DSMC Chapter 23.2

Damn it, the lackey had even shut the door, or else he could’ve slipped out right now.

Still, he had a chance. He just needed to wait for the lackey to come back and report the footage.

Yan Jiyun pried open a slit in the curtain with his paw. Jiang Yan was still in the same position. From that angle, he could see the spot where Yan Jiyun was crouched, but his gaze remained upward, never shifting down.

He had a plan: the moment the lackey opened the door, he’d dart out under Jiang Yan’s legs, rush into the hall, and sprint back to the lab floor to find a corner to hide in.

The lackey worked fast. After only a short while, footsteps returned. Yan Jiyun tensed, ready to bolt as soon as the door opened!

Wait, that gait was unfamiliar.

A stranger knocked softly, then walked straight in without waiting for Jiang Yan’s reply, carefully closing the door behind him.

Yan Jiyun: “……” Plan ruined.

Seeing the man enter, Jiang Yan dropped his legs from the desk and called out: “Kevin-ge[mfn]you don’t know how odd it is to type Kevin+ge. But his name is the Chinese version of Kevin (凯文；Kaiwen). And his name made sense in-universe. Also, I took the liberty to Anglicized his name by putting his family name as the last name (so, his name is not Yang Kevin).[/mfn].”

Kevin-ge?

Another one? Could this man also be one of “Father’s” adopted sons? Just how many had he taken in?

In Yan Jiyun’s mind, the cast list was already long enough to stage a drama starring Lin Xie, Jiang Yan, and this “Kevin-ge”.

Kevin Yang’s voice was hoarse, low and gravelly, like someone with a lingering cold.

“Got a minute? I’d like to talk,” Kevin Yang asked.

“You wouldn’t have come just as my shift ended if you didn’t. Why even ask?” Jiang Yan replied.

“You brat, so touchy? Don’t want to talk to me?” Kevin Yang chuckled. “Or is it me you don’t like?”

Yan Jiyun felt every hair on his body resist that voice. It rang false, insincere, and filled him with unease.

“No way, Kevin-ge. If you’ve got something to say, I’m listening,” Jiang Yan said breezily.

This persona was completely different from how he acted in front of Lin Xie. Before Kevin Yang, he deliberately played at being a little childish; but when facing Lin Xie, the two were like sworn enemies, always clashing head-on.

The web of relationships between these instance characters was more complicated than previously. But without complications, there would be no storyline.

Kevin Yang sat down on the sofa where Yan Jiyun had been planning to curl up. Jiang Yan hesitated a moment, then got up from his swivel chair and fetched two bottles of chilled beer from the fridge.

Jiang Yan raised one. “Want a can?”

Kevin Yang: “No, I’ve still got business later. If someone finds out I was drinking, there’ll be another petty report filed.”

Jiang Yan: “Fine, I’ll drink by myself.”

Only after Jiang Yan sat down opposite did Kevin Yang state his purpose: “Jiang Yan, have you noticed lately… there’ve been some pretty big shifts inside our ranks?”

Jiang Yan: “What shifts? I’m only in charge of security for these few buildings. Haven’t noticed anything.”

Kevin Yang said, “Of course there have been. Several managers were dealt with by Father. Do you know which people those managers were close with?”

Jiang Yan blinked blankly. “Who?”

Lowering his voice, Kevin Yang said: “Lin Xie. Father’s already smothered the matter. The others might not know, but I’ve been holding it in all morning. I had to find you to vent.”

Jiang Yan: “What’s it got to do with him?”

Kevin Yang: “You’ve always been at odds with him. How could you not know?”

Jiang Yan: “Know what?”

Kevin Yang: “The formula leak. Among those people, it seems there were police informants, and those informants were his subordinates. Of course, that’s just my guess. Father hasn’t given a conclusion yet.”

At that moment, Jiang Yan’s underling knocked and pushed the door open. “Boss, I checked the surveillance. Let me tell you—”

Yan Jiyun had been about to carry out his plan, but reality never kept to the plan. Just as he moved his front paw to dash out, the familiar ding of a system prompt chimed in his ears.

[Player Yan Jiyun has triggered Main Mission (2): Investigate the full truth behind the formula leak. Reward upon completion: 5000 points.]

The mission prompt meant the conversation between Jiang Yan and Kevin Yang had been cut off by this lackey. The rest was left for him to uncover. But how was he supposed to do that?

Sure enough, after dropping a hint, Kevin Yang said he had a video conference coming up and left, promising to drink with Jiang Yan another time.

The lackey hesitated outside the door, unsure if he should still report.

In truth, Kevin Yang’s motive was clear. He’d come to take advantage of Jiang Yan’s rivalry with Lin Xie, dangling half-finished words to fan the conflict, planning to fish in muddy water[mfn]taking advantage of a confusing situation[/mfn]. A clever scheme indeed.

But what exactly was this “formula leak”?

While Yan Jiyun was puzzling over how to complete the mission, the lackey began his report.

