DSMC Chapter 50.1

“I remember that too. Tang Shi’s opening line isn’t like that. I’ve watched this instance several times. Tang Shi’s actually quite popular among younger female players; he’s been chosen maybe two or three times. And every time, he says the same thing: ‘Sigh, I just broke up.’”

“Looks like it’s our kitty-cat doing it again, hahaha. Did he change the storyline again? Is he about to break through the script and trigger a brand-new ending?”

“What new ending? This is a PvP instance, not an exploration one.”

“I think it makes sense, though. Before, no one really wanted to choose this love-struck idiot. Everyone thought he was useless, and very few players ever found any items related to Tang Shi. I’ve watched this instance several times, and he barely ever appears. On the other hand, Chen Xiaoyu appears the most often. Lots of male players love using her. In one instance, she was chosen five times! Her popularity value was through the roof. Still, [Destiny]’s NPCs do have a high degree of freedom. If a player raises their favorability enough, NPCs can start reacting to them.”

“But the cat’s only been with him for less than ten minutes. How can there already be favorability points? And isn’t favorability usually broadcast on the public screen? I haven’t seen anything.”

“Who told you it has to be broadcast? In story-driven exploration instances, yes, it’s displayed, but not necessarily in other modes. The rule still exists, it’s just hidden. I’ve been watching live streams for years and only recently found out that NPC favorability has two modes: ‘visible favorability’ and ‘hidden favorability.’ Hidden favorability is way harder to build up. Most players don’t even know about it, and even if they do, they won’t bother. After all, time in an instance is too precious, and one wrong move means death. Who’d waste time trying to win over an NPC?”

“So you’re saying the cat accidentally triggered a hidden favorability NPC?”

“Exactly! Totally by accident. That’s why Tang Shi’s opening line changed to reflect it. The only question is, can Mimi tell?”

“I usually only watch exploration instance streams, so I never noticed this before. Didn’t expect to learn a new rule from Cat Cub’s stream. So interesting!”

“Hahaha, that’s my favorite cat streamer for a reason. He’s insane. I love how the NPCs practically shower him with favorability for free, while they’re stingy as hell with everyone else. It cracks me up every time. I can’t explain it, but it’s so satisfying to watch.”

“You guys talk too much. I’m just here for mindless viewing. No, I mean, mindless Cat Cub watching.”

[The above comments involve instance mechanics that are not shown to players.]

According to the game rules, idling or avoiding play isn’t allowed, and every hour there will be a tag-snatch match. The exact rules haven’t been announced yet. It’s unclear whether the system will pick individual players for 1v1 fights or have whole teams battle it out.

He found the system really annoying. It always said things halfway, leaving them to guess the rest.

Still, his group probably had it easier than others. They hadn’t lost a single member and currently had 4,000 points. likely the highest total in the game.

Yan Jiyun opened the newly unlocked Temporary Shop, a limited-time shop tied to the instance timer.

[“Temporary Shop” closes in: 20 hours, 30 minutes, 11 seconds]

The Temporary Shop didn’t sell props. It sold buffs to strengthen one’s NPCs or debuffs to weaken enemy NPCs. These items didn’t affect players at all and could be bought anytime before the store closed.

Yan Jiyun counted through the listings: every item cost points. The system clearly wanted them to spend the team points they’d earned in the first three rounds.

The rules hadn’t said how to make an NPC obey the player, but the store’s contents made it obvious. If a person wanted your NPC to listen, they had to spend points on items that increased “bond values.”

There were +1, +5, and +10 bond items. The higher the value, the more points required.

This also limited players who had many rare items but few points. No matter how many high-level props they owned, without points, their NPCs would be useless, as the player couldn’t afford to “raise” them. It was basically a pay-to-win system with points instead of cash.

It would be difficult to strengthen an NPC in just 20 hours. Teams with many members but few points might not even be able to afford their NPCs at all.

Still, if they didn’t invest in their NPCs, their allies would become cannon fodder in battle, forcing the players themselves to fight, and they’d have to face not only enemy players but also their NPCs.

Once this exchange system was revealed, everyone realized the first three rounds had only been appetizers. The real gameplay started here, in the newly opened full-map scene: Qingyun Town.

Yan Jiyun needed to figure out how big Qingyun Town was. He noticed that after entering the full scene, even the system interface had changed. There was now a team channel. After exchanging for an NPC, he received a team-only notification.

He tried using brainwave input to send a message, but nothing happened. After two more tries, the system finally gave him a message:

[Player No. 29, please stop attempting to use the team chat channel. It is for system messages related to team props only.]

So the system could get annoyed, he just hadn’t found the trigger before. Maybe next time he could keep poking it and discover something new.

After exchanging for an NPC, both Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi did the same.

All three of them had collected quite a few advanced props in the previous three instances — especially in the second one, when Yan Jiyun cleared the obstacles in the first five minutes, letting the others explore the castle freely. Their teamwork had been smooth and drama-free.

Gu Wenzhu and Qiu had slightly fewer high-level props than Yan Jiyun, but still plenty to use.

Gu Wenzhu used a “Necklace” to exchange for the plump Auntie from the bun shop.

