When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 308: Inverted World

Chapter 308: Inverted World

"Are you ready to join me in this exciting journey?" Momoko asked in her usual cheerful tone, but this time her inquiry was met only with an unsettling silence. The players glanced at each other, their complexion contorted horribly after they comprehended the last rule.

If Momoko was not their guide, then who was she? Where was the real tour guide?!

Uncertainty hung heavy in the air, making them feel extremely comfortable. However, they knew better than to confront her head-on, especially when they had not gathered enough information about this place yet. That was, until Jin Jiuchi suddenly cried out in shock, "Damn, what do you mean by his rule—akh!" He let out a pained howl when Shen Nianzu stomped on his foot, cutting him off mid-sentence. Clutching his pained foot and hopping in place, he cast a tearful and aggrieved look at the merciless jade doll. "Nian’er..."

"Quiet," Shen Nianzu hissed with a fierce glare.

Gu Luoxin had a hand clasped over his mouth, his eyes wide in extreme shock. He had originally wanted to ask what was going on, but he quickly shelved the urge after receiving Shen Nianzu’s signal. They must not beat the grass to avoid alerting the snake!

If Momoko noticed the unusual tension in the air, then she did not show it at all. "Are you ready? Let us begin with the first attraction: Inverted World! This attraction is a free trial and will not count as one of your three choices, so rest assured, dear tourists!"

"Can we..." a short-haired female player asked with a shaky voice, her eyes on the verge of tears. "Can we trust her? Rule 3 mentions different limits for each attraction. What if we end up violating the rules?"

Her concern was valid, but alas, none of them could give her a definite answer. Grandpa rolled his shoulders with a sigh, "There is only one way to find out. Won’t we know the answer once we move forward? Let’s go." With a determined stride, he walked down the dark corridor, leaving only the sight of his retreating back. His legs were long, and within seconds, he was already a few meters away, his figure almost swallowed by the darkness.

"Grandpa is right," Shen Nianzu spoke in a hushed voice, signaling the other three to follow. "The Cycle will not lead us into a dead end. Now that there’s a specific rule about Momoko, I reckon we will be able to gather more clues along the way. But in the worst case scenario, keep your weapon ready and do not lower your guard down."

Footsteps echoed through the dimly lit space as the nineteen of them ventured down the corridor. The fluorescent lamps overhead were barely enough to illuminate their ways and the way they flickered back and forth amplified the eerie atmosphere, casting shadows that seemed to dance with every step they took. It truly felt as if they were a bunch of university students doing a midnight dare to test their courage.

Such an atmosphere terrified Gu Luoxin the most, and he couldn’t help but stick close to his teammates, almost clinging onto them for dear life. But then when he turned his head, he almost got a heart attack upon noticing that it was Noir whom he was latching onto, instead of Shen Nianzu as he’d initially thought. Realizing his mistake, he abruptly let go, scrambled back a few steps and stammered, "S–Sorry...!"

Alas, not even two seconds passed before he timidly inched closer to Noir again, his shame and dignity forgotten in the face of his fear over ghosts.

The group of players walked for a few more minutes before they came across an arrow sign on the wall, similar to the one outside. It read: Inverted World – 500 meters.

It did not take long for them to arrive at their first destination. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary door with a frosted panel on their eye level. Marked on the nameplate were bold characters: ’Inverted World’. They had reached a dead end, and if they wanted to venture deeper into the labyrinth, they had to cross this door. Taking things a step further, Ying went to dismantle the nameplate and found no traces of tampering.

It seemed like Momoko was telling the truth this time.

The speaker on the wall buzzed to life, and Momoko’s cheerful voice filled the air, though this time her voice began to sound garbled and indistinct like an old radio struggling to catch a signal. "Welcome... bzzz bzzz... to the Inverted World. This is a free... bzzz... trial and everyone is welcome to join the fun!"

"Can we really trust her?" The same short-haired player from earlier couldn’t help but voice her doubt again.

It seemed like they had to find the real tour guide as soon as possible, otherwise this question would loom over them along the way.

"For now, we can," Ying analyzed with a firm tone. "As you can see, this is a dead end, so all of us need to go through this attraction sooner or later. Only after this will more forks be presented, forcing us to make a different choice."

Shen Nianzu cast her a furtive glance. Reluctant as he might, he had to admit that opinion was perfectly reasonable. If this labyrinth was a game, then right now they had not even passed the tutorial level yet, meaning no real danger should lie ahead. It was the attractions after this that they had to be wary of.

"Okay, let’s not waste anymore time." Grandpa stepped forward and grabbed hold of the doorknob, turning to address the group. "I’m going to open the door. Let’s go through this attraction together."

After receiving a nod from everyone, he gingerly pushed open the door, revealing a bizarre sight that caused their jaws to drop.

