When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 347: Bad Baby!

Chapter 347: Bad Baby!

"I will not forgive you!" With one last enraged scream, Momoko vanished into thin air, leaving Gu Luoxin to grapple with the reality before him.

What... had just happened?

He had just been holding onto an egg because both Jin Jiuchi and Noir were not available for the task, when the said egg suddenly hatched into this baby and somehow... imprinted on him?

Pupils shaking, Gu Luoxin swept his gaze over the surroundings and noticed that almost all the walls had been scorched black, with only the area where he stood remaining unscathed. The two little Jin Jiuchis were shielding Shen Nianzu behind them, grumbling at their burnt sleeves; Noir waved his hand to disperse the barrier around him, while Ying shook the ashes off her leather jacket. Meanwhile, other players had scooted as far away as he could, with a few unfortunate souls nursing burn wounds from the electricity.

And he, Gu Luoxin, was standing amid the chaos while cradling the source of the pandemonium – who had not even fully crawled his way out of his protective eggshell.

Gu Luoxin’s entire body stiffened as he held the unknown creature in his arms. W–What should he do in a situation like this?! He instinctively sought his leader’s opinion, but the other person was currently preoccupied with dealing with the fussy twins.

In the end, it was Brother Zhang who took the initiative to step forward, intrigued by the little baby in Gu Luoxin’s arms. "That... is our tour guide?"

Gu Luoxin had not even responded yet when Toki abruptly snapped his eyes open and straightened up from where he had been making himself comfortable on Gu Luoxin’s chest. His little face scrunched up in displeasure and a small growl rumbled from the base of his throat, his blue eyes flashing like lightning. Then in the next second, he opened his mouth and spat out a tongue of blue flame!

"Ah—!" Shocked, Brother Zhang leaped backward at the display of hostility. However, he was not quick enough to avoid the shockwaves, resulting in his sleeve going up in flames. He immediately rolled on the ground and cried out in pain, "Hot hot hot!"

Entirely on reflex, Gu Luoxin picked up the baby by the armpit and chided harshly, "No! Bad baby!"

Toki instantly froze, the flame in his mouth flickering before dissipating in an instant. Due to Gu Luoxin’s sudden maneuver, his entire body left the egg shell, revealing his bottom half that was covered in solid scales instead of porcelain baby skin, with claws sharp enough to tear into flesh. Not only that, he also had a thick little tail behind his butt with a small tuft of black fur on the tip. Though the said tail was currently curling between his legs. His bottom lip wobbled, tears glistening in his blue eyes.

"A–Ah..." Panic surged in Gu Luoxin’s chest upon seeing the look of utter hurt in those pure and beautiful eyes. Without thinking twice, he cradled the baby awkwardly in his arms and patted his hair, ignoring how the baby’s claws sank into his flesh with enough force to draw blood. "Sssh, don’t cry... you’re not a bad baby. You’re not a bad baby at all!!"

"Wuu..." Toki made a soft, aggrieved noise and snuggled closer to him, his previous aggressiveness nowhere to be seen. Gu Luoxin had no idea whether to laugh or cry. Looking at him like this, who would have thought that this little creature had almost burned Brother Zhang to a crisp?

"Are you okay, Brother Zhang?" Gu Luoxin asked, feeling a little guilty for no reason.

"No worries, no worries..." Brother Zhang hurriedly shook his hands, though everyone could see that he was practically covered in cold sweat. He let out a little dry laugh and shifted his gaze to Toki, not daring to get close anymore. "So where does this creature come from? Is he really our tour guide?"

Other players also raised a similar question. "How can our tour guide be a... baby?"

"Yeah, don’t you think we have picked up so many babies along the way? First, there are two over there and now this..."

Gu Luoxin did not blame them, though. He had also been doubtful when Jin Jiuchi informed him for the first time. However, he had full trust in his teammate, so he nodded firmly in response, "Yes, I’m pretty sure he’s our tour guide. And he..." Gu Luoxin lowered his head to take in the sight of those blue horns, scales and claws. "...is half a dinosaur?"

Everyone: "...Huh??"

In the end, it was unanimously decided that Gu Luoxin would be in temporary charge of the baby tour guide, as the creature would not get down from Gu Luoxin’s arms no matter what, nor did he allow anyone to get close to the young man.

Following the brief yet astonishing incident, the group opted to take a short break at a nearby drinking fountain. Everyone either quenched their thirst or freshened up by splashing the invigorating water on their faces.

