When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 418: Sixth Cycle

Chapter 418: Sixth Cycle

The two of them only emerged from the bathroom when Shen Nianzu’s skin turned pruney, and only then did he recall something he had forgotten. "Wait a minute, didn’t the phone ring earlier?"

"Uh, yes?" Jin Jiuchi responded from where he was putting on his clothes. "Did it?"

He pulled down the hem of his shirt before looking around, locating the phone tossed on the carpeted floor near their discarded clothes. Picking it up, he noticed that there were three missed calls from Gu Luoxin— the first one was a little past eight, most likely when they were still asleep, the second one was half an hour later when they were busy experimenting in the bathroom, while the third one was five minutes ago. Oh, they must have missed it because they were fooling around a bit after they had climbed out of the bathtub.

"Who?" Shen Nianzu asked as he buttoned his blouse.

"Xinxin." Jin Jiuchi handed the phone to him, and Shen Nianzu arched a brow upon noticing the missed calls.

"He didn’t send any messages to the group chat, so... this likely has something to do with Noir?" Shen Nianzu guessed the truth accurately.

"Oooh~" Jin Jiuchi drawled in a mischievous grin. He wiggled his eyebrows at Shen Nianzu, "Do you think something happened between them?"

Scoffing, Shen Nianzu reached out to pinch Jin Jiuchi’s cheek, "Why are you such a busybody?" Turning around, he walked to the dressing table to comb his hair. His gaze collided with Jin Jiuchi’s through the mirror, and he gestured to the phone with his chin, "Well, what are you waiting for? Give him a call. Let’s hear what he has to say."

Jin Jiuchi tutted, grumbling under his breath as he unlocked Shen Nianzu’s phone with his fingerprint and dialed Gu Luoxin’s number. "Geez, talk about me being a busybody. Aren’t you too?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" Jin Jiuchi answered in a loud voice. The call connected and he turned on the speaker, saying, "Hello? Moshi moshi[1]? Anyone out there???"

(The greeting ’moshi moshi’ was, without a doubt, a new vocabulary he had learned from Gu Luoxin.)

From the other side of the phone, Gu Luoxin’s flat and lifeless voice drifted out, "Da Shen... what took you so long?"

.

When Gu Luoxin made the first call, he was still lying sprawled on the bed. The second time, it was after Noir called his room’s in-line number and invited him out for breakfast. He had dialed Shen Nianzu’s number in a panic, desperately wishing that he could avoid being alone with Noir, especially at a time like this.

Alas, his call still went unanswered.

The third time, which was five minutes ago, he had just taken a super quick shower and changed his clothes in a hurry because Noir was waiting for him outside – Noir, of all people!

Gu Luoxin had stood in front of his door and made a last-ditch attempt to contact his teammates, only for his hope to crumble when the call went straight to voicemail.

And now, he was sitting face-to-face with Noir in the hotel’s dining hall, enjoying the free morning buffet that came with their stay. Gu Luoxin’s current state was similar to a Buddhist monk who had attained zen. After a series of emotional rollercoasters so early in the morning, he had become too drained to even be nervous about sharing a meal with Noir.

Fortunately or not, Noir still acted like his usual self, picking his food and consuming it with elegance. He did not even comment on Gu Luoxin’s deep and heavy eye bags, making Gu Luoxin feel a little silly for his overreaction and overanalysis the previous night.

During the brief call, he informed Jin Jiuchi of their location. About five minutes later, Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu arrived, looking so fresh and energetic that their complexion was practically glowing.

"Woah!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed in shock as soon as his eyes landed on the wilted mushroom that was Gu Luoxin. "What’s with your face? Didn’t you sleep a wink last night??"

...See? Even a shabby nightmare creature like Jin Jiuchi noticed his horrible pallor right away, so why hadn’t Noir mentioned anything?! The more Gu Luoxin dwelled on it, the more aggrieved he felt. Alas, this matter was not one he could vent about to the other person, so he could only swallow the sadness inside his heart and patted his cheeks, lamenting, "Do I look so bad?"

"Uh..." Jin Jiuchi scratched his nose and contemplated a bit before answering tentatively, "You look a little better than the zombies we encountered in the previous Cycle?" He pinched his fingers to emphasize his point. "Just a liiitle bit..."

Recalling the terrifying creatures with turbid eyes, sharp teeth and yellow saliva dribbling from the corner of their mouths, Gu Luoxin was rendered a little speechless. "...Thank you. It doesn’t sound reassuring at all."

"Cheer up!" Jin Jiuchi patted his back in an attempt to comfort, but he seemed to have forgotten about his brute strength as Gu Luoxin felt like he almost vomited a mouthful of blood from that one blow. "We came here for a vacation, so why are you looking worse instead? Come on, bro! Oh, Nian’er is calling me!"

He stood up in a hurry and dashed toward the jade doll, who was waiting for him in front of the buffet table. "Nian’er, I’m here!"

Much to Gu Luoxin’s surprise, Jin Jiuchi’s careless words managed to knock some sense into his head, almost like an eye-opener. That’s right, they had come here for a vacation – a luxurious beach resort with all expenses covered by his boss at that! – so why was he still moping around? He should lift his spirits, eat more delicious food and touch some grass!

After that mental pep talk, Gu Luoxin’s condition visibly improved, and the once bland and tasteless food suddenly turned better. He even managed to ignore Noir’s presence in front of him to some extent. When Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu returned, each holding two plates stacked with a mountain of food, Gu Luoxin had recovered so much that he could now banter with Jin Jiuchi about which dishes tasted the best.

And just like that, the supposedly disastrous morning flew by in a flash.

"Oh, I’m so full!" To mend his withering spirits, Gu Luoxin stuffed himself with so much delicious food that he couldn’t move from his seat, feeling lazy and carefree. However, he couldn’t help but lament when he thought of how the short vacation was coming to an end, "Ah, I can’t believe that we will have to head back soon! When will we have the chance to come back here together again?"

Shen Nianzu replied evenly, "We can always go on a short trip whenever we’re back from the Cycle."

"Really?" Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin asked with sparkling eyes. Upon receiving their rich Boss’ confirmation, they cheered and high-fived each other.

"Our next Cycle..." Gu Luoxin began, but then he abruptly recalled an extremely crucial fact, causing colors to drain from his face. "Hold on, the next Cycle... should be my advancement test, right?"

In an instant, the leisure atmosphere sank as three pairs of eyes snapped to Gu Luoxin. Feeling a little flustered, Gu Luoxin counted with his fingers, "My last advancement test was on my third Cycle – the Temple of Anubis. After that, we went through Atlantis City, Chrono Junction Express, and..." he raised his head and let out a wry laugh. "The next Cycle will be my sixth."

Intermediate players would receive the personal task from the Nightmare on their third Cycle in order to advance into a Veteran player, and similarly, a veteran player would receive another personal task on their sixth Cycle to become an Elite player.

If Gu Luoxin hadn’t deliberately entered other Cycles just to farm points and earn props, as was common among players, then the next Cycle he entered... would really be his advancement test.

Whether he progressed into an Elite player or succumbed to failure and died, it all depended on the upcoming Cycle.

.

[1] Moshi moshi = informal telephone greeting in Japanese