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Chapter 26: Infinite Flow – Did You Say the Cat I’m Raising Is the Final Boss?!
In the year 3086, a survival game descends upon Blue Star.
From that day on, people are randomly pulled into various horror game instances. If you clear the level, you’re rewarded—but if you fail, you die.
Jiang Jiang reads this and can’t help but ask:
“Is this 3086 your cousin or something?”
10086 (her AI companion):
“…I am an advanced life form.”
Jiang Jiang:
“What exactly is advanced about you?”
She quickly browses through the plot.
This survival game claims that clearing 10 instances will allow a player to escape and return to normal life. The heroine, Cheng Peiyu, and her team successfully completed nine, but in the tenth instance, they all perished.
In that final level, they released an evil god and were permanently trapped in the game.
However, Cheng Peiyu possessed a rare item that allowed her to return to any point in time upon death. Just before she completely lost herself to the game, she took her own life and rewound time to the day before the team entered the final instance.
Jiang Jiang asks:
“So this time the male lead is… the boss of the final instance?”
10086 nods:
“I’ll arrange for you to directly enter the last instance. This one’s extremely dangerous—please be cautious.”
Jiang Jiang opens her eyes and finds herself on a bus.
It looks like a company shuttle. The itinerary on the wall shows only two stops:
From “Happiness Community” to “Joy Company.”
Player Yu Bin scans the bus and sees mostly familiar faces—understandable, since this is everyone’s tenth instance. He remembers Cheng Peiyu desperately warning them not to enter this game and even convincing a few people to back out.
But Yu Bin thought they were just cowards—giving up right at the finish line. What a waste.
Suddenly, he notices a new face.
A beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed mixed-race girl sits quietly in the corner. She has an almost angelic presence—glowing with purity and calm.
But—something’s off.
Yu Bin immediately shakes off his favorable impression. This kind of unnatural “aura”—could it be an ability?
The other players, now awake, glance at her and exchange knowing looks. None of them have seen her before.
That’s suspicious. Anyone who’s reached the tenth game should be recognizable, especially someone so striking.
Someone mutters:
“She’s probably an NPC.”
The audience watching the live stream also agrees.
Everyone on Blue Star is tuned in today to witness this historic moment—whether someone can finally clear the last level.
“Has to be an NPC. I watch the streams daily. No way I’d forget such a pretty face.”
“First time I’ve seen such a gentle-looking NPC in the final game. Maybe this level isn’t as hard as we thought?”
“She seems friendly. I hope she helps the players.”
“Please let her be a good NPC. I don’t want any more players dying.”
If Jiang Jiang could read their thoughts or see the bullet comments, she’d say:
“You’re half right.”
…Because although she has a player panel, her identity was registered as an NPC.
10086 explains sheepishly:
“There was a glitch during your identity upload. I had only halfway registered you as a player when the instance absorbed your data and reclassified you as an NPC.”
“But that’s a good thing!” it adds hastily.
“NPCs will treat you better!”
Jiang Jiang rolls her eyes:
“…But that also means the players will treat me worse.”
Oh well. No turning back now. She checks her panel.
Player Panel
Jiang Jiang: ❓
So… the system is telling her not to interact with the other players?
And what’s with that second prompt changing mid-read?
Also, why is the black cat line spamming itself? System lag?
Suddenly, the bus slams to a halt.
The gruff voice of the driver echoes through the speakers:
“Dear hardworking employees, Happiness Community has arrived. Please disembark.”
Jiang Jiang checks her watch. It’s 6 PM—she has two hours before curfew.
Players begin sharing their own panel info. When they notice Jiang Jiang isn’t reacting, they confirm in their minds:
“Definitely an NPC.”
(Unspoken rule: NPCs can’t hear discussions about player tasks.)
Jiang Jiang pretends to be on her phone but secretly listens in.
There are four players aside from her.
Their tasks are:
Jiang Jiang: ❓
So, originally, her tasks must’ve been the same—but now they’re… altered?
Why is she not allowed to summon the evil god?
Also, why does her prompt warn her to avoid the players, while theirs says she’s trustworthy?
Yu Bin also grows tense. This world’s tasks match exactly what Cheng Peiyu warned them about.
Could she have been telling the truth all along?
Player Kuang Zheng, a righteous-looking middle-aged man (a former police officer), frowns deeply:
“If we don’t complete the tasks, we can’t leave. It’s a dead end.”
Zhang Juan, a calm and gentle woman, tries to reassure them:
“If the game says it’s beatable, then there must be a way.”
The younger girl, Xi Meng, nods:
“Even if we fail, any clues we leave might help the next players survive longer.”
The stream chat is emotional:
“Please come back safely!”
“No wonder this is the final level—the difficulty’s insane.”
“Am I the only one focused on the pretty NPC? Please help them, sis!”
“She must be key to this level. We’ve never seen an NPC occupy a whole task line before.”
Meanwhile, Cheng Peiyu watches the live broadcast from home, feeling completely hopeless.
“Why is everything different this time…?”
She’s never seen Jiang Jiang before. And the rules have clearly changed.
She can’t forget what she witnessed in the original timeline—summoning the evil god was a mistake. A fatal one.
But with no time limit on the level, if they didn’t complete the task, they’d be stuck forever.
And after the summoning succeeded, it was immediate regret.
They saw pure evil.
The evil god walked barefoot across a blood-soaked altar.
Green flames flared from candles as shadows twisted into inhuman shapes—forked tails, suctioned tentacles.
When she tried to get a clearer look, all that horror collapsed into the fragile silhouette of a teenage boy.
“Thanks.”
He said it almost sweetly, but the sound crawled into their ears like slugs.
Eyes pure black. Skin ghost-pale. Crimson lips too vivid—an ominous contrast.
“Now then, pick your preferred method of death.”
Even after time travel, Cheng Peiyu still shudders at the memory.
That being… wasn’t something human minds could endure.
All she can do now is hope this version, with its new variables—and that unfamiliar NPC—can lead to a different ending.
Back in the instance:
Zhang Juan notices Jiang Jiang packing her bag.
“Are you getting ready to go home?”
Looks like the players decided to tackle their first tasks first—find their homes and repair family bonds.
But there’s one problem: The game never told them where their homes are.
End of Chapter.
@ apricity[Translator]
Immerse yourself in a captivating tale brought to life through my natural and fluid translation—where every emotion, twist, and character shines as vividly as in the original work! ^_^