Nightmare Shuttle

From behind the servant, a few crew members parted beside him like a stream. They ignored the looks of the others, grabbed both feet of the dead man, and dragged his lifeless corpse out of the box.

Soon enough, there was the sound of a heavy object falling into the sea and it was self-evident where they had thrown him. Only a bloody, water trail that had seeped from his body as it was dragged away was left on the wooden floor. 

The faces of the people in the box were deadly pale, only the hazy clouds of smoke and the alcohol spilled on the floor remained of the previous boisterous scene. The servant seemed to have not seen their looks of horror and fear and repeated, "Dinner is about to be served. Guests please."

The first person to walk out was a strange man with a hunched back, his head was almost stuck to his shoulders and his feet shuffled nervously on the floor as he left the room. His departure seemed to set off a chain reaction and soon enough, other persons slowly started to leave.

The room felt heavy with a suffocating silence and many of the rich guests seemed extremely tense, flinching as they walked past the servant. Once again, no one mentioned the dead man.

Chu Yi raised the glass of red wine to his lips, threw his head back, and drained its entirety. A few droplets of wine remaining on his lips were slowly licked away by a red tongue. His face seemed to become more sinful and charming, a red blush rising on the tender cheeks.

He used two fingers to slowly lift the card that Ruan Quixi had placed down and shook in front of the others before with a rapid wave of his wrist, the card suddenly disappeared! Chu Yi raised both hands and smiled darkly, "Let's have dinner, shall we."

Ruan Quixi slowly stood up and grabbed the thin wrist that held the card. The other party's body temperature felt like a scorching hot sun, making his body feel as if soaking in a pool of hot springs.

He gazed down at him with eyes filled with evil mirth, before turning his head back briefly. The dark hair around his head swayed in the grey mist, Arescio met his gaze, and suddenly his eyes shrunk into two thin slits as if he had seen his greatest nightmare–

The evil spirit sneered, leaned forward, and slowly drew a card from Arescio's deck. When he opened his hands, the Queen card was displayed vividly, the cigarette in Arescio's mouth burnt faint

ly as if the man had taken a deep breath. In his ears, a cold and sharp voice whispered lightly, "The game isn't finished yet."

The strange and terrifying pressure that he felt for a moment disappeared, like a monster that had its fangs.

Arescio watched their leaving silhouette, from behind they both appeared to be shrouded in shadows, completely isolated in their own dark world. The dangerous black-haired man and the beautiful vixen, the atmosphere between them seemed to be inaccessible to everyone else.

Laughing faintly, He moved as if to get up but a sharp pain on his finger stopped. He looked down, in place of the previous Queen card, a Joker now sat.

When they were directed back to the hall, it had already been changed. A few long banquet tables had been set up in the hall. The one in the middle was the mist lavish with gold silverware and cushioned chair. The foremost was the opposite with only a small napkin was placed on the table.

In the corner of his eyes, Chu Yi caught sight of his crew members and the evasive tour guide on the other side. The fat director waved at him and pointed to a seat beside him. With Ruan Quixi at his back, he waded through the crowd and sat beside the director.

The first thing the director asked was, "Did you bring your camera?"

Chu Yi who didn't have the consciousness of a little fresh meat paused and shook his head guiltily.

The director gave him a look as if hating iron for not being steel, but in the end, he didn't ask him to go back for it.

As they were speaking, a train of waiters with a grey trolley came rolling out to the side. They stopped before the civilian table and slowly placed each dish down.

In front of each person was a big soup bowl. The fish balls and fish noodles floated in the clear white soup, round and chubby, the crystal white appearance was extremely flattering, waiting to be tasted.

There is no fishy smell, and it was evident that the fish had been cooked with the most delicate care. 

The fish soup is mellow, and there was a piece of fish in each bowl. A few civilians turned the soup a few times with a spoon, and the delicious scent poured into the tip of their nose.

Most couldn't wait, they raised the spoon and placed my and their nose and took a big whiff, a mouth-watering scent emanated from the dish. Without precaution, they raised their heads and began gobbling down the fish soup.

Even if Chu Yi was not gluttonous, even he felt slightly hungry after smelling the smell. Not to mention the other rich men, whose color had already turned green from not being the first to be served.

Only the sound of slurping and spoons clanging resounded in the room, the director swallowed a mouthful of saliva difficultly and rubbed his greasy paws together impatiently.

Before the rich could riot, another cart was rolled over and the waiters came before their table. When the grey lids were taken off the plates, all grievances had vanished.

Unlike the other group who only received a bowl of fish soup, their group had been given an entire fish! The rich have long been looking at the fish with bright eyes, and some even have their hands trembling slightly. 

Nevertheless, the moment the was placed before them, he could understand, why the crew member had referred to it as a 'Human Fish' 

This fish looks weird.

There are no scales on its entire body, and its head was so big that it seemed more as if it had been artificially attached than naturally grown. Vaguely resembling a human head, The flesh-colored skin was stretched thin and there was not a single cut on its body.

