The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 106

Chapter 106

As the players panicked, the little octopus’s cold voice echoed through the cabin:

“Where is it? Which one of you has it?”

The players froze, their necks stiffening as they slowly looked up and saw the small, transparent octopus hovering above them.

“Ahhh!!!”

A scream echoed through the cabin as the players attacked the octopus with their props and abilities.

But the little octopus, unfazed, continued to approach, its tentacles extending and growing larger, wrapping around the players, binding them.

Several players, those with the strongest scent of the treasure, were lifted and dangled upside down.

Their faces turned red, their heads throbbing, as they coughed and gasped for air.

“Help! Help!”

“It wasn’t me! I swear! I haven’t seen your treasure!”

Desperate, some even started blaming their teammates.

“It must be Qiu Ke! He’s the strongest among us! He’s A-rank! Only he could have switched the treasure without us noticing!”

The other players turned to Qiu Ke, their eyes accusing.

“Qiu Ke! Was it you?!”

“Please, if you have it, just give it back!”

Qiu Ke, his face contorted, struggling against the tentacle wrapped around his neck, coughed and protested.

“I didn’t take it! I was the farthest away from the box! By the time I got there, you had already taken the treasure out!”

The players tried to remember what had happened.

Qiu Ke, although the strongest, was right.

He had been the farthest away. They had all seen the energy pearl before he even approached the box.

“Then it must be Xiao Xia! He was the first to touch the box!”

Desperate to survive, they abandoned any sense of loyalty and camaraderie, eager to shift the blame.

The little octopus, having heard enough, slammed the players against the wall, their heads hitting the metal with a sickening thud, blood seeping from their wounds.

“Fine, then you’ll all die!”

Just as its tentacles tightened, Qiu Ke, seizing the opportunity, used his ability to burn the octopus’s eyes.

The little octopus recoiled, its eyes squeezed shut, and by the time it recovered, the players, having used a high-level escape prop, had teleported to another part of the ship.

The little octopus, frustrated, its tentacles slapping against the walls,

These slippery humans!

They’re even harder to catch than fish!

Xing Nuo, his head above water, his wet, golden hair plastered to his forehead, pointed at the cruise ship in the distance.

Sounds of fighting could still be heard from the ship, which was no longer moving, just drifting on the surface.

Several merpeople stealthily approached the ship.

Oxi, the strongest among them, threw his shell knife, which landed perfectly on the railing.

A rope made of seaweed unfurled, and the merpeople, with their powerful arms, quickly climbed aboard.

Xing Nuo, watching them, his eyes wide with admiration,

So stwong!

He was the last to go up, pulled effortlessly onto the deck by the seaweed rope.

He thanked them, untied the rope, and looked at the deck, littered with debris and stained with blood, his breath catching in his throat.

Where’s Little Octopus?

The merpeople, sensing their kin’s presence, opened their mouths and emitted a series of high-pitched clicks and whistles, a sonar-like call, inaudible to human ears, that echoed through the ship.

In the ship’s lower deck.

The injured merman, briefly regaining consciousness, hearing the familiar sounds, thought he was hallucinating.

But even if it was an illusion, it was a comforting one.

Hearing his clan’s call as he lay dying was a good way to go.

He used his remaining strength to sing, his voice weak but clear.

The monster guarding him, hearing the song, its eyes widening, yelled:

“What are you doing?!”

The only surviving monster in the cabin, like a hyena, had been greedily guarding the injured merman.

A merman’s blood contained powerful mental energy, and the monsters had been cutting them, trying to extract it.

But now, with his companions dead, and the other merman traded to the humans,

only this one, dying merman remained. The monster licked his lips, his eyes filled with greed.

Might as well just eat him.

But merpeople were proud and resilient. If a monster tried to kill them, they would destroy their own mental energy, becoming useless.

Even if the monster devoured them, it wouldn’t gain anything.

The monster, suppressing its hunger, cut the merman’s tail with a special knife.

On the deck.

The merpeople, hearing their kin’s response, their faces filled with excitement, exclaimed:

“He’s alive!”

“Thank goodness! That’s Qing Ning’s voice!”

Xing Nuo, not understanding their excitement, but happy for them, smiled and, swishing his tail, tried to enter the ship to find the little octopus.

