Cat 269: The Impulse to Scratch Someone Right There

Chapter 269: The Impulse to Scratch Someone Right There

[Want to Be Human] Livestream:

“Ahhhh, the kitten’s livestream ended again. Such a pity it didn’t last the full eight days!”

“But this was the kitten’s first run of a new instance—it must be a record, right? If he had to go eight days again, he’d probably go mad. Clearing two instances back-to-back would wear any cat out.”

“I’m so worried about the owner getting injured for the kitten recently. He isn’t going to die, is he?”

“I want to know too. Now we’ll have to wait another week for answers. Even a day without the kitten feels unbearable. We need more fluffy players!”

“The kitten seems to belong to the game world alone.”

This time, Yan Jiyun left the instance smoothly—no tricks from the instance this time.

He felt a wave of relief upon entering the familiar temporary rest area. The past few days, though only five in total, had left him exhausted; after all, he’d been through two instances in a row, his mind kept taut the whole time. Relaxing at last, fatigue swept over him—he wanted nothing more than to return to the real world and sleep for three days straight.

He’d used up all his experience cards in this instance, but thankfully, the points awarded upon exit were quite generous. Given that he’d entered a top-tier instance, his points had increased tenfold over the last—jumping from a million straight to twenty million. However, now wasn’t the time to look at stats. He glanced up at the leaderboard displayed on the exit screen; only the group that had entered with him was listed, but there was no sign of Qi Feng.

At the same time, he received a system reward notification.

[Congratulations, player, on completing the “Sweet Christmas” instance.]

[Congratulations on setting a new record for fastest first-clear of the instance “Heart’s Desire – Pet Affection”: 5 days, 3 hours, 22 minutes! You have received a system “First Clear Record-Breaking Gift Pack”—open now?]

Yan Jiyun chose not to open it yet; he had more important worries at hand.

He quickly scanned the other system notifications that popped up in succession; several were related to the Pet-and-Master system.

As soon as he saw these, his anxieties eased. As long as the master-pet system was still in place, that meant Qi Feng had come back to Central City with him.

[Congratulations on braving the “Sweet Christmas” instance alongside your owner. Intimacy increased by 20 points.]

[Congratulations on braving the “Heart’s Desire – Pet Affection” instance alongside your owner. Intimacy increased by 10 points.]

[Congratulations, your intimacy with your owner has reached 50/100. “Enter Instances with Owner” function unlocked: Pet may now accompany owner into any instance at any time; upon clearing the instance together, both may return to Central City or the previous instance, with no option to quit midway.]

Intimacy had reached 50 points, unlocking a new function.

Previously, at 20 points intimacy, he’d unlocked “Visible Status in Owner’s Instance,” allowing him to observe the owner’s activities in an instance.

Had Qi Feng actually unlocked the ability to enter his pet’s instance as soon as his intimacy hit 20 while he was in “Heart’s Desire – Pet Affection”? Were there details that varied in the functions unlocked by pet and owner? He’d have to compare notes with Qi Feng next time they met—hopefully, Qi Feng would remember all the important things that happened in the instance after coming out.

At the final stage of the instance, Yan Jiyun had fully revealed his identity as Caramel—he could only hope the system wouldn’t go too far.

The thought of soon facing Qi Feng, who now knew he was Caramel, left Yan Jiyun uncharacteristically nervous.

He took a deep breath, even redeeming a large mirror with his points to check his post-instance appearance.

He now wore a white hooded sweatshirt, pale blue jeans, sneakers, and the system had thoughtfully added a baseball cap, giving him a fresh, youthful look.

He was quite satisfied with the outfit. Formal suits always made him uncomfortable, too ostentatious for practical concerns.

Meeting Qi Feng as “Caramel” for the first time, his calm had been replaced with a touch of awkwardness. The things he’d done as a cat were frankly mortifying. Still, at least he no longer had to worry about Qi Feng trusting him.

After all the hair-raising dangers they’d been through together, Qi Feng’s character was clear as day.

Before leaving the temporary instance exit, Yan Jiyun took another deep breath, ignoring the youth system’s new messages—he needed to talk to Qi Feng in person before tackling any more pet system business.

No use overthinking it. Time to go!

He walked out of the advanced instance zone; unlike all the other players emerging bedraggled and disheveled, he looked as if he’d just dressed up for a date, as if he’d stepped out of a real-world scenario, not a gauntlet.

If Qi Feng really had entered “Heart’s Desire – Pet Affection,” he should be here too. Qi Feng had waited for “Caramel” before—he would surely wait for him again.

Yan Jiyun picked the best spot by the advanced instance exit and waited for Qi Feng to appear.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes—

He saw Gu Wenzhu, Qiu Xi, and He Yuanle, along with the rest of those who’d entered the instance, all coming out—but still no sign of Qi Feng.

What was going on? Didn’t Qi Feng need to exit through the instance’s rest area?

Then it hit him: after “Sweet Christmas” ended, he’d returned to his original instance. It meant that Qi Feng could have exited wherever he’d logged in, since he was really there as an NPC, not a player. In that case, there was no reason to just wait here for Qi Feng.

The three teammates all knew Yan Jiyun was waiting for someone; seeing him deep in thought, none spoke. Their successful escape had all depended on that last feat of Qi Feng’s—literally forcing the boats apart.

He Yuanle was curious how Yan Jiyun had come out before they did; at the last moment, he’d not seen Yan Jiyun at all on the boat.

“Let’s not wait. Qiu Xi, did you add Qi Feng as a friend? Message him and ask where he is.”

