DSMC Chapter 60.2

When he went upstairs, he saw Tang Shi alone on the staircase landing, looking like he might cry.

He nudged Tang Shi aside so he could sit. Tang Shi muttered, “What.”

Liang Yu said, “Sit with you for a bit.”

Tang Shi, head lowered, shifted slightly to make room.

Liang Yu sat down and stretched out his long legs. “Crying over a girl isn’t worth it. Want to borrow my shoulder?”

Tang Shi’s voice was still muffled. “Thanks, but I’m not crying.”

Liang Yu deliberately teased, “Tsk, you have no idea how many girls want to lean on this young master, and I never let them.”

Tang Shi didn’t bring up his own heartbreak. It wasn’t worth mentioning. “Liang Yu, since you rejected Chen Xiaoyu, why did you still come back to Qingyun Town?”

Liang Yu said, “To recover some childhood memories. It’s been so long, I’m afraid I’ll forget. You? Why did you choose to come back?”

Tang Shi paused for a moment before answering. “Because there are many people here who treat me well. People here are simple and kind. I want to stay and help those who helped me.”

The stairwell lights weren’t on, so it was dim. Liang Yu’s eyes lowered into the shadows, and Tang Shi also kept his head down, because it was impossible to see his expression.

After a while, Liang Yu finally said two words: “Is that so?”

Bad emotions came quickly and left quickly.

Yan Jiyun lay on the chair near the door, listening to the gossip from beginning to end.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt being single was best.

[Want to Be Human] livestream channel:

“What’s going on? I don’t get this plot. I remember Liang Yu pretending to be Chen Xiaoyu’s boyfriend and having dinner at her house. In this instance aren’t they a couple from start to finish!”

“But Liang Yu just said he doesn’t feel anything for her. Has this plot ever happened before?”

“Never seen it. Is this a new direction?”

“To be honest, I’d never seen Liang Yu go looking for a Revival Stone in the middle of the night either. What I saw before was players choosing him and Chen Xiaoyu as helper NPCs. Liang Yu just didn’t like taking orders.”

“But this time he’s pretty obedient. The Kitty Baby points and he attacks.”

“So… did Liang Yu never like Chen Xiaoyu in the first place? Was the system forcing a shitty romance plot? And once Kitty Baby appeared, the romance line collapsed?”

“No no, I think Liang Yu becoming her boyfriend was just a cover for something else he needed to do. Didn’t they say the original instance had a storyline? Maybe he used Chen Xiaoyu as an excuse to return to Qingyun Town for investigation. Since he fell out with her now, he switched to using Tang Shi.”

“But Tang Shi is just a regular NPC. He has no special plotline.”

“If I remember correctly, Tang Shi was adopted by a very busy couple, and grew up eating meals from all the neighbors. Doesn’t he know more people than Chen Xiaoyu? Wouldn’t that make it easier for Liang Yu to find the stone?”

“In the end, everything ends up helping Mimi anyway.”

Tang Shi was very good at regulating his emotions. In no time, he had calmed down and turned into a hardworking housekeeper-type young man, continuing to clean.

After doing chores for a bit, Liang Yu fell asleep on the sofa. He had probably not slept after sneaking around last night.

Yan Jiyun swiped through the system notifications.

After the forced PK ended, all the players from Siyun Castle flooded into Xiaoyun Street, and the Team C players really did ambush two isolated players.

Player No. 24 from Team A killed a player from Team E in the forced PK, making one of Team E’s players the first fully eliminated player in the game, unable to be revived with a resurrection stone.

Two conclusions had been reached:

First, when the number tag is torn off, they can immediately use a resurrection prop to return to the game.

Second, If a player dies in the instance, it is true death. A resurrection prop cannot restore life.

[Surviving Players: 21/30]

1 player dead.

8 players eliminated.

Four Revival Stones had been collected, six remained unfound.

While reading through all of this, Yan Jiyun was still very concerned about one thing: who had exchanged for Chen Xiaoyu?

Who was the player behind her?

Would her father’s banquet become a Hongmen Banquet for players? 

He guessed that someone might have already investigated which NPCs had been exchanged. Presumably, all invited NPCs had players behind them.

Since NPCs in the game could be controlled by players and could also continue their own storylines, it gave players loopholes to exploit. They had to stay on guard.

Gu Wenzhu’s Auntie Pang and Butler Cao should both have received invitations to the banquet.

Yan Jiyun considered whether he should spend a five-minute experience card to meet up and discuss with them.

But a humanoid experience card was more valuable than discussing with teammates, so he chose to give it up for now.

[Time remaining until instance ends: 13 hours 10 minutes 29 seconds]

As Siyun Castle closed, the activity range of players shrank, and it became increasingly difficult for Yan Jiyun to move around.

No one knew how many players were still hiding on Xiaoyun Street.

But regardless of how many remained, none had yet found the rest of the resurrection props.

Yan Jiyun worked his brain as hard as he could.

He now had three priorities: first, continue looking for number tags; second, continue searching for resurrection props; third, eliminate players as much as possible.

The current situation was dangerous. Some people wouldn’t eliminate players in the normal way. They would straight-up just kill.

Whether the player killed in the previous forced PK was an accident or intentional was still unknown. In any case, such an occurrence needed extra vigilance.

After tidying up, Tang Shi saw Liang Yu leaning in the living room to rest and asked Yan Jiyun if he wanted to go to the market. They could buy some chicken breast for lunch to change up his food.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t picky inside the instance. Having something to eat was good enough, and chicken breast was fine!

