Cat 156: The Giant Black Cat

Chapter 156: The Giant Black Cat

Since entering the game, this was Yan Jiyun’s first real stumble—his tried-and-true cuteness tactics had utterly failed against this particular Yan Weilan No.4.

Qi Feng nimbly dodged the two flying cans.

Squad Leader No.4 had thrown them with such force that they left deep gashes in the wall behind them—clearly aiming for vital spots.

Thankfully, Qi Feng had directly refused his demand; otherwise, if he’d ended up in Squad Leader No.4’s hands, would he even have any chance of survival? He’d probably be strangled on the spot.

Just how many Yan Weilans are there in this level?

No, that’s not the right line of thought. Yan Jiyun reconsidered, connecting it to information he’d gathered: the Squad Leaders likely represented variations of Teacher Qu’s emotions.

Human emotions are commonly listed as seven: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, evil, and fear. Which of these did this one stand for?

The Yan Weilan triplets were named after colors, and colors could also represent emotions.

So that was it—now he understood.

If blue stood for melancholy and sadness, then Yan Weilan encapsulated Teacher Qu’s melancholy and sorrow. No wonder the child seemed so clever and lively, yet always imbued with a kind of sadness.

Following this reasoning, Yan Weicheng represented happiness and warmth, and Yan Weiqing also embodied one of the emotional personas.

Whether it was joy, anger, or malice, all were splinters of Teacher Qu’s fractured psyche. If only he could identify which emotion each persona embodied, perhaps he could solve their present dilemma.

This current persona—what was it, exactly? Which of the seven great emotions, and what was its actual name? Judging by all the rage, was it “anger”?

Now wasn’t the right moment for Yan Jiyun to speak; if only Qi Feng and he shared a communication channel, he could transmit any thought he needed. Unfortunately, their intimacy level just wasn’t high enough yet.

He glanced through his own inventory: only a few tools he’d bought.

Wait—why was his pet-items tab lit up?

He’d been so focused on the regular items above that he hadn’t noticed this frivolous “main pet” tab below had become accessible.

Inside were three items from his time at “Crazy Zoo,” which had just been gathering dust in the corner. He hadn’t expected them to come along into this level.

Item: Canned Tuna x1;
Item: Sardines x1;
Item: Beef Patty x1.

Yan Jiyun knew holding on to them would be useless; they only affected the intimacy level with his and Qi Feng’s main pet accounts.

After this level, he’d come to deeply appreciate the value of a teammate—and the best cooperation he’d experienced was with Qi Feng. Gu Wenzhu and Qiu Xi didn’t quite compare in this regard. That must be the true secret of the main pet account.

No point in overthinking—better to focus on clearing the level before worrying about the rest.

Dragging three along in a single level was frightening enough; who knew which other emotional personas of Teacher Qu they might still have to face? Besides emotions, what other bizarre personalities might appear?

Yan Jiyun rapidly clicked the three items; they turned into dots of white light and floated onto Qi Feng’s body, like a cluster of white fireworks, vanishing in a blink.

The items even came with a fireworks effect.

The effect faded, and Yan Jiyun immediately saw three notifications pop up.

At the same time, Qi Feng’s body stiffened. He’d just dodged a can from Squad Leader No.4, each weighing 160 grams—one careless slip and his skull would be split open.

Suddenly a system notification popped up, nearly distracting him enough for Squad Leader No.4 to bean him with a can.

[Main Pet Notification]: Your pet has used Tuna x1. Congratulations—your intimacy with your pet has increased by 2.

[Main Pet Notification]: Your pet has used Sardines x1. Congratulations—your intimacy with your pet has increased by 2.

[Main Pet Notification]: Your pet has used Beef Patty x1. Congratulations—your intimacy with your pet has increased by 2.

Qi Feng’s mind reeled. The calm expression on his face was barely holding together.

What did Caramel just do???

Why does it even have intimacy-boosting items???

And Caramel knows how to operate system back-end functions???

Or does the system do it for him???

Yan Jiyun saw the intimacy notification in the lower left corner and sighed.

He and Qi Feng’s intimacy level had gone up 6 points; together with the meager 1 point they’d earned in the tournament, that made 7 in total. Nothing special seemed to happen. Maybe the system was lagging?

While Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng were distracted by the intimacy system, Squad Leader No.4 was clearly getting even more agitated.

At that moment, the entire school was swallowed by a raging ocean.

Only a distant streetlamp bobbed in the darkness, like a lighthouse floating on the sea.

Suddenly, a massive wave crashed toward the dormitory building!

Qi Feng darted to the door and grabbed a water basin he’d set on the ground, just barely managing to shield himself and Yan Jiyun—who was hiding behind his head—from the flood.

