DSMC Chapter 98

After Yan Jiyun learned the identities of the animals’ human counterparts, communicating quietly with them went very smoothly. Everyone cooperated well. He didn’t draw Orange’s blood; instead, he told the others he needed to calm the animals first and moved from cage to cage.

The alpha wolf and his mate were easy to persuade, as their main concern was their son. Yan Jiyun told them he would make a detour later to pick up the little wolf. He didn’t know how much they understood, but keeping things brief and conveying only the most important information was enough.

Caesar reacted extremely aggressively at first. But after Yan Jiyun spoke softly with Orange, Caesar perked up his ears to listen and gradually calmed down. He was the only special patient who had nearly gotten himself killed purely because of his love for extreme sports.

Yan Jiyun spoke in a low voice; too quiet for humans to hear, but animals could catch even the faintest sounds. Caesar understood what Yan Jiyun had told Orange and the wolf couple. When Yan Jiyun entered his cage, Caesar snorted at him and flicked his proud mane.

From his expression, Yan Jiyun could read the tsundere mood of this rich young master. He quietly assigned Caesar a task. “Go knock down the zookeeper standing under that cat skeleton painting. Try to knock them unconscious. If you understand, shake my hand.”

He extended his palm toward Caesar.

The lion’s pale yellow eyes stared at him for three seconds. Just as Yan Jiyun’s patience was about to run out, Caesar finally pressed his thick paw against his hand.

Yan Jiyun casually squeezed the lion’s paw. Every feline here was more robust than him. He genuinely admired their physiques.

Ahem. Now was not the time to envy other animals’ bodies.

There was also an elephant here, but it wasn’t part of Yan Jiyun’s target group. Still, this elephant seemed to be the black panther’s subordinate. Yan Jiyun had even ridden him before, so Yan Jiyun didn’t ignore it. He walked over and touched his ear. The reaction was just like that of a normal elephant, and he couldn’t tell whether it possessed human consciousness.

A zookeeper reminded him, “We’ve already drawn blood from the elephant. It was quite cooperative.”

These people probably didn’t know anything special about the animals; they simply treated them as ordinary animals and focused on completing their tasks.

Yan Jiyun said, “I’ve calmed them down. I’ll close the door first so they won’t be disturbed. You should be able to draw blood now.”

The veterinarians truly felt this new doctor had skill. Without thinking much, they prepared syringes to draw blood from each animal, surprisingly bold.

Yan Jiyun had long noticed how heavy the pavilion doors were. Walking to the entrance, he told the security guards, “Gentlemen, no matter what you hear later, please don’t come in. These animals were frightened before being brought here and mustn’t be startled again, or it will affect our examinations.”

The guards nodded. “No problem. We won’t disturb you.”

Satisfied, Yan Jiyun firmly locked the door from the inside. Even if the guards sensed something wrong and wanted to rush in, they would need time to find the key.

He had already planned the escape route before retrieving the truck.

Standing with his back to the door, he raised his right hand, snapped his fingers, and declared what he thought was a very cool slogan:

“Alright guys, time to work!”

All the cages had already been unlocked by Yan Jiyun. The veterinarians and zookeepers who were about to begin examinations were stunned as the animals inside the cages lunged precisely toward their assigned targets!

Yan Jiyun grabbed a nearby stick and struck the nearest veterinarian. Anyone still conscious received an additional hit. After using the stick several times, he had learned to control his strength. He would only knock people out briefly at worst, maybe cause a concussion, but wouldn’t kill anyone.

With the sheer weight of Orange, Caesar, and the brown bear, each strike landed perfectly, causing heads hitting floors or walls. The wolf couple struggled slightly against stronger zookeepers, but once Orange and Caesar finished their tasks, they came over to help. Every pounce hit its mark.

The wolf couple even used their teeth.

“Ahhh!”

“Don’t come closer!”

