DSMC Chapter 66

Yan Jiyun had to preserve his teammates as much as possible, so he needed to speed up the elimination of the remaining players.

[Surviving Players: 9/30]

Excluding the three members of their Team F, six players were still left.

Yan Jiyun checked his Human Form Time Card. He had used it a few times earlier, and the remaining time was still sufficient.

After they entered the forced PK arena, the NPCs under Yan Jiyun hadn’t gone far. Liang Yu was hard to control, but Tang Shi could accept Yan Jiyun’s commands. The two of them were standing by the window watching Chen Gang, who had almost been burned by the spilled gasoline.

Although Chen Gang had killed people, he was extremely afraid of death. When he hurried downstairs from the second floor, he overexerted himself and sprained his ankle. His lackeys were now carrying him, while the others searched for ways to extinguish the fire. According to their logic, they absolutely couldn’t let such an important street burn.

When the players came out of the PK arena, the fire brigade also arrived right on time and quickly put out the fire. When some passerby NPCs saw Chen Gang’s team carrying gasoline, the officers from the police station who arrived right after took down records and left. They were heading in Chen Gang’s direction.

When Yan Jiyun walked up behind them, he happened to hear Liang Yu ask Tang Shi, “Those people from the police station wouldn’t be someone you called, right?”

Tang Shi shook his smartphone. “What else? That’s exactly what it’s for. Now that the evidence is solid, they’ll have to investigate.”

Liang Yu had still underestimated Tang Shi. He crossed his arms. “There might be my fingerprints on that gasoline container.” But he wasn’t the least bit worried.

Tang Shi pointed at the half-burned skeleton of the ruined building and chuckled. “Are you sure it’s still there?”

Liang Yu: “Oh, no way. I placed it deliberately in the spot with the most wood. It would’ve burned and melted completely. Besides, they’re all the same brand the Chen family uses. They can’t trace it to me. And nobody’s going to bother investigating.”

Qingyun Town was Chen Gang’s territory. He held absolute power here. Without any evidence of murder, he’d continue being the local tyrant without consequence.

Yan Jiyun sent an instruction to Tang Shi through his consciousness, that they needed to move out and find the remaining players. The task was to locate them and eliminate them all.

Liang Yu and Tang Shi both turned to look at him. Liang Yu still remembered what happened earlier.

Liang Yu: “Didn’t you leave?”

Yan Jiyun casually made up an excuse: “My car broke down halfway. So here I am again.”

For the first time, Liang Yu was speechless. The explanation actually made sense.

Yan Jiyun took a deep breath. He had originally wanted to exchange his remaining high level props items for more NPCs, but considering the possibility that the NPCs generated might turn out to be Liang Yu’s relatives (they were found in the Siyun Castle, after all), he decided to abandon the idea. Judging by now, the two NPCs he already had were strong enough to deal with the remaining players.

He pushed open the door of their current hiding place. Because of the fire at the ruined building, there weren’t many NPCs walking on the street outside, but all the shops that should be open were open.

Finding players hiding among so many shops wasn’t easy. But none of this was hard for Yan Jiyun. Once he found the first thread, the rest would naturally follow.

Six players left.

Yan Jiyun stretched his arms upward, then turned to Tang Shi. “Let’s go.”

Tang Shi instinctively followed his orders. He certainly felt confused, but due to his character setting, his doubts would be temporarily suppressed.

As for Liang Yu, all his confusion was written across his face. For some reason, though, he obediently followed as well.

Yan Jiyun thought to himself that Liang Yu was surprisingly cooperative, saving him a lot of mental effort. What hidden ability did he have that let him pick up on Yan Jiyun’s thoughts so easily?

After the game restricted the final area to the Yunxiao Hotel street, the street visibly shortened.

How to find people?

Ask random NPCs? They’d be clueless. Be aggressive and set a fire to force players out? A bit extreme. Or the rigid method, search each building one by one.

