When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 329: Three Questions

Chapter 329: Three Questions

Gu Luoxin’s heart almost leaped out of his mouth as he gaped at the man before him, utterly flabbergasted. "Y–You... what?! Which team did you just say you’re from?!"

Beside him, Noir remained frozen in place, his pupils dilating in sheer shock.

Jin Jiuchi’s gaze bounced between them back and forth, before he promptly burst out into mirthful laughter. "Hahaha, you should see the looks on your faces! They’re priceless!"

"Da Shen, how can you joke around at a time like this?!" Gu Luoxin exclaimed in frustration.

Now he began to understand why Shen Nianzu always looked like he either wanted to strangle Jin Jiuchi to death or beat him up to a pulp every time he pulled a stunt like this, because Gu Luoxin was feeling the exact same thing. But of course, he couldn’t act on those impulses. First, he was not Jin Jiuchi’s master and second, he was weaker than Jin Jiuchi so there was a high chance that he would be overpowered instead. So he settled on stomping his feet on the ground to vent his anger. "I just don’t get it! Team 4 has not died yet. I’m still here, alive and kicking! So how could there be Team 14 all of a sudden?!"

Gu Luoxin counted with his fingers and gasped in horror, "Oh my God, we have already died five times in this place?!"

Noir demanded with a dark face, "Speak."

Jin Jiuchi tutted and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "You may not be dead now, but it doesn’t mean you will not die in the future. And uh, if I’m not mistaken, the two of you will meet your end in your next attraction?"

Gu Luoxin instinctively turned to Noir, finding that the man’s gaze was already on him. He could see his own pale and terrified face reflected in those crystal-clear emerald eyes. Chills ran down his spine, and his palms turned clammy with cold sweat. T–They were going to die soon? Gu Luoxin had died twice – or at least, that’s how he remembered it in his current state – but that horrible experience was not something he would like to relieve for the third time.

Apparently, Jin Jiuchi was not done yet because he began to recount their past deaths one by one, "Nian’er barely prevented himself from being assimilated in the first attraction, then he was attacked by a zombie before he could regain his memory. Next, he broke a rule and was killed by the Chrono beast. Grandpa entered an attraction that sped up his aging process which proved to be fatal because he instantly transformed into an old man with dementia. Ying got cursed and turned into a super powerful monster that wiped out our entire group..."

Gu Luoxin’s jaws dropped wider and wider with each horrifying recollection. Sometimes, their deaths were a result of their own mistakes, while other times, insurmountable obstacles blocked their paths, forcing them to die with regret. Just hearing Jin Jiuchi recount these events was already enough to send dreadful shivers down his spine.

"... that’s the gist of it!" Jin Jiuchi snapped his fingers. "Do you understand now? Team 13 is the only team that managed to find the exit route, but they made a fatal mistake on the last step. So here I am! Remember the method Nian’er from Team 9 employed? My Nian’er analyzed that the one with the highest probability to reach the end is Team 4, so we’re all working together to bring you to the exit. Any questions?" Jin Jiuchi rattled off his explanation in one breath before taking a deep breath.

"I... I..." Gu Luoxin’s mind was blank, rendering him unable to formulate any thoughts.

It was Noir who spoke up, "I have three."

Jin Jiuchi groaned, "Ugh, that many?" He said that as if he was not the one who asked the question in the first place. But then, he still gave a gesture for Noir to go ahead.

"First, where is my future self right now?"

Hearing that, Jin Jiuchi snorted and shot Noir a stinky glare, "How should I know? You’re the one who decided to run off as you pleased! When Nian’er suggested us working together, you rejected him, saying that you would find your own way out! The sheer audacity!"

Noir fell silent. Indeed, that sounded like something he would do. Thus he did not press further for answers and moved on to the next question, "Second, you told us about our future – or in your case, past – mistakes, but where were you during those moments? When Nian was attacked by zombies, when he was killed by the Chrono beast, where were you?"

Gu Luoxin’s eyes flew wide as realization abruptly struck him like a falling meteor. Come to think of it, Jin Jiuchi had told them the gist of everyone’s fates in this Cycle, but he had never mentioned his own. "Weren’t you together with Xiao Shen?" Gu Luoxin took a tentative guess, because there was no way Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi would be separated from each other.

He had been so certain of it, but the way Jin Jiuchi’s expression contorted caused his heart to stutter. "D–Da Shen...?"

"Third," Noir continued. "On what basis did Nian determine that our current selves have the highest probability of success? Don’t tell me it’s because of my contribution because I won’t believe that shit."

After a moment’s pause, Jin Jiuchi released a heavy sigh. "... You’re a smart fellow, aren’t you?"

"Answer me, or else I might go off on my own again."

Jin Jiuchi rolled his eyes with a disdainful look on his face. He then rummaged through his pocket and retrieved a small piece of paper. "Fortunately, Nian’er has prepared a set of questions you might ask. Let’s see..." he skimmed the contents briefly before exclaiming, "Aha!"

The paper went back to his pocket, and he scratched his head, as if irritated by the necessity of giving a detailed explanation. "I will answer both your questions together. I... couldn’t make it all the way to the end. Before you ask me what I mean by that, let me tell you that I’m equally confused. I have painstakingly gone through one attraction after another, but midway through, my consciousness would blur and I would find myself at the start again, with my teammates dead!" He spat out the words through gritted teeth, his tone dripping with pure anger and frustration.

"W–Why?" Gu Luoxin inquired with shock and disbelief. "Why can’t you make it to the end?"

Jin Jiuchi ran his fingers through his hair and groaned, "Okay, the reason for this is also the answer to the third question from our buddy here. It’s because at the end of this labyrinth, there is me. Or to be precise, a part of me. And as you know, we can’t coexist in the same timeline. But for some reason, it’s always me who gets erased. Can you imagine it? Can you imagine how unfair it is to me?!" His voice was tinged with deep mockery and irritation.

"As for the reason why Nian’er chose Team 4 over the others..." He turned his gaze towards the distance, seemingly as if he could see something beyond the walls. "If everything goes as planned, then Team 4 will be the only team where Nian’er gets to receive his personal task and encounter the other me. By now, he should have arrived at the hospital."