Chapter 379

After the tragedy, survivors invariably asked themselves, "How did things turn out this way?"

At first, the cruise ship had merely encountered a storm.

Though the rain came suddenly, changeable weather at sea wasn't uncommon, and the subsequent power outage was normal. As for the engine room problems, they weren't unheard of, and encounters with sea creatures like squid had made the news before.

The only one slightly flustered was the captain. He was an acting captain; the World Cruise Liner belonged to the 3Q Group and had no permanent captain, hiring professionals only before sailing.

The captain had previously worked Southeast Asian routes and wasn't particularly familiar with the Yellow Sea area, though it wasn't entirely foreign to him. After a brief bout of agitation, he calmed down and handled the situation based on past experience.

Other staff members, though cursing their bad luck, showed no signs of panic. Everyone had been trained and wasn't new to sea voyages, so they knew what to do.

Seeing everything under control, Jian Jing used the pretext of notifying passengers to check on the situation in the cabin area.

The passengers, all awakened, opened their doors to inquire.

"What's happening?"

"Is it windy? The waves are huge."

"Do you have seasickness pills? I think I'm going to be sick."

"Oh my God, what's going on? Why is the ship rocking so much?"

Jian Jing, feigning authority, announced: "There are life jackets in the rooms. Put them on and gather in the main hall."

"What? Is the ship sinking?" someone screamed.

"Stay calm, it's just a precaution," Jian Jing said. "Isn't it scarier to stay alone in your room?"

"That makes sense. Let's gather first." The ship was rocking, but humans, relying on technology, had conquered nature multiple times. Most people remained calm and returned to their rooms to pack.

Before boarding the cruise, everyone had to attend a rescue class to learn how to wear the life-saving equipment in the cabins. So, although alarmed, no one was at a loss, and all managed to put on their life jackets properly.

At this point, Jian Jing noticed a problem.

"Have you seen Jenny?" she asked, grabbing a familiar-looking photographer.

It was the cameraman who had been following her. He hesitated, then shook his head. "No, hey, has anyone seen Marlon and Jenny?"

"Marlon's drunk," someone said, dragging the heavily intoxicated director out of the lounge. "I haven't seen Jenny."

She couldn't still be on the ninth floor, could she?

Jian Jing hesitated but decided to return upstairs.

The ship swayed back and forth, seemingly worse than before. Fortunately, all large objects on the cruise were secured, preventing accidents.

Jian Jing returned to the restaurant as quickly as possible.

The moment she stepped onto the floor, her intuition was triggered.

An extremely cold, shivering sensation rose from the top of her head, crawling down her spine. Her hair stood on end, pulling her skin painfully.

Jian Jing slowly looked down and lifted her foot.

The sole of her sneaker pulled out thin, transparent threads.

The carpet in the hallway looked like hairy jelly, covered in a layer of crystal-clear adhesive. A strange yet familiar smell wafted through the air.

Jian Jing held her breath and nimbly jumped onto the stair railing, using her night vision device to observe her surroundings.

There was something under a distant decorative painting.

She switched her high-tech glasses to telescope mode and zoomed in.

A tentacle (possibly from a squid, cuttlefish, or something similar), with long suction cups secreting mucus, was clinging to the corner and moving outward. Its motion resembled that of an earthworm, arching and stretching, thick yet agile.

Jian Jing: "Shit!"

The tip of the tentacle immediately stiffened, as if it had also caught her scent.

Their eyes (?) met, and the air instantly became tense.

Half a second later, both parties moved simultaneously.

Jian Jing took off running. The tentacle slid across the floor like a smooth snake, reaching the staircase in the blink of an eye. The tip of its tail curled slightly, reaching for her waist.

She grabbed the handrail, leaped into the air, and simultaneously pulled out a gun from her storage compartment, aiming it at the tentacle and firing.

The tentacle flinched in pain, retracting slightly.

Jian Jing's face changed dramatically.

A single bullet could only make it bleed a little. How was she supposed to deal with this? Better to run.

Looking back, sure enough, it was Jenny.

