When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)-Chapter 702: Wake Up, Everyone

"Okay, if Nian’er says so," Jin Jiuchi nodded readily, looking just like an obedient and well-behaved wolf dog.

Shen Nianzu felt a sudden pang in his heart. Between the two of them, it wasn’t just him who wanted to avenge their teammate— but Jin Jiuchi as well. And with how close he had been with Xinxin, he must have been itching to get his revenge even more. Yet here he was, docilely accepting Shen Nianzu’s one-sided arrangement without even a single word of protest.

Feeling a faint heartache, Shen Nianzu reached out to touch his cheek in a gentle, apologetic gesture, saying, "Sorry, I just went ahead and did it without asking for your opinion. Was that enough for you?"

Shen Nianzu was considering whether they should enter Shang’s nightmare again and let Jin Jiuchi beat him personally this time, when he heard the man chuckle. "What’s not okay about it?" he grasped Shen Nianzu’s hand on his face, gently pressing a kiss on the center of the palm. His eyes crinkled with smiles. "Nian’er’s plan is perfect, I’m more than happy to go along with it. Besides, I also think this kind of ending suits him best."

Following Jin Jiuchi’s line of sight, Shen Nianzu raised his head and saw that one of the screens before them was still showing the scene inside Shang’s nightmare.

After they left, Shang was brought back to the troublemaker boy’s powerful father, where he underwent unimaginable physical and mental torture. He tried and tried to endure, wary of Jin Jiuchi’s last warning, but in the end he just couldn’t take it anymore and took his own life when nobody’s looking.

But then... he did not die.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that he had been saved. However, because he had cut his wrist too deep, he ended up causing permanent damage, leaving the doctor with no choice but to amputate his hand.

When Shang woke up and spotted his stumped hand, he finally broke down for good.

Watching the once powerful and arrogant player collapsing—howling, cursing, and bawling his eyes out without the slightest care of his image—gave Shen Nianzu a twisted rush of thrill and satisfaction.

Feel that. Savor that misery, he thought darkly. This is payment for what you did to Xinxin.

He turned to Jin Jiuchi— hmm, the two of them must be wearing a similar expression right now. Just that Jin Jiuchi’s grin appeared more unnerving and perverted, like that of a last-level villainous boss. Enough to scare crying children into quiet hiccups.

At the height of his excitement, Jin Jiuchi swooped down and planted a loud smooch on his cheek. "Nian’er is the best, I love this revenge! When Xinxin wakes up later, you must tell him about it! He will definitely be elated!"

Shen Nianzu burst out laughing and playfully shoved the excited husky’s face away. "Tell him yourself. Didn’t you say last time you are ready to recount everything we’ve been through to make him remember you again, even if it takes you three days and three nights?"

"Hmph!" Jin Jiuchi licked a broad stripe on his palm, and when Shen Nianzu jerked his hand back and glared at him, he laughed mischievously, contentedly, looking a bit silly and goofy.

Now that their revenge was complete, the burden that had long weighed down on Shen Nianzu’s heart finally lightened, even the suffocating tension brought by the high-level Cycle seemed to ease significantly.

But it did not mean they could lower their guard still.

This Cycle was truly strange. There was no mission prompt, and even all the NPCs were currently comatosed they might as well just be part of the decoration. Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but frown. Could it be that the Nightmare intended to trap them in this Cycle forever, without giving him a chance to earn the return ticket?

Should they leave this facility and explore outside?

But then again, what was the point of exploring a dead city? What were the odds that there were still survivors out there? 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

When Shen Nianzu muttered his doubts aloud, Jin Jiuchi fell silent for a while before asking, "Nian’er, do you want to draw the Nightmare out?"

Shen Nianzu turned to him, taken aback. "Do you have any idea?"

"I’m not sure, but... maybe it’s worth a try?"

Shen Nianzu might as well write ’skeptical’ and ’doubt’ with bold letters plainly across his forehead and both sides of his cheeks. Based on Jin Jiuchi’s track records so far, it would be impossible not to be cautious of any plans conjured by the man’s brilliantly skewed brain.

"You’re not planning to go on a rampage and tear this whole city apart, are you?" he couldn’t help but suspect because that sounded just like something Jin Jiuchi would do!

But when he heard Jin Jiuchi’s plan, his eyes quite literally flew wide in shock, displaying the sheer disbelief he was feeling inside.

"You..." Shen Nianzu was a little speechless, his feelings complicated. In the end, he gave Jin Jiuchi a thumbs-up. "You have really improved."

"You agree?! Do you agree with my plan, Nian’er?!" Jin Jiuchi pressed on, almost plastering himself to Shen Nianzu’s side, so thrilled his tail was practically pointed toward the sky.

Shen Nianzu deadpanned, "At least it’s better than you destroying the city."

Causing a random destruction might not necessarily draw the Nightmare out unless they destroyed the whole Cycle, but that also meant they risked missing all the clues they could have found in this place. But the suggestion proposed by Jin Jiuchi... it was perfect. Had it been Shen Nianzu alone, he wouldn’t have been reckless enough to attempt something like this, especially when he could not ascertain the consequences of doing so!

But maybe because of the thrill of their successful revenge, or the presence of Jin Jiuchi by his side, Shen Nianzu found himself getting carried away.

If they wanted to clash head-on, why must he continue to act so cautiously?

It’s do or die—Shen Nianzu was willing to gamble on this one move!

Taking a deep breath, he shifted his gaze to the screens, flexed his fingers and inputted another command. A faint icy smile quirked on the corner of his lips as the previously red signs on the medical pods began turning green one by one— all of them, except for Shang’s.

Was the Nightmare truly originated from the artificial intelligent Night? Or was it something else entirely? They were gambling... gambling on the possibility that the Nightmare was really born out of the NPCs slumbering beneath, and that their endless suffering was caused by the Nightmare itself.

There must be a reason why it kept all these people in slumber, torturing them even in their dreams and sucking them dry without mercy.

If that was the case... would it be able to bear seeing this?

"It’s time to wake up, everyone," Shen Nianzu murmured under his breath, his voice low and coaxing, like the whisper of a demon rising from the abyss.

Beside him, Jin Jiuchi was literally starry-eyed, too mesmerized by the striking and ruthless beauty of his jade doll.

The cryo sleep ended prematurely. After the final indicators turned green, there was a prolonged, ominous silence for one... two minutes... and then—

Groans.

Countless weak groans. Agonized moans. Broken, hoarse wails.

The sounds surged up from the depths of the facility, overlapping and swelling until they seemed to smother the entire world. Even Shen Nianzu, who had spent less than seven days inside the pod, felt utterly drained and hollowed out after waking up from the nightmare. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how broken the mentality of these NPCs was after being subjected to unending torment with no moment of reprieve over the course of the long years.

Amidst the rising cacophony, Jin Jiuchi straightened up, the lovestruck look on his eyes vanished and was replaced by a sharp, chilling gleam.

"It’s coming," he said somberly.