DSMC Chapter 2

Even though Yan Jiyun was in the body of a black cat, it didn’t affect his ability to operate the system. He didn’t need fingers or voice commands, just mental control was enough.

This alone proved that the game he had entered was definitely not a product of their world.

From the clues he had so far, he knew his target was a little boy named Li Muyang.

The game’s time limit was 24 hours, and he had entered around 8 PM, so the game would end at the same time the following night.

Based on the instance title — “Going Home After School” — it meant he would have to stay here tonight, and that Li Muyang would go to school the next day.

Typically, primary school in his country started at 8:20 AM and ended at 4:30 PM.

If his guess was right, he only had to ensure Li Muyang’s survival until 8 PM tomorrow to clear the instance.

Since the instance allowed him to enter early, there had to be more to it than just escorting the boy home. Something else was bound to happen during that time.

Now that it was Li Muyang’s bedtime, Yan Jiyun was carried into the bedroom in the boy’s arms. He quietly watched the child numbly cover himself with a blanket and go to sleep, with no medicine applied to his swollen, red face.

Yan Jiyun could handle life and death situations, but he couldn’t stand to see a mother abuse her own child. The scenes were too cruel, it made him want to call the police on the spot.

He stayed in Li Muyang’s bedroom and listened carefully for noises outside. After the violent and cold couple turned off the TV and went to bed, Yan Jiyun quietly slipped out into the living room. He rummaged around and easily found a tube of bruise-healing ointment.

Carrying the ointment in his mouth, Yan Jiyun jumped back onto the bed and dropped it beside Li Muyang’s pillow. When the boy didn’t react, he gently tapped his shoulder with a paw.

Li Muyang wasn’t asleep. He was enduring the pain on his face and noticed the black cat’s actions.

When he saw the ointment the cat had brought, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. “Is… is this for me?”

The aloof black cat lay by his pillow, its pale green eyes glowing in the dim room.

Li Muyang opened the tube and slowly applied the ointment. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he just quietly stroked Yan Jiyun’s back. He felt a deep sense of comfort and began to drift off to sleep.

The protagonist of the instance could finally rest, but Yan Jiyun didn’t forget this was a game. Based on the system’s warning, it was an extremely dangerous one. He didn’t dare relax. While Li Muyang’s breathing evened out, Yan Jiyun perched on the bookshelf, ears perked, ready for anything.

At that same moment, three other players who had entered the game at the same time were hiding downstairs in the residential complex, doing their best to avoid the night patrols.

The hoodie-wearing young man was getting anxious. “Are we seriously gonna wait until Li Muyang gets up for school tomorrow?”

The short-haired girl replied, “Didn’t the prompt say we’re escorting him home from school tomorrow? So of course we wait for him to go to school first.”

The red-haired man calmly raised a concern, “What if he dies before going to school?”

The girl glanced at the mission status. “Li Muyang’s current HP is still at 90%.”

The hoodie guy added passionately, “He lost 10% just from doing homework. Who knows if his HP will drop again tonight? We should protect him!”

The girl said, “As long as he’s still alive after we escort him home, we’ve completed the mission.”

The hoodie guy and redhead both agreed it made sense.

As they spoke, a small fan fell from above and landed on the lawn near them!

Startled, all three scooted toward the wall.

The redhead clutched his chest, still shaken. “Shit! Who the hell’s throwing stuff from above? If I’d been 5 centimeters to the left, I’d be dead!”

The hoodie guy looked up. The light in the master bedroom of unit 6002 turned on, and a woman’s voice began yelling.

“That’s Li Muyang’s house. His parents are arguing,” he said.

The red-haired man frowned. “Usually, when parents fight, it spills over to the kid. Should we pretend to be building security and check it out?”

The girl hesitated. “But his HP is still stable.”

Just then, another loud crash came from upstairs. A metal pot clattered down, followed by a roll of toilet paper, then a pillow.

The girl muttered, “This woman’s got energy.”

Meanwhile, in the “Want to be Human” livestream room, it was absolute chaos.

As the plot unfolded, Li Muyang’s mom had discovered flirty messages between her husband and a female coworker. After a heated argument, the dad locked himself in the study to play games, leaving the furious mother with no outlet. She would take it out on their sleeping son instead, beating him to vent her rage. If no one intervened, his HP would drop to 70%.

Most players in the past only appeared after that drop; posing as social workers or security staff, they’d rescue Li Muyang. Some would spend the night outside the apartment, ready to break in if his mother lashed out again.

But this time, there was no 70% HP warning.

That’s because, as soon as the couple started arguing and throwing things, Yan Jiyun sprang into action. He jumped onto the bed and woke Li Muyang, motioning for him to hide under the bed. The boy was confused at first, but after Yan Jiyun demonstrated twice, he finally understood and crawled under the bed with him.

