DSMC Chapter 41.2

Yan Jiyun didn’t dare move carelessly, as they might be shouting on purpose, trying to flush him out.

His goal was to collect more props, but not recklessly.

From his last dungeon, Lin Xie and Jiang Yan had taught him one thing: inside an instance, you had to be sharper than both players and NPCs. Whatever you did, think one step ahead. If you didn’t want to die, you had to play that way.

The temporary captain lived up to his title. He even began laying out tactics.

Yan Jiyun listened to their footsteps quietly. Three people did indeed move toward Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu’s direction — they were heading down the well.

Of the four remaining, two walked away loudly on purpose, their footsteps echoing, while the couple was told to hide at the doorway. Once the two loud ones went far enough, they circled quietly back to lie in ambush, waiting for their prey to emerge.

But Yan Jiyun had no intention of being that prey.

Five minutes passed. The temporary captain really did lead a group down the well, and for a while, there was no update from them.

Yan Jiyun began to worry, were his teammates caught? 

If so, the Team F would be down to just one player: just him.

He was genuinely anxious, but he also trusted Gu Wenzhu to find a way to survive. Gu Wenzhu didn’t seem as meek as he looked. In fact, he’s probably very sharp. Back when a player had shoved him, he hadn’t gotten angry at all. A pampered person wouldn’t have stayed so calm unless they were smart. That wasn’t cowardice, it was control.

This was a hard mode dungeon, not an easy one. If Gu Wenzhu had reached this stage by progressing through the beginner dungeons as a disabled player, that meant he had brains.

Now, all he could do was wait.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Our cub is so patient, playing hide and seek with these players. I swear he’s gonna fall asleep any second.”

“No one can beat our kitty baby in this game. I bet a thousand Fate Coins on it!”

“That’s not even a fair bet. It’s totally one-sided. Kitty baby is too strong!”

“You’re all forgetting that this is a Challenging Mode instance. Later stages aren’t just team fights. Also… what if he can’t turn back into a human? Wouldn’t that expose that he’s actually a cat?”

“Nooo, I love watching him toy with those players! Don’t let them find out he’s a cat!”

“I thought hide and seek was a boring kiddie game, but watching cat cub play it is actually kinda exciting.”

“This dungeon’s gonna be wild, I can feel it. Heehee~”

One minute passed—

Three minutes—

Five minutes—

Team A still hadn’t found Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu. Judging by their chatter, the well was empty.

Yan Jiyun let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed the two had changed hiding spots while he was drawing the others’ attention.

That meant he could start looking for more items himself.

Since Team A’s search of the well had failed, the other four tried again to bait him out. But their little trap didn’t work. They had no idea their entire formation and movements had been seen through by Yan Jiyun, who didn’t even need to predict them.

[Remaining Time: 20 minutes 30 seconds]

Yan Jiyun finally dropped from the beam. This time he didn’t climb down the curtains like before. He’d already planned his route: from the sideboard to the wine cabinet, then to the beam, and back the same way down.

Team A had all gone toward the far end of the street. Perfect. Time to move and search for more props.

He slipped into the next building, which was a small arcade. Well, calling it an “arcade” was generous; it looked more like an old illegal net café. The machines were ancient, the screens flickering as pixelated fighters kept throwing kicks and combos.

Seeing it, Yan Jiyun’s paws itched. He couldn’t resist.

He leapt up onto one of the machines deep inside the room, squatted on the control panel, and pawed at the joystick. Might as well play a round. It wasn’t like it needed coins.

He tapped the four big red buttons with his hind legs, not caring if he won or lost. He was just playing for fun.

When he was a kid, he used to save breakfast money his parents gave him, just so he and his cousin could sneak into the arcade after school. They’d spend every coin before going home and always got scolded for it later.

After clearing the first instance, Yan Jiyun had realized that his childhood wasn’t half bad after all.

Watching the tiny pixel fighter on screen throw punches, he slapped the buttons rhythmically with his front paws — pa-pa-pa!. He was having a blast. 

But it couldn’t last long; the noise might draw Team A’s attention.

He stomped on the buttons a few more times, not even sure what he pressed, and suddenly, his [Chun-Li] beat [Daimon Goro] on screen!

He actually won!

A click broke his moment of triumph. He froze, ears flicking, and looked down toward the sound.

From the coin slot, a single game token had just dropped out. He hooked it out easily with one paw.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“The little cat actually likes playing arcade games too. Look at how he’s stepping on the controls, he’s got the rhythm down!”

“Don’t forget, he can transform into a human. He’s got a human’s way of thinking. Maybe he intentionally bought a cat card for this game, which is why we often see him in cat form. What a cunning little kitty… I love him!”

“But he’s using his cat form way more than his human one. I think he might actually be a legendary cat demon.”

