DSMC Chapter 40

The five players of Team A rushed into the scene area. They looked a bit lost, probably their first time playing hide-and-seek since becoming adults, and it took a moment to adjust.

Who would’ve thought that, unlike other instances where the name didn’t reflect the content and was often obscure, this one called “Hide and Seek” was the complete opposite — it directly told them what it was.

Yan Jiyun listened to the footsteps of the five people entering from the gate. He could hear them dividing tasks, purely focused on searching, no arguments among them; for now, they sounded quite united.

The five men of Team A decided to split up. Some started searching from the entrance, while others went toward the far end of the street.

Yan Jiyun’s human form would expire in 20 seconds. From the cracked glass window downstairs, he looked out. The two men walking toward the end of the street hadn’t noticed him standing on the second floor.

They moved like bulldozers. All he heard was the sound of things being knocked over. Not careful searching, but brute-force rummaging.

The Human Form Time Card was about to expire.

Yan Jiyun’s perspective suddenly dropped from high to low. From a 1.8 meter adult, he became an adult cat again. The card came with its own “outfit,” so when he changed back into a cat, his clothes didn’t fall to the ground and give him away.

After the card expired, Yan Jiyun lightly jumped onto the windowsill, crouching there quietly to observe Team A’s progress below.

Judging by their crude search methods, they shouldn’t be able to find Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu anytime soon.

They were only in the early phase of searching, not yet systematic. But once they started a second round of grid-style sweeping, that would be another story.

The two players who had entered the bun shop had already turned the place inside out but hadn’t found Qiu Xi or Gu Wenzhu. It seemed the two really had followed Yan Jiyun’s advice and gone into the well.

On a single street, finding five hiding players shouldn’t be too hard. Give it an hour, and they’d likely be discovered.

So what kind of trick was this instance trying to pull?

Yan Jiyun doubted it would be as simple as it looked.

He glanced at the bullet comments.

He had asked the system before: the viewers in the live chat couldn’t reveal instance or player information. Indeed, the chat was free of anything related to this instance. This was a Challenging Mode instance — if it really were this easy, he’d start wondering if the game was ascending to sainthood.

Still, he hoped it was simple. Overthinking only led to paranoia about hidden traps.

But… was simply winning the game all that mattered?

After entering the instance, the system’s youthful voice no longer appeared to clarify things, leaving Yan Jiyun to think on his own.

The street was barely two hundred meters long but had over fifty shops. If searched thoroughly, it would take a long time. In that sense, seekers didn’t necessarily have the advantage — unless the game granted them some kind of special privilege.

Just as he was thinking this, all players in the area heard a system notification:

[Team A Player No. 5 has collected the Common Prop “Magnifying Glass.”]

Yan Jiyun’s eyes lit up. So that’s how it is! The game allowed prop collection!

No wonder the system had prohibited external props earlier. It banned brought-in props, not those found within the scene itself.

The game hadn’t specified whether only Seekers or only Hiders could use them, which meant whoever found an item could use it. But how many items were there in total, and where were they hidden?

He couldn’t just sit and wait. He needed to find them before the Seekers did. These items would surely benefit the Hiders.

He had planned to stay put, but now his survival instinct and collector’s urge both flared up. He had to act. In this game, waiting for death was not an option.

Besides, he remembered the director NPC’s earlier warning: even Hiders couldn’t just lie flat and do nothing. If the system judged you as passively playing, you might be eliminated.

And since his team had a player with limited mobility, he needed to take the initiative.

“Want to be Human” livestream channel:

“Meow~~ the cub turned back into a cat! He’s moving again! So cute and agile!¹”

“Stop that rainbow fart, you simp. Every cat is agile. But those long slender legs… when he jumped off the windowsill, I swear it felt like he landed right on my heart. I love him, I just want to touch those soft pink beans.”

“Five minutes have passed, the props have started spawning. Let’s see how our kitty finds them!”

“I want to know if the human form was something our darling kitty bought himself. Switching back and forth like that is so cool. This instance choice is perfect. Time, place, and person all aligned. It’s like it was custom-made for him! I’m curious whether he picked it himself or if some expert guided him.”

“I just realized he entered this instance in human form! He’s so cute. I want to ruffle that curly hair on his head. Even though his cat form has black fur, the curls match perfectly between both forms! No matter how I look at him, he’s adorable. It never feels like two different people.”

“I think it’s mostly his eyes. Whether as a cat or human, there’s something alive in them. Just one glance and you can tell he’s special. But only if he’s willing to look at you. He’s actually pretty aloof in crowds, never seeks attention, just quietly observes and thinks.”

