When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 305: Honglei Medical

Chapter 305: Honglei Medical

"T–T–This...!" Gu Luoxin turned to his teammates for help, the shock and bafflement evident on his face. Wasn’t this the name of the building where Jin Jiuchi had gone missing in the past era? Who could have guessed that they would really locate it through a series of unexpected twists and turns?

Shen Nianzu pressed his lips into thin lines, his heart in turmoil. He couldn’t help but reach out to grasp the hem of Jin Jiuchi’s sleeve while his mind was racing with a million thoughts. He recalled the words in the letter — When you reach the future later on, remember to keep a vigilant eye on Honglei Hospital, because that’s the place where Da Shen disappeared mysteriously all of a sudden.

That’s right, it was indeed these two characters. Honglei. Shen Nianzu had never expected them to find it so soon. Moreover, the signs of activity Noir had detected earlier had come from here – the very same building where Jin Jiuchi was separated from him? And now, there was a high chance that they could only find the core NPC once they ventured inside. What kind of sickening joke was this? What if... what if the same thing happened again? What if he lost Jin Jiuchi for the second time?

Unbeknownst to Shen Nianzu, his brows furrowed deeply and his heart thundered with anxiety. He only snapped back to his senses when he felt a mischievous finger pressing gently on the crease between his brows.

"What’s with the long face, Nian’er?" Jin Jiuchi asked with an arched brow. He still had that careless smile on his face, as though nothing could ever faze him. "Are you scared that I will go missing again? I will stick to you like glue, okay? No, I will be even stickier than glue!" To prove his words, he grasped Shen Nianzu’s hand, which was gripping his sleeve, and held it tightly in his warm and broad palm, their ten fingers intertwined together.

Shen Nianzu’s frown eased and he let out a scoff. Of course, he would never admit that he had been comforted by this one gesture lest he would make Jin Jiuchi’s head swell twice the size. Instead, he tightened his grip and glowered at the man, "If you dare to disappear on me, see if I will teach you a lesson or not!"

Jin Jiuchi’s brows rose higher, and an intrigued grin spread across his face. "Sure, sure."

"Wait," Gu Luoxin suddenly interjected as he stared at the signage, pondering. "Honglei, Honglei... I know we have to be careful of Honglei Hospital, but I’m pretty certain this is a university. See, there’s no cross sign that indicates this is a hospital..."

Amidst his rumination, he suddenly sensed a dark shadow looming behind him, then a long and toned arm reached out beside his head to yank away the thick vines he had only swept aside partially, revealing the full words on the signage.

Honglei Medical

Blinking in surprise, Gu Luoxin turned his neck to lock eyes with Noir midair, and he quickly averted his gaze away, his face flushed in deep crimson. "T–Thank you..."

"There are two possibilities," Shen Nianzu analyzed. "First, Honglei Hospital is somehow affiliated with the university, though we still haven’t pinpoint its exact location. Second, have you forgotten that we’re in the future? Chances are the hospital has been closed down and replaced with a university. It’s just that they still bore the same name."

Gu Luoxin’s mouth formed a round ’o’ as he flashed Shen Nianzu a thumbs-up. "Xiao Shen is right! I didn’t think of it before, but they both make perfect sense!"

"What’s with Honglei Hospital?" Noir finally asked after observing their conversation in silence, his gaze fixed on Gu Luoxin.

In response, Gu Luoxin gulped audibly and whipped his head to Shen Nianzu for help. Could he tell Noir the truth? He could be considered an ally, right? Alas, Shen Nianzu merely gave a vague answer after a second of deliberation, "In the letter from my other self, an accident has happened here, so I can’t help but be cautious."

He chose not to reveal anything about Jin Jiuchi’s disappearance, for none other than because Gu Luoxin and Noir still had no idea about the man’s mysterious background. He could rest assured when it came to Gu Luoxin because the young man was silly and would not suspect anything, but he had a hunch that Noir might have guessed something.

Shen Nianzu was not even certain yet about Jin Jiuchi’s identity, hence all the more reason why he would not go around telling other people.

Fortunately, Noir was not a nosy kind of person. Sensing that Shen Nianzu had no intention of explaining further, he merely hummed and no longer pressed for an answer.

During the short time of their discussion, more and more crimson beams continued to fall, and the danger zone was slowly but surely encroaching upon their location. Observing this, the players finally decided to enter. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? It was better to take the risk and find the core NPC rather than waiting for the beams to strike them!

The more courageous duo, most likely a team, stepped forward to take the initiative.

"We will go in first," one of them declared.

The two of them exchanged a resolute nod and pushed open the gate, triggering an eerie screeching sound similar to a horror movie setting. However, they only faltered for a second before walking in without any hesitation.

Next, a shocking and bewildering event occurred: the moment they crossed the threshold of the gate, they instantly vanished without a trace!

The player who was trailing behind them was shocked and hastily took back his feet. "W–Where did they go?!"

"As expected..." Ying murmured softly under her breath.

Jin Jiuchi raised his arm and waved it in the air with a curious look. When Shen Nianzu asked him what he was doing, he replied, "Nian’er, can’t you sense it? When those two players walked in earlier, the air rippled and vibrated. It’s like..." he thought for two seconds before snapping his fingers in realization, "Aha! It’s kinda similar to the feeling of stepping into your domain! But of course, your domain is the best, Nian’er. No one can ever compare!"

Stunned, Shen Nianzu turned his gaze to the building before them. "Are you saying that... this whole area is also a domain? But whose? The core NPC’s?"

.

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A/N: omg I’ve only realized that we’re 30 Chapters in and the core NPC is still not found yet *cover face* worry not, we will find them soon as the cycle is rolling through the climax soon. This will definitely be shorter than the previous cycle! ><