When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 136: Defeat The Nightmare

Chapter 136: Defeat The Nightmare

Shen Nianzu silently agreed with Gu Luoxin’s words, this prop indeed looked like a cheat.

In all the years he had spent in the Nightmare Cycle, he had never come across a prop that allowed the player to draw power from a deity and tear through the boundaries of space. The fact that this prop was obtained in a low-level Cycle was already astounding enough, but what shocked Shen Nianzu even more was that there was no ’Cycle restriction’ on the prop!

Take the talismans he had used in the Shishen Apartment for example. Those talismans could warn him of hidden supernatural threats, and the restriction on it was very clear— its usage was limited in a supernatural type Cycle.

However, aside from the number of usage, he found no such limitations on ’Anubis’ Soul Relic’. What did it mean? It meant that no matter if it was supernatural type Cycle, time limited Cycle, or reasoning-based Cycle, Jin Jiuchi would be able to use this prop to open the gate of the underworld and summon his mummy soldiers!

Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but cast a suspicious glance at Jin Jiuchi. He received 1000 points on his first Cycle, and now a super rare prop on his second Cycle... Was he, by any chance, the illegitimate son of the Goddess of Luck?

"Nian’er?" Jin Jiuchi patted his cheek with a confused look. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Yes, you’re so ugly," Shen Nianzu replied curtly. Ignoring Jin Jiuchi’s disbelieving complaints, he looked away and his gaze inadvertently fell on Jin Jiuchi’s player profile.

Name: Jin Jiuchi

Age: —

Rank: Intermediate

Total Cycle: 2

Total experience points: 1650

Skill cards: [A Wild Beast’s Psyche], [Yin Yang Beast]

Props: [Anubis’ Soul Relic], [Basic Necessity], [Silver Dagger]...

Organization: —

Total Rank: 87

The silly husky had climbed to rank 87 on the leaderboard, which was quite a huge improvement from his previous rank. This should serve as a testament of his prowess. From now on, there would be no more second or third ’Dance of the Wind’ who was jealous of his position. Of course, unless they were foolish enough not to value their lives.

But what about his age?

Was it because half of his soul was missing and thus the Nightmare was unable to calculate his age for certain?

Shen Nianzu’s brows furrowed as he looked at the blank column. It was not convenient for him to ask Jin Jiuchi about it in front of Gu Luoxin, so he could only put this matter aside from the time being. He returned the phone to Jin Jiuchi and asked Gu Luoxin, who was nibbling on a piece of honeydew like a hamster, "Do you still have class today?"

"Oh, yes!" Gu Luoxin straightened up and glanced at his wristwatch. "I have a music theory class at three."

There was still over an hour until three. Shen Nianzu nodded, "I will send you back before then. But before we go, let me give both of you a reminder. Gu Luoxin and I are veteran players, while Jin Jiuchi is still an Intermediate player. Our next Cycle..." he narrowed his eyes sharply. "...will be very important. Not only for Jin Jiuchi because he will receive his personal task from the Nightmare, but also for us. This will be our first time challenging the Cycle as a team, so whether we will be able to continue forward in the future, it all depends on our teamwork."

Gu Luoxin and Jin Jiuchi straightened up upon hearing his serious tone. Somehow, the simple celebratory-slash-war lunch had eventually evolved into an official meeting.

"Hehe..." a thrilled grin spread across Jin Jiuchi’s face as he rubbed his hands together. "I can’t wait to see what kind of task the Nightmare will give me."

Gu Luoxin shuddered, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"I have already decided on our next Cycle," Shen Nianzu tapped on his phone and placed it on the table for them to see. There, his ticket was displayed on the screen with the date and time set two weeks from now, at six in the evening. And the destination was— Atlantis.

Shen Nianzu added, "Once I register the organization, the option to purchase the ticket should be available to both of you, so pay attention."

Gu Luoxin eagerly thrust his hand up in the air like the good student he was. Seeing him, Jin Jiuchi’s eyes widened and he also did the same, not wanting to be left out.

Shen Nianzu: "..."

He calmly turned to Gu Luoxin, "Yes, any questions?"

"Oh, I just want to ask..." Gu Luoxin tugged on his bangs and chuckled sheepishly. "Why do you choose this Cycle? Is there anything special about it?"

