When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 497: Rising Flames

Chapter 497: Rising Flames

In the red zone, the trio of SJG were still running for their lives.

The whole forest had changed beyond recognition at this point. The dim afterglow of the sunset filtered through the dense canopy, painting everything in a foreboding scarlet glow. Eerie laughter emanated from the tree trunks, sounding as though they took pleasure in the players’ desperation. Thick, sinewy veins rose from the Earth, lashing at the intruders akin to burning whips and dragging them towards the mouth of the trees.

Compared to the calm and tranquil landscape a few moments ago, it was like they had been transported to a new realm altogether!

In this disorienting landscape where every turn seemed to lead nowhere, it was extremely easy to lose one’s composure. It was like being trapped in an endless maze, yet they didn’t even have the luxury to stop and consider the direction they were going to take, for the veins would take advantage of their momentary lapse of attention to capture them!

Fortunately, the trio didn’t encounter any problems with this thanks to Shen Nianzu’s godly foresight to purchase a drone beforehand.

"Keep moving, we’re on the right direction!" He instructed loudly, his eyes fixed on the monitoring device in his hands.

Somehow, the veins seemed to be aware that he was the brain of the group because all of a sudden, they gave up on attacking Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin, focusing on Shen Nianzu’s little body instead!

"Xiao Shen!"

The kingkong lunged forward and seized the veins targeting Shen Nianzu with its bare hand, crushing them with brute strength. "Roar—!" It unleashed a furious roar as more veins wound around its legs, momentarily diverting its attention.

Jin Jiuchi had no problems with dealing with the veins, but he, too, found it a little difficult to watch Shen Nianzu’s back from the relentless ambush. But luckily Shen Nianzu was far from being vulnerable. If anything, it was the veins’ misconceptions to think that he was the weakest link.

"Don’t fight them!" He hollered, slicing the veins with a dagger in hand. "Just focus on getting out of this area!"

All of a sudden, Jin Jiuchi screeched to a halt and howled out loud. "Awooaooo!" Nian’er, I smelled a supply box nearby!

But alas, Shen Nianzu did not grasp his meaning and he almost went insane from anger. "What are you doing? Don’t stop here!" he yanked on the thick coat beneath him angrily.

"Watch out!" Gu Luoxin cried out in alarm when he spotted a particularly thick vein, almost as thick as his arm, shot out toward Shen Nianzu with ferocious speed. Before he knew it, he instinctively summoned his divine prop. "Toki!"

The half-human and half-dragon baby materialized out of thin air, spitting out a tongue of blue flame that devoured the vein. Almost in an instant, a piercing sound akin to nails scraping against a chalkboard filled the air, causing everyone to wince in pain. The blue flame did not stop there; it continued spreading until it engulfed the whole tree.

"AH—!" An inhuman shriek echoed from the depths of the forest as the tree writhed in pain.

Gu Luoxin swallowed nervously, taken aback by the unexpected fierce spread of the flames. Who could have guessed it would catch fire so easily? "Uh-oh..." he muttered under his breath. Had Toki grown stronger since the last time he’d summoned him?

"Let’s go!" Shen Nianzu urged, his voice urgent. "Xinxin, don’t use Toki’s power anymore or we’ll end up burning down the entire forest!"

"I–I’m sorry!" Gu Luoxin hurriedly held the baby dragon close to his chest, who chirped at him innocently with his beautiful blue eyes.

The good news was, the veins appeared intimidated by the sudden burst of flames and dared not get close to the trio anymore. The bad news was, the ones who thought of using fire were not only Gu Luoxin. All around them, sounds of explosions rang out and black smoke billowed into the sky, courtesy to the other players.

"This is bad..." Shen Nianzu muttered, his brows furrowing with dread.

If more and more players were to set fire to the forest, what would they do if even the green zone was affected, or more specifically, the last green zone? It would be like destroying their final destination...

Without the intervention of the malevolent veins, the trio safely made it out of the red zone.

In the middle of the forest, red and green clashed, as though two entirely separate worlds had collided under the Nightmare’s influence.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Gu Luoxin slid down from the kingkong’s body, patting the creature gratefully before giving Toki a fond kiss and dismissing them both. Next to him, Jin Jiuchi also shifted back to his human form.

