When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 498: Fireworks!

Chapter 498: Fireworks!

Relying on Jin Jiuchi’s keen sense of smell, the trio of SJG managed to track down two more supply boxes – both green. From within, they obtained a package of sliced raisin bread, a few chocolate energy bars and two bottles of mineral water, which they divided amongst themselves.

And of course, Jin Jiuchi claimed the biggest portion for himself.

They chose a nondescript area to settle down, simply to catch a brief respite after their harrowing ordeal in the red zone.

Leaning against the tree trunk, Gu Luoxin counted with his fingers, "The duration of this Cycle is fourteen hours. The first hour has already passed, so there’s still thirteen hours left..." he released a frustrated groan. "Thirteen hours to go, and we don’t even know when the red zone will be coming! We’ll have to maintain our vigilance at all times, won’t we? Oh God, why can’t time go faster?!" he yanked on his hair in frustration.

"We should take turns keeping watch," Shen Nianzu suggested. "We won’t last for the whole thirteen hours if we keep this up. One person will rest, while the other two keep watch. En, we can also keep track of the dropped supply boxes this way."

Chewing on a mouthful of bread, Jin Jiuchi asked, his voice slightly muffled, "Why not have two people rest, and one keeps guard?"

"No, it’s too risky," Shen Nianzu shook his head, his tone measured. "With two people, we can react better to any unexpected accidents. Besides, do you think I could sleep soundly if I allow you to keep watch?"

Jin Jiuchi gasped dramatically, clutching his chest with a feigned hurt expression. "How cruel, Nian’er! Am I that unreliable?!"

"What Xiao Shen said is correct," Gu Luoxin nodded seriously. "I can already imagine Da Shen vanishing without a trace after the two of us wake up!"

"Hey!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed, truly affronted this time. What kind of person did his teammates think he was? Granted, he might possess a high degree of curiosity and could be easily distracted, and if he caught sight of something intriguing, he might leave his post for a while— but his point was, he would definitely make it back when Shen Nianzu and Gu Luoxin woke up! He wasn’t so unethical to disappear on them just like that!

But alas, it was two voices against one, so it was decided that they would have two people keep watch every time.

Rising to his feet, Shen Nianzu patted his butt and said, "Let’s keep moving. We have to secure as many supply boxes as possible before it gets dark. Who knows what kind of surprise awaits us later?"

The next two hours passed by in a similar manner. They roamed the forest in search of supply boxes, and they even tried to catch the ones dropped by the helicopters. So far, they had found five boxes, not including the ones from earlier – three of which were empty, the contents having been taken by other players. Of course, they couldn’t expect to always be the first to reach the boxes all the time.

From the remaining two, they acquired a roll of gauzes, antiseptic spray, and... an exotic-looking necklace with a mini skull pendant.

Gu Luoxin gulped nervously as he eyed the necklace held in Shen Nianzu’s hand. "T–That does not look like a weapon."

But the necklace had come from a red supply box, which meant that it was included in the ’weapon and ammunition’ category.

How should they even use that necklace as a weapon? To eliminate evil spirits? Gu Luoxin felt like crying just by the mere notion of it. And here he thought this Cycle might not have anything supernatural! He should have known not to get his hopes up!

Shen Nianzu cast him an amused glance. "It’s not like this is a real skull, so what are you so afraid of?" After saying that, he tossed the necklace to the storage prop in case they truly needed it later. "Let’s go," he declared.

They had originally landed on the central area of the forest because Shen Nianzu anticipated the chances that the red zone would begin spreading from the outer regions. However, that hypothesis of his was quickly broken when the area they were in turned red within the first hour.

That’s why they were currently moving away from the center. But strangely and fortunately, they didn’t encounter any more red zones in the past two hours.

Three hours had passed since the start of the Cycle, so it should be somewhere around 7 PM now.

Shen Nianzu raised his head to gaze at the darkening sky, muttering, "We need to find a place to rest for now. Let’s hope it will not rain."

After three hours of trekking through the forest, they were bound to feel a little exhausted despite their enhanced physical abilities – but of course this did not apply to Jin Jiuchi, who appeared more like he was having a field day. They had not consumed any of their strength potions so far, opting to reserve them for the later part of the game.

Eventually, they stumbled upon a shallow stream, where Shen Nianzu decided, "Let’s rest here for now."

