Sea Demon Tunnel

Sheng Nian first went to the changing room.

"Wait for me. I'll be quick."

Yan Feizhuo nodded and sat on a bench in the changing room.

Sheng Nian opened a frosted-glass door nearby and went inside.

Through the frosted-glass door, Yan Feizhuo could only vaguely make out a figure hunching over and taking off his clothes. Then came a click as the shower turned on, followed by the splashing of water.

His gaze darkened, and he thought again of the young master's pale, bare chest onstage.

Sheng Nian was quick. By the time he came out of the shower, he had changed back into his clothes, and only the moisture clinging to him showed that he had just showered.

When he raised his hand, even his fingers were wet, and a card was held between those slightly damp fingers.

"I almost washed this too. Quick, see what the clue is."

Yan Feizhuo took the card and glanced at it. A black-and-white whale was drawn on it.

"What does it mean?" Sheng Nian leaned over to look.

Yan Feizhuo took the map the Production Team had provided out of Sheng Nian's little bag and pointed at the whale symbol near the coast. "It should be here."

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yes, let's go."

Yan Feizhuo pushed the door open and went out first.

The floating camera orb resumed following them, and the camera operator and PD gathered around too.

"President Yan, Mr. Sheng, are you heading to the next attraction?"

Yan Feizhuo nodded. "Yes."

"Oh, all right."

The staff member acknowledged him, then asked tentatively, "Could you slow down a little? We'd like to get some footage too."

Sheng Nian shook his head. "Time is money. You'll have to figure out how to get your footage yourselves~"

[Hahahahaha, finally, the day has come when a guest puts the Production Team in their place.]

[You only went into the changing room for a shower? President Yan, you're so useless! You'll never win yourself a husband like this.]

With no other option, the staff hastily brought in two Livestreaming Hoverballs, planning to follow and film them from every angle without any blind spots.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo soon returned to the horse they had tied up by the main gate.

Just as before, Sheng Nian mounted the horse with Yan Feizhuo's help.

The large movement made something feel tight around his neck. He reached up to feel it: it was the black lace choker.

Only then did he remember that he had yet to return it.

"Wait." Sheng Nian stopped Yan Feizhuo and pointed at the choker around his neck. "We need to return this to Boss Zhu."

Standing beside the horse, Yan Feizhuo looked up. The black stood out against that slender, fair neck.

"It looks good. Don't return it."

A staff member nearby reacted quickly and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, there's no need to return it. The Production Team has paid for it."

Sheng Nian was a little puzzled. "Really?"

Yan Feizhuo stepped into the stirrup and swiftly mounted the horse. He took off the choker for Sheng Nian and casually tucked it into his own pocket. "This is a little tight. It makes it hard for you to move. I'll hold on to it for you."

"Let's go. We need to make the most of our time."

Hearing that, Sheng Nian stopped dwelling on it and quickly settled into his seat.

Sharing the horse, they hurried toward their next destination.

[Fine, fine, fine. It looks good, but you won't let us see it, huh? President Yan, you're such a cheapskate!]

[I might believe that nonsense if your hands weren't so practiced at taking Sheng Nian's choker off...]

[President Yan: husband collection +1]

[Come to think of it, this is the second one after that winter jasmine branch last time, right? President Yan, something's up with you!]

[Aaaaaah, surely President Yan isn't the kind of creepy, brooding guy who has a secret room just for collecting his husband's things!!]

[That makes them even more shippable, hehehe~]

The horse they rode was no ordinary breed and had excellent stamina. Before long, they arrived at the next attraction.

They arrived so quickly that the staff member was surprised. "You're both here already?"

Sheng Nian nodded. "What's the task? We don't have to do another prize draw, do we...?"

Staff member: "No, Director Ren said using that trick once was enough. It wouldn't be entertaining if we used it too much."

Sheng Nian: "..."

Yan Feizhuo came over after tying up the horse. "The task?"

The staff member stepped aside, revealing a lifelike, gaping whale's mouth behind them. "Go in here, and you'll enter the Sea Demon Tunnel. You'll complete the task inside. As for what exactly the task is, you'll have to find the clues in there."

Sheng Nian asked, "Are there no hints? This tunnel is so huge. How long will it take us to find them?"

