Kaleidoscope of Death

As for the outcome of this battle…Lin Qiushi slowly approached the doorway and looked in through the door crack.

He found the inside of the room completely enveloped in darkness, but could still make out the mess all over. Furniture was scattered all over the floor, but the most eye-catching piece was—lying in the center—the fishman that looked on the brink of death. It was the yellow-eyed fish monster Lin Qiushi had seen only yesterday inside this room. It was still alive, but its breaths were already quite weak. Even when Lin Qiushi stepped closer, it didn’t give off any reaction.

Lin Qiushi was still careful though, especially when approaching the fish. They didn’t know if it still had any fight left in it, after all.

The good thing was that the situation was a bit better than they’d anticipated—the monster’s body was covered in a myriad of injuries. Its blood wasn’t red, either, but an unfortunate inky green that was both viscous and rancid. The monster lied on the floor, not reacting at all as Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu got close. Even when the two were standing right in front of it, it didn’t so much as twitch.

Ruan Nanzhu stared in silence for a bit, before sticking a foot out and stepping on its skin. When he saw that it still wasn’t reacting, he said, “it’s almost dead.”

“Mh.” Lin Qiushi inspected the monster, watching as its breaths grew weaker and weaker. In the end, the airy rhythm also halted, and it died just like that. That was when Lin Qiushi got out a dining knife. “I’ll do it.”

“Wait,” Ruan Nanzhu said suddenly.

Lin Qiushi looked back. He thought Ruan Nanzhu would say something to stop him, but instead Ruan Nanzhu only pulled a pair of plastic gloves out of his backpack and handed them to Lin Qiushi.

“Put on the gloves. Don’t get its liquids on you.”

The dark green liquid flowing out of the fish-monster was indeed unpleasant to look at; it was best to avoid physical contact as much as they could, since they didn’t know what the consequences would be.

Lin Qiushi nodded, took the gloves, and put them on. Dining knife in hand and half-crouched on the ground, he began cutting off that spike-like thing on the top of the fish-monster’s head.

His motions were careful, constantly alert to any movements from the fish-monster, afraid that it would get suddenly violent again before actually dying.

But fortunately, throughout the time it took for Lin Qiushi to remove that spike from the monster’s head, it didn’t react at all. In fact, it was already dead—though its pair of big yellow eyes remained wide open, there were already no signs of breathing in its body.

Lin Qiushi got up and handed the spike in his hands to Ruan Nanzhu. Then he took the gloves off and tossed them to the side.

It was a long, sharp spike, about half a meter in length. It was very hard, and could easily puncture a hole in a solid plank of wood. Black bloodstains covered the thing, and it was easy to imagine that during the battle, it too must have left quite a number of injuries on the white-eyed monster.

Ruan Nanzhu wrapped the spike up in a plastic bag and very carefully put it in his backpack.

Lin Qiushi said: “The string, the long sword, and the aperitif. It’s all ready.”

Ruan Nanzhu looked up at the sky and said, “we’ll wait until evening then.”

Lin Qiushi nodded.

The three of them walked up to the top deck and found a place to sit and chat. The rest of the people were still traversing the cabin, searching for clues to the door and key.

“This door seems kind of easy,” Gu Longming said.

“How was it easy?” Ruan Nanzhu replied tepidly. “If Linlin hadn’t found the clue about the insects, we’d likely still be completely turned around right now.”

Toward the insect-covered NPC, everybody’s instinctive reactions would be to avoid him, not knowing that he was actually the key to getting out.

“True.” Gu Longming scratched his head. “You’re both amazing.”

Ruan Nanzhu asked, “what’s your real name?”

At Ruan Nanzhu’s question, Gu Longming first startled, and then looked giddy. He knew what it meant that Ruan Nanzhu was asking for his real name—that Ruan Nanzhu was agreeing to let him join Obsidian. Someone stronger that Lin Qiushi…Gu Longming laughed, and told them his real name:

“My real name is Ye Niao.”

Ruan Nanzhu nodded his understanding.

