DSMC Chapter 28

Zhou Ying, Wen Nanxing, and Cheng Li couldn’t hear Yan Jiyun’s inner voice at all. Jiang Yan, looking disgusted, carried him straight into the elevator.

Yan Jiyun struggled to get out, twisting his body hard toward the elevator doors, but no matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t break free of Jiang Yan’s grip. He could only watch in despair as the elevator doors slid shut again.

Even though he knew Jiang Yan wouldn’t actually harm a little black cat like him, he still didn’t want to be alone with him. Mainly because this NPC’s face blatantly displayed two big words: utter disdain.

“Do you think struggling will help?” Jiang Yan refused to let Yan Jiyun leave his arms.

Yan Jiyun knew it was useless, but how could he not try? What if?

Of course, there was no “what if.”

The elevator rose only one floor before stopping.

Yan Jiyun had come down from above. He counted: between the 2nd floor and B2, there should still be the 1st floor and B1. It should take two floors to reach Room 1. So why had the elevator stopped after just one?

When the doors opened, a bright corridor stretched ahead, somewhere Yan Jiyun had never been.

Earlier, in his rush to get down, he had directly pressed the button for B2 without noticing that the B1 floor could actually be accessed.

When he’d first gone down with Zhou Ying and Cheng Li through Room 6, they hadn’t found any elevator or staircase to the underground floors. 

He had no idea where Jiang Yan intended to take him.

As if sensing his doubt, Jiang Yan suddenly spoke, “I’ve heard cats can actually understand human speech. It just depends on whether they want to. I think you can understand me. Little  Black Cat, Lin Xie seems to like you, but no matter how I look at you, I find you an eyesore. Why don’t you follow me instead? That way, when I look at you, I’ll find you much more pleasing.”

Yan Jiyun: …

Lin Xie was usually cold toward Jiang Yan, but Jiang Yan always seemed eager to stick close to him, and now he was even trying to snatch away his cat.

Their relationship was really impossible to figure out.

At this point, Yan Jiyun felt like giving up. He had finally found the correct path toward Main Mission (3), only to be interrupted by Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan stopped in front of a door, different from all the others Yan Jiyun had seen before. The other doors had opened with a push, but this one required a fingerprint scan.

Jiang Yan pressed his fingerprint.

Once inside, the lights were even brighter, and Yan Jiyun’s pupils shrank. He blinked rapidly to adjust.

The setting matched Jiang Yan’s lab coat perfectly. The lab coat–wearing researchers called him “President Jiang,” while the security department grunts called him “Boss.” Clearly, his role in this organization went far beyond being head of security.

Yan Jiyun no longer wanted to struggle. A place full of lab coats had to hold unique instance clues.

A woman in heavy glasses approached Jiang Yan, pulling down her mask. “President Jiang, why did you bring a cat into the lab?”

Jiang Yan replied lazily, “It doesn’t interfere with your experiments.”

The woman looked to be in her early thirties, with an intellectual air. Her name badge read: Yu Shang, Lab Team Leader.

Yu Shang brushed back her curled hair. “Fine, but you’d better hold it tight. Don’t let it run around. Right now, we’re at a critical stage in developing ‘Red Field Poppy’ No. 2. I don’t want any accidents.”

Yan Jiyun’s thoughts tangled. Lin Xie had gone to attend a “Red Field Poppy”–related meeting at 11 AM, yet here Jiang Yan was in the lab actively working on it.

Had Lin Xie not been involved with the latest version of Red Field Poppy?

Jiang Yan’s confidence brimmed. “Don’t you trust me to handle things?”

Yu Shang, familiar with his personality, asked, “By the way, what brings you here today?”

“I came to ask when Red Field Poppy No. 1 will officially go into production,” Jiang Yan said.

Yu Shang paused briefly. “I submitted the production-ready report to him the day before yesterday. Didn’t he tell you?”

Jiang Yan shrugged. “There’s been a traitor in the family. Father has been dealing with it these past two days, and I haven’t had time to ask him.”

Yu Shang said, “I heard a little about that this morning. Your older brother, he…”

Jiang Yan pressed his lips together and stayed silent.

