DSMC Chapter 71.2

T/N: Bonus update to whet your appetite for this arc~

While Qi Feng was worrying about his cat, Yan Jiyun was wandering in the central district gathering news.

Qiu Xi’s rental place was fairly quiet. Maybe he had earned quite a few points in the previous instance; he didn’t hold back and rented a decent place for himself. Yan Jiyun was living comfortably enough.

Qiu Xi had also sent him a message telling him he would enter the instance together with Gu Wenzhu this time.

Yan Jiyun stayed at Qiu Xi’s place for less than a day. When he and Gu Wenzhu were about to meet up to enter the instance, he found a chance to slip away.

Qi Feng had forgotten something before entering the instance: as the main account, he could choose instances for the sub-account and form teams, but only he had that permission, and Qiu Xi didn’t. And besides, the instances they were entering were not even on the same level.

When Qiu Xi met up with Gu Wenzhu, Yan Jiyun stuffed all the food and supplies the pooper scooper had prepared for him into his personal inventory, left a note at Qiu Xi’s place, and entered his personal space.

He told Qiu Xi that he was the cat’s other owner but could not show himself, and that he would take the cat into the instance.

This was also to lessen Qiu Xi’s guilt, and besides, a cat couldn’t pack its own things, but a human could.

Only after Qiu Xi had passed the instance entry time did Yan Jiyun come out of his personal space.

He still had five days to look for information on the next instance.

He prepared a place to stay for himself. It wasn’t realistic to go look for Qi Feng every time he came out of an instance. Their levels were different, and who knew what situations they would face later. Now that he had points, there was no need to be stingy.

He found a larger rental agency and learned that the renting system in the central district differed from the real world.

Since players’ lives were uncertain once they entered an instance, houses could be rented by the week or by the month. If the player didn’t renew on time, the contract would automatically terminated.

Yan Jiyun signed for two months. Renting a house had one good thing: as long as he paid enough points, no personal information was needed.

Most players followed the system rules, but outside of that, everything relied on self-discipline. Of course, some players had no morals.

The place Yan Jiyun found belonged to a guild specializing in economics. They usually had players stationed there to ensure the tenants’ safety.

He felt this model was good. The lodging was simply to ensure he wouldn’t be ambushed or robbed by other players when stepping out of personal space.

From now on, Yan Jiyun wouldn’t need to hide anymore.

Many players rest in their personal space during breaks. During rest, unless they are hungry and need to come out for food, they can stay in their personal space the whole time. They also don’t need to go to a specific area to enter an instance. They can directly select an instance from personal space, and the system will automatically pull the player in.

Yan Jiyun preferred this mode.

This location was close to the shit-shoveling officer’s small tavern. He could meet him after dark without waiting outside for half the day.

There were several rental houses near the tavern, but he didn’t plan to stay here long-term. He intended to move regularly later.

Also, he would eventually need a place where he could meet teammates with stronger privacy protection, which meant he needed to rent a larger place himself.

After settling down, Yan Jiyun began searching for instance clues.

His face was quite recognizable, so whenever he went out, he wore a mask and a hat to avoid letting other players remember his appearance.

Inquiring about Easy instance information required more points, which was another expense. He had to plan his points carefully. A portion of the points he earned from the last instance had already been spent, but all of it was necessary. He couldn’t save even a single point.

Based on the time limits of the newcomer instances, he estimated that the entry duration for Easy-level instances would not be shorter than those. In the newcomer level, Challenging Mode instances lasted one day to three days. Easy-level instances might be longer, perhaps five days, or even seven. For someone at Qi Feng’s level, it would likely be over half a month, or possibly longer.

Easy-level instances no longer had Introductory and Challenging versions. According to the system, only newcomer players needed Introductory Mode “trial” instances. Based on later difficulty scaling, the Newcomer-level instances were all level 1, while Easy instances were level 2–3. The further players progressed, the harder the instances became. Different instance types also varied — level 2 in an exploration instance might feel easy, while in a combat instance it could be much harder.

Simply put, instance difficulty depended on the system rating but also differed from person to person.

These were only Yan Jiyun’s assumptions, however.

He took a handful of points and went into the information area to buy instance intel. This time he chose two instances. The information he asked about included the instance type, the props needed, and the main mission. The first two should have been easier to gather, but main mission intel was harder, as the system guarded against information leaks from all directions.

Following the route Qi Feng had shown him, Yan Jiyun circled the central district. After he became familiar with the paths, he found that information-selling points weren’t only guild shops. Many independent players sold intel as well. Large guilds monopolized the business, so many newcomers didn’t know there was an independent trading area.