Yan Jiyun had correctly guessed that once the woman couldn’t vent on her husband, she’d turn on her child instead. Weak people could only bully those weaker than themselves.

Sure enough, the furious woman stormed into Li Muyang’s room. Though only in her thirties and still attractive, her face was twisted with rage, an ugly mask of displaced anger.

Under the bed, Li Muyang clutched Yan Jiyun’s back.

He was long used to his parents’ fights. As a child, he couldn’t resist adult strength and had always taken the beatings passively. Even when he tried to hide, it only made things worse. His mother’s rage would only intensify.

Now, in a frenzy, the woman began screaming insults at Li Muyang.

“Li Muyang, what the hell are you hiding for? I never should’ve given birth to you! You’re just like your useless father! Get out here and sleep properly. I know you’re hiding somewhere!”

“Oh, you don’t want to come out? Don’t make me drag you!”

She opened the closet and found nothing. Then turned toward the bed. She bent down to look underneath.

Suddenly, a giant upside-down face appeared in front of Yan Jiyun’s eyes.

Oh shit, that’s terrifying!

Yan Jiyun had been prepared, but he still got startled. The woman also jumped back in shock when she saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring at her from the darkness.

“Li Muyang! You bastard, you’re just like your father! You actually got this dirty beast to scare me?!”

She reached under the bed to drag Li Muyang out, but before she could touch him, Yan Jiyun slashed her wrist with his claws, leaving three long, bloody marks.

The woman became even more furious when she saw the bloody marks.

Instantly, her attention was diverted from Li Muyang. 

“You little beast! Get out here! I’m gonna beat you to death!”

Yan Jiyun’s priority was keeping her from harming the child. He darted out from under the bed, successfully drawing her away. The enraged woman gave up on hitting her son and charged after the black cat.

Damn it, she must catch that damn thing and teach it a lesson! 

She’s going to throw it off the balcony! Let it die there!

Yan Jiyun sprinted into the living room, already familiar with this suffocating space.

The apartment was about 120 square meters. From what he could see, there were three bedrooms, two living areas, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

The owners clearly had explosive tempers. The living room was a mess: unopened parcels everywhere, clothes strewn across the floor, half-eaten dinner on the table, and a foul stench wafting from the kitchen. It was obvious no one had cleaned up the garbage in days. The place was absolutely filthy.

Some people look glamorous in public but live in utter squalor.

Despite the overpowering stench attacking his hypersensitive nose, the cluttered house gave Yan Jiyun plenty of places to hide. Thankfully, he often played hide-and-seek with his master back home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have identified good hiding spots so quickly.

He dove into the pile of packages. The woman lunged after him and nearly caught him, but when she tried to steady herself, the boxes collapsed under her hand, falling everywhere. Yan Jiyun leapt onto the dining table. The woman spun around and crashed onto it with a loud bang. Her hair, once tied up, was now a wild mess. She looked like a lunatic.

Her rage had boiled over. She’d forgotten her original purpose.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun had already taken the high ground. He perched on a decorative wooden beam on the wall, looking down coldly at the woman below.

But this violent woman wasn’t giving up. She had to catch this mocking little beast!

“You evil creature!”

She started throwing anything within reach at him, determined to get it down!

Pillows, cups, even fruit!

Yan Jiyun dodged left and right, jumping to the top of a wine cabinet, then slipping under the L-shaped couch.

The woman was momentarily stunned speechless. She didn’t know where to start looking.

In the livestream channel: 

“Hahahahahahaha, holy shit, I’ve never seen this instance go down like this!”

“Other streamers are still strategizing downstairs. Meanwhile, the little cat has this psycho lady running in circles!”

“Li Muyang’s mom is so weak. I was hoping to see her tearing the little kitty apart. So disappointing.” 

“When the cat slipped under the couch, Li Muyang’s mom looked like her brain crashed. Who knew a couch would be the ultimate bug!”

“I’m starting to feel sorry for her. It’s like watching myself trying to catch my own pet.”

“Sending tips to the kitty streamer. Go buy yourself some fancy canned food!”

No matter how rowdy the stream got, it didn’t affect Yan Jiyun. He finally caught a break and took a moment to breathe.

He crouched under the sofa and rested for a while. Just as he began to relax—

Suddenly, a beam of light flashed in his vision.

He had underestimated how obsessed this woman was.

She had lifted the left section of the couch with her bare hands, laughing maniacally.

“Where are you going to run to, you little beast?”

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T/L:

Yan Jiyun’s viewers refer to him by many nicknames, like 猫猫 Maomao (“Catcat”, but vibe-wise, more like “Meowmeow” in English), 猫仔Mao-zai (if I have to tl it, it would be Kitty Baby), 小猫 Xiao Mao (Little Cat), etc. I’ll be using the English equivalent :3 )