Meanwhile, Ying took the time to inspect the note left behind by the future Shen Nianzu.

Shen Nianzu observed the deepening frown on her forehead and approached her, inquiring, "What did he say?"

Without a word, Ying handed the note over to him, where he could see his own messy handwriting that looked as if it had been written in a hurry.

I’ve lost contact with my team’s Xinxin. I will go and check on him for a while. Everyone, please go down the middle path and enter the ’Opposite Morality World’. Stay away from ’Reflection of Emotions’. I will return as soon as possible.

Shen Nianzu’s little brows creased into deep lines. There was no news from Team 14’s Xinxin? According to his understanding of himself, he would divide the manpower to gather everyone before leading them together to the exit. And so far, the other Shen Nianzu had done just that – sending Jin Jiuchi after Gu Luoxin and Noir, while attending to Ying’s group himself. It should mean that the other Gu Luoxin was with Grandpa right now.

However, there was no sign of the young man or the Legendary player, nor any of the other players. Could something have gone wrong?

On the side, the players who had refreshed themselves with the water couldn’t help but cast surreptitious glances at Gu Luoxin, who was playing with the newborn baby and scrubbing him clean of the sticky residue on his body.

One of them cleared his throat and began, "So..."

When Gu Luoxin turned to him with an inquisitive look, he hemmed and hawed before saying, "Now that we have the tour guide with us, couldn’t we simply ask him to lead us to the exit?"

Other players quickly chimed in as if they had been waiting for this moment. "Yeah, why do we still need to run around the labyrinth? Isn’t that what the tour guide is for? To guide us to the exit?"

But he is still a baby, was what Gu Luoxin wanted to say, but he strictly held himself back in the nick of time. He knew what kind of reaction would occur if he were to voice those words out loud.

These players were not only exhausted physically, but also mentally, especially after going through dangerous attractions and having to keep their guard up all the time. If they could reach the exit more quickly, why shouldn’t they choose that option?

But then, Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but notice that two of the four players talking to him right now were none other than the people who had bad-mouthed Jin Jiuchi last time, thus he was less inclined to give a proper reply. That’s right, he was just this petty. Hmph, who told them to have such a blabbermouth!

Gu Luoxin raised his lips into a sweet smile he usually gave his bullies before he beat them up. However, just as he was about to deliver a snarky comment, the ground— no, the entire labyrinth suddenly trembled wildly.

In an instant, everyone shot up to their feet, while Gu Luoxin quickly held the half-drenched baby in his arms.

"What’s happening?!"

"Nian’er!" The two Jin Jiuchis rushed over to Shen Nianzu and grabbed each of his hands, their expressions contorted in disgust as they bared their teeth toward the inner part of the corridor. "Those stinky beasts are here again!"

Shen Nianzu’s expressions sank. "Chrono beast?!" Why would they be here? Could they be chasing after him because of the rule he broke in the ’Echo of the Past’?!

As though answering his doubt, a shrill laughter erupted from the speaker. "Despicable tourists~" Momoko greeted them with a sickeningly sweet tone, though it was apparent that she was boiling in anger. "You have ruined the moment I’ve been waiting for decades, so you should receive the consequences! Don’t think that I will make your journey go smoothly!"

Everyone sharply held their breaths, their bodies taut with vigilance. From the depths of the dark corridor, a cacophony of footsteps echoed, accompanied by the mechanical ticking of a clock. It sounded akin to a battle horn, signaling the impending battle.

"Chrono beasts?! Are those chrono beasts?!"

"Holy shit... w–what kind of creatures are those?!"

The Chrono beasts soon made their menacing appearance, all with their sturdy steel bodies and intricate clockwork components. Much to everyone’s horror, there were not only one, but a dozen of them, filling the corridor where they were supposed to go! With their presence, it was impossible for the players to head to the ’Opposite Morality World’ as the future Shen Nianzu had instructed!

"Damn it!" Shen Nianzu cursed under his breath, his brain racing to find a solution. His other self had specifically told them not to enter ’Reflection of Emotions’, meaning that there must be something dangerous inside, but he had not mentioned anything about the ’Endless Staircase’!

Desperate times called for desperate measures; there was simply no time for careful contemplation. They needed to get out of here as quickly as possible, as they had little chances of success against these creatures who could manipulate the flow of time!

Apparently, Ying also had a similar realization as she swiftly called out in a loud voice, "Everyone, we will be entering the ’Endless Staircase’!"