Chapter 88: Can We Team Up?

    The players watched with their mouths agape as the bus officer was stripped of his ’clothes’ and lay curled up on the bus floor, quivering like a maiden whose dignity was forcibly robbed from him. Now without the bandages, his dry and shriveled skin was exposed for the world to see, seemingly as if it had lost all elasticity and suppleness that a human should have.

    "My bandages!!" He let out a desperate holler and crawled away from where the sunlight had hit him, as the scorching glare caused his skin to crack as if it was going to disintegrate at any moment. "Give them back... Give them back to me!!"

    Alas, sensing that all of the players had disembarked, the sentinel bus closed its door mercilessly and trapped him inside, leaving him to fend for himself.

    And the culprit of the crime, Jin Jiuchi, was currently standing outside the bus with the bandage in his mouth and the rest of it tangled around his body. "...Woof?"

    It seemed like... he had done something wrong?

    Feeling a tad guilty, he gingerly brought the bandages to Shen Nianzu, who only managed to snap out of his trance upon seeing the huge fluffy dog towering in front of him.

    "You—!" Angry veins popped up on his forehead and he reached out to strangle the reckless Jin Jiuchi in the heat of the moment, shaking him back and forth as if he could shake the water off his brain. "What the hell are you doing, you damned husky?!" They had not even entered the temple yet and here Jin Jiuchi was, creating one trouble after another. He reminded himself to buy a leash and collar for Jin Jiuchi later, preferably with a muzzle so that the man could not go around biting and eating garbage as he pleased!

    "Aowaowaow!!" Jin Jiuchi cried out for mercy. He swore he had no idea that such a thing would happen. Who could have guessed that the bus officer would be totally naked once his bandage was taken off? Moreover, it was dangling right in front of his eyes and begging to be pulled! How was he supposed to resist this violent urge?! Alas, he also knew that he was in the wrong this time and thus he brought the bandages closer to Shen Nianzu, silently urging him to throw them back into the bus for the poor and naked officer.

    Unfortunately, Shen Nianzu misunderstood that Jin Jiuchi was offering the bandages to him and he recoiled in disgust. "Who knows how long they have been stuck on that officer’s body? And you still want to give it to me?!"

    "Aowao!" It’s not like that, Nian’er!

    He pressed closer to Shen Nianzu, only short of pushing the jade doll to the ground to make his intention clear. But in the end it only served to anger Shen Nianzu further. His exquisite features were contorted in anger as he shoved Jin Jiuchi away,

    "I told you that I don’t understand what you are saying! Get lost! Take those dirty bandages away from me!"

    As the two of them bickered back and forth, the bus silently drove away from the temple and Jin Jiuchi missed the chance to return the bandages back to the officer. His ears and tail dropped in dejection, "Awoo..." What should he do with this?

    The other Veteran and Intermediate players did not pay much attention to the ruckus and opted to observe the magnificent temple in front of them instead. Only the two newbie players were sneaking Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi some glances, presumably feeling strange for the appearance of a child and his dog in this terrifying place, though none of them dared to approach.

    "Um..." Xinxin slowly inched closer to them and offered Shen Nianzu a hesitant smile. "Hello, Little Brother, we meet again. I see that you have brought your dog here... haha..." His awkward laughter faded and he tugged on his bangs that were clipped to the side with a cyan hairpin. It seemed like it was a subconscious move of his whenever he was nervous.

    "Can we... can we team up?" he finally braced himself to ask the question that had been weighing in his mind since he saw the boy inside the bus.

    No matter what, they had gone through one Cycle together and it was better to stick with someone he knew. Moreover, he was also aware that the boy in front of him was very capable despite his young age. It was proven by how he could find the ticket and escape alive while the senior players met their demise.

