When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 327: The Calamitous Twin

Chapter 327: The Calamitous Twin

"Y–You have a ticket?" Shen Nianzu asked in a strained voice. His mind was still reeling from the revelation that his boyfriend might be the ’pillar’ of this Cycle, but in the next moment, a familiar cryptic voice resounded in his mind.

[Applicable individuals are not registered as the core NPCs.]

It meant that the children could neither issue a task to him nor could they provide him with the ticket.

"W–What..." the silver-haired Jin Jiuchi sputtered with a mix of anger and disbelief as he stared up at the sky, seemingly as though he was seeing something through the transparent dome. "How could you be so mean?! Why can’t we give the ticket to this pretty human?! It’s ours, so it’s our right to give it away! Am I right, Brother?!" He turned to his twin indignantly, seeking support.

The black-haired Jin Jiuchi nodded, his brows pulled together into an adorable frown. "Stingy."

"Hear that?! You’re stingy!"

"Despicable."

"And despicable! Who cares about your rules anyway?!"

Shen Nianzu could only gape at them as they engaged in a one-sided argument with the Nightmare. Wait a moment, would the Nightmare even care for their opinion in the first place? In his mind, the Nightmare was akin to an omnipotent and omniscient God who operated with its own rules and boundaries. It would not be so generous to bend the rules just because some children asked it to. Arguing with it was no different than arguing with a wall.

With a heavy sigh, Shen Nianzu attempted to dissuade them, "Guys, it’s okay, you don’t need to do this. I can just search—"

[...Special exception has been made for this one time.]

Shen Nianzu almost choked on his saliva, while the two dumplings cheered. Was it only his imagination, or did the Nightmare sound somewhat speechless? He never thought that one day he would witness such an emotion from the Nightmare, who was usually callous and merciless.

[You have received a task from the NPCs ’The Calamitous Twin’.]

Not the core NPC, but only NPCs. Shen Nianzu grasped onto the crux of the sentence. So this kind of maneuver was also possible? He wasn’t sure how to feel about the Nightmare making a special exception for Jin Jiuchi. Until now, he had always believed that the Nightmare sought to make things difficult for Jin Jiuchi, even suspecting at times that it aimed to use the Cycles to get rid of him for good.

However, it seemed like he had been mistaken?

He waited with bated breath for the task to come, but the Nightmare unexpectedly fell silent. Shen Nianzu was bewildered. What was going on now? Where was the task he was supposed to complete?

"What kind of task should we give him, Brother?" Silver-haired Jin Jiuchi whispered in a loud voice again. "I don’t have any references. Should we ask him to give us food for the rest of his life?"

"I... don’t think it works like that," the black-haired one replied, though his tone sounded uncertain. It was apparent that he was none the wiser. The two dumplings thought real hard and long until their little faces crumpled like sour lemon, but they still couldn’t come up with a suitable task.

"Argh, this is so confusing!" Silver-haired Jin Jiuchi groaned, clutching his head in confusion.

"Let’s take some time to think, shall we?" the black-haired Jin Jiuchi decided, then he turned to Shen Nianzu and asked earnestly, "Or do you have any suggestions?"

Shen Nianzu was rendered utterly speechless. This was the first time he had ever encountered a task-giver who asked such a question. "You should think about it yourself," he responded with a helpless tone. "Don’t worry, I will stay with you until then."

The children’s eyes immediately lit up when they heard that. Glancing at each other, they took a step forward and opened their chubby arms for a hug, and the adorable sight was akin to a love arrow that pierced into Shen Nianzu’s heart, making him feel like he could die right here and now.

"Let’s enter, human," they said in unison.

Shen Nianzu happily picked them up and carried them in his arms. Come to think of it, he had forgotten to introduce himself properly to them. "’Human’ is not my name, it’s Shen Nianzu. You can call me Nian’er if you want."

They were stunned for a second before calling out with a crisp and milky voice, "Nian’er!"

My, my, now it’s more like it. Shen Nianzu chuckled at their endearing response and walked toward the hospital. It appeared like the two dumplings were fascinated by his name because they kept calling him again and again along the way, and every single time he would reply with ’yes, yes’ or ’what is it’, his tone fond and indulging.

Soon, the hospital building loomed before him, and Shen Nianzu took one last inhale before stepping through the front gate. And as soon as he did, another prompt echoed in his mind, causing his heart to skip a beat.

[You have received a personal task from the Nightmare.]

Shen Nianzu’s steps faltered for a split second. Oh God, how could he have forgotten about this? He couldn’t believe that he had thrown his personal task to the back of his mind after everything that happened recently. With a sharp inhale, he held his breath and waited for the next words to come.

[Liberate the Calamitous Twin.]

...What?

Liberate? Did it mean that... he had to set the children free? From what? From this place?

That was the only speculation Shen Nianzu could come up with thus far. However, this only aligned with his purpose in the first place. Even without the personal task, he had been planning to destroy this building and kidnap the two dumplings away with him. Wouldn’t it mean that the Nightmare was giving him a free pass?

But why did he feel like things couldn’t be so simple?

"Nian’er?"

Shen Nianzu was brought out of his rumination by the gentle touch of hands cupping his cheeks, and he belatedly noticed that he had paused in front of the gate. The two children measured him with the same concerned expression, though the black-haired child attempted to mask it with a glower.

"What’s wrong? Your heartbeat just speeds up all of a sudden."

Of course, they would notice that. The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips quirked into a tiny smile as he shook his head and reassured them, "Nothing, I’m just thinking about something. Let’s go in. I want to see the place where you two live and meet the ’people’ who are supposed to take care of you."

With those words, he stepped through the gate and entered the hospital area.