The shops around the Yunxiao Hotel weren’t large, but there were many. Finding someone hiding in one of them wouldn’t be easy.

But that applied to human players. Yan Jiyun was not. In the second round, he found four players within five minutes. He could do the same here. The hide-and-seek range was just a bit wider.

He headed straight toward the one-yuan shop across the street. It was crammed with miscellaneous items, and a loudspeaker at the door was chanting nonstop that everything was one yuan. Finding it too noisy, he unplugged the speaker. 

Then he went straight to the back room. A player was hiding there.

The player was sitting on the bed, drinking from a kettle.

When Yan Jiyun pushed the door open, the player choked immediately, face turning red as he coughed.

All players had just come out of the forced PK arena. Who still had the energy to come rob someone at this time?!

But now he saw that someone actually could, that is, Team F’s No. 29, the nightmare of this instance.

Yan Jiyun greeted him cheerfully. “We meet again, No. 4.”

He had chosen him first because he remembered his footsteps.

He was Team B Player No. 4, the player whom Yan Jiyun had locked in a basement for nearly an hour during the second round.

Once No. 4 caught his breath, he nearly offered his arm voluntarily for the opponent to take his number tag.

Wait, no! He couldn’t fear No. 29! There was nothing to fear about No. 29!

Yan Jiyun didn’t immediately tear off his tag but said instead, “Your Team B has one Revival Stone. But your other teammates were all eliminated and it still hasn’t been used. The Revival Stone must be with you, right?”

No. 4 never expected that answer.

But Yan Jiyun didn’t need him to respond. “Give me the Revival Stone. I don’t think you’ll need it.”

This time, No. 4 felt like he could argue. “Why wouldn’t I need it? If you take my tag, I can use it right away!”

Even he knew he sounded completely unconvincing.

Uan Jiyun said, “But I’ll spawn-camp you here. And you’ll still get eliminated by me afterward. Honestly, there’s no real grudge between us. I have a suggestion. You can hear it out.”

Internally, No. 4 was crying. Everything No. 29 said was true. Once he lost his tag, he would just be eliminated again. The revival stone was meaningless.

He waited for No. 29’s offer: “Say it.”

Yan Jiyun said, “[Hide and Seek] is a team instance. I believe eliminated players don’t actually die. They just receive some kind of punishment. Only players who die in the PK arena die for real. That’s my first theory. My second theory is that the system might give each team a score. Deducting points when teammates are eliminated, adding when you eliminate people from other teams, deducting points when you buy players, deducting for maintaining NPCs, and so on and so forth. Finally, a ranking is generated. I think as long as your team total doesn’t go negative, your teammates should be safe.”

No. 4 looked doubtful. “I don’t believe that. Impossible. The system never mentioned those rules.”

Yan Jiyun said, “The system has never actually told us the real rules. All we know is that real death can’t be reversed. But the game never said elimination equals real death. It always uses the word ‘eliminate.’ Therefore, I don’t think elimination equals death. The system wouldn’t let the newcomer instance have such a high mortality rate. Twenty-plus people dying in one instance? You think that’s possible?”

No. 4 believed him in his heart, but couldn’t let himself be persuaded. “You’re just trying to trick me into giving you the Revival Stone.”

From his tiny expressions, Yan Jiyun could see he had already wavered. “It’s fine if you don’t believe me. It’s only my theory, after all. I have two NPCs, so I can take your tag anytime. You have two choices: one, fight my NPCs first, then I take your tag, and after you revive, I take it again. Two, spare yourself the process and hand over the tag directly.”

No. 4: “……”

What kind of robber logic is this?!

After struggling for a few seconds, comparing himself against the opponents and realizing it’s at least 3v1… He meekly chose the second option. Maybe being eliminated really wouldn’t kill him?

System notification: [Team B Player No. 4 has been eliminated by Team F Player No. 29].

Since No. 4 didn’t use the revival stone, Yan Jiyun pocketed it.

Other players: “…”

They had barely come out of the forced PK arena, and No. 29 had already started his rampage?!

