Cat 212: A New Discovery

Chapter 212: A New Discovery

None of the six of them had much interest in DIY crafts, so figuring out how to make a gift would take some time. A gift basket.

Drawing ideas on paper was simple enough, but integrating all the props—organizing the sequence and arrangement—was a different matter entirely; there was a lot to coordinate, and at first, everyone was all fingers and thumbs.

Yan Jiyun had patience, but he truly lacked any talent for making crafts.

Although he was the one who came up with the idea for the simple Christmas gift, after he destroyed several of the small sticks meant for the roof beams, Chu Mo and the newly joined Qi Yunchu promptly sent him off to play with the cat.

So, with his subpar craftsmanship, Yan Jiyun had no choice but to sit and watch the wounded Su Qiuming, while Xu Xian—who had turned out to be a clone—was definitely not one of them, since a clone wouldn’t have left the snow globe. That, at least, was a relief.

He himself was a cat, so there wasn’t much point in petting himself. In the end, he slouched in place and closed his eyes to rest. He needed to conserve his energy—now wasn’t the time to run about.

Qi Feng and Wen Ye were working together smoothly; the two of them had already headed to the front desk to check on that bratty child. Although they had used a process of elimination on some things, the game always left traps, especially in an elite scenario. There was no way they would get through this so easily.

Everyone was busy with other things, so Yan Jiyun didn’t sit idle. Instead, he closed his eyes and sent his consciousness into his clone cats to look around.

Qi Feng and Wen Ye had gone toward the front desk, so he decided to explore places they hadn’t yet visited. The best arcade machine.

At this point, the giant store manager was picking up all the items that had been knocked over by the “stray cat.” Yan Jiyun darted around to avoid him, snooping as he pleased.

Everything was going so smoothly in terms of making the Christmas gift that Yan Jiyun actually began to feel uneasy. Could things be going too smoothly?

He had nine clone cats, but even as a human, he found this enormous shop exhausting to run around in, never mind for a few cats. Quick as they were, they weren’t built for stamina. After a short run, they needed to stop and rest, and his consciousness cycled among the nine cats.

If it were players, clones would be enemies; even if they surrendered, they’d be useless. But his nine clone cats were different—in this scenario, they were essential companions.

There were only eight hours left until the end of the game.

At first, Yan Jiyun wandered aimlessly, but he decided to follow the giant store manager.

He found it odd: why, after all the chaos, did the store manager not pursue the matter, but instead resign himself to cleaning up?

The giant store manager had caught the bratty child but didn’t punish him, and didn’t try to really hurt the “stray cat” either. The feather duster in his hand had several times nearly struck him, but always landed on the shelves instead, as if he only wanted to scare him off with the sound.

As Yan Jiyun pondered this, the store manager finished tidying the plush toy section, putting the fallen Santa Claus dolls back where they belonged, straightening their hats, and arranging everything neatly and deftly.

He noticed then that there was now a gap on the shelf, most likely where a Santa had been taken earlier. One missing doll ruined the display’s balance.

The store manager headed in the opposite direction from the front desk. Yan Jiyun guessed he was going to the storeroom for a new doll, so he planned to chase after him using Little Nine. He had just started to run when he heard the jingle of the door bell.

Two men walked in from outside, both reeking of smoke. The store manager gave up on going to the storeroom and went out to greet them.

With a smile, the store manager welcomed them: “What can I help you gentlemen with today?”

The moment they entered, the two men pulled out knives and aimed them at the store manager!

Yan Jiyun, now smaller than Qi Feng and the others, found the knives intimidating—like giant choppers.

The two men said, “Hand over all the cash and phones from the register!”

Tiny as an ant, Yan Jiyun was filled with confusion. Why was this gift shop still running a fixed plot? A gift basket.

They were all the size of miniature people; if the store manager was attacked by these robbers, there would be nothing they could do to help. What exactly did the game want from them?

He couldn’t make sense of it and could only watch as the store manager raised his hands over his head, stepping back toward the register with the thieves threatening him. The manager unlocked the register under threat of the blades.

