When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 168: Jin Jiuchi’s Personal Task

Chapter 168: Jin Jiuchi’s Personal Task

Jin Jiuchi was taken aback. D–Devour her? What did the Nightmare mean by that? Wouldn’t personal tasks be uniquely generated for each player based on the weakness in their heart? But now, the Nightmare had judged that Jin Jiuchi’s weakness was... devouring a half-fish person?

Was it because Jin Jiuchi had never eaten a living and breathing person before? No, wait a moment, he had unintentionally swallowed Madam Liu’s finger into his stomach back in the Shishen Apartment, so did that incident count as devouring another person?!

The task was so obscure that Jin Jiuchi was filled with confusion. He couldn’t help but try to negotiate with the voice in his mind.

[Come out, hey! What do you mean by ’devour’? Can I choose a random finger? Does a small chunk of flesh also count? How about her fish tail? If I were to roast her, maybe she could pass off as a fish—no, I must not roast a living person!]

Perhaps the Nightmare could not tolerate the absurdity of this person any longer, it finally deigned so spit out a few more words. Unless Jin Jiuchi’s ears were filled with water, he seemed to hear a hint of schadenfreude in the Nightmare’s usually flat and cryptic tone. [From head to toe. Must eat raw.]

Jin Jiuchi became even more shocked. [From head to toe?! What the hell?! How am I supposed to do that?! My mouth is not big enough!]

Alas, this time the Nightmare did not show up again no matter how much he protested about the task. Jin Jiuchi couldn’t help but grumble at how stingy it was. Unbeknownst to him, the Nightmare had always been a mysterious entity who showed up only to announce task details and completion to the players. Apart from that, it practically shut itself off, and it was only with Jin Jiuchi that it was willing to speak a little more.

Alas, Jin Jiuchi was totally unaware of that fact, and thus in his eyes, the Nightmare was a miserly creature who treasured its words more than gold.

Just wait until they meet again next time, Jin Jiuchi would definitely give it a piece of his mind!

The appearance of the half-fish creature, especially one so alluring and bewitching, instantly sent the crowd into a frenzy of excitement. The guests surged forward, eager to catch a closer glimpse of the mermaid, only to be held back by the crew members.

"Step back! Please step back!" The crew shouted to rival the hubbub in the air. "We will handle this situation as soon as possible, so please return to the ship and wait for our future announcements!"

Alas, the crowd was unrelenting. "How do you plan to deal with her?!"

"Yeah, right! Such a rare creature, who can guarantee that you will not keep her for your own personal pleasure?!"

"Get lost! I’m the one who found her first. I have the right to decide what to do with her!"

"Guys, our task..." Gu Luoxin tremblingly swept his gaze over the crowd before landing on the unconscious mermaid. "...is to protect her, right? From these NPCs, who wants to take advantage of her?"

Shen Nianzu let out a hum in response, his brows knitting tightly. What a troublesome task. They had to protect the mermaid and escort her ’safely’ to her home. It meant that they could not let any harm come to her. It was fine if they assumed the identity of rich people. Being part of the upper echelon himself, Shen Nianzu knew the extent of power money could have. As long as he was wealthy enough, he could easily suppress the crowd and keep the core NPC safe. Alas, it was not the case this time. Not to mention rich, they even had to watch out not to select any expensive meals for fear of depleting their funds!

He couldn’t help but massage his aching temple. "First and foremost, we have to bring her to a safe place, away from these greedy eyes. But..." he trailed off.

Midway through, he abruptly realized that Jin Jiuchi had not made a sound. Usually, wouldn’t he be the most excited one if they encountered something rare and mystical? Raising his head, he saw that the man was wearing a perplexed and frustrated expression.

"What’s wrong with you?" Shen Nianzu asked.

"Nian’er..." Jin Jiuchi cast him a helpless glance and revealed his personal task. He relayed it exactly word by word according to how the Nightmare told him.

And as expected, the two of them were flabbergasted.

"Wait, wait a moment! So, your task is to protect her, but your personal task is to devour her? Isn’t that contradictory?!" Gu Luoxin’s jaws were agape in shock.

Shen Nianzu was caught off guard as well. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a personal task. Furthermore, the Nightmare even went out of its way to provide additional instructions, which was totally unprecedented. He mulled over it and came up with a suggestion, "Perhaps you should complete the main task first before doing your personal task. But by that time, we will already be in the merfolk territory. It won’t be so easy to do something to her..."

It was unknown what crossed his mind, but Gu Luoxin’s face suddenly turned suspiciously red. "You know..." he choked out his words with difficulty. "Why are you taking the Nightmare’s words at face value? What if it’s not talking about literal meaning, but something else? I mean, something like..." he made an ambiguous hand gesture.

Shen Nianzu, who immediately understood that, felt his body freeze in place. On the other hand, Jin Jiuchi remained completely clueless.

"What?" He furrowed his brows in confusion.

Thinking that the man was getting angry, Gu Luoxin hastily added, "I’m just saying it casually! After all, if you must devour her from head to toe, and do it raw, wouldn’t people think of... ’that’...?" His voice trailed off into mumbles. He really wanted to cry now. Why was he such a blabbermouth? It was all because of the rated novels the girls in his class had lent him, leading his mind astray when he heard about Jin Jiuchi’s personal task!

Even then, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. One was a handsome man, and the other was a beautiful mermaid. Moreover, her name was Ariel. In the fairytale, Ariel was fated to meet a human prince, wasn’t she? Could it be that the Nightmare wanted to play matchmaker between the two?!

But then, what about Shen Nianzu...

Recalling the two’s close relationship, Gu Luoxin timidly peered up at Shen Nianzu, only to be startled by the man’s face that was as dark as the bottom of the pot. He quickly looked away and clutched his trembling heart. Oh no no no, it’s over. Xiao Shen is absolutely furious!

"What? What’s going on?" Jin Jiuchi still could not figure out Gu Luoxin’s vague gesture. "What are you talking about? What other meaning could there be to the task?"

Before Jin Jiuchi could get his answer, a loud commotion nearby attracted their attention and they turned to see that the core NPC was awake.

Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of moist and dazed azure eyes in the same shade of her tail. Those eyes seemed to contain a bewitching power that could drive humans crazy. If her sleeping visage already roused people’s interest, now that she was awake, the maddening greed and desire in their hearts seemed to be magnified tenfold, making them yearn to own her all to themselves.

At first, she looked disoriented and unaware of her surroundings. But the cacophony of voices startled her, and as soon as she realized that she was encircled by a dozen people, she instinctively curled up and hugged her own tail, trembling in terror. Looking so wretched, helpless yet enchantingly pitiful at the same time.