Before eliminating No. 4, he provided Yan Jiyun with a piece of information. He said that his forced PK opponent, Team C Player No. 26, was nearby. Although he had lost the match just now, he still managed to exhaust quite a bit of the opponent’s energy. More importantly, their previous map had been a desert. Under 40oC heat for five minutes, both of them had become dehydrated. Once the opponent came out, he would definitely be looking for water.

Yan Jiyun took his two NPCs and headed for the next target.

All they needed to do was listen for someone desperately gulping water.

No. 4 hadn’t lied. Inside a small convenience store, they found Team C Player No. 26 chugging an entire bottle of iced black tea.

The “relationship” Team F had with Team B was completely different from their “relationship” with Team C.

When No. 26 saw Yan Jiyun suddenly appear, it was as if a bar of gold had walked up to him and said, “Catch me. Catch me and you’ll be rich.”

Yan Jiyun possessed seven Revival Stones, making him a walking treasure chest in No. 26’s eyes.

No. 26’s eyes lit up. “Number 29?”

Yan Jiyun said, “That’s me. Are you handing over your number tag voluntarily, or should I take it by force?”

No. 26 tossed aside the bottle and stood up against the shelf. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

He was clearly not the cooperative type, and Yan Jiyun wasn’t planning on wasting words. He immediately summoned his two DPS NPC.

Liang Yu and Tang Shi worked together seamlessly, taking positions on both ends of the shelf, leaving No. 26 with no escape route.

No. 26 knew he was surrounded, but he didn’t give up. No. 29 was a jackpot. Killing him was equivalent to killing all of F Team, and he could take all of his Revival Stones.

But before he finished dreaming, Liang Yu grabbed the shelf behind No. 26 and forced it down.

Yan Jiyun stepped back two paces as the heavy wooden rack collapsed, pinning No. 26 underneath. Seeing he couldn’t move, Yan swiftly snatched his number tag.

Four players remaining!

There wasn’t a single medical facility in this dungeon. Hopefully Gu Wenzhu could endure a little longer.

He had to speed up.

After finishing off No. 26, Yan Jiyun ran back to the one-yuan shop, grabbed the loudspeaker he’d unplugged earlier, and cranked the volume to max.

Then he ran to the entrance of Yunxiao Hotel and shouted down the street:

“Remaining four friends, I don’t want to waste time searching for you one by one. It’s too troublesome. I, No. 29, will wait here at the Yunxiao Hotel entrance. Four against one, you won’t lose!”

He wasn’t unable to find the remaining four, but their hiding spots were scattered far apart. He didn’t want to waste time running back and forth.

He dared to do this for two reasons: first, he trusted Liang Yu and Tang Shi’s combat ability; second, he had no number tag.

It was obvious that Liang Yu had trained in martial arts before. His caretaker practiced punching techniques, Sanda, and probably more. His movements were close to— no, possibly even above his caretaker’s level.

At Liang Yu’s current age, his physique and strength were still not quite on par with his caretaker’s.

After comparing a bit, Yan Jiyun continued shouting for players from the hotel doorway.

Anyone who didn’t know this was a deadly game might think he was hawking goods.

No. 29 coming out to offer a challenge was extremely tempting. Other players had watched him jumping around through the system notifications but had no chance to meet him. Now, the opportunity was rare. 4v1, what wasn’t to like?

Only Team A’s No. 28 had guessed the reason behind No. 29’s action. He was even a little envious of how loyal he was to his teammates. Those cripples really lucked out with such a teammate. But luck could turn into misfortune. He wouldn’t let No. 29 leave this game alive. All of Team F would die.

With such a tempting target offering himself, the others didn’t want to miss the chance.

They hesitated, of course. But as the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Miss this chance, and it would be gone.

A 4v1 was very tempting.

They thought it was a trap. But when they peeked out, they saw only two NPCs beside No. 29. His teammates were nowhere in sight.

