Chapter 31: The Terrifying Aquarium (7)

Chapter 31 The Horror Aquarium (7)

"Gege, why do you keep looking at me?"

With so many tourists around, Tan Yue felt a bit embarrassed to call Guan Shan "baby" in public. He switched to "Gege," but his tone remained just as affectionate—after all, he used the same endearment in bed, and it always sent shivers down Guan Shan's spine.

Tan Yue noticed Guan Shan staring at him intently, his gaze following him everywhere, almost unblinking, like a predator tracking prey. He understood—when they were alone, his own attention was entirely fixed on his lover too.

But now was work time, and being watched so closely was throwing him off his game.

Guan Shan observed the reflection in Tan Yue's eyes, completely devoid of fear. He had long known there was something unusual about Tan Yue's eyes, but he hadn't expected them to be this "advanced"—not only could they see through illusions, but they also softened illusions, maintaining sanity in the process!

In the shadow realm, some regions housed weaker entities that didn't rely on physical attacks to kill but rather on psychic corruption.

If the psychic corruption was effective, the living beings from the living world would drive themselves to ruin—their minds broken, even if a safe passage was right in front of them, they'd remain trapped in the shadow realm, slowly transforming into new residents.

Yet Tan Yue seemed immune to psychic corruption. Guan Shan was certain his lover was human, not a supernatural entity—lacking powerful regeneration or recovery abilities.

No matter how curious he was, he'd never be cruel enough to dig out Tan Yue's hypnotic eyes for research. Such mesmerizing eyes belonged on Tan Yue to be truly beautiful.

The god said, "I just think you're very beautiful."

He wasn't lying—if Tan Yue hadn't been exceptionally good-looking, the god would never have stooped to dating him in the first place.

Tan Yue's cheeks flushed pink, and he couldn't resist sneaking a squeeze of Guan Shan's hand. He whispered, "I think you're incredibly handsome too, but I can't keep staring at you like this—I still have to work."

He was a pretty conscientious person—even if he didn't particularly love his job, he would still do it well.

Tan Yue gave a light cough as the two of them moved from the ticket-checking area near the entrance to the zones where the animals were housed. Some visitors followed the tour guides, while others wandered freely.

When the crowd had gathered to a certain size, Tan Yue turned up the volume on his small microphone and began his introduction: "What we’re seeing now is the otter zone of the aquarium. Otters have an adorable nickname—'Kapibara'—though the otters in our aquarium are particularly lively and playful. These three otter siblings were born here three months ago. Since they were born on a Friday, their names are Fufu, Lailai, and Didi..."

Tan Yue adjusted the small microphone at his waist and, as the aquarium’s tour guide, started sharing with the guests the names, origins, amusing anecdotes, and habits of the animals in each zone.

His voice was exceptionally clear and pleasant, his pacing neither rushed nor sluggish, making his narration engaging and easy to follow.

Even the animals in their enclosures responded playfully to Tan Yue’s voice, which only made the experience more captivating.

Of course, the aquarium didn’t provide a fixed script for tours. All information about the animals had to be gathered from the aquarium’s signage, brochures in the staff lounge, the programs constantly playing on the large screens, and the veteran employees.

How to weave these pieces of information into an engaging presentation was entirely up to the tour guide’s own creativity—and Tan Yue clearly excelled at it. His storytelling was nothing short of delightful, and soon, quite a few visitors had gathered around him.

For any other human, being approached by these strange, twisted faces—especially some guests who grinned with gaping mouths lined with rows of jagged teeth—would have been utterly terrifying.

Supernaturals were creatures that excelled at preying on the weak. If a human showed fear, they would be targeted without hesitation.

But Tan Yue had no such worries. After all, being surrounded by harmless creatures wasn’t frightening—especially when he genuinely believed the guests meant no harm.

Among the approaching visitors, however, there were indeed some malevolent supernaturals. From a distance, they had caught the scent of something irresistibly enticing—this tour guide smelled like premium human flesh, the kind that drove them to hunt.

The one shoving its way forward was a child supernatural. Many visitor groups consisted of parent-child pairs, but in some cases, the adult supernatural controlled the child, while others were led by the child supernatural, who manipulated their "parents."

This particular child supernatural, struggling to squeeze its way to the front, couldn’t control its hunger. Compared to mature adult supernaturals, child supernaturals were often more temperamental, impulsive, and unruly.

In that regard, the residents of the ordinary world and the supernatural world weren’t so different after all.

However, after straining to get closer, the little supernatural kid failed to detect even a trace of fear from Tan Yue.

