When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 181: Giant Chrysalis

Chapter 181: Giant Chrysalis

The clock showed that it was the wee hours in the morning when they finally managed to escape the enclosed realm.

"Yuck!" Jin Jiuchi lifted his left foot, then his right, trying and failing to avoid stepping on the sticky substance that had covered the entire floor. Even the walls were not spared. "What the hell?!" His expression was one of pure repulsion. "This is so disgusting!"

Hearing that, Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at him.

Jin Jiuchi did not react like this when they crossed the sticky floor in the crew areas last night. In fact, he even stepped on it a few more times on purpose because he thought the squeaky sound was fun. If Shen Nianzu had not stopped him, he would have challenged himself to see if he could slide on the ground like he was skiing. That’s how he knew that the one speaking right now must be the black-eyed Jin Jiuchi.

It appeared like he was more mature, logical and wicked, compared to his counterpart who was an utter troublemaker and did things for fun. Well, both of them were a menace anyway, but it still amazed Shen Nianzu how contrasting their personalities were, and how they could still complement each other perfectly.

But how about his eyes? What had triggered the sudden change?

Unsure, Shen Nianzu decided to ask, "Which one are you?"

Jin Jiuchi turned to him, his different colored eyes blinking twice, then a playful grin slowly spread across his face. "What do you think, Nian’er?" He teased.

’It’s the silver-eyed one this time,’ Shen Nianzu thought, and the next second he was taken aback that he could actually recognize each of them just fine.

As for Gu Luoxin, the thought that Jin Jiuchi was originally two halves who had merged into one did not even cross his mind. He only felt curious and a tad apprehensive for this version of Jin Jiuchi. Gingerly, he scooted closer to Shen Nianzu and tugged on his sleeves, "Psst, Xiao Shen."

Shen Nianzu gave him a quizzical look. Why would he whisper like that? Couldn’t he see that Jin Jiuchi could hear them very well?

Unaware that his secret discussion was no longer a secret, Gu Luoxin leaned toward Shen Nianzu’s ear and whispered, "Did something happen to Da Shen? Just now, he and Great— ah no, I mean Mr. Noir fought with each other. And it was because... Mr. Noir said that he is not a part of us." His eyes radiated pure confusion. "What does that even mean?"

Shen Nianzu’s heart skipped two beats, even though outwardly his eyelids did not even twitch.

Damn it, had Jin Jiuchi’s identity been exposed to Noir?! He really could not afford to let this silly husky out of his sight because an accident was bound to happen one way or another! He snuck a glance at Jin Jiuchi and saw him staring at the patterned wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world, albeit his ears perked up like a hound. Helpless, Shen Nianzu palmed his forehead and said, "It’s a little complicated to explain."

As if the universe was helping him, another burst of scream erupted from afar, "Help me! Help—!"

Shen Nianzu patted Gu Luoxin’s shoulder and spoke in haste, "This is not the right place to talk. Let’s wait until we escape from this Cycle first!"

"Oh, oh!"

The trio rushed towards the source of the commotion and this time, they easily left the hallway and emerged on the atrium where they could get a panoramic view of the whole ship. And the scene before them caused them to halt on their tracks, their jaws agape.

It was unknown what had transpired during the hours they were trapped in a separate realm, but the fish-like creature, which they had hunted the night before, seemed to have undergone drastic transformation.

At least, right now it was no longer in the form of a fish.

The sticky substance which had coated the floor and walls had also covered the banister. But different from the usual liquid and transparent form, this one appeared to be solid and elastic, just like an unbreakable and thick spider web. It wrapped around the banisters on the second, third and fourth floor to support a giant white cocoon which resembled a colossal globe suspended amidst the atrium. The cocoon seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, and inside, a few NPCs were trapped, crying and howling for help. The sticky substance tightly wrapped around their bodies, preventing any chance of escape.

As the trio stared at it, dumbfounded, an NPC suddenly stumbled past the railing on the upper floor, presumably having slipped amidst her frantic running, and free-falling straight toward the cocoon.

Despite looking like a ball of soft white cotton candy, the cocoon did not shake at all when it bore the full weight of an adult woman. Instead, the woman immediately sank inside, and shortly after, her terrified screams could no longer be heard.

In the next moment—

Ba-thump! Ba-thump!

Clear and loud heartbeat resonated from within, to the point where they could feel the vibration from where they were standing.

"This is the same heartbeat I detected last night, Nian’er!!" Jin Jiuchi pointed out.

’Sure enough’, Shen Nianzu thought. Last night, the nightmare creature was hiding from them; perhaps because it knew that it would not stand a chance if they were to confront each other. As for the reason why it suddenly became like this...

"T–This cocoon..." Gu Luoxin stammered out, his voice filled with fear. "Why does it remind me of metamorphosis? The larva forms a chrysalis and encloses itself in a protective case, and then when it comes out, it will turn into..."

"A butterfly?!" Jin Jiuchi guessed.

Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but imagine a gigantic butterfly as tall as a building and felt shivers down his spine. However... "I think butterflies are a little better than the others," he tearfully concluded.

Shen Nianzu lowered his gaze in thought. "What Xinxin said makes sense. The sticky substance we stumbled upon last night might be the liquid from the hatchling. It was still weak, so it chose to hide and gain more power first before coming out."

"Wait!" Jin Jiuchi interrupted their discussion as a random thought crossed his mind. "If there’s an egg, then there should be a mother, no?"

In an instant, Shen Nianzu and Gu Luoxin snapped to him in shock, startling Jin Jiuchi so much that he reflexively looked around in case of a sudden attack. "W–What? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?!"

Eyes sparkling, Gu Luoxin praised him with fervent excitement, "Da Shen, you’re a genius! You’re right, if there’s an egg, there should be a mother nearby!"

So here comes the real question— where was its mother now? Or should they say, the ’queen’?

Their attention was diverted when a piercing scream echoed all around the ship. Then the next moment, another NPC fell from the upper floor to sink right into the cocoon, only to be sucked in and devoured. After the earlier revelation, this scene suddenly became different in their eyes. Damn it, these were no mere accidents, but someone was deliberately pushing them off to feed the cocoon!

And the only one who had the reason to do that was...

"The fifth floor!" Jin Jiuchi remarked as he pointed at the direction where the NPC had come from. "Nian’er, Xinxin, that NPC fell from our floor!"

They exchanged glances and saw the shock and dread in each other’s eyes. Oh no, the mermaid... she was on the fifth floor too!