Chapter 595: Siren Commander

    Noticing the dangerous glint in Noir’s eyes, Jin Jiuchi’s scalp turned numb and his body moved faster than his brain could catch up, fleeing from the room like a jumpy rabbit.

    In a blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight, leaving only a single fading sentence, "Just kidding—!"

    Once outside, however, he couldn’t resist voicing his dissatisfaction aloud, his bottom lip jutting out into a sullen pout. "Geez, how can he be so stingy? And here I thought our brotherhood is more solid than gold!" He kept huffing and puffing as he stomped his feet along the way. "What the hell is his problem?"

    Recalling their interaction just now, Jin Jiuchi scratched his head in frustration until his hair became as messy as a bird’s nest.

    In that split second, Noir had given him such a strong sense of crisis as if... as if the man was genuinely about to kill him! Granted, it wasn’t the first time he had sensed real murderous intent radiating from the emerald-eyed man, but for some inexplicable reason, he got a strange hunch this time that... Noir would really be able to murder him in cold blood if he wanted to, which prompted his fleeing reflex in the first place.

    And it truly confused him to no end.

    As far as he could remember, no one had managed to evoke such a reaction out of him— not even the number one player, the Harbinger of Doom, and certainly not any nightmare creatures either. Ever since he got stranded into this world and entered the Nightmare Cycle, he had been acting like a truant, fearing nothing under heaven and earth. Not even the Nightmare itself could beat the sense back into his head.

    So what’s up with the subtle intimidation he detected from Noir?

    Come to think of it, he had also picked up a strange scent from the man back when they were lounging around the fire in the Suicide Forest, and somehow, this scent had only gotten more pronounced in this Cycle.

    It was something that wasn’t quite... human.

    Jin Jiuchi rubbed his nose, sniffling absentmindedly. Was it due to the 88% degree of mechanization, which had turned Noir into a creature more of a robot than a human?

    Jin Jiuchi racked his brain to come up with a few reasonable hypotheses, only to give up soon after. He shrugged to himself. Oh well, who the hell cared what that miser smelled like? Whether it’s as sweet as flowers or as repulsive as cow’s dung— it had nothing to do with him! The most important matter he should focus on right now was to find his beloved Nian’er!

    Shaking the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, Jin Jiuchi returned to his carefree self and skipped his way down the corridor, heading toward the area where the captured siren was kept for the time being.

    Nian’er, wait for me. Your dear Jin Jiuchi is coming~!

    ***

    Meanwhile, in the depths of the sea where the siren kingdom lay.

    A siren with a dull green tail burst out of the inner chamber, screeching in horror,

    "His Highness— His Highness is missing!"

    In an instant, chaos rippled through the water like a tidal wave. The sirens put down whatever they were doing and joined the search, frantically scouring every chamber, every hidden alcove, turning the entire kingdom upside down twice, yet the figure they were searching for was still nowhere to be seen.

    Eventually, one of them muttered in a choked voice, "Could he have... gone outside the magic circle?"

    A shudder ran through the gathered sirens, their faces turning ashen.

    Not long ago, they were ambushed by the humans’ submarines, but luckily they managed to fend off the attack thanks to the protection of the magic circle. But if His Highness, their one and only royal blood, were to unknowingly wander outside...

    "H-He couldn’t have been captured... right?"

    The sirens exchanged uneasy glances, seeing the same fear and apprehension in each other’s eyes.

    They were not actually as glorious as the other two races imagined them to be. Despite their long lifespan, ethereal beauty, mesmerizing voices that could bewitch any creatures, and sharp claws and teeth that could easily tear into flesh, they had one debilitating flaw which had been kept a top-tier secret for centuries—

    Their birth rate was catastrophically low!

    In the past fifty years, only less than ten sirens had been born, which spelled an inevitable doom for their kind. Sooner or later, their race would go extinct and the human’s relentless hunting only hastened their decline.

    Eventually, they had no choice but to seek help from the cunning sea witch, who taught them how to create potions from the garuda’s flesh and bones.

    With the help of this magical potion, they could transform their tails into legs, allowing them to walk the land and mingle among humans. Siren blood was far stronger than that of humans, and thus the offspring sired by their union would definitely be a siren. This solution greatly helped to alleviate the looming crisis caused by their infertility.