He was about to rudely pop his own head off to scare the human docent, but before he could act, the gloved human docent lifted him by the scruff of his neck.

The child supernatural's eyes glinted with mischief, ready to twist his neck 360 degrees, only to find himself stuck like a rusted gear—completely immobile!

What’s wrong with this human? Could it be that he isn’t human at all? The aquarium’s brochure clearly stated that this event would feature human part-time guides. With such mouthwatering flesh and blood, he should be human!

"Excuse me, coming through."

Tan Yue gently set the jostled child down. While he disliked strangers pressing against him, he was more tolerant toward children.

Besides, this was work mode—personal gripes took a backseat.

"Who is this child’s guardian?"

A seemingly meek man, controlled by the child supernatural, stepped forward. The puppet supernatural gruffly said, "That’s my kid."

Tan Yue handed the jostled child back to the guardian, speaking in a tone as gentle as a kindergarten teacher’s: "Please keep an eye on your little one and take good care of them!"

To comfort the "startled" child, Tan Yue even palmed a candy to the guardian’s hand: "This is a strawberry-flavored yogurt candy, for our extra adorable little guy."

Due to his family’s work nature, they often got too busy to pay attention, so he’d always stash energy-boosting snacks like chocolates, yogurt candies, and Snickers in his pockets.

After finishing the otter presentation, Tan Yue quickly moved to another area: "To the right is the sea lion zone. Those interested, please follow me this way."

The puppet guardian, controlled by the child supernatural, unwrapped the candy and inspected it under the light before offering it to his master.

Sucking on the candy, the child supernatural’s eyes squinted in bliss—he had never tasted such sweet milkiness before. He bossed the puppet around, "Follow him!"

Given that the human guide had praised him as cute and handsome and even given him candy, the mighty Qingyi-grade supernatural might just consider tipping him a little.

The aquarium’s security mainly consisted of red-tier supernaturals, but with Guan Shan overseeing things, the primary visitors were between white and red-tier.

The lowest gray-tier supernaturals were too disoriented to wander from their habitats—they lacked the means to travel.

"Who would’ve thought—Xiao Tan usually ignores the animals at work, but his guiding skills are impressive. He’s great at managing visitors too."

In the surveillance room, security guard Tan Ping, in his peacock mantis shrimp form, had several legs soaking in a seawater-filled tank while munching on squid jerky Tan Yue had bought. His six-pupil eyes allowed him to monitor everything: one pupil on Tan Yue and the Curator’s screen, one on the new dolphin, one on other human staff, one fixed on Ms. Chen Meiji, and the remaining two constantly sweeping across the aquarium’s animals and visitors.

He couldn’t help but comment, since Tan Yue was one of the few topics he and Ms. Chen shared.

Ms. Chen Meiji, waiting in the break room to clean up once the trash bin was full, nodded in agreement. "Xiao Tan has always been a clever, good boy."

Handsome, sharp-witted, and kind—aside from bringing them snacks and gifts, he often helped out with extra tasks when their work overlapped.

After listening for a while, Tan Ping continued, "Is he telling stories about our aquarium animals? I don’t remember those."

Ms. Chen, browsing potential husband candidates, didn’t look up. "Shouldn’t that question be for you? I don’t stare at the monitors all day."

Tan Yue wasn’t just rattling off the aquarium’s animal tales—many came from his own knowledge.

Under the rules’ protection, brawn mattered far less than their wits.

Apart from Tan Yue, a group of young female university students also performed decently.

They had been sucked in mid-boba sip—one was a varsity debater with ample public speaking experience, while the other had worked multiple part-time jobs and participated in marketing competitions. Both were quick-witted and gutsy.

Though terrified, hearing Tan Yue's voice from afar, they mustered their courage and began to deliver their spiels despite their fear.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. The aquarium has security. Just treat these oddly shaped guests like vegetables!" Silently repeating these words to themselves, the two girls encouraged each other, putting on brave smiles. At first, they stumbled, but gradually, they grew more fluent.

Zhang Yang had a completely different style—he delivered his spiel like a stand-up routine.

Seeing no immediate danger to their lives, everyone threw themselves into guiding.

In HR Manager Tuntun's group was a middle-aged man who worked in sales.

At first, everything went smoothly, but when they reached the octopus exhibit, the man suddenly blurted out what he thought was a killer dirty joke.

"Hahaha..." The middle-aged man, convinced of his own wit, watched as his laughter faded in the increasingly eerie atmosphere.

The octopus he had joked about extended its tentacles and—*slap slap slap*—delivered several sharp smacks across his face.

This seemed to trigger something. A female supernatural leading her child by the umbilical cord, along with the rest of the supernaturals, surged forward.

