DSMC Chapter 71.1

T/N: I’m back! Enjoy the first chapter of the new arc, “Crazy Zoo”!

Happy times always fly by. 

For two days in a row, Yan Jiyun went in and out with Qi Feng, but only the two of them knew that. The players who had been meeting in the tavern these past two days were now gone as well, probably preparing for the next instance.

On the third day of staying with Qi Feng, Qi Feng had already finished preparing to enter the instance, and all Yan Jiyun could do was watch him leave.

During those two days, their life together was pleasant but tinged with a bit of tension. In the mornings, Qi Feng took Yan Jiyun out to learn the area; at noon, they stayed in the personal space for lunch; at two in the afternoon, training.

After finishing the third day’s training, Qi Feng selected a pile of supplies from the mall and placed them into his shopping cart.

Today, he would have to part with Caramel again. But this time, he would be the one entering the instance first.

Qi Feng had already contacted Qiu Xi beforehand. He would still have to ask him to continue taking care of Caramel. Last time was probably a system error. Fortunately, Caramel had come out of the previous instance safe and sound.

Through the system notifications, he could see some of Caramel’s movements inside the instance. The broadcast messages were very much in line with the system’s usual style, and from them he could deduce that the game was not simple at all. In short, it’s enough to make anyone worried.

The reason Qi Feng had created a separate training program for Yan Jiyun was because something had happened in the last instance. One of those things was that he had eaten barbecue and then vomited.

There was no way for Qi Feng to control what Caramel ate. As a cat, it got hungry faster than humans; as soon as its stomach emptied, it would look for food, and it was inevitable it would eat something bad for its stomach. Good food meant someone kindhearted had fed it, but Caramel’s stomach simply wasn’t suited for greasy food. This troubled Qi Feng greatly.

Another important issue was that Caramel had accidentally been hit by another player’s prop. Although it was resolved in the end, when Qi Feng saw that message while outside of the game, his heart clenched tightly.

There were many kinds of props, from low-level to high-level, and various types with different effects. Even low-level props could be fatal.

He truly did not want to one day see a system message saying: [Your pet has died.]

But what could he do? There was currently no solution. 

Before entering the instance this time, no matter what, he had to ensure Qiu Xi kept a close eye on Caramel. Absolutely no more getting separated and entering different instances.

Even though it was only a 24-hour instance, to him waiting outside, every second felt like a year.

This time, he was the one entering the instance first. Once inside, he wouldn’t receive any information from outside at all.

His right eyelid had been twitching nonstop. He had a bad feeling. He had no idea what might happen to Caramel while he was gone.

Qi Feng and Lan Mo had agreed to enter the instance at 8 AM. Before they went in, he had arranged to meet Qiu Xi at 7 AM to drop Caramel off. He had also chosen a suitable difficulty-level instance for them. There shouldn’t be any major issues. If everything went well, he would be able to come out the same day as Caramel.

When Yan Jiyun stayed with Qi Feng, he didn’t need to think about anything. He just needs to eat, play, relax, and go through daily training. The schedule was well-balanced, with someone to supervise him, so he wouldn’t spend all day sleeping.

But he found himself growing more anxious as Qi Feng’s instance entry time got closer. The man already developed dark circles under his eyes.

Today was another busy day. Qi Feng had to confirm the final details of his instance entry with Lan Mo and the others. By the time he returned to his personal space, it was already quite late.

Seeing that Qi Feng was worrying himself sick, Yan Jiyun decided to help him get a proper sleep.

Qi Feng tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Whenever he turned over, Yan Jiyun slapped him in the face with a paw. But Qi Feng was still anxious. Helpless, Yan Jiyun burrowed into his arms to stop him from moving and make him sleep properly.

People could die in Newcomer instances; naturally, Hard-level instances more so. Qi Feng needed proper sleep. Otherwise, who would take care of his meals in the future? Such a considerate pet owner is rare! 

Qi Feng assumed Caramel couldn’t bear for him to leave, and hugged him to sleep.

“All right, sleep. Tomorrow morning you have to get up early and stay with Qiu Xi for two days, then enter the instance together.”

Yan Jiyun rolled his eyes and rested his chin on Qi Feng’s arm.

‘You’re the one who isn’t sleeping, not me.’

Qi Feng inhaled Caramel’s shampoo scent and, before he knew it, he fell asleep.

Indeed, cats were the most healing creatures for humans. See, he fell asleep just like that.

Yan Jiyun hid his merit and guarded his heart; he couldn’t always let the shit shovel officer worry, he had to contribute sometimes too.

The next morning, Qi Feng woke up earlier than Yan Jiyun.

Probably because he didn’t feel the need to stay alert to the environment, Yan Jiyun slept deeply. He only woke up when he smelled cat food.

As a cat, as long as conditions permitted, he insisted on brushing his teeth daily. His paws couldn’t hold a toothbrush, so Qi Feng brushed for him every day.

Qi Feng squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and said, “Open your mouth.”

Yan Jiyun cooperated fully, opening his mouth wide. Qi Feng carefully brushed each tooth clean.

Qi Feng truly thought his cat was very smart. Pet toothpaste was edible, but Caramel never swallowed it. Like a human, he would spit it out, then dunk his mouth into a bowl of water to rinse.

Qi Feng often thought that if he were an ordinary person, he could probably become a popular pet influencer. Because Caramel was simply too unique.

After breakfast, Qi Feng packed up Caramel’s food and daily essentials, then took him to meet Qiu Xi at his place.

