When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 162: Player Alienation

Chapter 162: Player Alienation

The four of them rested until 10 AM before they went out for breakfast.

The atmosphere in the air was lively and boisterous. Guests mingled with each other, a band played pop jazz music on the stage, and children’s clear laughter filled the air. It was hard to believe that this was the same cruise ship which housed dozens of nightmare creatures just last night. The stark contrast between day and night was extremely unnerving.

"What should we do next?" Gu Luoxin asked as he stirred his chocolate milkshake absentmindedly. The warm atmosphere did not manage to subdue the rising chill in his body. It made him more restless instead, as he kept feeling as though every NPC he encountered could transform into a nightmare creature and pounce on him without a warning. "Without the core NPC, it seems like there’s nothing more we can do. But is it really okay for us to just sit still and wait like this...?"

Shen Nianzu elegantly sipped on his morning tea and let out a light exhale.

He understood Gu Luoxin’s concerns all too well. Having grown accustomed to constant labor in low-level Cycles, he, too, would feel restless if there was not anything to do for a day. However, this was not a low-level Cycle, and their task would no longer involve menial labor but rather something more dangerous and life-threatening. Unfortunately, this anxiety was something only time and experience could heal.

Still, he couldn’t help but offer some words of comfort. "Don’t worry, we will not be waiting for long." His gaze shifted to Jin Jiuchi beside him, who was stuffing his face with a combo cheeseburger. Though his mouth did not stop chewing, his gaze was fixed somewhere else.

Shen Nianzu followed his line of sight and spotted a group of six sitting across the restaurant hall, chatting and laughing with each other like normal friends. Four of them looked familiar, and it took Shen Nianzu a second to recall that they were the group of ’three players-one NPC’ who had crossed paths with them in the lobby yesterday.

He gently nudged Jin Jiuchi with his elbow, asking, "Why are you staring at them?" He tried to pinpoint where Jin Jiuchi’s gaze was landing on and it seemed to be... a female NPC? She wore a goose yellow dress with long black hair cascading down her back, as she listened to something one of the players said. Shen Nianzu scoffed, and before his brain could process it, he gave a cynical remark, "Is she that pretty?"

It’s not like she looks any better than me, was what Shen Nianzu did not say.

He only realized how sour his tone was when Jin Jiuchi slowly turned to him, unblinking.

As soon as the realization hit, Shen Nianzu’s eyes flew wide in incredulity. W–What kind of words had he just said?! Alas, a gentleman’s words were akin to milk, once spilled they could not be gathered up again. And thus, no matter how mortified Shen Nianzu was, he could only raise his chin and put on a false bravado. "What?" He demanded, somewhat unreasonably. "Am I wrong? Haven’t you been staring at them for a while?"

Jin Jiuchi quirked a brow, and a playful glint flashed through his eyes. In that instant, Shen Nianzu got a strong hunch that he had to stop what Jin Jiuchi was about to say next. Hence, as soon as Jin Jiuchi opened his mouth, Shen Nianzu shoved the half-eaten burger back into the man’s mouth. He glowered, "Speak less and eat more."

However, could this little burger really hindered Jin Jiuchi from speaking? Shen Nianzu only blinked once, and Jin Jiuchi had already swallowed it down to his stomach.

It was too late to stop him now.

"I know Nian’er loves me so much—"

"You...!" Shen Nianzu tried to block his mouth, but Jin Jiuchi swiftly grabbed hold of his wrists and grinned, the chili sauce making his lips look particularly red and moist.

"—and he wants to hog me all to himself. It’s okay, I can understand it very well!" He continued with an extremely smug and pleased look. Just as Shen Nianzu was about to kick him to shut him up, Jin Jiuchi shook his head with a dramatic sigh, "Too bad, I didn’t even notice how pretty she is. I mean, Nian’er is the prettiest person I have ever seen. Why should I look at her if I can just look at Nian’er? Am I right?" He suddenly leaned forward until their noses almost brushed against each other. His powerful presence towered over Shen Nianzu, making it difficult for him to think, let alone speak.

Shen Nianzu’s cheeks flushed crimson, and he stuttered out, "Y–Y–You...!"

