Cat 199: Too Loud

Chapter 199: Too Loud

The essence of this instance was, in truth, the monsters that appeared within it.

His pet notification panel hadn’t updated since before entering this scenario. Evidently, as long as he and Qi Feng were in the same instance, the system wouldn’t report on one another’s statuses.

But come to think of it, he hadn’t once seen this instance’s monster for himself—what exactly was going on?

The building continued to thunder with that rhythmic pounding, tremors running beneath their feet.

Chu Mo remarked, “There are more of them this time than last?”

Wen Ye: “Number and size might be different from the first appearance.”

Qi Yunchu: “They’re getting closer.”

Xu Xian: “But it’s strange the monster’s never attacked us directly.”

Su Qiuming: “How do you know it hasn’t? Aren’t the replicants its handiwork?”

Perhaps Xu Xian was slower than the others—he fell silent.

Yan Jiyun was even more silent. It wasn’t that there were monsters in addition to replicants, but rather that the origins of the replicants lay with this mysterious monster itself.

He guessed: wasn’t this an instance where the monster was searching for its Christmas gift?

Still, without laying eyes on the monster, nothing was certain—there was little point in overthinking.

Qi Feng and the others headed for Buildings A and B. The first floors of both buildings were connected; through the mall’s enormous windows, they could glimpse something moving outside.

Where were they headed? Would they have to face this monster head on?

No wonder they’d distributed equipment so carefully earlier—not just the replicants, but something even more formidable was waiting outside.

They rushed to the entrance of Building A. There, the carnage was even thicker—heaps of corpses littered the floor. But these were not human bodies, but monsters: grotesquely deformed, though with faint hints of animal shape beneath.

According to the notification, Qi Feng was supposed to be facing a mutant Santa Claus. Yet as Yan studied the bodies, there were no humanlike figures, only mutated, misshapen beasts.

Corpses in this instance didn’t vanish; so Qi Feng’s previous battles must have left traces somewhere. But he saw nothing yet—all might be happening elsewhere.

After a few days in these buildings, anyone would go mad.

And in all these hours, he’d never seen a player or replicant leave the mall. Compared to the replicants, the monsters outside seemed even more terrifying.

Xu Xian said, “With these weapons, we shouldn’t have any problem dealing with the monster, right?”

Dragged into this game, none of the players had brought personal items—all tools came from the mall. Most people kept weapons handy under normal circumstances. If you had something your first time in, you used it; if not, you did without.

Qi Feng was the first to step outside the mall.

Yan Jiyun tensed—he was about to confront a monster directly and grew increasingly anxious. The last time he’d seen monsters in an instance was in the championship matches, when monsters literally devoured players.

One by one, the others followed Qi Feng out, standing shoulder to shoulder beside him.

Now the pounding thunder of the world outside grew even more palpable to Yan Jiyun.

Beyond the mall, it was pitch black. Soon, the drumming became a low, ancient-sounding chant, as though spoken in some forgotten tongue.

Darkness was no obstacle for Yan Jiyun. In the gloom, he saw a pair of enormous eyes—deep blue, shaped like oversized human eyes, though the rest of the thing’s body was invisible.

But one thing was certain: the gaze of those eyes was sweeping across every soul inside the building.

Was the rumbling like an earthquake the monster slamming its hands on the ground?

Judging by the size of those eyes—if it were human, it would be a giant.

A giant, come to demand a Christmas present before the holiday’s arrival? Then what, exactly, was the Christmas gift?

Yan Jiyun recalled how Qi Feng had once been hunted over a key item by other players. How, in just a few days, had he become so friendly with Su Qiuming and the others?

That was a detail he’d nearly forgotten to question.

He glanced at Qi Feng, who happened to be looking down. From head to toe, this was his cat’s true owner—impossible to mistake. But the initial hostility among players, why had it disappeared?

No, he should have faith in Qi Feng—not in the system’s ambiguous notices. It was almost easy to be misled by the game.

Yan Jiyun noticed that, apart from their group, there were no replicants in sight.

Or perhaps, they were the only ones bold enough to venture outside at this point; the rest might still be locked in struggle against replicants inside.

For now, Yan Jiyun was in no danger—he could keep observing, and if a fight broke out, find a moment to reappear as a human.

He was unsure if the others could see the giant eyes hidden in the night.

In a brief daze, the eyes vanished—an extraterrestrial presence, perhaps. Qi Feng and the rest must have guessed at the identity of the dungeon’s boss.

