DSMC Chapter 43

The leader of Team A was infuriated by Yan Jiyun’s gesture, but seemed to forget that he was the one who had provoked Yan Jiyun first. Yan Jiyun had merely responded in kind.

In a place this small, not only could Yan Jiyun hear the Team A leader selling information about him, he could also catch snippets of what other groups were discussing. Their conversations were all similar, most of it about what they’d experienced in the previous game round and the information they’d gathered was far less than what he already knew.

The player from Team B who was trading information with Team A suddenly raised his voice. “High-level props?”

In their game scenario, they had only ever found common props. They hadn’t seen a single high-level one. Not just them, but also Team D, who had faced them. The two groups had been seriously playing Hide and Seek, occasionally finding a common prop here and there, and that alone was enough to make them ecstatic. Now, hearing that there were high-level props in the game? It was shocking.

Five minutes was plenty of time, to openly eavesdrop, for instance.

Team A and Team B exchanged information. Besides revealing the existence of high-level props, the Team A leader also sold Yan Jiyun out, repeatedly emphasizing how skilled he was at hiding and warning the others to keep an eye on him. Yan Jiyun almost thought the man had figured out that he was the top-ranked player on the Newcomer Leaderboard — but it turned out he hadn’t. The only reason for the “intel sale” was that Yan Jiyun had collected several high-level props.

At least now he understood. Apparently, not everyone followed the leaderboards closely. There were so many different rankings, and the Newcomer Leaderboard was just one of them. Most people didn’t stare at it daily. There were too many new players anyway — interesting at first, but easy to lose interest in over time. Hardly anyone realized that Yan Jiyun, who had suddenly risen in fame, was that top newcomer. After all, he had only cleared two instances so far.

The only ones who knew his name were his teammates Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu, and the couple who had defected to Team A. But that couple seemed too busy sulking at each other in their collapsing romance to notice that he was the top newcomer. Besides, after entering this instance, everyone went by the “show’s” assigned numbers anyway.

Qiu Xi couldn’t speak, but he always paid close attention to others’ voices. His hearing was sharper than average, and he gestured at Gu Wenzhu.

Gu Wenzhu, who knew sign language, translated: “Qiu Xi says, should our group try asking the others for information?”

But Yan Jiyun had already heard most of what mattered, and even every key point. He shook his head. “No need.” It wasn’t convenient to explain more in front of everyone.

Gu Wenzhu murmured, “I can read lips a little.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t need that skill as his hearing was plenty sharp. “They don’t know as much as we do.”

Qiu Xi signed again, indicating that he also knew some lip reading. Having dealt with deaf-mute people often, he’d learned to recognize words by mouth shape, he just couldn’t speak himself. Still, more skills never hurt.

Yan Jiyun praised them, “You two are talented. It’s their loss for not choosing you.”

After the first round, their teamwork had clearly improved. More relaxed, more natural, and far more united.

To the other groups, though, the trio’s first win seemed like pure luck. The members of Team A, all blunt and brute-force types, couldn’t believe a few disabled players had outsmarted anyone. Surely anyone with a bit of a brain could handle a few hotheaded brawlers, right?

The game’s purpose was to stir competition between groups. Competition that revealed the other side of human nature.

Five minutes of discussion passed.

The director NPC began announcing the results of the first round:

Team A vs. Team F — Team F wins.
Team B vs. Team D — Team B wins.
Team C vs. Team E — Team C wins.

Player counts had changed accordingly:

Team A: 6 remaining, 2 advanced, 1 eliminated.
Team B: 5 remaining, none eliminated.
Team C: 5 remaining, none eliminated.
Team D: 4 remaining, 1 eliminated.
Team E: 4 remaining, 1 eliminated.
Team F: 3 remaining, 2 advanced, none eliminated.

After just one round, there were 27 players left on stage.

The entire dungeon lasted twenty-four hours, and only one hour had passed, yet three players were already gone.

No one knew whether those eliminated would return, or if they were gone for good.

After announcing the results, the NPC director revealed the second-round rules:

“Winning groups, please step forward to draw your next opponents. This round, the roles are reversed — the Seekers from last round will now be the Hiders, and vice versa. You will not be matched with your previous opponents. Please come forward in alphabetical order to draw.”

The order was B, C, then F, so Yan Jiyun’s group would draw last.

Team B’s representative was the tall player No. 10, who had earlier bought intel from Team A. He stepped up to draw.

And by sheer “luck,” he drew Team F.

Yan Jiyun and his teammates: “….”

What a coincidence, right?

