Cat 305: A Walk on the Exercise Yard

Chapter 305: A Walk on the Exercise Yard

At a time like this, Qi Feng and his group had no intention of courting trouble. The man on the platform had just stabbed a burly fellow in the throat—clearly, he was not to be trifled with.

Their goal was not to find opponents, but partners for cooperation. There was no reason to court unnecessary conflict.

The ten of them didn’t dare to split up casually; they chose to keep a low profile.

“Can any of you make out what’s written on those rules up there?”

Though the surrounding prison guards were NPCs, they didn’t reveal any of the game’s rules. The team would have to discover the prison’s regulations for themselves, at the very least to learn the daily schedule.

Determined to avoid attention, Qi Feng’s group didn’t move, just as the other prisoners stayed put.

It must have been mealtime. The guards didn’t care if the inmates scuffled or not.

The wiry man on the platform, his eyes sharp and toxic, looked around as if searching for the next person to provoke him.

Having just killed a man, his intimidating aura remained; no one dared move or challenge him.

Sister Liang whispered, “How are we supposed to find anyone now? We can’t even get out of the prison.”

Gu Wenzhu, whose eyesight was sharp, replied, “I spotted a door near the ring. There’s a sign posted by it. We could see what’s written there.”

Lan Mo said, “When they come to collect the trays, we can follow the flow.”

Shi Yan wondered, “Does collecting trays mean we go back to our cells?”

A He mused, “Maybe it’s recreation time instead?”

Qi Feng decided, “Let’s split up a little for now—walking together will draw too much attention, but don’t wander far. Try to keep in each other’s line of sight.”

No one objected to his arrangement. In times like these, someone had to make decisions; otherwise, with everyone pushing their own ideas, there’d be no team and only wasted time.

The wiry man on the stage was still fairly arrogant, but someone finally couldn’t stomach it and kicked over the table before him.

A man said, “Kid, you don’t know your place. Let an old timer teach you a lesson.”

Qi Feng kept his attention on the man on stage, a scenario all too familiar from countless films. The young fighter was strikingly handsome, inevitably reminding Qi Feng of Yan Jiyun. Had Yan Jiyun, when he was an NPC in the game, tangled with people like this too? Perhaps his agility wasn’t just the result of turning into a cat, but from his NPC days, learning bit by bit—growing from a minor character into a boss.

No, he was overthinking. Yan Jiyun had never told him what it was like to be an NPC; his memories were still incomplete.

And if he hadn’t regained his memory, it was even worse. What if one of his NPC companions deceived him?

Unable to see Yan Jiyun, Qi Feng grew ever more anxious, trying hard to suppress such helpless, negative conjecture.

He reminded himself—Yan Jiyun, even without memories, was still capable of unlocking the games and rescuing NPC companions trapped inside. He wouldn’t be that fragile.

Perhaps it was just the shock of being thrust into such a stimulating scenario, and the resonance of knowing he’d once been an NPC himself. He couldn’t help but project.

Before their separation, Yan Jiyun had mentioned they would need to find NPCs who appeared to be antagonists but might actually be positive characters. That, it seemed, was today’s target.

Qi Feng’s conviction in this theory strengthened: perhaps this prison quest wasn’t just about finding someone, but about staging a breakout as well?

What had Teacher Qu and the others sent them in here to do? Was it to help liberate an imprisoned NPC—and was this NPC particularly important to them?

If neither side feared traitors among the NPCs or the players, then the real objective of setting up this “meeting” inside the quest became clear.

It was a rescue.

This person must be vitally important to them.

Qi Feng’s knowledge of NPC affairs was limited, but Yan Jiyun had not concealed anything further.

He silently repeated Yan Jiyun’s name in his mind.

Yan Jiyun, Yan Jiyun, Yan Jiyun…

NPC, NPC, NPC…

Quest, quest, quest…

Right—Yan Jiyun’s memory!

His memory was incomplete. He’d mentioned, back in the zombie quest, that the system detected his attempt to escape; Yan Jiyun had explained that the serum injected into his body was not really serum, but a fragment of his own consciousness. In other words, Caramel was actually a split-off part of Yan Jiyun’s complete self!

The doctor was the real Yan Jiyun—the complete consciousness. So after the zombie quest was closed, where did he go?

According to Teacher Qu and the others, all the captured NPCs were trapped by the system and turned into quest bosses, forced to be repeatedly slain by players and NPCs alike, their willpower broken down and their suffering unending.

Why had Teacher Qu and the others appointed this particular quest? It really was about rescuing someone.

Qi Feng took a deep breath. He understood—he finally understood!

He could see it all because sometimes the outsider’s view is clearest, whereas Yan Jiyun simply saw himself as suffering from incomplete memory.

But now they knew: everyone here was just a form of consciousness, and the fragment that split off was also consciousness, which meant it took memory with it when it left. That was why he couldn’t recall things.

A cat with broken consciousness.

Once Qi Feng understood what he needed to do, his target was clear: among the many NPCs, find Yan Jiyun’s true self and rescue him.

