Cat 289: The Second Round Game
by CristaeChapter 289: The Second Round Game
[“Want To Be Human”] live stream chat:
“???”
“WTF? Did the kitten get some NPC cheat code? Is he not even trying to hide his ability to earn 100% favorability now? Wait, he didn’t even interact with any NPCs in this stage, did he?”
“Hahahahaha, why is this happening? Did David give the kitten a sea of privilege? He’s curt and fierce toward others, but for the kitten, he’s so nice.”
“Is there some special technique the kitten is using to win over NPCs? Three sentences and the NPC just gives up the answer to clear the stage.”
“LOL, but really, the kitten himself looks a little confused. I can see the question marks all over his face.”
Yan Jiyun was indeed a little baffled, but not because David let him clear the stage so easily. Rather, looking back on his conversation with David, he realized that the man had spoken to him like a well-acquainted colleague—with a natural ease. Yet he was certain he’d only meant to play along and fish for information, not expecting the NPC to hand him the answer right away.
Ever since he’d entered this Summit Tournament, he’d felt something was off. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable dissonance—on the contrary, he felt an unusual sense of ease. The challenges suited his strengths perfectly, like the black room in the zombie scenario. At first, he thought it was mere coincidence, but now, he wasn’t so sure. Perhaps there were complications between himself and the NPCs in the game—some past entanglement. But hadn’t he always just been a normal person?
Just moments before, Yan Jiyun could still believe that. But now, he wasn’t so sure. Today, Qi Feng had even asked him about his childhood, and his own memories there were strangely hazy. Not that he couldn’t remember—rather, as he tried, multiple images and moments flashed through his mind, none of which seemed connected to him, yet all seemed vaguely related: blurry and bewildering.
But Yan Jiyun still couldn’t say for certain what his true identity was.
Had he once been an NPC? Did coming to Qi Feng’s side have something to do with once being the scientist in the zombie scenario? But then how did he become a cat, how did he end up in the real world?
Yet surely, he was just an ordinary person. He’d only been reincarnated into a cat—hadn’t he? Why was everything suddenly so complicated?
But if he removed the irrational ideas of “reincarnation” or “transmigration” and considered the unknown technology of the game, perhaps there was a logical explanation. Maybe his life as both human and cat didn’t involve either of those things.
If he was an NPC, how did he leave the game, enter Qi Feng’s reality, and become a cat?
Yan Jiyun began to doubt his own identity, but for now it was nothing more than suspicion—there were too many questions he couldn’t answer.
Was he really an NPC? But aren’t NPCs just game data? Yet here he was, a living, breathing cat. Ever since becoming a cat, he’d eaten, drank, and gone to the bathroom all as normal.
He didn’t even know the origins of the game itself—this was a question that deserved a fat question mark.
He’d never before doubted his own background. Now, if someone asked him to recall his name as a human, where he lived, his parents’ names or any friends or family, he couldn’t remember a thing. Many faces flashed through his mind, but none seemed to be related to him at all.
Yet hadn’t he still had memories of his parents before? Why did coming into the game bring confusion, even total blanks? What had once been familiar faces had grown completely indistinct.
Tsk—was it the game affecting him, or were his original memories a mere illusion all along? If it was the former, perhaps he could ask others if they had the same symptoms. If it was the latter, then it was his personal issue—his own past was at odds.
Yan Jiyun only dazed out for a few seconds before being drawn into the new scene.
They were still in a rest area, but now it took the form of a hotel.
Currently, they stood in a vast plaza, surrounded by white doves taking off and landing. Some of the doves weren’t afraid of people at all, pecking directly at the players’ shoelaces. Players sat scattered on benches all around—some from their own 100-person group, who apparently had special ways of clearing stages, earning early entry tickets to the next round. There were also a few familiar faces.
Before Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng could really discuss how they’d cleared so swiftly, their teammate Sister Liang—who had come in right behind them via the solo mode—strode over on her long legs.