Four players, plus one NPC among them. Their other NPCs had already been consumed in previous fights.

However, not all four players wanted to confront Yan Jiyun right away. Two were just watching from afar, not daring to approach.

They were surrounded by NPCs, but without high level props, they had no way to break through.

No. 28 walked out from Yunxiao Hotel. His injuries — bruised face and bandaged fingers — were all inflicted by Gu Wenzhu. But Gu Wenzhu hadn’t come out unscathed either.

Even so, he was a vicious, reckless player. Best suited for Liang Yu to deal with.

Yan Jiyun achieved his intended effect. He wasn’t going to give them time to discuss strategy.

As soon as No. 28 appeared, Liang Yu charged him immediately, perfectly syncing with Yan Jiyun’s intent.

Tang Shi held a club, “borrowed” from the one-yuan shop.

Yan Jiyun, of course, wasn’t unarmed either. As for Liang Yu, he preferred hand-to-hand combat. 

No. 28 originally wanted to bargain with No. 29, but his NPCs attacked without a word. Not only did he have to dodge, he had to run.

But Tang Shi’s club came down on the back of his knee with perfect precision. No. 28 collapsed to his knees, and Liang Yu’s fist landed on his cheek.

He couldn’t even run.

Just moments ago, he had been fantasizing about killing all three members of F Team. Now he was dizzy, tasting blood.

Damn it! His own NPC only talked big, but No. 29’s NPCs punched faces without mercy!

Yan Jiyun mentally urged Liang Yu not to hold back. Hit him as much as possible!

And Liang Yu did just that, dragging No. 28 up and landing blow after blow, each strike deadly. No. 28 was nothing but a punching bag now. Even with self-defense techniques, they were useless. He couldn’t block a thing.

Regretting his decision to rush out first, No. 28 shouted to the other three players, “What are you all staring at?! Why aren’t you helping?! If you miss this chance, do you think there’ll be another?!”

After he finished yelling, Yan Jiyun said, “Just returning a few punches on behalf of my teammate. And you actually wanted to kill him.”

No. 28 spat blood. “It was a fair fight. Why can’t I kill him?”

Yan Jiyun kicked him hard in the chest. “Then can I kill you?”

No. 28 flew into the hotel’s front doors from the kick.

Without further talk, Yan Jiyun took his number tag. Then he turned toward the remaining two players who were itching to fight but had never crossed paths with him.

“Come on. Either charge together or hand over your tags. He and I had personal grievances. I won’t beat you half to death.”

These two had wanted to observe longer, until Liang Yu cleanly finished off No. 28. They regretted it instantly.

Why was this NPC so strong?

How many points had he spent to raise him?!

Resigned to being eliminated, they charged at Yan Jiyun.

Tang Shi punched one straight in the nose, then blood burst out immediately.

While the man held his face, Yan Jiyun slipped beside him. “I’m sorry.” 

Then down he went.

The other was effortlessly pinned to the ground by Liang Yu, making it easy for Yan Jiyun to snatch his tag.

At this point, it was a pentakill.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel:

“Holy shit, five kills! Not even ten minutes passed! But why do these three look like local thugs ruling the street?”

“Wuwuwu… if I had teammates fighting for me like this, I would pledge my life to them. Once Gu Wenzhu survives, he better not betray Kitty Baby! If only I could play with Yan Jiyun too and be his permanent teammate…”

“Well, at this rate there won’t be much left to betray. Everyone’s almost dead.”

“Wait, there’s only one player left? Kitty Baby’s past two instances were so intense near the end. This time it’s a clean sweep, but it still feels great.”

“Feels like something is missing…”

“The final pre-ending climax?”

“Well, there is still one player left.”

The last one was Yan Jiyun’s final PK opponent, Team E Player No. 14.

No. 14 didn’t hide. His head was still spinning from being hit with that thick dictionary earlier. He hadn’t recovered yet, but it didn’t affect his movements. Still, he had lingering fear when he saw Yan Jiyun.