One of the thieves swatted the manager’s hand away and grabbed the cash himself.

The other thief demanded the store manager’s phone and wallet.

The store manager didn’t dare make any sudden moves.

Counting backward from the time left, there were eight hours to go; it should be around 4:00 PM—broad daylight, a busy street. A brat wanting a toy was understandable, but why were robbers acting so brazenly? What sort of scenario was this?

They were working on parallel tracks now. With new plot developments still appearing, it was clear the game wasn’t nearly complete. Missing information could mean being unable to leave the game. The best arcade machine.

In lower-level scenarios, one could leave early after finishing the task, but with an elite scenario, that might not be possible. At first it looked like there was no plot, but there obviously was, and some lingering issues remained to be resolved.

Now the plot pointed to the store manager—what was the connection between the manager and the Christmas snow globe? How had the clones come to be? Where did the monsters come from?

In other scenarios, Yan Jiyun could usually piece together the plot, but in this elite scenario, without a clear story or main task, he felt completely out of sorts—restricted and uncomfortable. He didn’t like it, and he still wanted to get to the bottom of things.

The last scenario had been set in Mr. Qu’s psyche. By the same reasoning, was it possible that this world also belonged to the mind of some NPC?

The monsters and clones were too fantastical—beyond scientific explanation, and their appearance was bizarre. And the arcade games could still be entered at will, the equipment easily accessed—it was truly uncanny.

Who had created the world inside the snow globe?

Why could they leave, but the clones couldn’t?

Could they return to the snow globe?

Finding no new information, his mind was riddled with questions. The main quest—the Christmas gift—had not yet been completed. He decided to return to the shelves and test his theories.

The manager had dealt with the other broken snow globes on the floor, but not the one they had broken. Did he not see it, or was he deliberately avoiding it?

Yan Jiyun sent Little Nine rushing toward the exit.

The rope that used to hang on the shelf was still there. He climbed it quickly—ten meters took him barely a blink—and soon returned to the original spot.

If Qi Yunchu and Su Qiuming had made it out, then all the exits must be the same.

He returned to the exit of the snow globe they had used.

To his astonishment, the snow globe was completely whole, without a single flaw.

Yan Jiyun tried to return to the inside of the globe. It was impossible.

Everyone had exited from a different portal, yet they all arrived in this shop—why?

Yan Jiyun climbed to the top of the shelves. From up high, he could see the entire shop at a glance. He observed the manager tidying the rows of shelves; as soon as anything was missing, he replaced it right away. Most of the piles of merchandise were identical, and despite the enormous shop, there weren’t that many customers. From the time they arrived until now, he’d seen three groups: the first, right as they emerged; the second, the bratty child and the frightened woman; the third, the two robbers.

From this angle, he could see the manager’s calm as he faced the two robbers—his expression absolutely unruffled.

Why wasn’t he afraid at all?

Hands up, the manager said, “My wallet’s in the staff lounge—you can come in and get it.”

Unsatisfied with just the loose cash, and griping that it was less than two hundred—barely enough for a hotpot—the thieves eagerly followed the store manager into the staff lounge to get the wallet.

One of them threatened with a knife: “Hurry up. Don’t waste our time!”

Yan Jiyun noticed the manager wasn’t anxious in the least. Under true fear, a person would hand over their wallet at once, then call the police when the thieves left.

But his phone had already been taken—there was no way to call for help. Yet when the robbers showed up, he had barely reacted; there had been more emotion in chasing out the cat. He was just too composed.

Yan Jiyun watched the two robbers follow the manager into the right-hand staff lounge. The left door said “Storeroom.”

“Ah! My eyes!”

“You son of a—!”

The two robbers began shouting one after the other, but it was unclear what had happened.

Yan Jiyun, no longer a big cat, could not leap from shelf to shelf, so he crouched in place and waited for further developments.

How odd. The pair ought to have been knocked out by something like a stun baton, yet there were no sounds of bodies hitting the floor or being dragged.

