When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 212: Got You

Chapter 212: Got You

The sky was cloaked in darkness, and the pearls’ glow in the City could only pierce a few meters afound before being swallowed by the shadows. However, it was impossible to miss such a huge and towering column of water. It surged from afar like a relentless avalanche, carrying the ocean’s fury and the force of nature with it, heading straight toward Atlantis!

Massive earthquake swept over the city, and a cacophony of screams filled of horror came from the merfolk under the surface.

"I–It’s a tsunami again!"

"Run!!"

But those voices were quickly drowned by reassurances, "Have you forgotten what happened last night?"

"That’s right! With the Goddess of the Sea with us, we have nothing to fear!"

Contrary to the pandemonium below, the four players on the tower remained frozen. "X–Xiao Shen?" Gu Luoxin asked hesitantly, his voice trembling with fear.

Shen Nianzu knew what he wanted to confirm. His face darkened as he replied, "I didn’t use my skill card. It’s a tsunami for real this time."

He clenched his fists, his heart in turmoil. Where did such a colossal wave come from? How could it appear so silently without any warning? Most importantly, the wave he summoned last time was nothing more than an illusion, but it was the real deal this time! Atlantis would not be able to escape unscathed from this disaster!

Shen Nianzu swiftly descended the stairs, with the three others close behind him. He met with the head guard below and issued a stern command, "Strengthen the barrier! Do not put your guard down!"

The head guard, who really believed that they had nothing to fear, was startled upon hearing this order. However, the seriousness in Shen Nianzu’s eyes spurred him into immediate action, and he swam away to execute the command.

Shen Nianzu let out a light exhale and threw his gaze outside the transparent dome. From here, the tsunami looked even more terrifying— fishes, beautiful reefs, stones and other small creatures were dragged along with the massive force, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.

Gu Luoxin’s breath hitched on his throat, and his knees trembled upon seeing this scene. "Can the barrier last...?"

"Wrong," Noir corrected him in a light tone. "You should have asked where the queen is now."

As if on cue, another massive earthquake shook the city, throwing up a storm of dust and stones. This time, they keenly felt the ground beneath them elevate, and the city stood unstably like a small boat amidst a ferocious sea!

Shen Nianzu instinctively held onto Jin Jiuchi, who steadied him by the waist, and exclaimed in shock, "What the hell is going on? Can a single tsunami cause this?" After all, Atlantis had stood for centuries! How could it be brought to its knees by this one trial?!

Alas, as it turned out, they had severely underestimated the queen.

Heeding the head guard’s order, the other guards focused on keeping up the barrier around the city, and hence they were caught off guard when a huge commotion erupted in the middle of the city!

Long and terrifying cracks marred the once pristine marble floors, from which familiar white, sticky tentacles emerged. The queen had chosen not to confront them head-on but had sneaked to the bottom of the ocean floor to infiltrate the city from below! Chaos erupted as the merfolk scrambled to flee, only to be ensnared by the tentacles. The sticky and elastic appendages tightly wrapped around them, leaving no chance for escape. The ground’s cracks grew more severe, and finally, the marble burst apart to reveal a white cocoon emerging from the depths. Subsequently, the tentacles began to feed the captured merfolk into it!

"Help!" They cried out desperately. "Help us!"

"Please... Goddess, please help us!"

"AHHH—!!"

"Damn it!" Shen Nianzu cursed under his breath. The protective dome encased the city from all sides, but no one had expected the queen to exploit this blind spot and attack from below! It showed that whatever creature was growing inside possessed high intelligence that surpassed his initial expectations, and this only spelled disaster!

"Let’s go!" he said. "We can’t let that damn creature grow any stronger!"

The cocoon was very hard to attack. Its soft yet elastic nature absorbed the impact of their attacks, and they had to be wary of its sticky trait, which could trap them inside at any moment!

In this tricky situation, it seemed like they had only one option left—to have Jin Jiuchi devour the cocoon until the creature within emerged by itself!

"Just as we planned earlier, trap it and don’t let it escape!" Shen Nianzu hurriedly instructed as they rushed to the nearest water canal. "And you..." he glanced at Jin Jiuchi, gritted his teeth and said, "Eat faster!"

"Okay, Nian’er!" Jin Jiuchi patted his chest with a reassuring and eager look. "Leave it to me!"

The four of them dived into the water canal and quickly swam towards where the cocoon was. Splitting into three directions, Shen Nianzu, Gu Luoxin and Noir cut off the tentacles trapping the merfolk and rescue as many as they could.

The white cocoon shivered, either in rage or pain, and it attempted to slip away presumably to the area where many merfolk gathered so that it could feast to its heart’s content.

But how could they let it go just like that?

Noir quickly conjured up a gold ring with an emerald jewel embedded on it. He slipped the ring into his thumb and with a wave of his hand, the cocoon froze as if restrained by an invisible magic! It might only be for a few seconds, but it was already enough for Shen Nianzu and Gu Luoxin to sever the dense tentacles, creating an opening for Jin Jiuchi to enter!

At the same time, the tsunami finally crashed upon them, threatening to topple the entire city. But fortunately, the protective barriers stood firm, emitting a light blue glow amidst the darkness akin to a sturdy lighthouse.

Not good, Shen Nianzu thought as his body was flung a few meters away by the force of the tsunami. He scrambled to swim back and summoned his transparent blade, determined to prevent the cocoon from escaping. Right now, Jin Jiuchi had already dived in, and they could not allow the creature to break free!

The head guard, witnessing this dire situation, immediately issued a command, "Increase the magic stones! Use everything we have to encase the protective barrier below the city! We can’t let the creature escape!"

The situation quickly turned, and the queen was now trapped in the heart of the city with three players and a dozen guards surrounding it. Outside, the cursed creatures were unable to come in thanks to the fortified barriers, allowing the border guards to slaughter them easily.

The queen let out an ear-piercing cry that echoed through the water; either mourning for the death of its foragers, or because Jin Jiuchi was eating his way inside like a parasite, or maybe both. Shen Nianzu couldn’t ponder on it more because he was stunned when he heard this cry.

Why... did it resemble the voice of a little girl?

Was it her? Could she be the nightmare creature they had to defeat in this Cycle?!

Meanwhile, Jin Jiuchi was utterly lost as to what was going on outside as he was focused on munching the mochi before him. He was a man with a mission now; this time he no longer ate for pressure, but he had to dragged the creature out from within! Growling, he moved his jaws with renewed vigor and drilled relentlessly inside. Bite, munch, swallow, repeat!

The temperature around him continued to rise, and the viscous substance stuck on his body, eroding his clothes and melting his skin. But it was as if Jin Jiuchi was oblivious to the pain. He kept pushing forward until he bumped into something solid, and this one possessed a loud and clear heartbeat!

Had he finally reached the queen?!

Jin Jiuchi’s heart thumped, an intense sense of joy rising within him. However, that joy quickly morphed into frozen shock as he raised his eyes to see the person before him.

T–This was not the queen at all, but Lily, who had gotten infected!

The woman bore no similarities to the beauty she had once been. Her exquisite cheongsam was in tatters, her skin melted into a grotesque amalgamation of blood and pus, revealing the white bones beneath. Her silken black hair was chopped and disheveled. Yet despite her horrifying appearance, she was still alive!

As if sensing something, her eyelids fluttered open, and a pair of gleaming red pupils immediately zeroed in on Jin Jiuchi.

With terrifying speed, Lily lunged forward, heedless of the movement tearing off layers of her melted skin. She grabbed Jin Jiuchi by the collar, a manic grin spreading across her disfigured face as she uttered, "Got you."