When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 526: You Killed Him!

Chapter 526: You Killed Him!

The first to react among the other three was, surprisingly, Noir.

With a speed faster than anyone could catch, he lunged toward XXX and threw a solid punch to the man’s face, sending him crashing to the ground!

To knock down someone as tall and muscular as XXX with a single punch, one could imagine the force Noir had used.

The oracle’s sunglasses flew off as a result, and his slicked back hair turned disheveled with a few strands falling over his forehead. Blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth, but instead of wiping it off, the oracle simply laid there and laughed, faint at first before growing louder and louder. "Haha... HAHAHAHA!" he guffawed so hard that his entire body shook, all the while grimacing at his torn lips and bruised cheek.

The jarring laughter finally snapped Gu Luoxin out of his fear-induced stupor.

As soon as the horrifying reality set in, a shrill scream tore out of his throat as he collapsed on his knees, tremors wracking his entire body. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he crawled toward Jin Jiuchi with his hands and feet trembling violently, his expression terror-stricken. "No— nonono! It couldn’t be... Da Shen! DA SHEN!!!"

Shen Nianzu’s countenance was ghastly pale, a crimson hue creeping to the corner of his eyes. The fists clenched by his side were quivering ever so slightly, and if one paid closer attention, they would notice faint silver scales shimmering along his arms and the side of his face. From afar, the distant echo of rushing water rippled through the air, low and foreboding. It was as though the originally calm sea was now churning in chaos, the overlapping waves quickly forming a towering tsunami that threatened to engulf the whole forest within.

All the while, XXX still had not stopped laughing as if reveling in the current situation.

Jaws tense, Noir seized him roughly by the collar, lifting him up by force.

Although the emerald-eyed man uttered no word throughout, the thin veins bulging on the side of his neck and the frosty, hostile glint in his emerald eyes betrayed the extreme aggression he was feeling within. His knuckles cracked from how hard he was clenching his hands.

He raised his fist, intending to pummel the oracle back to the ground, but when he caught a clear sight of the latter’s face, he couldn’t help but halt on his tracks, his pupils dilating in surprise.

Not only him, but Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu were also stunned into silence.

All this time, XXX always sported huge sunglasses covering half of his face. It was unknown what material they were made of since they were completely dark and impenetrable, leaving none able to glimpse at his face. They had even wondered why he kept them on and whether he could navigate the dark forest, but because of the oracle’s eccentric personality, they refrained from asking and simply thought that it was the man’s aesthetic. After all, there was no shortage of weirdos in the Nightmare Cycle.

But now, they finally knew the truth.

Of course he wouldn’t have to worry about finding his way amidst the dark, for he did not even need to see to begin with.

Both of the oracle’s eyes were tightly sewn shut with black threads, the ugly criss-cross stitches making it seem as if hideous worms were writhing beneath his skin. The contrast between his lighter skin tone and the black threads created a shocking visual effect that left the three utterly gobsmacked, their breaths hitching in their throats.

As though unaware of the shock he had caused, XXX raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, still with traces of laughter on his face. "Hey, hey, no need to get so worked up. Do you not feel bad ganging up on this poor and old me?" he asked in a playful manner.

"You—!" Gu Luoxin choked out, fury and grief blurring his eyes. "How could you still say that after what you’ve done?! Look at Da Shen— look at his chest! It’s caved in from how hard you hit him! You..." he burst out into tears the very next second, "YOU KILLED HIM WAAAHH!!!"

From where Jin Jiuchi’s dead body was, one could easily spot the deep depression on his chest where the oracle’s fist had struck. It was also the location of his heart. Gu Luoxin couldn’t even begin to fathom how much power was contained in that single blow which was capable of shattering Jin Jiuchi’s ribs and rupturing his heart, leading to a near instant death.

Gu Luoxin’s words caused a sudden epiphany to flash through Noir’s mind. He abruptly released his grip on the oracle’s collar, causing the man to fall back with an ’ouch!’

"You killed him," he slowly enunciated, his emerald eyes narrowing. "It’s because the right way to enter the Red Zone was through... death?"

Now that he said it aloud, realization slowly dawned on the near hysterical Gu Luoxin. Shen Nianzu, too, would have thought of this sooner had he not been overly distraught by the shock of Jin Jiuchi’s sudden passing.

The jade doll abruptly awoke from his absent-minded state, his pale purple eyes regaining their bright and sharp luster.

Come to think of it, the Nightmare had never issued any redundant tasks or rewards. Everything was perfectly tailored to fit into the background of each Cycle. Why, then, did this Cycle include revival potion in its supply box?

Most players would assume it was the Nightmare’s way of giving them a second chance, especially since this was supposed to be an annual Cycle where all players, from the top to the very bottom, were pulled to participate. Therefore, to solve the unfairness brought by the large power gap, the revival potions would be a life-saver for weak players who happened to chance upon them. It was akin to giving them an extra life as insurance. For there was no way high-ranked players would overturn the boat in such a Cycle anyway.

However, this theory couldn’t be more wrong.

The Nightmare, from the very first second it appeared, had never shown any benevolence or mercy to humanity.

That left only one possibility— of course, there were certain things they could achive only in a death state! It was highly likely that only after they were dead that the nightmare creatures wouldn’t attack them, leaving players ample freedom to explore the vast and treacherous area. Perhaps there were scattered clues or even main rewards they could only discover this way!

And that’s precisely where the revival potions came into play!

"Understand now?" XXX drawled in a smirk, only to hiss in pain when it tugged on the wound on the corner of his mouth. Even then, he couldn’t resist chuckling, "Man, JJ must be so touched to know you guys mourned for him like this."

Dark lines formed over Shen Nianzu’s forehead. "I understand what you mean now, but why can’t you just tell us beforehand instead of taking action on your own?" His sharp gaze bore into the oracle with an intensity that rivaled the hot laser beam. If his glare had a tangible force, XXX’s body would have pulverized to dust by now.

Beside him, Gu Luoxin nodded vigorously while wiping the tear streak on his face. Had the oracle informed them sooner, he wouldn’t have bawled his eyes out like a child. What a waste of his tears!

Wicked laughter flowed out of XXX’s lips, making one itch to beat him up all over again. "Come on," he teased. "When else can I watch such a genuine, live reaction?"

Unbeknownst to others, a translucent Jin Jiuchi was currently kicking up a fuss, his fists raining down on the oracle’s face as he spewed out a string of curses, "Damn you, shithead! You made my Nian’er cry! I’m going to beat you so hard that you can’t recognize yourself in the mirror! Hey, don’t ignore me! I know you can see me!!"

Unfortunately, all of his attacks passed through the man’s body, leaving him huffing and puffing all by himself.

The oracle tilted his head slightly, those fearsome stitched eyes facing him, then he arched a brow teasingly as if asking, "What can you do to me?"

Jin Jiuchi’s hackles instantly raised like a cat whose tail was being stepped on. "Just you wait!" he gritted out.

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Mini theater

JJ: Help, I’m dead again! QAQ