Liang Yu must have only been dozing. Hearing they were going to the market, he immediately woke up.

Liang Yu: “Where are you going?”

Tang Shi: “To buy some groceries.”

Liang Yu: “Aren’t we going to eat at Chen Xiaoyu’s place at noon?”

Tang Shi: “But Oreo can’t eat that. I need to prepare his breakfast and dinner. Tomorrow I’ll go into town to see if there’s any cat food. If not, I’ll have to go to the city to buy some.”

Liang Yu stretched: “That’s pretty far.”

Yan Jiyun jumped down from the balcony and unconsciously stretched his body, showing off his slender figure.

Liang Yu wanted to reach out to touch his back, but was swatted away by Yan Jiyun’s paw.

Liang Yu: “…”

Tang Shi laughed out loud.

Liang Yu decided to go out with Tang Shi.

This time, Yan Jiyun had found a reasonable way to go out.

He couldn’t hide indoors forever. As a black cat in the game, his appearance anywhere should make sense.

Other players might investigate NPC backgrounds, but they definitely wouldn’t ask whether NPCs kept cats. Logically, cats weren’t within their considerations.

Tang Shi somehow found a bicycle with a seat and a basket, but instead of riding it, he used it to push Yan Jiyun along.

Yan Jiyun felt like he was on parade.

After morning passed, Xiaoyun Street became lively as tourists came out to move around.

The market was at the other end of Xiaoyun Street. There, he even saw the veggie-seller sister who had argued with Auntie Pang before. After returning to the prop inventory, she hadn’t been exchanged by any other player.

But strangely, why had Liang Yu come along?

Did he have anyone related to the market on his list?

Yan Jiyun’s memory was decent. He tried to recall the list. There really were characters related to the market.

So Liang Yu intentionally approaching Tang Shi really did have a reason. Tang Shi truly knew many people.

Tang Shi bought a freshly slaughtered chicken, while Liang Yu and Yan Jiyun both fixed their eyes on a butcher selling pork.

The butcher at the next stall was shouting enthusiastically, smiling at everyone and greeting acquaintances. But the butcher Liang Yu was staring at was silent and taciturn, only lowering his head to chop bones and cut meat. When someone came to buy, he simply cut, weighed, and took money, never an extra word.

If a handsome man were standing there, he would be eye-catching, but this was a man around forty with more white than black in his eyes, and a face that could stop a crying baby.

After buying chicken, Tang Shi asked, “What are you and Oreo looking at?”

Liang Yu explained, “Looking at the stone on his chopping board.”

Tang Shi asked, “What’s special about it?”

Liang Yu: “I think that stone is pretty special.”

Yan Jiyun wanted to jump from the bike basket onto the chopping board to steal that black stone the butcher used as a whetstone.

Tang Shi thoughtfully said, “Then I’ll buy some pork too. We can make meatball soup tonight.”

The enthusiastic uncle next door might attract customers with his enthusiasm, but Tang Shi, who had been here many years, knew that uncle often short-weighted customers. Meanwhile, Uncle Sun, who was silent but honest, never did such things. That was why he never lacked customers despite not shouting.

Crouched in the black basket, Yan Jiyun wasn’t noticeable unless someone paid close attention.

They approached the meat stall.

Tang Shi skillfully said, “Uncle, give me some lean meat.”

When Uncle Sun saw Tang Shi, he unusually spoke, “Xiao Shi, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Tang Shi nodded. He was good at communicating with people. “I just got back.”

Uncle Sun sharpened his knife and cut the meat, his movements very efficient. “Good.”

Seeing Liang Yu and Oreo both staring at the whetstone, Tang Shi casually asked, “Uncle, where’d you get that whetstone? It looks unique.”

Uncle Sun said, “Your grandpa found it somewhere. I thought it worked well for sharpening knives, so I brought it over. If you like it, take it.”

Liang Yu and Yan Jiyun both looked toward Tang Shi.

Suddenly entrusted with such responsibility, Tang Shi improvised, “My friend here is a sculptor. He likes collecting stones. I’m just asking if you’d sell it.”

Uncle Sun readily handed over the well-used stone. “Take it. I still have a spare whetstone.”

Liang Yu thanked him immediately. “Thanks.”

Yan Jiyun also reached out a paw toward the stone.

Just as his paw stretched out, the system’s cheerful broadcast sounded.

[Team C Player No. 19 has successfully snatched Team F Player No. 16’s number tag. Team F Player No. 16 is eliminated.]

[Team 1 Player No. 28 has successfully snatched Team F Player No. 9’s number tag. Team F Player No. 9 is eliminated.]

Other players were inexplicably thrilled!

With two disabled members eliminated, Team F now only had No. 29 left!

Yan Jiyun frowned. Why had Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu suddenly been eliminated?

The system clearly stated that Team A and Team C had jointly eliminated the two, meaning they had formed an alliance.

Yan Jiyun felt stifled. He had worked so hard to save Qiu Xi, only for them to get eliminated immediately after. He angrily slapped his paw on the whetstone Liang Yu had just gotten.

Damn it!

[Congratulations to Team F Player No. 29 for collecting the resurrection prop “Revival Stone” ×4.]

[Very few resurrection props remain. Players, please hurry to search.]

Other players: …

They had only just experienced a mix of grief and joy.

The Team F teammates were eliminated but not completely eliminated!