DSMC Chapter 24.1

Yan Jiyun never expected Jiang Yan would actually video call Lin Xie. Did this guy already assume he was Lin Xie’s pet cat?

If that was the case, then maybe his life wasn’t in danger. After all, if Jiang Yan really were a complete psycho pervert, there’d be no need to call Lin Xie on video. Or, if their relationship was truly that bad and he wanted to secretly mess with Lin Xie, then he would have just killed the cat outright, tossed the corpse on Lin Xie’s desk, and deliberately scared him.

The more Yan Jiyun imagined, the more horrid the pictures in his head became, to the point he almost scared himself. Looking on the bright side… maybe Jiang Yan’s relationship with Lin Xie wasn’t that bad after all?

Jiang Yan deliberately refused to take him down, while Yan Jiyun stubbornly refused to let Jiang Yan catch him. Man and cat faced off like this. Before Lin Xie arrived, Jiang Yan even nastily pulled out a stick with a bell and some peacock feathers, dangling it like a toy to tease him. Yan Jiyun just gave him a cold stare. Like hell he’s falling for that.

Only when Lin Xie finally showed up did Jiang Yan stop.

The moment Yan Jiyun saw Lin Xie, it was like spotting a savior. This was the big spender he had just latched onto in this instance. He couldn’t afford to lose him.

Lin Xie seemed to have rushed over, wearing nothing but a shirt.

Seeing him also reminded Yan Jiyun of the mission that had just been issued. His mind split in two directions: could he take this chance to find out more about the formula leak incident?

Was Lin Xie the one who leaked the secret? Or was Kevin Yang deliberately sowing discord between him and Jiang Yan? Clearly, Kevin Yang hadn’t seemed like a good person from start to finish. He’s more like a sinister, hypocritical schemer.

But how could he get the two of them to bring up the leak on their own?

Just then, Lin Xie stood directly beneath the curtain rod where Yan Jiyun clung, blocking Jiang Yan with his body. He stretched out his arms: “Blake, come down.”

With Lin Xie there, Jiang Yan obviously wouldn’t keep teasing him. But Yan Jiyun’s current position wasn’t good for jumping down. The curtains were soft, unlike a wall or tree trunk he could use for leverage. He didn’t dare jump for fear that midway, Jiang Yan might suddenly reach out and swat him off Lin Xie. That thought popped up the instant he caught the glint in Jiang Yan’s predatory eyes.

Besides, Lin Xie wasn’t his actual owner. They didn’t share that kind of tacit understanding. With his real pooper scooper, he’d been climbing up and down from childhood; there was a bond of instinct. 

Here, he couldn’t just leap blindly. Better be cautious!

The three held their stalemate for a while, until Jiang Yan suddenly sneered, “What, this ugly cat doesn’t even dare jump?”

For once, Lin Xie actually agreed with him. Blake was a bold and clever cat. If he knew it was safe, he wouldn’t just sit frozen. Which meant the cat hanging there like a dried strip of meat probably really didn’t dare to jump.

The ceiling was high. Even though Lin Xie was over 1.8 meters tall, his reach still didn’t reach.

Lin Xie asked one of the lackeys, “Got a chair? I’ll take him down.”

The lackey obediently went to fetch one.

Jiang Yan leaned against the sofa back. “It’s just an ugly cat. Not worth the fuss. What a waste of time.”

Lin Xie shot him a glance. “Even a fortune couldn’t buy my willingness. It’s none of your business.”

Jiang Yan snorted and flopped onto the sofa, as if he couldn’t be bothered.

The lackey soon brought in a chair. Lin Xie climbed up and reached for Yan Jiyun, finally lifting him off the rod and setting him on the floor.

He couldn’t help scolding: “Blake, how are you this stupid?”

[Player Yan Jiyun gained +5 Favorability with Lin Xie.]

Yan Jiyun: “…” NPC, please. Don’t give me affection points while calling me stupid, okay?

He stretched his limbs, feigning calm, but in his heart he had already branded today as the “a shameful day of his cat life”. 

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Hahaha, the kitty got stuck in the curtains and couldn’t get down. I’m dead.”

“If it were me, I’d feel like I lost all my cat-face.”

“Do cats even have such a thing as ‘losing face’?”

“Would’ve been funnier if it fell. Don’t cats have nine lives? Let me see.”

Back on the ground, Yan Jiyun felt much more solid. Though after hanging up there, he did stretch out his front legs a bit once he landed, utterly unafraid of the three people before him.

Break time over.

He had to think about how to finish the next mission, and also how to get food and water out of Lin Xie without having to meow pathetically.

Compared to clearing missions, food and water seemed easier to secure.

Yan Jiyun scanned the office, then fixed his eyes on Jiang Yan’s teacup on the desk.

Ignoring the others’ stares, he hopped up and deliberately stuck his head toward the cup.

Jiang Yan cursed, snatching the cup away faster than Lin Xie could react.

“No drinking my water!” he barked.

Yan Jiyun jumped back down and circled Lin Xie’s legs. The latter understood instantly, this cat  was thirsty and hungry. 

Lin Xie hadn’t planned to linger in Jiang Yan’s office anyway. He scooped up the cat and prepared to leave.

Yan Jiyun regretted that Jiang Yan hadn’t asked Lin Xie anything about the formula leak. Both of them probably knew the truth, but where was he supposed to pry it from?

Maybe the root of it all still lay with Lin Xie. Following him was probably the right move.

Just as Lin Xie was about to open the door, Jiang Yan called after him, “Your cat napped in my clothes pile this afternoon. Got fur all over. You’d better get my clothes cleaned.”

