DSMC Chapter 55.1

With a sharp rip, the player’s fate was sealed.

Yan Jiyun tore off the player’s number tag with lightning speed and then quickly returned to his previous hiding spot.

[Team F Player No.29 has successfully seized Team D Player No.20’s number tag. Player No.20 is eliminated.]

[Congratulations to Team F Player No.29 for eliminating 1 player. Reward: 2,000 personal points, 1,000 group points.]

He observed the movements of the remaining five players, knowing full well that they now all understood: Team F Player No.29 was in this room.

When he tore No.1’s tag earlier, that player at least reacted. But this one was a beat slow, probably eliminated before he even knew what was happening.

The first three games had the option to switch factions, but this time, once someone’s number tag was taken, they truly had nothing left.

This round, he not only saved a humanoid experience card, but also destroyed a plan that had formed less than a minute ago.

How could a group with no foundation of trust accomplish anything? One small mishap was enough to make their alliance crumble instantly.

Just as Yan Jiyun expected, the five remaining players were terrified. They clearly had so many people in the art studio, yet someone still got silently wiped out by No.29!

No.29 was even more terrifying than they’d thought!

What did Team D’s No.20 say earlier? Something about Yan Jiyun definitely not being in the castle. So when did he get here?

He was right here in this room! 

Who had been the closest to No.20?

Now, hiding in the darkness, the five players didn’t dare even breathe. Each clutched their own number tag tightly, afraid that No.29 — who could be lurking anywhere — would suddenly snatch it away.

Could No.29 have already infiltrated them beforehand? Had he obtained a prop that allowed him to replace another player’s identity in previous games?

The five players who had hidden separately were now suspicious of one another!

One thing they could be sure of was that the two NPCs had been right in front of them chattering, so No.29 couldn’t have entered disguised as one of them.

Then a player, startled by D-20’s sudden elimination, jolted and knocked over the easel in front of him. The two NPCs who had just been frightened once already screamed, yanked the door open, and bolted out!

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Shit, help!!”

“The-there-there’s a ghost!!”

The remaining players all trembled: “……”

Could No.29 actually be a ghost?

They shook their heads hard to calm down. No.29 had appeared before; he couldn’t possibly be a ghost. They were just too startled to think straight.

Taking advantage of the two NPCs fleeing in panic, Yan Jiyun slipped along the wall behind them and left the art studio.

He wasn’t greedy. He’d just happened to catch the perfect moment to grab a number tag.

He knew that eliminating one player was already enough to alert the others. Going for a second would expose him instantly. After seeing the system message, the remaining players would only get more cautious. Besides, he had already achieved his goal: this alliance would never hold together again.

With the NPCs gone, just as he predicted, the remaining five players were more vigilant than ever.

The two players from Team B immediately stood up. They rummaged through the studio, knocking over all the props that could hide a person. From artist’s mannequins, human models, canvas stands… they dumped everything on the floor.

The other four players joined the search for No.29, but even after working up a sweat, they didn’t see a single trace of him.

Everyone grew more nervous. Was No.29 even human? Or had he gotten an invisibility cloak? How could he appear and disappear without a sound? His ghost-like movements were truly terrifying!

Team B Player No. 4 asked Team D Player No. 13: “How did your teammate disappear?”

No. 13 shook his head. “I don’t know, we weren’t even close to each other. A model blocked my view, and I couldn’t see if anyone was hiding behind him.” 

Then No. 13 asked No. 4 back, “Didn’t your Team B interact with No.29 before? Could it be one of you two?”

Team B Player No. 10: “Don’t talk nonsense. We were together the whole time, we can vouch for each other.”

But none of the players trusted this temporary alliance anymore.

The other three players clutched their number tags on their right arms and slowly edged toward the door.

Team D Player No. 13 said, “Let’s forget the alliance. Everyone fend for themselves.”

The others couldn’t agree more. No one wanted to get eliminated for no reason, and they still didn’t know where the revival stone was.

Thus, the alliance dissolved!

No. 4 finally reacted. Once the others had left, he quietly spoke to No. 10.

No. 4 said, “No. 29 is among that group. He might’ve already found the Revival Stone that spawned in this area. Let’s search for any remaining Revival Stones.”

No. 10 said, “Makes sense. There’s no way a scene only generates one prop. There are only three areas here, so each one must spawn at least two revival stones.”

No. 4: “Right.”

No. 10: “But what does a Revival Stone look like?”

No. 4: “You’ll know when you touch it, I guess.”

No. 10: “Sure.” As if that explained anything.

The players in the castle had barely formed an alliance before it collapsed entirely because of Yan Jiyun.

No one dared bring up teaming up to take down No. 29 anymore. When he could eliminate someone right under their noses, who would still dare?

They suspected that No. 29 had been among the group they’d just met with! They had searched the entire studio and found no place to hide. Where had he been? How had he eliminated No. 20?

Panic spread. They feared No. 29 would pop out from anywhere. No one dared stay with other teams anymore. Who knew how they might die? Better to run.

[Want to Be Human] livestream channel: 

“Aiyah, I’m already tired from praising the kitty. Who would’ve thought a cat could use its claws to eliminate a human?”

“Eliminating people isn’t even the exciting part! It gets much wilder later. Kitty Baby being targeted now is fine, he can handle it. But later? I won’t spoil anything!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, these idiots are still looking for the cat. He’s already gone, probably lying in wait somewhere.”