Qiu Xi quickly sent a system message. But it vanished into the void—no reply.

Yan Jiyun frowned. Qi Feng had been unconscious at the end; if he hadn’t exited directly from the instance, would his wounds persist outside?

Not good.

He’d simply assumed—risks existed both inside and outside the instance.

Using the new function before thoroughly exploring its effects, there would surely be side effects. When he’d left “Sweet Christmas,” he’d been uninjured, so hadn’t noticed whether players with bonus entry rights could remove wounds when exiting.

The master-pet functions looked convenient, prone to exploitation, but there was no way the game would let them brazenly exploit loopholes. There would be countermeasures.

Yan Jiyun decided to head to Qi Feng’s lodgings. His teammates should know where Qi Feng was last staying.

Gu Wenzhu and the others watched as he hurriedly departed from the advanced instance zone.

Qiu Xi asked, “Aren’t we waiting for Boss Qi and Caramel?”

Gu Wenzhu replied, “Maybe Caramel went with Boss Qi.”

Qiu Xi called after Yan Jiyun, “Yun-ge, where are you going?”

Yan Jiyun said, “You all head back and rest. I’m going to find Lan Mo.” As soon as he’d finished, he vanished around the corner.

Snout to paw, Qiu Xi murmured to Gu Wenzhu, “He wasn’t there at the end—does he not know about Boss Qi’s injury?”

Gu Wenzhu nodded. “Yeah, and they’re not even friends in the system.”

He Yuanle was most puzzled. “Why haven’t they friended each other?” They’d cleared two or three instances together, after all.

Gu Wenzhu said nothing for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak, only to swallow his words.

Don’t ask; some things are best left unexplored.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiyun was oblivious to his teammates’ doubts about his knowledge of Qi Feng’s injury. He ran straight for Qi Feng and Lan Mo’s last known lodging, even sending a message to Lan Mo, but no reply came. Had something happened?

Fortunately, their new base was a hotel he still remembered well.

Yan Jiyun knocked on the suite door, waited, received no answer. He circled to the window, planning to climb in.

But the window was tightly shut, curtains drawn. There wasn’t even the tiniest gap to squeeze through.

The anti-theft measures weren’t for thieves—they were to keep him out!

Yan Jiyun couldn’t find anyone, heart growing anxious.

He knocked again—still no answer. Clearly, Qi Feng wasn’t here.

Qi Feng had entered his instance alone and been set up in “Sweet Christmas.” For him to leave and re-enter, he’d need an especially safe spot—probably their group’s headquarters. But Yan Jiyun had no idea where that was.

He raised his head to the bright blue sky over Central City—always clear, never any rain.

As a cat, he’d loved to bask in the sun, body warmed all over. But here, he couldn’t find a smidgen of comfort.

Maybe not knowing Qi Feng’s fate was why.

He checked the master-pet panel again: Owner’s status—Online.

Online meant he was alive.

Yan Jiyun decided to sit outside on the lawn and wait for Qi Feng. After all, Qi Feng had once done the same, even setting up a grilled fish stall for him.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he’d eaten any grilled fish strips.

Now, he not only wanted those, but also a bowl of cat food made by Qi Feng—shrimp, beef, chicken, and some sweet pumpkin. He could do without carrots, not his favorite.

He didn’t know how long he’d waited. The blue sky shifted to orange, then gray, then faded into twilight.

He didn’t dare retreat to his private space, afraid he’d miss Qi Feng’s appearance and—besides—wanted to greet Qi Feng fully intact.

From sunset to dusk was about an hour. Dozing, Yan Jiyun was startled awake by the sound of familiar footsteps approaching.

He opened his eyes, gave his face a brisk pat to shake off the sleep.

A bit uneasy, he walked up to the freshly closed front door and knocked.

It was Lan Mo who opened the door. Inside, Qi Feng sat on the sofa, half his shoulder exposed. At the sight of Yan Jiyun at the door, he shot upright from his seat.

Yan Jiyun brushed right past Lan Mo and strode up to Qi Feng. “Are you alright?”

At the sight of him, Qi Feng felt his face flush; he half-covered his face, looking a little awkward. “I—I’m fine. Why are you here?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “I didn’t see you when I left the instance, so I was worried something happened.”

Qi Feng said, “Just a little injury—don’t worry.”

Yan Jiyun’s earlier anxiety vanished, replaced by suspicion. Something was off with Qi Feng. He cut to the heart of it: “How much do you remember about the instance?”

For once, Qi Feng was awkward, shifting to the side to make room for him, cheeks tinged red. “Not that much, actually.”

Yan Jiyun had always been direct with Qi Feng; especially now, he wasted no words: “So what exactly do you remember? You don’t remember Caramel?”

Qi Feng: “I remember.”

Yan Jiyun: He remembers, and yet he’s so calm?

He pressed: “And what else?”

Qi Feng looked away. “You know.”

Yan Jiyun found it even odder. “What do I know? Is there something I shouldn’t remember?”

Qi Feng pointed at him, then at himself, expression growing more uncomfortable. “I was Ninth Master, and the whole forceful-possessive plot between us—well, that was the character, not me. I didn’t mean it.”

Yan Jiyun: …Was that really the point?

Did Qi Feng only recall some of his NPC memories, then? Selectively?

Damn, after all that, he’s worried about that?

Qi Feng, seeing him scowl in silence, worried he’d said the wrong thing and changed the subject. “Did Caramel come out with you?”

Yan Jiyun shot him a fierce glare, a faint flush of anger on his cheeks. “How should I know!” All he wanted now was to scratch someone—right then and there.