Cat 188: Finding Qi Feng

Chapter 188: Finding Qi Feng

Why had his sanity pollution gone down?

Sanity pollution was essentially a measure of rationality—if it went down, he must have been losing his composure out of worry.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t afraid of the Qi Feng replicant; after thinking it through, perhaps what he was afraid of was the fake Qi Feng hiding the real Qi Feng somewhere.

He still didn’t understand the mechanics behind the appearance of the replicas—a big problem for now.

As president of the largest guild, Qi Yunchu had known Qi Feng longer than Yan Jiyun had. There was no way he hadn’t noticed the fake Qi Feng. He’d been here several days—he definitely knew about the doppelgangers.

And hadn’t Yan Jiyun seen a Qi Yunchu copy soon after entering? Why did that copy run away then?

But that didn’t matter now. The fake Qi Feng was here, deceiving Qi Yunchu’s trust, while the real Qi Feng’s whereabouts were unknown.

Before entering, the game had warned that Qi Feng was near death; but now inside, there was no information about his state—not even a health bar. This game was absolute garbage.

Qi Yunchu—it was a stroke of luck he’d found this staff lounge. So far, Yan Jiyun hadn’t heard any other signs of life.

Counting the player just dealt with by the fake Qi Feng, there were still twenty-eight others unaccounted for.

Wait—was Yan Jiyun counted among these twenty-nine?

If he was, then shouldn’t the player count have increased upon his arrival? But he wasn’t here as a mainline participant—he’d come from another instance to save the primary account. If the player count remained the same, did that mean he could appear in different identities?

From the conversation between Qi Yunchu and the fake Qi Feng, it was clear that the little black cat was assumed to have entered with Qi Feng, not as a separate player. That would put the total at thirty, not twenty-nine.

Was the pet status truly a system bug?

Yan Jiyun’s mood lightened. This time, the instance really had only assigned him the role of Qi Feng’s sub-account, not a player; whatever he did in this instance wouldn’t affect the others, and the rest of the players might not even pay attention to him.

The fake Qi Feng was still pumping Qi Yunchu for information. Qi Yunchu answered ambiguously—he wasn’t stupid; it was obvious he recognized the probing, and, surprisingly, Qi Feng actually brought up Su Qiuming’s name, which was odd since after falling out with Su Qiuming, Qi Feng never mentioned him in front of others.

Right—Qi Feng had mainly entered this instance because of Su Qiuming, but where was Su Qiuming now?

Qi Yunchu, countering with his own test, said, “I was sick when I made my way over here. If I remember right, Su Qiuming went to Tower D. He said he wanted to meet up with you, seemed to have something to say.”

The fake Qi Feng couldn’t judge if Qi Yunchu’s words were true. “It’s probably dangerous in D Tower.”

“Yes, I’m worried about him. The further this goes, the more dangerous it gets!” Qi Yunchu feigned a sigh, voicing his worries.

Yan Jiyun kept watch on the fake Qi Feng. Clearly, the copy intended to use Qi Feng’s relationships to catch all the players in one net.

If a replicant won ultimate victory, the instance would probably end.

The fake Qi Feng made an excuse to head to Tower D, perhaps not realizing Qi Yunchu might have fed him false info—but Yan Jiyun had noticed.

Qi Yunchu was no naive fool—he was wary of the copy too.

Holding the little black cat, Qi Yunchu noticed the fake Qi Feng hadn’t left, still loitering inside.

Suddenly, the replica drew a dagger from his waistband, grinning darkly. “Qi Yunchu.”

Qi Yunchu was indeed ill. He’d been resting, but hadn’t let down his guard against the fake Qi Feng, though he knew his own skill was inferior.

He immediately used a stealth item. The little black cat jumped from his arms, darting past the fake Qi Feng—who, as a copy, had no particular interest in the cat leaving, and didn’t even care.

The invisible Qi Yunchu was now in real danger. The staff rest room was small and had no alternate exit—he’d have to slip past the replica near the door.

Yan Jiyun felt something was off. As head of a major guild, Qi Yunchu was too smart to have forced Qi Feng into the game to save Su Qiuming; why had he acted like a clueless love-struck protagonist that day? There had to be something else going on.

Players here for more than three years must be hiding a lot from someone like him with just three months’ experience.

If they were really up against the system, plenty of secrets likely remained. Since Qi Feng hadn’t spoken harshly to Qi Yunchu, that meant he was sending a message—one that couldn’t be spoken outright? Maybe Qi Feng wasn’t really being asked to save anybody?

Good thing he wasn’t impulsive. Otherwise, he might now be cheering for Qi Yunchu to get killed by the fake.

But now, he understood—Qi Yunchu couldn’t die. The guild held vital player data, and if he died, the player structure would be changed.

