Cat 329: The Last Gasp of the Spent Bow

Chapter 329 The Last Gasp of the Spent Bow

Within the game, the players had always been subjected to the system’s will—it dictated their every move, summoned them to play instances on schedule, and used their performances in live broadcasts to generate value. For so long, these persistently manipulated and brainwashed players had obeyed, until the day came when they finally rose up in rebellion, beyond the system’s control.

In a sudden moment of clarity, they saw the truth.

Yan Jiyun released the Teacher Qu item cards from earlier, taking the chance to have seven Teacher Qus scattered among the crowd, loudly exposing the reality of the game.

“Garbage game! Treating us as tools, refusing to let us die, making us work for them!”

“Everyone, don’t be fooled by this game any longer. Let’s get out of here, stop being duped by this trash!”

“That’s right, that’s right! I just saw those capsule pods, and it says we’re just consciousness, not our real bodies at all. We’re merely trapped in some kind of mental world, like a full-dive game!”

“Maybe if we break through this cage, we can escape!”

“Everyone, charge!”

Their cries for freedom struck a chord among the players. With a crowd, emotions were quickly amplified, and the fervor spread like wildfire—everyone awake, or just waking, surged with the masses toward the exit Yan Jiyun had indicated.

Teacher Qu, watching the system-made item card bearing his likeness being used this way, couldn’t help but mutter, “He’s sure figured out how to make the most of that item.”

Yan Jiyun also spotted Qi Yunchu, Chu Mo, and several others in the crowd. They must have slipped inside amid the chaos—no wonder they were all top-tier players, each shaking off the system’s foot soldiers with ease.

But Qifeng was still nowhere to be seen. Surely Su Qiuming hadn’t really kidnapped him?

If Qifeng had been captured, perhaps he’d fallen into Su Qiuming’s trap—Su Qiuming taking his form, leading him away.

Yan Jiyun could, of course, identify the real Qifeng at a glance, but could others? Best to wait a little longer; he owed Qifeng that trust. He’d recognized him even when blindfolded during the Children’s Day mini-instance—there was no reason disguise should fool him now. There would always be a flaw to spot.

Shaking off his concerns, Yan Jiyun beckoned to Tang Yan, Chu Mo, Gu Wenzhu, and the others who had arrived, signaling all those who were free to follow him, marking cat paw-shaped arrows on the walls as guidance.

Following the tide of people, Yan Jiyun found a spot to regroup—a newly deserted capsule pod chamber.

All those who entered with him were familiar faces.

The first thing Yan Jiyun asked upon seeing them was, “Did any of you see Su Qiuming after the instance paused?”

Everyone shook their heads. “No sign.”

He didn’t need to ask how they’d escaped their instances—if they hadn’t made it out during the second, their companions could have pulled them free. Making their way here wasn’t too difficult—they were experienced.

Qifeng, on the other hand, had no NPC to guide him and was traveling alone down another channel—his journey would be far more difficult, so a delay was understandable.

As for Su Qiuming, for now, it seemed unlikely he’d disguised himself as one of them.

Tang Yan, arriving with Lan Mo and the others, glanced at Yan Jiyun: “Where’s Qifeng?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “We split up and haven’t met since. You didn’t run into him?”

Tang Yan shook his head, “No. He must have entered a separate channel.”

Yan Jiyun said, “Let’s wait for him.”

Sister Liang shadowboxed eagerly: “Once Feng-ge shows up, we’ll storm in and end this stupid game.”

As more and more players were unlocked from the control center’s pods, the security force of the control center became all but useless. Some of the more aggressive players even pinned the guards to the ground.

Sister Liang, freshly exhilarated, soon heard the staccato rattle of a machine gun from outside the pod room.

“Da-da-da!”

“Da-da-da!”

“Da-da-da!”

Yan Jiyun cracked the door open to peek out. Countless holes had opened in the ceiling, each protruding a jet-black gun barrel, spraying indiscriminate, brutal gunfire. Players caught in the line of fire vanished in a flash of light, erased from the control center’s space.

They also heard the system’s broadcast through the control center.

“Warning! Warning! Warning!”

“All players, please return to your capsule pods and enter hibernation. Do not wander, or you will be destroyed.”

But sheer numbers made the players restless—rather than calming them, the system’s orders only heightened their anxiety and drove them to seek safety.

Teacher Qu, crouched on Yan Jiyun’s shoulder, said, “Hiding was the right move—the system is still reacting. Boss, it’s not the right moment to rush out. We’re under surveillance.”

Yan Jiyun nodded, “I know. With this much commotion, even the dead would hear—they couldn’t possibly have missed it.”

Qi Yunchu stepped close and said, “But aren’t they run by something other than robots or AI? What operates this game? By what means can it defeat our consciousnesses? If we can find the energy control point, would that be the answer? Or perhaps we could find a way to drain whatever power sustains the game.”

Lin Xie agreed, “Mr. Qi is right. When we caused the collapse of the protagonists’ consciousness in hundreds of instances, we were draining the game’s energy.”

Chu Mo wondered, “But where does this energy come from? Why didn’t you tell us before? We could at least have been prepared.”

Teacher Qu replied, “Because there was a system spy among us. It could impersonate any one of us—so only after we split up did we share this information individually.”

Chu Mo said, “I see. But the spy probably knows about the energy drain too, right?”

Tang Yan added, “But he doesn’t know our ultimate intent. Just like the capsule pod players—the system thinks we’re just trying to rescue them.”

Lin Xie said, “Our plan is to have them exhaust even more system energy.”

Chu Mo pressed, “So what, exactly, IS this system energy?”

Tang Yan almost answered, then looked instead at Yan Jiyun: “Boss, what is the energy?”

The question made Yan Jiyun’s head throb. He ought to know the answer, but when he tried, no words came.

