DSMC Chapter 18

T/L: this is the last of the free chapters in JJWXC, if you have some spare money (esp in PayPal), you can buy the raw <here>! It’s around $10 for all VIP chapters. Although, you can only buy JJ points per $15. If you need a JJWXC sign-up guide, go <here> 

From now on, the chapters might get longer, some twice the normal length, some thrice. The normal length for this novel is around 3k-4k words in Chinese btw. For example, Ch 17 is around 2.5k words, and this Ch 19 (a 2-in-1 in length), is around 5.2k.

---

Yan Jiyun had just gotten a rough idea of the first floor’s layout while being forced to run through it.

Coming in from the restaurant entrance was the main hall. The hall was divided into a window-side area, a central area, the bar counter, the prep room, the food pass-through area, and toward the kitchen there should also be a storeroom.

This was all the information he could confirm for now, nothing more.

Going upstairs was, of course, to explore for more information. There were too many people downstairs, and the restaurant customers held hostility toward him. If he didn’t want to be locked back in a cage or thrown out of the restaurant, he had no choice but to abandon searching downstairs for clues about the manager’s death.

It had been too dark outside when he entered, but from the car he had seen that this restaurant had more than just a first floor, and there were several levels above. He suspected that the restaurant was only open to the public on the first floor, while the second floor and above were likely restricted. With a 72-hour time-limited instance, the playable area couldn’t possibly be that small. The “closed” areas were most likely where players would be required to search. This was the rule of the instance. 

The staircase between the first and second floors was rather long. Based on his usual habit of running stairs at home, Yan Jiyun concluded that the ceiling height between these two floors seemed higher than normal. He wasn’t sure what kind of trick lay hidden in that detail, so he jotted it down in his system memo.

Though the game was dangerous and full of traps, it was remarkably intelligent. The system could pick up his brainwaves and instantly convert them into the content he wanted to record, very convenient. This was not the kind of high technology that existed in his own era. The origins of the game were definitely not simple.

The second floor had a long corridor, lined with private rooms on both sides. Every door was tightly shut. Without his sharp hearing, an ordinary person wouldn’t have caught a single sound from within. The soundproofing was excellent.

The second floor wasn’t directly accessible, but it was clearly a private dining area. Yan Jiyun could hear faint voices of conversation.

While the first floor was decorated like a typical trendy, budget-friendly restaurant, the second floor looked more solemn, with the layout of a banquet hall. Each door had a number.

Who would be eating here at this late hour?

Yan Jiyun carefully noted down each suspicious point he discovered.

Since this was a search instance, anything that broke common sense could be related to the main storyline. The secret behind this internet-famous restaurant was certainly not simple.

There weren’t many people on the second floor, but Yan Jiyun still didn’t dare let down his guard. Whenever he sensed footsteps approaching, he would keep his distance from the tightly closed doors.

These private rooms were occupied, yet the people inside seemed completely unconcerned with the murder that had just happened downstairs. Were they not a little too calm?

He wanted to crouch by one of the doors and listen in, but then footsteps sounded behind him.

The sound of leather shoes, not too loud, not too soft. Yan Jiyun recognized it immediately. It was Boss Lin, the restaurant owner.

Why had he suddenly come up?

Whatever the reason, Yan Jiyun didn’t want to run into him. He dashed toward the far end of the corridor, where it was quieter and no conversations could be heard. The lighting here was dimmer than on the first floor, and every few meters there stood a tall vase over a meter high. There were plenty of places he could hide.

The last room wasn’t fully closed. The lights were on inside, but there was no one there. It looked like an office.

Yan Jiyun nudged the door with his head, opening it just enough to slip inside without the owner noticing.

The office was clean and tidy. A sofa set, a desk with a laptop, two bookcases side by side. To the right were two doors — one with a floor mat in front, probably the bathroom, the other likely a resting room.

He guessed this was Boss Lin’s office. Aside from the locked drawers under the desk and a safe, the rest of the office wasn’t secured. If he wanted to find any special clues, the drawers were the best bet.

The top two drawers were slightly ajar, not fully pushed in. The two bottom drawers on each side were tightly shut, most likely locked.

As a cat, he didn’t have lockpicking skills. But he could try pulling open the unlocked drawers.

Standing up, he compared his own height to the desk. When he stood on his hind legs, he was about level with the tabletop. The top drawer was just a little lower than that, it was within reach.

Of course, he had another method: pull open the drawer, jump onto the desk, then paw at the next one. Much more efficient.

As for the locked drawers and the safe, those were problems he couldn’t solve. But he could always guide other players to deal with them.

Just as he finished his inspection, footsteps came from outside. Boss Lin was hurrying toward the office.

Having gone through one instance already, Yan Jiyun was very practiced at hiding as soon as he heard an NPC’s approach.

He darted nimbly behind the curtains, silently counting Boss Lin’s steps.

Three… two… one. Boss Lin pushed the door open.

Yan Jiyun heard him pause briefly at the entrance. Had he noticed something?

Then Boss Lin closed the door and locked it.

Yan Jiyun: “…”

He had almost forgotten NPCs could lock doors. How was he supposed to get out now? Wait for Boss Lin to open the door again? But who knew if he would leave a gap next time.

As long as there was a crack, he could pry it open with his claws.

But now, the door was shut tight!

Where Yan Jiyun was hiding, Boss Lin couldn’t possibly see him. The desk and chair in front completely blocked the view.

Then came another sound of a door opening. Not the main one, but the inner room’s.

What was in that room?

Next, he heard the rustle of clothing being removed.

That sound was familiar. His own human owner often changed clothes too. It must be that Boss Lin had gotten his clothes dirty downstairs and came up to change.

