Chapter 90: I Will Ride You!

    "H–Hold up!" Fatty immediately raised his protest. "How is it possible for us to build an oasis with..." he frantically counted the number of players present, but in his haste he failed to get the exact number and could only settle with, "...so few people, and only three days at boot? And if I’m not mistaken, if we fail, then we will not obtain the ticket to get out of this place?!"

    His protest was reasonable, and he had voiced the hidden thoughts in the players’ mind which they dared not convey out loud. As the saying went, a newborn calf was not afraid of the tiger. Fatty could only be so vocal because he had not witnessed for himself how wretched the Cycle truly was.

    So what if the task was nearly impossible? Even if they had to risk their lives and worked themselves down to the bones, they still had to do it because this was the only way they could get out of this place!

    "Moreover... t-there are also a child and a dog among us! Our manpower is severely lacking!" Fatty continued to appeal in a righteous tone.

    Suddenly cued, Jin Jiuchi’s fur stood up once all eyes fell on them, and he subconsciously took a step forward to hide Shen Nianzu behind him. He sent a glare at Anna, daring her to demand the delicate jade doll to do hard labor. But then he noticed that she seemed a little stunned upon seeing him. "Oh, you are..."

    She did not continue her sentence after that, but turned to Fatty instead. "Fret not," she said with a haughty frown. "You, the diligent laborers, have endured a rigorous gauntlet of tests before arriving at this sacred ground. If anyone possesses the power to fulfill my heartfelt desires, it is none other than you." She gestured at the two big men by her side who had stayed silent like bodyguards until now. "They shall be the guides to assist and address any queries you may have from this moment forth. As each day comes to an end, I will pay heed to your progress."

    "Keep in mind," her gaze bore down heavily on them as she emphasized each word. "If I find something unsatisfactory, there will be consequences."

    After saying that, she spun on her heels and walked back to the direction where she had come from.

    "We have two main tasks," one of the burly men spoke in a gruff tone. "During the day, we will dig out a pit for the oasis and when night falls, we will take turns guarding the temple. For tonight..."

    He scanned his gaze over the players, and the tension thickened sharply with each passing second.

    Jin Jiuchi could hear gulping sounds as the players swallowed in nervousness, and he continued to stand tall to hide Shen Nianzu behind him. Fortunately, he was big enough to do so. His instinct told him that the temple at nightfall would become a treacherous place full of threats, and thus he would not allowed the jade doll to be chosen!

    "You and you," the man finally dropped his ax of judgment and pointed at two people. "You two will guard the temple tonight."

    The people chosen by him were none other than the female newbie and the intermediate player, Luo Qing and Zhang Lei.

    Zhang Lei’s complexion instantly turned ugly because he knew that a danger must be hidden in the temple at night, and he was bound to become the first sacrifice.

    On the other hand, Luo Qing immediately broke down into tears. "N–No! I don’t want to! Please... don’t choose me! Choose someone else! That man!" She suddenly pointed her finger at Jiang Shun. "He... He is strong! He can definitely guard the temple better than me!"

    However, the burly man was unmoved. "That’s all," he said. "Now we will bring you to the working location. The sooner we start, the better."

    Colors drained from Luo Qing’s face and her body shook in utter dread and terror, especially when she saw Jiang Shun glaring at her while making a throat cutting gesture across his neck, mouthing, "You’re dead meat."

    The woman beside him laughed in schadenfreude and mocked Luo Qing, "Stuuupid."

    The intermediate players gave her a pitying look. She could have offended anyone, but she just had to offend Jiang Shun, a veteran player and also the strongest one in this Cycle. Even Zhang Lei, who had been nothing but kind and generous to her, immediately backed away a few steps as he did not want to be associated with her and earned Jiang Shun’s ire.

    With a disdainful harrumph, Jiang Shun swiveled around and took the lead to follow the NPCs, while the other players quickly scampering behind him. Luo Qing dragged her feet along, sobbing and sniffling akin to a pitiful flower drenched in the howling rain. But sadly, no one took the initiative to comfort her.