Gu Luoxin: "..." His chocolate milkshake suddenly tasted bitter.

He turned to Noir, who was enjoying his mushroom soup with freshly baked bread, and whispered, "Great—no, I mean, Mr. Noir, do you want to move to another table?"

Noir gave him a slow blink. "Why?"

"..." Okay, so he was the only one stuffed full by this dog food. Gu Luoxin truly admired Noir’s ability to ignore the disturbance in his surroundings, but just as he was about to spout out rainbow farts, he heard the man say,

"This table is good. We can observe the player who showed signs of alienation without him noticing." After saying that, he tore off a small piece of bread, dipped it into the soup and savored it with his eyes narrowed.

In contrast, that languid remark of his instantly stunned Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu.

"A–Alienation?" Gu Luoxin repeated nervously. "Why... Why does it sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie?"

Shen Nianzu, on the other hand, immediately put two and two together and turned to the table where the three players sat. He then asked Jin Jiuchi, "Were you staring at them because you knew?"

"I’m not sure at first," Jin Jiuchi replied casually and grinned at Noir, who looked at him in mild surprise as he had not expected Jin Jiuchi to notice it too. "But thanks to your confirmation, I’m certain now."

"You..." Shen Nianzu trembled in the mixture of rage and mortification. He gave in to the impulse and stomped down on Jin Jiuchi’s foot, earning him a pained howl. "If you knew from the start, then why didn’t you say anything, you dumb husky?!" He had kept quiet on purpose, even going as far as to sweet-talk him. It was simply impossible for Jin Jiuchi to be serious for once!

"Ow, ow, ow!" Jin Jiuchi put on an exaggerated grimace as he collapsed over the table, lamenting with invisible tears in his eyes, "Tough love is really difficult..."

Shen Nianzu glared daggers at him, "What did you just say?!" That caused Jin Jiuchi to clamp his mouth shut, and only then did Shen Nianzu turn away with a harrumph. He discreetly observed the table, scanning his gaze back and forth between the three players until he noticed something unusual.

The player in the middle, who had a square face and thick eyebrows, had chugged down a jug of water within five minutes. After that, he ordered another one and finished it quickly as well. It was not like he drank so much out of nervousness, but... it truly looked like he was thirsty. But what could have caused him to be so thirsty?

Remembering Noir’s remark earlier, Shen Nianzu asked, "What do you mean by alienation?"

"Physical changes," Noir replied. "The tip of his nails sharpened, his pupils dilated by five millimeters, and the shape of his ears..." Shen Nianzu looked again and realized that Noir was correct. However, these minute changes were so minuscule and easy to overlook unless one scrutinized them closely. Once again, Shen Nianzu was struck by how far the difference between their abilities was. He knew he would have missed these symptoms if he were the one observing.

"How about you?" Noir asked Jin Jiuchi with a tinge of curiosity.

And of course, Jin Jiuchi replied with, "His scent has subtly changed. Smells kinda fishy like..." he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "That’s right, just like the creature in the mirror I caught last night!"

So it was safe for them to assume that the player had been affected by the nightmare creature in the mirror.

Gu Luoxin gulped tensely, "So, he is going to transform into a nightmare creature?"

"Most likely, yes," Shen Nianzu nodded.

Just then, cheers erupted from the upper deck and someone hollered, "Everyone, look! There are a lot of dolphins outside!"

The four of them exchanged glances and quickly finished their breakfast to join the crowd in the uppermost deck. There, they saw a stretch of sparkling blue sea glimmering under the sunlight. Amongst it all were a few gray-colored fish splashing in the air from time to time. The guests marveled in awe, and some even registered for scuba diving to get closer to the dolphins which was rumored to be a gentle and intelligent creature.

"Diving!" Jin Jiuchi’s eyes lit up when he caught wind of it. "Nian’er, let’s go diving!"

Veins throbbed on Shen Nianzu’s forehead. Did Jin Jiuchi think that they were here on a real vacation?! The words of refusal were ready on the tip of his tongue, but before he could so much as to spit them out, Jin Jiuchi leaned into his ear and whispered, immediately disarming his protest, "Don’t you want to check if there’s something on the hull? Isn’t it the perfect chance for us, Nian’er?"