Judging by her spirits, she looked to be in good shape.
“Phew, finally made it to the second round. How long have you two been here?”
On the plaza, it wasn’t just the duo-mode players present, but also solo and four-person team players. Everyone who had cleared the first round was now gathered here.
Qi Feng said, “We just arrived. Haven’t had time to look around. Was the solo mode difficult?”
Sister Liang was not what you’d call warm. “It was all right. Actually a bit easier than I’d thought.”
Since she didn’t want to say more, Qi Feng didn’t press. Making it this far to reunite was already victory enough.
Neither he nor Yan Jiyun was particularly outward, so things grew a little awkward.
While the other two spoke, Yan Jiyun scanned their surroundings. “Look, there’s some kind of notice over there. Let’s go check it out.”
The three of them stood before the bulletin board. Since not many players had cleared the first round yet, there weren’t many gathered here.
The notice listed the rules for the plaza.
[Plaza Rules]
- Players may freely choose their accommodation area. There are five grades: S, A, B, C, and D. Different areas have different costs and serve as the starting locations for round two games. Each location corresponds to a different game mode. Players, choose carefully;
- Players are free to move within the plaza before the game starts;
- Players may form teams of 10–20 people;
- The second round will begin in four hours.
Though there weren’t many players around, everyone was mulling over these four rules.
Even the first rule was troubling: S through D; based on typical logic, S would be the top, D the bottom—likely corresponding to difficulty level.
Now the real question: should they choose the hard one or the easy one?
Sister Liang and Qi Feng whispered together.
Sister Liang was straightforward: “I say just pick S—challenge the hardest, or what’s the point?”
Qi Feng: “I was thinking the same.” He was still worried about their other teammates. “Why aren’t Lan Mo and the others here yet?”
Sister Liang: “He follows you everywhere. His opinion doesn’t matter.”
Qi Feng: “Shi Yan’s thoughts are pretty important, too.”
Sister Liang nodded, then glanced at the silent Yan Jiyun. “What about you, little bro?”
Caught off guard, Yan Jiyun realized she meant him. “I’ll follow your lead. But—” he continued, “I just compared the difficulty levels from S down to D. D is equivalent to the newbie mode; C is basic; B is intermediate; A is advanced; S is top tier. If we pick S, we’re going straight into the highest level. Are you sure that’s wise?”
He seemed to know the rules of the game by heart. He hadn’t used qualification words like “maybe” or “possibly,” as if the correlation between grade and difficulty was simply fact.
Sister Liang’s confidence wavered. “Are you sure that S means the hardest possible level?”
She could be brash, but not reckless with her teammates’ lives; it hadn’t been easy to get this far as a squad.
Yan Jiyun neither nodded nor shook his head. He couldn’t explain why he was so certain.
Qi Feng stepped in to ease the situation. “Let’s wait for the others before deciding. Since we’ll need 10–20 people per team, we can fill that.” He trailed off, though—thinking to himself that perhaps there might not be enough people. Summit Tournament wasn’t easy; casualties were to be expected.
Yan Jiyun and Sister Liang nodded in agreement.
Fifteen minutes later, their worries subsided as the full eleven-person group finally arrived. Only He Yuanle and the three others on Qi Feng’s team looked a bit worse for wear—apparently fours mode was tough to clear.
No one seemed to have had it easy; Sister Liang became even more uncertain about what level to pick for their rest.
Qi Feng understood, but still canvassed opinions from the team: “The second round has five levels, D through S, corresponding from newbie to pinnacle. Thoughts?”
Yan Jiyun suggested, “Let’s vote anonymously, cut off the highest and lowest, and take the average. Assign 1–5 points where D is 1, S is 5.”
Yan Jiyun himself wanted S, but they needed to factor in the team’s collective skill and experience. His proposal gave everyone a voice—fair for a team that had just combined.
Qi Feng, naturally, supported his own cat. “Fine by me.” Couldn’t be a better way.
The anonymous voting was quickly completed.
