Cat 175: Moral Blackmail

Chapter 175: Moral Blackmail

This was the first time Yan Jiyun had ever heard the name Su Qiuming.

He didn’t know who this person was, but he could guess it was someone who used to be close to Qi Feng, only to split bitterly for reasons unknown, never to cross paths again.

The newcomer was from the New Vanguard Guild—apparently an enemy of Qi Feng’s.

Yan remembered that the guild that burned down Qi Feng’s tavern stronghold was from New Vanguard. Later, he’d even blown up their mid-tier branch.

Yet, the one speaking up was not one of those two standing at the front but a man at the back, whose expression exuded a kind of mockery.

A single sentence had Lan Mo seething. Clearly, Qi Feng’s betrayal had once been a huge scandal—though, as for the truth, only those directly involved knew.

Qi Feng didn’t want to waste words and just turned to leave, but the New Vanguard guild members blocked his way.

Lan Mo’s eyes nearly spat fire. “What, you looking for a fight?”

The only reason for leaving was to avoid a bag search—not wanting Caramel to be discovered.

New Vanguard’s guild leader, Yu Zhe, finally spoke up. “Qi Feng, long time no see. Where are you rushing off to? It’s rare to bump into you—ought to catch up a bit. After all, it’s a rare thing to meet in a scenario.”

Composed as ever, Qi Feng showed no reaction to their jabs, remaining aloof and unconcerned.

Before he could reply, a woman’s voice suddenly cut in: “Hey now, what’s everyone standing around here for?”

Yan Jiyun’s ears twitched. A new character?

This “older sister’s” voice was unfamiliar—he hadn’t heard it before.

Yan barely had enough eyes to take it all in. Qi Feng could feel Caramel shifting in the backpack, guessing he was also peeking at the excitement—cats were always curious, after all. Qi Feng subtly shifted, allowing him to watch the lady, though he felt a faint trace of annoyance.

Why should a cat be ogling a girl? He’d never noticed Caramel showing any such interest before.

But in the end, he chalked it up to feline curiosity; after all, it was a rare change amid this sea of men.

Lan Mo, upon seeing her, lost half his anger immediately. “Jixiang-jie.”

Yan Jiyun couldn’t quite see outside, so he nudged open the zipper a little, careful not to draw attention.

The so-called “Jixiang-jie” smiled. “Xiao Lan, you’ve really bulked up.”

“Not too bad.” In a flash, Lan Mo slipped into full flatterer mode. “You’re even prettier than before, Jixiang-jie.”

The woman called Jixiang had a square face and was far from beautiful by conventional standards—yet despite being under thirty, those favored by Lan Mo tended to have good personalities; Yan sensed no ill will from her toward Qi Feng’s group.

After all, which girl doesn’t like being complimented?

Jixiang-jie drew closer to Qi Feng, her voice dropping. “Long time, no see.”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

The way her tone softened in an instant—it was obvious, even by sound alone, that Jixiang-jie fancied Qi Feng.

Qi Feng replied politely, “Yes, it’s been a long time.”

Jixiang-jie: “So you’re not going in today?”

Lan Mo couldn’t hold his tongue, giving away the reason for their spat: “They want to check Feng-ge’s backpack—New Vanguard’s bullying us.”

New Vanguard leader Yu Zhe: “……”

Jixiang-jie looked to the two Vanguard members manning the doors. “The Fleet invited us here to talk. Why check bags? Is your leader behind this?”

Jixiang-jie was famous among the guilds—everyone called her Jixiang-jie, fierce and outspoken, quick to stand up for others.

If not for her guild’s women-only policy, Jixiang Guild would have ranked top three already.

Her outburst was soon joined by two more guilds, Oxy Guild and Noble House.

Yan Jiyun remembered Noble House from “Hide and Seek.” Their players were nothing special; who knew about their guild leader.

The two Fleet members stammered in reply: “The vice-leader told us not to admit unknowns, in case someone sneaked in with a fake invitation.”

