”

Lan Mo nodded. “Following mystery-story logic, someone probably died during that period., right?

Qi Feng nodded. “That’s right. The student who died was a boy named Xiao Yue. If nothing had happened, he would likely have been one of the three finalists. But before the final solo evaluation, he died in the dormitory where he was staying.”

“Suicide?” Lan Mo guessed.

Qi Feng nodded again. “Yes. But the students from that summer training program all felt Xiao Yue had no reason to kill himself. He was an only child, and his parents doted on him. The only explanation was that someone had grown jealous of his singing voice and caused his death.”

Yan Jiyun also nodded thoughtfully. The story in the two instances seemed somewhat similar. 

Suddenly, things felt much clearer. Coming back this time had definitely been the right decision.

Lan Mo frowned. “Seriously? If someone wanted to stop him from competing, couldn’t they just slip some laxatives into his water on competition day? Murder seems a little excessive.”

Yan Jiyun thought to himself that many murders began over seemingly trivial matters. Some people’s jealousy was simply that intense.

Qi Feng didn’t comment and continued describing his progress. This was exactly what Yan Jiyun wanted to hear.

“Jiang Shiwen was the first victim. Another person died this morning, but things are pretty clear now. One objective of this instance is to identify the best singer. The other is to find the murderer.”

“Main Missions 1 and 2 have already been completed, Main Mission 3 is to find the killer.”

Lan Mo looked surprised. “We’re already searching for the killer this quickly?”

Qi Feng replied, “That’s only for this instance. Didn’t you say there was also [Mingya High School]?”

His words immediately reminded Yan Jiyun of something. Qi Feng had realized from the very beginning that there were two instances involved. His reaction speed was astonishing — that was the experience of a veteran player.

Lan Mo: “Over there I met that player who’s incredibly good at farming favorability. His name is Yan Jiyun. Not sure if I’ve mentioned him to you before.”

Qi Feng remembered the rookie with lively eyes and naturally wavy hair. “Yan Jiyun? I know him. We teamed up during the Peak Competition.”

Lan Mo nodded. “Then I won’t bother introducing him. Somehow he crossed from this instance into the [Mingya High School] instance. I still don’t know how he managed it.”

Qi Feng countered, “Then how did you get here?”

Lan Mo froze for a moment before pointing at the cat in Qi Feng’s arms. “Following it. Your Caramel.”

The words “your Caramel” noticeably pleased Qi Feng. He raised a hand and gently squeezed the back of Yan Jiyun’s neck. The pressure felt so good that Yan Jiyun instinctively started purring.

Ugh! This unique feline reflex was so damn embarrassing.

Hold it in.

Don’t purr!

“Purr~”

“Purr~”

“Purr~”

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“I think this is the first time I’ve heard Kitty Baby purr! Damn, how is he getting cuter and cuter? I thought he couldn’t purr!”

“Same! I think this confirms everything. Is the Level 5 streamer really Mimi’s actual owner?”

“Holy shit, Kitty Baby really has an owner? Wait, no, he has way too many owners. I’ve already lost count. Hahaha.”

“I don’t count those previous NPCs as ‘proper owners’ lol. Though, maybe this level 5 streamer is someone familiar whom the kitten trusts a lot. Otherwise, why would the kitten call out to him and jump into his arms?”

“Ever since the last Peak Competition, I thought there was something suspicious between the kitten and this human. Turns out, I was right! Jealousy is tearing me apart!! I want to pet the kitten too grrrr!”

“Can’t you just go to the level 5 streamer’s livestream and pet him there? First-person perspective. I’ve already done it and come back. The purring is ridiculously loud.”

“Oh right! Thanks for the reminder. Heading there now!”

Lan Mo’s reaction wasn’t much different from the viewers’. 

Truly, it’s like owner, like cat. Qi Feng was usually cold and aloof, so his cat was equally aloof and not affectionate at all.

Lan Mo complained, “Then why didn’t it react at all when I called it yesterday?”

Qi Feng looked even more pleased. The smile at the corner of his lips widened slightly. “Mm. He’s naturally cautious. He only recognizes me as his owner.”

Lan Mo raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

Then he suddenly remembered something. “Wait, I almost forgot.”

“Caramel ran into the music building, and Qu-laoshi chased after him. I followed them inside. But after entering, there was another Qu-laoshi dressed completely differently. When I saw you afterward, I didn’t think much about it. Now that I think back on it, something feels off.”

Qi Feng immediately grasped the issue. “There are two Qu-laoshi.” 

Yan Jiyun thought Lan Mo was incredibly slow on the uptake. Qi Feng, on the other hand, had obviously figured it out already.

Qi Feng continued, “Tell me about the NPCs on your side. Are they similar to the ones here?”

Lan Mo thought for a moment. “Almost identical, the only difference is the main storyline. But our side is a supernatural horror instance. At night, all kinds of terrifying things come out.”

Then he grinned. “Do you know how I met your Caramel?”

Normally, if Lan Mo suddenly wandered off-topic, Qi Feng would cut him off and tell him to get to the point. But today the topic was Caramel. So, Qi Feng showed no intention of interrupting.

“Hm?” he prompted.

Yan Jiyun: “…” Holy shit. They’re supposed to be discussing the instance, so why had the conversation suddenly shifted to how they met him?

Lan Mo became animated as he spoke. “After Shi Yan and I ran out of the dormitory, we saw it under a phoenix tree surrounded by a bunch of ghost hands.”

Qi Feng instinctively tightened his hold on Yan Jiyun and frowned. “Ghost hands?”

Lan Mo said, “It’s a supernatural instance. Isn’t that kind of thing normal?”

Qi Feng replied, “I mean, did they scare Caramel?”

Lan Mo recalled the scene. “He was startled at first, but later he was calmer than either of us. Your Caramel is pretty extraordinary.”

Yan Jiyun thought to himself, ‘Of course I am. After all, other people’s cats don’t turn into humans.’

After Qi Feng and Lan Mo finished exchanging information, Yan Jiyun felt that Qi Feng’s conclusions were probably similar to his own, while Lan Mo was still viewing everything from the perspective of a standard mystery instance.

Qi Feng arrived at a conclusion. “After the system update, the two instances merged. That means the main storyline has probably changed.”

Lan Mo looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Qi Feng said, “I need evidence to support my theory.”

Lan Mo’s brain felt tangled into knots. “Feng-ge, how did you come to the conclusion that the main storyline changed? Isn’t it written plainly enough? Two instances, two separate main storylines.”

Qi Feng patiently broke it down for him. “Do you really think the system would be that kind? Look at it this way: there’s two instances with two separate storylines… but both are mystery-themed, with reused, identical NPCs. With a bit of deduction, you’d eventually identify the masterminds behind both instances.”

“If they were separate instances, that would be perfectly normal. But the nature of the instance has changed now. The key point is still this music building and Qu-laoshi.”

Qi Feng had essentially voiced every single one of Yan Jiyun’s own theories. Yan Jiyun had arrived at those conclusions after seeing Teacher Qu’s paintings. Qi Feng, on the other hand, had figured it out solely from Lan Mo’s description.

Excited, Yan Jiyun rubbed his head against Qi Feng’s chin. ‘As expected of my pooper-scooper!’

He’s awesome!

Just as Yan Jiyun was enthusiastically showing his support through physical affection, a system notification suddenly sounded.

[Player has skipped half a day of classes. 4 hours of instance time have been deducted.]

Yan Jiyun: ‘Fucking what??’