Chapter 1: Who’s the Player?
As June arrived, the gray-blue sky was dyed red by the setting sun.
A black cat with a long tail lazily lay on a tree at the Fengli Community Elderly Activity Center. It glanced indolently at a group of sparrows chirping noisily on a branch before burying its head back into its left forearm, continuing to nap.
Suddenly, it pricked up its ears.
Under the neighboring old banyan tree, a few elderly men were playing chess. There was a radio broadcasting news next to an old man wearing an undershirt.
“Recently, there have been a series of suicides in the city. In one incident, three high school students committed suicide together in a hotel. The police have yet to release detailed information about the case.
“The second incident occurred yesterday at two in the afternoon. A housewife jumped to her death for no apparent reason. According to reporters’ investigation, the housewife had a loving family with both a son and daughter, a harmonious relationship with her husband, and good relations with her mother-in-law, yet she suddenly chose to commit suicide by jumping off a building.
“The third incident occurred around midnight, when a shopper in the city center suddenly burst into flames. By the time the police and emergency personnel arrived, the woman had already passed away.”
The black cat abruptly opened its pale green eyes, standing up energetically. It stretched on the sturdy branch, arching its back, and nimbly jumped from one end of the branch to the other. The tree rustled, and the flock of chirping sparrows flew out from the dense leaves.
The elderly men below were already accustomed to this strange thing. This black cat had an owner, but he could rarely be seen. The black cat was aloof, never getting close to people, but also never harming anyone.
The black cat gracefully leaped down from the tree, landing softly on the grass thanks to the fleshy cushioning pads on its paws.
His name was Yan Jiyun. He used to be a human, but now he was a cat named Caramel.
A year ago, he had an accident. When he woke up, he had become a little black cat and was adopted by a human.
Yan Jiyun weaved through the high-rise buildings of the community and slipped into a path leading to the villa area. The further he walked, the quieter it became. His hearing was exceptionally sharp, capable of distinguishing between two different sounds twenty meters away that were just one meter apart. He stopped in front of Villa No. 9, nimbly squeezing through the gaps in the iron fence of the yard, and then entered the house through a small hole on the door.
The room was empty at this time, and no one called his name.
He went to the automatic cat feeder, flicked the switch, and freeze-dried mixed cat food clattered into the bowl from the machine.
As a human, it was really difficult to be forced to eat cat food every day.
It wasn’t that his owner was strict about his diet, but a result of evidence after entering the pet hospital multiple times that he really couldn’t eat oily or greasy human food.
Now, he had eaten cat food to the point his soul was numb.
Yan Jiyun lifted his right front paw and disdainfully swatted the ceramic food bowl. Seeing the cat food spill out, very good, he was about to run out of food.
He decided to give up his meal, turning around and running upstairs, stopping in front of the study door. He leaped up and pushed down the door handle, and with a click, the door opened.
There was no one inside the study.
The man returned even later than usual this time. Several days had passed without a glimpse of him.
He was very curious about what kind of job his poop shoveling officer had. The man would often disappear suddenly and then reappear in the same spot, typically within three to five days, with the longest being seven continuous days.
However, it had already been more than seven days this time. Today was already the eighth day, and if his poop shoveling officer didn’t return soon, he would have to beg for food on the streets.
Yan Jiyun found a comfortable spot on the bright yellow bean bag chair in the study and curled up into a ball.
Before he came here, the house was decorated in black, white, and gray, these three colors. After he became the master of this place’s master, his owner often struggled to find him because his black fur blended in. So, the man spent two months redecorating the house into its current warm tones, making it easy to spot him no matter where he was, unless he intentionally hid.
The afternoon sun warmed Yan Jiyun’s entire body. He slowly closed his eyes but didn’t fall asleep, keeping his ears perked to listen to the surroundings.
An hour later, in the silence where a pin drop could be heard, a tall man with long limbs suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The man faltered slightly, and his figure swayed. He took a deep breath, pressing a hand to his head expressionlessly, and sat down on the sofa nearby. He held a silver chain with a silver nameplate, which slid down on the sofa.
Yan Jiyun opened his eyes the moment the man appeared, calmly observing him.
