When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 185: Wrong Assumption

Chapter 185: Wrong Assumption

Noir furrowed his brow and stated, "I’m going out."

The situation outside seemed to worsen with each passing second, and he needed to assess what was going on. Alas, how could the other three stay put inside the room? They were eager to go out and inspect the scene too!

While Jin Jiuchi purely wanted to join in on the fun and Gu Luoxin intended to follow the Great God to see if there’s anything he could help with, Shen Nianzu’s line of thought was more practical and professional. Since Noir was not an outsider, of course someone from their team had to go out and investigate. Choosing Jin Jiuchi was not an option because the risk factor was too high – hell, who could expect what kind of shenanigans the man would get up to out there?! – so he could only choose between himself and Gu Luoxin.

If they were talking about reliability, Shen Nianzu was undoubtedly the best choice because he was powerful enough to deal with any unexpected problems that cropped up, but if it meant leaving Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin alone with the mermaid...

No, he could not! Ariel would surely go insane in the presence of Jin Jiuchi for a prolonged period of time!

Caught in a dilemma, Shen Nianzu struggled to make a decision. By then, Noir already took Lucius with him and left the room, leaving the three of them behind.

Gu Luoxin clung onto the wall and asked urgently, "Xiao Shen, should we go out too?!"

Shen Nianzu looked at Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin, before his gaze eventually fell on the mermaid. Gritting his teeth, he made a difficult decision, "Let’s take her with us and go!" They wrapped Ariel in a blanket, only showing a pair of restless azure eyes, and the task of carrying her eventually fell on Gu Luoxin’s shoulders.

They hurried out of the room towards the atrium to gauge the situation, and imagine their shock when they discovered that the cocoon had doubled in size! What was previously as tall as the second floor now extended beyond their view on the fifth floor!

"W–What has happened to it in such a short time?!" Gu Luoxin gasped in horror.

His question was answered when a cacophony of screams erupted from the upper deck. Everyone was scrambling towards the safety boat, guests and NPCs alike. They shoved and pushed each other, and there were no less than a dozen people who were trampled to death in the stampede. Despair and terror permeated into every inch of the ship, turning what was meant to be a leisurely vacation into a cruel nightmare. It was like a scene straight out of an apocalypse movie!

And in a sense, that was right. Because chasing after those people were the cursed ones, who pounced on them and attacked them ruthlessly before throwing them down to the giant cocoon.

No wonder it could grow into such a massive size in such a short time. Only God knew how many NPCs it had devoured!

"W–What the..." Jin Jiuchi stuttered out in disbelief. "Haven’t we gotten rid of the Captain?! You... You greedy rogue," he couldn’t help but curse at the colossal cocoon. "You have eaten so many people and you’re still not satisfied?! Are you a hungry ghost in your past life?!"

Gu Luoxin distantly sensed that something was off with Jin Jiuchi’s words, but he could not pinpoint what it was nor could he afford to care about it right now. He furrowed his brow in apprehension, "So getting rid of the Captain is no use? Wasn’t he the ’queen’?!"

"No, it seems like we have made the wrong assumption," Shen Nianzu shook his head with a somber look. "Just like other alienated NPCs, the Captain was only one of the ’foragers’ responsible for finding and providing food. The ones we encountered in the crew areas last night were most likely ’workers’, whose job is to build and maintain the nest, protect the young, and defend the colony... they have a very clear division of roles. Previously, their nest was only limited to the crew areas, but now, it has expanded to the whole ship, and the reason for it is because..."

Gu Luoxin and Jin Jiuchi put two and two together, and their eyes widened in shock. "You mean, that cocoon is...?!"

In the first place, there had never been a mother and egg; this was simply the case of a nest of nightmare creatures protecting their ’queen’ — which was none other than the cocoon itself!

"That’s right," Shen Nianzu gazed at the giant white globe before him with a somber countenance. "What we’re witnessing right now is the queen’s metamorphosis."

"Then ain’t this simple?!" Jin Jiuchi chimed in and gestured at the cocoon with fervor, "Look, it’s in the feeding stage right now, meaning the metamorphosis is still in progress. Am I right? Let’s cut it open! I want to see what it looks like inside!"

Shen Nianzu hurriedly wrapped his arms around the silly husky’s waist who wanted to climb on the railing and jumped straight onto the chrysalis, preventing any impromptu act that might lead to his doom. "Are you crazy?! Have you not seen what have become of the NPCs when they landed there?!"

Just in time, another NPC fell from the upper floor, screaming in terror, and promptly vanished within the depths of the giant cocoon. It trembled a few times as it devoured its meal, and the distressing cries swiftly faded away into silence.

"..." Jin Jiuchi quietly lowered his leg and asked, somewhat sullen, "Then what should we do?"

Shen Nianzu parted his lips, only to close them again because he had no idea what to say. The only way to destroy the cocoon was from a distance, but both he and Jin Jiuchi were close-range fighters. Recklessness would only cause them to be ensnared by that nightmarish mess. As he racked his brain for a plan, Gu Luoxin suddenly declared,

"Leave it to me! I will summon my kingkong!"

Shen Nianzu hesitated, "But..." The kingkong might also be devoured which would waste one usage slot of the skill card.

But did Gu Luoxin not think of the risk before? He showed a determined grin, saying, "I might have a way."

Right on cue, a badass cyan kingkong appeared next to him and pounded its chest with a thunderous roar, scaring Ariel so much that she could only stare at the cyan colored creature with round eyes full of fear and also a hint of astonishment. If those expressive eyes could convey her thoughts, then perhaps it would be, "Daddy, land creatures are more terrifying than the cursed!"

After that, Gu Luoxin produced familiar yellowed bandages on his palm. That’s right, it was the ones robbed from the mummy officer from the previous Cycle, which had ended up becoming a unique prop!

Shen Nianzu’s eyes lit up in recognition. He remembered this prop – ’Cursed Shroud’ – which could be used to restrain supernatural creatures and stripped them of their abilities. But this was a unique prop after all, and a limited edition one at that! As long as Gu Luoxin did not wish to use the stripping power, then it would work as a super elastic, powerful and retractable rope!

Sure enough, Gu Luoxin commanded the bandage to wrap itself thrice around the kingkong, holding the other end firmly in his hand. He commanded loudly, "Go!"

With a furious bellow, the kingkong thumped its chest in confidence and leapt onto the colossal cocoon!