But among so many NPCs, which was Yan Jiyun? And where had the Yan Jiyun who came in with him been whisked away?

At this moment, the man who had just jumped onto the stage traded blows with the wiry man. The latter, perhaps exhausted from his earlier fight against the burly inmate, seemed to be running out of steam—he was slammed onto the table by the newcomer, landing hard on his back. The excitement in some onlookers’ voices made Qi Feng wince in sympathetic pain.

Still, he wondered about the identity of this arrogant young man. Why had he gone up to fight in the first place?

Sister Liang, joined by A He, Zhuang You, and He Yuanle, slipped off with their trays, quietly edging toward the safer area next to the wall; the rest remained seated at the table.

They continued to observe.

On stage, the young man gritted his teeth; even slammed onto the table, he clutched his shoulder and climbed back to his feet.

Chang-ge asked Qi Feng, “Boss, do we step in?”

Qi Feng answered, “Not yet. Keep watching.”

Qiu Xi said, “If this goes on, that kid will get killed. He looks like he’s about to collapse.”

Shi Yan reasoned, “Some people can summon incredible strength at critical moments. That young man has the willpower—so long as he doesn’t give up, he won’t lose.”

Almost as soon as he spoke, the youth broke the bald man’s arm and stamped on his chest; the man likely suffered multiple broken ribs—a pain far worse than death.

No one expected such a rapid reversal.

Victorious, the young man leapt from the table, spat blood on the ground, and barked, “Is that all you’ve got? If anyone else thinks they’re tough, come and fight me!”

Deliberately bumping aside anyone in his way, he strode forward and chose an empty seat—unfortunately, exactly where Sister Liang’s group had just vacated.

Qi Feng noticed his fingers trembling; he must have truly reached his limit in the fight.

The young man, with his red lips and brilliant teeth, wore the blue-and-white striped uniform as if it were a young master’s suit. Noticing Qi Feng’s gaze, he glared back, eyes full of defiance.

“What are you looking at? You wanna fight me too? Or are you hoping to be my lackey?”

Qi Feng had his own internal metrics for people, and this young man hardly fit the villain profile—could he be the protagonist of this quest?

He cast himself in a weaker light and replied, “I’m not a fighter. Fighting’s no good.”

At the moment, Qi Feng still looked the part of an elite: pale, almost porcelain skin, the look of an office-bound businessman.

It was only just now he realized that, since entering the game, he’d reverted to his original appearance. He could barely remember what he used to look like.

“So why are you staring at me?” the young man muttered, rubbing his wrist beneath the table.

“You’re very impressive,” Qi Feng said sincerely.

Chang-ge chimed in, “Yeah, taking down two big guys on your own—that’s incredible.”

The young man tilted his chin arrogantly, clearly unfamiliar with the concept of humility. “Of course I’m good—but only here in this cell block. This prison is crawling with hidden dragons. Those guys only bully me because I got assigned here. Compared to my boss, those idiots are nothing but dog shit. Tch, even I beat them; what does that make them if not dog shit?”

Qi Feng knew at once: this was an important NPC with valuable information.

Before, he’d only cared about NPCs for the sake of clues. But now that someone he cared about was an NPC, he saw them as people, not just data—and he felt no rush to ask about the “boss.” He chose the path of concern first.

He asked gently, “Is your hand alright?”

Qiu Xi glanced sideways at Boss Qi. Wasn’t that the same tone he used for his Yan-ge?

To be fair, this NPC did look decent—though still not as good as Yan-ge, and perhaps equivalent in combat power.

The young man replied, “It’s fine.” He made it clear he didn’t want to elaborate.

Gu Wenzhu, guessing Qi Feng’s intentions, joined the conversation smoothly; extracting intel was his forte, after all.

“We’re new here. What’s your name?”

The young man was frank with his information. “Wu Chen. How’d you guys end up in here?”

Gu Wenzhu said, “We’re in finance.”

Wu Chen cut in, “Oh, you mean fraud?”

Qi Feng’s group: “…”

How do we look like fraudsters?

Shi Yan picked up the thread. “Well, sort of—laws are different everywhere. What counts as a crime here might not be illegal where we’re from.”

Wu Chen replied, “I see—you didn’t understand local law, tried to make money, and got caught.”

Qi Feng responded, “Close enough. What about you? With those fighting skills, why’d you end up here?”

Wu Chen grinned, wincing when the cut at his lip pulled. He pressed a hand to his mouth. “Ah—me? Manslaughter. Don’t be surprised, it wasn’t on purpose. People messed with me, I lost my temper, and that’s how someone died. I didn’t expect this place to be even scarier than I thought. Still, Block Eight’s not so bad; most here aren’t real hard cases. Block Nine is the nightmare zone.”

Qi Feng pressed, “How so?”

Wu Chen answered with a pained grin. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m new—just passing along the gossip.”

Wu Chen let slip plenty of information, and Qi Feng was certain—this wasn’t the main character of the quest.

That must be someone in Block Nine.

Pondering how to get out of Block Eight, he suddenly heard a guard shout, “Lunch is over! Everyone, out to the yard for exercise!”