Yan Jiyun strongly suspected the system had rigged it so that Team B would face them.

Team B looked utterly relaxed. They had just bought information about No. 29 and the other two. Plus, the mute and the lame one didn’t seem threatening. According to Team A’s account, those two had barely participated at all, only using props that No. 29 had found and shared with them.

As far as they were concerned, all they needed to do was find the props, use them on No. 29 to eliminate him, and that would be it. Three disabled players didn’t stand a chance against five able-bodied ones, right?

Even better — they’d also learned one crucial fact: high-level props can’t be used directly on players.

They were confident this round wouldn’t take long. Once they got their props, they could wipe out Team F in no time.

Since the opponents were already determined, Team F didn’t need to draw a scene. The NPC director assigned it directly.

Both the Seekers (Team F) and the Hiders (Team B) received identical scene cards.

This time, the card depicted a castle, animated with a crow circling above before flying away.

Gu Wenzhu said, “So this round’s setting might be a castle?”

A castle meant a massive map, there might be towers, basements, countless rooms. Perfect for hiders. But they only had three Seekers, one of them with limited mobility. That would make things tough.

Yan Jiyun just smiled. “It’s fine. A mere castle won’t stop us.”

Gu Wenzhu found that kind of optimism strangely reassuring. It was not blind cheerfulness, but quiet, confident composure. It made him believe Yan Jiyun when he said something.

Meanwhile, every player in Team B looked delighted. The NPC director had chosen the perfect setting. It’s an easy win for them!

The procedure was the same as before: Hiders got three minutes to hide, and Seekers entered after the three minutes were up.

Yan Jiyun remained perfectly calm.

During those three minutes, Gu Wenzhu took the chance to discuss tactics. “They’ll probably look for props first. If they find offensive props before we’re ready, we could get attacked and eliminated easily.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “Then what do you think is the best solution?”

Gu Wenzhu frowned. “We have to find them before they find the props. But that’s difficult since they have five people. If it’s a real castle, finding them will be extremely hard. Even an hour might not be enough. And…” He glanced at his leg. “I can’t move very fast.”

Qiu Xi patted him lightly, signaling that it didn’t matter.

Yan Jiyun said, “Then we’ll do it your way. We’ll catch them before they get the props. They need props to eliminate us. We just need to tag them to win.”

Since they were alone in the waiting area, Yan Jiyun could now openly explain how to find props.

Gu Wenzhu still looked troubled. “But…”

Yan Jiyun said, “Gu Wenzhu, don’t rush. How about you listen to my plan first? I’ll handle finding the players, and you two focus on locating the props. It’s actually not that hard to tell which ones they are — just look around the room for the object that stands out the most, the one that looks clean and free of dust. That’s probably it.”

Gu Wenzhu frowned. “You’ll go after the players alone? Is that doable? You really don’t need our help?”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “From what I remember, in the last round, the props started dropping not long after the game began. Once you get inside, start searching right away. The faster, the better. I’ll do my best to find them before they can group up.”

Gu Wenzhu said, “Alright. If you can’t handle it, call for us.”

Yan Jiyun smiled. “Okay, that’s settled then.”

Qiu Xi had no objections either. Since he couldn’t speak, communication was always a challenge, so it made sense for him to pair with Gu Wenzhu, who understood his sign language. And after the last round, he trusted Yan Jiyun’s capability completely. He wasn’t the type to make empty promises or brag about things he couldn’t do.

Yan Jiyun’s arrangement, meanwhile, was carefully calculated. He couldn’t afford to waste his limited number of Human Form Time Cards. Each lasted only a few minutes, and a 5 minute span here and there would deplete them quickly.

The “Hide and Seek” instance clearly wasn’t ending anytime soon.

Even if it did end soon, he’d still need to maintain his human form afterward in front of Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu. His total remaining time was only 130 minutes, and he’d already used almost thirty. If he had to appear human again later, he might not have enough left. He needed to conserve it.

This dungeon lasted 24 hours in total, but if every round required a group gathering afterward, his cards definitely wouldn’t hold out. He’d have to end this one quickly. Take out the four members of Team B fast, then track the fifth until the dungeon was over.

That was a plan he couldn’t tell Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi yet.

They would have a full hour to find the props. There’s plenty of time.

[Seeker Entry Countdown: 3 seconds]

2 seconds—

1 second—

[Welcome to Siyun Castle¹. Seeker countdown begins!]

The massive gates before them opened, and as soon as the three stepped through, the door behind them melted into the scenery and disappeared completely.

They stood before a miniature medieval-style castle.

