When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 546: A Mere Child’s Play

Chapter 546: A Mere Child’s Play

"Nian’er, my baby, you’re too awesome!" Jin Jiuchi zoomed over in a blink of an eye and tossed Shen Nianzu’s small body into the air, his low delightful laughter reverberating across the forest. "How did you do that? It’s more amazing than any magic tricks I’ve ever seen!"

A string of curses were ready on the tip of Shen Nianzu’s tongue the moment a sudden sense of weightlessness enveloped him, though it lasted only for a brief second before he was caught in a steady, warm embrace. Before he could even feel relieved about it, however, Jin Jiuchi proceeded to spin him around like a helicopter with a big, cheeky grin plastered on his face.

What did this man take him for— a doll he could toss around as he pleased?!

Thin veins bulged on Shen Nianzu’s forehead, his knuckles cracking with the urge to punch a certain someone. But then he looked into Jin Jiuchi’s exhilarated and worshipping eyes which reflected him and him alone, and the anger building in his chest immediately vanished with a poof until not even a trace remained. He could only roll his eyes helplessly and waited until Jin Jiuchi was done playing around, placing him down once more.

As soon as his little feet touched the ground, he noticed that not only Jin Jiuchi, but Gu Luoxin and Noir’s eyes were also directed his way, clearly curious about what he had done to make the berserk trees give up on Jin Jiuchi.

However, Shen Nianzu simply said, "We got lucky. The necklace can protect Da Shen for a while."

"A while?" Gu Luoxin asked in an apprehensive tone. "How long is that..."

"Fifteen— no, twenty minutes tops," Shen Nianzu replied pensively, his lips pursed tight.

It was now more or less twenty minutes into the last hour. Adding the effect of the skull necklace, they might still need to give it their all during the last fifteen minutes, but that was still much better than nothing.

The scarlet trees, which had lost sight of Jin Jiuchi’s presence, gradually dispersed and staggered their way out of the Green Zone, their demeanor reminiscent of overworked salarymen who had downed too much liquor. The surviving players couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief, though their attention was soon drawn to Jin Jiuchi, the sole victim of the nightmare creatures’ rabid attacks – or to be exact, his glowing stomach.

They couldn’t help it; he was simply too eye-catching like a fire beacon in the dark!

Even if they held no interest in the main reward, they still caught themselves sneaking a few glances, wondering— just how desperate this player was to swallow the ticket himself? Or was he simply insane??

Jin Jiuchi did not even need to turn around to feel their probing glances boring holes into his back. Feeling irritated, he abruptly turned around and snapped, snarling like a provoked beast, "You want to steal from me too—?!"

...from me too...

...too...

...too...

His enraged roar echoed through the silent forest in an eerie manner.

Whenever Jin Jiuchi’s hostile gaze landed, a chilling shiver ran down the players’ spines as they swiftly dropped their heads, not daring to prolong the eye contact even for a second longer.

They had hid themselves nearby and witnessed the entirety of Jin Jiuchi’s battle against the towering scarlet trees. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed someone could rely purely on physical prowess without the aid of skill cards or props and could still hold an equal ground against those nightmare creatures. As if it wasn’t enough, he even seized the chance to taunt them!

Had it been them in Jin Jiuchi’s position, they would have dropped dead within the first minute for sure!

What kind of terrifying player was this? No, no, no— they couldn’t afford to fight him for the main reward!

The players shuddered and held their breaths nervously, wishing they could magically turn invisible to prove that they had no intention of coveting the main reward.

Alas, the same could not be applied to the players who had just reached the Green Zone, thus missing Jin Jiuchi’s thrilling action. Their eyes lit up with greed as soon as they spotted the unmistakable glow radiating from Jin Jiuchi’s body.

Among them were players Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu couldn’t be more familiar with.

Gu Luoxin was the first to spot them as Shen Nianzu was busy soothing his bristling lover. His breath abruptly snagged in his throat, his scalp turned numb, and his round eyes flew wide in panic. The memory of the brutal massacre was still painfully vivid in his mind, triggering his instinctive urge to flee.

As a result, his body moved faster than his brain could process as he took cover behind a tall and broad stature closest to him— who just happened to be Noir.

Noir lowered his lashes to look at the young man cowering and hiding fearfully using his body. In such proximity, he could clearly make out Gu Luoxin’s quivering lashes, the cold sweat beading on the tip of his nose, and the pure anxiety reflected in those clear eyes. However, the other person did not seem to realize what was going on yet, as he kept stealing glances at Jin Jiuchi.

"Psst, psst, Da Shen!"

"What’s up?" Jin Jiuchi replied half-heartedly, not even giving him a glance.

Gu Luoxin stomped his feet in anger. Gritting his teeth, he whispered in a suppressed voice, "They’re here— the players who hurt Xiao Shen! I spotted them just now!"

That succeeded in capturing Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu’s attention. Not only that, Noir also raised his half-lidded eyelids and swept a brief glance over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing like a scheming cat.

"Where?" Jin Jiuchi appeared by his side almost in a blink of an eye as if he had teleported, a sinister shadow creeping into his eyes which promised nothing but blood and vengeance. "Where are they?"

Feeling as if he had gotten a solid backing, Gu Luoxin did not hesitate to point out the four players with a mixture of anger and enthusiasm. Yet as it turned out, Jin Jiuchi did not even need to seek them out because the four players showed themselves first, sparing him the time and effort.

"Little brother," the woman with a red spider tattoo on her neck spoke in a coquettish tone, forming a sharp contrast to the murderous intent brewing in her eyes. "What have you got on your body? Mind letting this Big Sister see?"

Beside her, the three others also shifted into an offensive stance, ready to throw themselves into the battle.

"Sure ah~" Jin Jiuchi drawled on his words lazily. He flashed a sharp grin that looked more like he was baring his teeth. "Just in time. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you?"

The four players: ...?

What? He had been waiting for them?

The same question flashed through their minds as they keenly noticed the oddity in Jin Jiuchi’s words, but in the end, they did not think much of it. Firstly, because they were certain they had neither seen nor heard of Jin Jiuchi before, and secondly, they had not noticed Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu’s presence nearby.

Even if they had, it did not matter much.

As the members of the prestigious number one organization in the whole country, they had a sky-high pride and capital to be arrogant, only noting players whose rank was higher than them. And of course, Jin Jiuchi wasn’t included in this list. For them, the players beneath them were considered weaklings. They had always dominated each Cycle they had challenged, enough to form this unshakeable notion in their subconscious minds.

With the combined effort of the four of them, taking care of a single Jin Jiuchi should be a mere child’s play.

"Wait—" It was at this moment that Gu Luoxin recalled a crucial detail he had overlooked because he was too focused on describing Shen Nianzu’s injury. Oh no, he... he had forgotten to inform Jin Jiuchi that one of their enemies specialized in air-borne poison!

Gu Luoxin’s face turned pale in fright. He scrambled to take a hold of Jin Jiuchi— but it was too late. Jin Jiuchi had already rushed ahead, leaving him clutching at nothing but empty air. The forward momentum caused him to stumble, and he would have crushed face-first to the ground were it not for Noir’s firm hands catching his shoulders just in time and holding him up.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Luoxin would have freaked out upon sensing the solid warmth so close to his skin, yet at this moment, he did not even register who was in front of him.

He watched in helpless horror as Jin Jiuchi clashed with the four players.