When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 496: An Important Message

Chapter 496: An Important Message

From afar, a harrowing scream pierced the air, which the trio realized belonged to the female player they encountered earlier – Beibei!

The nature of the forest had made it so that every sound would emit its own echo, and Beibei’s cry sounded so desperate and gut-wrenching that it managed to send terrifying chills to anyone who heard it. Without a doubt, she had been captured by either the mama spider or its babies.

Colors drained from Gu Luoxin’s complexion. "W–What should we do now?!" he asked, his voice trembling with panic.

"Keep running in the direction of the spreading!" Shen Nianzu instructed firmly as he reloaded the gun. "I will hold off this damned creature in the meantime!"

At this critical moment, their first priority was to escape from the red zone as soon as possible, or else they would never know what could happen next!

"Nian’er, should I kill it for you?" Jin Jiuchi offered eagerly, but his suggestion was immediately shot down by Shen Nianzu, who nearly whacked him on the head if not because he needed to hold the gun with both hands.

"No! We must not be separated now, and besides, we don’t even know what it’s capable of. We have no medicine if you’re hurt or poisoned!"

"Hehe, should I be afraid?" Jin Jiuchi’s grin widened almost maniacally as he raised his hand, revealing his nails which had elongated into sharp claws. "I will just tear it to shreds and— bam! It won’t be able to chase after us anymore."

Before Shen Nianzu could protest further, however, they were caught off guard when Gu Luoxin abruptly tripped and fell to the ground.

"Xinxin!"

"W–Wha..." Gu Luoxin’s voice faltered as he glanced down at his right foot where a thick vine had ensnared him. Horror etched across his features as he stammered, "It... It’s moving...! It grabbed my ankle just now!"

"Hurry up!" Jin Jiuchi rushed back and sliced at the vine with his claw, but just as he grabbed Gu Luoxin’s arm to pull him up, another vine shot up from the ground to encircle his wrist, then another coiled around his leg, trapping him in place.

Observing the eerie movements around them, Shen Nianzu noted with dread, "The forest has come alive..."

All around them, the leaves rustled wildly and the birds fled in panic, having detected the imminent danger. Strange and unsettling sounds came from within the tree trunks— sometimes like a mournful sigh, and other times like a sinister laughter. Meanwhile, the red zone continued to expand with alarming speed, each leaflet turning bright red in color, looking as though an ominous crimson tide had been pulled over the area.

"What the fuck!" Jin Jiuchi madly tore at the veins around his body, yet the more he shredded, the more they arose from the ground to wrap around his body. "They’re endless!"

The silver lining was that the vine attack did not seem to discriminate against any species because the behemoth spider was caught as well. It emitted a shrill ’kiiik’ from its mouth as it fought to free itself with its pincher claws, only to find more vines entangling its body with each thrash.

It was as though they were trapped in a quicksand where the more they struggled, the deeper they would sink.

"We have to leave the red zone as soon as possible!" Shen Nianzu’s voice rang out with urgency as beads of sweat formed on his brow. He remembered reading somewhere that some trees were capable of producing poisonous sap through their veins, and if such trees really existed here, then they would be doomed!

But how? How could they escape when the vines obstructed each step they took?!

For the very first time, Shen Nianzu vividly sensed the true malevolence behind the first one-hour rule.

"AH!" Gu Luoxin cried out in shock as the vine tightened around his leg, dragging him across the forest floor. Panic overtook his mind, especially as he noticed a hole forming on the tree trunk. The vines clearly intended to pull him toward it! H–He was going to be eaten!

"Xinxin!" Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu tried to help, but they, too, were embroiled in the same predicament.

"L–Let me go..." Gu Luoxin felt like his heart was about to burst apart as he faced the yawning maw on the tree that resembled a black hole, tears blurring his vision. His fingertips clawed desperately at the ground, leaving deep gouges in the soil, yet the vines were too strong for him to contend.

In a fraction of second before he was swallowed inside the tree, something snapped inside his mind and a torrent of power erupted from the depths of his being. "AAAAH, GET LOST—!"

A cyan kingkong materialized in the midst of the forest, pounding its chest with a thunderous roar. It then clasped its hands together and hammered its fists down to the ground, causing an earthquake so violent that the entire forest seemed to tremble along with its intensity.

The surging veins recoiled, seemingly intimidated, and Gu Luoxin seized the chance to break free and scrambled to his feet, rushing straight toward the kingkong which readily scooped him up in its massive palms.

"Go go go!!" he urged, his voice bordering on hysteria.

Nearby, Jin Jiuchi burst free from the confines of his human form and transformed into a majestic white beast, tossing Shen Nianzu’s little body onto his back. "Awoooo!"

The first hour had passed – they could finally use their skill cards and props!

Without delay, Shen Nianzu summoned the prop he had been preparing for this day – a drone and a monitoring device. He threw the drone up to the sky, allowing it to capture the aerial view of the forest from above. His breath caught in his throat as he witnessed the crimson leaves spreading around them like wildfire, devouring the once lush greenery.

This was the red zone in its truest, most ominous form!

"Go left!" He commanded. "We still have to run for more than eight hundred meters!"

With a nod, Jin Jiuchi charged ahead so fast that he left a blur of white in his wake. The cyan kingkong was hot on his trail, with Gu Luoxin perched on top of its shoulder. All around them, the veins surged into the air, resembling countless venomous snakes as they lashed out toward the trio!

***

In another area.

Despite it being the green zone, an eerie stillness hung heavy in the air, thick with the stench of blood and decay.

The supposedly vibrant trees now withered, their leaves blackened and lifeless. Thick veins, once robust and vigorous, now lay limp like dried charred strings as though every last drop of life force had been sucked out of them. Strewn across the forest floor were the remains of birds and small animals, their corpses mingling with those of a few players, who died still with horror and shock etched on their wide, hollow eyes.

Standing amidst this desolate scene was a lone figure of a little girl who appeared a little worse to wear, her hanfu smeared with dirt and blood, and torn in a few places. She was breathing heavily while clutching the bandages tightly in her grasp. Beneath her feet, on the blood-soaked ground, lay two paper dolls which had been torn to pieces.

The setting sun fell upon her, casting long shadows over her thin silhouette, making her seem all the more fragile and small.

Within the wilted forest, not even a single sound was heard aside from her ragged breathing. Not the rustles of the trees, not the scurry of small animals, not the whistling wind – nothing.

It felt almost like a scene of the apocalypse, where she alone was the sole survivor.

Until a sudden clap shattered the silence, followed by a deep voice of a man tinged with a hint of mirth, coming from behind her. "You really spared them no mercy, did you?"

Qian Hui did not appear startled at all by the sudden voice, as though she had long been aware of the other person’s presence. "If I did, who then would spare me mercy?" she countered calmly as she rewrapped the bandages around her eyes, her hands still shaking ever so slightly. "What’s with the foolish question? Are you here to make fun of me, Oracle?"

The man who popped out of nowhere was none other than the Divine Oracle, XXX – player ranked second on the leaderboard.

"How could it be?" He chuckled. "It’s purely a coincidence that I’m passing through this area. I’m searching for... ah, the twin stars, and I just couldn’t resist the chance to greet a cute and savage little girl. I have an important message for them, you see. It’s from the Nightmare."

Qian Hui turned back, stunned. "A message... from the Nightmare?"