Cat 234: Catch Him

Chapter 234: Catch Him

Jiuyé’s people responded swiftly. Not a single person was injured in the hotel explosion; everyone managed to climb down from the conference room window intact, even if their descent was less than dignified—what mattered was that their lives were spared.

This time, Yan Jiyun made no use of his climbing skills, instead mimicking the trembling awkwardness of the others, even deliberately wobbling to feign inexperience.

Once on the ground, he continued to play the timid assistant, hiding behind Gu Wenzhu. He glanced up at the billowing smoke rising from the third story, trying to discern whether the explosion had targeted Jiuyé, the Chamber members, or simply their meeting. He remembered that the topic of their discussions had been the water transport business.

Jiuyé had been negotiating cooperation with the Chamber, but before the finer points could even be discussed, disaster struck.

Who was behind it?

Was it a problem with a person, or with the waterway business?

Someone wanted to prevent water transit?

Yan Jiyun felt his thinking shift: someone must be actively trying to block this waterway collaboration, not wanting Jiuyé and the Chamber to unite. Was it because water transport would bring something unwelcome?

He remembered that, when Liu Jingxi took him up the mountain, they couldn’t cross a massive lake, nor had he seen any actual canals—just heard the sounds of running water within the town. Water transport probably didn’t run through the mountains, but along a different route.

Someone didn’t want Jiangnan Town to open up water transport? Did they want to keep everyone inside?

All those who had fled the conference room steered well clear of the hotel; shaken Chamber members hurried off one by one, leaving only Yan Jiyun, Gu Wenzhu, and Jiuyé behind.

Gu Wenzhu was sharp, and deliberately refrained from greeting Jiuyé at once. Although he looked just like Qi Feng, his conduct was very different—utterly in line with an NPC. Was he Qi Feng or not?

Qi Feng knew Yan Jiyun, but this man’s eyes held only blank unfamiliarity—and he didn’t recognize Gu Wenzhu either. To avoid a rookie mistake, Gu Wenzhu went along with the act and feigned ignorance. Now he was sure: this was not their Qi Feng, but NPC Jiuyé.

They had moved a fair distance from the blast site; Gu Wenzhu glanced at Yan Jiyun, but with Jiuyé there, they couldn’t risk muttering in front of him.

Jiuyé briskly ordered his men to investigate the explosion and organize rescue, maintaining flawless order at the scene.

The true target of the incident remained unknown, but it was obviously connected to the business at hand.

From the look in Jiuyé’s eyes, it was clear he would not let this matter drop.

He also noticed that neither Gu Wenzhu nor Yan Jiyun had left; his gaze lingered a moment longer on Yan Jiyun, feeling some faint déjà vu about the young man’s dusky complexion.

Timidly, Yan Jiyun shrank back even further behind Gu Wenzhu under Jiuyé’s stare.

Jiuyé suddenly asked Gu Wenzhu, “This is your assistant?”

Gu Wenzhu was still mulling whether this Jiuyé really was Qi Feng—Qi Feng had never been so forceful. Expressionless, he nodded: “Yes, Sir.”

Jiuyé said, “He seems interesting. Why not have him work for me?”

What was Jiuyé playing at?

Gu Wenzhu was put in a tough spot: “That… depends on my assistant’s wishes.” He was confident Yan Jiyun could invent a way out that suited them both.

Yan Jiyun had no plan at all!

It had taken him all that effort to escape Jiuyé’s house only to be sent right back?

But if he wanted to investigate the explosion, Jiuyé was definitely the best starting point… Yet he still needed to finish Task One!

Jiuyé’s voice grew cold: “What’s the matter, don’t want to come? You act awfully timid—hard to believe.”

Yan Jiyun kept up his timid persona, stammering, “N-no, Sir. I signed a contract with Boss Gu. I’m his assistant.”

Jiuyé: “Well, you’ve got a backbone, at least.”

He turned and left, Gu Wenzhu and Yan Jiyun whispering polite goodbyes as he got into his car.

Once inside, Jiuyé noticed the sketch Yang Er had left—a face with a distinctive necklace around the neck.

Jiuyé’s eyes brightened; he picked up the drawing, flicked it with his finger, and said, “Yang Er, send someone to bring Gu Wenzhu’s assistant to me.”

Yang Er blinked in surprise. “Huh? Why capture Boss Gu’s assistant?”

Jiuyé said, “He’s a suspect.”

Yang Er: “But he doesn’t look it…”

Jiuyé didn’t elaborate. He simply wanted to know who this assistant really was.

Yan Jiyun was unaware that, after returning to human form, he had landed squarely in Jiuyé’s sights.

He and Gu Wenzhu found He Yuanle and informed him that Chen Qin was likely the murderer, urging him to find a way to bring the man to the Liu house.

He Yuanle nodded and immediately returned to the Chen residence. Half an hour later, he turned up at the Liu house with Chen Qin in tow. As the pampered youngest son, He Yuanle could sometimes coax his big brother into these little games—though surely Chen Qin had his own reasons for coming too.

Gu Wenzhu was only a guest at the Liu house, but Yan Jiyun actually lived there, so his comings and goings escaped notice, especially when every member of the Liu family was preoccupied.

Upon arrival, Chen Qin naturally went to the family altar to pay his respects, and Yan Jiyun followed.

Cheng Xueying, as the bereaved, still kept up her duties—her pallor quite genuine.

Chen Qin finished the incense ritual; as soon as the family paid their respects in return, Yan Jiyun received a mission chime!

