When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 488: Battle Royale

Chapter 488: Battle Royale

"Suicide Forest?" Shen Nianzu mused. "What a peculiar and ominous sounding name."

"Xiao Shen, you don’t know?!" Gu Luoxin exclaimed in shock and incredulity, but then he recalled that Shen Nianzu was a sheltered young master whose health used to be extremely poor until he was dragged into the Nightmare Cycle, while Jin Jiuchi... let’s not mention him – he was a nightmare creature, so what did he know about human’s world?

As such, Gu Luoxin cleared his throat and took it upon himself to explain, "When one mentions the Suicide Forest, then only one place comes to mind – Aokigahara! It’s a forest located in Japan, and it becomes infamous due to the high number of suicides that have occured there. In fact, there are several books, movies and documentaries that have been inspired by Aokigahara, the most famous one being the supernatural horror film ’The Forest’..."

Until this point, he suddenly trailed off as a horrifying realization dawned on him. "Damn it, according to the Nightmare’s style, shouldn’t this be a supernatural-type Cycle?!" he grabbed his hair in frustration. "Ahhh, I hate it the most! Imagine us wandering through the forest in the middle of the night, only to be ambushed by a horde of hanged ghosts! I will definitely die of a heart attack before I even have a chance to fight back!"

So far, the only supernatural-type Cycle Gu Luoxin had ever experienced was the Shishen Apartment. That Cycle had been relatively smooth for him since he only needed to abide by the rules and obediently stay put in his room at night, and no ghosts would come knocking on his door.

But what about the Suicide Forest?

It’s an open space with nowhere to hide, plus they would be surrounded by dense foliage and dangerous wildlife...

Not to mention, the ghosts! The freaking ghosts!!

Just the mere thought of it was enough to send dreadful chills down Gu Luoxin’s spine. "So this is how I’m going to spend Christmas this year?" He despaired. "Why does the Nightmare have to be so eccentric?"

"What are you so afraid of?" The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched in amusement. "Wasn’t your first Cycle in a tropical forest? It can be considered your home ground."

"I–It’s not the same!" Gu Luoxin sputtered. "During my first Cycle, it was still daylight! Everything was bright and clear!"

"Huh?" Jin Jiuchi chimed in with a raised brow, "There’s no guarantee that this Cycle won’t happen during the day as well, right?"

Gu Luoxin opened his mouth to retort, only to close it again when he realized that what Jin Jiuchi said made perfect sense. He couldn’t help but become stunned. That’s right, whether the Cycle would occur during the day or night, it was still not certain yet. There’s a fifty percent chance this Cycle would take place during daylight.

But alas, could the Nightmare be so kind and benevolent?

As Gu Luoxin was lost in contemplation, his phone, together with Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi’s, buzzed simultaneously.

Gu Luoxin blinked in surprise. "What’s this? An announcement?"

He clicked on the nationwide announcement displayed at the top of the App, and was led into another page. His gaze was immediately drawn to the bold title font above.

Merry Christmas, the Chosen Ones!

It’s that time of the year again, and what better way to celebrate than with a thrilling game?

This year’s theme is: Battle Royale!

Here are the main rewards up for grabs:

1. Platinum Ticket (upgrade directly to the Legendary Rank) | Drop Rate: 0.0001% | Availability: 1

2. Golden Ticket (one level upgrade) | Drop Rate: 0.05% | Availability: 3

3. Silver Ticket (free pass on any Cycles) | Drop Rate: 0.01% | Availability: 5

Additional rewards: including but not limited to Common to Epic props, up to 1 million experience points, revival potions, strength potions, recovery potions, and more.

PS: players are free to enter the Cycle in solo, duo, or a team (max 4).

Don’t forget to carry your ticket with you! Let’s dive into the excitement of this fun game~!

The more Gu Luoxin read, the wider his jaws dropped. "W–Woah..." he finally exclaimed after quite some time. "Just look at all these rewards. Y–You can directly skip to the Legendary Rank? So this kind of miracle also exists in the Nightmare Cycle! Even without that, the Gold Tickets and Silver Tickets sound awesome as well. And the additional rewards... up to one million experience points?! One point equals 500 RMB, so one million is..." a sharp gasp escaped him, and his eyes practically transformed into rolling dollar signs. "...five hundred million RMB!!"

H–How generous! Never before had Gu Luoxin encountered such a generous Cycle, even more so than the haul they had obtained in the City of Atlantis, which was often said to be a land of hidden treasure.

Now this truly felt like a holiday Cycle!

While he was fixated on the monetary rewards, Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi’s focus were entirely different.

"Battle Royale?" Jin Jiuchi echoed in a mix of intrigue, excitement, and curiosity. "What’s that? We will have a battle against ghost royalty? Or the ghost king of the forest?!"

"Look at the additional rewards," Shen Nianzu analyzed with a serious tone. "There are ’revival potions’ listed. It means death in the Cycle is not necessarily permanent as long as we have these potions in our hands."

"Ah, you’re right!" Gu Luoxin exclaimed in realization, his eyes sparkling. "The number of potions we have is equivalent to the number of lives we possess. Isn’t it just like a video game?! Wait a second, it seems like I’ve heard of this before..." he quickly typed in something on his computer’s search bar. "Aha! Battle Royale is really a video game! Oh my God, I used to play PUBG in the past!"

"Huh?" Both Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi showed the identical confused look on their faces.

As the most experienced person, Gu Luoxin adopted a professional demeanor as he elaborated, "Let me think... it’s a popular online multiplayer game where players parachute onto an island and scavenge for weapons, equipment, and resources to eliminate other players while avoiding being eliminated themselves. The interesting part is, the game’s map will decrease over time due to a shrinking safe zone, and only the players who make it to the last safe zone can survive!"

"Ooh, that sounds interesting!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed, his interest piqued. "No wonder it’s open to all players across the country. So this is the kind of Cycle we’re dealing with!"

"I see," Shen Nianzu nodded in understanding. "But let me remind you, even with revival potions, we must not let our guard down. Firstly, because we don’t know its drop rate, and secondly, we have no idea how many are available throughout the entire forest."

He continued, his expression serious, "This Cycle requires us to compete with each other for resources. This is not a playground, but a hunting field. There are vicious players who will not hesitate to kill others just to steal. Also, don’t forget we will be dealing with nightmare creatures which will definitely increase the difficulty level. Xinxin, do you still have the game on your computer?"

"Ah?" At the sudden cue, Gu Luoxin hurriedly browsed his computer, "I think so... ah, here it is! It’s been so long since I last played it, though."

"Alright, wait for me to download it first. We will form a team and practice." As soon as Shen Nianzu said that, he immediately made a move, eliciting a protest from Jin Jiuchi.

"Wait a minute, what about our date?!" he whimpered, almost squeezing out tears from his eyes.

But Shen Nianzu’s response was firm and unsympathetic. "Date’s over." He cracked his knuckles, his lips tugging into a resolute and ambitious smile. "There are only four days left. We need to familiarize ourselves with the game as soon as possible. I will make sure our team secures one of the main rewards in the end."