Yan Jiyun looked up, sensing something overhead.

Qi Feng, following his cat’s gaze, saw nothing but pitch black above.

Chu Mo asked, “Your cat was staring up—did it see something?”

Trust in his pet brought honor to Qi Feng. “Let’s have a look. The sound is always here, yet we never see the monster.”

Su Qiuming stopped him. “Wait. We’ve looked that way before, found nothing but darkness.”

Qi Yunchu: “Don’t you want to know what it is?”

Qi Feng: “Qi always makes a good point. Exchanging your life for the Christmas gift and handing it to an unknown monster—no one would accept that.”

Wen Ye: “And even if we do give it the gift, who’s to say we can leave? No guarantees.”

Yan Jiyun was less troubled—someone needed to scout ahead, and he was perfect for the job.

He wriggled out of Qi Feng’s arms, darted back toward the mall, and meowed a few times.

Qi Yunchu and the others edged forward, thinking the cat just couldn’t sit still and wanted to play outside.

Soon, Little Yellow and Little Green led Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten onto the scene.

Chu Mo said, “You don’t think Caramel just wants friends for backup outside, do you?”

In other words—braving it together.

But Qi Feng understood his cat better than anyone. “That’s not friends—it’s his little gang.”

Yan Jiyun rolled his eyes. A little gang? These were system-issued backup tools, nothing more.

The other cats bolted out of the mall ahead of him.

While lost in thought, Yan Jiyun realized that instead of controlling the replicant cats, he could project his consciousness into any of them and view the world through their eyes—an even simpler process than direct control.

Obediently, Yan Jiyun stuck by Qi Feng, curling up in his arms.

Usually, his cat nature would have driven him to run outside, but this time, he made no move.

Qi Feng glanced down at him, stroked his head, and said nothing.

Yan Jiyun nestled into Qi Feng’s embrace, but his mind had shifted to Little Nine’s body. Yellow and Green always courted danger—and were charging ahead without fear.

From their vantage, there were more creatures in the darkness—not a sound, but, three hundred meters from the mall, countless pairs of glowing green eyes stared their way, densely packed and chilling.

Yan Jiyun’s fur stood on end; he saw everything.

Just then, his whole body fluffed up. Qi Feng happened to look down, catching the dramatic spectacle as his cat went full bristle.

Human senses never matched an animal’s. Instantly, he told the others: “Get back—there’s danger ahead.”

Little Yellow and Little Green lowered themselves to the ground and retreated.

The green eyes were advancing.

Sensing the overwhelming size of these creatures, the kittens immediately turned and sprinted for the mall.

Through Little Nine’s nose, Yan Jiyun caught the strange scent of the green-eyed monsters as they dashed for sanctuary.

Just as Qi Feng and the others retreated inside, all the cats slipped through the doors before they closed behind them.

At that moment—looming against the glass door—a nearly one-meter-high monster.

Yan Jiyun’s consciousness snapped back just as he met the monster’s glowing green eyes. Luckily, he was safe in Qi Feng’s arms, not falling to the floor.

What were these things? They looked like desiccated deer, drained of flesh and blood.

Mutant reindeer, after the mutant Santa Claus?

Terrifying!

He had to tell the players about how to control replicants; otherwise, they couldn’t stand against these monsters.

With this method, they wouldn’t have to fight replicants at all—they could use them to handle these inexplicable monsters.

Yan Jiyun leaped from Qi Feng’s embrace once more, slipping away to a less conspicuous spot.

Qi Feng watched his cat disappear again—was it so frightened it had run off?

And it wasn’t just Caramel; the other kittens were gone as well, the earlier parade of black cats now feeling like a hallucination.

Yan Jiyun found a deserted corner and used his trial card, with Little Yellow and Little Green trailing close behind.

He rubbed his nose: this isn’t going to work, guys. You’ll get me exposed!

Those new replicant cats had never seen him before.

He listened—Qi Feng’s group hadn’t moved in this direction. Yan Jiyun addressed his followers, “Don’t follow me later. Treat me as a stranger, got it? Pretend we’re not acquainted.”

He was ready to dash outside, but the six cats simply wouldn’t leave him.

He had no choice but to sit before them, spread his arms, and sternly, as the boss, push them back. “You can’t come with me. Everyone needs to keep their distance. Understand?”

Six cats looked up at him in unison and chorused, “Meow~aao.”

Too loud.