When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 303: Time Limit

Chapter 303: Time Limit

The closer they were to the city center, the more dead creatures they found and the escalating damage to the surroundings intensified. When they finally reached Grandpa’s location, it was in time to hear other players thanking him repeatedly, almost groveling at his feet.

"Thank you... thank you so much for saving our lives!"

"Yeah, we would have been done for if not for you!"

"You’re my savior, Grandpa! How could I ever repay you?"

In response to these overwhelming outpouring of thanks, Grandpa merely waved a hand in a dismissive manner without taking his gaze off the ominous sky which had started turning into bloody crimson. "I’m just doing this for my own safety, so there’s no need for you to repay me. The most important thing we need to find out right now is the source of these damned beams and determine if there’s a way to stop them— oh, there you are!" Grandpa finally noticed their presence, and his expression shifted into one of pleasant surprise when he caught sight of Noir’s wings. "You can fly?"

Knowing what the man wanted to know, Noir repeated what he had discovered so far, sending the group of players further to the pit of misery.

"W–We can’t find out where they come from? Does it mean there’s nothing we can do to stop them?!"

"Oh my God, what would happen if one of them hit us?!"

One player suggested gingerly, "Can’t we just hide inside a building? As long as it’s not destroyed, the crimson light can’t reach us, right?"

However, his proposal was swiftly shot down by another player. "No, I don’t think it will work. Have you thought about what will happen when they cover the entire city? By then, there will be no safe place for us to hide!"

"Just search for a room with no windows, then! Won’t that solve our problem?"

"What about mirrors? Can we use mirrors to reflect the beam from us?"

"That’s actually a good idea..."

Suggestions came one after another from the players, and some of them actually sounded feasible though they needed to be tested in order to confirm their effectiveness. The players who could reach this stage were no longer fools; they were aware that they had to avoid the crimson beams no matter what, and they actively sought for a way to achieve that. However...

Shen Nianzu furrowed his brows as he glanced up at the sky where the thick clouds intermingled with scarlet glow, giving the impression that the end of the world was coming. He knew that they did not have much time. These accursed beams would soon descend upon them and only a worse situation awaited once they did. Alas, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that things were not so simple. Could they really survive past tonight just by hiding from the crimson beams? After that, then what? Did they have to repeat this again and again each night? Surely, the mid-level Cycle couldn’t be so easy...

"It’s useless." A cold and resolute voice abruptly interjected, drawing everyone’s attention. Ying, who had disappeared to God-knows-where, showed up again without anyone realizing, slightly out of breath.

Before any of the players could react negatively to her bluntness, Grandpa inquired, "What do you mean by that?"

"Can’t you see?" Ying made a gesture toward the decimated area around them. "The level of destruction inflicted upon the city in such a short time? Streets crumble, buildings topple over. If not for your intervention, the city would have been razed sooner or later. Do you really think this phenomenon only shows up tonight? I doubt it."

Her words cut through the haze in Shen Nianzu’s mind, causing his eyes to widen in realization.

That’s right, he had forgotten an extremely crucial fact – this was a time-limited Cycle!

As Ying had stated, there was a high chance that these crimson beams would appear every single night. They would transform small animals into colossal frenzied creatures that wreaked havoc and destroyed the city.

But when they got off the train earlier, what did they see? It was an intact desolate city, with all of the buildings unscathed! No signs of the nightmare creatures, no traces of fighting – nothing. It meant that at some point during the night, the entire city might reset and return to its original state, reversing all the damages that had been done!

At the same time as Shen Nianzu reached his own conclusion, the same realization also dawned in Grandpa’s eyes. "Are you saying that our time is limited?"

"Exactly," Ying confirmed. "And I suspect that we only have time until these crimson beams engulf the entire city."

The grim revelation triggered chaos and panic among the other players. "S–So, you’re saying that... unless we complete the task and receive the return ticket, we will keep relieving this night over and over again?!"

"But how?! We haven’t even found the core NPC yet, for God’s sake!"

"Wait, how can we be certain that what you’re saying is correct? For all we know, it’s all your speculation, isn’t it?"

When this accusation was leveled at her, Ying did not even bat an eyelid when she deadpanned, "Feel free to test it out, then. Isn’t it simple? Find a hiding place and wait until tonight is over. You will discover the answer sooner or later."

The player, who had raised the question earlier, was rendered speechless by her solid argument. Indeed, they could prove the credibility of Ying’s hypothesis by waiting until the crimson glow blanketed the entire city. But now that she had phrased it that way, who would be willing to wait like a lamb ready to be slaughtered?!

"The west," Noir muttered under his breath as he gazed into the distant horizon, capturing the trio’s attention who stood closest to him. "Something is moving in the west."

Gu Luoxin’s eyes flew wide as he took a random guess. "Wait a minute! Didn’t you mention earlier that there was a sign of activity in the west. Could it possibly be the core NPC we are looking for?!"

"Whether it’s true or not," Shen Nianzu clenched his fists and steeled his determination. "We will only find out once we reach there. Let’s go! We have to move before our time runs out!" He briefly informed Grandpa about their discovery before rushing toward the west without a delay.

Along the way, the crimson beams continued to fall from the sky one after another, and for some reason, they began to resemble a ticking time bomb with a countdown.

Shen Nianzu, Jin Jiuchi, Gu Luoxin and Noir took the lead, with Ying following closely behind them. Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but notice that she had no trouble keeping pace with Jin Jiuchi’s inhumane running speed. Her movement was swift, her gaze sharp and unwavering. Coupled with her black overalls and compound bow in hand, she could almost pass off as a serial killer. Or a female protagonist in a blockbuster movie.

For what reason was he attracted to Jin Jiuchi?

Shen Nianzu’s mind wandered for a brief second, before it was abruptly snapped back by an ear-piercing scream that reverberated through the air. Looking back, he found that the crimson beam had abruptly landed on one of the players trailing behind!