Yan Jiyun already knew Kevin Yang had been taken by Zhao Renfu’s people. Of course others would know as well.

Yu Shang lightly touched her red lips. “I’ve said too much.” She quickly changed the subject. “In five minutes, Red Field Poppy No. 2’s trial will begin. Since you’re here, why don’t you watch and give us some feedback?”

Jiang Yan nodded. “Alright.”

At that, Yan Jiyun fell completely silent. He too wanted to see what Red Field Poppy No. 2 was.

Yu Shang and Jiang Yan headed together toward Lab Section 4, Room 101.

From the room number, it was clear the labs were divided into zones.

The Main Mission (1) he had completed must have been in another section. He hadn’t paid attention at the time, too focused on finishing. The system’s task descriptions were deliberately vague, so it’s probably an anti-spoiler mechanism. Pretty sly.

If Jiang Yan hadn’t brought him here, he never would have guessed there was a hidden floor between levels. He would’ve dismissed it as the same negative one floor they’d already accessed from Room 6. A clever setup.

Once Yan Jiyun calmed down, Jiang Yan tucked him inside his lab coat and gave a soft warning. “Don’t move. There are plenty of drugs here to quiet a cat down. I can let you try them anytime.”

‘Fine, I won’t move. As if I enjoy wearing a lab coat anyway.’

So it was that a black cat peeked its head from Jiang Yan’s lab coat, round green eyes staring unblinking at the passing researchers.

The lab staff, accustomed to seeing only white mice and humans, were fascinated. A handsome man with a cat was quite the sight.

The lab itself was divided by a glass wall. Inside stood hospital beds and equipment similar to those in the lab Yan Jiyun had once sabotaged, but here there were far more personnel.

Yu Shang, Jiang Yan, and several others gathered on the outer side of the glass.

Yan Jiyun saw Yu Shang make a signal to the inner staff, and the researchers inside injected two prone test subjects with an unknown liquid.

After the liquid was injected, the test subjects suddenly sat upright on the beds. Their eyes were open, but vacant and unfocused. Before long, they began flailing their arms, laughing strangely, and babbling words only they themselves seemed to understand.

Amid the chaos, the two test subjects started declaring their names and backgrounds aloud, spilling their entire personal histories. All of it was recorded by the monitoring equipment nearby.

Yu Shang, eager for praise, turned to Jiang Yan: “How about my Red Field Poppy No. 2? Just a single little pill, and they’ll hand their entire lives over to you without you even lifting a finger.”

Jiang Yan, holding Yan Jiyun in one arm and resting his chin in the other hand, wore a shadowy, unreadable expression. Whether pleased or displeased, no one could tell. His moods were unpredictable, laced with a roguish air. From his face alone, Yu Shang couldn’t judge his satisfaction.

“Interesting,” Jiang Yan said at last.

Yan Jiyun, however, found Yu Shang’s “Red Field Poppy No. 2” utterly horrifying. If this substance hit the market, Zhao Renfu’s organization would walk into anyone’s home as if unopposed. Whether tycoons or ordinary folk, all their bank accounts would be laid bare. Zhao Renfu could ride this to become the richest man alive. Because by then, everyone would be his puppet, his personal money-making tool.

No system notification appeared for main or side quests, which suggested this was connected to Main Mission (3).

[Main Mission Progress: 40%]

Since completing Main Mission (2), the progress bar had stayed stuck there. Each main quest raised progress by 20%, meaning 60% still remained.

After the demonstration, Jiang Yan quickly lost interest.

Yu Shang, in contrast, was thoroughly pleased with her creation. “When Red Field Poppy No. 1 hits the market, remember to tell me the feedback.”

“Do I need to tell you?” Jiang Yan replied. “Father will call you himself the moment it launches to celebrate with you. It won’t come through me.”

Yu Shang found that answer flattering. She batted her eyes at him. “Want to come sit in my office for a while?”

Jiang Yan feigned obliviousness. “No. I’m taking this little cat to see if Red Field Poppy’s already in production. Otherwise Father will scold me again for slacking off.”

Yu Shang looked disappointed, then excused herself to attend other matters.

Yan Jiyun, on the other hand, was thrilled. The Red Field Poppy No. 1 production site!

