DSMC Chapter 47.1

The paper stars weren’t knocked over by No. 6 at all. When he came out of the bathroom, they were already scattered across the floor — clearly, a Team F player had framed him. Unfortunately, he no longer had the chance to explain or warn his teammates.

Even at the very end, the eliminated No. 6 never understood how his identity had been exposed.

The three remaining members of Team C had just begun searching for props when they received word of their teammate’s elimination. No. 6 had been part of their original lineup and was from the same guild as No. 1 and No. 19. He was absolutely not the reckless type.

“What happened? That shouldn’t have been possible. As long as we act like we belong in the scene, we’re fine. A maintenance worker makes perfect sense, what hotel doesn’t need one? Normally the NPCs wouldn’t notice anything off. So what went wrong?”

No. 1 muttered to himself from his hiding spot in a corner. He had disguised himself as a neighboring guest earlier and used that to strike up a conversation with the elderly couple on the first floor, chatting so naturally that he even managed to learn how many sons they had and where they worked.

No. 19 had just returned to the second floor and slipped into the staff break room when his teammate was suddenly eliminated. Now he could only grow more cautious.

Could it be that Team F was deliberately using NPCs to eliminate their teammates?

If that were the case, then Team F was terrifying. How had they managed to manipulate an NPC to take out No. 6 without being noticed by either of them? In the same confined space, avoiding detection by both an NPC and No. 6 should have been nearly impossible. And yet, they had done it. Team C thought hard about it but came up with no answers.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun was still hiding under the bed of the heartbroken NPC. The jar of paper stars hadn’t triggered a collection notification; clearly, it wasn’t the prop that mattered most to the NPC.

He observed that the heartbroken NPC hadn’t brought any luggage, only a blue canvas backpack resting on the bench near the door.

After punching No. 6, the NPC went straight to complain to the hotel staff. Security escorted No. 6 out of the building, and afterward, the NPC began picking up the scattered stars one by one, putting them carefully back into the transparent jar.

Yan Jiyun couldn’t help but want to complain. If someone had really cared about this NPC, this “gift” was far too thoughtless. The least they could have done was use a glass jar. It looked like something casually bought from a gift shop.

And those stars didn’t seem to be handmade by the NPC himself either. If he’d been dumped and his gift returned to him, he would’ve thrown it away in anger, not kept it.

Yan Jiyun didn’t know how long it would take for the NPC to finish cleaning up. The man crouched on the floor for a while before finally sitting weakly on the bed. After a moment’s silence, he tossed the jar — stars and all — straight into the trash bin.

Yan Jiyun had thought the NPC might lash out again, but instead, he heard a low sob.

Crying was a kind of emotional release too. Go ahead and cry, he thought. Men cry, so what? Better to let it out.

He quietly listened as the NPC wept, until finally the sobbing turned into a hiccup. The performance was dramatic enough.

Perhaps feeling embarrassed about his own miserable state, the NPC grabbed a change of clothes from his backpack and went into the bathroom to shower.

Most young men didn’t take long to bathe. Yan Jiyun took advantage of the short window to search through the backpack.

Inside were just some clothes, an MP3 player, a pack of tissues, a pair of earbuds, a wallet, a pen, and a cutting-edge smartphone.

From the look of the phone, Yan Jiyun could roughly determine the hotel’s era, probably somewhere in the early 2000s. 

As soon as his paw touched the phone, the system chimed:

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

Team C now had three members remaining.

After securing the prop, Yan Jiyun heard the shower stop. The young man came out wrapped in a towel, while Yan Jiyun quickly hid back under the bed. With the prop obtained, he now had to figure out how to leave the room.

Earlier, when in human form, he had been able to jump from the fourth floor to the third-floor air-conditioning unit by stepping out onto the railing. But now, as a cat, he wasn’t about to risk his tiny life leaping onto an AC unit, especially since that room was already occupied by the gentleman NPC. That route was closed.

Fifteen minutes had passed; both Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu were reaching the inactivity time limit.

Qiu Xi would have to leave her room soon, or when the second wave of NPCs arrived, she might be discovered and eliminated.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t too worried about Gu Wenzhu, though. He was clever and knew how to hide. After fifteen minutes of silence, he’d surely have found a solution.

The two Team C eliminations had already made one thing clear: do not do anything that annoys the NPCs, or security would show up and drag them out within minutes.

Team C, who’d had the advantage at the start, now had the same number of players as Team F.

The other side clearly wouldn’t confront them head-on. Any direct contact meant instant elimination. They’d focus on collecting props instead.

Yan Jiyun was still worrying about his teammates when the next two notifications appeared, putting his mind at ease:

[Team F Player No. 9 has collected the Common Prop “Red Wine.”]

[Team F Player No. 16 has collected the Common Prop “Kitchen Knife.”]

Player No. 9 was Gu Wenzhu.

Player No. 16 was Qiu Xi.

The two of them had given Yan Jiyun a pleasant surprise. He really did have reliable teammates this time.

Perhaps Team F’s progress had provoked Team C, because the remaining three began frantically searching every floor for props. They had been misled earlier, chasing only high-level props like No. 29, when they could have started with common ones.

Finding high-level props was Yan Jiyun’s specialty — and by definition, such props were never easy to obtain.

Team C, now down to three, gave up trying to compete for props. Before they caught any Team F players, their main goal was elimination. Earning that thousand-point bonus was what really mattered.

Team C changed their objective: to eliminate Team F!

For now, Yan Jiyun wasn’t in a hurry to search for more props, since he had no way of leaving the heartbroken NPC’s room.

Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu had both found their props, enough to keep themselves safe. They were smart and he trusted them.

The second ten-minute phase was about to begin.

