DSMC Chapter 53.1

He hadn’t expected it to line up so perfectly. Yan Jiyun had just walked past the street with the inn when he saw his teammate in danger.

He was sure Gu Wenzhu understood by now that NPC battles here were nothing like the neat, turn-based “you throw a skill, I throw a skill” setup in RPG.

The way NPCs fought here was basically a public airing of grievances. They quarreled, made scenes, exposed each other’s faults, and got into brawls. Their conflict came out through whatever fit their personalities, and that combination determined how their “battle” unfolded.

Yan Jiyun had only seen two sets of NPCs fight so far, not nearly enough to have a clear frame of reference. He still didn’t know what kind of battle pattern NPCs who weren’t familiar with each other would use.

Player 3 was hidden in the crowd. Watching his NPC lose just like that made him panic. Once the system reclaimed an NPC, it basically handed other players more openings, and he really didn’t have many NPCs left he could use. Player No. 9’s cane was something he’d knocked down with an ordinary slingshot on purpose. A lame guy with no cane could barely stand. Why would he be afraid of him?

Gu Wenzhu really did almost lose his balance. Auntie Pang had won, but he didn’t loosen up at all, because he also saw Player No. 3 charging out of the crowd toward him.

He’d already been watching out for who might come after him when Cai Jie suddenly appeared. The creepiest one had been the man across the way muttering nonstop with a numbered tag on his arm. He was clearly a player.

Just then, the very same Auntie Pang who’d beaten Cai Jie with her “cuss-you-out” and “grab-your-hair” skills caught Gu Wenzhu and kept him from falling.

“Young man, careful now. Your legs aren’t good, you don’t want to take a tumble.”

Gu Wenzhu took the chance to hop behind Auntie Pang on one leg.

Player No.3 rushed over right at that moment. Auntie Pang’s solid build stood between him and Gu Wenzhu. Players could only deal limited damage to NPCs. Player No. 3 had been trying to snatch the lame guy’s number tag, but he wasn’t paying attention and rammed straight into her chest. Auntie Pang smacked him across the face in anger.

“Trying to cop a feel off your Auntie Pang? Looking to die?”

Her hands had kneaded dough and shaped buns for years, and that strength showed. Even Yan Jiyun, watching anxiously from the side, felt his own cheek sting from the sound of it. That slap was loud.

Auntie Pang, absolutely stellar work.

Who picks on disabled people? Scum, that’s who.

Player No. 3 saw stars. He almost forgot he was here to grab Player No. 9’s tag.

Other NPCs started pointing at him.

“This kid must have a death wish. Doesn’t he know that when Auntie Pang first became a widow, she beat the shit out of anyone who tried to take advantage? Ten years ago she even kicked someone so hard he broke his… well, you know. The man still hasn’t had a kid.”

“Exactly. Young people nowadays are so reckless and gross.”

Player No. 3 roared, “Who’s copping a feel? I’m not blind! I’m after that pretty boy behind her!”

The crowd wasn’t listening. They kept chatting among themselves.

“What pretty boy? That’s the family’s hired help. The poor man is disabled and you still want to grab him? What are you grabbing him for? Obviously you’re just trying to take advantage of Auntie Pang!”

“Exactly, exactly. How can you act like that?”

“Right? Look at him. He doesn’t look like any sort of good person.”

Player No. 3 was so overwhelmed he almost had a heart attack. He’d lost momentum, and his face still burned.

Meanwhile, Gu Wenzhu had already picked up his cane and was standing steadily behind Auntie Pang.

The moment he stood up, Auntie Pang suddenly lunged at Player No. 3, who was still trying to figure out how to deal with Gu Wenzhu.

All they saw was Auntie Pang, who was about 1.65 m, easily grabbing a 1.75 m man like a chicken and slamming him onto her bun-making counter. While he was still dazed, she ripped the number tag right off his arm.

Player No. 3, who was pinned: “…”

[Team F Player No. 9 has successfully stolen Team E Player No. 3’s number tag. Team E Player No. 3 from is eliminated.]

[Congratulations to Player No. 9 for eliminating 1 player. Reward: 2,000 personal points, 1,000 Team points.]

The whole thing took seconds. Yan Jiyun didn’t even have time to think of a solution before Player No. 3 was gone.

He never expected Gu Wenzhu to have such strong battle instincts. Maybe he’d been on guard against Player No. 3 from early on, waiting for the right moment to use his own cards. And honestly, Gu Wenzhu didn’t even need to make a move. All he had to do was use his head.

In their team channel, Yan Jiyun saw that Gu Wenzhu had given Auntie Pang a gift and added bond points.

So he’d figured out how gifting worked.

A false alarm.

From Gu Wenzhu and Player No. 3’s fight, Yan Jiyun finally understood how to use NPCs.

