Cat 211: Guilty Conscience

Chapter 211: A Guilty Conscience

The reason Yan Jiyun was so excited was because he shared the same idea as Qi Feng, and there was an important reason for that.

Even though he was a novice player, the fact that his thinking could keep pace with that of advanced players proved his ideas were correct.

But to return to the point, they still needed to consider what purpose those items they had acquired would serve.

Yan Jiyun told Qi Feng his thoughts directly: “I suspect this Christmas present isn’t actually meant for us to find.”

Qi Feng put a bit of distance between himself and Yan Jiyun, then nodded. “Yes, what we’ve done is collect all the items related to Christmas, and when you put them together, it seems as though we’re being asked to set up a Christmas celebration, or to craft a Christmas gift by hand.”

Yan Jiyun nodded vigorously in agreement. “Exactly, that’s what I was thinking. Since none of these props have given us any further hints, maybe we should approach from a different angle. Although, crafting a Christmas gift seems more likely.”

Qi Feng said, “How we go about making it is something we should discuss with Chu Mo and Wen Ye.”

Yan Jiyun glanced around at the room full of props. Truth be told, he already had a rough idea about making a Christmas gift.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye had finished searching as well, and came over to regroup with them.

As soon as Chu Mo saw Yan Jiyun, he plopped down beside him, casually draping an arm over his shoulder. “Where the hell were you just now? We were looking all over for you.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “Jumped off the car, hit my head, blacked out for a bit, but Feng found me and woke me up.”

Chu Mo clicked his tongue. “Well, as long as you’re all right.”

Wen Ye came over and sat down too. “Shall we consolidate our ideas now? Time’s running short, after all.”

Qi Feng glanced at Chu Mo, who was attached to Yan Jiyun, and shared his and Yan Jiyun’s theory.

“Make a Christmas gift? But how? We don’t even have the most basic tools. And what kind of Christmas gift does the system want us to make in order for us to pass?” Chu Mo was skeptical.

Yan Jiyun made a careful tally of the most eye-catching and plentiful items in the shop, those that filled two entire shelves: snow globes?

What kind of gift should they make?

Following Yan Jiyun’s gaze, Qi Feng looked at the snow globes displayed on the shelf and, a beat ahead of Yan Jiyun, spoke up: “A snow globe?”

Yan Jiyun, staring at the snow globe, was not thinking about Christmas, but about something else entirely.

Wait—if the system required them to make a Christmas snow globe, would that snow globe become the next game scenario?

Would it form a death loop?

“That makes sense, making this snow globe,” Chu Mo said, turning to Yan Jiyun. “You came up with it, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Qi Feng also nudged Yan Jiyun with his elbow. “Yeah, what’s on your mind?”

Yan Jiyun scratched his nose. “Say, what if the scenario we’re in now is just a snow globe itself? The game is having us make a Christmas-themed snow globe, and what if the one we make turns into the next game scenario?”

It was a sharp question, drawing everyone’s attention in an instant.

Qi Feng was first to respond. “That’s not impossible. No wonder breaking the other snow globes didn’t do anything—maybe only the player-created ones matter.”

Following this line of thought, Chu Mo immediately considered the consequences. “So if we don’t make it, we can’t get out? And if we do, it’s like we’re giving the game a new setting—helping the enemy.”

Yan Jiyun thought of the mall inside the snow globe, the corpses of players and clones scattered everywhere, and unwittingly rubbed his arms. “Gives me goosebumps. If people will die inside the snow globe I make, I’d rather not make it at all.”

Qi Feng said, “Maybe there’s a solution that lets us escape while still handing the game a finished piece.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “But what kind of piece? Right now it’s all guesswork, nothing definitive—it’s just a flight of fancy.”

In return, Qi Feng patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short—your ideas have always been original and they inspire us.”

After all, they’d been trapped inside the game for so long that even their thinking could get trapped, easily steered by the game itself. After meeting Yan Jiyun, Qi Feng realized he was different from other newcomers. Most rookies wanted to follow the lead of veteran players, divided their energy between fear and learning from the old-timers, and nearly lost their ability to think for themselves.

Yan Jiyun was the standout among newcomers, truly unlike the rest—and this wasn’t just flattery; he really was exceptional. Qi Feng had never met another newcomer so resilient, one with not just solo survival skills but a keen mind that matched and even surpassed the vast majority of veterans in terms of creative thinking.

Being praised didn’t faze Yan Jiyun at all. When he was a cat, Qi Feng had praised him for everything already, and now these compliments barely moved him.

Chu Mo also recognized the strength of Yan Jiyun’s imagination. Even if there was no proof yet, the idea seemed entirely plausible—something the game would absolutely pull off.

“If you weren’t a player yourself, I’d suspect you were one of the game’s developers—your thinking is too damn clever. If I were the mastermind villain behind the game, I’d definitely use your idea.”

“You don’t have to be a villain to use my ideas,” Yan Jiyun shot back with a glance.

Wen Ye was a man of action: “Talking about it won’t prove if we’re right—why don’t we experiment and see how to create the gift?”

He was right.

The four of them got to work.

Besides Yan Jiyun, Chu Mo and Wen Ye each brought out the props they’d collected. Once placed in their inventories, props became items they could manipulate at will.

They were still missing a snow globe and the necessary tools.

Qi Feng and Wen Ye headed off to pick a suitable snow globe from the shelves, setting out without delay.

Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo remained at base camp to discuss what kind of Christmas gift to create and how to decorate the snow globe.

Designing a snow globe was no easy feat.

In the real world, there are DIY miniature house kits, with materials that come with videos and blueprints. They had neither video nor blueprints, so they’d have to rely on imagination.

