When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 174: The Most Dangerous Phase

Chapter 174: The Most Dangerous Phase

The cruise ship sailed under the overcast sky. The air was enveloped in a thick fog that obscured the sun, casting a gloomy shadow over the surroundings. Despite the early evening hour, darkness blanketed the outside as if it were the dead of night. Captain Rick made another announcement to advise the guests to remain indoors, as they predicted that a storm was approaching sometime during the night.

At that moment, in a certain room on the ninth floor, Lily awoke from her slumber.

She sat up and stretched her waist, yawning. The room was shrouded in darkness with the tightly drawn curtains, and her teammate was nowhere to be found. However, Lily paid him no mind because first, their relationship was purely based on mutual benefit and second, she knew he would return once the night fell.

Instead, she focused on herself and a surge of excitement coursed through her.

After all the blood she had consumed since boarding the ship, she could feel herself growing stronger and stronger. Soon, her skill card would be ready for use, and she would be invincible in this Cycle!

Humming a random tune, she sauntered to the bathroom to take a shower, then she headed out to satisfy her empty stomach. As she watched the live performance on stage, she swirled the glass of red wine in her hand and glanced at the time.

It was almost 7 pm, but the man had not shown up.

She placed her glass harshly on the table and cursed under her breath, "Where the fuck did he go?! Don’t tell me that he is having so much fun that he lost track of the time! If it weren’t his skill card..." she gnashed her teeth angrily. If not for his skill card, she wouldn’t want to partner up with such a brute and hideous man!

Unbeknownst to her, the man whom she believed was having the fun of his life was currently kidnapped and bound in the room Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi shared.

Observing the man who was glaring at them with vicious eyes, Jin Jiuchi tilted his head and wandered, "What are you looking at? Do you possibly want me to... gouge your eyes out?"

He made a clawing motion toward Scarred Man’s face, causing the man’s eyes to widen in shock. His heart palpitated wildly and his gut instinct told him to escape, alas it was simply impossible in his current predicament. It was as if his body was no longer his own. No matter how hard he ordered himself to move, he was frozen in place like a rock statue. He could not even turn his head away! And thus, he could only stare wide-eyed, half in dread and half in horror, as Jin Jiuchi’s fingers approached his eyelids.

Scarred Man’s scalp exploded in numbness, and icy shivers ran down his spine. Just as he thought that he was done for, Jin Jiuchi withdrew his hand and sing-songed, "Just kidding~" He laughed at the man’s pale face and clicked his tongue exasperatedly, "Don’t tell me, did you really believe that I would dig out your eyeballs?"

Hearing Jin Jiuchi’s provocative laugh, Scarred Man was unable to contain the fury in his heart. If only he could move, he would have rolled up his sleeves and fought this player to death! Unfortunately, he had been too careless, resulting in his current peril. But time would not turn back even if his intestines turned green with regret.

He couldn’t help but lament inside his heart. If only... if only he had the chance to activate his skill card, the one laughing right now would be him!

"Hush," Shen Nianzu glared at Jin Jiuchi, though it did not contain any heat at all and that’s how Jin Jiuchi knew that the jade doll did not mind him scaring their guest.

Jin Jiuchi happily added gasoline to the fire, "Nian’er, the effect of your needle is going to wear off soon, right? What should we do? Should we kill him? Oh wait," he pretended to be troubled, his brows knitted. "Even though we did nothing, he would not be alive for long anyway."

Scarred Man rolled his eyes, convinced that Jin Jiuchi was once again playing mind games with him. Did this bastard think he would fall for the same tricks twice?!

Little did he know that Jin Jiuchi was truly not lying this time.

By the time they took Scarred Man away, they already noticed signs of alienation on him, such as his abnormally dilated pupils and sharpened nails, though the man himself did not seem aware. After all, these signs were so subtle and easily overlooked. But after the lesson they learned from Noir earlier the day, they had become more vigilant in observing such symptoms in players and NPCs.

But why should they tell him?

Shen Nianzu weighed over his choices before making a decision, "No need to kill him right now. Let him go later, perhaps he may prove more ’useful’ by his teammate’s side rather than dead." The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips hooked into a faint icy smile when he thought of that scenario.

’Just wait until Lily wakes up!’ Unable to speak, Scarred Man could only glare at them to convey his threat. ’All of you will be dead by then!’

The doorbell rang, and Jin Jiuchi went to answer it, allowing Noir and Gu Luoxin to enter.

After the crew members had finished checking the fifth floor and continued to the other floors, Noir had returned and dumped the mermaid back into the tub, before he reconvened with Gu Luoxin and headed to this room. He swept his nonchalant gaze over the Scarred Man, pausing briefly on his face and hands before looking away.

Gu Luoxin, on the other hand, made mockery faces at the Scarred Man, angering the latter so much that his blood pressure skyrocketed. With so many great gods here, Gu Luoxin did not fear causing trouble. He jeered, "Haha, look at you. Can’t move, huh? Serves you right!"

If the intensity of a glare could manifest into something tangible, blazing flames would have burst out of Scarred Man’s eyes right now. He looked like he was itching to swallow Gu Luoxin whole, peel off his skin and chew on his flesh.

"Is she safe?" Shen Nianzu asked once the door was closed.

Noir nodded, "Should be."

Shen Nianzu was rendered speechless by that vague response, "...What does it mean? Yes or no?"

Noir pondered for a bit before saying, "A little airsick."

Noir was taking the time to survey the area of the Cycle from the sky when the mermaid in his arms suddenly woke up. Upon realizing that she was flying in midair, plus with Noir and Lucius so close to her, she panicked and struggled desperately. Having not expected this, Noir lost his grip on her and she plummeted straight from thousands of meters above the sea. Fortunately, his reaction speed was quick and he managed to catch her. But unfortunately, the mermaid became sick and despondent like a wilted flower.

"Well," Shen Nianzu thought that it was natural for a sea creature to feel sick in the air, and he let out a sigh of relief. "It’s okay as long as she’s still alive."

Recalling something, Noir made a low sound on his throat and when all eyes fell on him, he revealed in a deadpan tone, "By the way, I saw the whirlpool."

Everyone snapped to him in shock. "WHAT?!"

"It’s still some distance away, but depending on the speed of the ship, we might be dragged into it before noon tomorrow."

Ariel had claimed to have been sucked into a whirlpool before she found herself in this unfamiliar part of the sea. If what Noir said was true, then they would most probably arrive at Atlantis by tomorrow!

The trio was excited by the good news, but soon Shen Nianzu’s expression sank. "Oh no," he whispered. "If we will truly reach our destination tomorrow, then tonight and tomorrow... will be the most dangerous phase on the ship."

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A/N: everyone, in case you haven’t noticed yet, the app has added a new feature and now you can see each character profile on the book page >< not only that, you can also use points to brush up their popularity and add your own thoughts to each character. I think it’s a very great way to know what you think of the characters themselves, so I’d very much like to see you there ^^

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me but dang, Noir came first with 400k popularity points *laughing-crying* why haven’t I realized how popular he is before? Also JJ is not far behind with 390k points >< I got a shock seeing this huge number. Thank you so much everyone, but now I feel bad for leaving the pictures blank QAQ but don’t worry, we will soon get the four players’ official look! Well, not so soon, perhaps it can only be finalized next month or even longer QAQ so please be patient with me~