Yan Jiyun discovered this by accident.

He had only planned to eavesdrop in the crowd when he saw a guild member arguing with several independent players.

Of course, Yan Jiyun didn’t swoop in like a savior. They didn’t physically fight anyway, just traded curses back and forth. In their shouting, he caught several key words and pieced the situation together.

As it turned out, Easy instance intel could be purchased not only from guilds but also from independent players. Independent sellers were cheaper and sometimes provided more detailed information than the guilds.

Guilds had monopolized this business, squeezing independent players’ living space. Thus, conflicts between guild players and independent players were common in the central district.

His shit-shoveling officer seemed to instance run only with a few familiar teammates, which meant he himself belonged to no organization and was considered a free agent. He’d also heard Qi Feng mention having been in a guild before, though he didn’t know why he left. Plus, there were even players who threatened to snipe him in instances.

Yan Jiyun couldn’t help worrying. The longer he stayed in the game, the more he understood how difficult it was for the other party. Even the strongest people had weaknesses. Hopefully, his master could return safely from the instance.

Instance props couldn’t be used in the whole Central Zone. The guild players and independent players never escalated into a fight, only a heated argument. The quarrel ended when a small guild leader appeared and stopped it, allowing the independent players to leave the bustling central district.

Yan Jiyun quietly followed them and found the independent-player gathering area.

Every time he came out of an instance, he saw countless recruitment ads from various guilds. Few mentioned independent players. As time went on, new players seeking protection and higher survival chances tended to join guilds, like the two female players he met in the “Midnight Diner” instance; both had already joined guilds.

Independent-player areas were populated by long-term players. Even though Yan Jiyun wore a mask, people stared at him the moment he entered, though no one approached him.

Only when he saw the same players who had argued with the guild earlier did he ask if Easy instance information was for sale.

In the independent-player area, some were there to buy intel, while others lived there. When they saw he was there to buy information, the residents resumed minding their own business.

This suggests that guild players and independent players were often at odds.

Yan Jiyun bought a piece of related intel but wasn’t sure if it would be useful.

Over the next few days, Yan Jiyun collected instance intel in the mornings and trained in the afternoons according to the regimen Qi Feng had taught him. Whether in human form or cat form, he trained in all areas. After several days, the training indeed yielded very good results. He discovered his weight had increased a little. Not because he got fat, but because he became more muscular. 

The day before he entered the instance, Qiu Xi and Gu Wenzhu came out of an Introductory Mode instance.

Yan Jiyun needed to focus on gathering, organizing, and deducing information for the next instance. He had to prepare thoroughly, so he didn’t contact the two of them.

Everything could wait until he returned.

This time, without the shit-shoveling officer choosing the instance for him, he felt somewhat relieved.

With half a day left before his rest period ended, he decided to depart in the morning.

Everything ready, Yan Jiyun pressed the button to select the instance.

There was no interference, and he successfully entered the instance preparation zone.

Everything was normal.

[“Crazy Zoo” instance is preparing. Please wait patiently.]

Yan Jiyun asked, “The instance is preparing? What does that mean?”

He remembered that last time it directly displayed the number of players in the instance, not a preparation notice.

He opened the system prop store and saw that all props were disabled. No matter how he clicked, nothing reacted or could be purchased.

The system then popped up to explain.

The young man: “Hello, player. To ensure fair gameplay for all players, the system will update the ‘Crazy Zoo’ instance before the game begins. Please wait three minutes. The instance will start after three minutes.”

Yan Jiyun: “Doesn’t the system notify players of updates? Why didn’t it update before I entered the instance?”

The young man: “No notifications will be given. The timing ensures fair gameplay. The update duration is short and will not affect the player experience. Please wait patiently.”

Yan Jiyun: “Does ‘update’ mean the main mission might change? Or is it just bug fixes?”

The young man: “Both are possible. Some instances update small issues; others may change environments or tasks. Anything is possible.”

It was basically an answer that explained nothing. Yan Jiyun gritted his teeth: “Why update now?”

The young man: “System updates are for ensuring player experience and freshness.”

In other words, updates existed to prevent players from purchasing instance intel!

Yan Jiyun: “Are all instances being updated?”

The young man: “instances are randomly selected for updates.”

Yan Jiyun said: “I want to exit this instance and choose another.”

The young man: “The system has already matched the players for this instance. No player may exit during the update period.”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

Did that mean all the intel he collected these days was useless?

Next time he really needed to ask the shit-shoveling officer to tell him every single trap the system set.

[“Crazy Zoo” instance is ready!]