Lin Xie: “Throw them out. I’ll transfer you money.”

Jiang Yan: “Fine. Do it now. Those were limited editions.”

Balancing the cat in one arm, Lin Xie used his phone to transfer the money, then walked out without another glance.

Yan Jiyun was just celebrating the end of Jiang Yan’s verbal assaults when he heard a system chime that made no sense at all:

[Player Yan Jiyun lost -5 Favorability with Jiang Yan.]

[Player Yan Jiyun lost -5 Favorability with Jiang Yan.]

[Player Yan Jiyun lost -5 Favorability with Jiang Yan.]

[Player Yan Jiyun lost -5 Favorability with Jiang Yan.]

[Player Yan Jiyun lost -5 Favorability with Jiang Yan.]

Yan Jiyun: ‘What the hell? Did Jiang Yan just switch from verbal attacks to psychological warfare?’

Did the system glitch?

If there’s no favorability, then there’s none! Why is this favorability reached negative?! 

All he’d done was paw through the guy’s desk and nap in his clothes. He hadn’t even left a single scratch mark!

Why was this NPC so damn weird?

Does this mean next time he sees Jiang Yan he’ll have to run? Wasn’t that guy interested in him before?

NPCs’ hearts are like needles at the bottom of the sea, impossible to fathom!

The system hadn’t given any hint about what consequences came with negative favorability.

After entering the instance, that young guide never showed up again; everything inside had to be figured out on one’s own.

Yan Jiyun looked miserably at the -25 favorability he now had with Jiang Yan. It was dropping faster than the favorability he gained with Lin Xie.

How could there be such an infuriating NPC?

While Yan Jiyun sulked, other players were just as baffled as he was. If anything, they were even more eager to study what on earth was going on!

With such a humiliating situation, how could the system not broadcast it on the global announcement?

They had never heard of favorability going into the negatives. This was truly eye-opening. If an NPC’s favorability went negative, wouldn’t the game become even harder?

Players who had once envied the idea of teaming up with Yan Jiyun all gave up that thought. Who knew what kind of higher-difficulty quests might be triggered by negative favorability?

All they could say was that Yan Jiyun was a real talent. He’s too good at “farming” NPC favorability.

At the same time, he had indirectly warned everyone else that NPC favorability couldn’t just be recklessly farmed. Otherwise, it would backfire into negative territory, losing more than it gained.

Where players had once envied him, now they only felt sympathy. Trying to rely on NPCs as a shortcut to clear an instance clearly wasn’t so easy.

At least Yan Jiyun got a fresh meal of poached fish. Lin Xie was a considerate person, he even had the chef remove the head and all the innards, leaving only meat.

If he were at home, after eating and drinking his fill, Yan Jiyun would be lying down already. But he hadn’t forgotten — this was still an instance. To survive, he had to work.

At this hour, the first-floor lobby was quiet. After watching Yan Jiyun finish eating, Lin Xie was ready to return to his office area.

By now Yan Jiyun had figured out who managed each building: Building A was Lin Xie’s territory, Building C was Jiang Yan’s, so Building B was most likely Kevin Yang’s. 

Yan Jiyun decided to stick with Lin Xie; if he wanted to complete his missions, he had to.

As he was thinking this, two men in black uniforms came out of a room on the second floor.

The men flanked Lin Xie: “The Old Master invites you for tea.”

Yan Jiyun guessed immediately who that was — it had to be Lin Xie’s Father.

But did they really need to send two burly men just to invite someone for tea? A phone call would do. All the equipment in this instance was identical to reality.

Lin Xie’s expression showed some reluctance. The hand holding Yan Jiyun’s paw tightened slightly. “What does he want me for?”

One of the black-clad men only gestured. “I don’t know. I’m just delivering the message.”

The mild expression faded completely from Lin Xie’s face, but he still set Yan Jiyun gently on the ground. “The office door isn’t locked. Go in yourself, there’s water and cat food inside.”

Then he followed the two men away. Yan Jiyun tried to dart in after him, but one of them immediately raised a foot to kick him aside, only for Lin Xie to grab the man’s leg faster.

“Please don’t hurt it. It’s just a small animal.”

The man withdrew his foot at the right moment. “The Old Master is right. Second Young Master, you really are soft-hearted.”

Yan Jiyun was shut outside. This wasn’t an invitation at all! Lin Xie was being taken away under surveillance!

He looked up at the room number, jumped up to tug at the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. It had been locked from the inside.

This time, Yan Jiyun paid close attention to the system. He hadn’t received any quest linked to Lin Xie. Did that mean this was tied to Main Mission(2)?

From his limited understanding of Lin Xie, the man wasn’t truly a villain. Then why had the Old Master ordered him dragged away? Was it really about the formula leak?

But where could he find Lin Xie now?

Right, he still had three temporary teammates. He could bring them into Main Mission (2) with him.

Yan Jiyun immediately ran down to the restaurant’s first floor. He’d noticed a sign for the “Guest Lounge Area” earlier.

He didn’t know if they’d actually be resting there, but it was worth a try.

All the lounge doors looked the same. Some were singles, some doubles, some group rooms. The resident list was posted on each door.

Yan Jiyun quickly located Zhou Ying’s room. He checked the surroundings, waited until no one was looking, then tapped the door with his paw.

But his paw was too light, it made hardly any sound.

Getting anxious, he spotted a decorative vase on the flower stand beside the door. He leapt up, balanced on the wooden frame, and shoved the vase off with his head.

Crash! The vase shattered into pieces.

The noise was more than enough to bring people out. If they were players, they wouldn’t ignore it.

Sure enough, someone came out, it was Wen Nanxing.

Yan Jiyun: ?