“Help! There’s a traitor! Security, open the—”

One zookeeper shouted for help. Just as Yan Jiyun rushed forward, a dark blur moved faster than him. The black panther burst in through the window, followed by the white tiger. Each delivered a blow, knocking the keeper unconscious.

Yan Jiyun gave them a thumbs-up. “…You guys are impressive.”

After a brief commotion inside the pavilion, the guards outside sensed something wrong and shouted, “Is everything okay in there?”

Catching his breath, Yan Jiyun called back, “All good! Almost done. One guy just panicked over nothing.”

While saying this, his hands never stopped gesturing to the animals.

Hearing the guards abandon their suspicion, he immediately said, “Move! Get into the blue truck. Baiyun, lead the way.”

Meng Changsheng: ‘You picked the right person!’

Even though everything looked black, white, and gray to him now, he could still read license plates. The zookeeper had pinpointed him perfectly. It oddly filled him with pride.

Yan Jiyun directed them one by one out through the window. He still wasn’t sure whether the elephant was an awakened consciousness animal, but it followed them intelligently. Unfortunately, it got stuck. Iit simply couldn’t fit through the window. A several-ton giant really couldn’t squeeze out.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t heartless. He dismantled the window frame with his bare hands, knocked over an iron cage, and laid wooden boards as a ramp. Seeing this, Meng Changsheng carried over a shorter metal barrel outside the window. Only then did the elephant successfully climb out.

The brown bear, though large, was far more agile and had no trouble with the window.

All the animals imprisoned in the pavilion were finally free.

With little lighting around, Yan Jiyun guided them back to the truck. After struggling to get the elephant onboard and returning to the driver’s seat, he discovered Caesar and the black panther were about to fight.

They were competing for the passenger seat. The seat upholstery had already been shredded, foam stuffing scattered everywhere. Xixi crouched on the driver’s seat like a terrified quail, afraid a stray swipe would erase it from existence.

Yan Jiyun said, “Caesar, you’re too big. Go to the back compartment.”

With aristocratic reluctance, Caesar let out a low grumble before moving to the rear and jumping into the cargo area.

Yan Jiyun sighed. “I know you were all once exceptional individuals, but we’re escaping for our lives right now. Save any grudges for after we reach safety.”

The black panther’s eyes lit up.

Yan Jiyun started the engine. He didn’t even need the horn. The animals could hear him clearly.

“Sit tight. We’re going to pick up the wolf cub first.”

They successfully left the examination center and drove onto the zoo’s main road. A little farther ahead was where the injured wolf cub was staying.

After confirming no NPCs were nearby, he parked about fifty meters from the medical building. Large trees blocked most of the light; as long as the animals stayed quiet, no one would notice the oddly parked vehicle.

This time he didn’t need to remove the white coat. The coat itself was his most useful disguise.

Dr. Peng wasn’t there. Neither was Dr. Zhou. He could pass as a substitute doctor.

Before leaving, he instructed all the “passengers” in the truck: “Wait here for me. No one leaves. I’ll be back soon.”

Yan Jiyun quickly disappeared into the night.

Only after he left did Meng Changsheng start thinking, ‘Escaping to where? Was this the zoo’s major crisis?’

For the first time since entering the game, he felt like the chosen one, wandering casually for two nights and repeatedly encountering mission NPCs. He had never received treatment like this before.

Wearing the white coat, Yan Jiyun headed toward the second floor of the medical building. He clearly remembered the third floor was the staff rest area, while injured or newborn animals were kept on the second floor.

Lights were on in one of the doctors’ offices, but it wasn’t Dr. Zhou’s or Dr. Peng’s. Probably another NPC.

To reach the second floor, he had to pass the office, and he didn’t intend to interact with whoever was inside. He quietly removed the white coat. If discovered, escaping would be difficult, and he only had thirty minutes before the rendezvous time with Dr. Zhou. He had to locate all the patients quickly.

He listened carefully to the sounds from inside the office. A doctor was speaking softly, giving instructions to someone.

The voice sounded familiar.