After the man recovered a little, he spoke to Yan Jiyun. His voice was hoarse and low, making it sound a bit severe: “Caramel, come and let me hug you for a while.”
Yan Jiyun stretched, jumped down from the bean bag chair, and obediently leaped onto the man’s lap, finding a comfortable position to lie down.
He could sense that every time the man appeared out of nowhere, his mood would be slightly downcast.
His owner’s fingers rested on Yan Jiyun’s back, gently stroking his sleek fur. Don’t know what he was thinking, but he was in a trance, and only holding Yan Jiyun could make him feel calmer.
Yan Jiyun’s gaze fell on the nameplate the man had placed on the sofa. The color was a bit darker than silver, and the front had a series of numbers.
For the poop shoveling officer, petting the cat could indeed help alleviate his psychological stress, allowing him to quickly recover from extreme conditions and return to a normal state.
Ten minutes later, he let go of Yan Jiyun and entered the study’s attached bathroom.
Yan Jiyun curiously pawed at the nameplate on the sofa. He had been here for a year, and the poop shoveling officer had never taken off this chain. He never had the chance to carefully study it and see what was so precious about it. Did it have some special meaning?
There was a series of numbers on the nameplate that was slightly darker than silver with an unknown meaning. He flipped it over and saw a small raccoon face on the back. A pointy mouth and monkey cheeks (ugly), not nearly as handsome as his cat exterior.
He poked it for a while and felt bored when his paw just happened to press on the raccoon face.
Suddenly, everything went black. His body was engulfed by a force, and his body felt weightless!
In an instant, Yan Jiyun disappeared from the sofa, leaving only a few strands of black fur behind.
Half an hour later, the man emerged from his shower. He picked up the nameplate with a few strands of black fur but saw no sign of Yan Jiyun.
The man who had regained his energy walked out of the study as he towel-dried his hair, looking for the naughty kitty who had just grown up: “Caramel?”
Raising a black cat that didn’t like to meow was quite an experience, and it was often hard to find a shadow of him.
At this moment, Yan Jiyun who had been labeled “hard to find” reopened his eyes and found himself in a small space. His body swayed along with the cage. He was familiar with this feeling; he should be in an aviation box.
Could it be that after he just fainted, his poop shoveling officer was taking him to the vet?
Yan Jiyun didn’t feel any discomfort in his body. Besides, the poop shoveling officer didn’t need to use an aviation box to take him to the vet, and he usually used a customized cat bag.
He peered through the gaps in the carrier to look outside, but the field of view was too narrow and he couldn’t see much.
Suddenly, a strange voice broke through his thoughts. A cheerful, lively young man’s voice sounded in his mind.
【Welcome, Player, to the《Destiny》game. Earn points by clearing the game. When you reach a certain number of points, you can purchase a human body time card in the system shop.】
Yan Jiyun thought to himself: did that mean he could turn back into a human?
[Any wish is allowed?]
[Of course. You are a new player. After you complete the first instance, you will be given five minutes of human body experience time.]
Yan Jiyun felt the malice of the system here.
[The system has detected you have entered the game through another player’s account. A sub-account will be opened for you under the player’s account.]
[Player Yan Jiyun’s data has been generated. Do you want to start the livestream?]
He was a person who had died once, and he suddenly recalled his poop shoveling officer’s situation. Was his nameplate connected to such a game?
What kind of game tortured people into a state like that?
Yan Jiyun quickly straightened out the relationship between these two things.
He asked: What is the point of livestreaming?
[After starting the livestream, viewers can reward the host with Destiny Coins. The exchange ratio between coins and points is 1:1, and is one of the fastest ways to obtain points. Only by entering and challenging the instance would you have the opportunity to open the livestream. Livestreaming will not be available at other times.]
Yan Jiyun: Open.
[Please give your livestream a name.]
Yan Jiyun thought for three seconds: Want to be Human.
[The name of the livestream has been successfully changed. Now then, the game is about to begin. You are responsible for your own life or death. I wish the player a happy game!]
Following that, a machine without soul or emotion sounded in his head.
