When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 160: Fish-like Creature

Chapter 160: Fish-like Creature

All of a sudden, they recalled snippets of conversation they had heard earlier. The patrolling NPC mentioned that their Captain had been acting strangely. Not only that, his temperament seemed to have also changed for the worse. What if he turned out to be the ’queen in the ant nest’, the leader who controlled all the creatures?

They could not exclude this possibility.

"Anyway, we have already been trapped in this place, so we will have to face the Captain sooner or later," Shen Nianzu shrugged. He then turned to Jin Jiuchi and asked with a dark face, "Have you finished yet?"

Jin Jiuchi showed his clean plate and nodded, his cheeks were bulging like a hamster. Shen Nianzu stared and stared, and in the end, he could not resist reaching out to squeeze Jin Jiuchi’s cheeks. Contrary to his expectations, Jin Jiuchi did not spew out the food in his mouth as he insisted on pressing his lips tight. He merely stared at Shen Nianzu with a look of utter bafflement.

The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched upon seeing his puffed-up face, yet he quickly let go and turned away, saying, "We should get going."

"Oh, oh!" Gu Luoxin stood up in reflex. "Are we going to find the Captain next?" he asked, to which Shen Nianzu responded with a nod.

Meanwhile, Jin Jiuchi finally snapped back to his senses after the prank Shen Nianzu had played on him earlier. He stood up in a clatter and swallowed the food in his mouth without even chewing, demanding in disbelief, "Nian’er, did you just laugh at me?!"

Shen Nianzu deadpanned, "From which eyes do you see me laughing?"

"No, you definitely laughed at me!" Jin Jiuchi opened his eyes wide and pointed at them, nearly poking them with his fingers amidst the frenzy. "These two eyes saw it!"

But Shen Nianzu did not deign to respond to him. Instead, he turned to Noir and questioned, "May I ask if you bump into another player on your way?"

Noir chewed on his melon and slowly shook his head.

"How about..." Shen Nianzu hesitated for a brief moment but still inquired in the end, "...the core NPC? Have you found them?"

Again, Noir shook his head. He swallowed before replying in a mild tone, "I plan to search for them after I finish my meal."

Shen Nianzu looked down and saw that Noir’s plate was already empty. It meant that they were more or less heading to the same destination. After observing him closely tonight, Shen Nianzu eventually came to a conclusion that Noir did not seem to harbor any malicious intentions. He preferred to do things at his own pace, but so far, they had been getting along quite well without any conflicts. Not to mention that he would be Gu Luoxin’s roommate for the next five days, and practically theirs too, thanks to the hole in the wall...

With that consideration in mind, Shen Nianzu gingerly offered, "Would you like to come with us?"

Gu Luoxin snapped his gaze to his leader in shock, as just moments ago, Shen Nianzu had given him a list of reasons why they could not accept Noir. However, he couldn’t afford to think of the reason behind Shen Nianzu’s change of heart now. With a whoosh, he whipped his head to Noir and asked enthusiastically, "Let’s go together. We are also searching for the core NPC!"

He did not know either where this zeal came from, but when he imagined the handsome and elegant young man carrying a black cat in his arms, walking along the desolate ship alone, somehow he wanted to get close to him and engage him in a small talk. Even though he ended up being ignored, even though he received only one or two words in response, it did not matter! Gu Luoxin did not think too much of it though. He merely chalked this up to the desire to get close to a powerful player. After all, with Noir here, their fighting force would increase by leaps and bounds and they would definitely be able to deal with any nightmare creatures outside!

Noir had initially intended to refuse politely when Shen Nianzu asked him, but then when he looked into Gu Luoxin’s hopeful and sparkling eyes, what came out of his mouth became, "Okay."

As soon as that word left his lips, Gu Luoxin cheered in jubilation, "Yes! Let us find the core NPC tonight!" Too caught up in his excitement, he failed to notice Noir’s bewildered face, as though he could not believe what kind of answer he had just given.

However, that minute reaction did not go unnoticed by Shen Nianzu, who narrowed his eyes meaningfully but declined to comment.

The four of them hurried out of the restaurant and continued down the dark and empty corridor. This time, they had a clear destination— the bridge aka the control center where the captain and navigation officers oversaw the ship’s operation. If there was somewhere Captain Rick could be, then it should most likely be the bridge.

Despite keeping their guards up, they no longer encountered any nightmare creatures on their way. Instead, the closer they got to the bridge, they gradually noticed that the floor seemed to be covered in liquid. With each step they took, there would be a disturbing squelching and splashing sound.

"W–What is this?" Gu Luoxin almost slipped and he hastily held onto the wall for support, flustered. "It’s not water, is it?!"

"Definitely not," Shen Nianzu replied.

"Ugh, it smells so awful!" Jin Jiuchi’s complexion worsened as they neared the bridge. "Nian’er, it smells fishy! I mean, a big and stinky fish! Though it would probably taste delicious if we roasted it..."

Noir observed the liquid on the ground and relayed his observation, "Lubrication."

Hearing that, Gu Luoxin turned to him in shock, "Lubrication... for what? Not for a real fish swimming on the ground, right?" He had blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but he did not expect three pairs of eyes to snap to him, startling him so much that he almost twisted his foot and face-planted on the ground.

"W–What? What is it? Did I say something wrong?" He stammered.

"No, you’re right," Shen Nianzu slowly said. "It seems like we’re dealing with a fish-like creature here. A creature that thrives in the dark."

As they reached the bridge, the slimy substance on the ground became thicker, making it difficult for them to walk. Gu Luoxin had already fallen on his butt twice, while Jin Jiuchi had given up on using his nose and resorting to breathing through his mouth instead. Knowing that the creature might be vulnerable to bright light, Shen Nianzu held a large flashlight in his hand – one of the props he had purchased beforehand – ready to blind the creature’s eyes if necessary.

Noir took the lead to push the door open, revealing the shocking scene before their eyes.

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A/N: This is going to be a long Cycle, seeing that we’re 15 Chapters in and still no sight of thecore NPC QAQ please bear with me~