"W-Wait, don’t come closer! What do you want? I’m an aquarium staff member!"

*Slap slap slap...* The man's face swelled into a swollen pig's head, and his "third leg" was kicked so hard it crushed. The pain was so intense that he shrieked before passing out.

Had it not been for the "Aquarium Guide" badge hanging from his neck, the supernaturals would have torn him apart on the spot.

"Coming through!" Tuntun, dressed in a suit and tie, squeezed through the crowd with an apologetic smile. "So sorry, this is a newly hired temp worker."

A female supernatural snapped, "I want to file a complaint! How was this guide trained? How dare he harass us!"

"Exactly! What kind of filth was he spouting in front of children?"

Tuntun produced a razor-sharp blade from its limb, grabbed the man's tongue, and yanked it out before slicing it into translucent slices.

It sprinkled a blue-green powder over the wound, instantly stopping the bleeding.

The man woke from the pain, only to faint again at the horrifying sight.

Tuntun handed out the tongue slices as compensation to the offended supernaturals. "Our sincerest apologies. This is the aquarium's way of making amends."

The supernaturals accepted the compensation, their anger somewhat appeased. "Make sure your staff are properly trained! If this happens again, we *will* file a complaint!"

"Shadow, report to Zone 11."

A lanky shadow emerged from the darkness, swiftly dragging the unconscious man away. He vanished into a black hole, only to reappear in the staff lounge.

With one guide gone, the now guide-less visitors gradually dispersed to other zones.

The two girls, having witnessed the whole ordeal, were equal parts terrified and smug. They despised lecherous middle-aged men who cracked inappropriate jokes at the worst times.

What woman who'd endured similar harassment hadn’t fantasized about giving such men what they deserve? Now, the ruthless female supernaturals had cut out his tongue and neutered him—served him right.

Still, they couldn’t help but worry about the devouring black hole. "He’s not dead, is he?"

"Focus on your work and respect our guests. Employee #5's pay is docked for today, plus a 100 Specter Coin fine!"

Hearing about the fine, Zhang Yang thought, *I knew working in this supernatural world wouldn’t be easy. Even if you keep your life, winding up in wage debt means you won’t survive.*

No one cared about the man’s fate anymore. Meanwhile, Tan Yue, far from the chaos and surrounded by curious visitors, was none the wiser about the incident.

He was busy being the best guide he could be, working to boost the aquarium's ratings among its guests.

Tan Yue was the kind of person who took his work seriously and always ensured it was done well. Even if he wasn’t particularly fond of it, his competence and attitude spoke for themselves, making his performance outstanding.

When he worked as a caretaker, he strictly followed the feeding schedule, providing the marine creatures with precise portions on time, keeping them sleek, healthy, and lively.

Guan Shan had been watching the human intently. A focused, hardworking human was captivating, like a sparkling gem. His heart raced—he wanted to kiss him, to push him down.

The mermaid’s body thrummed with restless energy, the deity’s gaze darkening like the mysterious, fathomless whirlpools of the deep sea, aching to drag his human lover into its depths, to merge with his very bones.

Sensing his lover’s burning stare, Tan Yue occasionally glanced up. Even with several visitors between them, their eyes would lock, creating a thick, intimate tension that no one else could intrude upon.

Tan Yue, after all, was human. After two hours of continuous speaking, his voice was noticeably raspy. At this point, Guan Shan, who had been following him the whole time, stepped in to assist. Just as Tan Yue’s voice was about to give out, a slender, pale hand extended a thermos toward him.

It was the green thermos Tan Yue had bought—900 milliliters in capacity, keeping drinks warm in winter and cool in summer. When he unscrewed the lid, a curl of cold vapor rose from within.

Inside were ice cubes, lemon slices, and cola—cool, hydrating, and soothing for his parched throat. The lemon tasted fresh, without the bitterness of sitting too long, clearly prepared just now.

He’d been too focused on guiding to keep an eye on his lover, so he had no idea when Guan Shan had gone to make it.

“You’re the best! Did you just run to the kitchen to make this?”

In truth, Guan Shan hadn’t left at all. Hearing Tan Yue’s hoarse voice, he’d just dipped into the shadows, retrieved pre-frozen ice cubes from the fridge, added freshly sliced lemons, and poured it all into the thermos before bringing it over.

After all, copying something so simple was nothing for a god.

Tan Yue slipped into a quiet corner away from the crowd, where he couldn’t resist pulling his lover into a hug.