    The Cycle would not be kind to her just because she was a woman, and if she did not have the resolution to survive, the chances of her to live past today would be... extremely low.

    "Let’s go..." Xinxin cleared his throat and gestured for them, "...Da Shen, Xiao Shen." He jogged lightly to catch up with the players in front, while Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi trailed on the very back.

    They were led through a dim and narrow hallway with walls adorned with similar looking murals, and after a few twists and turns, an open space was gradually revealed in front of them as they had reached the back of the temple. However, the two NPCs did not stop there and continued to walk out under the glaring sun, their feet trudging heavily through the sand.

    The players gulped. Previously, they could almost ignore the scorching heat thanks to the roof above their head. But now, the thought of walking and working under the relentless sun was already enough to make them reluctant to take a step forward. What a torture!

    "Jiang Shun," the woman clinging to Jiang Shun complained in a soft voice. "What should I do? It’s so hot..."

    "So? Should I open an umbrella to shield you?" Jiang Shun glared at her, then he briskly walked out of the temple and left her behind.

    The woman stomped her feet in annoyance but in the end, she had no choice but to follow him, all the while huffing and puffing.

    The rest of the players also gritted their teeth and tagged along, with Fatty complaining the loudest as his shirt had gotten soaked in sticky sweat even before they started working.

    Jin Jiuchi stared at the stretch of yellow sand in front of him and turned to Shen Nianzu with a woof. He lowered himself and gave a gesture with his head for the jade doll to climb behind his back. He had already experienced it firsthand how fiery the sand felt on his body. What if the Shen Nianzu’s dainty and delicate feet was injured when he was walking? No, he had to do something about this or else he would not be rest assured!

    "You want me to... get on your back?" Shen Nianzu had a strange look on his face as he questioned Jin Jiuchi’s gesture.

    Jin Jiuchi nodded and nudged him with his snout, urging him to hurry up lest they would be left behind.

    Shen Nianzu furrowed his brow. He did not understand why Jin Jiuchi was suggesting this when he was clearly clad in full gear suitable to trek through the desert. On the other hand, it was Jin Jiuchi who should worry about himself. Not only did he have extremely thick fur that made Shen Nianzu feel horrible just by looking at him, he would also be stepping on the hot sand with his bare paws!

    He firmly rejected the idea, "There’s no need to—ah!" A startled cry escaped his lips when Jin Jiuchi suddenly pushed his snout between his legs with the intent to forcibly pick him up.

    Flushing, Shen Nianzu hurriedly yanked the damned pervert away out of the space between his legs and showed a murderous glare. "Y–You... do you want to die?!" It was fortunate that Jin Jiuchi was a dog now, or else if he were to shove his head between Shen Nianzu’s legs when he was in his human form...

    No, stop imagining it! Shen Nianzu shook his head to erase the dangerous thought out of his mind. Seeing that Jin Jiuchi pressed forward to try it for the second time, he hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I will ride you! Satisfied?! Stop doing this or I will shave off all of your fur!"

    "Aowoo!" Jin Jiuchi cried out, aggrieved.

    Gritting his teeth, Shen Nianzu finally resigned to his fate and slung his leg over Jin Jiuchi’s body, straddling him. He held onto Jin Jiuchi tensely when the huge white dog raised to his feet and began to walk through the desert, fearing that the man would drop him by accident.

    But the ride was stable and secure, much to Shen Nianzu’s surprise.

    A series of low growls emitted from Jin Jiuchi’s throat along the way. And for some reason, Shen Nianzu could almost hear the man humming happily beside his ears. How ridiculous.

    He scoffed and slowly allowed himself to relax, burying his face into the dense coat of Jin Jiuchi’s fluffy fur. ’This kind of mount was not too bad...’ he found himself thinking.

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    A/N: Shen Nianzu’s achievement unlocked - mounting Jin Jiuchi (doggy version) check. As for the human version *cough* let’s be veeery patient :p but honestly I also want to become mini size and ride a dog around QAQ