Yet as he moved in anger, he slipped and was swept away by the surging ocean. “Ahhh! Help—”

SPLASH! SMACK!

Squad Leader No.4 landed straight in the water.

Qi Feng tried to fight through the water, lunging after him, but it was too late. Even had he been fully focused, he couldn’t have caught Squad Leader No.4.

Yan Jiyun was stunned. Weren’t these waves caused by Squad Leader No.4? How had he ended up falling in himself?

Would Squad Leader No.4 die after falling into the water?

Qi Feng wondered the same.

Watching the ocean from the shore was supposed to be relaxing, but right now, all the sight inspired was dread.

The sea by day and the sea by night are two utterly different things.

Layer upon layer of surging waves—there was no escape.

Qi Feng pulled Yan Jiyun protectively into his arms; they had nowhere to run.

Yan Jiyun tried to stay calm—they were pinned in a spot the water had not yet reached. Beyond Qi Feng’s soaked pant legs, everything else was still dry.

They needed to find a way out.

They both knew this was Teacher Qu’s dream, and now Squad Leader No.4 had fallen into the sea.

A sudden, bold idea struck Yan Jiyun. In his own dreams, whenever he’d experienced falling from a great height, he’d usually snap awake when he hit the bottom—or else fell from one dream into another. People who are overtired or under a lot of stress often dream in an endless, chained sequence.

With Squad Leader No.4 gone, the ocean now seemed to lack all order.

To escape Teacher Qu’s nightmare, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng would have to defeat it. Was the furious, birdlike Squad Leader No.4 their adversary—or were they supposed to save him?

His final cry had been “Help!”—but was it “Help me,” or something else?

Damn it, why did Squad Leader No.4 never finish his sentences?

For now, with no other way forward—it could only be…

Yan Jiyun meowed twice in the direction Squad Leader No.4 had fallen, prompting Qi Feng.

Qi Feng, now fluent in Level 8 Cat-speak, understood what he meant straight away.

He lowered his head and asked, “You want to jump in after him?”

Yan Jiyun blinked, twisting his body to indicate his intention.

Qi Feng, half speaking to Yan Jiyun and half to himself, muttered, “Is there something down there? Well, there’s no other choice now—we’ll have to jump in after him.”

Another towering wall of ocean surged up, about to swallow the whole building.

They had no other way out—the only option was to leap into the water.

Qi Feng waded through the water, set Yan Jiyun on a platform, then climbed up himself. Sitting on the concrete railing with Yan Jiyun gripped tightly in his arms, he drew a deep breath, braced his legs, and vaulted—diving headlong into the endless sea!

Yan Jiyun buried his inky head in Qi Feng’s arms, too scared to look below; the deafening crash of the waves was enough to rattle anyone.

Yet once in the water, they didn’t feel submerged—their bodies simply kept descending. Who knew where they’d land?

Qi Feng clung tightly to Yan Jiyun, terrified the cat would slip loose and fly somewhere he couldn’t follow!

[Wannabe Human] Livestream:

“Holy crap, did they just jump straight into the ocean?! What kind of plot twist is this?”

“Supposedly this is the Level-5 dungeon. Came to check it out! Why does the story look completely different than what I’ve seen? Aren’t all players supposed to attempt it together? How did it become single-player?”

“Wow, the kitten’s hard mode really isn’t a joke. In the game ‘Fate,’ there are two difficulties now: Kitten Hard Mode and Everyone Else Hard Mode.”

“My question is, why didn’t they save Squad Leader No.4? I thought if you fulfilled his wish and pulled him off the railing, you’d get the nightmare clue?”

“Don’t overthink it. Our kitten never follows the typical route. Squad Leader No.4 wanted to hold the cat; if I were a Level 5 streamer, no way would I hand over my own pet to some NPC.”

“But helping the NPC is supposed to be the fastest way out! You leave the nightmare right away; after all, it’s just a cat. Why not give it up?”

“Dude, do you know whose stream you’re watching? Ours is the kitten player! If you think about it, the streamer’s not an ordinary cat! You want us to feed the kitten to the wolves, just so he can die quicker?”

“What’s the point of watching game streams if not to see players die? What’s the big deal?”

“I just don’t want to see anyone cursing the kitten in his own stream, got it? If you want to watch other players die, door’s on your right.”

Unaware of the chaos in the chat, Yan Jiyun opened his eyes after jumping from such a height with Qi Feng and found himself somewhere entirely new.

Their quest was to “swim through Teacher Qu’s dream.” The key was “swim”—split into “畅” (free, smooth) and “游” (to swim, roam); a subtle hint that they needed to swim—to dive into the sea to truly enter Teacher Qu’s dream.

