No one expected Mr. Li to suddenly appear, but thinking about it carefully, it was reasonable. Li Muyang’s life surely revolved around his family, and both Mrs. Li and Mr. Li were indispensable figures.
Right now, not only was Yan Jiyun feeling troubled, but Yang Xue and the other two were also racking their brains to delay them. No matter what, they had to keep them there until after 8 PM before letting them go home.
Although Mrs. Li knew Mr. Li was having an affair, she was currently unemployed and had endured the humiliation for years without ever thinking of divorcing him. In public, she still maintained the image of a virtuous wife and loving mother. At this moment, she told Mr. Li about the cat knocking into a security guard’s leg and fainting.
Mr. Li looked up and down at the two security guards. Wang Mian and the hoodie-wearing youth feared he would see through their disguise, forcing themselves to stay calm.
His face remained calm; he merely glanced a few times at the “security guards” and then said to his wife and son, “In that case, take the cat to the pet hospital for a check. Yangyang, give me the cat. You go home with your mom first to do your homework and eat.”
It was a perfectly standard course of action, leaving nothing for anyone to object to.
But Yan Jiyun knew he absolutely couldn’t let Li Muyang go home with Mrs. Li. If Li Muyang went home, he would die, and their mission would fail.
Unfortunately, he had a mouth but couldn’t speak. Otherwise, he could have told the other players what he’d discovered.
The three players began thinking quickly, and the two “security guards” looked toward Yang Xue.
But before Yang Xue could speak, Li Muyang said, “Dad, I want to go to the hospital with you.”
Mr. Li gave his son a glance and rejected him outright. “You be good and go home to do your homework. Hospitals are full of little animals and it’s not clean.”
Yan Jiyun was certain Mr. Li wouldn’t let Li Muyang leave the residential compound, which made his playing dead completely pointless.
Dropping the act, Yan Jiyun came up with a new plan. He decisively opened his eyes, instantly full of energy. No one would believe a cat could act this well.
Li Muyang, after all, was still a child. He had no guard against the black cat in his arms, and cats are made of liquid. Yan Jiyun easily twisted out of his grasp and landed steadily on the ground, then immediately darted into the residential greenery.
By now, dusk had fallen, finding a black cat in the darkening shrubs wouldn’t be easy.
The black cat wasn’t just fearless, he was clever and knew how to hide from people.
Li Muyang, seeing Sesame wake up and run off, grew anxious. Overcoming his usual fear of his parents, and ignoring their expressions, he dove into the bushes to search for Yan Jiyun.
Yan Jiyun wasn’t running purely to escape. He left his back in sight for Li Muyang to follow. He still intended to lure Li Muyang away and prevent Mama and Mr. Li from taking him home.
Yang Xue thought the timing of this black cat’s awakening was perfect. She’d never expected the game to contain such a cute creature apart from the villains. It was practically sent by the game to help them.
She reacted quickly, “Let’s help Yangyang find the cat together? It’s getting dark, it’ll be hard to find him.”
The two “security guards” responded immediately. “No problem, the child’s safety is most important.”
Mrs. Li’s face stiffened slightly. “It’s too much trouble for everyone. It doesn’t matter if we can’t find the cat. Pets distract children from their studies.” She didn’t care at all. The three of them would be going to heaven together tonight, and if the cat was gone, so be it.
But this was Mr. Li’s birthday gift to Li Muyang just yesterday. Hearing Mrs. Li say that, he was a little displeased. Maintaining a smile, he pretended to be tolerant. “We should still look. Raising a cat can foster a child’s compassion.”
At that moment, it was clear the couple had long been of one mind only in name.
Yang Xue and the others didn’t care about them, they chased after Li Muyang. Their mission target was Li Muyang, not his parents. They didn’t need to worry about the couple’s feelings. Protecting Li Muyang was their top priority, and the farther they could get him from his parents, the better.
They followed behind Li Muyang — if he dove into the bushes, they did too. They also deliberately blocked Mr. and Mrs. Li’s line of sight to buy more time.
Up ahead, the black cat stopped by the edge of a pool. Yang Xue didn’t go forward but asked Wang Mian and the hoodie-wearing youth, “Should we leave one person to watch the couple?”
Wang Mian was also tense. There wasn’t much time left until the instance ended. “Sure, but how do we block them? They’re not stupid.”
Yang Xue: “Just keep watch. Who knows what they might do next? Anything they do to Li Muyang will reduce his HP. We must stop them from getting near him at all costs.”
