Cat 327: The Long-Winded Villain

Chapter 327: The Long-Winded Villain

At this moment, the players of Central City felt an unprecedented sense of urgency, with the system’s notifications echoing in their ears.

Players in Central City were just a portion of all players; those trapped inside instances could not escape from them at all.

Many players had already suspected that the major guilds were conspiring about something, though they neither knew what great undertaking was afoot nor how it would be accomplished. Now, they couldn’t help but connect recent events—could this be the big move the guilds were making?

The system issued several announcements in succession, broadcasting them throughout all of Central City.

[The system has encountered a BUG and needs time for repair. All instances are temporarily closed; players cannot enter instances for now.]

[During system BUG repairs, players cannot return to the real world. All players are asked to wait patiently in Central City for the system to finish repairing.]

[Please be patient, and thank you for your cooperation! To ensure the best gaming experience for all, upon completion of repairs all players will receive fifteen days of rest compensation and the corresponding points.]

But the players did not trust the game’s routine at all. Some waited and watched; others sought any means to help resolve the BUG.

If the game could not recover, might they finally be freed from it?

Of course, some players found life inside the game preferable to reality and hoped for a speedy fix—with enormous point compensation, if possible.

Meanwhile, those stuck in the game instances were even more in the dark. Their progress halted, unable to move forward, the instances failed to close and even risked collapse. Unsure whether to continue their quests or simply give up, they waited in uncertainty.

Very soon, players discovered that the NPCs’ actions seemed to be slowing down!

Simultaneously, the system issued new notifications to those still inside instances.

[The system is undergoing emergency repairs; all instances are paused.]

[Players may leave the game once the exit channels are repaired. Please wait patiently.]

For a time, the entire game entered stagnation.

Players still inside instances found their livestreams running, and viewers, hearing the system announcements, were just as bewildered.

“Damn, all the streamers I follow have logged out, their streams closed—why are these others still online?”

“What’s going on? Can any of you left inside the game explain? What’s your situation now?”

“Is this all because of some player-led scheme?”

“But those players don’t know where the company is either—how could they pull this off?”

“Ahh, I just want to know when the game will be restored. Without the players’ panic faces to watch, I can’t enjoy my dinner!”

As confusion reigned for all the players, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng found themselves unable to exit the main system due to the instance collapse.

But this, too, had been part of their plan.

With the system in chaos, they could take advantage—strike while it was vulnerable.

During the system’s process of self-integration and repair, various channels would open. Yan Jiyun had discovered these channels back when he was an NPC; occasionally, when the game suffered minor bugs and made simple repairs, these channels wouldn’t appear, but with a major instance crash, the passages would open.

His consciousness slipped through one channel after another, each one leading toward the system’s main control room.

Qi Feng’s path was unknown—but as for Yan Jiyun, his ability to find these channels stemmed from the time he had been an NPC.

At first, the system’s control over Yan Jiyun’s consciousness was incomplete. One day, a group entered the instance; they mentioned a word that struck a chord, and his consciousness began to struggle. Amid that struggle, a BUG occurred, prompting emergency system self-repair. Normally, only minor logic issues would be patched, but this time was different: as the designated NPC for a critical mainline task, his disappearance triggered a major repair. His awareness followed the repair channel forward, and the longer it persisted, the more his consciousness awakened. He began, then, to find his fellow companions using these passages.

This was precisely why, after his first sense of possible failure, he decided to ally with the players. After all, only an NPC could know of these channels. Without one, even if players were left wandering in the system after an instance collapsed, they’d never find their way out—ultimately, their consciousness would be captured, and they might be trapped as NPCs forever.

With both players and NPCs working together, their numbers increased pressure on the system, gaining precious time.

To actually enter the system’s true core, however, required only a handful of conscious minds.

Yan Jiyun’s goal had always been himself.

Conscious entities of various colors passed above him—likely NPCs dispatched by the system, searching for rogue NPCs and players like himself. Essentially, they shared his nature.

What was this process like? They were akin to “viruses” implanted in a computer, while the system’s NPC hunters were the antivirus program.

Their instance-breaking, and the unsealing of “load-bearing” NPC minds, amounted to breaking holes in the game’s firewall. Once breaches appeared, it was time to act.

With the system busy repairing instances, it was at its most chaotic—everyone operated independently, dispersed throughout. Yan Jiyun used the distraction to slip into his preselected channel.

