Cat 301: “The Real World”

Chapter 301 “The Real World”
2023-6-05 11:29 Category: Have You Seen My Cat? [Infinite Stream] Lights Off

Yan Jiyun did not know how Teacher Qu and the other NPCs had managed to evade the game system and gain those precious fifteen minutes for reunion, but it had been enough for them to exchange basic information. His time with the NPCs had been far too brief; he hadn’t managed to learn his own background, nor had he clarified the relationships between them and himself. All they had agreed upon was the time of their next meeting.

Before they parted, Teacher Qu handed him a special item—the “Summon Card.”

Teacher Qu explained, “We had this customized. Our consciousness will be sealed until you return, but now that we are keeping a low profile, we’ve had more time to seek connection channels since our original instance was taken down. As long as you have this card, no matter which instance you’re in, we can enter at any time to help you.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “We’ll meet again in five days. Are you giving me this card because you think something might go wrong during that time?”

Teacher Qu replied, “Just in case. Five days from now, ‘Let the Chariot Roll’ is one of the top-tier instances. We’ll occupy some of the NPCs in it with our consciousness, and there are quite a few old NPCs from the game mixed in.”

Yan Jiyun pressed on, “Why not pick an instance with a lower difficulty?”

Teacher Qu responded, “Because this instance has a special node—it can block spectators. We’ll take control of that channel in advance, then send all of you in. Once you enter the game, we’ll try to rendezvous with you at the entrance. If we’re discovered by the higher-ups during setup and can’t make it in time, we’ll inform you of the plan by other means. There’s no time to get into details today. Also, you still haven’t fully regained your original memories. If your memories remain unrecovered, we’ll have to look for another way out of the game and retrieve our bodies.”

Yan Jiyun said, “We’re entering the game as consciousnesses.”

He had learned this from Teacher Qu and the others.

Lin Xie said, “That’s right. None of us volunteered to come in as NPCs, but because the consciousnesses of our race are stronger, we were selected by those above. What keeps our hope alive is that they’ve preserved our bodies in a special place.”

Yan Jiyun’s mind was working quickly. “Is it Earth?”

Lin Xie replied, “Yes.”

It dawned on Yan Jiyun. He understood now: “So, all of us—NPCs, players alike—make up this ‘Destiny’ game. The players are also just consciousnesses. That means the so-called real world… is still inside the game.”

Lin Xie added, “We may know less than you do about the player side, but it should be similar. Maybe now I understand why you wanted to cooperate with the players before. All the players are from Earth; they know more about it than we do.”

So, Yan Jiyun thought, seeking out Qi Feng before was meant to find a way out of the game. Since their bodies were also kept on Earth, working together was the only way to end it.

He was still looking forward to their reunion five days later. “Yes. I’ll do my best to persuade them to work with us. Let’s hope we can all meet up smoothly when the time comes.”

Lin Xie said, “We’ll go through any hardship to join you. We’ve waited a long time for this day, Chief.”

Yan Jiyun found this title rather out of step with current trends. “How about you call me something else? ‘Chief’ sounds odd.”

Teacher Qu interjected, “What’s odd about it? You really are our chief—in every sense.”

Yet Yan Jiyun still knew nothing of their origins.

He gave a plausible reason. “Everyone I’m dealing with is from Earth. Only leaders of illegal organizations are called Chief. Why don’t you just call me Boss?”

Lin Xie complied swiftly, “Alright, Boss.”

The others chimed in, “Alright, Boss Cat!”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

He wasn’t a cat to begin with!

This group was just teasing him. It made him wonder if he truly was their leader, or if they’d made up the title for their own amusement.

No matter how much Yan Jiyun wanted to stamp his feet, it was useless. They just found him so amusing like this.

At least now, he understood the reason he became a cat. It wasn’t that he’d gained some mystical ability to travel or reincarnate. It all stemmed from his racial talent and technology.

Yan Jiyun left the game with the tools his NPC companions had prepared for him—timed perfectly to coincide with the moment the game awarded prizes.