Yan Jiyun suddenly remembered. During yesterday’s interview, he had met someone in a white coat.

Was this doctor the same person from yesterday?

After that, Yan Jiyun wasn’t sure whether the other party was currently facing the doorway. With limited time, he decided to quickly walk past the door first and not dwell on the person’s identity.

However, the moment he appeared, the white coat inside called out to him, “Wait, are you a zookeeper?”

Yan Jiyun pretended not to hear and rushed straight up to the second floor, but the white coat behind him called out again, “Supervisor Jiang, please wait!”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

What kind of high-definition eyesight was that? He had only flashed a silhouette and was already recognized.

He could only stop climbing further, turn around, and face the unknown veterinarian who had chased out. “Doctor, what did you call me for?” He couldn’t quite gauge this man’s personality, but thinking back, it was rather strange that this person had appeared in the HR department yesterday at that time.

Why had he gone to the administrative office? Did he have some special matter to handle?

The middle-aged doctor asked, “Weren’t you suspended?”

Yan Jiyun calmly made something up, “I was only suspended from my position. The work still needs to go on. I came to check how the little ones’ injuries are healing.”

The middle-aged doctor said, “But aren’t Dr. Peng and the others looking for you?”

Yan Jiyun’s heart skipped a beat. Was this guy planning to expose his whereabouts to Dr. Peng to claim credit?

He looked at the doctor and said, “So?”

The middle-aged doctor said, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t tell Dr. Peng and the others. I know what experiment Dr. Zhou is conducting.”

Yan Jiyun pretended not to understand. “Experiment? What experiment?”

Bitterness appeared on the middle-aged doctor’s face. He froze for a moment. “You know. You and Dr. Zhou are on the same side. How could you not know?”

Yan Jiyun had indeed called for Dr. Zhou through the broadcast, but why did this middle-aged doctor think he and Dr. Zhou were allies? Had the NPC automatically implanted related plot settings?

For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond, but he chose to seize the initiative instead of being led by the NPC.

“So why did you stop me?” He deliberately avoided mentioning Dr. Zhou’s experiment.

The middle-aged doctor, calmed by Yan Jiyun’s composure, restrained his earlier urgency. “I… I want to ask you for a favor. Can you help me? You can help me, right?”

Yan Jiyun paused. Since he had been stopped, this NPC definitely had some issue.

He checked the time, hoping this wouldn’t delay him too long. “Tell me what it is first.”

The middle-aged doctor muttered, “You can definitely help me, right, Supervisor Jiang?”

Even calling him the director wouldn’t help right now. He didn’t have the time.

“Then tell me what it is first.” Yan Jiyun didn’t dare agree immediately. According to game logic, once you responded, a mission might be issued.

Seeing that he didn’t agree right away, the middle-aged doctor didn’t get angry. After all, he was the one asking for help. He sighed and said, “It’s like this. A year ago, my son fell from a tree and was hospitalized, remaining in a coma ever since. But one day, he suddenly disappeared from the hospital. The hospital refused to admit fault, and the police could only classify the case as a disappearance. I spent nearly a year searching for him and finally traced him here by every means possible. My son was sent to the zoo by criminals, but I don’t know where he is inside the zoo, nor whether he’s dead or alive.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “Your son was sent to the zoo?”

The middle-aged doctor said, “Yes. Someone at that damned hospital sold him here to be used as an experimental subject.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “Why are you so certain experiments are being conducted here?”

The middle-aged doctor said, “Dr. Peng told me. Isn’t he competing with Dr. Zhou for the department head position recently? Dr. Zhou is conducting human experiments!”

Yan Jiyun asked him, “Why must it be Dr. Zhou and not Dr. Peng?”

The middle-aged doctor fell silent. He had never considered that Dr. Peng’s hints might have led him to believe Dr. Zhou was conducting illegal experiments.

Yan Jiyun knew about Dr. Zhou’s experiments. Of course, they were indeed illegal.