He had thought his consciousness fully restored—now he realized there was a gap, a loss. He should have known what the energy was.

Suddenly he turned to Teacher Qu. “Do you know what it is?”

Teacher Qu was momentarily stunned: “I don’t know.”

Yan Jiyun turned to Lin Xie, Chu Mo, and the rest. All shook their heads.

It was as if they were all missing something crucial—something both important and yet somehow not.

The source of the system’s energy should’ve been clear to them, and they all recalled that their physical bodies were somewhere on Earth.

But as to where exactly, the details eluded them again.

Seeing the gun barrels outside the door, Yan Jiyun simply closed it. If he couldn’t remember, he wouldn’t force it. It wouldn’t change the next steps.

For unanswered questions, they all fell into a brief silence.

No one had expected there would be riddles left at this critical moment. But they had come too far to turn back now.

The details of the energy weren’t important; what mattered was that they had found a way to disrupt its balance.

Yan Jiyun thought for a moment. “We still need to find the control center and destroy its defenses—if we can open the exit, we all return to the real world. That’s one way. The second is to outlast the system’s energy. But we don’t know how much power it has left, so we’ll stick to our first, original plan.”

No one disagreed; given a concrete method, it was best to use it.

Qi Yunchu suggested, “But we shouldn’t let the system focus all its remaining power against us. Maybe we could split up: one group attacks the system to drain its energy, another seeks the control center and the means to escape.”

It was an excellent suggestion.

The path ahead was uncertain—Yan Jiyun saw no reason for everyone to risk everything at a single point. If his group failed, the others might still find a way out.

“I agree,” said Yan Jiyun. “The rest of you?”

Teacher Qu hesitated, “Boss, I’m with you.”

Lin Xie: “Me too.”

Jiang Yan: “Me too.”

By now, they held little back from Qi Yunchu and his group.

Qi Yunchu now showed the leadership of a true guild master. “No objections from me. You all have better teamwork—pursue the main goal. We all have our own strengths.”

Chu Mo concurred, “President Qi is right. Yan Jiyun, you go.”

Lan Mo said, “I promised Feng-ge I’d watch your back if I met you, so I’m with you.”

Sister Liang: “Me too.”

Yan Jiyun nodded, “Thank you, everyone. In that case, all those who have cleared instances with me, come help find the control center. Qi Yunchu and Chu Mo, you take the others to drain as much energy from the system as possible.”

One thing was plain: the guns trained on the players were also a form of system energy. Never used before, they were not standard fare. Both Qi Yunchu and Yan Jiyun had noticed the difference—the longer they could keep the system busy, the better.

Qi Yunchu and Chu Mo rallied the players to continue freeing those in the capsule pods, providing cover as Yan Jiyun’s group slipped down a blocked passage.

The trigger-happy ceiling guns meant Yan Jiyun had chosen the right path.

Once Chu Mo, Qi Yunchu, and the rest readied themselves, they dashed from the pod room, all using the invisibility cloaks Yan Jiyun had recommended.

After everyone cleared out and activated players from two more pod rooms, Yan Jiyun waved his hand to his twenty-odd companions.

“Let’s go!”

The ceiling guns targeted other players, allowing Yan Jiyun’s group to dash through a corridor glowing with blue light.

Here, there were no gun barrels—the earlier players who’d rushed through had all been wiped out.

Yan Jiyun and his group donned their invisibility cloaks, though they knew the effect might not last long.

He skirted a pillar the diameter of four adults, whispering, “Stay close.”

Close behind him were Teacher Qu and Lin Xie—even Lan Mo couldn’t squeeze up front.

After passing that white pillar, more appeared: one became three, three became nine, and then a multitude of white columns blocked their path. The twenty of them could not press forward as a group, but had to edge ahead in single file, wary of traps.

Carefully they negotiated the forest of columns, sighing in relief at the end—no traps.

Past the blue-lit zone, they entered a red-lit one. Here, no columns blocked their way—only a squad of robots, guns raised.

“Intruders detected! Attack!”

Teacher Qu and Lin Xie immediately used their consciousness to neutralize the incoming gunfire.

Yan Jiyun swiftly transformed into a black cat and launched himself at the guards, with the likes of Black Panther and tigers from his animal instance barreling after—each took down their own target.

A single kick sent the guards dissolving into powder. Lan Mo and Sister Liang, blood raging, joined the fray, using techniques learned previously. In moments, the area was cleared.

Still, those in front were not unscathed. The Wolf King and his mate shielded Yan Jiyun, leaving behind only a farewell.

Wolf King: “Boss, you have to get us out of here. The rest is up to you.”

Yan Jiyun watched them scatter as starlight and promised, “We will. Definitely.”

They broke through the red zone. The harsh alarms faded, revealing a transparent, square chamber ahead, with an orb of energy at its center.

At a glance, the ball shimmered, colors shifting—almost as if it exulted in the rush of energy.

Yan Jiyun raised his hand to target it with a mental strike. Before his hand was halfway up, a familiar figure stepped from the shadows.

“Don’t touch it, Jiyun!”

The urgent voice belonged to someone Yan Jiyun knew well.

Lan Mo, ever Qifeng’s loyal follower, exclaimed, “Feng-ge—how come you’re tied up?”

Behind Qifeng stood Su Qiuming, holding a silver sword to Qifeng’s back.

Su Qiuming smiled. “Yan Jiyun, I told you the truth. Qifeng is in my hands—he’s not as clever as I’d imagined.”

Yan Jiyun stared impassively, first at Qifeng, then at Su Qiuming.

He spoke only four words: “You’re spent—finished.”

With that, he lunged past Su Qiuming at the captive Qifeng, claws gleaming.

As he struck, Yan Jiyun said coldly, “He’s not Qifeng at all.”