DSMC Chapter 4

Homeroom Teacher Zhao was extremely strict. Her actions were as rigid and dull as her appearance, and she made Li Muyang stand outside the classroom for the entire morning reading session without a shred of sympathy.

Teachers passing by Class 4-6 didn’t even seem surprised to see Li Muyang standing in the hallway. No one dared to step in and help.

Li Muyang was only allowed back into the classroom after class ended.

Yan Jiyun had no intention of staying in Li Muyang’s backpack the whole time. While no one was around, he poked his head out of the bag.

Li Muyang quickly noticed and pushed his head back down, whispering, “Sesame, don’t come out. The teacher doesn’t allow us to bring pets to school.”

Yan Jiyun still tried to wriggle out. The homeroom teacher had just left, so this was the best time for him to slip away. A kid’s strength was no match for his, so getting free wouldn’t be hard. But just then, he heard other children’s voices outside the bag.

Through his limited view, he saw a chubbier and stronger boy blocking the way in front of Li Muyang’s desk.

The chubby boy looked domineering and snatched Li Muyang’s backpack. “Li Muyang, what are you hiding in your bag? Let me see!”

Just hearing this kid talk made Yan Jiyun’s fists itch. He hated these kinds of bullies the most as a child. He’d punch every one of them if he could!

The game instance even included school bullying now.

But thinking about it, the instance’s name made it obvious — Li Muyang was a primary school student, and the thing he’d encounter most at school would be bullying. The fact that Li Muyang had a HP meant he’d face plenty of hardships today. If his HP hit zero, it would mean his death. Once he died, the instance would end. What would happen to the players then? No one knew. The system never explained.

But judging by what had already happened this morning, a series of events would likely continue chipping away at his HP.

Li Muyang tried to snatch his backpack back, because Sesame was still inside.

Every time Li Muyang was bullied, he never resisted. But this time, Li Muyang actually tried to get his backpack bag. The chubby boy thought his authority was challenged, so he got even more aggressive. He yanked the heavy backpack away again and ordered his two lackeys — one skinny and one short — to hold Li Muyang down.

“Looks like you really are hiding something in here,” the chubby boy sneered as he violently unzipped the bag and turned it upside down to dump everything out.

But just as he thought he was about to find some kind of treasure, a black shape shot out of the bag and raked its claws across his hand. Then it leapt off a desk and slashed him across the chubby cheek, leaving several red scratch marks.

Yan Jiyun stayed clearheaded. He just wanted to teach this bully a lesson for picking on Li Muyang.

The chubby boy was left dazed. “What the heck?!”

A student shouted, “It’s a cat! A black cat!”

The pain was delayed due to the boy’s body fat, but once it hit, he screamed. Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun had already dashed to the classroom door, leaping across desks.

“Ah! It hurts! Stop that cat! Whoever catches it, I’ll give you 500 yuan on the spot!” the chubby boy howled.

Then he turned to yell at Li Muyang, “Li Muyang, this black cat is your fault! Don’t even think about leaving after school!”

The chubby boy and his cronies stormed out of the classroom, followed by several boys tempted by the 500 yuan reward.

“Wang Qiqi, you better follow through with the money if we catch it!”

“Of course I will!” Wang Qiqi yelled, clutching his face. “Just bring it to me alive! I’m mad!”

After bursting out of the classroom, Yan Jiyun darted through a crowd of elementary schoolers heading to the restroom during the break. He weaved between them and slipped into a corridor.

It was break time, and students were running around noisily. When they finally realized a black cat had appeared on their floor — followed by Wang Qiqi and his gang — a full-blown chase began!

At the same time, the usually silent system suddenly issued a new task.

[Player Yan Jiyun has triggered the hidden mission “Wang Qiqi’s Bounty”: Capture Yan Jiyun.]

[Mission Details: Any player who catches Yan Jiyun within 10 minutes and brings him to Wang Qiqi will receive a reward of 500 points. No penalty for failure, but prop cards will be disabled for one hour. Timer starts now.]

Some players had just climbed the school walls, others had just finished disguising themselves as school staff, and this sudden hidden mission left them all stunned.

The hoodie-wearing young man had just changed into a cafeteria chef’s outfit. “Catch Yan Jiyun? He’s a player, right? Why is there a task like this?”

The short-haired girl, now wearing an apron and fake gloves, frowned. “Isn’t Yan Jiyun the one trying to raise Li Muyang’s favorability? How are we even supposed to catch him? We don’t know what he looks like.”

The red-haired man said, “Let’s go check it out. 500 points is a big reward. We’ve been through three instances and haven’t seen a hidden mission like this before!”

The hoodie-wearing young man rested his chin on one hand. “If he’s working alone, he should be easy to spot. Almost all the other players came out to protect Li Muyang on the way to school, but we never saw this guy. He must’ve been hiding.”

Short-haired girl: “Maybe he got into the school early, before class started, and we just never noticed.”

The hoodie-wearing young man slapped his thigh. “Makes sense! He probably disguised himself as a school staff member to avoid the other players. Even the NPCs wouldn’t notice him.”

Red-haired man: “You’re right. Let’s find Yan Jiyun. We’ve only got ten minutes. If he hides well, we might not catch him in time!”

Short-haired girl: “But we don’t even know what he looks like. Ten minutes might not be enough.”

The hoodie-wearing young man suddenly got fired up. “But it’s 500 points!”

Red-haired man: “Let’s go!”

Short-haired girl: “Alright, let’s do this!”

Players who shared the same idea were starting to get restless. Getting 500 points from an NPC was no small feat. Previously, they’d only completed tasks related to NPCs, but now they had to go after a player. It might even be easier!