So Jiang Yan had access after all. In a complete twist of fate, he’d gotten it without lifting a finger. If NPC favorability points existed, Yan Jiyun would’ve happily given Jiang Yan 200 in one go.

Jiang Yan glanced down to see Yan Jiyun staring fixedly ahead. He followed the cat’s line of sight but saw nothing.

He recalled hearing from old-timers in the organization that black cats could see strange things invisible to humans. What exactly was it looking at? The thought was faintly unsettling.

Just then, a pair of hands suddenly covered Yan Jiyun’s eyes.

Why was Jiang Yan covering his eyes?

Yan Jiyun tilted his head aside, but Jiang Yan shifted his hand to block again. In the end, Yan Jiyun blinked one eye backward at him, then flicked his tail a few times across Jiang Yan’s thigh.

Now wasn’t the time to quarrel. He needed to reach the production site, so he held back.

Jiang Yan cleared his throat and dropped his hand.

“Is that how you seduced Lin Xie? Blinking and flicking your tail?”

Yan Jiyun: …Absolutely not.

All the way, Jiang Yan kept pestering him about how he’d gotten close to Lin Xie. Yan Jiyun wasn’t keen on answering.

Talking didn’t slow Jiang Yan’s pace, nor did it stop Yan Jiyun from memorizing the route.

After leaving the lab, they took another elevator up one level.

They circled halfway around the first floor. Yan Jiyun was still trying to figure out if this was Building B or C when a pungent stench assaulted their noses. Jiang Yan pulled out two masks from his pocket, putting one on himself and loosely draping the other over Yan Jiyun’s furry face.

Thanks, but a mask does nothing for a cat.

The deeper they went, the stronger the stench grew, until even Jiang Yan frowned. From Yan Jiyun’s angle, though, he couldn’t see it.

After one more right turn, a vast production workshop came into view, easily over a thousand square meters. Workers bustled at their stations. A floor supervisor, catching sight of Jiang Yan, scurried over eagerly.

His obsequious tone was thick as he spoke, “Third Young Master, what brings you here?”

“Checking the progress of the new product,” Jiang Yan said.

Lowering his voice, the supervisor asked, “Do you mean Red Field Poppy No. 1?”

“What else?” Jiang Yan replied.

Yan Jiyun sneered inwardly, ‘With that weaselly face of yours, we’re not exactly thrilled to look either.’

The supervisor explained, “Red Field Poppy is in another workshop. Its formulation is more complex, so it takes longer. But the first batch will be ready this afternoon.”

He led Jiang Yan toward another hall as he spoke. Though he noticed the cat in Jiang Yan’s arms, he dared not comment. Everyone knew that though Jiang Yan rarely managed affairs, when he got ruthless, he was harsher than his two older brothers.

Now that Eldest Young Master Yang had fallen, the next clash would surely be between Jiang Yan and Lin Xie. A grim prospect.

The livestream audience felt the same.

[Want to Be Human] livestream channel:

“Jiang Yan is going head-to-head with Lin Xie now. I love strong vs. strong showdowns!”

“I don’t get why Jiang Yan keeps hiding himself. Honestly, I suspect he had a hand in bringing Kevin Yang down.”

“Not impossible. And I’ve never seen him bring a cat into the workshop before.”

“The endgame is obviously a showdown between Jiang Yan and Lin Xie. Do you even need to ask?” 

[The above comment contains spoiler and will be blocked from players]

“Using the kitty’s POV and be inside Jiang Yan’s arms is pure bliss. I feel like I’m his wife for a day.” 

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun studied each workshop they passed. Every one seemed to produce a different model of secrets.

The secret behind the restaurant’s popularity was right in front of him. 

He checked Main Mission (3) again. It’s still to locate the Red Field Poppy production site.

The supervisor led Jiang Yan into Red Field Poppy’s production hall. “Everything’s ready. We’ll be starting shortly.”

Found it.

[Congratulations, Player Yan Jiyun, for completing Main Mission (3). Rewards will be distributed at the end of the instance.]

Yan Jiyun blinked. He hadn’t expected Main Mission (3) to end so quickly.

