DSMC Chapter 13

CW: gore

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A violent explosion resounded throughout the entire building.

Yan Jiyun felt his whole body go numb from the shock. For a moment, his mind went completely blank. Stars danced before his eyes, and the only sensation he could register was that his face was pressed hard against the ground.

After a while, his consciousness gradually returned. Had he really survived in such a dangerous situation?

His ears were ringing so badly he couldn’t hear anything around him, but not far away he spotted Yang Xue, a fellow player. She was stuck at the stairwell entrance, likely having just run up from downstairs when the sudden explosion had knocked her to the ground. It was unclear whether she was alive or dead.

For now, he needed to deal with himself first. Something was pressing down on his back, making it hard to breathe, and his body felt almost foreign to him.

He waited a moment, then tried moving his paws. He could move.

[System: 1 minute 30 seconds until the instance ends.]

The instance hadn’t ended despite the explosion. This was a sobering reminder.

He moved his head and saw, right beside him, Li Muyang’s arm. From his perspective, even though Li Muyang was just a child, the weight of his arm on a cat body like his was still five or six catties[mfn]about 2.5 – 3 kg[/mfn]. And that thin arm… was pressing down on him

Yan Jiyun realized something: during the explosion, Li Muyang had shielded him. The one who should have been protected — Li Muyang — had instead protected him. This was something he had never expected.

He struggled to get up. In truth, he wasn’t seriously hurt. He was just a bit shaken, with ringing ears from the blast.

But if he was fine… what about Li Muyang?

After spending a whole day together, Yan Jiyun could no longer treat Li Muyang as just an NPC in a game. He was a living, breathing person, an elementary school student with his own thoughts and defiance, someone bright and capable, though cursed with parents who were selfish, materialistic, and failed to cherish him.

Li Muyang lay on the ground. Yan Jiyun padded up and sniffed at him. He was still breathing.

From behind Li Muyang, Yan Jiyun glanced through the doorway. Inside was complete chaos. Mr. Li had been blown to pieces, and a severed arm lay near the door. Mrs. Li, who had been in the kitchen cooking dinner, was likely gone too. The only reason Li Muyang had survived was that the door had shielded them from the worst of the blast. He had only been knocked unconscious.

The fact that he had still protected Yan Jiyun right before losing consciousness… it stirred an unexpected warmth in Yan Jiyun’s chest. Maybe this was Li Muyang’s way of repaying him.

Yan Jiyun checked over the boy’s body. There were no injuries beyond being knocked out.

Should he call an ambulance?

That afternoon, two players had called the police from the mad doctor’s office, so there should be emergency responders arriving. A blast this loud couldn’t go unnoticed.

[System: 40 seconds until the instance ends.]

Yan Jiyun patted Li Muyang’s cheek with his paw.

Kid, wake up!

[System: 30 seconds until the instance ends.]

He started slapping, hoping the boy would not really die.

[System: 20 seconds until the instance ends.]

It worked. Li Muyang’s eyelids twitched, then slowly opened. The first thing he saw was a pair of bright green eyes filled with worry.

[System: 10 seconds until the instance ends.]

Li Muyang moved his lips. “You’re okay… that’s good.”

Yan Jiyun crouched in front of him and gently nuzzled his chin. He started purring.

Li Muyang wasn’t dead. His last effort had paid off!

But with his time in this instance almost up, they probably wouldn’t meet again.

‘Such a good child… please, live well in the future.’ 

[System: 5 seconds until the instance ends.]

[System: 3 seconds until the instance ends.]

Yan Jiyun wanted to say something. He leaned close to Li Muyang’s ear to whisper goodbye, but all that came out was a soft: “Meow~”

He saw Li Muyang manage a faint smile despite his exhaustion, a light returning to his eyes.

[Player Yan Jiyun gained +15 Favorability with Li Muyang.]

[Player Yan Jiyun has successfully completed the “Going Home After School” instance.]

[System: “Going Home After School” (Challenging Mode) ends.]

[“Want to Be Human” livestream ends.]

“Wait, that’s it? It’s over? Did the kitty just open its mouth to meow? I didn’t hear it! This is the first time I wanted a dungeon to keep going!”

“I swear the cat didn’t make a sound the whole dungeon, and the one time he did, I missed it. Anyone hear it? What was it like?”

“Ahhh I heard it! So cute, so soft, so nice~” 

“Damn, I closed the stream thinking it was over. Who would’ve thought the little cat wasn’t dead? I’m so happy the little kitty survived! Can’t wait for the next instance, sending tips now!”

“Ugh, stupid system, I almost cried for the little kitty. Thank god it didn’t die. See you in the next instance, already followed.”

“Me too, I also followed the kitty’s stream. This instance is clearly a newbie version. It’s not quite thrilling enough.”

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In the next moment, darkness closed over Yan Jiyun’s vision. His body was pulled away from Li Muyang, and a wave of weightlessness washed over him.

When his paws felt solid ground again, he opened his eyes — Li Muyang and the instance environment were gone.

Now he was in an enclosed space that looked like a beach. He could hear the sound of waves, but when he tried to dip a paw into the water, he found he couldn’t touch it. It was fake.

A massive transparent screen appeared in front of him, scrolling through the “Going Home After School” dungeon results.

[Instance rewards calculating…]

[Congratulations, Player Yan Jiyun, for completing the “Going Home After School” (Challenging Mode) instance.]‘ 

[Surviving Player Number: 10/10]

[Instance Points Scoreboard]

1st Place: Yan Jiyun

2nd Place: Yang Xue

3rd Place: Wang Mian

……

Yan Jiyun’s score in this dungeon was far ahead of all other participating players. 