He transformed into a black cat and sprinted down the corridor at maximum speed.

NPCs dispatched by the system were scattered everywhere, each lurking in a different passage, waiting to intercept any overflow consciousness.

Yan Jiyun ran swiftly, but those NPCs tasked with catching him were just as quick, their consciousness tightly controlled by the system.

“Halt, NPC ahead! Return immediately to your post. The area ahead is restricted—passage forbidden!”

“Halt, NPC ahead! Return immediately to your post. The area ahead is restricted—passage forbidden!”

“One final warning! NPC ahead, halt or we will erase your consciousness!”

Their eyes repeated these warning phrases, weapons raised as they sensed Yan Jiyun closing in. Without hesitation, they struck—but Yan Jiyun, twice-forged consciousness, leaped high and tore the minds of the three system security guards to shreds. Consciousnesses under complete system dominance were mere puppets. Only players and NPCs strong enough to resist could avoid such fate; the system was forced to use control rather than outright deletion.

“So much nonsense.” Yan Jiyun spat out a trace of the intangible dissipating energy.

This was raw system energy—using it would only increase his chance of detection.

Dispatching the three small fry, Yan Jiyun pushed further along the corridor, skillfully avoiding areas crawling with guards.

Still, there were too many. He couldn’t dodge them all—as he fought his way forward, three more waves met him, each stronger than the last.

At last, the passage opened up before him. No longer an endless corridor, he found himself facing a massive circular central chamber.

A black figure stood ahead, back to Yan Jiyun.

This was the first stage boss.

Yan Jiyun halted, ten meters away, weighing his options.

But before he could strike from behind, the figure turned and spoke: “Hey, little kitty. Planning to ambush me from behind? That’s not very sporting.”

Yan Jiyun replied coolly, “Little kitty, is it? Since when am I your little kitty?”

The other raised both hands. “I surrender. I don’t want my consciousness devoured by you.”

Yan Jiyun stood unmoved. “You’ve allied with the system.”

The man said, “Since you awakened me, I no longer serve the system. Guess who I am?”

Yan Jiyun said, “You’re wasting my time. Take off your mask.”

The man removed the mask, revealing a battered face—half ruined, half perfect. If not for the scars, he would have been handsome. Yan Jiyun recognized that face.

The man said, “We met in the instance. No need for introductions.”

Yan Jiyun said, “You’re Su Qiubo. So, what’s the real relationship between you and Su Qiuming? You can tell me now, can’t you?”

Su Qiubo answered, “I am him; he’s me. The system split my original consciousness in two—one half became him, one half became me. Think of it as one part good, one part evil.”

Yan Jiyun: “What’s your conscious specialty?”

Su Qiubo: “Taking any form I wish, earning others’ trust.”

Yan Jiyun: “So, you can turn into NPCs, and into players, too.” No wonder Su Qiuming seemed “off” at the Children’s Day Party instance.

Su Qiubo: “That’s our consciousness ability.”

Everyone’s consciousness had its own strengths—Yan Jiyun, for example, excelled at turning into a cat, while Qi Feng was adept at weapon creation, all due to their individual subconscious and psychology.

Now that he understood Su Qiuming’s specialty, strategies for dealing with him became clearer.

Connecting many dots, Yan Jiyun said, “So my companions never really betrayed me—it was just Su Qiuming impersonating them, using their faces to deceive me.”

Not only had his comrades been replaced, his discovery in the zombie instance was also linked to Su Qiuming. At the time, he thought Qifeng’s companion was a player, but as the NPC, he never realized that Su Qiuming was an NPC impersonator.

Su Qiubo: “That’s right.”

Yan Jiyun: “But why have you appeared here so suddenly? If you’re really the same person, shouldn’t you merge after being freed?”

Su Qiubo, surprised by the question, smiled. “I just want to work with you.”

Suddenly, Yan Jiyun called out his real name: “Su Qiuming, you’re not Su Qiubo.”

Su Qiuming made no effort to deny it, only stepped back two paces. “How did you know I’m not Su Qiubo?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “At the Children’s Party instance, you called me little kitty. Su Qiubo only knew me briefly, never once used that nickname.”

Su Qiuming leaned against a pillar. “Yan Jiyun, you’re sharp indeed. Unfortunately, you’ll never leave this game.”

Yan Jiyun bared his fangs. “If I don’t try, how will you know I can’t?”

He wasted no more words. With claws flashing, he lunged at Su Qiuming!