【Players are requested to complete the instance “Returning Home From School” within twenty-four hours.】
【Instance Name: Returning Home From School】
【Instance Duration: 24 hours】
【Instance Difficulty: Hard】
【Main Quest: Escort Li Muyang Home from School】
【Li Muyang’s Current Health: 90%】
【Players Remaining: 10/10】
Immediately afterwards, the voice of a middle-aged man talking to himself entered Yan Jiyun’s ears: “It’s Yangyang’s birthday today. I’m giving him a cat. He should be very happy.”
Who was Li Muyang?
His mission was to escort Li Muyang home from school. As a cat, how was he supposed to “escort the target”? It’s not like he was Black Cat Detective1https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBlack_Cat_Detective&psig=AOvVaw1_VLMGi8iLt9gvGdfq3NQp&ust=1720382452961000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CA4QjRxqFwoTCKjIsJmak4cDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE from the cartoon!
Bouncing around in the carrier box, just as he felt like he was about to throw up the cat food from the previous night, the box was finally placed on the ground.
Through the small gaps, he observed that it was nighttime, and the lights were on inside the house.
Despite the middle-aged man’s earlier display of affection for the child, even going so far as to catch a black cat for him as a birthday gift, what Yan Jiyun heard after recovering a bit was a mother’s voice hurling insults at the child.
“Li Muyang, you’re a real idiot! You can’t even solve such a simple problem, I’ve taught you hundreds of times!” The woman’s sharp, piercing voice echoed through the living room.
Yan Jiyun’s heart almost stopped from the shock.
“Are you a pig? You forgot this problem right after I explained it!”
“You little demon, you exist only to torment me!”
But the man who just entered the house said nothing, as if he had activated some kind of shield that perfectly blocked out everything his wife was doing to their son.
The child that was insulted by his mother didn’t say a word.
This soul-crushing torture lasted for half an hour. The man was playing a game on his computer, swearing continuously.
When the mother finally stopped yelling, the man’s computer screen displayed the word “FAILURE” in large red letters, extremely striking to the eye.
Time turned to 9 at night. The middle-aged man stopped playing and finally turned to the child with swollen red cheeks, saying: “Yangyang, tomorrow’s your birthday. Didn’t you like cats? Daddy caught one for you.”
The man opened the box latch and roughly reached in to pull out the shrinking Yan Jiyun, forcefully shoving him into the small boy’s arms.
Yan Jiyun was held by the little boy. He could feel the child’s hands trembling. When he looked up, he saw the child’s swollen cheeks and red eyes. What caught his attention the most was a scar about six to seven centimeters long on his throat.
The violent mother who had been scolding fiercely now had a stiff smile on her face, standing with them to admire this adult black cat.
In any other family, this scene would be quite harmonious, but here it was extremely horrifying.
Li Muyang said in a hoarse, cracking voice: “Thank, you, Dad, dy.”
The hair all over Yan Jiyun’s body stood up: I thank you very f*cking much for this weird a$$ game!
At the same time, in [Want to be Human]’s livestream room.
“Check out the new sapling anchor. First one and it’s “Returning Home From School”, high difficulty mode! Looking forward to it!”
“Why is this first-person perspective so strange? It’s my first time seeing an NPC’s face so close.”
“Here to nurture the young sapling. Take a look in third-perspective and see what the player looks like! Huh??? Where’s the player?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen an instance where the player broke into the mission NPC’s house on the first night.”
“Asking quietly, which one is the player?”
“I changed from third-perspective to first-perspective, then from first-perspective to third-perspective, then took a look at the name of the livestream room. Does the system have a bug? Why is the first-perspective a cat?”
“This game is crazy! It won’t even spare a cute kitty? I actually feel so excited! Pay close attention to the cat anchor!”
TN: Hi! I’ll be picking up this series again. It’s pretty interesting and gives me Global Examination vibes which I love.
Not going to set a release schedule for now since I may get busy and can’t keep it, but will try to do a release once a week if I can.
Czarina and I will also be picking up another BL together with a seme protagonist in a cultivation-esque world. Follow us there when it’s out too!
And feel free to join the discord server to chat with us. ❀◝(≧∀≦)◜❀
That’s all, looking forward to this ride with y’all!
(P.S. If you’re reading The Time-Limited Villain Supports My Breakup, ahaha… haha… don’t come after me for not releasing any chapters -hides away-)