Yan Jiyun: “Tch! All players here, and the airs they put on over a crummy guild, as if no one else could set up their own.”

Qi Feng rarely appeared before other guilds. Newer players naturally wouldn’t recognize him.

Jixiang-jie retorted, “What’s with this, calling us here only to pull rank? Where’s Qi Yunchu?”

Just then, Yan Jiyun heard a familiar voice—the man who’d bought all his scenario data.

“Jixiang-jie, I’m here,” Qi Yunchu answered, grinning. “I apologize, the fault is ours. Our intentions were good—hope everyone isn’t offended.”

Those who accomplish big things know how to yield when necessary.

At his words, the two guards, after glancing at Qi Feng, took a step back, falling silent.

Qi Yunchu gestured to Qi Feng, “Feng-ge, please?”

Qi Feng nodded. “Mm.”

He had barely spoken at all, letting others quarrel as they wished, finding it pointless to argue himself.

With that sorted, Lan Mo and the others were allowed in—though they were sent to separate lounges. Only guild heads or free player teams’ captains were invited to the main meeting, due to limited numbers and logistical concerns.

Counting Qi Feng, there were ten well-known free player captains, with each guild sending two representatives (usually the guild leader and deputy).

Quite a few looked regretful that a fight hadn’t broken out.

Among the sighs, Yan Jiyun recognized a voice—one he’d never forget: it was Chu Mo, from the Peak Tournament. Which guild was he leading now?

Chu Mo’s social skills were up to par; seeing Qi Feng, he even stopped for a public greeting, unfazed by the looks of others.

Seats were first-come, first-served—none of that formal posturing from the real world.

Yan wanted to know which guild Chu Mo belonged to. His luck at running into so many guild leaders was uncanny.

Today’s meeting hadn’t been flung together at the last minute.

Qi Feng set the cat bag on the adjacent seat, looking like a solo attendee but actually occupying two seats.

Yan didn’t dare stick out his head, crouching obediently inside.

If hunger struck, Qi Feng would feed him pre-packaged fish snacks.

But this was a reconnaissance mission, not a picnic.

The organizing Fleet guild dispensed with formalities; Qi Yunchu went straight to the point.

Qi Yunchu addressed them: “Thank you all for coming. The goal is simple—we need to work together to find a way out. That’s what we’ve always been doing.”

He’d barely begun before pushback started.

“How many years has it been? Still no solution.”

“Yeah, we’ve thrown manpower at this for ages with nothing to show. When the break’s up, we’re still going into scenarios.”

“It’s the same, year after year.”

Qi Yunchu let them vent, unperturbed, waiting for the grumbling to run down before resuming.

“This summit is not arbitrary. Recently, we’ve discovered bugs—one in the Peak Tournament, another in ‘Mermaid.’ Half of you have entered the Peak. You noticed the exit was much quicker this time, right?”

“True. Used to be five whole days, but this time only two.”

“President Qi, what’s the theory here? You found a bug?”

Qi Yunchu: “Would I be sharing this if I didn’t have a meaningful clue?”

Yan Jiyun could tell—the Fleet wanted to take the lead on bug-hunting, their goal to escape the game. But he also realized this meeting wasn’t about seeking outside support, but imparting a concept: they wanted out. Qi Feng surely saw through this as well.

Some showed lively interest; others remained on the sidelines.

Chu Mo, back row, arms folded: “So, what did you find?”

Qi Yunchu: “In the Peak Tournament, a critical NPC vanished.”

“Vanished? How’d you spot that?”

“Aren’t NPCs just system data? Can’t they be rebuilt?”

Chu Mo: “So it’s not what everyone thinks? Never heard of key NPCs vanishing before.”

New Vanguard’s Yu Zhe: “Which scenario? There were seven fields in the Peak, all different.”

The disappearance of a scenario NPC was major—a true bug, with nothing to hide between players.