[Player Yan Jiyun’s Personal Points and Rewards] 

Points rewards:

Main storyline completion reward: 10,000 points

Side mission completion reward: 1,500 points

Unlocking a new instance ending reward: 5,000 points

First-timer instance completion reward: 5 minute [Human Form Time Card]

[Livestream Rewards]

Fate Coin tips settlement: 20,000, convertible to 20,000 points

A young man’s voice once again sounded in Yan Jiyun’s ear:

“Player Yan Jiyun, would you like to convert Fate Coins into points?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “Convert them.”

Young man voice: “Points and rewards have been settled. Would you like to return directly to reality, or head to the game’s Central Zone?”

Yan Jiyun: “What’s the difference?”

Young man: “Returning to reality means taking the blue door. Heading to the Central Zone means taking the red door.”

“If you return to reality and later wish to re-enter the game, you can use your nameplate to go directly to the Central Zone. However, since you logged in with a sub-account, you don’t have a nameplate. You may enter the game alongside the main account player. If you haven’t entered by the time the next dungeon starts, the game will forcibly pull you into the instance. Entering with the main account player allows you to choose the intance, but if the game pulls you in, it will choose the instance for you.”

What a scam of a rule.

Yan Jiyun continued communicating with the young man voice via brainwaves. He was curious about the instance’s ending. Though he had completed it, after spending a whole day with Li Muyang, he still cared about the boy’s fate.

Yan Jiyun: “What happened to Li Muyang in the end?”

Young man: “Since you unlocked a new instance ending, you have one chance to view it. Would you like to watch?”

Yan Jiyun: “Watch.”

The reward settlement screen and the beach before him vanished, replaced by an open-air movie screen.

A deafening explosion roared from the speakers, though it wasn’t nearly as visceral as when he’d experienced it in the dungeon.

Yan Jiyun instinctively lifted a paw to cover his right ear, not that it helped much.

When the smoke cleared, the view shifted inside the house. Mrs. and Mr. Li were nowhere to be seen. There was only a scene of carnage, with one body blown beyond recognition and another burned into a charred corpse. That was their ending.

The camera then cut to Li Muyang, who was being rushed to the hospital. Then, time skipped forward — the boy had been unconscious for nearly a full day and night, but ultimately survived.

Li Muyang began a new life. He was sent to an orphanage and, not long after, adopted by a kind middle-aged couple. Their life was simple and modest. They not only took him in, but also had two cats at home. The family of three lived a simple yet happy life.

As time passed, Li Muyang grew up. He adapted to his new home and family, experienced a different kind of childhood, became an outstanding teenager, then a capable young man, and eventually graduated and found work.

The final image froze on Li Muyang tossing his graduation cap in the air at his university graduation day, taking pictures with his beloved adopted parents.

Yan Jiyun finished watching. Though the boy had lost his biological parents, he seemed to be living a happier life.

Pulling himself together, Yan Jiyun asked the young man voice: “How do I leave the Central Zone?”

Young man: “You can return to your personal space, then exit from there. Entering through the main account will also take you directly to your personal space. If the main account player opens their personal space to you, you may enter theirs directly as well.”

Yan Jiyun thought entering his owner’s personal space didn’t sound bad. He had always wanted to know the pooper scooper’s secrets.

But then a question came to mind — would the other party be able to see all his account information?

Young man: “If you open it to them, it will be visible. Otherwise, they will only see your real-world identity information.”

Yan Jiyun understood. Since he and his owner were in a cat-and-owner relationship, it was likely the other party would see him in his feline form.

Yan Jiyun: “How long can my points maintain a human form?”

Young man: “1,000 points can be exchanged for 1 minute.”

10,000 points would only last 10 minutes.

He had thought his earnings from the first instance were considerable, but clearly he had overestimated it. There was no way the game would let him reach his goal so easily.

Yan Jiyun: “What if I want to completely turn back into a human?”

Young man: “When your points reach a certain amount, you can submit this request to the system, and it will fulfill it.”

Yan Jiyun: “How many points do I need for that?”

Young man: “You’ll find out once you’ve unlocked over ten instances. For now, that information is unavailable.”

As expected, any “game” that could push players to risk their lives for points was never simple. There would always be a carrot dangling in front of them, drawing them into dangerous instances again and again. And even if everyone knew it was a trap, a temptation, they’d still throw themselves in, because the game grasped everyone’s weakness.

And Yan Jiyun was no exception.

Tsk, guess he’d have to keep running dungeons to earn points.

His eyes fell on the five-minute Human Form Time Card gifted by the system, and his heart itched. He’d been a cat for a year and had never felt what it was like to walk on two legs again. He really wanted to try.

He wanted to be human again, really wanted to. 

He wanted to taste human food again, like barbecue, hotpot, ice cream, cola. He wanted them all.

But what could he even do in five minutes?

Forget it. Whatever he could do, as long as he could be human again, it would be worth it!

Yan Jiyun’s excitement bubbled over. He slapped his paw onto the 5 minute Human Form Time Card. 

In the next instant, a blinding silver light engulfed him!

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T/L: 

So, is the one behind the explosion Mrs. Li or Li Muyang? The author later clarifies that it was Mrs. Li who made the gas leak, but the original idea was from Li Muyang, who “instigated” her by letting her find the novel as an inspiration. So yeah, Li Muyang knew about the gas explosion. He wanted to die. 

Also, if you add all of Li Muyang’s favorability points, it’s a perfect 100! No wonder the boy was willing to stop Mr. Li from igniting his lighter and protecting his Sesame from the explosion.