“Yes, exactly! That’s it! You said what I wanted to say. You girls really know how to compliment him.”

“By the way, there’s an ultra-rare item in this instance that can locate Hiders.”

[The above comment contains spoiler and will be blocked from players]

Yan Jiyun didn’t know how prop drops were determined. That Team A player probably stumbled upon one while searching for Hiders.

But what did “Magnifying Glass” do? Did it magnify small details, helping them spot traces of hidden players?

If the Seekers found more such items, the likelihood of his team being discovered would rise sharply.

There was another reason he had to stop them from collecting too many items — he feared there might really be one that could locate Hiders. If it could detect his cat form, he’d be exposed instantly.

He decided to start searching this very house for items.

The room seemed to belong to a middle-school student. Aside from a bed and desk, the rest was piled high with books and clutter. When he first came in, there had barely been a place to step, which was exactly why it was a good hiding spot.

There wasn’t a single award on the wall, but there were posters of basketball stars, none of whom Yan Jiyun recognized.

This wasn’t a rich household, just modest, ordinary. It was filled with the feel of everyday city life. From the environment, he could guess what kind of person lived here.

Probably a high-school boy who loved basketball but wasn’t fond of studying. The handwriting on the homework was sloppy, filled with mistakes. The scattered test papers scored low, and on the blank bottom margin, he’d doodled a giant turtle. Probably out of boredom during a class.

Which of these items could be an in-game prop?

The bed had only a blanket and pillow. The desk held textbooks, nothing special. He pawed at them, and the system gave no response.

The cluttered corner was covered in dust, nothing there either.

Then he spotted a basketball leaning by the desk. It was clean, clearly cherished, though well-used.

Yan Jiyun stretched out his paw and tapped the basketball.

[Team F Player No. 29 has collected the High-Level Item “Basketball.”]

So that’s how it works.

He guessed that the hidden props might be related to each homeowner, the kind of person they were, or what they liked.

The basketball was still right in front of him, but a new item labeled “Basketball” appeared in his temporary inventory.

At the same time, two new notifications popped up on his game interface:

Top-left: [Teammates Captured: 0/5]

Top-center: [Remaining Time: 54 minutes 23 seconds]

“Want to be Human” Livestream Chat:

“The basketball turned out to be a prop? I’ve never seen anyone else collect that!”

“What’s so strange about that? I bet someone has, just not very often.”

“That’s a high-level prop! Didn’t you see the later stages of the game? Most careless players miss it. This room is too messy. Everyone looks up, not down, and just leaves after one glance.”

“So exciting! My cub’s too smart. The moment the other side found a prop, he instantly figured out how to find one himself! Fastest prop-finder I’ve ever seen. My cat cub never disappoints!”

Yan Jiyun hadn’t expected that a random touch would get him a high-level prop, but the system didn’t describe its function, nor whether it had limited uses.

This game was truly capricious. Aside from the most basic rules, it gave him nothing. No detailed explanations, no hints. He had to discover and interpret everything on his own. To put it nicely, it offered a “freedom of exploration.” To put it bluntly, it was designed to keep players tense, dripping with malice.

Yan Jiyun was just about to check the next bedroom when he heard noises nearby. The players from Team A were searching violently, banging, smashing, tearing through everything.

Their ruckus didn’t affect his search for props.

The master bedroom smelled of old furniture and middle-aged domesticity. The room looked cluttered, but not chaotic, just cramped. The place was small enough that two adults would bump into each other if they turned around at the same time.

Yan Jiyun didn’t find any props there and decided not to waste time.

Team A continued their violent rampage, having missed the spots where Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu were hiding. They must be getting anxious by now.

They had been confident after spotting their opponents earlier, but now, six minutes in without seeing a single shadow, they were growing restless.

Finally, they searched their way to the house where Yan Jiyun was hiding.

After sweeping through the ground floor, one heavy-footed man stomped up to the second floor. He went straight into the master bedroom, checked the wardrobe and under the bed, but found no trace of the Team F players.

Yan Jiyun hadn’t crawled into the backpack his pooper scooper had prepared for Qiu Xi. It was too conspicuous. Instead, he squeezed into the narrow space behind an old wardrobe pressed against the wooden bed. If discovered, he could quickly crawl under the bed.

The Team A player was a brute. After tearing through half the shops and houses without finding a single person, he vented his frustration with a violent kick to the wardrobe, which was already tilted at one corner.

The wardrobe wobbled dangerously. Yan Jiyun quickly slipped under the bed, crawling toward the headboard.

The bed was too low. No way it could hide an adult.

The player, having vented his temper, didn’t even think to check under the bed. He ripped a poster off the wall, muttered a curse, and stomped downstairs.