    On the other hand, Shen Nianzu had seen this coming since he noticed Xinxin approaching them, but before he could give an answer, a loud cry sounded from the front,

    "Y–You’re going inside?!" It was the fatty newbie who exclaimed in shock upon seeing Jiang Shun taking the lead to enter the temple with his female companion hot behind his trail.

    Jiang Shun did not even deign to answer him as he continued to walk forward with brisk steps. It was the woman who turned and gave the newbie a mocking look, "Jiang Shun is a very powerful veteran player. You should be grateful that he’s here to guide you through this Cycle. If you don’t want to die, then you’d better follow him!"

    At the end of the day, humans were social creatures who found solace in numbers and tended to gravitate to those who wielded power, seeking protection and guidance in their shadow. Having seen how easy it was for Jiang Shun to knock the woman out in the bus despite the large distance between them, they were more or less convinced by the woman’s words.

    It was the two male Intermediate players who moved first, as they had seen and known what kind of horror lay in the Cycle. The presence of a Veteran player gave them nothing but relief and reassurance, his arrogance notwithstanding.

    After all, only the strong had the capital to be arrogant in the Nightmare Cycle!

    Following after the two Intermediate players was the female newbie, then a person who had not spoken since the beginning and had always kept to herself in the Cycle no matter what kind of ruckus was happening. She was clad in a similar gear to the other players.

    Shen Nianzu narrowed his gaze at her, for he also suspected her to be the Dance of the Wind.

    Aside from Jin Jiuchi, Xinxin, himself and the two newbies, that left only five other players who had entered his radar. From the information the Broker sent him, Dance of the Wind was a female who had a haughty and egocentric personality. However, she could very well enter this Cycle with a prop that could change her gender and that’s why Shen Nianzu could not be certain yet.

    With other people as the lead, the fatty newbie had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow behind the group, leaving Jin Jiuchi, Shen Nianzu and Xinxin behind.

    Xinxin wiped the sweat on his chin and gestured for them, "Shall we go in as well, Little Brother and... err..."

    Shen Nianzu had no qualms in exposing Jin Jiuchi’s identity. "You know him too," he harrumphed and glared at the dog. "The self-sacrificing fool who’s with us in the previous Cycle."

    "No way..." Xinxin’s eyes went huge as he stared at the white dog who was rolling merrily in the sand. "Jin-ge?! Jin-ge, is that really you?!"

    Jin Jiuchi rolled to his feet and barked out, "Woof!"

    The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched upon hearing that address. He did not feel anything about it when they were in the previous Cycle, but now that the silly husky was viral in Utube with that nickname as well...

    "Don’t call him that," he said in displeasure, earning him a surprised look from Xinxin.

    "Oh, oh!" Xinxin looked at them back and forth, his eyes curving into crescents. "Okay, then what should I call the two of you?"

    Shen Nianzu pondered for a bit before saying, "Just call me Xiao Shen and he..." his expression twisted a bit as if he had bitten into a sour lemon. "Da Shen."

    Xinxin looked bashful for some reason and he murmured under his breath, "Hehe, that’s... so cute."

    Shen Nianzu felt like something was not right with the way Xinxin was looking at them, but right now was not the time to fret about it.

    "It’s okay if you want to team up," Shen Nianzu told him, his words blunt and merciless. "But I don’t need a weak and feeble teammate, especially one that will drag me down and put me in danger. I want a teammate who can watch my back and fight alongside me. A teammate who will not leave me behind to save themselves, as Tang Ye did to you."

    "I–I won’t!" Xinxin clenched his fists and his eyes blazed in determination as he declared, "I may be a little timid, but... I will not leave my teammate behind! I am fairly strong as well, so you can count on me!"

    Shen Nianzu nodded, "Okay. Now tell me, why didn’t you use your skill card at all in the previous Cycle?" His gaze turned sharp and cold as he scrutinized the young man who looked every inch like a high school girl.

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    A/N: who noticed that aside from our jade doll, Xinxin is the only one who hasn’t shown his skill card last time? *raise hand*