Yan Jiyun held pen and paper, at a loss. “Maybe we should just make the simplest thing?”

Chu Mo asked, “And what would that be?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “What kind of life did you imagine before you entered the game?”

Chu Mo suddenly sighed. “Before I came to the game, I had ambitions—youthful dreams, you know, wanting to do something big, to impress my brother and the rest. But now all I want is something simple: a meal, a companion, a house, a dog, a view of the sea, spring blossoming.”

Yan Jiyun nodded rapidly. “That’s my ideal life too: just me and a cat, good food to eat, and, most important, someone to remember me when it’s all over. I’ve got it!”

Chu Mo was still reminiscing over his lost happiness. “Got what?”

A sly gleam flashed through Yan Jiyun’s eyes as he replied with a grin, “The Christmas present, of course. If it’s a little world, then it should reflect our heart’s desire. It doesn’t matter what kind of world we create, as long as we make it ourselves. ‘A flower, a world; a tree, a bodhi.'”

Suddenly, Chu Mo got it, and the two happily high-fived.

Simple, useful, and perfectly suited for Christmas—the idyllic scene of a farm was second to none.

Of course, there were all sorts of farms, large and small. They could set up a tiny one, desolate after the autumn harvest, with nothing left in the world but a little wooden house.

Cat and dog, fireplace and rocking chair, wool blanket, chickens, ducks, and geese—a dream life.

It seemed that the previous generation of players hadn’t considered the consequences that their Christmas gift would have on later players. In order to earn a huge point bonus, they’d created a complicated, endlessly replicating mall, driving this round’s players to madness and death.

The two of them began gathering materials for their DIY project, finding that it wasn’t just Christmas items that could be put into the inventory. But the system still drew a line: no matter how Yan Jiyun tried, it refused to let him store any tools. The system was excluding him.

Frustrated by the system’s rejection, Yan Jiyun channeled his feelings into action, grabbing pen and paper to sketch out a rough draft: just a few lines to form little blocks. He didn’t need to draw, just labeled each square—so long as it made sense to them. Even the blocky shapes had their own charm if you looked at them long enough.

They found similar materials on various shelves, and just waited for Qi Feng and Wen Ye to return with the glass globe so they could start assembling.

Qi Feng and Wen Ye were gone for quite a while, but Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo had almost everything else ready by then.

Nearly half an hour later, Qi Feng and Wen Ye finally appeared, and the reason for their delay was plain to see with the two people trailing behind them.

The ones who returned were Qi Yunchu and Su Qiuming, supporting each other as they walked.

They looked far from well; evidently, they’d just survived a brutal fight.

Su Qiuming was in low spirits, his wounded thigh now much worse. He sat against the wall, lost in thought and sapped of all his energy.

Qi Yunchu was in better shape, likely just exhausted. Once he’d caught his breath, he began telling Qi Feng what happened after they encountered the clones and got separated from Chu Mo and Wen Ye.

Qi Feng waited for them to recover and then asked, “Where’s Xu Xian?”

“Turns out, the one who was following us was a fake,” Qi Yunchu replied.

Qi Feng merely gave a calm “Oh,” indicating he understood. Among the five of them, one turned out to be a clone. After running into even more clones, it was a wonder any of them had survived.

The atmosphere was cold, more than a little heavy.

So at that moment, whether Xu Xian was alive or dead, no one knew.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t close to Xu Xian, but the fact that Xu Xian had tried to drag Qi Feng into the top-level scenario had already put Yan Jiyun off the man. No wonder he’d always felt there was something off about Xu Xian—everything Xu Xian did seemed suspicious. With Su Qiuming present, and Xu Xian’s own prickly personality, no one had suspected him. Of course, Yan Jiyun wouldn’t go so far as to wish him dead—he simply felt regret.

Whatever happened, it was normal in the game. All seasoned players had been through it; such things didn’t really shake them.

Qi Feng produced the hard-won empty snow globe. “Shall we start now?”

Yan Jiyun handed over his drawing. “Let’s make this.”

Qi Feng opened the homemade blueprint and hesitated for a moment before finding some apt words. “Very creative. Clear and to the point.”

Yan Jiyun basked in the compliment. “Right? Isn’t it simple?” Qi Feng met his confident gaze and asked for the pen. “Let me add a few lines to make it more readable.”

Qi Feng really did have a way with words, saying little but always striking the right note. “Sure.”

He took the rough sketch, and with a few quick, practiced strokes, transformed it into a vivid pastoral scene.

Yan Jiyun marveled, “No one can match your drawing skills. If you add any more, it’ll be a full-fledged painting. When we’re out of the game, could you draw one for me? I want to hang it on my wall for inspiration.”

He nearly blurted out “owner” in his excitement.

Lost in Yan Jiyun’s praise, Qi Feng glanced at the black cat grooming itself nearby and drew ten identical stick-figure cats in the scene. He made one the biggest, most relaxed, with the longest tail and even the finest whiskers—clear evidence of his deep affection for his cat.

Their heads crept steadily closer while working. Suddenly, Chu Mo wedged himself between them with a pointed reminder. “Hey, you two, quit playing around. Don’t waste time here. No matter how good the design is, we need a finished product. Give me the blueprint—we need to get to work.”

Qi Feng realized their heads were almost touching and hurriedly handed the drawing to Chu Mo. “Oh, here.”

Yan Jiyun shot him an odd look and whispered, “Why do you look like you’re hiding something? You’re not a clone, are you?”

Qi Feng pressed a hand to his head, suppressing a fleeting look of panic. “Nonsense. Get to work.”

Yan Jiyun, out of habit, nuzzled his head into Qi Feng’s palm, making his head itch.

Qi Feng’s hand froze for an instant. His palm felt both hot and itchy.