It had been almost two days. Had it found its treasure?

The merpeople, surrounding him protectively, followed him to the cabin door.

They cautiously peeked inside, sensing a chaotic mix of scents and energies.

Oxi, his eyes widening as he picked up an unusual scent, exclaimed:

“That’s the octopus monster from the deep sea!”

“I’m sure of it! I’ve fought it before!”

And that terrifying aura, the oppressive presence of an SSS+ level monster, was unmistakable!

He grabbed Xing Nuo, pulling him back, shielding him.

Xing Nuo, confused, looked up at Oxi and gestured, his hands mimicking tentacles.

“Go find Little Octopus.”

He was worried about the little octopus, afraid it would be bullied by the monsters and humans on the ship.

It was so small. What if it was caught and grilled?

Oxi, understanding his gestures, his eyes narrowing, exchanged glances with his companions.

Could the little octopus Xing Nuo kept as a pet be the same terrifying octopus from the deep sea?!

But it’s so small…

The merpeople, wary and alert, held Xing Nuo back.

Xing Nuo, his good nature preventing him from arguing, stopped and looked at them, his eyes questioning.

“Why no go?”

Weren’t they going to rescue the merman and the little octopus?

The merpeople, unable to communicate with him, whispered among themselves.

“That octopus could be the SSS+ level monster from the deep sea. We can’t just barge in.”

“There are monster parts scattered everywhere. The octopus must have killed several of them.”

“Is our kin also in its clutches?”

Unsure of the situation inside, they didn’t dare enter.

They hid by the door, and the next moment, a group of disheveled human players appeared out of thin air.

Their teleportation prop, although allowing them to escape the octopus’s grasp, had a random destination.

They had prayed not to be teleported to the bottom of the ocean.

And now, they were face to face with a group of hostile merpeople.

Players: !!!

“You…merpeople?!”

“They’re real! And so many of them!”

Before they could react, feeling the merpeople’s powerful mental energy, exhausted and injured, they quickly surrendered.

“We mean no harm!”

The merpeople, their faces cold, sensing the familiar scent of their kin on the players, glared at them.

Oxi pressed his knife against a player’s throat.

“Have you seen Qing Ning and Yoe?! Where are they being held?!”

“And where’s the octopus?!”

But they couldn’t understand each other. After a series of confused shouts and gestures, the A-rank player took out another high-level prop—

a Language Conch.

The conch automatically translated their words, and the players finally understood that the merpeople were here to rescue their kin.

Qiu Ke, the players’ leader, although their group was disorganized, stepped forward, hoping to negotiate.

“We just want to survive the seven days on this ship. We mean no harm! We know where the other merman is being held. We can lead you there!”

Oxi, knowing human players often had strange and useful items, wasn’t surprised by the conch.

“What do you want? What are you trying to gain from us?”

Qiu Ke didn’t hesitate, stating his terms:

“We help you rescue the merman, you give us a Mermaid’s Tear.”

The merpeople scoffed. “You’re quite ambitious. We can find Qing Ning ourselves, without your help!”

Qiu Ke, his mind sharp, his gaze falling on Xing Nuo, the small, golden-tailed merman, paused.

Xing Nuo, his fists clenched, worried about the little octopus, asked in his sweet voice:

“Big Brother, you see my Little Octopus? It’s this small…vewy tiny…monsters might bully it.”

He gestured with his hand, showing the octopus’s size, his watery eyes looking up at Qiu Ke hopefully.

Qiu Ke, surprised that Xing Nuo could speak their language, but then, hearing his words, his lips twitched, and he was silent for a moment.

“Are you sure your little octopus would be bullied by monsters?”

It was the little octopus who had been beating up the monsters!

Did this little merman have some kind of filter for the octopus?!

Xing Nuo nodded firmly, his expression sincere, genuinely worried.

“Little Octopus lost important treasure…it went to get it back. Big Brother, did you take it? Stealing bad. Give treasure back to Little Octopus.”

The little octopus had said it was humans who stole its treasure. And these were the only human players on the ship. They must have taken it.

Qiu Ke just sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“It’s complicated. The treasure we got…not the same one the monster lost.”

They also wanted to return the treasure and complete the dungeon.

But the problem was, who had the real treasure now?!