DSMC Chapter 63.2

Tang Shi pushed open the balcony door and looked down. “Uncle Chen, are you looking for Liang Yu?”

It was actually Chen Xiaoyu’s father, along with several strong men. Looking clearly unfriendly.

Chen Gang said, “Yes, it’s me. Tang Shi, I heard someone say Liang Yu came back with you. Can you call him out?”

Tang Shi didn’t answer immediately. Behind him, he signaled Liang Yu to leave quickly.

He truly was smart. He had already guessed why Boss Chen was here. Liang Yu must have taken the Revival Stone from his house. Now that Chen Gang realized something was wrong, he had come to look for him.

Chen Gang was the wealthiest man in Qingyun Town. He’s well-connected in both the underworld and legal circles. Not only could he dominate Qingyun Town, but he could throw his weight around in the entire county. If Liang Yu were caught by him, he might not survive with more than half his life.

Liang Yu wasn’t stupid. Since he and Tang Shi had laid their cards on the table, and Tang Shi had reciprocated by offering help, there was no reason to hesitate. He immediately headed to the bathroom. The second-floor bathroom window was open, facing another house’s balcony. He could jump out from there.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t sure whether to follow or not. After thinking about it, he decided not to.

Liang Yu was fleeing for his life. Following him would only cause more trouble. A pity though; such excellent combat power!

Still, now that Tang Shi had slowly revealed his true nature, Yan Jiyun found him not bad either. The lawful good youth persona was just a façade.

Hearing that Liang Yu had left, Tang Shi said to them, “Uncle Chen, Liang Yu isn’t in my house.”

Chen Gang didn’t believe him at all. He didn’t need to notify an orphan anyway. He directly ordered his men to rush in and search!

Several strong men kicked the door open. Chen Gang walked in afterward and handed Tang Shi a wad of cash. “Fix your door later. We’re in a hurry.”

Tang Shi had already hidden the stone in his pocket. He accepted the thick stack of bills and feigned innocence. “Uncle Chen, what happened to Liang Yu?”

Chen Gang said angrily, “I kindly invited him to my place as a guest. We talked, and he stole something from me. Didn’t expect a city kid to be so sneaky. Xiaoyu really misjudged him. You should stay away from him. He’s no good.”

Yan Jiyun: ‘Wow, he’s so good at shifting blame.’ 

Though, he wasn’t wrong. Liang Yu did take the stone. But the stone originally belonged to him. It was a birthday gift from the Siyun couple. Chen Gang was the real thief.

Tang Shi looked shocked. “His family is so rich. Why would he steal anything? Should I call Uncle Yong and have the police station arrest him?”

Chen Gang froze at the mention of calling the police. His expression stiffened. “No need. It’s a small matter. I can handle it myself.” He emphasized again, “No police.”

Only then did Tang Shi nod repeatedly.

Yan Jiyun remained calm. Both him and Tang Shi both were master actors. Tang Shi, especially, was a master among masters. No wonder. Growing up on meals from every household, his survival skills were maxed out.

One came for revenge but claimed he wanted to uncover the truth.

One already knew everything about the castle and had a Revival Stone yet stayed dormant.

But these things no longer mattered much to Yan Jiyun. The game time was nearing its end. The light of victory was in sight. He had to keep eliminating the remaining players.

[Time until the instance ends: 5 hours 3 minutes 11 seconds]

After searching Tang Shi’s place and finding no Liang Yu, Chen Gang left with his men.

Immediately afterward, Tang Shi took Yan Jiyun and headed out.

This time, Yan Jiyun noticed that people were following them. Judging by the footsteps, he could tell which team of players they were from.

They were following Tang Shi. Following Tang Shi meant following No. 29. And No. 29 was especially good at finding Revival Stones. In other words, Tang Shi was essentially the guide to the stones.

As Tang Shi passed the bun shop, he glanced inside. No one else was around.

He was considering whether to revive Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu. After they were eliminated, their NPCs were reclaimed by the system. If he resurrected them, they would temporarily be without NPC protection.

He checked the number of Revival Stones he had collected. He had enough for now. What worried him was if another scene shutdown happened. If they couldn’t get out of the bun shop in time, it would count as real elimination. With how nasty the game could be, it might not give them any reaction time.

Listening to the footsteps behind them, Yan Jiyun noted that many were tailing them. The people from Xiaoyun Street had all been led by Tang Shi toward the Yunxiao Hotel area.

There were only a little more than ten players left in the game. While Yan Jiyun hadn’t taken action, several other teams had fought and eliminated four more players.

On average, each team still had three to four people.

There should also be some players near the Yunxiao Hotel.

This was it.

