When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 451: Black Smoke

Chapter 451: Black Smoke

Gu Luoxin shook his head, his cheeks bulging with bread. He had no idea how to respond to that question, for he didn’t know he was crying either. Perhaps it was because he had been too lulled with his powerful teammates and seldom had he felt as helpless as he did in this Cycle. Or maybe he had been suppressing too much grievance within him, and now that someone – or a cat, to be more precise – had shown him such a kind gesture, he couldn’t help but feel deeply touched.

"S–Sorry," he stammered as he fumbled to wipe his tears away. Raising his head, he managed a genuine smile toward the black cat, albeit the teary eyes made him look a little pitiful. "The bread is delicious. Thank you so much for bringing it to me ciit..."

Watching the brown mouse, Lucius’ tail thumped lightly on the ground as an indecipherable gleam flashed in his emerald eyes. "You’d better not let him see you like this meow."

Before the meaning of those words could fully register in Gu Luoxin’s mind, the black cat added solemnly, "He would want to make you cry even more."

Gu Luoxin blinked, stunned. And then, as the words sank into his mind, his entire mouse jerked in surprise, eyes widening. "W–Wha—"

What the hell? Who would want to make whom cry more?!

Feeling his inner temperature rising, Gu Luoxin reflexively wanted to brush it off as a joke, but Lucius’ eyes were too solemn and serious, and he did not appear to be cracking a joke. Not in the slightest. Swallowing the bread down his throat, Gu Luoxin released an almost hysterical chuckle and forced himself to ignore that ominous warning for the sake of his own sanity.

"W–Why don’t you eat together with me ciit?!" He forcibly steered the topic, his voice almost cracking in the end. "Aren’t you hungry?!"

Lucius’ whiskers twitched as he pressed down on Gu Luoxin’s head with a paw, eliciting a startled squeak from the latter. "You eat," he said with a hint of amusement. "Have you forgotten that I am not like you meow? I don’t need to eat at all."

"O–Oh...!" Gu Luoxin exclaimed in realization. He had truly forgotten that Lucius was, in fact, a prop from the Nightmare Cycle and couldn’t be fully considered as a living being.

This time, Gu Luoxin dared not utter another word and obediently devoured the entire bread into his stomach before burping. Never before had he felt so full with just a single and thin slice of bread. It seemed like being in a small body had its own unexpected perks!

"Are you done?" Lucius asked, to which Gu Luoxin responded with a nod.

"Then let’s continue on our date meow~"

There it was again, the word ’date’! Maybe because his stomach was full, Gu Luoxin found himself in an energetic and excellent mood. "What do you have in mind ciit?"

"Let’s take a stroll. I will show you around the town," he offered, just like a real guide. But instead of leading the way, he dropped his body to the ground before Gu Luoxin, causing the latter’s jaws to drop once more.

"Y–You..."

Lucius’ eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief. "Get on meow~"

"Ciit—!" Gu Luoxin hurriedly took two steps backwards and shook his head so hard as though he wanted to tear it off his neck. H–How could he dare to climb onto the noble and proud Lucius’ body as if... as if he were a mount?! No, his heart was not strong enough for this! But alas, like his owner, Lucius must also take pleasure in reducing him into a flustered mess.

"You don’t want to?" He blinked innocently, his captivating eyes gleaming with amusement. "Then I guess I have no choice but to carry you around in my mouth~"

From the start, he had no intention of letting Gu Luoxin walk at all.

And Gu Luoxin, who was too shocked by this sudden proposition, didn’t have the presence of mind to question the reason behind it. When he imagined himself hanging limply from Lucius’ mouth like a dead mouse, an intense shudder raced down his spine.

He hastily rushed forward, almost tripping on his own paws. "I will... I will get on ciit!!"

Lucius patiently kept his body flat on the ground while Gu Luoxin attempted to climb onto him. "P–Please excuse me ciit..." he stammered, feeling so nervous that his heart was about to explode.

Under his paws, Lucius’ fur felt as soft, warm, and fluffy as ever that had Gu Luoxin been a human, he would have wasted no time petting the black cat and reveling in the soothing sensation. Alas right now, he was simply too scared that he would accidentally pluck off Lucius’ fur in his attempts to climb on, as it felt too smooth and silky to the touch!

Fortunately, Lucius was very patient, and he remained motionless until Gu Luoxin securely sat atop his body.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his tone mirthful. "Hold on tight and don’t fall off meow~"

"I–I am holding on tight ciit!" To emphasize his point, Gu Luoxin draped his body over the black cat and clung on with his dear life.

"Good, let’s go."

Lucius gracefully rose to his full height, drawing a gasp from Gu Luoxin from the sudden boost of altitude. He unconsciously tightened his grip as the black cat began to walk, yet as it turned out, he did not have to worry at all because Lucius’ gait was extremely stable, and there was no way Gu Luoxin would fall off unless he was high or drunk out of his mind.

"Woah..." he couldn’t help but exclaim in awe as he took in his surroundings.

Come to think of it, this must be the first time he was taking a proper look at the Glass Slipper Town, rather than being on guard against any potential threats. Perhaps it was due to the unusual vantage point, Gu Luoxin felt a sense of marvel with each turn of his gaze, as though it was the first time he was truly seeing the world.

A black cat walking with a dirty brown mouse on its back would surely draw attention, but fortunately, people only commented on how adorable or unusual they were before continuing with their business.

"See that middle-aged man cleaning up his store over there?" Lucius suddenly spoke, pulling Gu Luoxin’s attention to a nearby direction. "He’s a player meow," the black cat abruptly dropped a bomb on him.

"O–Oh!" Gu Luoxin immediately straightened up and observed the middle-aged man more closely, noting his appearance into mind.

As Lucius continued to walk, he pointed out another person, saying, "The young woman to your four o’clock, wearing a dull green dress, she’s a player too."

Gu Luoxin carefully observed each person Lucius pointed out. It seemed like he now had an inkling on what Lucius had in mind by bringing him around the town and allowing him to ride on his back under the guise of a date. Since he was a small insignificant mouse, the players didn’t even notice his presence, granting him the freedom to study them as much as he pleased.

"And that person too..."

"That woman over there as well..."

Not wanting to waste Lucius’ good intentions, Gu Luoxin noted each person’s appearance into his mind— until he came across something bizarre.

"W–Wait ciit!" He hurriedly exclaimed to stop Lucius from walking away. Stretching out a paw, he pointed at the player the black cat had just mentioned, aghast. "Did you see that? What’s that black smoke around him ciit?!"

"Black smoke?" Puzzled, Lucius scanned the area before him, but he couldn’t see anything like Gu Luoxin had described. "Where meow?"

"It’s... there! Right there in front of us ciit!"

In Gu Luoxin’s perspective, the black smoke was shrouded around the body of a middle-aged NPC with a beer belly, resembling a scene straight out of a horror movie. It looked so ominous and sinister, yet none of the NPCs around or even the player seemed to notice its existence.

With his body supported by the player, the NPC appeared drunk, swaying and cursing as the player awkwardly attempted to bring him into the house. Gu Luoxin surmised that it must be the role assigned to the player, leaving him with no choice but to play along.

Then, as the black smoke invaded the NPC’s body, an unexpected development occurred.

All of a sudden, the NPC seemed to lose his temper and shoved the player aside in a fit of rage, catching the latter off guard. The player stumbled and inadvertently knocked over the glass slipper statue behind him, causing it to crash to the ground and shatter into millions of pieces.

"Uh-oh," Lucius muttered softly.