He had wanted to sneak-attack the other two members of Team F, but he found two NPCs blocking the entrance, making it impossible. By the time he finished thinking, No. 29 had wiped out the other players, leaving only him left standing.

He didn’t want this “honor.”

He couldn’t handle one NPC in the PK arena. And now there were two.

No. 14 felt no sympathy for the others, he just wanted to kill No. 29.

Who cared how many NPCs he had? Kill him, and that would be that.

Time was ticking. Yan Jiyun had no interest in reviewing the past.

No. 14 was more proactive than expected. He lunged at Yan Jiyun. But Liang Yu was even faster, blocking in front of Yan Jiyun.

Although No. 14’s build was sturdier than the three, he was far less agile than Liang Yu.

“No. 29, still hiding behind your NPCs.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “As long as it’s within the rules, who cares?”

No. 14 stared angrily at Yan Jiyun again. Taunts were completely useless on him.

He knew he didn’t stand a chance, but he still had to gamble! With no weapons, no items, and no NPCs, No. 14 could only charge straight in. He had no other options.

Although Yan Jiyun was anxious to finish the game, he didn’t relax his vigilance at all. He had no idea if No. 14 was still carrying some hidden weapon after leaving the game map, so caution was necessary.

Just as he was thinking about defense, Liang Yu had already moved, pinning No. 14 to the ground. In two flat seconds. 

Yan Jiyun: “…”

Liang Yu was even faster than he expected.

He shot a quick look at Liang Yu and Tang Shi, then stepped forward and snatched No. 14’s number tag!

He felt endless gratitude toward the two of them. Without their help, he wouldn’t be leaving the game so quickly.

[Team F Player No. 29 has successfully snatched the number tag of Team E Player No. 14] 

[Congratulations to the three players of Team F for becoming the final winners of this round of Hide and Seek!]

[All players will exit the instance in three seconds.]

Hah, the game was finally over!

Gu Wenzhu would be able to leave the instance immediately and receive system treatment.

And he could return to find his pooper scooper. 

3 seconds——

2 seconds——

1 second——

Yan Jiyun waved at Tang Shi and Liang Yu. “Liang Yu, Tang Shi, we’ll never have to meet again!”

Liang Yu and Tang Shi stood frozen on the spot, motionless, probably because the instance was ending and the NPCs were being reclaimed.

After three seconds, his view finally shifted. But it wasn’t the summer beach-themed temporary resting area.

He stared at the dim surroundings, a strange sense of familiarity creeping in.

Wait… wasn’t this Siyun Castle?

Wasn’t he supposed to leave the instance after three seconds? Why had he been dropped inside Siyun Castle? Why was he still inside the game?!

[Congratulations, Player Yan Jiyun. Your favorability with NPC Liang Yu has reached 100/100.]

[Congratulations, Player Yan Jiyun. Your favorability with NPC Tang Shi has reached 100/100.]

[Congratulations, you have entered the bonus storyline of the “Hide and Seek” instance.]

[As this is a bonus storyline, there are no main or side quests. Please search for objectives on your own. Rewards will be doubled upon completion. Have fun~]

[Remaining time: 01:30:00]

[Remaining time on Human Form Time Card: 30 seconds]

Yan Jiyun stared blankly at the empty first floor of the castle and cursed: ‘I didn’t provoke any of you!’

Wasn’t the mystery of Siyun Castle already solved?! What else was there to look for?!

Just as he prepared to scream at the instance deep in his soul, he heard a familiar voice upstairs.

Chen Xiaoyu asked in a trembling whisper, “Tang Shi, will the ‘ghosts’ in the castle kill us?”

[Previously: You and your college classmates used your summer vacation to travel to Qingyun Town. While hiking, a heavy storm suddenly hit. You spotted a castle nearby and rushed over to seek shelter. You knocked on the door, and after a minute, an elderly butler opened it…]

Yan Jiyun: “…”

This story sounded extremely familiar, like he’d heard it somewhere before.