The thermos had a straw. He took a long sip, downing half of it in one go, then held it up to Guan Shan’s lips. “This is perfect—better than mine! Baby, have some. My throat feels way better.”

Guan Shan didn’t mind sharing. They had kissed directly before—why would he care about an indirect one?

Guan Shan took a small sip. It was indeed delicious, though he still thought Tan Yue’s was a little tastier.

Two hours later, the lemon water was finished, and Tan Yue had guided the group from the entrance to the exit. He let out a long sigh of relief—his part-time guide gig was finally done.

“Alright, folks, time to move out!” The tour guides, each wearing colorful little hats, began rounding up their groups, making sure no supernaturals wandered off.

This group had been relatively well-behaved, with no incidents of sneaking off.

After all, the seemingly adorable creatures in the aquarium weren’t actually ordinary animals. If anyone dared to cause trouble, visitors ending up as snacks were known to happen.

All in all, the group tour had concluded smoothly.

Before passing through the turnstiles, a few visitors approached Tan Yue, who was resting nearby, and tucked some Specter Coins into his pocket as tips.

This tour group had nearly 300 visitors in total, 99% of whom had listened to Tan Yue’s explanations, with 50% following him for the entire duration.

His pockets were soon stuffed with tips from the supernaturals. One sneaky supernatural, eyeing the overflowing coins, even tried to sneakily take some back.

Guan Shan would never allow such a thing. The creature’s body locked up, compelled to hand over not just the stolen coins but all the valuables it carried.

“Here, take it all!”

Tan Yue, noticing this guest’s weirdly frantic tipping, quickly declined. “There’s no need for this much.”

He still hadn’t fully grasped the conversion rate between Specter Coins and modern currency, but he felt that a tip of 3 to 5 coins was already a generous acknowledgment of his work. 30 or 50 was more than enough—anything beyond that made him uncomfortable.

Firmly, Tan Yue pushed most of the coins back. The would-be thief, now teary-eyed, scrambled toward the tour guide. If it didn’t run now, it’d be broke—down to its last sock!

Seeing how exhausted the other guides were, Tan Yue whispered to Guan Shan, then @’ed HR in the group chat.

Xiao Tan, the human under Guan Shan’s care: "@Admin Tun Tun, everyone has worked hard today. The kitchen can provide free chilled lemon water for everyone. I'll bring it to the staff lounge later. Please let everyone know—it can help soothe their throats."

Tan didn’t expect any gratitude from them. He left immediately after dropping it off.

Everyone stared nervously at the huge dispenser of ice-cold lemon water—a 5L mineral water container with a tap, filled with plenty of ice cubes and bright yellow lemon wedges, alongside a stack of disposable paper cups.

The water looked completely normal, but considering it was delivered by Xiao Tan, nobody made a move at first. "Is this water safe to drink? I’m parched!"

"I think Xiao Tan is pretty nice."

Most of them had scraped by today only by watching Tan Yue’s ticket-checking demonstration and listening to his speech.

Tun Tun still hadn’t cut paychecks, and very few had received tips—just a handful of Specter Coins, if that.

A bottle of water from the vending machine cost three Specter Coins, and almost no one was willing to spend that much. After all, tourists weren’t about to get scammed.

"There’s a guy over there—let’s test it on him."

Zhang Yang lifted his chin, eyeing the middle-aged man who had been punished. After such a long time, the man had been released from the dark room but lay on the ground, a broken mess.

Zhang Yang also thought it would be a waste to discard such a large bucket of chilled lemon water. After all, not all food in the supernatural world was unsafe. "Dump some down his throat—a good amount," he said.

He pried open the man’s jaw and had others force-feed him nearly 500ml.

The middle-aged man couldn’t resist, but after drinking, he actually felt better—the lemon water was tangy and refreshing, and his stomach stopped growling. He even regained some strength.

Later, without anyone forcing him, he started drinking on his own.

Zhang Yang waited a while, confirming the man showed no signs of organ mutation. "Clean! Chug away!"

The other employees quickly grabbed disposable cups and started drinking.

They had never imagined that plain chilled lemon water could taste so amazing!

"Like goddamn ambrosia!" The first to speak found his thirst gone, head clear, voice smooth.

"This must be a buff item. I wonder how long this lemon water can last."

"Probably not too long. The ice is melting fast."

The human staff lounge didn’t have a fridge—Tun Tun didn’t roll out the red carpet for humans. Of course, if they found the central kitchen and wanted to use its facilities, Tun Tun wouldn’t stop them.

Everyone was gobsmacked. "Xiao Tan is such a kind supernatural!"

Even if there might be a hideous, gaping mouth beneath that mask—hideous yet kind.