“No way, the system should have an item that turns people into cats. Maybe he used that item right when he entered.”

“No, you’re wrong. In his very first instance, he was already in cat form, so he’s definitely a cat demon!”

“Is no one going to talk about the mechanics of this game itself? The props in this instance are ridiculously hard to find.”

“I don’t think it’s that hard for him. The little cat already found two high-level props, and look, he just found another one.”

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

The players of Team A were about ready to explode. Where on earth were those last three hiding?!

It wasn’t that they weren’t searching seriously, it was that their opponents were simply too cunning.

The college couple began to regret not choosing to stay as they were when the system allowed them to pick their faction. Every one of the Team A players was fierce and ruthless, none of them were easy to deal with. Now they were seriously regretting it.

Meanwhile, for Yan Jiyun, victory was just fifteen minutes away. As long as they lasted until the final second, they could clear the stage safely.

His goal now was simple: avoid the Seekers and gather more props.

Taking advantage of the empty street outside, Yan Jiyun slipped into another house and found two Common Props. Those might come in handy against the opposing players.

He didn’t necessarily need them himself, but Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu probably could use them.

The system wasn’t networked, meaning no online trading was possible. That left only one option: offline trading.

Yan Jiyun figured Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu were still hiding somewhere near the well, since Gu Wenzhu couldn’t move fast or far.

Keeping close to the wall, he crept into the backyard of the bun shop. Of course, he also had to make sure not to reveal that he was a cat in front of them.

Following faint breathing and the sound of slight movement, Yan Jiyun located their hiding spot. They had indeed climbed out of the well and were now concealed in the bun shop’s kitchen. The place had several large steamers, and though the Team A players had already searched it twice and made a mess of everything, Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu had each placed an overturned steamer lid over their heads. Anyone passing by would have a hard time noticing them.

Yan Jiyun leapt up onto the kitchen counter. He tossed the two Common Props he’d just found down by their feet and slipped away before they could spot him.

Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu stared at the two unfamiliar objects that had just appeared on the floor. The moment they saw them, they knew what was going on.

Those were the Common Props Yan Jiyun had found earlier!

He had come all this way just to drop them off, without even saying a word!

Both Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu were people who had seen the warmth and coldness of the human world. Yan Jiyun’s quiet, selfless act struck straight at their hearts.

Each of them picked up one item and placed it in their inventory.

Common Props were one-use and could be used on other players, while High-Level Props could not.

Their group now had four high-level and two common ones. Yan Jiyun alone was carrying three High-Level Props — he was practically a walking game bug. It was as if he knew exactly where every prop was, moving freely through the map like it belonged to him.

Meanwhile, Team A’s luck seemed to have completely dried up. Ever since they’d found Magnifying Glass, they hadn’t gotten a single new item.

No one knew how many total props would appear in this stage.

Time kept slipping away. The Team A players were practically tearing the map apart in frustration, still unable to catch the three remaining members of Team F.

Yan Jiyun only hoped the game wouldn’t suddenly ramp up the difficulty again.

As long as Team A didn’t catch him, they’d win.

Less than ten minutes left.

Just when Yan Jiyun thought the three of them could safely hold out, Team A found a crucial item.

[Team A Player has collected the Common Prop “Navigator.”]

The name was simple and clear.

“Navigator” likely meant it could pinpoint an opponent’s location. But whose location would it reveal?

He didn’t have to wonder for long. He soon heard footsteps approaching his current hiding place.

Yan Jiyun had just slipped into a tailor shop.

The hot-tempered man shouted excitedly, waving the item in his hand: “Hurry! The navigator showed he’s right here, somewhere in this shop!”

The old-style tailor shop wasn’t large, it was barely fifty square meters. Inside were a fitting room, two mirrors on the wall, several racks of finished clothes, and at the back, a cashier counter and a sewing workspace.

There wasn’t much room to hide.

Just his luck. When he’d been in larger spaces earlier, Team A hadn’t had this navigator, but the moment he stepped into a cramped little shop, they found it.

The shop had wooden beams too, but unlike the last one, there was no foothold to jump up from.

Yan Jiyun scanned the room quickly and spotted one possible hiding place.

It was a hollow-legged stool, probably meant for customers to rest on.

As the temporary team leader called out, “Everyone, remember to check the ceiling beams this time,” Yan Jiyun silently thanked his instincts for not trying to climb them.

He swiftly turned the stool so that its opening faced the wall, grabbed a piece of discarded silk from the floor, and draped it over the top.

The very instant the hot-tempered Team A player stepped through the door, Yan Jiyun slipped beneath the silk and curled up inside the hollow stool, his small body folded tightly.

If anything unexpected happened, he could kick off the wall with his hind legs and bolt in an instant.