When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)-Chapter 695: Dead City

They were here already—inside the Nightmare City?!

The news was no different than a sudden bolt of lightning striking Shen Nianzu on the head.

Before coming here, he had simulated a lot of scenarios as to what the Cycle looked like and what they would encounter inside, but there was one thing that remained unchanged— danger. It was undoubtedly a place fraught with danger in every corner, where the slightest misstep would cost you a life.

Shen Nianzu didn’t harbor the slightest doubt that this Cycle would be far more daunting than anything he had ever faced before.

Therefore, when he heard from Jin Jiuchi that they were already inside the Nightmare City, he reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Every single cell on his body went on high alert as he forced himself to leave the medical pod.

However, he had barely sat up when Jin Jiuchi pushed him to lie down once more, exclaiming in alarm, "Ah, ah, ah—don’t do that, Nian’er! You’re still not fit enough to leave yet. Look!" he pointed at the monitoring screen attached to the pod. "It says here that you need forty five more minutes of rest!"

Forty five minutes? Shen Nianzu could barely sit still for five more seconds!

"How could I possibly stay here for that long?!" he hissed, his sharp gaze on lookout for any signs of trouble. "We’re inside the Nightmare City! The cursed Cycle that has produced the Nightmare itself!"

In response to his protest, however, Jin Jiuchi simply thumped his own chest, reassuring, "Don’t worry, Nian’er, there is no danger here!"

Shen Nianzu looked at him as if he had gone insane. "Do you even hear yourself?"

A high-level Cycle demanded players to be alert right off the bat and maintain vigilance at all times. There was no such thing as resting time here. Take the previous Cycle, House of Evil, for example— as soon as Shen Nianzu entered, he had to familiarize himself with his role and acted appropriately to gain the opportunity to leave the sea and enter land. If he had been careless, he might have been trapped in the siren kingdom, or worse, be the subject of suspicions from the sirens! And yet even after taking all the precautions, he still ended up knocked out and kidnapped once he went ashore! That was how treacherous a high-level Cycle was!

And if one found themselves in a peaceful environment, it was even worse, for a more terrible crisis must be lurking in the shadows!

Meaning they had to be extra vigilant instead of just... resting!

No, he must not stay here any longer! He had to leave and—

"Whoa, whoa, whoa— easy, Nian’er!" Jin Jiuchi once again thwarted Shen Nianzu’s attempt to leave the pod, but even if he didn’t, Shen Nianzu still couldn’t leave because his body felt so fucking weak and heavy!

Huffing and puffing, he could only be forced to lie down once more as Jin Jiuchi took hold of his clenched fist and gently pried open his fingers one by one, soothing him gently,

"I know what you’re worried about, but what I said is true. At least now, in this place... there’s no danger. So you can be rest assured, Nian’er." He fell silent for a beat before saying, "This Cycle is different from others. You should see it for yourself."

How was he supposed to see for himself?

He could only lie down inside the medical pod for a whole excruciating forty five minutes and wait until all the indicators on his body had become green. Fortunately, Jin Jiuchi was there to accompany him, making the wait no longer seem as unbearable somehow.

"How can you tell there’s no danger?" he asked. "Have you explored this place?"

"Uh-huh," Jin Jiuchi nodded.

"What is this place, exactly? And... did you remember anything?" He searched Jin Jiuchi’s face carefully for any hints or clues.

But Jin Jiuchi’s eyes were so clear and transparent, hiding absolutely nothing as he replied in a loud voice, "N-ope, no impression at all!"

Shen Nianzu: "..."

Did he have to look so proud of the answer?

All of a sudden, Shen Nianzu had the urge to knead his forehead. However, this outcome was already well within his expectations; he wouldn’t count on Jin Jiuchi to remember anything, so he simply blew out a breath and asked his dumb husky to describe everything he had seen.

Such a task was undoubtedly challenging for Jin Jiuchi’s limited vocabulary. He could only stammer his way through while using hand and body gestures to the fullest.

Even then, his main point was simply:

"This whole place... is a graveyard."

Shen Nianzu: "..."

"Really!" Jin Jiuchi stretched his eyes wider to show how earnest and sincere he was. "I’m not lying to you, Nian’er!"

"I didn’t say you are lying..." Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling a bit helpless. It’s just that, such a vague explanation only fanned his curiosity even more, he was practically itchy to go out and explore.

As soon as the forty five minutes were up, Shen Nianzu didn’t waste even a second longer as he ripped off all the electrodes stuck to his bare skin and fumbled his way out of the pod.

Jin Jiuchi, exasperated as he was, knew that he could no longer hold his Nian’er back. He could only support the still weak and pale-faced Shen Nianzu out of the room.

Shen Nianzu halted on his tracks the instant they stepped outside, his pale purple eyes widening in shock.

Everywhere he saw... stretching as far as the eye could see, were countless ’boxes’ stacked upon one another, identical to the narrow room he had just come out from. They rose in layers, forming a colossal atrium, as if the entire world had been constructed from these compartments alone. The number was astonishing, reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands.

Leaning on the railing, Shen Nianzu craned his neck yet was still unable to spot the sky above.

He couldn’t help but gulp.

Even without looking, Shen Nianzu could already imagine it; each room housed a medical pod. And inside each pod... lay a person, just like him.

Was everyone in the city here...?

The realization only emphasized the silence that blanketed the space. Despite the huge number of people, it was so quiet to the extent that even the air felt oppressive, as if the oxygen itself had thinned, pressing in on his chest and making him feel suffocated.

Swallowing hard, he voiced the question in his mind,

"These rooms... they all contain people?"

"Mn," Jin Jiuchi affirmed in a soft hum.

Shen Nianzu felt his throat going dry. "...All of them?"

Jin Jiuchi nodded again.

"Are they still alive or..."

"Still alive, but their conditions are worse than death. The Nightmare won’t let them die," Jin Jiuchi said in a deep voice, sending a chilling tremor through Shen Nianzu’s whole body.

Having just escaped from the nightmare, he knew all too well how terrifying it was to be trapped inside, to relieve the same scene again and again and watch yourself succumb into despair, rotting and decaying. And yet death remained an unattainable luxury, for the medical pod worked continuously to prolong their lives.

What a horrible torture it was.

"That’s why I said this is a graveyard, Nian’er," Jin Jiuchi let out a soft sigh, his emotions indecipherable. "The whole city is already dead at this point."