When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 531: Withdrawal Symptoms

Chapter 531: Withdrawal Symptoms

Hesitation flickered across the players’ faces, and their eyes couldn’t help but seek Jin Jiuchi as well.

Stealing the supply boxes from a swarm of malicious ghosts sounded like a daunting and treacherous mission. Alas, risky as it might be, they couldn’t think of a better alternative. It was way better than confronting those nightmare creatures head-on!

Plus, they had Jin Jiuchi by their side!

Some of them had witnessed Jin Jiuchi’s prowess and confidence first-hand when he confronted the Mad Hatter, and he had even gone as far as to swallow three disgusting eyeballs into his stomach just to evade the ghost’s suspicion! Was there anyone tougher and more daring than him? Only this eccentric bigshot could achieve such an impossible feat! If they could rope Jin Jiuchi into the plan, their success rate would soar for sure!

However, after waiting for a while, they belatedly realized that Jin Jiuchi’s attention was not even on them.

"Huh?" Jin Jiuchi craned his neck to survey the crowd. "Look over there! Isn’t that a player as well—"

"Are you talking about that female player who killed her sister when she was a mere five years old?" Someone realized who Jin Jiuchi was talking about before he even finished his sentence and waved their hand in a dismissal gesture. "Don’t bother, don’t bother with her. Bigshot, do you still not know what kind of person she is?"

"Yeah, she’s so vicious that she couldn’t even stand the existence of her blood-related sister. How do we dare to invite her here? Won’t it be like letting a white-eyed wolf¹ into our house? I’d already be grateful if she didn’t betray us and reap all the rewards for herself!"

"Hmph, this is karma knocking on her door," another player let out an indignant harrumph, "Serves her right to end up all alone!"

Jin Jiuchi had only felt a faint sense of familiarity toward that plump woman who was cautiously weaving through the crowd while trying hard to maintain a relaxed look, and it wasn’t until he heard the other players talking that he finally dredged up a piece of recent memory from the recesses of his mind and matched it with her face.

"Oh, the one who proposed the Truth or Dare game!" he smacked his fist on his palm with a look of belated realization.

It truly wasn’t easy for Jin Jiuchi to recognize her. After all, he was kinda face-blind. Unless they had peerless and breathtaking beauty like Shen Nianzu, or those with whom he had interacted closely such as Gu Luoxin, Noir, and Ying, he could only remember them by scent at most. However, he and that female player had never had any kind of interaction before, let alone being so close that he could pick up her scent. The only reason why Jin Jiuchi still retained a feeble impression of her was solely because she had proposed a game which cut off his opportunity to procure more delicious cakes.

That’s right, he was precisely this vindictive and narrow-minded, especially when it came to food!

While Jin Jiuchi was studying her, the woman coincidentally caught sight of him as well and her expression morphed into one of surprise. Apparently, she had not expected Jin Jiuchi, of all players, to end up here. But upon seeing the players crowding around Jin Jiuchi, she quickly schooled her features and turned away, her jaws clenched tight.

The players sneered, mocking her egoism and self-centeredness which had led to her current condition.

Just then, Jin Jiuchi asked in a mutter, "What to do? Should I leave the group as well?"

Despite his quiet voice as though he was simply musing to himself, the players – with their enhanced hearing – still caught it nonetheless and they couldn’t help but be taken aback. "Huh? What are you..."

"You guys ostracize her because she pushed her sister into a river, right?" Jin Jiuchi asked in a guileless, matter-of-fact tone. "Then what about me? After all, I’ve done way worse. All she did was push, but I ate my brother. Hmm, I devoured him until nothing’s left— bones and all." As if it wasn’t enough of an emphasis, he even smacked his lips like he was relishing in the nostalgic taste.

Everyone else: "...."

What the hell? He–He must be joking... right?

The players exchanged speechless gazes with each other. If Jin Jiuchi hadn’t been standing in front of them, they would have pointed at their temples, asking ’Is he not right here?’

Alas, as things stood, they couldn’t afford to offend Jin Jiuchi right now, so all they could do was laugh it off and swept the matter under the rug. "Ha... hahaha! You have an excellent sense of humor, buddy!" With the beefy player taking the lead, the others chuckled along,

"Damn right, you gave me a scare!"

