38 Puppy With Fragile Heart

The shortage of food ended up becoming a huge blow to everyone, especially Jin Jiuchi who already felt like dying right now.

The familiar pang of hunger gnawed on his insides, sending a burst of acrid taste over the base of his tongue. It made him feel restless all over and awakened some memories he'd rather forget.

Oh he was no longer a stranger to this feeling. After all, back in the asylum, they used to starve him like this just to make him obey. But in the end, what did he do? Did he succumb to hunger and bow his head like they wanted, or did he insist on fighting to death?

Wait, why couldn't he remember…

"Impossible!" Tang Ye's voice snapped him out of his trance. The young man had a pinched look on his face as he remarked, "This is only a low-level Cycle, so how can the difficulty be so high?!"

It seemed like Jin Jiuchi was not the only one who was getting agitated by each passing second. But speaking of 'difficulty'... hadn't Nian told him about it last night? In low-level Cycle, as long as one obeyed the rules and did not act out of line, then they would not die. But the fact right now proved otherwise. Not only did they have to be vigilant against three nightmare creatures at night, they also had to take care of their stomachs.

All of a sudden, Jin Jiuchi recalled the jade doll saying something about how the presence of the Nightmare would increase the level of difficulty by a few folds. He raised his head to look at the glass stained roof and found nothing there except for the stretch of overcast sky. Ah that's right, the Nightmare would only appear at night.

He then glanced at Nian beside him just in time for the jade doll to turn to him too. Their gazes collided in midair and Jin Jiuchi sent him a grin out of habit. 'What?' he mouthed.

The jade doll ignored him – how rude! – and shared his opinion with everyone, "I don't believe that the Cycle will starve us like this, especially a low-level Cycle. There must be edible food around here somehow."

The three others nodded in agreement. It was better to hold on to hope rather than succumbing to the bleak future.

"Moreover," Nian added with a thoughtful look. "This is the first time I have ever seen the death of the main NPC in the Cycle. Does it mean we don't have to continue with the task? Or do we still have to follow it to the end? What if we finish it sooner? Is it possible for us to obtain the tickets and get out of this place before the sixth day?"

Tang Ye's eyes lit up. "What Little Brother said makes sense! We still have no idea what will happen once we complete the task. There is a possibility that we will earn the tickets and the bus will arrive sooner! Okay, let's do it like this today. We will separate into two groups. The first group will search for food, while the second group will continue to decorate the wedding venue on the sixth floor. How about it?"

No one objected to Tang Ye's suggestion.

"Err… I think I will choose to decorate," Tang Ye took the initiative to say. "How about you guys?"

"Me!" Jin Jiuchi raised his hand in the air. "I will search for food!" There was no way he could work while his future meal was still uncertain. Either way, he believed that his nose would be useful at a time like this!

Surprisingly, the jade doll echoed along, "I will search for food too."

Zhi said, "Count me in."

Tang Ye turned to Xinxin with a hopeful look, causing the latter to have no choice but to nod, "Then… I will decorate the sixth floor with Tang Ye."

"Okay!" Tang Ye clapped in satisfaction. "Let's meet here again during lunch, everyone!"

Tang Ye and Xinxin headed straight to the sixth floor, leaving Jin Jiuchi, Nian and Zhi behind. The two of them shared a look that Jin Jiuchi could not understand, then Zhi said, "I will search the kitchen first."

Nian nodded, "I will start from the second floor then."

After that, the two of them parted ways, leaving the dumbfounded Jin Jiuchi behind. Wait a minute… why were they talking as if Jin Jiuchi did not exist? What about him? Where should he go?!

"Nian'er, Nian'er…" he trotted behind the jade doll like a lost puppy. "Can I follow you?"

Nian replied without looking at him, "Up to you." Yet in Jin Jiuchi's ears, it was like he was saying, 'I can and will push you down the stairs at any moment, so you'd better watch out.'

Jin Jiuchi was confused and aggrieved at the same time. He could not understand why Nian seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder. Was it because of the lack of food?

"Nian'er," he looked back to make sure that Zhi was no longer within earshot, then he leaned down to whisper into the jade doll's ears. "What kind of deal are you making with that man?"

Nian felt a warm exhale brushing against his earlobe, followed by that deep and hushed voice so close to his ear. "You…!" he snapped his head toward Jin Jiuchi, all the while covering his burning earlobe. This damned husky truly had not learned anything at all! Invading another person's personal space so carelessly, did he want to anger Nian to death?!

"What does it have to do with you? It's none of your business!" He vented his suppressed anger on the man.

All he wanted was to achieve his purpose and get through this Cycle safely, but with Jin Jiuchi, he seemed to have been thrown into a loop of unending troubles and confusion. The alarm bells in his mind were already ringing, warning him that the peace he had painstakingly secured would be shattered if he were to keep the man by his side. Hadn't it happened already? If not for Jin Jiuchi, his presence would still be overlooked by the other players, and he wouldn't have needed to watch his actions and words so carefully like now!

And the most infuriating thing was, Jin Jiuchi always had a way to make him give in despite his weird and bizarre antics! That's why he decided to create some distance between them starting from today, but why was this man looking at him with such sorrowful eyes as if he had been abandoned?!

"Nian'er, do you hate me now?" he murmured in a quiet voice. "Do you also think I'm weird and can't wait to get as far away from me as possible?"

Nian felt strangely flustered when he caught a watery sheen forming in Jin Jiuchi's silver eyes. It couldn't be… was he really crying because Nian snapped at him?! He was such a big guy, for God's sake, so how could he act so childish and gullible?! How unfair, it made him feel like a bastard for speaking so harshly!

Nian cursed his decision to enter this Cycle in the first place that resulted in him gaining a six feet tall puppy with a fragile heart. "Forget it…" he pressed on his aching forehead, already resigned to his fate. "Just follow me, but if you dare to run around as you please, then I will break your legs and throw you to the spider creature!"

Jin Jiuchi immediately perked up as if he had been granted amnesty, his silver eyes sparkling like stars. The tears that were pooling in his eyes also dried up with a poof and vanished like a droplet of water under the scorching sun. No traces of the previous sadness could be detected on his face.

"Okay, I will listen to Nian'er!" He flashed a wide grin, displaying his sharp canine teeth. If he had a tail, it would be wagging like mad behind his back right now.

Nian turned away and continued to walk with a harrumph. Though inwardly, he was feeling quite dubious. Why did he feel like he had been deceived by a certain husky's tearful act?

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A/N: this chapter is now with fanart! Thanks to HidingPig57 who has drawn chibi JJ and SN for us <3<3<3 please scroll through the paragraph comments to find art and show your love there!><