    But the royal family was different.

    For reasons unknown, the same magical potion that allowed common sirens to walk among humans had no effects on the royal family. Over the centuries, their number continued to dwindle until only one remained— His Highness, Prince Kaivia— whom they treasured akin to a pearl.

    That was because, only the blood of the royal family members could be used to summon the sea witch!

    And now, with Prince Kaivia missing, potentially captured by humans... just the mere thought of what those wretched beings might do sent an icy terror through the hearts of every siren.

    They were guards who had once served the previous generation of the royal family, who had long since returned to their eternal slumber. And now they were the first line of defense against the human’s ceaseless invasion. Their loyalty was unquestionable.

    Each of them, with red eyes and seething with rage, clenched their fists and gritted out, "We must find His Highness no matter what...!"

    "If they really dared to hurt Prince Kaivia—"

    "—we are not afraid to launch a war against them either!"

    Amidst the increasingly agitated atmosphere, a calm and authoritative voice rang out, cutting through the tension and drawing everyone’s attention. "Calm down."

    The sirens turned sharply, and their eyes instantly lit up as if they had seen a savior. "Commander!"

    Before them was a breathtakingly beautiful silver-haired siren, with a mesmerizing silver tail that gradually morphed into deep purple at the caudal fin.

    "We still have no idea where His Highness currently is. Impulsively going to war is not the solution," he stated solemnly and whenever his sharp gaze landed, the sirens lowered their heads in shame, realizing how reckless they had been. Without giving them a chance to speak, the silver-haired siren added, "You guys stay here and hold the fort lest the humans return again. As for His Highness..." his pale purple eyes shimmered in a sharp and determined light. "I will go and bring him back."

    Shocked, the sirens instinctively protested, "Commander—"

    But the silver-haired siren, Shen Nianzu, waved them off. "That’s settled, I will be leaving as soon as possible. Without my presence, I will leave the safety of our kingdom to you."

    The sirens’ eyes reddened as they choked out one response after another. Their fervent gazes trailed after their commander’s retreating back, which seemed to exude a heroic aura.

    Alas, little did they know that as soon as the silver-haired siren left the protection of the magic circle, his tense and furious expression immediately collapsed, and he heaved a huge sigh of relief.

    Finally...

    He could finally go to land to search for his teammates!

    Upon waking up in this Cycle, the first thing Shen Nianzu did was to familiarize himself with the new environment, and he quickly discovered that his teammates were not present. As for the other players, Shen Nianzu couldn’t afford to pay attention to them. His mind was full of plans to search for his teammates, but then the next thing he learned was his current identity, the Commander of the sirens, and his main task was to guard the kingdom!

    Shen Nianzu nearly lost his mind right there and then. How was he supposed to reunite with Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin if he was not allowed to leave the kingdom?!

    But as expected, the Cycle did not disappoint him, and this unexpected event happened in less than an hour.

    Now, he finally had a legitimate reason to go to the land, and that was to search for His Highness Prince Kaivia!

    Shen Nianzu quickly swam against the current, his elegant tail slicing through the water with effortless agility, leaving a trail of shimmering bubbles in his wake.

    As he neared the surface, he retrieved a small vial of blood-red potion and downed it in one gulp. This was the only way he could gain the ability to breathe and walk on land. However, the potion would only be effective for ten hours. Once the time limit was up, his body would revert back to that of a siren, and he would most likely die of suffocation if he didn’t go back to water soon.

    But Shen Nianzu was not particularly concerned, for he had brought enough potions to last him until the last day of the Cycle.

    His first priority was to find out where his teammates were.

    The moment he breached the surface of the sea, he couldn’t help but squint against the sharp light that assaulted his vision. After so long in the depths of the ocean, this sudden flood of light was nearly blinding. He shielded his eyes with his hands and gazed out at the distance. From where he was, he could barely make out the silhouette of the steel skyscrapers piercing the sky, and the floating city concealed amidst the thick clouds.

    A hint of worry crept into his heart.

    He could only hope no accidents happened to both his teammates until he arrived.