"Big shot, you can’t be an actor in real life, right? I almost believed you for a second there!"

"Okay, okay, let’s talk about our plan once again..."

The players could have never imagined that, after all the breath and saliva they wasted to get into Jin Jiuchi’s good graces, the real stumbling block came when they outlined the plan to steal the supply boxes during the main dancing event. The beefy player had been confident at first when everyone sided with him, but upon noticing the deepening frown between Jin Jiuchi’s brows, he became so scared that his voice petered off into a whisper.

"I–Is there something wrong, buddy? Do you have any suggestions for the plan...?" He attempted to squeeze out a humbled smile, though the nervousness and trepidation in his tone couldn’t be concealed.

His capability notwithstanding, Jin Jiuchi’s figure loomed tall among average men. His well-toned physique was accentuated by the tactical gear he was wearing, revealing the sharp lines of his body. Those familiar with him might treat him as a silly husky— loud, playful, and harmless. All bark but no bite. But in other players’ eyes, Jin Jiuchi’s striking features and his intense, otherworldly eyes created an impression that was hard to shake. When he grinned, he looked wild, carefree, and unrestrained, but when he went all quiet with his brows furrowed like this, he seemed to exude an oppressive aura that rendered others not daring to even breathe too loudly in his presence.

Across from him, beads of sweat dotted the beefy player’s forehead, his thoughts racing a thousand miles per second.

Oh no, had he said something wrong? Was his plan so shabby that this bigshot couldn’t even be bothered to hide his disdain? Yeah come to think of it, with his strength, why should he waste his time sneaking around when he could simply crush every ghost here without breaking a sweat?!

Coincidentally, everyone’s thoughts were more or less the same. After all, they had bore witness to Jin Jiuchi’s straightforward and clear-cut method as he bulldozed through the problems before him with brute strength.

Therefore, they were utterly caught off guard when Jin Jiuchi remarked with an unexpectedly serious tone,

"Stealing is wrong."

"W–What?" The beefy player sputtered in shock. Had his ears played a trick on him? So it wasn’t because their plan wasn’t advanced enough, but because the act of ’stealing’ itself was a mistake??

Heavens! What was he, a kindergartener?! Who the fuck cared about right and wrong when their precious lives were at stake?!

"Didn’t you hear me? Stealing is wrong. You can’t steal." When all he received were baffled and dumbfounded looks, Jin Jiuchi couldn’t resist a trace of disdain that crept into his eyes. How stupid, he thought. He had stated it so clearly, but they still couldn’t understand it? Look at him— he wasn’t even a human, but he knew very well he couldn’t forcibly take what did not belong to him!

"B–But..." the beefy player still tried to appeal. "But if we don’t steal, how can we secure the supply boxes?"

Jin Jiuchi looked at him as if he was a mentally challenged child, which was a first experience for him since it was his teammates who often threw him such a look. "How else?" he stated frankly. "Didn’t you say it yourself? The winner of the main event gets to have all the rewards to themselves."

The other players opened their mouths as if to say something, but Jin Jiuchi waved his hand to cut them off.

All of a sudden, he felt extremely bored. Any smidgen of interest he had in cooperating evaporated without a trace. Mingling with this bunch of players was not fun at all. It even made him exhausted, like he was a chicken trying to communicate with a flock of ducks. Of course, if these players were really ducks, he wouldn’t have bothered to talk with them in the first place. He would have directly swallowed them into his stomach. Too bad they were not ducks.

I miss Nian’er... he couldn’t help but sulk again. I miss Nian’er so much. Want to go back to Nian’er’s side. If Nian’er was here, things would be so much fun.

I wonder what he’s doing right now...?

Since entering the Nightmare Cycle, this was the first time he had been separated from Shen Nianzu, and he began to feel some withdrawal symptoms. This foreign world, which had intrigued him and filled him with endless wonder at first, abruptly lost its allure without the jade doll’s presence by his side.

With a lovesick sigh, Jin Jiuchi turned around and left the group with nary a hesitation, leaving the players staring at his back at an utter loss.

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Mini theater

JJ: They believe me when I talk nonsense but think I’m kidding when I tell the truth *confusedhusky.jpg*