Cat 249: Eavesdropping

Chapter 249 Eavesdropping

[Want to Be Human] Live Broadcast Room:

“Hahahahaha, Ninth Master just grabbed the little cat’s waist—he must be over the moon from his perspective, but from the kitten’s side, he doesn’t even realize their relationship has changed!”

“Of course! In the kitten’s mind, Ninth Master is Qifeng, his caretaker, his litter cleaner, his teammate. Honestly, how could one turn from friends to lovers overnight? Impossible.”

“I think maybe the kitten just hasn’t realized it yet. Didn’t he get a little jealous when Liu Rongzhi showed up? He probably doesn’t even recognize his own possessiveness toward Qifeng—he’s just slow to react.”

“Could it be that this possessiveness is only the typical cat-to-owner possessiveness, a way of marking territory and not actual love?”

“Wow, suddenly Qifeng’s road to romance just got infinitely longer. If he just liked someone other than the little cat, the kitten’s jealousy would be pure possessiveness. By that logic, it’s basically love anyway—the beginning of a romance, mutual affection, case closed!”

“Hahahaha, now I find it even more interesting. What’s the fun in a straight-to-the-point romance? Isn’t this even better than following the copy’s plot?”

“Am I the only one here who cares whose corpse that is?”

Yan Jiyun was also wondering whose remains had been dug up, and why it was a woman rather than a man.

The entire skeleton had been unearthed, with hair that had yet to decay and fragments of clothing scattered about.

He hadn’t found Wei Liu, but instead a woman’s corpse—this in fact increased his chances of completing the quest. This copy was truly adept at its tricks.

Excavation continued, since the area marked for the treasure hadn’t been fully explored.

Yan Jiyun kept a close eye on Liu Jingxi, whose reaction was visibly different.

Did he know the woman whose remains had been uncovered?

Odd—this was a world of paper people; why was there a skeleton at all?

A terrible thought occurred to Yan Jiyun: could it be that there were no living people in the entire town?

He now needed to locate Gu Wenzhu and the others. If the whole town was devoid of living souls, then only the players remained. Could players even leave this place?

Yan Jiyun quickly checked the player count on the system interface.

Unbeknownst to him, the original 100 players had dwindled to 95—five players had died!

How had they died?

How could people vanish without a trace?

He distinctly remembered there hadn’t been any change in numbers last night, but by this afternoon, several were gone. What had those players done?

What happened if a player couldn’t leave the game?

Yang Er asked if Yan Jiyun wanted the digging to continue.

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Keep digging.”

He pulled Ninth Master aside. “I need to go inside and make a call to a friend. Do you mind?”

The situation was urgent, but he didn’t forget that this was not player Qifeng, but NPC Ninth Master.

Ninth Master replied, “Of course I don’t mind.” He even took the initiative to find a phone for Yan Jiyun.

Yan Jiyun dialed the hotel front desk where Gu Wenzhu was staying. The call was transferred.

No one answered—they must be out investigating the copy. Gu Wenzhu wouldn’t sit and wait at the hotel for news.

Who knew if they’d found out anything concrete, or if they knew how the five dead players had met their ends.

He hadn’t found his companions, and now there was no time to lose.

No sooner had he hung up than cries sounded from outside.

“There’s another corpse!”

“God, what’s going on?”

“Is this really a treasure?”

“This was all a scam!”

“This one’s a man, isn’t it? Could he and the other be husband and wife?”

Ninth Master turned to Yan Jiyun. “They’ve found something else.”

He seemed utterly calm, as though unconcerned about what Yan Jiyun was investigating or why.

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”

Ninth Master said, “This time, it might really be Wei Liu.”

Returning to the dig site, they found two skeletons lying not far apart.

The female skeleton was uncovered, but the male skeleton was partly wrapped in the remnants of a rotted bamboo mat—he had been buried rolled inside it.

Yang Er rubbed his arms. “What… what’s going on here?”

Yan Jiyun approached to examine the male skeleton, keeping an eye on his task progress. His quest hadn’t updated—not Wei Liu’s remains, then? Or does finding Wei Liu’s corpse not count as completion?

If the person being sought hadn’t become a corpse, then perhaps he became a person—no, a paper figure!

Gazing at the two skeletons, Yan Jiyun finally understood the true meaning of the treasure map.

Ninth Master pondered. “The map has led to something after all, but why did the four families unite to keep this secret?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “Think about it—what could be more precious than treasure?”

Ninth Master answered without hesitation, “A human life.”

Yan Jiyun: “Once you’re dead, wealth becomes meaningless. Only when you’re alive does money matter.”

Ninth Master blurted out, “You aren’t saying Wei Liu is still alive, are you?”

Yan Jiyun leaned close, chuckling softly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying—Wei Liu is definitely alive.”