Experimental Subject Number 1 was Dr. Zhou’s own older brother; the experiment had been successful from the very beginning. Since it had already succeeded, there was no need for him to purchase experimental subjects. Moreover, Dr. Zhou’s experimental records were extremely thorough, with every patient’s origin had clear archival documentation, and each patient’s family had signed informed consent forms.

If there truly were patients like the middle-aged doctor’s son who had been sold here, there would be no need to record them, nor to fabricate a fake medical case.

If it wasn’t Dr. Zhou, then was it Dr. Peng?

If it were Dr. Peng, then there would be no need for him to collaborate with the deputy director to launch such an all-out attack against Dr. Zhou, pushing fellow disciples into open hostility.

Who was stirring trouble behind the scenes?

Vice Director He?

Unlikely. Dr. Peng was her subordinate. She trusted him greatly and handed most dirty work to him while she maintained appearances.

Why had Dr. Peng asked Dr. Zhou about the entrance to Basement Level 2, then suddenly learned about the entrance to the second floor? Soon after, Professor Fang joined forces with Dr. Peng to deal with Dr. Zhou.

Who exactly had Dr. Zhou offended?

With Dr. Peng and Dr. Zhou fighting each other, who benefited the most?

He had a hypothesis, but it still needed verification!

The middle-aged doctor suddenly grabbed Yan Jiyun’s hand tightly. “Supervisor Jiang, I truly don’t know who else I can ask for help. Please, you must help me save my son.”

Yan Jiyun saw tears streaming down his face. He was genuinely desperate. Yan Jiyun often softened his heart at moments like this—

[Does the player wish to help Dr. Qiao find his son?]

[Please make a choice within five seconds.]

[Yes][No]

Damn it, the system still popped up.

What was disgusting was that it didn’t directly state whether he had triggered a side mission. It forced him to make a choice instead!

Because there was still one thing he hadn’t figured out yet.

Since Vice Director He and the director were in opposition, it was impossible for either side to end up directly lying in a hospital.

Yan Jiyun had no choice. He could only select “Yes.”

He had taken on another task.

[Side Mission: Find Dr. Qiao’s son. (In Progress)]

After accepting the quest, Dr. Qiao’s attitude toward him became even warmer. His eyes were moist. It was clear he was a father desperate to find his child, and the sight was truly heartbreaking.

Dr. Qiao said, “Wait for me a moment. I’ll bring you all the information I’ve gathered over the years.”

Yan Jiyun said, “Then you wait for me a moment too.” As soon as he finished speaking, he ran toward the second floor.

Dr. Qiao: “……”

Perhaps even the quest NPC hadn’t expected the player who accepted the quest to run faster than him.

[Want to be Human] livestream channel:

“Where did this NPC come from? I seriously can’t understand anymore. Are there other storylines too?”

“I’m just lying flat waiting for Kitty Baby to do the quests. He is too amazing, ah~ All I can feel is admiration. I don’t even know whether to call him lucky or unlucky. This kind of luck is unreal.”

“I remember this NPC showed up when Kitty Baby passed the interview on the first day. He was wandering outside the door back then. Didn’t expect their connection started that early.”

“I think Kitty Baby didn’t even want to form a connection with this NPC. He resisted so much at first, but the system still didn’t let him go. He had no choice but to accept the mission.”

“Has no one considered why Mimi accepted this quest? He realized there’s an even bigger BOSS behind the zoo crisis!”

“Isn’t the boss Dr. Peng and Vice Director He?”

“Haha, are you guys seriously not thinking? Did you forget the director who had a stroke?”

“The director already had a stroke… so how could he be the boss?”

“You’d better just lie flat. I don’t think puzzle-solving games are for you.”

“Bah! Watch how you talk!”

After running up to the second floor, Yan Jiyun went straight to the little wolf cub.

After a day of rest and recovery, the wolf cub could already stand. As expected of an animal NPC, it practically violated scientific laws.