Wang Mian said, “Then I’ll watch them.”
The hoodie-wearing youth whispered, “They’re following us.”
Yang Xue told Wang Mian and the hoodie-wearing youth, “You two distract them. I’ll chase Li Muyang.”
They not only had to prevent the couple from harming the child, but also keep Li Muyang from getting hurt. Every bit of his HP was precious!
The three split up to work.
Yan Jiyun was even more aware than they were. His cat ears could tell instantly whether Mrs. and Mr. Li were nearby. He quickened his pace, weaving left and right with Li Muyang, until they ended up in the children’s play area in the compound. There were many kids here — running, playing with toy guns, riding bikes. There was a fake castle, a slide, and lots of fitness equipment.
The castle area, however, was nearly empty due to the falling darkness. Taking advantage of the lack of attention, Yan Jiyun darted into the castle, and Li Muyang followed. Perhaps because of the playful noise from the nearby kids, after running with Yan Jiyun for a bit, his mood improved greatly. He nearly forgot he was chasing the cat.
Yan Jiyun stopped on the second floor of the castle. Li Muyang climbed up too, and seeing Yan Jiyun crouched there unmoving, he also sat down, looking around inside.
“This is my first time here, Sesame. Did you bring me here to play?”
“Before I got sick, I always had endless homework and piano pieces to practice. I never had enough time to sleep. After the surgery, my grades got worse, but Mom still wouldn’t let me come out to play. I envy my classmates who live in the same neighborhood. They can watch TV, play games, and use their phones after school, but I can’t. Sesame, let’s play hide-and-seek together?”
“We’ll just stay hidden here.”
Yan Jiyun listened to Li Muyang describing his daily life in a calm and relaxed manner. That kind of nonstop studying and training would drive a child mad. Such a childhood might take a lifetime to heal from.
He sat close to Li Muyang, giving the boy a little of the warmth that only a furry animal could provide.
Li Muyang had no intention of going home, and Yan Jiyun was more than happy for him to keep that idea until the dungeon ended.
Around them, children laughed, and parents spoke with care. It wasn’t quiet, but it gave Li Muyang a strange sense of peace. Having Sesame there with him felt wonderful; he felt safe and happy.
The silence between them was broken when Mrs. Li and Mr. Li’s voices rang out nearby.
Yan Jiyun glanced at the time in the upper-right corner.
[Time remaining until the instance ends: 1 hour.]
He didn’t know how they’d found this place. What were those three players doing? Were this couple really so hard to keep away?
Aside from the voices of Mrs. Li and Mr. Li, there were also voices from other players.
Mrs. Li’s tone started to grow anxious.
“Yangyang, where did you run off to?”
The hoodie-wearing youth tried to reassure her.
“Maybe the kid just wants to play with the kitty for a bit. We can keep looking.”
Mrs. Li said, “He’s been running around for almost an hour now. Yangyang, once you’ve played enough, let’s go home.”
Suddenly, something occurred to her. She pulled out her phone and opened an app. From Hoodie’s perspective, he could clearly see it was a GPS tracking app. One icon was Mrs. Li’s avatar, the other was Li Muyang’s. The two icons were close together.
In other words, Mrs. Li had been monitoring Li Muyang’s whereabouts in real time through her phone.
Li Muyang was only a fourth grader, so tracking his location might seem reasonable. But for adults — knowing what they knew about the Li family — it was suffocating.
As Mrs. Li drew closer, Yan Jiyun became alert. Her footsteps were different from others. When she walked, her heels would drag slightly, making her easy to identify. Because Yan Jiyun had once turned into a cat, he had spent a month testing his ability to recognize people by their sounds, and he had never once been wrong.
Mrs. Li was approaching, dragged along by other players, so her pace wasn’t too fast.
Yan Jiyun darted into a plastic tube. Li Muyang didn’t realize Mrs. Li was coming closer. He thought Yan Jiyun simply couldn’t sit still anymore. So he crawled into the tube after him and climbed out the other side.
Yan Jiyun heard Mrs. Li’s footsteps grow more hurried, followed by her calling Li Muyang’s name.
“Yangyang, stop playing and come back right now!”
Her voice was getting more and more urgent, and the footsteps were drawing closer to where Li Muyang and Yan Jiyun were.
It wasn’t just her voice; Mr. Li’s complaints to Mrs. Li could be heard too.
“How do you keep an eye on a kid? He came home and you still let him run out again? Do you know my time is valuable? I’ve got a game scheduled with friends tonight.”