Before them lay what seemed to be an ordinary university classroom with rows of empty desks and chairs. Everything would look completely normal... if they were not suspended from the ceiling. The world had turned upside down, quite literally. Gravity had reversed, and when they stepped in, they felt a sensation akin to falling upwards. The floor beneath their feet became the inverted ceiling, and they found themselves standing on the undersides of desks and chairs.

A rush of dizziness washed over Shen Nianzu as his senses struggled to adapt to the sudden shift of gravity. He had barely taken no more than five steps when his forehead accidentally knocked on the hardcover book that hovered in mid-air.

"Ouch!" He staggered backward and due to his clumsy and uncoordinated movement, he ended up tripping on his feet. A gasp escaped his lips when he felt himself falling ’upward’ instead of crashing to the ceiling below, but fortunately Jin Jiuchi reacted swiftly, catching him securely by the waist.

"Are you okay, Nian’er?"

Shen Nianzu felt even dizzier when he looked up at the man and he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head to sober himself up. "I’m..." fine.

The last word had not escaped his lips yet when Jin Jiuchi took hold of his wrist and pulled him forward, saying, "Let’s go, I will hold onto you."

He did not appear ruffled at all by the sudden flip of gravity as he navigated through the classroom with graceful ease, keeping a hand on top of Shen Nianzu’s head so that he did not knock himself again. He could even hum a random tune, look around and pick up a pen from the desk above, only to laugh in amusement when he let it go and watch it fall upward.

All around, there was a series of ’ouch!’ ’damn it!’ ’fuck!’ and the messy clutter of desks and chairs being pushed around haphazardly. It was apparent that Shen Nianzu was not the only one grappling with the sense of disorientation. Even Noir, Grandpa and Ying had to make their way forward with clumsy and hesitant movements. Among all the players, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Gu Luoxin seemed to fare much better, perhaps thanks to his flexible and athletic physique.

It was only Jin Jiuchi who was abnormal here. For some reason, the realization brought a surge of relief and pride in Shen Nianzu’s heart.

He focused his gaze on Jin Jiuchi’s back and shamelessly took advantage of his boyfriend status to rely on the man. "You’re not dizzy? At all?" he couldn’t help but ask, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

"Should I?" Jin Jiuchi tilted his head to the side, his eyes curved in amusement. "I didn’t feel anything different, though. Why are you turning clumsy all of a sudden, Nian’er? It’s okay, you are still cute no matter what you do."

Shen Nianzu was left speechless when he heard that. It was natural to be dizzy, okay? In this attraction, they were literally hanging upside down and all the blood was flowing to the top of their heads!

The time it took for them to cross the topsy-turvy classroom did not even exceed ten minutes, yet Shen Nianzu felt as if he had just ridden on a high speed roller coaster, and as soon as he stepped through the door and felt the normal gravity, he abruptly lost his balance and stumbled into Jin Jiuchi’s arms, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Ugh!" Gu Luoxin, who was right behind them, immediately collapsed to the ground like a starfish, panting. "I love our gravity. I will not take it for granted anymore. Thank you God for creating 9.81 gravity instead of -9.81."

The stronger players only leaned against the wall and took a few moments to compose themselves, while the weaker ones rushed to the corner to retch, their mind spinning from the disorienting experience.

Sensing that all the players had successfully crossed the first attraction, Momoko cheered, "Congratulations... bzzz bzzz... for making it to the end of the free trial! Everyone must be... bzzz... feeling uncomfortable. Please take a moment to... bzzz... rest and help yourselves to a drink from the... bzzz... station!"

Qiuqiu, the short-haired female player, felt as though her organs had been rearranged after crossing the inverted classroom. Her stomach spasmed, and her throat burned with acid. Through her blurred eyes, she spotted a line of water bottles full of cold water on the table. She instinctively reached out to grab one, hoping to relieve the tang of bitterness and sourness in her oral cavity. But before she could take even one sip, the bottle was forcibly knocked out of her hand by another player, who chided her harshly,

"Have you gone crazy?! Don’t you remember the rules?! We are not allowed to drink anything offered to us!"

In an instant, Qiuqiu’s breath stagnated, her complexion drained of color, and her eyes widened in fear as if a bucket of icy cold water had been poured over her. "I... I forgot!"

It was not only her, but a few other players also moved by reflex to reach for the water, only to gasp when they realized what they had done.

Their minds were still reeling from dizziness, and the innate instinct to seek comfort overrode their caution. And it was in this vulnerable moment that Momoko took advantage of their lapse of judgment and lured them into breaking the rules!

Chills ran down their spines, and it was not until now that they fully comprehended the weight of the last rule on the brochure, and also the hidden viciousness in this labyrinth.