“I don’t think so. If he uses the same trick again, the players might figure out he’s not normal.”

“But they’ll never guess No. 29 is a cat.”

“Hey, to the girl who said she won’t spoil. What exactly is the tricky gameplay later?”

“This instance is actually really simple. As long as players hold onto one idea — ‘trust your teammates’ — they can win in the end.”

Yan Jiyun had just created another uproar. While Tang Shi and Liang Yu were busy pretending to be ghosts around the castle, he began searching for his teammate.

He remembered Qiu Xi exchanged for an NPC named Butler Cao. Yet since entering the castle, he hadn’t seen the NPC at all.

The castle really was large. The second through fourth floors were the master’s area, while the first floor and basement were for servants.

Players who obtained a high level prop should all have been able to exchange for NPCs, but he hadn’t seen any of the players’ NPCs earlier. Did they not get high-tier items, or did those NPCs simply not appear in this scene?

His and the others’ exchanged NPCs had appeared immediately, so maybe this scene had restrictions.

He needed to find Qiu Xi first.

Qiu Xi had been here longer, so he should’ve uncovered more information—maybe even rules Yan Jiyun didn’t know.

Qiu Xi was actually good at hiding, but for a cat, recognizing someone by scent was no big deal.

With Tang Shi and Liang Yu happily scaring people upstairs, the castle echoed with screams. In such a joyfully chaotic atmosphere, Yan Jiyun crept up to the third floor. Qiu Xi was on this level.

He went into an empty room and switched into the human-form experience card.

Qiu Xi was in the room next door. Yan Jiyun didn’t need to explain how he managed to find him. He simply knocked lightly on the door.

“Qiu Xi, it’s me, Yan Jiyun.”

Qiu Xi was hiding right behind the door, extremely alert.

Half an hour ago, he’d heard people downstairs shouting about forming an alliance. They were planning to cooperate to take down No. 29, and No. 29 was his teammate!

He hadn’t found a solution yet, but his teammate had already eliminated one of the players inside the castle.

When had Yan Jiyun even arrived at the castle?

He wasn’t supposed to be in this area… did he follow that noisy group of young NPCs earlier?

Hearing his teammate’s voice made Qiu Xi genuinely happy.

This teammate of his was incredibly reliable and kindhearted. He’d even been willing to share resurrection props with them.

He opened the door at once. Under the moonlight behind him, Yan Jiyun could clearly see the joy on his face.

Gu Wenzhu wasn’t here, so they couldn’t communicate through sign language. Fortunately, Qiu Xi was prepared; he carried pen and paper and wrote down everything that had happened, as well as the rules he’d discovered.

Yan Jiyun read the notes under the moonlight. The logic was clear and the points were straightforward. Maybe because of time constraints, Qiu Xi’s writing was extremely concise, so Yan Jiyun still needed to ask for some clarifications.

Yan Jiyun first raised his concern.

“You should’ve checked more carefully before opening the door. What if someone pretends to be me next time?”

Qiu Xi wrote: I knew it was you.

Yan Jiyun said, “But what if you’re wrong? I’ve already drawn all the hate from the other players. They might target you too.”

Qiu Xi quickly wrote: We’re all members of Team F. We face difficulties together. There’s always more solutions than problems. Wenzhu and I aren’t afraid.

There wasn’t a trace of negativity in Qiu Xi. No pessimism, no complaining, no resentfulness. He was full of positive energy, even kind of inspiring. Being around him was surprisingly relaxing. Having a teammate like this was great. He was definitely the “chicken soup for the soul” type.

Of course, Yan Jiyun also understood that the more cheerful someone was, the more hardship they likely endured. That was why Qiu Xi treasured every opportunity others overlooked.

Yan Jiyun said, “Speaking of Gu Wenzhu, he’s at the bun shop on Xiaoyun Street. Don’t worry about him. He’s better than me at handling NPCs. Do you know how to use the NPCs you exchanged for?”

Qiu Xi shook his head, then nodded. He wrote: NPCs can’t be used inside the castle, but they can be used outside. I haven’t used mine yet.

He’d been hiding inside the castle the whole time, too scared to act recklessly, so he had never interacted with his NPC.

Yan Jiyun said, “No wonder I didn’t see any NPCs around the other players earlier. So they can’t use them inside. Do you know which NPCs they exchanged for?”

Qiu Xi handed him the notebook. He’d quietly observed the other players and wrote down everything he’d learned.

Yan Jiyun glanced through it and memorized the info.

Now that the others knew he moved like a ghost, they definitely wouldn’t stay inside the building much longer. Yan Jiyun wasn’t planning to confront them head-on anyway. Taking out one was already good enough, and it hadn’t even taken much effort.

“I’m going to keep acting alone. You take care of yourself. A bunch of NPCs arrived earlier on motorcycles. You can take one of their bikes to the bun shop and find Gu Wenzhu.”

Qiu Xi nodded.

“Oh, and look for Revival Stones in the places you’ve already been. They’re irregular black stones.”

Qiu Xi nodded again.

Yan Jiyun told him all the rules he knew. His five-minute Human Form Time Card was about to run out.

“Do you have anything else you want to ask me?”

Qiu Xi nodded and handed him a note he’d written in advance: Have you seen a black cat?

Yan Jiyun: …