Qi Feng found that Qiu Xi’s living area was decent. It was quiet, not too cheap or too ordinary. Newcomer players usually rented a small place as their lodging.

Qiu Xi lived in a sparsely populated area and came out right on time to meet them.

He brought Qi Feng inside to his room. Boss Qi’s request was complex and so it’s best not to be seen by others.

It had been three days since Yan Jiyun last saw Qiu Xi. Seeing him again, he noticed Qiu Xi looked tired, but his eyes were bright, and his whole demeanor radiated a more positive energy. His emotions were easy to read. Something must have happened that changed his life significantly.

Qiu Xi also hadn’t expected Boss Qi to approach him again. He was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps his discretion had passed the test, and he had again been entrusted with this task.

Qi Feng was in a hurry this time, so he didn’t explain too much. But “not much” was only in his own opinion.

He emphasized the instance selection he had carefully chosen, and hoped Qiu Xi would remember both the cat-care instructions and the instance precautions.

Looking at the stack of cat-care notes thicker than a contract, Qiu Xi felt he might not be able to memorize it all before entering the instance. Cat lovers were truly too good to their cats.

No wonder Boss Qi’s cat is different from everyone else’s. Most people keep cats as mere pets; playing with them when they’re happy and ignoring them when they’re not. But Boss Qi is different. He raised his cat to the point that it can enter instances with him, and it even clears instances using its own wits. A sense of admiration naturally rose within him. If it were him, he definitely wouldn’t be able to be so meticulous. He should say the cat is raised extremely exquisitely!

Boss Qi bought everything in his shopping cart and piled it all on the table in Qiu Xi’s room, saying, “That’s all of it. Do you need anything else?”

Qiu Xi had never raised a cat either. He felt Boss Qi had already prepared everything quite thoroughly, so he shook his head.

Qi Feng glanced at Caramel, who had poked its head out from the backpack, and gently rubbed its head twice. “Caramel, you have to listen to Qiu Xi. I’ll be back in a few days. I found two 24-hour instances for you. Once you come out of the instance, we can meet again.”

Yan Jiyun reached out a paw and patted Qi Feng’s palm. The Hard-level instances were much harder than theirs. He hoped his human would return safely.

Qi Feng pinched its soft paw pads, extremely reluctant to part with his cat, but still forced himself to loosen Caramel’s paws.

“Qiu Xi, while I’m gone these few days, I’m entrusting Caramel to you.”

Qiu Xi promised he would do his best to take care of the kitty!

At this moment, Yan Jiyun also behaved very steadily. He didn’t show any dependence on the pooper scooper, though in truth he was reluctant. Each of them entering separate instances meant facing different dangers, and who knew if they could come out alive.

Yan Jiyun jumped out of the backpack. Qi Feng turned to look at him, only to see him glance back again.

Qi Feng reminded, “Qiu Xi, once you enter the instance, you must keep the zipper of the backpack closed. Only let it out to breathe when there are no other players.”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

Qiu Xi held onto Yan Jiyun firmly, preventing him from running after Qi Feng.

What Qi Feng didn’t know was that at the moment he stepped out the door, there was a different emotion in Yan Jiyun’s eyes.

Who knew how many days until the next time they met. Maybe they’d never meet again.

‘Pah, pah, pah, no way!’

Qi Feng separated from his cat like that, not knowing when they’d see each other again. It was even more worrying than entering an unknown dangerous instance.

When the time came, Qi Feng entered the instance with Lan Mo and the others.

This instance was still difficult, though the duration was long.

Less than half a day after entering, Qi Feng began worrying about whether Caramel was living well with Qiu Xi, whether it was eating properly or sleeping well. Would it have trouble adapting to a new place?

He heard from Lan Mo that Qiu Xi was a careful and considerate person, but he was still worried. Being good at taking care of people didn’t necessarily mean being good at taking care of cats.

Qi Feng’s teammates noticed that whenever they had rest time in this instance, Feng-ge would space out and stare intently at the system, as if plotting something.

Only Lan Mo knew. Feng-ge wasn’t plotting anything about the instance. He had seen this state just a few days ago!

He knew how to solve this question: Feng-ge was missing a certain player outside the instance terribly, so much that it had reached the degree of lovesickness.

Qi Feng understood that the main reason for his anxiety was that after entering the instance he couldn’t see his cat’s condition, nor could he receive news of the cat’s situation.

He could only check the system notifications from before entering the instance during breaks.

[Your pet has successfully entered the “Hide and Seek” instance.]

[Your pet ate a skewer of grilled beef.]

[Your pet threw up.]

[Your pet has received treatment.]

[Your pet was accidentally hit by a prop — too pitiful!]

[Your pet ate chicken breast again and seemed very satisfied.]

[Your pet had a good rest.]

[Your pet is currently in a cheerful mood.]

……

[Your pet has successfully completed the “Hide and Seek” instance.]

He read them over and over, pondering carefully. It seemed Caramel could eat fish in every instance.

When entering “Hide and Seek”, he had initially thought it was Qiu Xi taking care of him. But now that he calmed down, Qiu Xi had confessed that he hadn’t been in the same instance as the cat. It wasn’t hard to tell someone inside the instance had been taking good care of him. Of course, it was also possible they had entered the same instance but Qiu Xi never found Caramel. After all, the activity range in each instance was quite large.

He hoped Caramel wouldn’t eat greasy food again. 

The sooner he got out of the instance, the sooner he could see Caramel. Qi Feng’s gaze shifted slightly, then returned to calm. He decisively closed the pet notification panel and began discussing the next plan with his teammates.