The game never wanted players to unite; no wonder every guild leader was drawn in, to disrupt the balance of Central City.

Yan Jiyun realized this top-tier instance was no ordinary game. The system was purging players who stood in its way!

Was he a target too?

If so, he had all the more reason to defeat the instance. Anyone covered by Qi Feng’s plan, he would save.

The key problem now was that Qi Yunchu might not make it out. He was suppressing his breathing, but it was clear he was sick, and Yan Jiyun could hear him. He knew exactly where Qi Yunchu was.

But the fake Qi Feng not only inherited Qi Feng’s memories and personality, he also matched his combat skills. Even if Yan Jiyun turned human, he couldn’t defeat him. How could he lure the copy away?

The little black cat had left the rest room, but hadn’t gone far. It sat just out of reach, watching Yan Jiyun.

Suddenly, an idea struck. Yan Jiyun yowled at the empty corridor!

“Meow!”

“Meow!”

“Meow!”

The fake Qi Feng had wanted to kill Qi Yunchu quietly, proving he didn’t want other players or their copies to catch on.

Yan Jiyun’s howling could draw either other players or their doubles, though at the cost of outing himself as Qi Feng’s cat.

He looked at the little black cat, gave it a glance. The cat, having been defeated by him, wanted to challenge him again to regain face and inherited his competitive spirit.

Though no longer under his control, the clone now saw him as its boss after losing their fight.

The boss’s orders prevailed.

So, on the first floor of Tower B, two black cats crouched at the door, howling non-stop.

The fake Qi Feng had already pulled out his dagger and was about to kill Qi Yunchu, only to have his plan foiled by two cats.

“Meow!”

“Meow!”

“Meow!”

Yan Jiyun waited outside, not going in.

The fake Qi Feng cursed inwardly: Damn black cats, so noisy! Ruining his plan!

He couldn’t stand missing the chance to kill Qi Yunchu.

Yan Jiyun heard footsteps running his way, but the fake still didn’t leave, determined to finish off Qi Yunchu.

But Qi Yunchu wasn’t new—ill or not, he seized his chance. In that instant of distraction, he slipped closer to the door, now just an arm’s length away from the copy.

The howls continued. To the fake Qi Feng, the sound felt like torture, noise, interference!

His expression twisted—damn black cats, why were they looking for their master now?

Don’t call him—he’s not your master.

Yan Jiyun used his noise attack relentlessly. The fake Qi Feng slashed his dagger at where Qi Yunchu had just stood, but as expected, it hit only air—Qi Yunchu was already at the door and fled.

Hearing the commotion, the fake gave chase.

Outside was a long hallway with three branches: mall, restroom, fire exit.

Yan Jiyun saw Qi Yunchu escape toward the mall and led the little black cat to run too.

The fake Qi Feng, face ferocious, was about to chase toward the mall but saw several people running out of Tower C, so he ducked into the emergency stairwell, vanishing instantly.

Yan Jiyun had hoped to find the real Qi Feng by tracking the copy, but from his actions, it seemed that even the copy didn’t know where the real one was. Otherwise, why stalk Qi Yunchu instead of eliminating Qi Feng and replacing him for an instant win?

After freeing Qi Yunchu, Yan Jiyun didn’t go with him—he couldn’t communicate in cat language, and besides, others had arrived. In Qi Yunchu’s eyes, he was just a cat who entered with Qi Feng. Even after saving him, one can never be too cautious.

Two players approached, bloodstained and battered—one was recognized by Yan Jiyun from that meeting: Chu Mo.

How did they get here? Was Chu Mo one of those who got a card from Xu Xian?

He still didn’t know where to go next, so he squeezed into a shoebox in a sneaker shop. The little black cat copied him, finding its own box and leaping, bouncing around like it had discovered a game, finally crouching when people arrived.

Chu Mo’s companion was likely his teammate and guild president, Wen Ye, while Chu Mo served as vice-president. Their guild was called “Unremarkable”—what peculiar names these groups had.

Chu Mo searched the area for something.

Wen Ye: “What are you looking for?”

Chu Mo (among the coats): “Didn’t you hear those cats just now?”

Wen Ye: “Yeah, but what does that have to do with finding anyone?”

Chu Mo: “Remember I told you about the peak event? I told you I met Qi Feng.”

Wen Ye: “Yeah, I remember.”

Chu Mo: “I also told you, we encountered a black cat in the game.”

Wen Ye: “It’s not strange for a game to have a cat.”

Chu Mo shook his head: “No, that one was only close to Qi Feng. And I just heard cats—days in this instance and not a single cat or cat-monster until now.”

Wen Ye: “So you followed the sound?”

Chu Mo: “I bet that cat is Qi Feng’s—probably looking for its master.”

In the shoebox, Yan Jiyun nodded to himself. Good bet; now help look for Qi Feng.