“Once we get out of this door, I’ll go and find you.”

“You know where I live?” Gu Longming asked peculiarly.

“Of course I do,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “I wouldn’t have let my Linlin cross doors with you otherwise.”

Not only did he know where Gu Longming lived, but he also knew Gu Longming’s real name. These questions of his were only to test Gu Longming’s sincerity.

Gu Longming: “…” He really didn’t know what to say at the moment.

Due to everything that happened in the past few days, the number of people who gathered to eat in the dining room once again decreased; there was only a scattered few sitting at the table.

These people sat in the dining room scantly eating, but the atmosphere was at least fairly cordial.

Ruan Nanzhu’s group didn’t eat any fish, of course. What Lin Qiushi couldn’t understand was that the others didn’t seem to be as repulsed by the fish as they once were. The guy who’d been seasick, even, had a couple of bites of fish today.

“You don’t think it’s gross?” Gu Longming couldn’t help but ask the person sitting beside him.

“I don’t think it’s as gross as I imagined.” For the past few days, Shen Juexin had been throwing up an inhuman amount, but he seemed in better shape today. His face, at least, was no longer wax-yellow. He said, “Ooh…I think I feel much better now.”

Lin Qiushi said, “it’s better if you stop eating. The fish doesn’t look fresh at all.”

Shen Juexin scratched his head: “It’s fine, isn’t it?”

Then he took another bite with no sign of disgust.

Watching Shen Juexin’s motions, Lin Qiushi felt conflicted. He’d tasted the fish before, and it really was disgusting—and he could still smell the same fishy stench, so he imagined the taste hadn’t changed. He just didn’t know why Shen Juexin now thought the fish before him was fine…

Just as Lin Qiushi was contemplating this, he saw Ruan Nanzhu pick up some chopsticks—then Ruan Nanzhu too had gotten a bite of the fish and set it in his mouth.

“Zhu Meng?!” Lin Qiushi was startled by Ruan Nanzhu’s actions. He didn’t think Ruan Nanzhu too would taste the fish.

After swallowing it, Ruan Nanzhu’s brows furrowed.

“…It really isn’t bad anymore.”

“Isn’t bad?” Lin Qiushi felt that something was off. After he heard this, he too gave it a try, and made sure that the fish meat still had no other flavors but that gamy rot. “But it’s still bad…Hang on…”

He looked at Ruan Nanzhu, eyes filled with disbelief.

“Unless the aperitif is random?”

Ruan Nanzhu was silent, his chopsticks poking at the fish on his plate.

There were still eleven people alive, and seven of them were seated in the dining room. Not counting Ruan Nanzhu, there were at least three of the seven sitting with chopsticks in hand, feasting on the fish. And judging from their expressions, it wasn’t a hardship at all; in fact the fish looked to be delicious.

Lin Qiushi had a bad feeling about this. He said: “Zhu Meng, don’t eat anymore. Let’s go back to our room.”

But Ruan Nanzhu didn’t move. His eyes were downcast, gaze falling on the fish in front of him, as if it held some immense power of attraction that made it so he couldn’t easily set it down.

His behavior sent chills down Lin Qiushi’s spine. Lin Qiushi shot Gu Longming a look, and Gu Longming understood without speaking, taking one of Ruan Nanzhu’s arms with Lin Qiushi on the other side and pulling him by force out of the dining room.

And then the three found a random room. Once inside, Lin Qiushi pulled the bedsheets off in a rush and tied Ruan Nanzhu firmly to a chair.

Luckily, as Lin Qiushi did all this, Ruan Nanzhu’s behavior stayed calm. The most he did was bunch up that pretty brow of his and ask, “what are you tying me up for?”

Very calmly, Lin Qiushi replied: “I’m scared that you’ll eat the fish.”

Ruan Nanzhu didn’t say anymore. He cocked his head, agitation appearing amidst his expression as if he too didn’t really understand why he now liked eating fish. Lin Qiushi thought he’d say something about it but in the end, he didn’t, only saying, “alright then.”