[Second wave of NPCs entering the scene. All players, please avoid arousing NPC suspicion about your identities.]

The props connected to the first wave of NPCs hadn’t even been fully collected yet, and now the second wave was coming.

Yan Jiyun was still figuring out how to leave the heartbroken young man’s room, but he didn’t have to think for long. Someone knocked on the door.

A voice called from outside, “Tang Shi, what are you doing holed up in there? Come to our room and play games! I texted you and you didn’t reply.”

So the heartbroken young man’s name was Tang Shi. The second wave of NPCs was connected to him. Then did that mean each NPC was related to someone?

The spawn mechanism was pretty interesting. It was like watching a TV series that paused at every key moment, revealing plot points little by little to keep him hooked.

The NPC outside kept knocking. Tang Shi got up from the bed, checked in the mirror to see if his eyes were red from crying, splashed some water on his face, and went to open the door.

Tang Shi said, “I was sleeping.”

Yan Jiyun thought, ‘You were crying, not sleeping.’

Seeing his red-rimmed eyes and hoarse voice, the person outside actually believed him and chuckled, “Chen Xiaoyu is coming too. You really not gonna join us?”

Tang Shi answered calmly, “Call me if you’re short on people. But don’t joke around. Chen Xiaoyu said she’s with Liang Yu now, and misunderstandings are troublesome.”

The other said, “Alright, alright. So are you coming or not?”

Tang Shi: “Wait for me to change.”

Yan Jiyun quietly followed behind Tang Shi, planning to slip past his feet while he was distracted talking — and finally make his escape!

He thought the man would be like the one on the third floor, who hadn’t cared about him at all. But he had underestimated the focus level and state of mind of a heartbroken young man.

Just as Yan Jiyun was about to dash out, the door suddenly slammed shut.

Yan Jiyun: ???

He looked up at the young man towering over him. He was handsome, actually.

But why did Tang Shi close the door? He’d been one step away from freedom!

He stared silently at the youth, ready to bolt for the balcony if the guy made any move to harm him. Better risk the air conditioner unit than suffer NPC harassment.

Tang Shi crouched down, his voice still hoarse. “I saw you under the bed earlier when I was cleaning up the stars, little kitty.”

Yan Jiyun kept looking up at him, as if saying: ‘if you don’t move, I don’t move.’

Tang Shi asked, “Did you knock over the stars on purpose to warn me that the maintenance worker wanted to steal something?”

Perfect explanation. Yan Jiyun approved.

He lowered himself and circled Tang Shi’s legs once, without letting a single hair brush against him.

Tang Shi reached out to pat the black cat’s head. “Thanks.”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

‘You’re welcome.’

A big misunderstanding, but not exactly wrong. The maintenance worker had been rummaging around, just with the motives prettied up.

Tang Shi wasn’t truly a volatile person. Facing Yan Jiyun, he seemed gentle. Maybe heartbreak made even mild people lose their composure.

Tang Shi asked, “Do you have an owner?”

Of course he did — outside the instance, probably already searching for the next instance for him.

Tang Shi mused aloud, “If you had one, you wouldn’t have snuck in here. I guess you don’t. How about I name you? From now on, I’ll be your owner. You’re my little lucky angel today.”

Yan Jiyun shivered all over. What a cheesy thing to say.

Tang Shi noticed the collar around his neck with the tag reading No. 29. “So you do have an owner. Got lost, huh? 29? That’s not a nice name. How about I give you a better one… something that sounds nice and meaningful.” He seemed to have forgotten his “heartbroken” setting entirely.

At that moment, a cookie commercial flashed across the TV.

Tang Shi pointed at the screen. “How about Oreo¹奥利奥 ào lì ào; purely phonetic transliteration(?) for “Oreo”?”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

Why couldn’t he ever escape the NPC-naming phase? Late, but inevitable.

Tang Shi’s gloom seemed to lift a little.

Yan Jiyun figured the guy had potential to be a decent cat owner, so he didn’t rush to leave. Oreo it was. Not like it was any worse than the rest.

“Oreo, come on, let’s go next door and play games.”

Yan Jiyun glanced at the tag on his collar in the mirror, flicked his neck, and stretched it toward Tang Shi.

Tang Shi, pleased by the cat’s apparent trust, said, “You don’t like the collar?” He unbuckled it and took it off. “I’ll keep it safe for now. Once I find your real owner, I’ll give it back.”

Yan Jiyun watched him tuck the numbered tag into his backpack, secretly delighted.

So NPCs could remove the number tags. Meaning, he no longer had to worry about Team C players recognizing him.

He’d still have to avoid Qiu Xi, though.

Tang Shi changed clothes, picked up Yan Jiyun, and brought him next door to “play games.”

And just like that, Yan Jiyun appeared among a group of NPCs.

The girls’ attention instantly shifted when they saw the sleek black cat, larger than an ordinary tabby.

Though Tang Shi was undeniably handsome, he was also freshly heartbroken. Yet suddenly, he found himself the center of attention. He had just discovered the secret to winning girls’ affection: a glossy black cat.

A girl with permed hair asked, “It’s so cute! Tang Shi, why’d you bring a cat with you?”

Tang Shi didn’t explain how the cat came to him. He only said, “Its  name is Oreo.”

Another girl stroked Yan Jiyun’s chin and sighed. “Its fur is so smooth… too bad my mom won’t let me have pets, or I’d love to raise one too.”

Tang Shi smiled faintly. “If you want to play with it, I’ll bring it over next time.”

The sadness from earlier was gone from his face. His mood had flipped completely.

The girls brightened. “Okay!”

T/L: Naming a pure black cat “Oreo” was clearly a choice. Good job Tang Shi!

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  奥利奥 ào lì ào; purely phonetic transliteration(?) for “Oreo”