"Nian’er, look! There are other players there!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed, pointing at the other side of the stream a few hundred meters away from them.

There, around a small flickering flame, sat four players. At the same time as the trio looked over, the other group seemed to notice their presence as well, and they offered a simple nod of acknowledgement.

"It’s fine, let’s mind our own business for now." Shen Nianzu exhaled a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any unreasonable players who felt displeasure at having their supposed ’territory’ encroached. Not that Shen Nianzu ever doubted they would lose, but he simply found the unnecessary battle to be more trouble than it was worth.

"We should start our own fire too," he suggested.

With nods of agreement, Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin scattered to gather thin wood and twigs around the forest floor, and Shen Nianzu burned them with a lighter prop. Before long, a small flame danced between them, offering a comforting warmth in the chill of the night. They munched on the raisin bread and quenched their thirst with refreshing water from the stream.

All in all, it was quite a leisure break.

"Oh, they’re leaving." Jin Jiuchi noted half an hour in, as the four other players were seen extinguishing their fire before walking in another direction. With a contented sigh, Jin Jiuchi plopped himself down beneath a nearby tree, using his arms as a makeshift pillow. "Ah, I can fall asleep like this~"

"Alright," Shen Nianzu decided. "Da Shen will rest first, I will keep watch with Xinxin."

Of course, Jin Jiuchi wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to become a salted fish. "Okie dokie!" He cheerfully agreed, closing his eyes. But just as he was about to doze off, a soft and silky sensation tickled his neck, prompting him to turn his head away with a complaint, "Xinxin, quit messing around!"

"What did I do?!" came Gu Luoxin’s indignant response which definitely did not come from anywhere near him.

In an instant, Jin Jiuchi snapped his eyes open, and he was greeted by the sight of a long white cloth fluttering above him, coiled around a tree branch. He couldn’t help but feel a little dubious. Had this thing always been here before?

Shen Nianzu and Gu Luoxin came over to check on him.

"What’s th—ah!" Gu Luoxin began to ask, only for the answer to pop up in his mind before he could even finish his sentence. Colors drained from his face as he stared at the long white cloth in horror, "T–That... isn’t that... the rope people used to–to–to hang themselves?!"

He might have a strong aversion to all things supernatural, especially if it concerned ghosts, but they could surely count on him to spot anything eerie. Even Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi failed to connect this white cloth with a suicide rope.

With a sweeping glance, they noted that not only the tree Jin Jiuchi had been resting under had the white cloth, but also the nearby trees. They had popped up out of nowhere, their pristine color almost glowing in the dark, as though an invisible switch had been flipped.

With a frown, Shen Nianzu opened his mouth to speak when a deafening BANG! echoed in the air, so loud that it nearly sent Gu Luoxin into a cardiac arrest. Clutching his pounding chest, Gu Luoxin whipped around to find the sky... illuminated in various bright colors???

"Fireworks!" Jin Jiuchi shouted excitedly.

"Ohohoho~" the hearty laughter of the bus officer boomed, seemingly as though it had come from all directions. "Congratulations to a good child of mine for acquiring one of the main rewards!"

As a cheerful celebration song filled the air, the trio’s jaws dropped, shock and disbelief plastered all over their faces. One of the main rewards – that meant either the platinum, golden, or silver ticket with ridiculously low drop rate – had been found by another player?!!

***

In another part of the forest.

Noir stood motionless as the shimmering glitter from the fireworks cascaded around him, his left eye twitching slightly. He stared down at the open supply box at his feet, where a sparkling silver ticket could be seen within.

After a moment of contemplative silence, he released a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He then shut the lid and locked the box again. And just like that, the cheerful song was abruptly cut off, leaving only an awkward silence.

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Mini theater:

Noir: Others can have it, I don’t want it.

Fake Santa Claus: Why?!?!! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

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A/N: Guys didja know what day it is? It’s WBNC’s first anniversary yayy the book is finally one year old! *cheers* *pulls confetti* To celebrate this, I, your cute and lovely author, have finally decided to thicken her skin and commissioned an nsfw artwork!!!! *scream into my pillow* 17th april is the official day JJ is born, so I figured I should do something that makes him the happiest hehehehe

I will upload the artwork on my discord server, so feel free to join if you’d like to gain access to it ^^ stay tuned for details!