After a moment, the store manager emerged from the lounge, calm as ever. He retrieved his phone, acting as though nothing had happened.

Yan Jiyun was puzzled. If the manager was so composed, it made sense if he had a means of self-defense—but then why didn’t he call the police?

From his vantage point, Yan Jiyun saw that Qi Feng and Wen Ye were no longer at the front desk. He suspected they had followed the manager into the lounge as well.

Withdrawing his gaze, he began climbing back down the rope.

At least now he understood one thing: once players exited the snow globe, they couldn’t go back in.

Treat the snow globe as just one scenario among several; after clearing it, they couldn’t return to a previous stage.

But wait, if this was only the second scenario, could there be a third?

He’d thought the game would be nearly over by now, with no more new areas, but who said there couldn’t be multiple stages just because they hadn’t cleared them all yet? Each instance was different—varying in difficulty, plot, and duration. The best arcade machine.

An elite instance that lasted over ten days in a single location just didn’t fit the style of this game.

Perhaps the snow globe was just the first level—and a hellish one at that. If they cleared that, whether the next stage would be easier or harder depended on what came next.

Best case, the gift shop was the second stage with lower difficulty; worst case, it was even harder than hell.

Yan Jiyun withdrew his consciousness from Little Nine, returning to himself, just as he heard Su Qiuming calling his name.

He opened his eyes to see Su Qiuming’s face loom large before him.

Su Qiuming was full of concern. “You wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did—I thought something happened to you.”

Yan Jiyun guessed his sudden concern came because, with all the commotion, he hadn’t reacted at all. As a temporary teammate, it was only natural for Su Qiuming to check on him.

Deliberately, he shook out his arms. “I’m fine. I haven’t rested since we entered the game. Just got a bit tired and fell asleep.”

Su Qiuming nodded, pulling up a faint smile. “That’s all right, then. We can’t afford to lose another companion.” He struggled to lean back on the cushions, his face pale and his lips drained of color. Still, no one could deny his looks; he was striking, even in illness. A gift basket.

Yan Jiyun said, “You rest up—I’m going to find Qi Feng.”

At the mention of Qi Feng’s name, Su Qiuming’s eyes opened a little wider. “He’s pretty strong. No need to worry about him, really.”

Yan Jiyun said nothing about his intentions. He never spoke as candidly with anyone else as he did with Qi Feng; he would never talk about something uncertain.

He greeted Chu Mo and Qi Yunchu, then headed to the staff lounge. The nine cats he’d been controlling were worn out, sprawled everywhere to rest, and right now bringing them along would only give away his position.

After the store manager emerged from the lounge, he casually put the loose cash taken by the thieves back in the register and tidied the shelves as if nothing had happened.

There was no further noise from the lounge, and the manager hadn’t closed the door tightly. Maybe Yan Jiyun would have a chance to slip inside through the gap.

Qi Feng and Wen Ye should already be in there, and with one more person, they’d have a better chance.

A new area meant new discoveries.

It took Yan Jiyun a while to reach the lounge door—moving as a little person was no easy feat.

The gap was tiny, and for his shrunken body, it felt as heavy as a mountain; sweat broke out on his forehead as he squeezed in with great effort.

Inside, he saw Qi Feng and Wen Ye trying hard to climb the leg of a round table, only to slide down again and again.

For a moment, Yan Jiyun felt a mix of emotions, and then he burst out laughing—after all, there was nobody else here to see.

Wait. Something wasn’t right. Where were the two robbers?

This space was roomy for people their size, but to two giants, it would be cramped.

So where did the manager hide them?

Qi Feng heard Yan Jiyun’s laughter, pressed his lips together, and looked back at him, a trace more emotion than usual in his eyes.

“What are you laughing at? Come here—we’ve found something new.”

Yan Jiyun ran over cheerfully.

He’d only ever seen Qi Feng serious and stern when lecturing “Caramel”—never in any other mood. It was amusing to find out he had another side.

Hey, he’d found a new way to pass the time—teasing Qi Feng.