Qi Yunchu revealed: “From what I know, it was a black Western dragon, supposed to challenge players, but at some point just disappeared. Someone in your guild must have seen a system update prompt. If so, it means missing NPCs matter—the system can’t function as intended. If we can exploit this, breaking free will become much easier.” Best video game console

Black Western dragon?

Was that Lucifer, whom he’d met?

If He Yuanle were here, he could ask if that was the same dragon—but Lucifer had even escorted Yan to the exit, how could he have disappeared? He’d seemed to be diligently completing his tasks.

Did something happen after Yan left?

He replayed the Tournament—everything had seemed normal, everyone cleared as usual. Where had the problem arisen?

He couldn’t make sense of it. What had Lucifer done?

He noted that every NPC he’d met had been highly human-like. They weren’t easy to win over for ordinary players, but as a cat, he found it easier. Maybe they weren’t just data after all?

Yan logged this as a point for deeper research.

But the way the Fleet summoned all these guild bosses here—surely Central City was still under game control, and such a public anti-system summit would attract monitoring?

Still, the Fleet handled things tightly, and the summit was kept in check.

Qi Yunchu, by focusing attention on system bugs, rallied the “escape the game” guilds—faces alight with hope. But the parties who enjoyed life here, or made the rules, didn’t look pleased.

Those who lived well here could flaunt laws, write rules, spend extravagantly. Some hadn’t seen the real world in two years; perhaps they’d forgotten who they used to be.

For those content here, why wish to return to reality?

Once the Fleet revealed some of their info, other guilds reported experiencing system updates during scenarios. But their cases were merely scenario updates; Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng’s experience—complete reshuffling and a leap from Level 2 to Level 5 scenario—was extreme by comparison.

Yan thought Qi Feng might share this, but he never spoke up at the meeting.

Even so, the Fleet had achieved their aim—they could now judge each guild’s stance, and choose allies accordingly.

For Yan, the session yielded scant new intel—but he did get that the Fleet wanted every guild to scout out players capable of gaining high NPC favor.

It made him worry his own name would spike in value atop the favor leaderboard.

The Fleet had found the NPC favor system before, but kept quiet until now—clearly, they were growing anxious.

Why were “NPC-favor” experts in demand? Would the later stages require such skills? Was this linked to the game’s bugs?

Could maxing out Lucifer’s favor have changed him and caused trouble? That seemed unlikely—he’d only played the game as intended, always finishing each scenario; there’d never been a halt due to missing NPCs.

Why keep pushing for “favor-farming” players? Were they hiding something?

The summit lasted all morning—most guilds happy to share, two or three staying silent, perhaps by temperament, perhaps due to divergent beliefs.

Among free teams, only Qi Feng kept silent, the other four participating in the dialogue.

During the break, Jixiang-jie and Chu Mo both stopped by Qi Feng: she took a seat, he just exchanged a few words and moved on.

Yan was dying to know what Qi Yunchu’s letter to Qi Feng said. Knowing Qi Feng, the endless meeting chatter was boring—he’d even dozed off halfway, only waking when Jixiang-jie sat down.

She chatted with Qi Feng: “That scenario you left three days ago has been sealed. Qi Yunchu wants details from you.”

Qi Feng nodded. “I know—otherwise I wouldn’t have come.”

Jixiang-jie: “Mind sharing what happened? That’s only the second time a scenario’s been sealed.”

The previous closure was when Qi Feng and Su Qiuming had worked together.

Qi Feng clarified: “Not the second—this is the first. Last time, it was just a hiccup. After the bug fix it re-opened, just with a new name. This time, it’s been really shut down.”

Yan, listening, realized Qi Feng was holding back. In the “Mermaid” scenario alone, four instances had been sealed: “Mermaid,” “Innocence,” “Mingya High,” and “Mingya High 2.0.”

He admired Qi Feng’s caution—it took many scenarios to learn how easily trust could fall apart.