Earlier when Players No. 14 and No. 1 fought, both sides had been fanning flames behind their NPCs. But during the fight between Gu Wenzhu and Player No. 3, both of them stayed behind their NPCs and didn’t provoke or rile them at all.

When Yan Jiyun first tried to rush over to help Gu Wenzhu, his NPC, Tang Shi, suddenly charged forward. But once he saw Gu Wenzhu could handle things himself, Tang Shi stopped.

He must have projected his intent onto Tang Shi, which made him move.

So that’s what bond value means.

Players can control NPCs through brainwaves. The higher the bond value between a player and an NPC, the smoother the control feels. Once battle mode is activated, NPCs automatically use their own personality traits to fight their opponents.

At this moment, Yan Jiyun had to admit that Gu Wenzhu was genuinely smart. He felt really lucky that he’d shown goodwill right from the start and ended up with such a solid teammate. Clearly, Gu Wenzhu understood the NPC mechanics even better than he did. It looked like Yan Jiyun didn’t need to worry about him at all.

It was a pity he’d turned back into a cat again, or he could have discussed the game with Gu Wenzhu.

They didn’t actually need to rush. Gu Wenzhu’s capabilities were way stronger than Yan Jiyun had imagined, and he already had a stable position.

Yan Jiyun could finally relax and go search for his own number tag again.

He tried communicating with the NPC by sending thoughts to Tang Shi through mental waves.

Tang Shi behaved normally on the outside, but once he received Yan Jiyun’s intention, he rationalized the idea of “Yan Jiyun wants to find his tag” in a way that fit his character. He knew what he needed to do. His personality didn’t collapse.

When Yan Jiyun tried giving Liang Yu an order, he felt a small stab of pain in his head. He tried again, and the pain got worse. He could sense the bond value between him and Liang Yu, but he couldn’t issue commands. Liang Yu didn’t respond at all.

By the third try, with his head about to split, the system finally chimed in:

[Player’s bond value with Liang Yu is too low to command him. Bond value can be increased through gifting.]

Yan Jiyun: …

His head was killing him and this crappy system only now decided to speak up.

Gu Wenzhu had already mastered NPC usage, while Yan had mastered something else entirely: the pattern for making the system spit out new rules. Just keep poking, keep trying, and if there’s no response, the system eventually pops up with a “you can’t do that” rule. The downside was that his head was pounding.

Cats have a pretty high tolerance, but he’d officially hit his limit.

If he were in human form, you could describe him as “pale-faced” or “cold sweat beading on his forehead.” But as a black cat? All black from nose to tail, no pink nose to hint something was off. Nothing visible. He just looked like a voidling.

The good news was that he was safe for now. Tang Shi still hadn’t let him go.

Liang Yu said, “I’m gonna go buy a backpack. Holding him like this draws attention.”

Tang Shi said, “Yeah, putting him in a bag will make it easier for us to carry him while we look for his stolen tag.”

Buying a backpack in the night market only took a moment. Liang Yu picked a black one, dumped out the stuffing paper, and let Tang Shi put the cat inside.

Except the cat who’d been energetic just a moment ago suddenly looked miserable. Oreo barely responded when called, just lifting his eyelids a little.

Tang Shi had never owned a cat. He immediately panicked. “What’s wrong with him?”

Liang Yu said, “Maybe he’s not feeling well?”

“We gave him barbecue earlier. That young guy said not to feed cats human food, that it could cause stomach issues. Maybe he’s sick?” Tang Shi said.

“But there’s no vet open at this hour. There isn’t even a pet shop in the whole county,” Liang Yu replied.

Tang Shi shook Oreo gently and saw he still wasn’t lively, and his mood fell.

“I know someone who can take a look. But I don’t know if he’s asleep at this hour,” he said.

“Let’s go anyway,” Liang Yu said. “What does he like? We should bring something.”

Tang Shi thought, ‘Truly a rich second-generation boy. Fully maxed-out social skills.’

In reality, Yan Jiyun was just suffering from mental overuse. Too much brain-to-system collision. His stomach was churning, he felt dizzy, and then Tang Shi shook him and made it worse.

He couldn’t take it. The moment Tang Shi put him into the cheap backpack with its heavy plastic smell, he heaved and threw up all the barbecue he’d eaten.

All of it. Inside the brand-new backpack. Liang Yu was the one holding it.

Liang Yu: …

The bag lasted less than a minute. They pulled the cat out, then tossed the backpack straight back to the vendor.

They weren’t even distressed about the loss. Instead, they asked the vendor for tissues, cleaned the cat’s mouth, and hurried off to find the vet.

On the way, Liang Yu bought expensive cigarettes and liquor from a liquor shop. Tang Shi thought they were too pricey, but Liang Yu didn’t care about money. It was late, and bothering someone at this hour felt rude without bringing anything. Eventually, Tang Shi gave in.