Gu Wenzhu eyed the structure. “That’s… kind of quaint.”

Yan Jiyun corrected, “Strictly speaking, it’s more like a mansion.”

The “castle” was more like an old, run-down estate. It’s a disappointing downgrade from the imagined grandeur.

Yan Jiyun reminded them once more, “You two search for props. I’ll go after the players.”

At that moment, the members of Team B had no idea what kind of experience awaited them — one that would redefine the meaning of “no gameplay experience.” And indeed, it was a giveaway round. Only the points would go to Team F, not them.

Pushing open the old-fashioned villa door, Yan Jiyun found himself in a Western-style interior. The curtains were lace-trimmed, leather sofas were draped with blankets, and the floors were covered with bohemian rugs. Everything spoke of a once extravagant owner.

But Yan Jiyun had no time to admire it, nor to check whether the candelabra were bronze or silver. He headed straight for a half-open storage room on the first floor.

Inside were shelves lined with bottles and jars; and, oddly, a carpet laid right in the center. It looked out of place. Yan Jiyun lifted it without hesitation.

Beneath was a narrow hatch with a small latch. He flipped it open, revealing a bewildered face staring up at him.

To be precise, the man below was so startled by the sudden light and noise that he froze, completely blank.

Yan Jiyun crouched down and gently tapped the middle-aged man on the shoulder. “Got you.”

The man’s face stiffened. “…”

Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi, who had just stepped into the room, were equally stunned. “…”

Their system interface flashed:

[Hiders Captured: 1/5]

And it had only been one minute since the Seekers entered.

Team B couldn’t believe their eyes. What had the system just said?

They checked the interface again.

What the hell?!

Those idiots from Team A hadn’t told them that No. 29 wasn’t just good at hiding — he was damn good at catching people!

[Teammate Captured: 1/5]

[Time Remaining: 56 minutes 20 seconds]

Team F had only entered the map for, what, half a minute? No, it’s 40 seconds. And that included the time it took to walk in.

The Team B members were in disarray. Since Hiders couldn’t communicate once they hid, they were completely thrown off. Their faces burned. Player No. 29 had utterly humiliated them.

So much for Team A’s “intel.” It was useless!

The system notification sounded almost like a certain game’s infamous “First Blood.” Embarrassing beyond words.

For convenience in finding props, none of the Team B members had hidden too deeply. Now, they were all thinking the same thing — should they find better hiding spots?

But Yan Jiyun wasn’t about to give them that chance. He could predict their next moves, but they couldn’t predict his.

After catching the first player, he went straight for the next hiding spot.

He didn’t even bother to threaten or interrogate the first one. The man was simply given a ten-second choice between “Immediate Elimination” and “Switch Team.”

The man, unsurprisingly, chose “Immediate Elimination.”

Being caught and being eliminated by an opponent’s prop were two very different things — the former still offered a chance to return later, while the latter might not.

Not that any of that mattered to Yan Jiyun right now.

After tagging the first Team B player, he immediately moved on to the next.

Even while in human form, his senses were keen enough to catch the faintest of human noises. He’d found the first target purely by sound — the faint click of a closing hatch, the muffled drag of a carpet probably placed by the man’s teammate.

He already knew where the next one had gone, and from the footsteps alone, he could tell exactly where they were hiding.

He didn’t dare shift back into his cat form in this setting. It’s too risky if a player happened to see him.

He had to strike before the opponent could even react.

Just five minutes ago, during the information exchange period, he’d heard that Team B had already used up all their regular props from the previous round.

It was still unclear whether props from one instance could be carried into another, but he suspected not — because right now, every high-level prop in his temporary inventory was greyed out and unclickable, completely unusable.

At least the system wasn’t that cruel yet.

There was a staircase to the right of the storage room exit. He had just heard one of the players stepping onto the stairs. The man had tried to tread lightly, but Yan Jiyun could hear every step crystal clear. The sound went all the way up to the second floor.

The lighting in the villa was poor, and perhaps the players thought that dimness would make it harder for Team F to find them.

But they were wrong. No matter how large the villa was, as long as it wasn’t the size of a football field, he could easily pinpoint all five of them. Every sound in this place was within his range of hearing.

The second floor had a long hallway, with twelve guest rooms, six on each side.

There were many rooms, all spacious. And who knew if there were connecting doors between them? If there were, the Hiders could move quickly from one to another, making it quite troublesome to search.

At least, that would be the case for any other player.

Yan Jiyun went straight down the right corridor and stopped at the third room, the one that was easy to overlook.