He needed to find a chance to revive Qiuxi and Gu Wenzhu first.

But how was he supposed to draw everyone else away?

Yan Jiyun kept sending gifts to Tang Shi, sending three in a row. After some adding and subtracting, their bond rose to 70!

Liang Yu had hidden who-knows-where.

But Liang Yu’s disappearance also drew a lot of attention. Some players chased after Liang Yu, while another team was probably chasing after him and Tang Shi.

Almost all the players had shifted the battlefield to follow them.

The sensing communication between Yan Jiyun and Tang Shi became even easier.

What he didn’t expect was that Tang Shi would return to Yunxiao Hotel and even re-enter the room he had originally stayed in.

Hadn’t he checked out?

Why come back?

Yan Jiyun was startled. Could Tang Shi have hidden some treasure inside Yunxiao Hotel?

No way. After Tang Shi used some unknown universal card to unlock the room door, he headed straight for the bedside table and pulled out a black stone wrapped in oiled paper.

When he opened the paper, Yan Jiyun touched the Revival Stone with feigned curiosity, but no system notification appeared.

It wasn’t a Revival Stone? But the material and color were identical. There was no difference at all. It was just a black stone, though this one was shaped more regularly than the others.

Players from other teams followed them into the hotel. Just then, the room door was kicked hard!

Yan Jiyun issued the command for Tang Shi to “run.”

Tang Shi immediately rushed toward the balcony. Agile like a monkey, he climbed from there to the neighboring balcony, then stepped on an outdoor AC unit to leap toward the third floor.

The other players had already spotted him.

“Damn, when did he get over there! Get downstairs, cut them off! No. 29 must be around too!”

“He must be disguising himself as No. 29! He is No. 29!”

“Go after him!”

Tang Shi was taking the blame again.

He dropped smoothly from the fourth floor to the ground. Seeing a few strangers rushing toward him, he ran straight from the hotel’s low rear wall onto Yunxiao Hotel street.

Yan Jiyun reminded him to head to the abandoned building where he had eliminated No. 1 before. The printed fake number sticker was hidden there!

He had just given Liang Yu two more gifts, and it seemed he could vaguely sense Liang Yu’s presence. Liang Yu was nearby.

Tang Shi turned and entered the abandoned building. As soon as he stepped inside, someone covered his mouth.

The person whispered, “Tang Shi, why are you here?”

Outside, both teams of players were searching for them, and the ones chasing Tang Shi had arrived.

The abandoned building was a great place. Inside, it was just as dark as the night he eliminated No. 1, with only a faint bit of light seeping in.

Perfect. With the three of them together, they could shut the door and deal with the intruders like trapped dogs!

Tang Shi said, “There are people chasing me.”

Liang Yu, being as sharp as he was, asked, “They know you took the Revival Stone?” He was referring to the one Yan Jiyun had pulled out, unaware that Tang Shi had obtained another one from the hotel.

Tang Shi nodded and patted his hand. “Let go first.”

Liang Yu didn’t ask further. He pointed upstairs. “Hide on the upper floor first. I’ll deal with them.”

Tang Shi shook his head. “Don’t worry, I won’t drag you down.”

While the two discussed how to handle the players pursuing them, Yan Jiyun had already slipped out of the backpack wedged between them and onto the ground.

He ran up to the second floor and found the fake number sticker he had hidden earlier.

Yan Jiyun used the 5 minute Human Form Time Card, stuck the fake number tag to his right arm, and with his clothes blending into the darkness, the number tag stood out clearly. He’s an obvious target.

Someone downstairs kicked the door open!

Yan Jiyun knew the players had entered.

He couldn’t rely on NPCs to grab a number tag like he did at the Chen family residence. Opportunities like that didn’t come every time.

Sounds of fighting came from below.

Someone shouted, “No. 29, get out here!”

Another cursed, “Stop hiding like a coward, No. 29! We know you’re here!”

“Yeah! Coward!”

Yan Jiyun descended the rickety stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom, a player kicked by Liang Yu was sent flying to land right at his feet.

He bent down toward the player lying there, raised his hand, and a ripping sound followed.

[Team F Player No. 29 has successfully snatched the number tag of Team B Player No. 30. Team B Player No. 30 has been eliminated.]

The players present: “…”

Tang Shi saw it was Oreo’s former owner and thought, No wonder Oreo ran off. His owner came back.

He stepped in front of Yan Jiyun on his own, and Liang Yu, without hesitation, did the same, assuming a defensive stance in front of the watching players.

Standing behind his NPCs, Yan Jiyun felt perfectly safe.

He watched the number tag in his hand disappear before him, then slightly lifted his chin and taunted the several players present:

“Aren’t you looking for me? Here I am.”