When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 218: Isolated Dome

Chapter 218: Isolated Dome

As Shen Nianzu’s body was dragged into the cocoon before his eyes, Jin Jiuchi felt as if an explosion had gone off inside his mind. His eyes turned bloodshot with fury, and a primal growl escaped his throat. All of you... how dare you take him away from me! Return him to me! NOW!

Bubbles of water burst from his mouth as he fiercely pounced on the cocoon. Yet again, it showcased heaven-defying agility as it eluded his paws, heading towards the ruined Atlantis. Compared to the queen, Jin Jiuchi and Noir were not water creatures after all, making it challenging for them to keep up. The queen ditched them behind in no time at all and entered the city, making a beeline to the heart of Atlantis. However, instead of heading deeper into the sea, it shot upwards like a rocket, soon breaking through the surface!

Jin Jiuchi and Noir exchanged a look. Without a word, both of them kicked their legs and swam their way to the surface!

"Da Shen, Great God!" Gu Luoxin almost burst out into tears of relief upon seeing them. However, his expression froze when he spotted no signs of Shen Nianzu anywhere. His voice trembled as he asked, "W–Where is Xiao Shen?"

Hundreds of meters ahead, the cocoon finally burst out of the surface like a cannonball. In midair, tendrils of viscous white substance shot out of its body to entwine around the spires. One after another, it soon created a complex maze of sticky substances!

Jin Jiuchi growled, enraged. What did it mean by doing this?! Did it want to snatch Shen Nianzu away from him?!

Without a moment to spare Gu Luoxin’s question, he immediately leaped out of the sea and bolted straight toward Atlantis! His paws barely stepped on the water as he ran forward with great speed, showcasing the flex of his muscular and lithe body. And upon closer inspection, one would be able to find a surge of wind forming beneath his paws, allowing him to run across the water’s surface effortlessly!

In a flash, he left the two players behind. Gu Luoxin could only turn to Noir for answers, "G–Great God...?"

Looking at the young man’s red eyes and miserable appearance, Noir finally resigned to his fate, flew back and landed on the ship, shaking off the water on his body along the way. "See that?" He pointed at the cocoon.

"W–What about it?" Gu Luoxin asked anxiously.

Noir lightly dropped the bomb on him, "Nian is trapped inside."

Without waiting for Gu Luoxin to react, Noir reached out and gingerly patted his shoulder, saying, "You take care of the ship. I will go and see what’s going on." With those words, he unfurled his bone wings and flew away again. It was not until he was already a distance away that Gu Luoxin recovered from his state of shock.

Stranded amidst the sea on a half-broken ship, he cried out with tears in his eyes, "Can’t you bring me along with you?!!!"

***

Meanwhile, in Atlantis.

Jin Jiuchi was frantically pursuing the agile cocoon everywhere it went. If looked from afar, it would seem like a huge wolf-dog was chasing after a ball of tangled yarn, with its messy threads strewn all across the space.

By now, the area between tall spires had been heavily tangled with criss-cross tendrils, while the cocoon continued to bounce around, seemingly as if it would not be satisfied until it covered the entire space. Several layers of elastic threads had already coated the outer layer of the spires, and the cocoon was now working on the inner part.

With Jin Jiuchi’s massive size, slipping between the gaps of the tendrils was an impossible feat, and so he had to jump and bounce around as well, his paws stepping on the sticky and elastic surface before leaping up again.

A low growl emanated from his throat. Even though he might be foolish at times, he was not an idiot. He could tell that the queen’s behavior this time was abnormal. What was it doing, forming another large cocoon like this? It was like... like it was preparing for a solid nest! But what for?! Could it be that its metamorphosis was already complete? Then what about Nian’er?!

Noir, who had just arrived at the scene in time to witness this bizarre scene, was a little bewildered. The way Jin Jiuchi and the cocoon bounced around... why did it look like both of them were skipping ropes? No, now was not the time to be thinking about this.

With a flap of his bone wings, he stopped in midair and grabbed Lucius, which had now transformed into a spear, and as soon as the cocoon entered his radar, he thrust the spear forward with all of his strength!

The gleaming black halbert pierced through the air with a sharp whistle, hurtling straight to the cocoon... only to meet with resistance as it hit the layers of elastic threads, rebounding without success.

Noir was left in shock as he caught Lucius in midair. "Impossible..." Undeterred, he flew closer and attempted to cut the tendrils with the spear, but the elastic substance was unyielding like rubber, it was practically impenetrable! How could this be possible? Earlier, he could still cut it off when they fought with each other!

Observing the elastic substance that formed a dome covering the entire area, a mind-boggling realization abruptly dawned upon him.

"It seems like... we can no longer enter."

"Awoo!" Jin Jiuchi cried out in surprise when his hind paw tripped on an elastic rope. His center of balance tilted forward, and his entire dog body ended up falling onto the surface of elastic substance akin to a mouse caught in the adhesive glue trap.

Anger and frustration shot up to the top of his head, and he struggled in a frenzy to break free. Alas, his efforts turned out for naught as he ended up becoming more ensnared, his paws pinned in place by the relentless tendrils.

He threw his head back and let out a long furious howl. "Awooaowooo!!" Come and fight me face-to-face if you dare! Don’t resort to sneaky tactics like this! Do you think you can bully this dog as you please?!

On the other hand, the cocoon, as if it had been waiting for this moment, accelerated its speed and spun even faster like a rotating ball! Its body gradually thinned, and the round surface started to reveal its outline. Jin Jiuchi’s keen eyes pierced through the mass of dense criss-cross threads to land on Shen Nianzu, who was now bound by his limbs in midair.

"Aroo!!" Nian’er, Nian’er, can you hear me?!

Unfortunately, Shen Nianzu remained unresponsive. His complexion was so pale that Jin Jiuchi had to rely on his sharp hearing to catch Shen Nianzu’s weak breathing to ensure that the man was still alive.

After fixing Shen Nianzu in place, the queen meticulously covered any gaps around the nest, creating a total isolation from the outside world. Until the end, only the three of them remained in this ominous place.

Looking at their current predicament, a terrifying thought crossed Jin Jiuchi’s mind, one that caused the back of his head to stand on its end. No way, did the queen intend to make them its final meal and slowly devour them?!

Jin Jiuchi bared his teeth ferociously at the deformed creature nearby, his entire body tense in preparation for a fight. He was determined to protect Shen Nianzu, he would not allow it to touch even a single strand of hair on the jade doll’s head! Just as he was about to give it his all to break free, not caring whether he had to break one limb or two, the queen unleashed more white tendrils that shot out and ensnared him even tighter.

"Aroo!" Jin Jiuchi’s fur bristled in fury, but in this state, he was unable to struggle much. The tendrils multiplied, wrapping around his body, his limbs, his throat, his face... until he could no longer see Shen Nianzu, until he could no longer make a sound, until he could no longer breathe. Damn it, Jin Jiuchi cursed dizzily. I have to fight... have to get Nian’er away from here!

Alas, darkness continued to engulf him and the next second, everything turned dark.