After leaving the championship, his system and experience card were returned to him. Evidently, his NPC companions had taken over at the start of the second round of the game.

Back in Central City, Yan Jiyun used the experience card to head straight for Qi Feng’s place.

Qi Feng was already waiting for him, pacing anxiously, while Shi Yan lounged with his legs crossed, lost in thought.

Yan Jiyun, on the other hand, was in no particular rush. He quietly pushed the door open and entered.

Qi Feng turned at the sound and finally relaxed.

“I’m so glad you’re alright.”

Yan Jiyun said, “I’m fine, and in fact, I bring good news.”

Qi Feng asked, “What is it?”

Yan Jiyun had just confirmed that NPCs were actually humans who entered the game through consciousness. As for whether the players had entered by the same means, he was not entirely sure. If Qi Feng’s so-called “real world” was also not real but a player illusion created by the game, then the issue was far bigger.

The game had deceived all the players—none had ever suspected their own cities were fake.

No wonder the points earned in the game could be exchanged for cash and transferred back to the “real world”; after all, this so-called “real world” was just another part of the game, something like a living and leisure area, replicating both Earth and all its details for players.

That was the true horror of the game—it was inescapable.

He must have given himself away back then, made some mistakes.

With his memory incomplete, he couldn’t piece together everything that had happened. Nor was he certain that all Teacher Qu and the other NPCs told him was true. Still, he believed eighty percent of it.

He hoped that before they met again, all his missing memories would return in full.

Yan Jiyun said, “I’ll go back to the real world with you. There are things I need to tell you.”

Central City was too close to the “upper echelons” and was certainly being monitored.

In reality, nowhere was truly safe; everything NPCs and players did was watched by the ‘eyes’ above.

Still, back then he’d managed to leave the instance with Qi Feng and enter the living area, which seemed to be more loosely managed and not strictly controlled by the higher-ups.

If the players ever chose to “rebel,” the “real world” would be a perfect place to plan, since NPCs were forbidden to enter. He could only go in by attaching himself to Qi Feng’s identity badge.

To prevent any bonds from forming between NPCs and players, the upper levels deliberately isolated the two sides, fostering hostility.

From the players’ perspective, NPCs were just data, targets for killing and looting. Yet they did not realize that NPCs were people, too, dragged in against their will. Only by freeing the NPCs from the upper-level restrictions could anyone leave the game. He’d failed before because only the NPCs tried, making it easy for the upper levels to suppress them. Maybe this time, with the players’ help, things could be different.

Qi Feng could tell from Yan Jiyun’s micro-expressions that what he wanted to say was of great significance—he must have made a new discovery.

He said to Shi Yan, “Wait here for the rest to come out. Jiyun and I will head back to the real world first.”

Yan Jiyun added, “Shi Yan, once everyone is out, please ask them to stay in Central City for the time being.”

Shi Yan replied, “Understood.”

Then Yan Jiyun entered Qi Feng’s private space, and both of them vanished before Shi Yan’s eyes.

Shi Yan realized something, “Wait, Caramel hasn’t come back yet. How can you guys just leave?”

How odd. Weren’t players only able to return to the real world using their own badges? Yet after Yan Jiyun entered Qi Feng’s private space, he could follow him back? Was there some special function he didn’t know about?

Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng paid Shi Yan’s confusion no heed. Since they so often ran instances with the team, their true identities would be revealed sooner or later.

Back in the “real world” he hadn’t visited for so long, it seemed as though nothing had changed.

Yan Jiyun looked at the two identical lemon-yellow beanbag sofas.

Stretching, he asked Qi Feng, “Have you noticed this sofa is exactly like the one in your personal space?”

But Qi Feng was actually more surprised at something else. “You can talk here, too?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “I just found out myself. Actually, I can speak in my feline form.”

Qi Feng pondered, glancing around. “Is there something I’ve missed?”

Only after realizing that the “real world” was also part of the game did Yan Jiyun recall many details.

“This is something we’ll need to verify together. Come on.”