Yan Jiyun hesitated. In the last instance he had encountered a cleanliness freak and then a perverted doctor. Was Boss Lin a villain or not?

Questions tumbled in his head, but by the instance’s logic, there was no clear answer.

After changing, Boss Lin walked out and went straight into the bathroom. The sound of running water soon followed.

Yan Jiyun hesitated, wondering if he should take the chance to rummage through the drawer.

He calculated Boss Lin’s shower time based on how long it usually took him to wash up after scooping the litter, estimating five to ten minutes. But since he wasn’t sure how easy it would be to pull the drawer open, he decided to play it safe and not take the risk just yet.

Boss Lin showered very quickly, probably because there was still a mountain of work waiting for him downstairs. He just gave himself a casual shower.

Of course, Yan Jiyun had to admire him — there had just been a murder in his own establishment, yet the man still had the composure to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later, Boss Lin had groomed himself meticulously once again. He had already planned out what clothes to wear, how to wear them, and which side to part his hair, all executed with practiced skill.

After dressing neatly, he didn’t leave his office but instead sat back in his chair and made a phone call.

Turns out, he summoned the restaurant’s Deputy Manager Liang to give instructions.

A minute later, a slightly chubby man in his forties came rushing in, panting.

Deputy Manager Liang: “Mr. Lin.”

Boss Lin asked, “How’s the situation with the customers on the first floor?”

Deputy Manager Liang replied, “We reassigned their seats and offered complimentary late-night snacks. Some of them weren’t too happy, but they didn’t make much of a fuss.”

Boss Lin: “Have the police arrived yet?”

Deputy Manager Liang shook his head. “The police said the bridge connecting this area — the Fourth Bridge — has collapsed. They can’t get through for now. They told us to settle the guests first, and once the bridge is repaired, they’ll rush over immediately to deal with Manager Wang’s murder.”

Hearing their conversation, Yan Jiyun recalled that when he rode over in the cargo truck earlier tonight, they had indeed crossed a bridge. Now, that very bridge had mysteriously collapsed.

Boss Lin was likely one of this instance’s main characters. It was worth investigating his relationships with the guests, the managers, the waiters, the chefs, and the other staff. The main plotline should emerge soon.

After listening to Deputy Manager Liang’s report, Boss Lin offered a few more suggestions, which Deputy Manager Liang immediately went off to carry out.

The office was now left with only Boss Lin and the still-undetected Yan Jiyun. He thought, ‘Why isn’t Boss Lin leaving yet? Shouldn’t he be downstairs smoothing things over with those troublesome guests? Doesn’t he care what the customers think?’

But instead of leaving, Boss Lin opened the laptop on his desk.

The mouse clicked and scrolled for a while. Then he pulled open the first drawer to his right, retrieved something from it, and quickly closed it again.

Hidden behind the curtain, Yan Jiyun was practically dozing off from waiting so long.

Is he leaving or not?

As the boss, his place of work should be downstairs, not upstairs. Frontline management means going among the people, listening to them; it’s all for being able to truly understand the customers’ tastes and opinions.

After another five minutes, Yan Jiyun heard the scrape of the office chair. Overjoyed, he thought, ‘Finally, Boss Lin is heading downstairs.’

The office door opened, and Boss Lin’s easily recognizable footsteps receded down the hall.

The door clicked shut again. Yan Jiyun poked his head out from behind the light-colored curtain.

Finally, no one. Perfect, time to get to work!

He had just seen Boss Lin rummage through the first drawer on the left. What had he taken out?

Slipping out from the curtain, Yan Jiyun inhaled some dust that had gathered over who knows how long, and let out a sneeze.

Thankfully, Boss Lin was already gone. If that involuntary reaction had happened earlier, he would have been caught for sure.

No time to waste. Yan Jiyun stood on his hind legs, front paws tugging at the drawer Boss Lin had just opened. Luckily, the desk wasn’t made of heavy solid wood. Otherwise, with his strength, he might not have managed. With this lighter material, it slid open easily.

After pulling it open, he hopped onto the desk and began pawing through the contents.

Right in front of him was a restaurant menu.

He remembered there hadn’t been any menus on the first floor; the waiters all carried tablets to take orders. So what was this beautifully designed menu for?

Could it be that the Midnight Diner had a hidden ordering system?

True, he hadn’t really investigated the diner’s full business model yet. All he knew was that customers could order the daily special, and if they didn’t want that, they could choose something else.

Just as Yan Jiyun extended a paw to flip open the first page of the menu, his vision suddenly went black. A cloth with a perfume scent dropped over his entire body!

What the hell!?

[Livestream Channel] 

“I was watching from first-person perspective, why did the screen suddenly go black!?”

“Boss Lin came back! Meowmeow must be so confused right now.”

“Ahhh, scared me to death! How did Boss Lin suddenly show up again? And how did the super-alert kitty not even notice!?”

“Probably because the cat got too absorbed in rummaging through the drawer.”

“Boss Lin was just checking the office surveillance on his laptop. You think he leaves his office door open out of carelessness? Not at all, he’s installed hidden cameras in all sorts of corners.”

“Boss Lin pretending to leave and then coming back. How cunning!”

At that moment, Yan Jiyun muttered a few choice curses in his heart.

Not only was he wrapped up tightly in cloth, but a pair of hands pinned him down firmly. No matter how agile he was, he couldn’t wriggle free.

Boss Lin’s gentle voice came from above his head, “Little Black Cat, is this what you were looking for?”

Yan Jiyun’s whole body went rigid, his mind going blank. Had his player identity been exposed?