When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 165: Take Responsibility

Chapter 165: Take Responsibility

The breathtaking and tranquil scenery became chaotic in the blink of an eye.

The female NPC’s terrified shriek was akin to a spark that lit up the underwater mayhem. The dolphins, which had been nothing but friendly and gentle until moments ago, suddenly turned savage and launched frenzied attacks on those nearby!

Humans stood no chance against these nimble and powerful water creatures. Before anyone could swim to safety, the dolphins lunged forward and bit down on the unsuspecting victims. There had been no warning beforehand. All of a sudden, they turned so aggressive as though they had been possessed by the spirit of sharks. Screams and cries pierced through the air as NPCs struggled to get to the safety boat, only for the dolphins to drag them down to the depths of the sea. The surface of the water became veiled in a crimson tide, signaling the onset of a bloodbath.

’Not good!’ Jin Jiuchi thought. If this kept up, then the smell of blood would attract the real predators to this place!

As much as he wanted to see what the sea predators looked like, he knew that now was not the right time and occasion. It was still okay if he was down here alone, but Shen Nianzu was together with him! Jin Jiuchi would rather skip on the fun than to have the jade doll get hurt, and thus he urgently waved his hand, making a signal that they should go up first.

However, Shen Nianzu was unresponsive. He was not even looking at Jin Jiuchi. Instead, his gaze was fixated on the bloodbath in the distance, his already fair complexion became even more ghastly. Faintly, Jin Jiuchi could even see the tremors coursing through his body. He looked like he was reliving a nightmare.

Jin Jiuchi was taken aback. What was happening? Why did Shen Nianzu react like this all of a sudden? Just as these questions flooded his mind, he caught sight of a ferocious dolphin charging towards Shen Nianzu from his peripheral vision!

’Nian’er!’ Jin Jiuchi desperately wanted to shout a warning, but his voice was lost into a stream of bubbles in the water.

Gritting his teeth, he propelled himself towards Shen Nianzu with powerful kicks, but then a strong force abruptly pulled him from behind! He whipped his head around to see that the strap of his oxygen tank had come loose without his realization and was now caught in the turbulent water created by the ship’s propeller rotation!

Jin Jiuchi’s almost choked on his saliva as he felt himself being rapidly drawn towards the blades that could slice his body in half. He spun around and kicked his legs frantically to break free from the turbulent currents. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the fierce dolphin mere meters away from Shen Nianzu, who was still petrified in place!

There was no time to think. Jin Jiuchi had no idea how to throw the tank off him, so he directly unclasped his vest and discarded all of the equipment on his body. Using it as a cushion, he propelled himself out of the churning waters!

A muffled bang resonated behind him as the compensator vest became lodged in the propeller, causing it to cease its spinning. But Jin Jiuchi could not afford to care about it right now. His powerful body weaved through the water as he reached out to yank Shen Nianzu to him. He wrapped his arms around the jade doll’s body just in time for the dolphin to bite down on his shoulder, tearing off a small chunk of flesh!

’Piss off!’ Bubbles flew out of Jin Jiuchi’s mouth as he delivered a swift punch to the dolphin. Alas, the water dulled the impact of his punch and when it landed on the fish’s body, it became more like a forceful shove.

The dolphin recoiled momentarily, but soon it was back on them again with twice the ferocity!

Fortunately, this little interruption was enough for Shen Nianzu to regain his senses. With a flick of his fingers, a long transparent blade materialized on his palm, and when the dolphin rushed to them again, he swung the blade and sliced the bloodthirsty creature into two!

Together, they swam towards the surface, where the safety boat was ready to pull them out.

As soon as they settled on the boat, Shen Nianzu hastily removed his mask and seized Jin Jiuchi arms. He did not even realize his voice was shaking when he asked, "H–How are you?"