"Yes. For starters, this is a mid-level Cycle, which means this will be the first mid-level Cycle you two will experience," he sent a pointed look at Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin. "You will learn how different this Cycle is compared to the ones we have been through before. Whether it is the level of difficulty, the task, the atmosphere, the NPCs, the nightmare creature... everything will be more sophisticated. I chose Atlantis because one, it’s rumored to be a land of treasures and thus we can expect quite a huge number of players there and second, I have a personal business to solve."

The second reason was spoken in mumbles between sips of tea, and hence Gu Luoxin almost missed it. But Shen Nianzu needed not to be worried after all, because as soon as the youth heard ’land of treasures’, his eyes immediately lit up and drool almost dribbled out of his lips.

"T–Treasures?!" He exclaimed, his cheeks flushing in excitement. "What kind of treasures?!"

"I am not entirely sure myself, which is why we need to explore and find out. I will send you the materials I have gathered so far, so please learn as much as you can in your free time. If you find other material, send them to me as well."

"Okay!" Gu Luoxin nodded readily. "But... what about Da Shen?" He glanced at Jin Jiuchi with hesitation, as he realized that Shen Nianzu had not included the man at all when they talked about studying.

Jin Jiuchi turned his head away and fixed his gaze on the painting on the wall as if it held the universe’s greatest secret. Meanwhile, Shen Nianzu palmed his forehead and sighed, "He... is hopeless. But I will force him to study. Don’t worry about it."

Two lines of noodles-like tears flowed out of Jin Jiuchi’s eyes. He could already foresee his bleak fate in the next two weeks.

Gu Luoxin sensibly swallowed down the question ’how do you force him to study? Are you two together all the time?’ because he had a sudden hunch that the less he knew, the better. He cleared his throat and said, "I see... then, Mr. Shen, can I ask another question?"

Shen Nianzu gave him a gesture to go ahead.

"I am just a liiiitle bit curious about this," he pinched his fingers to emphasize his words. "But Mr. Shen, you are so powerful. You can definitely pass the Cycle alive, so why do you still need teammates? We’re clearly weaker than you..." his voice got smaller and smaller in the end.

After observing the organizations for these past few weeks, Gu Luoxin began to develop the misconceptions that all organizations were more or less blood sucking leeches that only wanted to suck the low-level players’ blood dry. As for the top ten organizations, all of them were not open for general applications as they already had recruiting teams that sought out talented players privately. Just like how Jiang Shun from Immortal Phoenix entered the Temple of Anubis just to chase after JJ.

He stared at Shen Nianzu, eager for the answer, but then he heard the silver-haired man say,

"You’re wrong. I am not powerful at all."

"Huh?!" Gu Luoxin’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. How could Shen Nianzu say that? If he was not powerful, then wouldn’t Gu Luoxin amount only to an ant?! He was the player ranked 36 across the entire country, after all!

"I am serious," Shen Nianzu put on a helpless look. "You can say that because you have only been through low-level Cycles. Once you get to mid-level and high-level Cycles, you will encounter even more powerful players and nightmare creatures alike. At that time, you will realize that I am only a little above average. The reason why I need teammates is simple... I have a hunch that it’s simply impossible to defeat the Nightmare alone."

"D–Defeat the Nightmare?!" Gu Luoxin was horrified. Let alone facing the Nightmare, he was not even confident if he could get through the next Cycle alive. Who could have guessed that Shen Nianzu already thought that far ahead?!

"Or else?" Shen Nianzu’s gaze turned razor-sharp. "Do you want to remain trapped in this endless Nightmare Cycle forever? Facing constant danger every few weeks and months, struggling desperately only to die in the end like worthless ants... are you willing to accept such a fate?"

Shen Nianzu’s tone was flat, composed and almost emotionless. Yet each word struck Gu Luoxin’s heart akin to hammer, making his complexion paler with each passing second. He tightened his knuckles. "I... I..." his lips parted, yet his mind was blank and he had no idea what to say.

Shen Nianzu withdrew his gaze and said, softer this time. "I am unwilling. That’s why I have been searching for ways to stop this madness once and for all."

"Nian’er, you want to defeat the Nightmare?" Jin Jiuchi cupped his chin with a palm and chimed in from the side. "Shall I do it for you?"