“Honey, I didn’t mean to. Yangyang likes that black cat. We were almost home, and then the cat ran out again.”
“You’re always making excuses. You can’t even watch a kid properly!”
Mrs. Li looked aggrievedly at Mr. Li, then went on searching for Li Muyang.
“Yangyang, I know you’re inside this castle.”
“You’re not a little kid anymore. You can’t waste time playing. Come home with me now.”
“That damn cat! Once I catch it, I’ll give it away.”
“Li Muyang, if you don’t come out right now, I’ll send the black cat away the moment I catch it.”
Mrs. Li’s voice shifted from calm to irritable, becoming sharper and sharper.
Yan Jiyun sneered inwardly. As if Mrs. Li would really give him away. She’d more likely strangle him on the spot, toss him in a plastic bag, and dump him in the trash.
This woman’s words couldn’t be trusted.
His tail flicked in response to his anger. He glanced back at Li Muyang, who silently smiled at him.
A boy and cat slowly crawled out of the tube.
The tube was elevated; to catch them, Mrs. Li would have to either crawl in from the back or circle around the supporting posts to wait for them at the slide in front.
Being an adult, Mrs. Li chose to wait at the slide for them to walk into her trap.
Hearing her move forward, Yan Jiyun immediately turned and headed back the way they’d come. Li Muyang followed, crawling after him.
They hadn’t gone far to begin with, so they soon popped out from the tube. Yan Jiyun bolted out of the castle, with Li Muyang happily chasing after him. Other players deliberately tried to keep Mrs. Li away from Li Muyang, buying time.
But in the end, Mrs. Li and Mr. Li would still find him.
They hadn’t gone far when Li Muyang stopped by the artificial fountain in the community. Imitating other kids, he would dash through the water curtain when it sprayed, then stand aside grinning at Yan Jiyun when it stopped, completely delighted.
[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Li Muyang.]
[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Li Muyang.]
[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Li Muyang.]
[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Li Muyang.]
[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Li Muyang.]
Other players rushing over to protect Li Muyang: “…”
This favorability gain was absolutely absurd!
Was Yan Jiyun the NPC’s biological son or something? Li Muyang was practically throwing favorability points at him. Damn, their heart is broken!
By now, Mrs. Li’s face was a sight no one wanted to see. Panting heavily, she ran toward Li Muyang.
Her expression blended perfectly with the darkening night as she stared at him.
“Yangyang, go home.”
Li Muyang had just caught some of the fountain’s spray in his hands, a smile still lingering on his face. He had been playing happily with Sesame, and in his heart, a seed of “I don’t want to go home” was sprouting.
For the first time, he looked straight at Mrs. Li’s long face. “Mom, I want to play a little longer.”
Mrs. Li grabbed his wrist at once. “Trying to bargain with me? Haven’t you played enough tonight? We’re going home!”
The players nearby thought to themselves: Of course it’s not enough. It’s only 7:30, there’s still half an hour!
Li Muyang absolutely could not go home!
Yan Jiyun instinctively wanted to rush forward and scratch Mrs. Li, but before he could, Mr. Li suddenly appeared from nowhere, grabbed him by the scruff, and lifted him into the air.
Mr. Li sneered. “I caught you once yesterday, and I can do it again today.”
Yan Jiyun couldn’t move at all now and Mr. Li was on guard. He gripped all four of Yan Jiyun’s limbs tightly to stop him from escaping.
Wang Mian and the others were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
“What do we do? Li Muyang’s going to be taken home.”
The hoodie-wearing youth said, “We’re security guards — later we can find an excuse to check their place.”
Yang Xue agreed with his plan.
They had ideas, but the bald man and the others couldn’t wait any longer. If Li Muyang went home, it would be a dead end for him. There was still half an hour left, so they had to stall no matter what!
So the bald man and his group rushed forward, intending to knock out Mr. Li and Mrs. Li and take them away.
But just then, the actual community patrol security guards arrived — eight of them, each holding an electric baton.
Two of them went straight for Wang Mian and the hoodie-wearing youth.
The hoodie-wearing youth dodged a swing and shouted, “What the hell is going on?!”
Mr. Li chuckled at them. “You lot are too suspicious. I know the people in Security. They haven’t added any new guards this month.”
Then he left, taking his wife, his son, and the captured runaway pet without looking back.
Yan Jiyun’s whole body screamed rejection.
He couldn’t go back! If he did, he’ll die!
At that moment, all players heard the system’s soul-stirring prompt:
[Time remaining until the instance ends: 30 minutes.]