Still, everyone here seemed obsessed with Qi Feng’s past—what kind of “deity” was Su Qiuming, for everyone to fixate on him?

But Su Qiuming wasn’t on today’s guest list.

Was he a guild leader? Then why didn’t he show?

Yan itched to gossip about Qi Feng and Su Qiuming—every tale he overheard was a tantalizing fragment.

He’d known Qi Feng less long than Su Qiuming had.

Jixiang-jie: “Could it be that the longer the system runs, the more frequently bugs appear?”

Qi Feng: “That’s my suspicion as well.”

Before they could discuss further, Qi Yunchu and the scar-faced man approached.

Qi Yunchu: “Qi Feng, can I have a word?”

Qi Feng nodded, picking up his ever-present bag. “Sure.”

Qi Yunchu eyed the bag. “What’s in there? You always used to care about appearances.”

“Times change,” Qi Feng answered simply—he had his reasons.

He kept Caramel close for two reasons: to keep an eye on him, and to lure out the “new owner” hiding behind the scenes.

Qi Yunchu took him and the scarred man to a soundproof room.

Qi Yunchu looked grave. “You read my letter, I assume.”

Qi Feng set down his bag. “I did.”

Qi Yunchu: “What do you think?”

Qi Feng shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to top-tier, and I won’t be going any time soon.”

Qi Yunchu: “I thought you’d be softer-hearted.”

Qi Feng: “You overestimate me.”

Qi Yunchu: “It’s not just Su Qiuming who’s vanished—many top-tier players haven’t returned. Our guild has hundreds in there, and none have come out after the last scenario.”

Qi Feng: “So you think it’s bug-related? The other guilds have probably experienced the same. Find them—they’ll be your allies. My squad has no top-tier players.”

Qi Yunchu: “Aren’t you worried about Su Qiuming?”

Qi Feng leaned back, legs stretched out, utterly at ease. “Qi Yunchu, you know—players survive scenarios only by clearing them. There are plenty in top-tier; your guild has the numbers and the talent. Why tie me and Su Qiuming together? We split two years ago over strategic disagreements, and I’ve never set foot in top-tier. I don’t know any more than you.”

Yan realized Qi Yunchu wanted to leverage past ties for aid—but Qi Feng wouldn’t play along.

Qi Yunchu: “Since it’s come to this, I’ll show my cards.”

The scarred man, Zhuoyue, handed over a gold, palm-sized card with a cartoon raccoon on the back and a white button.

Qi Feng didn’t touch it. “What’s this?”

Zhuoyue pressed the white button. From within the card, a weak voice spoke: “Help me!”

At the same time, words appeared on the front: Player Su Qiuming urgently needs 10 friends to assist in clearing the scenario. To enter, press the black button, any level allowed. Best video game console

[Friend entry countdown: 30:03.]

Qi Feng’s first reaction: “A prank?”

Qi Yunchu explained: “At first, we thought so too, but at the same time, other guilds with top-tier access received the same card.”

Qi Feng pressed further: “Did you get this card directly, or did someone slip it to you? And aren’t you Su Qiuming’s friend? Why not go in yourself?”

It was both sarcasm and a twist of the knife.

Even Yan felt a spark of anger. Knowing the two had split, why did they have the nerve to chase Qi Feng now?

Zhuoyue, face hard: “He can’t. Yunchu is ill; entering top-tier is suicide.”

Qi Yunchu waved a hand. “Never mind. Qi Feng—I know Su Qiuming betrayed you in a scenario, but he said he had no choice. I’m begging you to save him—whatever it takes, name your price.”

Qi Feng rose. “Sorry. It’s not that I’d stand by and do nothing—I simply can’t help.” He rested his hand on the bag. “I have my own responsibilities, too.” If anything happened to him, wouldn’t Caramel’s new owner just scoop him up?

Yan had been tense the whole time, fearing Qi Feng might soften and agree.

Reject moral blackmail—from the litter-box attendant on up!