Wen Nanxing spotted the black cat standing by the shards and teased, “Kitty, why’d you break the vase? If someone finds out later, won’t they dock your little dried fish?”
Yan Jiyun wanted to roll his eyes hard. He darted past him into the room and saw Zhou Ying and Cheng Li rubbing sleepy faces.
How was he supposed to hint to them that an important NPC had just been taken by the villains? Being a cat who couldn’t talk was killing him.
Zhou Ying perked up as soon as she saw him. She rubbed her face. “Little Black Cat, why are you here?”
From their drowsy looks, clearly they hadn’t rested well. But Zhou Ying quickly called Cheng Li and Wen Nanxing over.
Cheng Li, who firmly believed the cat was an NPC, asked, “Little Black Cat, did you come to give us another quest?”
Wen Nanxing said, “Could be. It just smashed the vase outside. It’s pretty cheeky.”
Zhou Ying tied up her hair. Yan Jiyun deliberately did a circuit of their room, pretending to claim territory, before heading out again. When Zhou Ying and the others followed, he finally relaxed.
He kept some distance ahead of them. The second floor wasn’t meant for customers, but once players had activated search mode, NPCs no longer kept watch. They were free to move.
“Room 3? Why is Coal Ball leading us here?” Wen Nanxing asked the others suspiciously.
“Wait, when did you secretly name the cat?” Zhou Ying complained first.
“I named him when I first came. It’s a great name,” Wen Nanxing said.
Cheng Li pressed her ear to the door. “No sound inside. Should we go in?”
Zhou Ying readied her lockpicks, and the door clicked open.
Once again, three players and one cat entered together.
This time Zhou Ying laid down the law with Wen Nanxing: “Wen Nanxing, don’t you dare charge ahead again. Otherwise the three of us will get split up.”
Wen Nanxing shrugged. “Fine.”
Inside Room 3 it was utterly plain, no furnishings at all, just an empty space, with another door whose destination was unknown.
It looked like a passage bridge, and seemed to hold no traps.
Cheng Li said, “I don’t know where this leads.”
This time Yan Jiyun ran faster than any of them, darting across the corridor ahead. If his guess was right, this should lead to Building B; previously Room 6 had gone to Building C, the direction was different — one was even-numbered, this one odd-numbered.
Zhou Ying, seeing the little black cat about to vanish into the dim passage, immediately followed. “Quick, let’s see where it wants to take us.”
Yan Jiyun didn’t know exactly where Lin Xie was, but heading this way couldn’t be wrong.
After crossing the corridor, Yan Jiyun spotted a staircase leading upward. Downstairs was mostly research rooms and laboratories, so going up should give access to the core figures of the instance.
After all, there was more than just one or two floors here.
Wen Nanxing said, “Are there still places we haven’t explored?”
Yan Jiyun’s ears caught the sound of footsteps coming and going.
Cheng Li said, “Isn’t that normal? You can’t even imagine the dangers in an instance like this.”
Zhou Ying said, “This place is stricter than anywhere we’ve been. Ahead there are two men in black uniforms. Everyone, be careful.”
The three discussed how to bring those two down. Killing was out of the question; these men were obviously stronger, with physiques good enough to make even Wen Nanxing envious.
Naturally, Yan Jiyun wasn’t going to run out recklessly to draw fire for them. These two weren’t the ones who had taken Lin Xie, but they were certainly underlings of that “Old Master,” who was likely the “Father” Jiang Yan had mentioned.
Wen Nanxing had already used up two of his tools on the VIP area guards. Back when the wooden planks had collapsed, the three had searched for clues together Cheng Li and Zhou Ying still had most of theirs unused. Now Cheng Li suggested using her own item: a Stun Grenade. She told the other two to fall back.
Yan Jiyun stood closer to the front. Cheng Li reminded him, “Kitty, you too, get back a bit.”
Obediently, Yan Jiyun slipped behind Wen Nanxing.
Cheng Li tossed the Stun Grenade. At once, thick white smoke billowed across the floor. The two uniformed men barely had time to react before collapsing, unconscious.
Once the smoke cleared, the trio and the cat stepped over the prone men. Wen Nanxing suddenly stopped with an idea.
“Wait, we should strip their uniforms. That’ll make it easier to move around.”
They dragged the two men back into the passage and pulled off their uniforms. Wen Nanxing took one set. Cheng Li’s build was too petite for a proper fit, so Zhou Ying got the other. Once dressed, the two could move about freely, blending in when needed.
Yan Jiyun agreed. This would indeed make things much easier. They set off again.
This was his first real venture into Building B. He had no idea how many patrols in black uniforms might be around.
He tried his best to play the role of the NPC black cat, always moving a little ahead. Whether there were voices or movement, he could detect it before the others and prepare defenses faster.
Once out of the bridge passage, the outer corridor was empty.
Clearly, people in this building didn’t operate much on this side. They would need to circle around further.
Outside, dusk was falling. The hallway lamps inside were aged and dim, and the darkening light only helped conceal their tracks.