He didn’t know how much human consciousness the cub possessed, but when Yan Jiyun picked it up and told it he would take it to find its parents, it became very quiet, not making any noise or fuss at all.

He quickly rushed back down to the first floor, where Dr. Qiao was already standing eagerly at the entrance holding a pile of documents, waiting for him.

Perhaps because he had accepted the quest, Dr. Qiao trusted him completely and immediately stuffed the materials into his arms.

Yan Jiyun: “……” That was excessively enthusiastic.

Dr. Qiao said gratefully, “Thank you for being willing to help me.”

Yan Jiyun felt he might be casting a wide net. “You’re welcome. I’ll help as much as I can and try my best to look into it for you.”

Holding the wolf cub and the documents, he rushed back to the vehicle. Aside from the small interruption with Dr. Qiao, everything went smoothly along the way.

However, when he carried the wolf cub back into the vehicle, Yan Jiyun hesitated.

Right now, he should go beneath the surveillance camera and wave to Dr. Zhou to signal that he had completed his task. But he was now somewhat concerned about Dr. Qiao’s son.

He thought of the three Zhu sisters. They were also very intelligent.

Perhaps his earlier deductions had missed some details. Failed cases might not mean that human consciousness hadn’t been projected into animal consciousness. Moreover, he had never verified whether the death of the original body meant the death of the consciousness. The only example he had was Tata, the case where “the consciousness died, and the original body died along with it.”

He needed to verify this with Dr. Zhou.

Wait— could Dr. Zhou have already known?

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Yan Jiyun delayed starting the vehicle, realizing for the first time that making a decision was somewhat difficult.

Was it possible that Dr. Qiao’s son was a misleading option, just like the mission Dr. Peng had initially given him?

Looking at the entire truckload of rescued animals, he couldn’t afford to make a rash decision.

However, just as he began forming an idea, it was interrupted. People were chasing after them!

“Quick, stop the vehicle ahead! The tiger and lion are on it!”

“Hurry, chase them!”

an Jiyun immediately started the vehicle. “They caught up pretty fast, didn’t they?”

What else could he do? Run first!

Driving wasn’t the same as running on two legs. He could handle this!

As he drove, vehicles followed behind. Left with no choice, when he rushed past the medical building entrance, he deliberately slowed down and waved at the surveillance camera.

Beep beep beep!

Beep beep beep!

Beep beep beep!

Not only were people chasing them, vehicles had been deployed too. They were determined to capture them.

At that moment, a car drove out from the medical area. The driver was Dr. Qiao, who shouted at Yan Jiyun, “Supervisor Jiang, follow me! I’ll help you shake them off!”

Yan Jiyun had no other option. Several vehicles were chasing behind, honking nonstop. It was incredibly noisy!

He shouted to the entire vehicle full of “passengers,” “Guys, hold tight!”

Xixi started shouting along as well.

“Guys! Hold tight!”

Dr. Qiao was driving his own car, maneuvering steadily through the roads. The zoo’s roads branched in all directions. As long as he could maintain speed, the cars behind might not keep up. No, actually, they could keep up.

Since childhood, he had never lost when racing go-karts!

“Soy Sauce, fasten your seatbelt! Safety first!”

The black panther: “……”

“Sorry, I forgot you probably don’t know how to fasten a seatbelt. Everyone lie low. This is my first time street racing with people. You’re on your own.”

All the “passengers” in the vehicle: “……”

Bang!

The vehicle shook.

Bang!

Bang!

These fearless NPCs were actually ramming them with cars.

Yan Jiyun’s body swayed with the impact. Fortunately, he had chosen the largest cargo truck. Its heavy weight meant the collisions only caused shaking and didn’t damage it, but the sedans might not be so lucky.

Bang!

“Damn, again!”

He wasn’t helpless either. Slamming the accelerator, he drifted at the next turn, smashing into the sedan trying to force him to stop and sending it flying aside. The crashing sound was terrifying.

Come on, come on, come onnnn!! Next one!!!