The other player was actually quite good at hiding. Yan pushed open the door and crouched beside the bed, turning his head just enough to meet the gaze of the man hiding underneath.

Smiling, he said softly, “Got you. Will you come out yourself, or should I pull you out?”

The freshly hidden Team B player No. 2: “……”

Meanwhile, the rest of Team B could almost hear the game system announce: “Double Kill.”

[Want to be Human] livestream channel:

“Holy crap! Cub, how did you do that?! Is that stupid villa your home or what? How did you know he was under there!?”

“What an unreal start! I’ve seen this Hide and Seek instance so many times, but never once has a Seeker found a Hider in under a minute. Did he glitch the game or something?”

“Didn’t Team B just taunt the kitty cub earlier? Even went to Team A to ask about his info? Well, now they’ve earned themselves his death glare.”

“I’m laughing to death! That Hider’s face was priceless, he didn’t even have time to react before he was kicked out of the game. He’s probably thinking, Who am I? Where am I? Wasn’t I playing Hide and Seek?”

“I’m dying! This horror survival game turned into a newbie boosting session for a pro. Kitty baby is OP!”

“Seriously, why would anyone think they could outplay a cat in Hide and Seek? Absolute morons.”

Team B no longer dared underestimate Yan Jiyun. In just two minutes, they’d already lost two teammates.

And that was only the beginning of their nightmare.

After leaving the middle guest room, Yan went straight to the third floor. The moment he located the second player, he caught faint shuffling sounds above him. The rustle of fabric, the rasp of a zipper. Someone was up there, so easy to spot.

The third floor was the master’s suite level. The sound had come from a room with a cute nameplate on the door, likely a child’s room.

Though the “castle” was a knockoff design, the interior was lavish. The children’s room had two sections, the bedroom and play area. The play area was overflowing with toys: oversized plushies big enough to hide in, tiny dolls small enough to cradle, and little train tracks running across the carpet.

There were so many toys that even Yan felt a fleeting urge to stay and play. The owner’s kid must’ve been dearly loved.

Casually, he picked up a piece of the toy train track.

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

Team B players: “……”

It was a slaughter on both brains and reflexes!

Was it even three minutes yet?

Yan Jiyun, now used to stumbling across such “beautiful” high-level props, tossed the toy into his temporary inventory and turned toward the human-sized plush doll standing in the corner. He tugged the doll’s headpiece upward, revealing the face of a Team B player underneath. The man tried to bolt, but Yan’s long leg swept out and tripped him effortlessly.

A light tap on the shoulder—

And a soft voice followed: “Got you.”

In the minds of the remaining Team B members, the words echoed like a system callout: “Triple Kill!”

Three— three already?!

How was he finding them so fast? They had hidden so carefully!

Damn that Team A! They were practically Team F’s inside men. The “intel” they sold was worthless, probably worse than worthless! It made them drop their guard!

Now only two players remained.

Yan Jiyun only needed to catch one more. The fifth he planned to leave alone, to hide until the instance ended.

The last two players were completely silent now, making not a single sound.

Team B was surprisingly loyal. None of them had switched sides after being caught. Then again, anyone with half a brain wouldn’t dare transfer to Team F. Aside from Yan Jiyun, the other two were basically dead weight. If it weren’t for them, maybe someone might’ve switched. But now? They were like a cursed team no one wanted to join.

Yan Jiyun’s pooper scooper also has a villa. It wasn’t as large as this castle, but he’d mastered every possible hiding spot inside it. There was no corner that his sharp eyes or ears couldn’t find. Usually, his pooper scooper could never locate him; it was always Yan Jiyun who came out on his own, giving the man a deeply disdainful stare.

The last two Team B players were at their wits’ end.

What should they do now?

How on earth was No. 29 from Team F tracking their teammates down so precisely?

[Remaining time for Human Form Time Card: 2 minutes 22 seconds]

His second 5 minute card was running out. He had to conserve them as there were still over 20 hours left in this dungeon, and he didn’t have nearly enough cards to last. He had to catch the fourth player before this one expired.

Thankfully, his two teammates weren’t chatterboxes. They quietly combed through the first floor for props.

Their effort paid off. Not wanting to slow Yan Jiyun, they soon found a common prop themselves.

Meanwhile, Yan focused all his attention on listening.

Standing lazily in the third-floor hallway, leaning against the railing, he closed his eyes.

Filtering out his teammates’ footsteps, their uneven breathing, the creak of wind-shaken doors, and the jingling of bells at the entrance. He heard something: a single, distinct inhale.

He opened his eyes, lips curling upward.

“Found you.”