Qiu Xi used a “A Set of Keys” to exchange for Butler Cao from Siyun Castle.

His teammates were clever. They’d chosen NPCs logically, using props from their corresponding scenes probably granted buffs. NPCs familiar with their own environments would clearly have an advantage in fights.

When Yan Jiyun saw the bun shop auntie, he remembered a girl saying she wanted to go there to try the buns. Just the thought made his mouth water. Human food really was the best!

Still, he decided to test a gift item first. Spending two points, he bought a candy and gave it to Tang Shi, to see what would happen.

[Player No. 29 has given NPC Tang Shi a lemon-flavored candy.]

[Too bad Tang Shi doesn’t like sour things.. Player 29’s bond value with Tang Shi -1.]

[Notice: Players, please do not give gifts to NPCs carelessly. If you give them something they dislike, they will become upset, and your bond value will decrease instead of increase. If the bond value drops too low, the NPC will return to the prop inventory on their own.]

Yan Jiyun: …

What the hell? It was supposed to add one point for giving a gift!

Damn system, cost him 2 points for nothing!!

These NPCs were way too hard to please. If the player didn’t give them gifts, their bond wouldn’t grow; but if they gave the wrong one, it would backfire. And if the player kept making mistakes, the NPC could even dissolve their temporary contract. What a scam. No matter how many high-level props one had, they’d never be enough at this rate.

So now, they need to first understand their NPCs’ preferences. Give the wrong gift, and the NPC would basically become a spy, maybe even turn around and hand points to another team. After thinking it over, Yan Jiyun decided gifts still had to be given, but they had to be exactly right, the first time.

After that little experiment, he was sure his teammates would realize they couldn’t just hand out gifts randomly.

Each scene had multiple high-level props dropped, and the Temporary Shop was filled with all kinds of options. But without interacting with NPCs first, there was no way to know what they actually wanted. So before giving gifts, maybe they needed to… build some rapport?

He also had another question: since every group entered the same scenes, and multiple people could find the same items and target the same NPCs, was it possible for the same NPC to be exchanged by more than one player?

Yan Jiyun checked the NPC exchange menu. Turns out, each NPC could only be exchanged once. When he clicked on “Tang Shi” again, the system gave him a prompt:

[This NPC has already been exchanged. If their bond value with the current player drops below a certain level, they will return to the prop inventory and become available for other players. Please find a player with the same high-level prop and patiently wait for the NPC to return.]

So it all came down to speed. First come, first serve. 

Yan Jiyun noticed that the first NPC to be exchanged was Chen Xiaoyu, followed by several unfamiliar faces. It didn’t matter if players hadn’t seen them before — the exchange menu displayed photos of every NPC. Among all the female NPCs, Chen Xiaoyu’s photo was by far the most flattering; no wonder she was so popular.

[Time until game start: 2 minutes 02 seconds]

To be safe, Yan Jiyun thought he should exchange for one more NPC. Their team’s points could support two, and it might be advantageous to do it early. Later, other players might snatch them up.

He spotted Liang Yu, suitcase in hand, following behind them. There was a saying, wasn’t there? Better the devil you know. Fine, Liang Yu it is.

He quickly found Liang Yu in the NPC menu and selected “Exchange.”

[Would you like to use the rare item “Black Bracelet” to exchange for NPC Liang Yu?]

Yan Jiyun selected “Yes.”

Liang Yu instantly appeared behind Tang Shi and said, “I’m really not a scumbag.”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

‘Who cares whether you are or not. I’m not the one you’re going to cheat on.

Wait—no, I’m a guy!’

This game really had a twisted sense of humor. Every NPC’s first line after being exchanged was their entrance quote.

Yan Jiyun’s high-level props decreased by one again. He eyed the remaining ones, wanting to exchange more, but decided this wasn’t the right place.

What he didn’t know was that his hidden live stream chat had just exploded with excitement and donations.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Holy shit, Kitty Baby actually exchanged for Liang Yu!”

“What’s wrong with Liang Yu?”

“You don’t know? Chen Xiaoyu likes Liang Yu, but Liang Yu doesn’t like her back! Remember that earlier storyline? Chen Xiaoyu misunderstood and thought he accepted her confession, but he actually didn’t. Total misunderstanding. After that, Chen Xiaoyu hated him. But here’s the thing — in combat, Liang Yu counters Chen Xiaoyu. He’s specialized in dealing with the white lotus types.” 

“You lore nerds know way too much. I just want to watch Cat Cub… honestly, I can’t remember half the NPC backstories.”

“Liang Yu’s combat power in the full-map scenario is excellent. He’s from a wealthy family, trained in martial arts since childhood, and his uncle’s a national champion. Our Kitty streamer really scored big with this exchange!”

“So if Liang Yu counters Chen Xiaoyu, does that mean no one counters him?”

“There is: Tang Shi. And since Cat Cub now has both, Liang Yu is basically unbeatable.”

“But surely there are NPCs who counter Tang Shi too, right? This whole instance is a food chain. The key is finding the right NPC matchups.”

“Not necessarily. Every NPC has weaknesses. If the other team finds Liang Yu’s weakness, they could still beat him.”