[Congratulations, player, on completing Main Task One: “Watch the Spirit.” Rewards will be distributed at the end of the scenario.]

But a question remained: though he had identified the murderer and accomplished the “Watch the Spirit” task, no one had publicly accused Chen Qin—unlike other plotlines, they didn’t need to arrest or hand over the culprit.

Was the story meant to continue with the murderer still at large?

He still hadn’t figured out the logic or emotional core of this scenario.

Every scenario had some underlying theme, but the way this one merged the modern era with the Republic was tough to parse.

Cheng Xueying noticed Yan Jiyun—she already knew about this “cousin.”

“Cousin,” she said.

“Sister-in-law,” he replied.

She told him, “Second Uncle was looking for you this morning.”

“Where is he?”

She shook her head—she didn’t know.

The Liu household seemed unchanged on the surface. But deeper within, things were not so calm.

Liu Jinghao’s birth mother made daily scenes, refusing to believe her son’s death, while the Liu master’s face was raked with scratches from her attacks—he hadn’t dared show himself in days.

Liu Jingyi still coughed on cue and appeared even paler—Yan Jiyun, aware that this was an act, couldn’t help but grumble about the visible makeup lines on his face. What a flaw—and yet not a soul had caught on.

With Task One done, it was on to Task Two. Only about four days remained. The plot had made no special advances; they were still searching for key characters and the main storyline.

On the player side, everything was eerily uneventful. After three days, all one hundred players remained, none had dropped out.

Perhaps this scenario didn’t run on elimination, but on escape: whatever the number of survivors, it wouldn’t matter if nobody could leave. If they failed, all might die together.

Time was running short.

Yan Jiyun checked his side quests—not a single one completed.

Perhaps it was best to hunt down the treasure map first.

Cheng Xueying’s search in the Liu house had a clear goal—so did Liu Jingxi. How did he know about the treasure map? Where had Liu Jingyi’s map come from?

Yan Jiyun went to Liu Jingxi’s courtyard, but found no one. He asked around—someone had seen Liu Jingxi driving out.

After much questioning, he still couldn’t place his whereabouts, so he left the Liu house again.

Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle were waiting outside.

The three regrouped, parking their car in an out-of-the-way spot to discuss their problems with the scenario.

Yan Jiyun asked, “Did you finish Task One?”

Both nodded.

Gu Wenzhu: “Yeah, it went smoothly.”

He Yuanle: “Same here. But I noticed one thing: in previous scenarios, we’d always be notified in advance about how many points we’d earn for each quest, but this time there wasn’t any such information.”

Yan Jiyun and Gu Wenzhu had realized this too.

Yan Jiyun said, “It’s not just new content—this scenario uses a new point-scoring method.”

Gu Wenzhu: “So the game’s changing? No more reliance on old scenarios? Are they trying to keep us from guessing the plots?”

He Yuanle: “This scenario’s really tough. We’ve only finished one main line—there’s not much time left. Will we make it out?”

Yan Jiyun: “Don’t panic. Let’s recap our clues and see if we can find new leads.”

He related his discoveries regarding Jiuyé.

Only then did Gu Wenzhu voice his lingering doubt: “Is Jiuyé really Qi Feng?”

Yan Jiyun: “Yes and no.”

From a sentimental view, Jiuyé was Qi Feng.

From a rational view, he wasn’t.

Gu Wenzhu: “No way to tell?”

Yan Jiyun: “To be honest, I already treat him as Qi Feng—a Qi Feng with amnesia.”

Gu Wenzhu understood: “But he’s an NPC. Can you trust him?”

Yan Jiyun: “Right now, he’s our breakthrough. Without him, I wouldn’t have discovered Chen Qin as the culprit.”

Gu Wenzhu: “So our next step has to include Jiuyé.”

Yan Jiyun: “I’ll handle Jiuyé, the Liu family, and the Cheng family.”

Gu Wenzhu: “I’ll keep pursuing the canal angle, and the as-yet-unknown family in the west.”

He Yuanle: “I’ll keep an eye on the Chen family.”

Yan Jiyun reminded them: “We also need to keep looking for Qiu Xi.”

Having divided up tasks, the three went their separate ways, arranging time and place for their next meeting.

Gu Wenzhu dropped Yan Jiyun back at the Liu house.

Yan Jiyun decided to borrow a car from the Liu house.

At the moment, no one at the Liu house was using one—or caring much at all.

Yet just as Yan Jiyun was about to reenter through the back, two burly men blocked his way.

One of them slapped a hand over his mouth and hauled him to a waiting car.

Yan Jiyun struggled perfunctorily: “Mmmph, let go of me!”

Soon, the two men bundled him inside a vehicle. His eyes were uncovered, and he wasn’t bound; he could move freely, but the car was full of bodyguards—even a leap from the door would see him brought straight back. Worse, his abduction had taken place in a deserted alley—no one would respond, even if he shouted himself hoarse.

And in the back seat sat none other than the man who had just been rebuffed: Jiuyé.

Yan Jiyun glared. “Jiuyé, what do you want?” Damn it! Why kidnap him?

But Jiuyé only smiled, swiping a finger along the part of Yan Jiyun’s face he’d darkened. Black powder dusted his fingertip. “Tsk. Why smudge such a fair face? What are you trying to hide?”

Yan Jiyun: …

At that moment, he felt exactly like an innocent young man being toyed with by a local villain!