Their new main quest was “Find the real Teacher Qu,” so they couldn’t simply finish Squad Leader No.4’s request right away. By accidentally refusing No.4, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng had triggered the real dream adventure.

If the personalities were split off at Teacher Qu’s will, did that mean only the true core persona could have nightmares? Was the “host” or the fractured personas at the heart of these dreams?

The system hadn’t told them to find the core persona; so that meant all these were split personalities.

If the core persona was asleep, could he control the body?

Yan Jiyun reread the level mission: the real Teacher Qu was trapped in a nightmare, and unless they set him free, he’d never awaken. Perhaps he can’t wake up because he’s being hindered by other personalities?

He was just putting the pieces together when there was a sudden flash—and he and Qi Feng found themselves bone dry, standing in an amusement park.

And not just any amusement park, but a dinosaur-themed one!

Holy crap, they’d landed right between two huge herbivorous dinosaurs!

Were these dinosaurs real? The way those eyes bored into them…

Such enormous creatures!

Qi Feng’s instincts snapped into place—what else could he do but run?

The herbivores seemed intrigued by the fleeing Qi Feng, and lazily plodded after him.

“ROAR!”

“ROAR!”

“ROAR!”

The entire park echoed with the cries of simulated dinosaurs.

Yan Jiyun, watching these towering beasts lower their heads and peer at them in curiosity, was nearly petrified. No matter how quick Qi Feng was, he couldn’t possibly outrun them.

“Waaah!”

“Waaah!”

“Waaah!”

Again came the sound of a child crying.

Cry up ahead, stampede behind—what to do?

Yan Jiyun lay on Qi Feng’s shoulder, just as the stegosaurus behind was nearly upon them; a few more strides and they’d be crushed under those feet.

He went to his item cards. Too late now for the invisibility cloak.

Wait, he still had a Luck Card from the previous level.

He clicked it, hoping for a miracle.

[Player activates Luck Card x1. You receive a 10-minute Size-Changing Card. Do you wish to Grow or Shrink?]

This was the fabled Luck Card? Yan Jiyun, who’d never gotten this lucky, immediately chose “Grow.”

[Time remaining: 09:59]

As Qi Feng raced with him clinging to his back, Yan Jiyun leapt off and changed before their very eyes.

He was really growing.

His viewpoint climbed, his body expanded—front paws, back paws, head, whole body—until he was eye to eye with the massive stegosaurus behind them, and finally stopped.

Qi Feng, spun around in desperation to save Caramel, could only gape as, right before his eyes, Caramel morphed into a colossal beast.

No—this was a gargantuan black cat, weighing several tons at least?

Qi Feng’s mind and expression froze in that moment: ???

Why could Caramel get so big!!!

In just half an hour, Qi Feng had been subjected to more shocks than in a lifetime. His cat had completely outstripped all his previous understanding—and his control.

The same shock rippled through viewers in the livestream.

[Wannabe Human] Livestream:

“AAAAAAAA—the kitten grew!! I’ve screamed myself hoarse! Damn, that’s cool!”

“AAAAAAA, all I can do is scream!”

“AAAAAA—giant cat!”

“A giant cat, a real one, my eyes can’t even take it all in!”

“So, so cool! I’m shaking! How did he do that? Kitten, can I ride your broad back? [Pitiful kneel.jpg]”

“Seconded—kneeling and kowtowing to the kitten! [Most humble horror game stream viewers in history.jpg]”

Yan Jiyun was quite pleased with his Luck Card. He now measured at least ten meters in length. Still, there was no time to revel in such overwhelming size.

The stegosaurus charged; Yan Jiyun sprang onto its side, hurling the unsuspecting dinosaur to the ground with a rear-leg slam.

The titanic creature collapsed, sending up clouds of dust like a sandstorm.

Qi Feng, dazed for a second, finally got a grip on himself. He’d better hide—his usefulness as master here was limited; just not dragging Caramel down was enough.

The toppled stegosaurus soon climbed up again and lashed its upper body at Yan Jiyun, but Yan Jiyun, now far nimbler, leaped lightly away and used his mass to knock the beast hundreds of meters aside.

With this gigantic form, he didn’t need to hold back—he could even use these attacks to test his new agility and strength.

The stegosaurus, its tiny brain rattled, wouldn’t be up for a rematch any time soon.

Yan Jiyun didn’t linger. He turned and sought out Qi Feng, found the now tiny-looking master under a tree, and gently pressed his substantial left paw onto his head.

Oh my, this was fun!

How fortunes change—before, he’d been small and always had to look up at Qi Feng. Now it was Qi Feng craning his neck to look up at him.

