When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 149: Little Ancestor!

Chapter 149: Little Ancestor!

This piece of fragrant pie suddenly fell from the sky onto his lap just as he was getting hungry[1].

Anxious that the young man would change his mind, Gu Luoxin was about to agree in a haste, but then he suddenly recalled he was not here alone and glanced at his two teammates. Was it okay for him to share a room with this stranger, in this Cycle where they were surrounded by unknown danger?

Shen Nianzu carefully scrutinized the young man before him. Noticing Gu Luoxin’s query, he gave a minute nod.

A sense of relief washed over Gu Luoxin and he flashed a bright smile at the man. "Sure, let’s stay together!" Both of them went to register their names with the reception staff and only then did Gu Luoxin learn of the young man’s name.

—Noir.

What a mysterious name, he mused. Just like his cat. It should also be a nickname, right?

Gu Luoxin happily accepted the key from the staff when a sudden thought entered his mind, causing him to freeze on his tracks. W–Wait a moment... if he remembered correctly, wasn’t there a ’Noir’ in the leaderboard?!

Gu Luoxin possessed an excellent memory. Although he had only glanced at the leaderboard a few times, the top 50 players had made a lasting impression on his mind. And if his memory served him right... then this young man... h-his rank surpassed even Shen Nianzu’s!

Gu Luoxin’s smile froze on his face and his knees abruptly trembled. W–Was this young man really the Noir in the leaderboard or not?!

Seeing him unmoving, Noir asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"N–N–No!" Gu Luoxin squeaked out like a startled hamster. He straightened up by reflex and showed the key to the man, trying and failing to keep the tremor from his voice. He could not even imagine how stiff the smile on his face right now. "T–This is it! Our rooms are next to each other!"

Desperate, he sought Shen Nianzu’s gaze, but his teammate’s countenance remained cold and indifferent as if he had not noticed anything peculiar about the emerald-eyed man before them. Confusion flickered in Gu Luoxin’s eyes. Could he have misremembered? There were so many people here, and perhaps it was just a coincidence that this young man shared the same name as the top player. Yes, that must be it! Besides, Gu Luoxin did not even know for certain whether this person was a player or not!

He tried to convince himself again and again that he was just overthinking, and only then could he regain his composure. He twisted his fingers and took the initiative to introduce his teammates to Noir, "I–I came here with my friends. This is Da Shen and Xiao Shen, and you can just call me Xinxin."

Noir merely gave them a brief nod, showing no interest in offering his own name.

Feeling awkward, Gu Luoxin took it upon himself to say, his tone weak, "Da Shen, Xiao Shen, This is Noir..."

Unexpectedly, the young man extended his hand, leaving Gu Luoxin perplexed. "Key," he said. "I assume the three of you will be wandering around? I want to go back to the room. Give me the key."

"Oh, oh!" Gu Luoxin quickly placed the key on Noir’s outstretched hand and he could only stare, dumbfounded, as the man sauntered away without uttering a word. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, yet Gu Luoxin still felt as if he had just weathered a storm. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

Noir was languid, unpredictable and seemingly indifferent to everything, much like a cat basking in the sunlight, not even caring if the house behind him was engulfed in flames...

That’s right, the cat!

Gu Luoxin looked down to find the black cat sitting by his feet while licking at its front paw, its temperament a splitting image to its owner. Caught between laughter and tears, Gu Luoxin could only turn to Shen Nianzu for help, "What should we do about this ca— no, Lucius?"

Noir said to let his cat stick to Gu Luoxin for the time being, and he really did leave his cat behind! Was there an owner more casual than him?!

Shen Nianzu pondered for a while before calling out tentatively, "Lucius, you can understand me, can’t you?"

Gu Luoxin’s jaws dropped to the floor. "It can... what?" He turned his incredulous gaze to the cat just in time to witness it turning its head away with a disdainful look. If it were a human, it would have let out a loud harrumph.

Shen Nianzu: "..."

Gu Luoxin: "..."

"K–Kitty..." Jin Jiuchi had never seen such a beautiful cat with sleek and glossy fur before. His eyes lit up, and he pounced on the cat in excitement, burying his face in its soft body. "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty—owww!!"

"Mrowww!" The fur on Lucius’ body instantly poofed up like a ball. It hissed at Jin Jiuchi, and its claws left a long bloody mark on the man’s neck. Even then, Jin Jiuchi was undeterred and continued to nuzzle the cat.

"Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!"

"—Mroww!!"

Shen Nianzu massaged his aching temple. Before Jin Jiuchi’s face could turn into a bloody mess, he seized the cat by the scruff and pulled it away. Clearly, Lucius despised the touch of this stranger, struggling and scratching relentlessly. Shen Nianzu glanced at Gu Luoxin and tossed the cat to him, at which point Lucius finally settled down, angrily licking its disheveled fur.

Gu Luoxin was speechless as he held onto the little furry creature. It turned out what Noir said was right; the cat truly despised everyone... except for him and its owner. "What should we do with it?" he asked cautiously. "I–It can really understand us?"

"For now, just keep it and return it to the owner when you return to your room," Shen Nianzu said, scrunching his nose in disgust when he saw the bloody marks all over Jin Jiuchi’s face and neck. Nonetheless, he still retrieved a handkerchief, gestured for Jin Jiuchi to bend down and gently wiped the blood away for him. He told Gu Luoxin, "Haven’t you realized that he’s a player like us?"

Gu Luoxin’s knees abruptly turned weak. "H–He’s really a player?!"

"Mn. Rank 28, Noir. And if I’m not mistaken, then this cat is no ordinary cat, but a spiritual creature from a Unique or Epic-level prop."

All of a sudden, the tiny and adorable cat in his arms weighed a thousand pounds, so heavy that Gu Luoxin’s arms trembled. He dared not hold it too tightly for fear of hurting it, but he could not be too lax either because what if Lucius got hurt and Noir returned to seek revenge?!

What little furry creature— this was clearly a little ancestor, okay?!

.

.

[1] It doesn’t really mean that he’s hungry per se. It’s just a metaphor like how ahelp comes when he needs it the most