"I knew you'd cause trouble," she said, her face contorted, mercilessly pulling the trigger again.

The bullets sprayed continuously, with some even ricocheting off the walls, nearly hitting Jian Jing in the calf. Furious, she laughed sardonically, "Have you gone mad?"

Jenny didn't respond, emptying an entire magazine in one go.

Jian Jing had been waiting for this opportunity. She immediately lunged forward, grasping Jenny's arm and twisting it outward. Simultaneously, she exerted force with her leg and waist, sweeping Jenny off balance and bringing her to the ground.

While Jenny was skilled with a gun, her hand-to-hand combat abilities were ordinary. She was no match for Jian Jing's advanced fighting techniques and was swiftly subdued.

But Jenny proved to be a fierce opponent. She sank her teeth into Jian Jing's fingers, clamping down with all her might.

The pain was excruciating – Jian Jing had never experienced such agony before. Unable to endure it, she reflexively released her grip.

Jenny quickly broke free, but this time, instead of attacking Jian Jing, she lunged towards the tentacle.

"Hey!" Jian Jing's face paled as she reached out to grab her.

However, Jenny seemed to have taken a potent stimulant, her speed surpassing that of an Olympic champion. In the blink of an eye, she appeared beneath the tentacle.

Jenny spread her arms wide, fervently shouting, "Cleanse the world of its sins..."

Before she could finish her proclamation, the tentacle, unable to contain its eagerness, pierced through her torso. Its countless suction cups acted like powerful straws, drawing her flesh and blood into its core.

Jenny transformed from a robust, healthy woman into an emaciated figure, and then into a desiccated corpse.

The entire process took no more than five seconds. Death came so swiftly that it left Jian Jing completely stunned.

Realizing the danger, she turned and ran.

Thanks to her quick thinking, she narrowly escaped as the tentacle's size exploded in the next second.

Its dimensions grew to the width of several people embracing, almost instantly blocking the corridor. More terrifyingly, its intelligence seemed to have grown along with its size. Realizing its body couldn't pass through, it immediately split into three parts, pursuing the fleeing Jian Jing from different directions.

With everyone else downstairs, Jian Jing dared not lead the tentacle there. She ran upstairs instead.

The tentacle followed relentlessly.

She remained incredibly calm, first using her White Kitten State to leap up to the ninth floor using the staircase railing. The stairwell was even narrower than the corridor, forcing the tentacle to split into two more tails to reduce its size.

As the tentacle divided to give chase, Jian Jing grasped the handrail and, like any cat would do, adjusted her direction mid-air, leaping back down.

Her sword struck mercilessly at the nearest tail.

One was severed.

She landed on the eighth-floor railing, spun around again, and repeated her tactic, jumping down once more and cutting off another tail.

The balance of power shifted slightly in her favor.

But at that moment, Jian Jing heard the voice of a crew member.

"Everyone, please remain calm. The lifeboats are located at the stern of the seventh floor."

This was quickly followed by passengers attempting to maintain composure: "Don't panic, ladies first. We're just taking precautions, we may not need to abandon ship."

Yes, everyone was still maintaining their composure, still able to think rationally, still showcasing the brilliance of human nature.

But this was the final second.

First came the stunned silence.

For about 0.3 seconds, nobody reacted. Those who saw it first froze, while those behind who couldn't see pushed forward, asking, "Why aren't we moving..."

Then, silence fell.

The tentacle, too, seemed unprepared for encountering so many "meals".

Or enemies, one could say.

It couldn't assess their combat capabilities and even recoiled slightly. But it wasn't the first to retreat. While it was still evaluating its opponents, the humans were the first to falter.

Blame it on horror movies, perhaps.

To varying degrees, everyone had seen tentacled monsters, had seen alien squids. They didn't need to analyze; they instinctively knew this thing was extremely dangerous.

"Aah!" Reason shut down, instinct took over.

The wisdom etched into human genes said: Danger, run!

As their strength scattered, the enemies became prey.

The tentacle became thoroughly excited.