Just as he was about to praise Jiang Yan as a surprisingly useful NPC, another system prompt appeared:

[Player Yan Jiyun has entered Main Mission (4): Destroy the Red Field Poppy production site. Reward: 4000 points.]

The reward for Main Mission (4) was double that of (3). Which meant the difficulty of destroying a production site was also far higher!

But he was only a cat. How was he supposed to destroy an entire workshop?

All the more so now, he was trapped in Jiang Yan’s arms, unable to enter the production workshop of Red Field Poppy.

Just as he was pondering, the assistant manager asked Jiang Yan, “Third Young Master, Director Yu said that animals are not allowed inside Red Field Poppy’s production workshop. What do you think?”

Yan Jiyun: …

Why did they suddenly have to set up a gatekeeping rule here?!

Jiang Yan glanced at the little black cat who had been so quiet all this time. He had to admit, it was indeed very well-behaved and very quiet. He had never even heard it meow.

He was a bit displeased with the rule forbidding cats. “What problem can there be with the cat staying in my arms?”

But the assistant manager held firm to his principles, saying with a bitter look, “I’m sorry, Third Young Master. I’m only following regulations. I don’t want to make things difficult for you either.”

Naturally, Jiang Yan placed his own matters above all else. Running into the black cat earlier at the elevator was just an accident.

So he said casually: “Fine then, give me a cage. That way it won’t run around inside the workshop.”

The assistant manager immediately had someone fetch a cage.

Yan Jiyun: “…”

Could these NPCs stop shoving him into cages every single day?!

Still, once again, Yan Jiyun was stuffed into a cage by the NPCs.

Looking at the gaps in the bars, he confirmed he could probably squeeze out, so he didn’t bother struggling. Better to save his strength for when he actually had to squeeze out later.

If they could lock him up once, he could slip out again just as easily.

If Jiang Yan had any experience raising cats, he would never have put Yan Jiyun into such a large cage.

The cage was set down at the entrance of the workshop, pointed right at a surveillance camera. But Yan Jiyun didn’t mind it, because he knew the camera wasn’t running.

Seizing a moment when no NPCs were nearby, he quietly wriggled out of the cage. As for the mask on his face, he batted it off with his paws in a couple of swipes. That white mask clashed with his fur color and would only make him easier to spot.

The Red Field Poppy production workshop was more tightly regulated, but the NPCs had never seriously considered defending against a cat. They thought sticking him in a cage was enough to guarantee safety.

Yan Jiyun thanked them for underestimating him.

After Jiang Yan left, the workshop door was left with a small crack. Yan Jiyun pushed it wider with his body. He couldn’t move the heavy door much, but the crack was enough for him to slip through.

The air inside was unpleasant, though not outright toxic, otherwise everyone working here would be dead. After all, they were producing something meant to be ingested. Yan Jiyun wouldn’t be knocked out just by staying a while.

Red Field Poppy was, of course, a kind of poison, likely a hallucinogen. But its effects went far beyond simple hallucinations. Destroying it was the only option.

And the workshop was only part of the problem. To truly destroy the source, the entire organization had to go.

Stepping inside, Yan Jiyun immediately noticed how different this workshop was from the others, where the layout was plain at a glance. The floor here was painted blue; the left and right sides of the entrance hallway each had white doors. Clearly, they put more emphasis on Red Field Poppy’s production.

Numbers from 1 to 9 were stenciled on the doors. Yan Jiyun guessed these marked the different production steps.

Some parts were manual, others machine-driven. Each room had at least two staff members. The moment he went in, he would be noticed. And some rooms weren’t even open.

At times like this, he wished Zhou Ying’s team could have made it here too. But they were probably still wandering around the B2 floor. No way they’d arrive in time. In the end, it was still up to him.

First, he needed to figure out what reagent was absolutely essential for making Red Field Poppy, and couldn’t be easily obtained elsewhere. Destroying that should still complete the task.

Wait. If they had the formula, they could just remake Red Field Poppy, couldn’t they?

Yan Jiyun considered multiple interpretations of the mission, but none of the solutions seemed truly thorough.

Thinking carefully, ever since Main Mission (1), besides uncovering the secret behind everything, the missions had also required players to rescue NPCs.