Yan Jiyun heard him grumbling to his teammates that he’d found nothing. The others told him to check the backyard.

The street outside was empty. Once the two players entered the backyard, Yan Jiyun dashed downstairs, sprinted out the door, and slipped into a milk tea shop diagonally across the street, one that Team A had already searched.

His timing was perfect. All five Group A players were indoors; the instant he darted inside was no longer than a blink—too fast for the human eye to catch.

Even if they had seen him, it wouldn’t matter. In most games he’d played before, a stray black cat in a ruined street wouldn’t raise suspicion. It would just seem fitting for the setting. And if he was caught, he could easily pretend to be an NPC.

Right now, the most important thing was to keep his identity as a player hidden, and then focus on clearing the game.

The milk tea shop wasn’t large. The moment he entered, a sweet scent of tea and sugar filled the air. Yan Jiyun wasn’t particularly fond of sweetness; he had no special liking for desserts.

There were only three small tables lined up for customers waiting for drinks. The tea-making area was fully visible. It’s clearly a franchise shop with little decoration aside from a poster of the brand’s celebrity ambassador.

There was also a back door leading to another street. Yan Jiyun tried to cross over, but hit an invisible wall. So, their movement area was limited.

He returned inside to keep searching. The counter drawers had been pulled open and left that way. Team A’s players had been thorough and rough.

No telling whether this place had any props hidden inside. Maybe none.

The drawer held all sorts of junk — keys, card holders, rubber bands, access cards, mini tissue packs. Yan Jiyun knew none of them were props; touching them triggered no system reaction. Nothing here seemed personally connected to anyone.

What kind of person would the franchise manager be?

Given that the counter was public-facing, it was unlikely to hold anything valuable. Yan Jiyun leapt down from the counter and padded toward the changing room in the back.

The shop might be small, but it had everything; stockroom and changing room included.

The stockroom was filled with milk tea powder, coffee beans, sugar, and tea leaves. The changing room, however, looked more promising.

Yan Jiyun slipped inside decisively.

Like the rest of the place, it had been ransacked by Team A. Clothes strewn everywhere, lockers pried open, employee uniforms tossed onto the floor, even trampled on.

It didn’t look like a place anyone could hide. Their destructiveness was almost cathartic, like they were venting anger.

Yan Jiyun felt a flicker of distaste. In this instance, he’d rather avoid dealing with people like them. They weren’t the same kind of player.

As he stepped over a pile of clothes, something hard pressed against his paw. It was a small, oddly shaped object.

Among the mess, one pure white garment stood out. It was better quality, soft and cool to the touch, like summer bed sheets.

He nudged aside the coat covering it, revealing a white jacket with a bulging pocket. Pressing down with his paw, he confirmed there was indeed something solid inside. It was hard enough to poke through the layers of fabric.

He clawed the pocket open and hooked out the object with his nail. It was a ring.

But not just any ring — a glittering diamond ring, around one carat, clearly made for a woman.

[Team F Player No.29 has collected the High-Level Prop “Diamond Ring.”]

What was the use of these high-level props? Both the basketball and the diamond ring were marked “high-level,” but compared to them, something like a “Magnifying Glass” sounded more practical.

He’d found the ring in a woman’s jacket pocket, so it was probably the manager’s. Maybe the ring represented her recent emotional state: a gift from her boyfriend or husband, taken off during work for convenience. Or maybe it symbolized two possible conditions. Either her relationship was going smoothly, or it had already fallen apart, leaving the ring as a lingering token.

After Yan Jiyun examined the diamond ring, the system automatically stored it in his temporary inventory.

Meanwhile, three of the Team A players had regrouped, while the other two were sweeping back from the far end of the street. The couple from Team F were still well hidden and hadn’t been found yet.

The three nearby Team A players started swearing.

No. 18: “Which Team F player’s competing with us for props? Didn’t you have Magnifying Glass? Why haven’t you found anyone yet?”

No. 5: “I can use it, but it’s a one-time item. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You sure we should waste it now?”

No. 24: “The system didn’t even announce that No. 29 found those props. What do you think the high-level ones — the ‘Basketball’ and the ‘Diamond Ring’ — actually do?”

No. 18: “We’ve only gotten common props so far. Those two are high-level ones… they have to be better than our Magnifying Glass. Let’s focus on finding more props first. The others can keep searching for the Team F Hiders. Once we get a few useful props, finding them won’t be a problem.”

The players from Team F had managed to find props while hiding. There was no reason the Seekers couldn’t do even better while roaming freely. And if the other side could find two high-level props within a few minutes, that meant those items weren’t all that hard to locate.