“Boss, while you were patrolling, only the cleaning lady entered your office. I saw her bring clothes in. But before she came, a black cat slipped in, almost back-to-back with her. The auntie left less than thirty seconds later, so she couldn’t have messed up your desk. She even closed the door after herself. I think the mess was the cat’s doing. It might still be inside, but it hasn’t gone out.”

Jiang Yan perked up. “A black cat? What did it look like?”

Lackey: “A black cat just looks like a lump of black fur, doesn’t it? Its eyes seemed green.”

Realizing how dumb the question sounded, Jiang Yan’s face hardened. “Shut the door. I’m going to drag it out and beat the shit out of it.”

Yan Jiyun: “……” He shrank deeper into the curtain’s shadow, frozen stiff, ready to bolt at any second.

If Jiang Yan really caught him, even if he didn’t die, he’d be skinned alive. Compared with gentle Lin Xie, this man was a complete opposite extreme.

Once the lackey shut the door, Jiang Yan clapped his hands. “Come on, let’s find it.”

Lackey : “On it.”

Yan Jiyun thought he heard excitement in Jiang Yan’s tone.

He didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, praying they wouldn’t think to check behind the curtains.

Jiang Yan ordered, “I’ll check the bedroom. You look in the office area.”

Yan Jiyun had no idea why things had spiraled this way. He felt that this game must have deliberately issued him the mission at this time. Otherwise, he would’ve already slipped out of the office and avoided this mess.

Jiang Yan entered the bedroom and immediately saw the wardrobe wide open, the neatly folded clothes on the lower shelf in disarray, white cotton T-shirts dusted with obvious black cat hair.

Grinding his teeth, Jiang Yan growled, “Once I catch you, you’re finished, little black cat. You’d better hide well. Don’t let me find you.”

Yan Jiyun: “……” Don’t move, don’t move.

The lackey searched the office with poor eyesight and no cat-hunting experience. He only checked behind sofas and cabinets, never thinking to look inside the curtains.

Finally, he remembered curtains could hide things. He gave them a shake, and Yan Jiyun’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. His claws dug into the fabric, climbing upward. Fortunately, the underling was truly careless. He just swished the curtain without looking up, never noticing the cat clinging near the top.

Hooking claws into curtains to climb was every cat’s survival skill. It wasn’t strange at all. Yan Jiyun simply didn’t do it at home because he never wanted to damage furniture. As a bigger cat, his weight put more strain on his claws, so he rarely did it.

Now, though, Yan Jiyun must not budge. Any movement would expose him. He could only hang there like a stuffed toy until the underling’s attention wandered away, then slipped back down.

Just then, Jiang Yan came out holding several T-shirts speckled with black fur. “My clothes are covered in cat hair. He’s using my wardrobe as a nest.”

Lackey: “Maybe it’s because you’re so charming, Boss. Even cats like your clothes.”

The sudden flattery stunned Yan Jiyun. What a natural-born lackey, he sounded almost convincing.

Jiang Yan: “Get lost. Did you find it?”

The lackey shrugged. “Nope.”

Jiang Yan decided to search again himself.

He shone his flashlight under the sofa, shifted the file cabinets, checked every gap. He even crawled under the desk to look.

He found nothing.

Jiang Yan frowned. “You’re sure the black cat didn’t leave?”

Lackey: “I triple-checked. It didn’t. Maybe it’s under your bed?”

Jiang Yan: “Not there.”

He kept searching, while Yan Jiyun prayed he’d be as blind as his lackey.

But Jiang Yan wasn’t nearly as careless. Noticing the curtains hadn’t been searched, he crept over, shook them back and forth, and felt the right side was heavier. He caught sight of the dark silhouette hanging there.

“Found you, ugly black cat.”

Yan Jiyun scrambled higher, clinging to the rod, snapping back in his mind: ‘You’re the ugly one!’

Jiang Yan, instead of chasing him down, pulled out his phone and started a video call.

After a while, the other side picked up.

“What is it?” Lin Xie’s voice came through.

Jiang Yan aimed the camera at the black cat dangling from the curtain rod. “Got a little something to show you.”

There was a burst of laughter from the other end.

But Yan Jiyun paid no attention to Lin Xie’s ruthless ridicule (read: laughter) in the video call. Hugging the curtain rod with his front paws, hind paws hooked into the fabric, he glanced down. Jiang Yan was smiling strangely up at him. Suddenly he realized he’d climbed way too high.

Damn it. He couldn’t get down!

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Kitty-cat can climb curtains? Hahaha, holy crap!”

“Oh my God, I heard Lin Xie laugh for the first time. And it was sweet as hell. I’m swooning!”

“Kitty Baby always has some unexpected trick up it sleeve. Who’d have thought it could climb curtains?”

“So cute, Mimi even swished its long tail. I’m dying of cuteness.”

“If it falls, won’t he break its legs?”

“Hahahaha, I’m dead. Cat Cub, how are you so talented?”

“Other players’ streams are full of NPC chases and screaming. Why is this one not scary at all? …Though all I can think of is braised cat meat. They say it’s sour and not very tasty.”