The map and the photo hadn’t misled him; the copy just said to find Wei Liu, not that Wei Liu was dead. Perhaps the Wei Liu of years prior was never the real Wei Liu at all.

Now, by following the clues, Yan Jiyun had a clear direction—Wei Liu was alive, and he had outlived everyone else!

But why did he cling to life? Eternal youth? No, the whole town was full of paper figures.

Unless… was there still a living person in town—Wei Liu?

It was troubling; the clues related to Wei Liu were painfully scarce.

He pulled the dazed Liu Jingxi aside. “Cousin.”

Liu Jingxi: “What is it?”

Yan Jiyun: “You look unwell. Are you feeling sick after not sleeping last night?”

Liu Jingxi: “I’m fine.”

Yan Jiyun: “What about my cousin-in-law?”

Liu Jingxi: “After Third Brother’s affair, she’s been at home.”

Yan Jiyun: “And the Cheng family hasn’t come looking for you?”

Liu Jingxi: “No one came by while I was out.”

The Cheng family was remarkably quiet.

Even if Cheng Liang had died, they should be preparing a funeral by now. Perhaps they were still fighting among themselves over the inheritance and had no time to bother with it.

The clues from the treasure map were clear. Yan Jiyun glanced again at the two skeletons—quite a ghastly sight at night.

The bamboo mat covering the male remains had been opened, revealing scraps of suit fabric and what once were expensive leather shoes. The man’s status was plainly wealthy. A rusted dagger was embedded in the chest, marking his death as foul play.

The presence of the female skeleton was easier to explain—likely, she had stumbled upon the murder and was silenced as well. With no visible weapon, she had probably been strangled—a woman of privilege, powerless against a man.

This must be the Wei Liu from the photograph forty years ago, killed by those four people to conceal some secret!

But what secret was so damning?

And if Wei Liu returned as a paper figure, why hadn’t he sought vengeance on the Liu, Cheng, Chen, or Lin families?

The protagonist’s purpose in this copy, the very main line, was still a mystery—it remained badly defined.

Suddenly, Yan Jiyun recalled a conversation years ago with a script-murder enthusiast friend. Back then, he didn’t know much about murder-mystery games and asked if the plot always revolved around finding the killer. His friend told him that not all script-murder games were about finding murderers; some were puzzle-based, and not all involved homicide.

Should he abandon the main-character-as-murderer mindset and think more simply?

He reviewed what he knew for certain:

1. The paper people in Jiangnan Town.
2. Wei Liu was the protagonist of this copy he needed to find.

Ninth Master, studying Yan Jiyun’s furrowed brow, thought his nose was nearly crumpled.

Yan Jiyun felt a hand press down on his head—it was Ninth Master’s. Qifeng, too, always did this gesture.

“Hm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Things I don’t understand.”

“If you can’t figure it out, let it rest for now. When the boat nears the bridge, it’ll drift straight.”

“What do you see from here?” Yan Jiyun tried for some insight from Ninth Master’s perspective.

“These two were murdered. We should call the police.”

“True to form,” Yan Jiyun said, suddenly enlightened.

Before long, the police arrived, removed the two skeletons, and brought Liu Jingxi in for questioning, since the remains had been found beneath Liu family’s restaurant.

Yan Jiyun found himself back at the station, unsure if the police had any clues for him.

None had surfaced yet, but Ninth Master managed to get a forensic report: both had met violent deaths.

Then the police outdid themselves by inviting Liu Jingxi’s stern and stubborn old man to the station.

Liu Jingxi had anonymously handed over the photograph found the night before. Not long after, the Cheng family patriarch was called in as well. He was even more important, since only he and one member of the Chen family remained alive of the five pictured.

Yan Jiyun was sitting with Ninth Master in the captain’s lounge, sipping tea, when he excused himself to the restroom—and promptly shifted into a cat to sneak into the interrogation room and observe the questioning of Old Master Cheng.

After one night, the old man appeared withered, the skin on his cheeks even more shriveled.

“Officer, I really don’t know what you want me to say. Can a simple photograph prove anything?”

The senior officer asked, “Wei Liu disappeared forty years ago. You were once friends. When a friend suddenly vanishes, do you remember anything about what happened?”

Old Master Cheng had lived a long life and was fearless. With everyone else gone, who would remember the events of those years?

He said, “Wei Liu… that was decades ago. Yes, we were friends back then, but he disappeared, and I really have no idea why.”

The officer questioned him for ages but learned nothing.

Yan Jiyun was just about to slip into another interrogation room to eavesdrop on Old Master Liu.

But just as he darted out, a shadow fell across him from above, and a voice full of confusion sounded: “Caramel? How did you end up here?” After a pause, the speaker added, “Are you… eavesdropping?”

The hair on Yan Jiyun’s neck stood up. “…”

Damn, how did Ninth Master walk so soundlessly?