Smart, as expected from a previous choice of collaborator.

Wen Ye: “But we haven’t seen Qi Feng anywhere.”

Chu Mo: “His copy is too powerful. If we want to leave this instance, we need to find him.”

Wen Ye: “Last we saw him was on the fourth floor of D Tower. He chased Su Qiuming into an arcade.”

Chu Mo: “What? Aren’t they on bad terms? Why would he rescue Su Qiuming?”

Wen Ye: “Doesn’t matter; either way, we have to find the real one. Otherwise, we don’t even know what’ll kill us.”

Their conversation was quiet, but Yan Jiyun caught every word.

By “the real one,” they meant the actual player, not some inhuman copy—tough to tell apart, though.

Yan Jiyun knew these two were real, but he still wouldn’t go with them. The only person he could trust here was Qi Feng. Still, luck was on his side—he’d run into Qi Yunchu, Chu Mo, and Wen Ye.

But they had no clues he needed.

To avoid future confusion, he signaled the little black cat to rub against the two players.

Copied cats had a unique scent—Qi Yunchu had held one, so now, no matter how many Qi Yunchus appeared, if they lacked that scent, they were fake.

The little black cat now deferred entirely to Yan Jiyun; quickly produced, untrained by the system, it was already tamed by force of habit and instinct.

The black cat leaped from the shoebox, slinking around Chu Mo and Wen Ye’s legs.

Chu Mo excitedly nudged Wen Ye: “See, I told you Qi Feng’s cat was here too.”

Wen Ye: “How’d it get in?”

Chu Mo bent to pick it up: “No idea, but it’s here—and heavier and bigger than before.”

Wen Ye: “So friendly. Should we take it along?”

Chu Mo: “Maybe it can help us find Qi Feng.”

Yan Jiyun wished the black cat could help, but the game would never let him cheat. The cat was created to counter him—not to help. Still, it made a decent tool for now.

He got no specifics from Chu Mo, but learned Qi Feng had recently chased after Su Qiuming.

Had Su Qiuming led Qi Feng into danger again?

Qi Feng wouldn’t fall in the same trap twice, would he? That wasn’t like the person he knew.

Su Qiuming was one of the first batch to enter this instance, so maybe following him for clues wouldn’t be a bad idea.

For now, Yan Jiyun couldn’t draw any definitive conclusions—information was too fragmented.

Both Wen Ye and Chu Mo had shown up. Qi Yunchu didn’t come to meet them—perhaps experience had made him wary.

None of that mattered to Yan Jiyun. He darted off in the direction Chu Mo and Wen Ye had come from.

Hearing Yan Jiyun slip out, the black cat wriggled free of Chu Mo’s arms and chased after him.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye exchanged glances: “Does it know where Qi Feng is? Quick, after it!”

Yan Jiyun: “……”

Seriously, why are you following?

He wanted to find Qi Feng alone.

The black cat’s hearing and stamina nearly matched Yan Jiyun’s own. In a flash, it caught up to him.

Not wanting to be exposed, Yan Jiyun dodged and weaved so that even if Chu Mo and Wen Ye caught up, they didn’t realize there was another black cat here.

His goal now: the fourth floor arcade in Tower D.

He was currently in Tower B, so he needed to traverse the second-floor corridor to Tower C, then from C to D.

He’d never been in D before. Running and scanning the signs, he quickly left Chu Mo and Wen Ye behind.

After three minutes of sprinting, Yan Jiyun finally reached Tower D.

Compared to the bloody atmosphere of Towers B and C, D smelled cleaner, though maybe because of its larger size. It positively dripped with Christmas cheer—every shop entrance boasted a Christmas tree and eerily grinning Santa figures.

Yan Jiyun saw a large movie theater sign, but that was on the fifth floor; the arcade must be just beneath, on the fourth.

At last, the arcade.

All the toy prizes from claw machines or win-streak games wore Christmas hats.

Yan Jiyun watched the arcade from the doorway.

The black cat beat him inside.

What kind of arcade was this—did it eat people? Why had Qi Feng entered?

In a quiet corner, Yan Jiyun shifted into human form, took a deep breath, and strode in after the cat.

The first things he saw were several shooting games, where NPC players blasted away in rapid fire at in-game targets.

The NPCs cursed as they lost another round, furious: “Damn it, died again! This NPC is too good at dodging! Can’t hit him at all! Did the game crank the evasion up on purpose?!”

Yan Jiyun looked at their screens—the camo-clad game figure looked vivid and real, scars clear on his face, a spray of bullets chasing a running man—Yan hardly dared blink.

What the hell—!

That figure, running wild in the game—wasn’t that Qi Feng, the man he’d searched everywhere for?

What the hell kind of deranged instance was this?!