Building B’s layout differed from both A and C. It was older, more unremarkable in appearance, its windows still fitted with old-fashioned frosted floral glass.
Suddenly Yan Jiyun caught the muffled sound of someone in pain.
He halted in front of Zhou Ying, signaling her to slow down and watch ahead. Zhou Ying, having worked with him a few times, could more or less read the little black cat’s hints.
She stopped Wen Nanxing, who was striding quickly forward. “Nanxing, slow down. There might be someone ahead.”
Having learned his lesson after two previous mishaps, Wen Nanxing didn’t dare act rashly this time. He obeyed Zhou Ying’s command firmly. Before they set out, she had laid down the rule: teammates could contribute little, but absolutely must not drag the team down.
Observing cautiously, they continued forward.
From here they could gauge the floor height. They were on the third floor.
The three finally heard the same muffled groans Yan Jiyun had caught earlier. Zhou Ying peered in through a side window, which was ajar. Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun crouched by the door, peeking his head slightly around to catch a glimpse inside.
The interior was extravagantly decorated.
Wen Nanxing whispered, “What do you see?”
Yan Jiyun dared not jump onto the window, for fear of being spotted, but he recognized a familiar voice inside.
Not Lin Xie. It was He Xiaobi.
Zhou Ying reported what she saw, “Someone inside is whipping another. The one being whipped is wearing a restaurant uniform, he must be a waiter. He’s turned sideways so I can’t see clearly, but he does look familiar.”
Switching spots with her, Wen Nanxing got a look, then quickly ducked down. “It’s He Xiaobi. I remember him.”
At that moment, the system prompt for Main Mission (2) appeared.
Cheng Li whispered, “It’s Main Mission (2).”
Zhou Ying said, “See? I told you the black cat is useful. It brought us here to rescue its master.”
Wen Nanxing frowned. “But the mission mentioned a formula leak. So it’s supposed to be related to Lin Xie?”
Zhou Ying countered, “Didn’t you just say that was He Xiaobi? He Xiaobi is a restaurant employee, and he’s under Lin Xie’s command. How could it not be related?”
Cheng Li followed her reasoning, “Ying-jie means the solution is to rescue both He Xiaobi and Lin Xie. Mainly, since the black cat came to us, that’s the link. Nanxing-ge, think about it: who raised the black cat?”
Wen Nanxing sighed. “Okay, I get it. Then let’s go rescue Lin Xie.”
Zhou Ying cut him off. “Rescue, my ass. Didn’t you see Lin Xie with a gun to his head?”
Wen Nanxing: “…” Fine, he didn’t want to die yet.
Just then, the voices inside grew louder.
He Xiaobi suddenly cried out, “I really didn’t do it! I don’t even know what the formula is!”
A man with a smoky voice retorted, “If you don’t know, then why did 50k yuan suddenly appear in your account? Who gave it to you?”
Yan Jiyun recognized the voice. He had heard it at Jiang Yan’s place. It was Kevin Yang’s.
As expected, Kevin Yang posed a real threat to Lin Xie. The two were truly at odds.
He Xiaobi swore, “It was money I borrowed from a friend, for my mother’s treatment.”
Kevin Yang sneered. “Aren’t you an orphan? Where’d this ‘mother’ come from? Seems your identity is very suspect.”
Someone chimed in, “An undercover police?”
Kevin Yang turned to Lin Xie: “He could be. Lin Xie, what do you say? He’s your underling. You can’t possibly not know.”
Lin Xie shook his head, looking innocent. “I’m sorry, I really don’t. Father, this was my failure to manage subordinates. You can punish me.”
Kevin Yang gave a cold laugh. “Do you realize how much his leak has cost us in losses?”
From the seat of honor, an elder rotated his Buddhist prayer beads and said, “Since Lin Xie’s management is lacking, lock him in solitary confinement for three days to reflect. In the meantime, let Kevin manage the front hall.”
Lin Xie hadn’t answered yet, but Kevin Yang already accepted gleefully. “Yes, Father.”
Bang! A gunshot rang loud.
He Xiaobi fell into a pool of blood, life snuffed out.
Yan Jiyun’s whole body froze at the sound.
When Manager Wang had died, or when NPCs had been killed in-game, Yan Jiyun hadn’t seen it clearly. This time was brutally direct — blood burst right out of He Xiaobi’s skull!
Before Zhou Ying and the others could even flee, a shadow streaked past them. In a blink, the black cat’s silhouette was gone.
Frightened by the gunshot?
It sure ran fast!
[Want to be Human] livestream channel:
“The gunshot is so loud, it must have scared Kitty. Don’t be scared, Auntie will soothe you.”
“This time it ran faster than ever. Its hind paws almost slipped. Even escaping it’s so cute. You didn’t sprain your little paw, did you?”
“Hahaha, such a cowardly cat! Run faster, or Auntie will catch you~”
“Brave kitty, don’t fear hardship, just run!”
“As soon as it ran, the three tools ran after it too. Hilarious! The scene was tragic a moment ago, and now this is the funniest stream I’ve ever watched.”
“Just checking…. yep, the Meowmeow is still alive.”