Yan Jiyun led Qi Feng to their neighborhood’s seniors’ recreation center.

The old men playing chess beneath the tree were the same as ever, and they still remembered Yan Jiyun well, greeting him as he approached.

One grinned and said, “Hey, Caramel’s out playing again. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, it’s a rare treat. Chasing sparrows again today?”

“Ha ha ha ha!”

The conversation among the old men was perfectly normal—nothing seemed amiss.

Qi Feng asked Yan Jiyun, “Is there anything different?”

He had occasionally come here before to find Yan Jiyun, but not often enough to notice any changes. Yet there was something that felt strange.

These old men, come wind or rain, were always there.

Yan Jiyun leaped into his arms and said in a low voice, “Do you see that radio? The broadcast keeps repeating.”

He, too, had listened to its news from time to time, and every day there would be new stories. He’d never thought it odd. But after returning from the game, he noticed the news sometimes repeated just as it had been before he’d entered. At the time, he assumed it was just accidental similarity or a repeat broadcast.

He hadn’t paid attention before, but looking back now, it was deeply suspicious.

Qi Feng, prompted by Yan Jiyun, immediately realized the problem.

The radio played the same female announcer’s voice as before: “Recently, our city has seen a series of accidental events. In one case, three adults arranged to jump off the bridge into the sea together. After police investigation, all three families were happy, with no domestic discord, affairs, or financial disputes. The reason why they chose to jump remains unknown…”

The details in the broadcast differed, but the structure and phrasing were identical.

Yan Jiyun asked, “What does it make you feel?”

Qi Feng furrowed his brow, as if struck by a realization. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the pet hospital we used to visit.”

Yan Jiyun bristled, all his black fur standing up. “I’m not sick.”

Qi Feng rubbed his head. “We don’t have to go in. Just take a look at the entrance. Do you remember? Every time we went there, we always ran into a golden retriever?”

Yan Jiyun confirmed, “I remember.”

He had always been sick when they met; he vaguely recalled that someone else kept bringing a golden retriever to the vet at the same time.

He was, after all, a consciousness—he shouldn’t have been prone to illness. But just to fit into Qi Feng’s world, he’d programmed himself with the weaknesses of an ordinary cat, even making his digestion delicate.

Qi Feng fetched his favorite, understated black sports car from the garage.

He already had an answer in mind. “This car hasn’t been driven in a year. I remember the tank was almost empty. Yet now, it’s full again.”

Curling on his exclusive seat, Yan Jiyun said, “That’s the truth for you.”

Five minutes later, man and cat arrived at their destination.

Qi Feng parked the car outside the pet hospital. It was ten o’clock in the morning. A young couple appeared, leading a fluffy golden retriever, bickering about who should have watched the dog to stop it eating things, both insisting after their breakup that they wanted custody.

Qi Feng stared at the scene, took a slow breath, and shook his head, a wry smile curling his lips.

“So the truth I worked so hard to uncover was right here all along. I was just too foolish to see it.”

Yan Jiyun said, “You were probably just too preoccupied to notice such details at the time.”

Qi Feng said, “No, I should have noticed.”

Yan Jiyun stretched out a paw, intending to pat him on the shoulder, but his forelimb was too short—so he changed tactics and patted Qi Feng on the upper thigh instead, reassuring him, “It’s not your fault. The people above are just too cunning.”

Qi Feng truly felt comforted. He didn’t dare imagine what it would be like if the paw on his thigh were replaced by a man’s hand.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “How did you work it out?”

Yan Jiyun began to tell him the truth, but noticing Qi Feng’s gaze on his paw, changed the subject: “Why do you keep staring at your own leg? You know you have muscles there—no need to be so vain.”

He stretched his back leg, “See? I’ve got muscles too.”

Qi Feng, unable to resist, gave the black cat’s thigh a gentle squeeze, answering levelly, “You do have muscles.”

Yan Jiyun stiffened, “…” He couldn’t help but feel he’d just been taken advantage of.