Unlike the others, however, Yan Jiyun’s system gave him a version of the task with doubled difficulty. He cursed inwardly, ‘Thanks a lot, system! Fuck you and your whole family!’

[You have triggered the hidden mission “Wang Qiqi’s Bounty.” Please hide yourself and ensure you are not caught by other players within ten minutes. If you are caught, prop cards will be disabled for one hour. Successfully completing the mission will earn you 500 points.]

Now Yan Jiyun was being hunted by both NPCs and players.

Still, the system notification had reminded him — this really was a dangerous game. There were even item cards involved.

He had managed to evade the NPCs chasing him for now. After reaching the first floor, he ducked into a flower bed under the school building. There wasn’t much cover, there’s no botanical gardens or anything. 

He just had to endure ten long minutes. First, find a place to hide.

He hid in a flower bed. But the NPCs weren’t dumb, and they knew to check there. Yan Jiyun had only been squatting there for a few minutes when a sharp-eyed child spotted him.

“He’s here!”

Now he was being attacked from both sides. He absolutely couldn’t let the NPCs catch him.

Still, at least he had drawn Wang Qiqi’s attention away. That meant Wang Qiqi wouldn’t hurt Li Muyang today. The trouble had bounced back to him instead. He was taking on the pressure in Li Muyang’s place. But the flower bed was clearly not safe. He had to move!

He scoped out an escape route, then burst out of the flower bed and sprinted toward the Qiuzhen Building, opposite from the Chongshi Building.

Yan Jiyun was incredibly fast, disappearing from the kids’ line of sight in just a few seconds.

He ran straight up to the third floor and found a room with an open door. Seeing no one inside, he snuck in and hid under a desk. There were several brand-name shopping bags stacked in a circle, forming a sort of barrier. It was a good hiding spot.

Moments after he hid, two people came into the room. From their conversation, they were both male players.

Young man: “Qiang-ge, are you sure we can find Yan Jiyun from the security monitors?”

Qiang-ge: “Why not? If the monitors exist, it means they’re part of the game mechanics. Just because this is a game doesn’t mean everything’s fake.”

Young man: “Fair point… but how do we even find them with so many screens? And we don’t even know what they look like.”

Qiang-ge: “They  didn’t come to the school with us to protect Li Muyang, so they must’ve arrived early. And they definitely didn’t walk through the front gates.”

Young man: “Judging by the name, they could be a guy or a girl.”

Qiang-ge: “Start with the monitors near the fence we climbed over. Then check for any suspicious people moving around the school. We’ve only got ten minutes. Time is running out.” 

As they checked the monitors, a bunch of students ran up to their floor.

The young man got a little nervous. “Why are they here? They don’t look like first- or second-graders.”

Qiang-ge: “They’re probably looking for something.”

Young man: “Could it be related to the Yan Jiyun task?”

Qiang-ge: “I’ll go out dressed as a school official and ask.”

Young man: “Qiang-ge, be careful, don’t let security catch you.”

After a bit, Qiang-ge returned.

Qiang-ge: “It’s not related to Yan Jiyun. They’re chasing a black cat.”

Meanwhile, under the desk, Yan Jiyun remained perfectly still. They probably hadn’t even imagined that the black cat being chased might actually be a player. But if they made that connection, if they thought even slightly that he had any link to Wang Qiqi, they might start to suspect he was Yan Jiyun.

Best to keep hiding. He glanced at the countdown timer in the top right corner.

7 minutes and 18 seconds left.

He hadn’t even had two full minutes of rest when he heard a noise outside. The security team captain was muttering about how the door, which wasn’t locked earlier, was now locked. He jingled his keys, trying to open it. The two players inside heard him and quickly looked for places to hide.

Young man: “Wasn’t he supposed to be at a training session with the other guards? Why is he back?”

Qiang-ge: “No idea. Hide first, talk later.”

Qiang-ge, being larger, hid behind an electrical cabinet, while the young man slipped under the desk  —the same desk Yan Jiyun was under. As he shuffled the shopping bags to make room, he suddenly came face to face with a pair of pale green eyes.

He froze, covering his mouth. “…” Oh my God! What the hell is that? 

At that moment, the door clicked open. The security team captain entered. 

Yan Jiyun had a sudden idea. He nudged aside the shopping bags and darted out.

The young man didn’t react in time to catch him.

The black cat startled the security guard as it leapt from beneath the desk. Then the guard noticed the young man hiding under there.

Security Guard: “Who are you? What are you doing here?!”

“Shit!” Immediately, the young man scrambled out from under the desk, suspecting he’d just been played by the cat.

The security captain ignored the black cat and went straight for the young player.

[Livestream Channel] 

“Whew! Kitty dodged it. How thrilling and exciting!” 

“I’m dying laughing. This little cat is so clever. Now everyone’s focused on the player and not the cat.”

“Who would’ve guessed a cat could be a player? I bet 100 Fate Coins they’ll never catch the little guy.”

“This is the best stream I’ve seen. The others are way too formulaic.”

“Our kitty is so smart! I love it. Hope it survives lots of instances! I’m sending tips!”

“Come on, players! Step it up! Catch that cat already!”

“I’ve seen this instance so many times, but it’s the first time I’ve seen a hidden mission.”

“Huh? Why did the cat suddenly stop going upstairs?”

Of course, Yan Jiyun couldn’t keep climbing. While he was hiding, the system suddenly popped up a new warning:

[Li Muyang’s HP has dropped to 88%.]

[Li Muyang’s HP has dropped to 86%.]

[Li Muyang’s HP has dropped to 84%.]

……

For some reason, Li Muyang’s HP keep dropping.