The staff member shook their head. "We've already given you a hint. Think it over carefully, Mr. Sheng."

"You have?" Sheng Nian thought back over everything that had happened along the way but could make no sense of it.

He turned to Yan Feizhuo, who also shook his head. "It's all right. Let's go inside first. There's bound to be some trace."

"That's all we can do."

Seeing that they could squeeze no clues out of the staff member, neither of them pressed the issue. They entered the Sea Demon Tunnel hand in hand.

The Sea Demon Tunnel was an underwater glass tunnel. According to the sign Sheng Nian had read at the entrance, it was the greatest of its kind in the galaxy, both long and spacious, with clear glass offering views of all kinds of underwater scenery.

Sheng Nian had never visited the Sea Demon Castle area on his previous trips to Evernight Sky, so this was also his first time entering the Sea Demon Tunnel.

He was stunned as soon as he stepped inside. This was a tunnel? How could it be so spacious? There were even numerous cafés, milk tea shops, and cake shops inside...

"This is practically a small shopping street. How did they manage this? Has it really passed structural stability and safety tests?" Sheng Nian marveled, his mouth hanging open.

[Hahahahaha, seeing Sheng Nian gape just like I did on my first visit puts me at ease. So I'm not the only one who reacted like that.]

[It really is ridiculous. If no one told you, you'd never know this was an underwater passage, let alone an underwater glass tunnel. Is it really not going to crack?]

Yan Feizhuo did know a little about the people behind Evernight Sky. He explained to Sheng Nian, "This glass is a new material patented by the company behind Evernight Sky. I heard the Federation Military Department has already requisitioned it, so it should be very sturdy."

Sheng Nian said, "The military requisitioned it? Evernight Sky's big boss is really impressive!"

"No wonder it's called the Sea Demon Tunnel. It really does feel like some kind of supernatural power."

Yan Feizhuo nodded too. "It is impressive."

The two explored the Sea Demon Tunnel. The broad tunnel seemed endless. Its interior was already beautiful, but the scenery beyond the glass was even more dreamlike.

Everywhere they looked, there were vast stretches of dazzling coral reefs and shoals upon shoals of dreamlike fish.

Even this enormous stretch of sea had lighting. As far as Sheng Nian could see, there were dense schools of fish. Even he had never seen an underwater world on this scale before. Calling it an extravagant display of wealth hardly did it justice!

The boss behind Evernight Sky really was impressive.

Sheng Nian was busy snapping photo after photo of the fantastical scenery outside when a burst of exclamations suddenly came from ahead.

"It's an orca!"

"Oh my god, it's so cute!"

[Aaaaaah, the orca bully is here! Sheng Nian, get out of the way!]

[Orca bully?]

[The boss behind Evernight Sky raised this orca. It understands people really well, but it loves playing pranks. It deliberately rams the glass to scare visitors!]

[Doesn't the boss stop it?]

[Not only does the boss not stop it, they actually indulge it. They even added a program to the Sea Demon Tunnel's central management system that displays cracks in the glass when it gets hit... The visitors get scared even worse~]

[The boss really spoils their baby rotten...]

Drawn by the visitors' cries, Sheng Nian also looked at the enormous creature.

The huge black-and-white creature charged straight toward the glass overhead, looking as though it would crash into it at any moment. The visitors below, who had been cheering a moment earlier, were already crouching with their hands over their heads.

Cracking sound effects rang out, and cracks appeared in the glass.

Sheng Nian was frightened too, and Yan Feizhuo caught him and pulled him protectively into his arms.

Seeing the visitors scurry away with their hands over their heads, the mischievous creature even seemed to show a little smile.

A few seconds later, the extensive web of cracks vanished on its own, leaving the glass as it had been...

Visitors: ???

Sheng Nian: "..."

[Hahahahaha, sure enough, they got scared.]

[President Yan makes you feel so safe!]

[Just keep holding him like that a little longer!]

Sheng Nian was rather speechless. "Can I ask the boss for emotional distress compensation when I get out?"

Yan Feizhuo released Sheng Nian and walked over to a white marble pillar in front of the glass. From the mouth of the whale sculpture on top, he took out a pearl bearing the Production Team's logo.

"Is this the clue?"