Both leaders were a little shocked by the result.
Qi Feng: “…The average is 4.8.”
Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng exchanged glances. “I wrote 4,” Yan Jiyun ventured, guessing there were only two 4s: himself and Qi Feng.
Qi Feng nodded: “I put 4 as well.”
Well, then—both captains had been the most cautious.
Lan Mo burst out laughing. “Captains, you really underestimate our determination and ability!”
The Summit Tournament became a key event for building team rapport—the group seemed much closer now.
Lan Mo, being the extrovert, even dared drape an arm around Gu Wenzhu’s shoulder. He Yuanle was acting all brotherly with the other three as well.
Since S was the team’s consensus, everyone headed that way.
The higher the grade, the more luxurious the lodgings. S-grade was like a deluxe five-star hotel; service staff (NPCs) were all smiles and so obliging that they’d probably have agreed if someone had asked to be carried upstairs.
Also opting for S were players from top guilds, most led by familiar faces who all greeted Qi Feng in passing.
Yan Jiyun, keen-eared, caught plenty of whispers from other groups—wondering if Qi Feng’s “little punks” would all wipe in the top bracket.
He swept the mumblers a chilly glare and spat, “You really have nothing better to do, do you?”
He didn’t mind being insulted, but if they mocked Qi Feng, he’d bite back.
His retort wasn’t exactly quiet. The others heard it, and clearly hadn’t expected Qi Feng’s people to talk back. Yan Jiyun shot them a challenging look, snorted, and mouthed: Cowards.
A few irate players started forward to rough him up, but his own group put a quick stop to that with a boot.
Yan Jiyun shrugged, allowing Qi Feng to drag him away.
Qi Feng felt both pleased that Yan Jiyun was defending him, and worried his hot temper would cause trouble. It wore him out.
In S territory, they could pick room types—all deluxe suites. With the four of them already teamed, they needed only three suites, which happened to be adjacent on one floor, allowing them over three hours’ rest.
After leaving Stage 100, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng had hardly eaten.
Each suite had four bedrooms—plenty for everyone to rest alone. But Yan Jiyun followed Qi Feng straight into his room, as if this was entirely natural.
Sister Liang and Lan Mo exchanged puzzled looks.
Sister Liang, always blunt: “Bro, each gets a room. No need to crowd the boss.”
Yan Jiyun had no choice but to retreat. “Okay.”
Qi Feng chuckled, “What do you want to eat? I could take half an hour and fix something.”
Yan Jiyun: “No need to go to the trouble, just have them bring up room service.”
The four of them enjoyed a lavish dinner.
Everyone opted to nap for two or three hours.
Yan Jiyun waited for Sister Liang and Lan Mo to head to their own rooms. As soon as the usage time on his experience card expired, he slipped through the door Qi Feng had deliberately left ajar for him, and leaped onto the soft bed.
Ah, comfort!
For now, he wanted to think of nothing at all. Just sleep!
Qi Feng had just gotten into bed, about to ask how Yan Jiyun felt about the other players knowing his real identity, when he lowered his gaze only to find the kitten already tucked under the covers, deeply and peacefully asleep.
He’d never thought there would be such peaceful moments after entering the game.
Then again, with a cat, what more could he ask for?
Rest was brief.
Qi Feng hadn’t meant to sleep—he’d just planned to lie with Yan Jiyun a while to soothe his tense nerves. But soon enough, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and with his hand resting on the cat, he drifted off completely.
Yan Jiyun felt as though he’d barely slept when a muffled thud woke him. He opened his eyes, rolled out of bed, and stretched lazily.
Turning, he noticed he was alone. Where was Qi Feng?
At the same time, he saw a change in the system prompt.
[Second round game has begun.]
Yan Jiyun quickly jumped to the floor and raced out—right now, he felt as if he’d woken up to find his home robbed!
He moved to use his experience card, only to find his inventory utterly empty.
Where was his experience card?
Where was Qi Feng?
When had the game even started?
Shit!