This mission wasn’t simple either. Blowing up the production site was the most straightforward way to resolve it. And besides, it fit neatly with the organization’s current hunt for “moles.”

After thinking it through, Yan Jiyun had a rough plan in mind.

Making Red Field Poppy required materials. There had to be unique ingredients unlike other drugs. If they were valuable, they definitely wouldn’t be left lying around. They had to be stored somewhere inside.

Following the voices of the assistant manager and Jiang Yan deeper inside, he overheard the manager introducing personnel distribution and workflows, and then mentioning a warehouse where special ingredients were kept.

Yan Jiyun crept behind them, keeping a careful distance. Whenever he heard strange footsteps, he ducked aside, doing his best to avoid detection.

He heard Jiang Yan ask: “Let me see if the place you store them is really secure.”

The assistant manager replied, “Absolutely secure. Everything we need is categorized and stored properly.”

Jiang Yan reminded him, “Alright. The weather’s been so dry lately. Don’t let anything happen. Stock up on more fire safety equipment.”

Yan Jiyun’s ears pricked at the key word: fire safety.

So that meant everything in this warehouse was flammable and explosive?

Thank you very much for the reminder, Jiang Yan.

The assistant manager said, “Of course.”

They continued on toward the warehouse.

Yan Jiyun followed them in. The space was even larger than he had imagined. Sure enough, the fire precautions were well in place, with a row of extinguishers lined up around the walls, convenient cover for him to hide behind.

He trailed after the two men inside, listening as the assistant manager pointed out which shelves stored which reagents. Jiang Yan might not have been listening, but Yan Jiyun was all ears.

Mm, mm, learning… this stuff’s toxic, that stuff’s not… this one causes cancer—?

This organization only gets away with it because it’s inside a game, right?

In any real legal lab, there wouldn’t be this many shady chemicals lying around[mfn]T/L: eh depends on what type of lab honestly. Chem labs are typically chock-full of dangerous chemicals. Like, HCl and H2SO4 are basic (heh they’re acidic) chemicals you can found lying around.  I worked in a lab that contains many many many super dangerous organisms and viruses before (like very infectious ones), and one with many dangerous chemicals too. Also, chemicals are all toxic at certain dosage. And carcinogenic substances are more plentiful than one normally thinks lol[/mfn].

Jiang Yan didn’t seem particularly interested. After a short while, he already looked bored and even stifled a yawn.

The assistant manager, sharp-eyed, offered, “Third Young Master, would you like to have a drink in my office? I just bought some chilled beer, it’ll quench your thirst.”

Jiang Yan: “Sure. I’m sleepy anyway. Why don’t you get someone to put together a couple of dishes too. I’ll wait here until today’s first batch comes off the line, then take it back to the old man.”

The assistant manager was overjoyed. “Yes, yes, I’ll arrange it right away. I’ll have them keep watch on the production line, and as soon as the first batch is ready, it’ll be sent straight to you.”

Jiang Yan: “How much longer?”

The assistant manager: “About an hour. Director Yu set the production times in stone. You won’t have to wait long.”

Jiang Yan: “Alright, I’ll wait.”

The two of them finished circling the warehouse and just reached the door when the assistant manager, acting like he was guarding against thieves, promptly shut the heavy door tight, before Yan Jiyun had time to react.

Yan Jiyun was a step too slow, locked inside the warehouse!

Damn it. He wanted to finish the mission, but he didn’t want to die doing it! What would being locked in here lead to?

Technically, he didn’t have to handle Main Mission (4) alone. He could have brought Zhou Ying and the others here. There was no need to charge ahead by himself.

He pressed his paws against the warehouse door and found it completely immovable. No one outside could hear the faint sound of him scratching.

Didn’t the assistant manager just not mention how often the warehouse was opened?

With so many chemical reagents inside and the temperature unnaturally cool, the cavernous space grew unnervingly quiet.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan had walked to the workshop entrance, ready to retrieve the cat from the cage and found the little black cat gone.

If Lin Xie found out he had lost the cat…

Jiang Yan’s heart skipped in panic. He immediately barked an order to the assistant manager: “Why is the cat missing? Find it for me, now!”