The three of them agreed on Team A’s next search plan, unaware that a certain Player 29 from Team F had overheard every word.

After obtaining the Diamond Ring, Yan Jiyun didn’t dare walk out openly. The opposing trio had already regrouped, which meant their searching speed would only increase. He, on the other hand, was alone, and had to stay hidden. The difficulty for him was several times higher.

The milk tea shop had no second floor and no usable back exit; his only option was the front door. But the three Team A players were still standing right outside, discussing their next move. He could only wait for them to leave.

Just then, a woman’s scream pierced the air.

There was only one female player on Xiaoyun Street. No need to guess who it was.

The one caught was the female half of the student couple, Player No. 22 Sun Xinxin.

The system notification appeared instantly:

[Team F Player No. 22 has been captured by Team A Player No. 18.]

[Teammates Captured: 1/5]

[Remaining Time: 47 minutes 19 seconds]

Sun Xinxin: “Let go of me!”

No. 24: “Sure, I’ll let you go. Just tell me where your boyfriend’s hiding.”

The one threatening her was the same man who’d pushed Gu Wenzhu earlier. His voice sounded like he was forcing it through a clenched throat; grating, but distinctive.

He shouted down the street, “Hey, boyfriend — if you don’t come out, your girlfriend’s gonna have a really bad time~”

Yan Jiyun frowned. Sun Xinxin had already been caught. Why hadn’t the system teleported her out? Instead, it left her here as a hostage.

Just as he was questioning it, a new system prompt appeared:

[Captured players may remain in the scene for 10 seconds. They can choose “Immediate Elimination” or “Switch Sides.”]

Yan Jiyun was startled. So that’s an option?

The girl didn’t choose “Immediate Elimination.” What was she thinking?

If she defected and joined Team A, that would give the Seekers two new members, which was an extreme disadvantage for the Hiders.

A captured player who hesitated would only face more danger. Right now, Sun Xinxin’s throat was literally being squeezed by that man’s hand.

No. 22 Sun Xinxin struggled, gasping, “L-let… go… of me!”

Everyone had heard the system prompt about switching teams. Her boyfriend, No. 21, who had been hiding in silence, finally stepped out.

No. 21 Ma Haiyang emerged from a clothing shop, where he’d been disguised among a pile of mannequins. The Team A’s players, being careless, hadn’t noticed.

No. 21 Ma Haiyang: “I’m here! Don’t hurt her!”

Yan Jiyun didn’t judge their actions. Everyone wanted to survive. It just meant his own game was going to get harder.

He wondered briefly what kind of punishment losing would bring.

But looking at those violent men in Team A, he knew he would rather choose “Immediate Elimination” than risk capture.

Thinking back on the system’s wording so far, it had only mentioned dividing players into groups for the first round. There was no guarantee those numbers would stay even. Meaning, as the game progressed, some groups could grow stronger while others weakened — or even be wiped out entirely.

Why hadn’t the game let them form teams freely from the start? Why force them into this dynamic afterward?

Yan Jiyun had a feeling it was intentional. Forcing players to switch teams under threat of death. And once that happened, the new members wouldn’t necessarily be welcomed. A large group might have strength, but also friction — unless they had a powerful leader capable of keeping everyone in line.

Few or many, both came with problems.

More people meant more conflicts. Whose orders to follow, who took charge.

Fewer people meant fewer arguments, but also less overall strength.

Yan Jiyun’s concern wasn’t misplaced. Bhis round had just proven the couple’s love was genuine. No one could doubt that.

Then came the system notification confirming their decision:

[Team F Player No. 22 has joined A Group (Seeker Faction).]

[Team F Player No. 21 has joined A Group (Seeker Faction).]

[Hiders Remaining: 0/3]

[Remaining Time: 40 minutes 30 seconds]

Team A was, of course, delighted. Two more people to help search for players and props.

Yan Jiyun was just grateful that, when the instance first began, the couple hadn’t spoken with their team at all and had immediately gone off to hide. That meant they didn’t know where Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu were hiding. Hopefully, they wouldn’t betray them by accident.

Now only three players remained, and he would see this through.

Fewer people meant fewer liabilities, too.

From the window, Yan Jiyun watched as the couple quickly collected themselves and joined Team A’s search.

Trying to prove his worth, Player 21 said, “I saw the mute and the lame one didn’t hide in the back shops. That young guy helped them find a spot near the front. They should be within the next two or three buildings.”

With that intel, the previously scattered Team A players immediately concentrated their manpower on the next five shops.

Player No. 18, now acting as temporary captain, barked, “Move! Keep searching!”

Yan Jiyun’s heart sank. He was worried for Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be found.