The rims of his eyes reddened when he looked at the jagged wound on Jin Jiuchi’s shoulder. It was his fault. It should have been him who was bitten... but Jin Jiuchi had pulled him away in a nick of time and used his own body to protect him. It was all his fault for getting distracted!

In that moment, when he looked at the chaos underwater, he seemed to have been transported to his first Cycle. The desperate screams, the bloodthirsty creatures lurking beneath their feet, and the suffocating seawater— all were very similar to his distant nightmare. He thought that the trauma would fade away as he got stronger but oh boy, how wrong he was. Unbeknownst to him, the memory still held him captive, causing him to freeze in the nick of time and resulting in Jin Jiuchi’s injury.

Shen Nianzu drew in a shaky exhale. The metallic scent of blood seemed to linger on the tip of his nose. Chills rose from the bottom of his feet, causing his teeth to chatter. He felt like he was tethering on the brink of insanity when he heard no response from Jin Jiuchi, albeit only less than two seconds had passed since then.

"Why didn’t you say anything?! Do you—"

"Cough cough!" Jin Jiuchi’s shoulders shook with the force of his cough as he grabbed Shen Nianzu’s hand, cutting the man mid-sentence. His voice was hoarse when he spoke, "Nian’er? Did... Did you say something just now? My ears are ringing..." he raised his head to reveal a pair of bloodshot eyes and a red nose due to the water pressure. Yet those eyes still shimmered with concern as they scanned Shen Nianzu’s body anxiously, "Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

Shen Nianzu’s lips trembled as he stared at Jin Jiuchi in mild incredulity. At a time like this, how could he still worry about Shen Nianzu instead of himself? Shen Nianzu had no idea how to describe his feelings right now. All he knew was that his heart ached so much and he really wanted to throw himself into Jin Jiuchi’s arms, to feel those powerful arms squeezing him tight.

But as his gaze fell upon Jin Jiuchi’s wound which was still bleeding profusely, he immediately snapped back to reality. "Damn it, you’re the one who is injured..." he gritted out in a nasally voice. "Who told you to protect me?!"

"But Nian’er..." Under the azure blue sky, on a safety boat surrounded by injured NPCs and crew members issuing rapid commands, Jin Jiuchi’s dazzling smile was all Shen Nianzu could see. "What should I do if you get hurt?"

Gradually, the chaos subsided as the dolphins were brought under control. The safety boat docked back onto the cruise ship, and amidst the commotion, Gu Luoxin rushed towards them with bloodshot eyes. "X–Xiao Shen, Da Shen, are you alright?!" He gasped upon noticing Jin Jiuchi’s bleeding shoulder. "Oh no, you’re injured! D–Doctor, where is the doctor?!"

Jin Jiuchi had nearly recovered from the side-effects brought by the pressure underwater. Now he was full of life and could already jump around. "Ah, this?" He swung his shoulder around to show that it posed no problems for him at all. "See, this is nothing!"

"Don’t you dare move!" Shen Nianzu gripped his arm and forcibly held the stupid husky in place.

A group of doctors soon came forward to tend to the injured.

However, it seemed like one of the NPCs was a young miss who had hailed from a wealthy family, as she insisted that the crew took full responsibility for the accident. It was none other than the female NPC whose arm was bitten by the dolphin first.

"What the hell is wrong with the service on this ship?!" She demanded furiously. "You claimed to have sailed for years, but you don’t even know that the dolphins are deranged?! Even worse, you still allow us to get close to them! Where is the Captain?! Call him out! I have to settle this account with him!"

She remained unmoved no matter how the crew and doctor persuaded her otherwise, and left with no other choice, they could only summon the Captain.

The trio exchanged knowing glances with each other. Was it the Captain, the person whom they suspected to be the ’queen’ that controlled the nest in the crew areas?! Last night, they had tried to find him to no avail. And through some unexpected twists and turns, he would finally appear in front of them today!

"Finally..." Shen Nianzu released a sigh of relief. "The Cycle is moving forward."