They stopped and turned back, gazing at the thick plumes of smoke rising in the distance, and the source did not come only from one direction. Faint screams echoed from afar, both from the tormented forest and the players who didn’t manage to escape.

"Will the fire ever cease?" Gu Luoxin asked, biting his nails anxiously. "It will not spread here, will it?"

Apparently, he had the same concern as Shen Nianzu.

"Who knows?" Shen Nianzu slowly released a sigh. "I’m not even sure if I’m hoping for rain or not." While the rain could help extinguish the fire, it also added the level of difficulty to the players.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the distant roar of a helicopter reverberated in the air, growing louder and louder as it passed right above their heads.

"That’s a supply box!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed, pointing at the black metallic box suspended beneath the helicopter. "Augh, I also spotted another box earlier! Too bad we were too busy escaping!" He peered back into the red forest, rubbing his chin contemplatively, "Actually, should we go back again to search for it? The area’s going up in flames anyway."

A sharp gasp escaped Gu Luoxin as realization dawned on him. "Wait, that box... what if the main rewards are there?!"

The three of them glanced at each other, stunned by the sudden epiphany. That’s right, what if the main rewards were hidden within the red zone all along?

***

In the heart of the inferno, a figure writhed on the scorched forest floor. Their appearance no longer resembled a human, more like a grotesque semblance of raw flesh clinging desperately to the dwindling embers of life.

This person was none other than Beibei.

Following the grim fate of her teammate, Brother Hai, who was used as nourishment for the spider offspring, she had fled in terror, only to be captured by the mother spider itself.

From that point on, everything went dark.

Beibei had really thought that was the end of her, but apparently, destiny had another in store for her – a fate more tortuous than death itself. Not quite alive, yet also not dead. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she painstakingly dragged her broken, bloodied body toward the supply box that was just within reach with a single-minded resolution that could rival an obsessed madman.

A little more... just a little bit more...

In this shattered state, she couldn’t even register the pain on her body anymore. Or it could also be because her nerves had been severed beyond repair. Nonetheless, the numbness only worked well in her favor, compelling her to keep pushing herself toward her goal.

Her breaths escaped in a feeble wheeze, and her vision obscured by a haze of blood. The fire continued spreading around her, causing the temperature to grow so hot it was like she was being burned alive in Hell.

Eventually, Beibei reached the box, and an ugly smile of relief broke across her distorted features. She couldn’t even discern the color of the button anymore – nor did she care about it. She was barely hanging onto life either way, so why not bet her everything on this box?

Reaching out her arms, whose flesh had been half-gnawed to reveal the bones beneath, she exerted every ounce of remaining strength to drag the box closer and press the button.

Five potions spilled out, though her jerky and clumsy movements sent four of them rolling beyond her reach, lost amidst the blazing chaos. Only one potion remained, rolling directly toward her broken form as if guided by the hand of fate itself.

And through her blurry vision, she saw the label of the tube.

Revival potion.

"Ah... ah..." a guttural cry escaped her throat as she desperately reached out for the tube, tears of blood pouring out of her eyes. She was saved... she could still be saved!

But alas, her euphoria was short-lived because just as her trembling fingers brushed against the tube, a merciless foot stomped down on her hand, shattering the brittle bones to dust!

"AHHH—!" she screamed, extreme agony coursing through her shattered body.

As the other person bent down to seize the potion, which was her last saving grace, Beibei spiraled into a frenzy of panic and anger. "MINE... MINE... GIVE IT BACK TO ME...!" She was too fraught with desperation to even discern any detail about the other person – not their gender, not what they looked like, not even their height. All her focus zeroed in on the foot pinning her down – a foot encased in an expensive brown leather shoe.

Alas, she was no match for the other person. She struggled with every ounce of strength left within her, but with a single kick from the other person, her head separated from her body.

And just like that, everything ended, and all the fight left her body.

The hope that had once been so close at reach, abruptly turned into despair that led to her demise.

"Tsk, what the hell was that?" With a disgusted look, the other person rubbed the sole of their shoe against the ground. Whistling a random tune, they then pocketed the revival potion and strolled away, leaving the rising flames to engulf Beibei’s lifeless body.

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A/N: rip beibei QAQ