Hey, little master—aren’t I outrageously handsome?

Sadly, those vain thoughts could only linger for a moment.

This was Dinosaur Park, and the dinosaurs here weren’t plastic. Every single one was vigorous and alive.

Teacher Qu must have brought his entire dinosaur encyclopedia in here.

Stegosaurus was on the smaller side of dinosaurs—much bigger creatures surrounded them. It was dangerous to stay.

Heavy, thundering footsteps grew closer on all sides, and the sound of the weeping child receded further.

Yan Jiyun lowered his head so Qi Feng could climb up onto his back.

Qi Feng was so small now—would he tumble off during a sprint?

Maybe he should carry him in his mouth? No; with such size, his bite force must have increased exponentially. If he accidentally snapped Qi Feng in half, where would he find another master so perfectly suited to him?

Best to treat him like fragile goods for now.

Qi Feng clambered onto Yan Jiyun’s plush back with hands and feet, burying his face in the soft fur—only short of rolling around in it.

He strove to keep a straight face. Fulfilling this long-cherished wish, he didn’t even know how to restrain his smile.

At that tense moment, Qi Feng actually laughed aloud.

Yan Jiyun twitched his giant ears and meowed a reminder to hang on tight to his fur, lest he send him flying.

Qi Feng, now a Level 10 Cat-speak prodigy, understood perfectly: “Got it, Caramel, I’ll hold on tight!”

This was his beloved Caramel, supersized—he had to cherish this rare opportunity.

He’d always worried his cat would be hungry or uncomfortable in the level. He’d never imagined that one day, the roles would reverse and he’d be riding on his own cat’s back, filled with a strange happiness—having Caramel had been worth it, after all.

[Wannabe Human] Livestream:

“Envious~”

“Jealous~”

“I want to pull that guy down, jealousy splitting my very cells! Aaaaah! I want to ride the big kitty too, so cool!”

[Where’s My Cat] Livestream:

“……”

“I was wrong, I’ll never again say Brother Feng’s cat is a burden—what kind of godly pet is he raising?!”

“Suddenly I want a cat too. [Sigh]”

“I have a cat, but why can’t it transform? Change! Change!”

“Somebody, tell me—Brother Feng’s cat isn’t just an NPC, right?”

“A viewer sneaking over from a mysterious stream, just watching quietly~”

Yan Jiyun, not raised in vain, only started running when he felt Qi Feng really gripping his fur, heading fearlessly toward the sound of the child’s cries.

Now measuring nearly ten meters, with legs and speed to match, he ran like the wind, exhilarated, not envying even cheetahs—he could race like thunder himself.

Having lived too long in a concrete jungle, he’d never experienced such wild freedom. He could finally taste it.

This was real “畅游”—to roam free.

Yan Jiyun far outpaced the lumbering dinosaurs, quickly shaking off pursuit and catching up to the crying child.

Who would they find this time—another Squad Leader?

Had Teacher Qu been a weepy child? Why were his scenarios always marked by the sound of cries?

Trailing the sound, Yan Jiyun found the sniffling child.

He guessed only the child could lead them to the next scene’s exit, though which of Teacher Qu’s emotions this one embodied remained a mystery.

With a mouth, Qi Feng did the talking, but while he handled his own cat deftly, he was entirely ineffective with kids.

The child’s crying, of course, had reason—he was hanging upside-down from a tree. But for his hooked legs, he’d surely fall at any moment.

Yan Jiyun, seeing the pose, couldn’t help but recall the “Red Child” trick from the 1987 classic “Journey to the West”—he’d watched that episode with Qi Feng before.

Did he and Qi Feng look like Tang Sanzang?

Even upside-down, it was clear this child was another Squad Leader lookalike.

Seeing them, he cried, “Help me!”

Qi Feng was unmoved. Yan Jiyun, even less so. There wasn’t a hint of real tears in the child’s eyes—the cries just for show.

Squad Leader No.5 stopped crying and took to plaintive pleading: “Please save me, my daddy’s very rich, if you help me we’ll give you a fat reward!”

Qi Feng still didn’t dismount to help. As he appraised the child, Yan Jiyun noticed the roars of dinosaurs outside were growing denser.

Before Qi Feng could reply, Yan Jiyun simply sprang onto the tree, launching the child from his perch. He fell lightly to the ground, realized these two weren’t easy targets, tried to run—only to be pinned by Yan Jiyun’s giant paw.

The child let out a small “ah,” then went completely silent.

Qi Feng paused, uncertain. “Caramel, you didn’t squish him, did you?”

Yan Jiyun lowered his head and gingerly lifted his paw—nothing underneath but air. “…”

Could he really have accidentally squashed one of Teacher Qu’s personalities?