When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 190: Jin Jiuchi’s Husky Radar

Chapter 190: Jin Jiuchi’s Husky Radar

The second the ship broke apart, Shen Nianzu sprang into action, swiftly dragging Ariel and Jin Jiuchi with him into the tumultuous sea.

Now back in her preferred habitat, Ariel swam agilely to avoid the crushing wreckage, all the while looking back in worry. She had not forgotten that it was thanks to Shen Nianzu and others that she was unharmed. Otherwise with the number of people eyeing her on the ship, she feared that she would have become nothing but a bag of bones right now!

She returned to the spot where they had fallen into, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw Shen Nianzu sinking deeper and deeper, seemingly unable to find his way out to the surface. Oh no, her savior was in danger!

Perhaps it was because Shen Nianzu was the first human who could understand her language and never looked at her in a weird way, Ariel was quite fond of this human. Without any hesitation, she dived in to save the man, her lithe body twisting and dodging the sinking shrapnel with mesmerizing grace.

Alas, she was fast but unfortunately someone else was even faster than her— amidst the chaotic rays of flashlight shining into the dark sea, the topless Jin Jiuchi swooped in towards the muddled Shen Nianzu, yanking the man to him and pulling him to the surface!

As they broke the water’s surface, Jin Jiuchi cradled the coughing and trembling Shen Nianzu close to him. "Nian’er, are you okay?!" Concern seeped into his tone, and his heterochromatic eyes darkened in gloom. Twice. The same thing had already happened twice. Nian’er did not say anything, but it was quite clear that he seemed to harbor some kind of fear toward a large body of water. But how could this be possible, when the element of his skill card was also water? Hadn’t Shen Nianzu told him that the skill card was generated based on affinity to each player?

Jin Jiuchi’s mind swirled in question as he continued to pat Shen Nianzu’s back. "Nian’er, you smell like fear. What are you afraid of?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

They were drenched from head to toe with seawater, but somehow Shen Nianzu’s complexion looked way worse. He couldn’t stop shaking, and he also took the initiative to lean closer into Jin Jiuchi in search of warmth. Of course, Jin Jiuchi immediately wrapped his arms around the jade doll. He swept his gaze over the vast and boundless expanse of the sea and saw Ariel’s head poking out through the surface, glaring at them— or to be exact, at Jin Jiuchi.

In an instant, Jin Jiuchi’s hackles were raised as he hugged Shen Nianzu closer to himself. This was his Nian’er, no one was allowed to covet him!

As the two were engaged in a glaring contest, Jin Jiuchi heard Shen Nianzu whisper, his voice shaky, "I–Is there something beneath our feet?"

"Hmm?" Albeit confused, Jin Jiuchi still looked down and said, "There is ah." Unaware of how colors drained from Shen Nianzu’s face, he started to count, "There are corpses of NPCs, the cursed ones, and the ship wreckage. I can’t see anything else beyond there, though. What’s wrong, Nian’er? There, there, don’t be afraid. Here, I will hold you tighter, okay?"

Usually, Shen Nianzu would have pushed him away and glared at him, but this time he let his head lean against Jin Jiuchi’s shoulder and nodded softly, "Mn."

Jin Jiuchi was so happy that he felt as if colorful fireworks were exploding over his head.

However, his happiness was short-lived when all of a sudden, Gu Luoxin’s heart-rending screams echoed in the air, "AHHH, SAVE MEEE!!!" The scream was cut off short by a loud splashing sound. Seconds later, Gu Luoxin emerged not far away and cried out indignantly, "Great God, how... how can you do this to me?!" Earlier, Noir said that he was going to throw Gu Luoxin into the whirlpool, and had even gone out of his way to warn him about it, but it turned out to be a lie! How could he have forgotten how sadistic Noir was despite his angelic appearance?! It was fortunate that Lucius had jumped off him at the last seconds to pounce on his owner or else the poor cat would have been dragged into the sea with him!

Bewildered, Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu raised their heads to see Noir flying in midair.

Noir then pointed a direction to them.

"It must be the whirlpool," Shen Nianzu stated calmly. Though his complexion was still ugly, he managed to regain his composure. The only sign of weakness he showed was how he was gripping onto Jin Jiuchi tightly as though fearing that the man would let go of him. "We should go there."

"Nian’er, can you?" Jin Jiuchi offered. "Do you want to get on my back?"

Shen Nianzu cast him a speechless look. "...And how are we supposed to move that way?"

Jin Jiuchi thought hard before coming up with a solution. "I can turn back into a dog and let you ride me?"

The image of a big white dog paddling through the churning waves while carrying an adult human on his back was so bizarre that Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but snort in amusement. "Forget it. Let’s go." He looked around, spotted Ariel and beckoned her over. Fortunately the core NPC had not run away at the slightest chance. It was worth it to be kind and accommodating to her all this time.

When Ariel gingerly approached, sneaking cautious glances at Jin Jiuchi once in a while, Shen Nianzu told her, "We are near the whirlpool right now. If what you said is right, then you’re very close to home. Stick to us closely. We have no idea what kind of danger lurks there."

Ariel gulped softly and asked with a pitiful look, "Can I... hold on to you?"

Jin Jiuchi’s husky radar started to blare alarm bells. Though he couldn’t understand her language, he instinctively knew that it was not anything good. "What? What is it?" He wrapped his arms around the jade doll and glared at the mermaid. "Does she want to steal you away from me, Nian’er?"

A wave of helplessness washed over Shen Nianzu. But much to his own surprise, he did not want to let go of Jin Jiuchi right now, who was radiating heat akin to a human-size hot water bottle. Fortunately, Gu Luoxin’s bandages prop was still with him, so he simply tied Ariel’s wrist to him and said, "Let’s go."

In this manner, the three of them swam towards Gu Luoxin.

"Da Shen, Xiao Shen, thank God you guys are okay!" Gu Luoxin looked relieved, but it lasted only one second before he looked around anxiously. "W–Where is the queen now? I saw it through the sky just now! Damn it, it has escaped, hasn’t it?!" He slapped the water surface angrily.

All around them, aside from the ship wreckage that loomed like a haunted graveyard, there were only dozens of lifeboats bobbing on the treacherous waves and surviving NPCs desperately crying out for help amidst the chaos. The cursed ones and the cocoon, everything had disappeared without a trace as if the ocean itself had swallowed their existence.

Shen Nianzu sighed, "Forget it. We have missed the chance to kill the queen, so let’s think of how to deal with it later. We should check out the whirlpool first. The most important thing right now is to send Ariel home safely and obtain the return ticket." And also find the witch’s bane he needed, Shen Nianzu added inside his heart.

The two others nodded, and together, they forged ahead into the crest of the whirlpool. Not long after, they began to feel the shift in the water currents around them. It surged and twisted, tugging at their bodies like the relentless arms of a mighty sea beast.

"T–This!" Ariel exclaimed with a pale face, half terrified and half exuberant. "This is it! The whirlpool that brought me away from the sea I live in! If I enter, will I be able to return home?!"

"Yes," Shen Nianzu reassured her. With determination flashing in his eyes, he remarked. "Let’s go. Prepare for battle!" They swam a little further and then the next second, a strong suction force pulled them into the center of the vortex!