The skin on its whole body was smooth, and it seems to be covered with a layer of greasy transparent oil as it bobbed in the soup. Two copper bell-like eyes were inlaid on the side, one on the left and the other on the right, protruding out of the head, and the eyes were lifeless and grey.

It didn't seem as if the fish was processed but had just been taken up and thrown into the soup. What caught his attention the most, were the hundreds of round black eggs in its mouth. The sight of the countless stuck-together balls made goosebumps erupt on his skin. 

Unlike the others, the moment the fish was placed before him, he only felt like reaching. Only now did he register the strong fishy smell slowly spreading on the deck.

The fishy smell was as strong as the smell of rotting blood and guts left in a hot refrigerator for months, and the face of Chu Yi who was affected by the smell was not good. If it wasn't for the occasion, he would have long thrown the disgusting thing away.

He pushed the bowl away and looked at the man beside him, although he didn't appear affected by the smell he still didn't move to eat it.

Under the table, Chu Yi felt a hand grab him, and something round was placed in his palm. He looked down. He didn't know where the other man had gotten it, but a small mint ball was now sitting leisurely in his hands.

Chu Yi glanced at him but didn't speak. He only slowly placed the mint in his mouth, slowly rolling it along his tongue as if he could feel the temperature of the other man still lingering on it.

The heavy fish smell was pungent, but it seemed as if only he could smell it, the others only looked to have seen the greatest delicacy and without hesitation, they grabbed the bowl and used a fork, some even used their hands to tear the fishes flesh before placing it in their mouth, chewing wetly. They swallowed mouthful after mouthful of greasy fish and some even looked mournful after finishing their bowl too fast.

The director and the other crew member on the side had already finished four bowls of fish soup. They smacked their mouths, reminiscing about the taste of the fish soup, "This soup tastes so good, there are no bones in the fish, and it makes people want to eat it again and again. "

"Even the eggs are soft and chewy and when they burst from your mouth, it's like swallowing a fragrant jello."

Looking around greedily, the fat directors' eye's lit up when he saw the soup in front of Chu Yi, "Aren't you going to eat it?"

Chu Yi turned his head, his eyes filled with faint disgust, "No."

As soon as he finished speaking, the director unceremoniously stretched out his hand and took his soup away. Before Chu Yi could stop him, he took a sip of the bowl and said vaguely: "Then give it to me."

A courageous hand stretched out and grabbed Ruan Quixi's bowl. He glanced at him, the skinny crew member stilled like a frightened bird but the smell of the fish soup made him overcome his fear and complete the motion of stealing food.

To some people the taste of the fish soup was really too good, perhaps it was the arrogance that had been cultivated for a long time in a position of power, or perhaps it was the innate greed but in the midst of the clanking spoons, the sound of a chair creaking against wood was loud in the otherwise quiet ship.

A middle-aged man with a rather heavy stature suddenly got up from the table, he walked up to a waiter by the side and commanded, "Hey! You! That tiny piece of fish can't even fill my belly! Do you know how much I spent to be on this ship? Get me another fish, right at this moment"

This was his first time on this ship and he had only come here because he heard that he could make connections with a few top figures. If he could show his power here, maybe he could attract the appreciation of one of those persons and leap up the social ladder.

Unexpectedly, the waiter bowed his head respectfully: "I'm sorry sir, the rules onboard stipulate that it is one fish to each person. It is usually more than enough for one person."

The middle-aged man heard the whispering all around and felt as if his face had been trampled on. With an ugly face, he exploded, scolding with a loud voice: "Bastard, are you mocking me?! I spent so much money, can't you find a way for me?! I want you to serve another fish for me right now!"

The waiter always answered in a calm, unwavering voice: "I'm so sorry guest, I can't help it."

"What the hell are you low-level trash, don't you even have the basic sense?! Stupid!" Being so snubbed in front of everyone, he poured his anger on the waiter who seemed to have status or authority, and his words and deeds only became more disrespectful, "Since you can't do it, them contact your fucking captain!"

Waiter: "I'm sorry, but the captain is steering the ship at this moment and can't come down."

"It's so annoying!" The middle-aged man ran out of patience and raised his hand to violently attack the waiter. The drooping head of the other party finally lifted, and the originally respected eyes were filled with a touch of disgust: "However, I can prepare some more fish eggs for you guest, so that you can calm down and prepare yourself for the next journey."

The man's hands stopped instantly, although his facial had been lost, at least the waiter was smart enough to give him a way to back down. He pulled his lips and pretended to be magnanimous, "Since you suggested it. Bring it out."

The waiter nodded respectfully: "Okay, please wait a moment, sir."

Soon, the waiter placed a bowl of fish eggs in the middle before, him. The man looked satisfied, picked up a spoon, and ate the eggs in large bites. When he was finished he rubbed his belly slightly and dismissed the waiter.

Chu Yi glanced at the man's stomach, bulging and slightly bloated. His eyes shifted to the waiter, those eyes seemed to carry a kind of contemptuous pity. 

When the dinner was over, the sky had already been filled with dark stars. Each person retired to their rooms and slowly the lights on the ship were turned off. 

As all the guests aboard Narézon slept, the peaceful sea waves suddenly rolled.