Chapter 59: Surrounded

    The scene descended into utter chaos in a blink of an eye.

    With a sharp dagger in hand which he used to slash the surge of poisonous spiders in front of him, Tang Ye cursed out loud, "Damn it! How can they be here?! Haven’t we shut the kitchen door already?!"

    Close behind him was Xinxin who had long lost his mind due to terror. His movements were even more brutal than Tang Ye as he punched and crushed the spiders with unprecedented strength and agility, all the while screaming on top of his lungs.

    The narrow stairway made it difficult for them to defend themselves, and as if it was not enough, the smoke in the air was getting thicker and thicker, choking their lungs and stinging their eyes. The temperature in the air rose rapidly and made them feel as if they were being cooked alive.

    Of course, the one who was the most unaffected by the crisis was none other than Jin Jiuchi. Not only could he maneuver his way through the stairs and evade the spiders in a thrilling manner like a character from a video game, he even did it while laughing and whooping. With one last leap, he jumped out of the hatch with the jade doll in his arms, who looked deathly pale as if half of his soul had been sucked away and the other half barely clinging on his body.

    Jin Jiuchi became worried when he saw that. Ignoring how the kitchen was literally up in flames, he asked, "Nian’er, are you okay?"

    Nian covered his mouth and coughed, and only then did Jin Jiuchi notice that the jade doll’s beautiful hand was covered in red blisters. Jin Jiuchi was instantly horrified, "Nian’er, your hands!!" How could such a thing happen under his watch?! He had made sure to protect the jade doll very securely!

    "G–Get out of this place first...!" He struggled to speak amidst the fuming smoke. His eyes were stinging so much that his vision kept getting blurred due to the tears, and with no other choice, he could only bury his face in Jin Jiuchi’s shoulder. He patted the man’s back and barked out, "Hurry!"

    Upset, Jin Jiuchi cradled the jade doll’s head with his large hand as he eyed the burning door. Bracing himself, he ducked his head and pushed his feet off the ground to do a short sprint. And in a flash, they were out of the suffocating kitchen.

    Jin Jiuchi’s arms and clothes suffered the brunt of the fire to some degree, but he did not even notice it for his attention was still on Nian’s injured hands.

    "Nian’er, how..."

    "I used Zhi’s skill card to burn the spiders," he said, his breathing still uneven. He checked the book clamped between his and Jin Jiuchi’s body, then he heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that it had not been damaged. He continued to explain in a hurried tone, "It’s the side effects of using a skill card that doesn’t originally belong to me. Moreover, my natural disposition is the opposite of fire, so it’s no wonder for me to get the backlash one way or an— watch out!!"

    He shouted to warn Jin Jiuchi as soon as something entered his peripheral vision, heading straight toward them like a cannonball.

    Jin Jiuchi had heard it coming before Nian did and he tilted his body sideways just in time for a ruby-eyed mouse to pounce on the empty air beside his head before landing on the ground, snarling viciously at them. The creature was twice larger than average, with glinting claws and jagged teeth that could tear into flesh as easily as tofu. Jin Jiuchi could even catch a glimpse of bloody red meat between its teeth.

    "What the—" Nian’s words abruptly got stuck in his throat when tens, if not hundreds of small ruby-eyes snapped open amidst the darkness.

    Jin Jiuchi’s feet skidded to a halt at the mouth of the hallway. He glanced back to see the swarm of black spiders around Tang Ye and Xinxin, then he turned his gaze to the front to look at the horde of rodents who seemed to have come down from upstairs, filling the ground in front of them.

    "Haha..." he let out a dry laugh and commented, "It seems like we are surrounded."

    "No shit," Nian gritted out. He eyed the entrance door and the huge black spider hanging upside down on the ceiling above them. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Okay, so all of the nightmare creatures are out now. Granted, it’s the last two hours so things are about to get a little messy. Yang Rouchuan."

    "Hmm?"

    "Can you go through these rodents and throw me to the big spider?"

    Jin Jiuchi turned to him with a horrified gasp, "What are you going to do, Nian’er?! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You’re going to get swallowed in one gulp!"

    "Thank you for saying that I’m tiny and short," Nian wiped the droplets of sweat on his chin, unaffected. "So can you do it or not?"

    Jin Jiuchi tutted, "Nian’er, have you heard that you should never question a man’s capability— ow ow, okay I can! I will throw you there, okay? Don’t yank on my hair!" He was quick to grab the jade doll’s wrist that was abusing his scalp, though he only clasped it gently for fear or hurting him further. Jin Jiuchi muttered with tears in his eyes, "Bad Nian’er! How can you be so violent?"

    Nian had been eyeing the situation all the while. And upon seeing how Tang Ye and Xinxin were approaching them with the spiders close behind them, he gave a signal to Jin Jiuchi, "Now!"

    Nian clasped his arms around Jin Jiuchi’s neck tighter, ready for another thrilling run and jump like the man did back on the stairway and that’s why he was utterly caught off guard when Jin Jiuchi lowered his stance, pushed his feet off the ground and jumped!

    "Ah—!" A surprised cry erupted from his lips at the sudden sense of weightlessness, and his eyes immediately went as wide as saucers when he saw that they were flying across the air.

    What the fuck?! So this silly husky could fly too...?!