It seemed that this door had been too easy—so easy that they’d let down their guards. Lin Qiushi told Gu Longming to bring Ruan Nanzhu out into the hallway to prevent being carried away by the changing rooms. As for himself, he returned to the dining room, and discovered that pretty much everybody inside had started eating the fish in their plates.

What had originally been bland and faintly rotted fish meat were now, in their eyes, some kind of rare delicacy; they feasted with their heads buried, completely unaware of Lin Qiushi’s arrival.

Lin Qiushi took one look before taking off. When he got to the top deck, he saw Xiao Mo from before crouched by herself in a corner, her face pale. When she saw him coming she met his eyes with a panicked gaze.

“What happened?” Lin Qiushi asked her.

“The kitchen…” Xiao Mo spoke up, her voice faint. “Something’s happened…the kitchen…”

“What?” Lin Qiushi said. “What happened?”

“It’s like they’d all gone crazy.” Xiao Mo kept her distance from Lin Qiushi, like she was scared of being close to anybody right now. “They’re eating the fish. They’re all eating the fish like they’re crazy.”

Though it was just a few sentences, Lin Qiushi still understood the full meaning of Xiao Mo’s words. He nodded and said: “Alright, I understand. Take care of yourself.”

Xiao Mo: “Are…are you going over there?”

Lin Qiushi: “Mhm. I’m going to go take a look.”

Xiao Mo didn’t say anything more.

Lin Qiushi turned and headed for the kitchen beside the dining room. The kitchen’s position was also fixed, and the thick fishy stink could be smelled before even getting there.

Lin Qiushi’s feet stopped at the kitchen doorway, and he didn’t go inside. From there he heard an odd chewing sound coming from within. Through the window, he saw the horrifying scene.

Several people were squatting on the ground with their faces buried in a giant fish. The fish hadn’t been cooked in any way, and appeared a faint, dead white; red veins could still be seen among the flesh. But the three people inside didn’t seem to care at all, putting their whole faces practically inside the meat. Their expressions of fulfillment could faintly be seen, as if the fish in front of them was some truly delicious food.

Lin Qiushi could take a lot, but even he felt a wave of nausea at a sight like this.

He took a deep breath and steadied his mind before stepping into the kitchen and calling out: “Are you guys alright?” He wanted to see if these people were still conscious.

But the reality before him doused his hopes. It was like the people in front of him hadn’t heard him at all, their attentions staying rapt on the fish meat. None of them even looked up. It was obvious they had already deviated far from the norm.

Seeing such a scene, something immediately came to Lin Qiushi’s mind, and he turned and left. He was worried about Ruan Nanzhu, worried that these same changes would take place on Ruan Nanzhu’s body.

After Lin Qiushi left, Gu Longming had brought Ruan Nanzhu outside into the hallway with the chair. The hallways didn’t change, and so when Lin Qiushi came back, he saw Ruan Nanzhu still sitting in the seat. Only, Ruan Nanzhu’s expression wasn’t looking so good.

“Zhu Meng,” Lin Qiushi called to him. “Hang in there. You’ll be fine after tonight.”

“But I’m really hungry.” Ruan Nanzhu hung his head, and a tendril of hair curled at his cheek, making him look both weak and fragile with a pitiful air that was hard to refuse. He was biting his lips, and there was a watery light flickering in his eyes. “Linlin, I want to eat something.”

Lin Qiushi got food out of his bag in a hurry, but when he put it to Ruan Nanzhu’s mouth, Ruan Nanzhu just pressed his lips together.

“No. I don’t want to eat that.”

“Then what do you want to eat?” Lin Qiushi asked.

“I want to eat fish,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Let me have some, please?”

He looked up slightly, gazing at Lin Qiushi with wanting eyes.

To tell the truth, had it been anything else, Lin Qiushi would likely have caved immediately when faced with a Ruan Nanzhu like this. But in this situation, he had no choice but to steel himself and say, “no.”

Ruan Nanzhu’s pitiful expression disappeared in an instant, his eyes going icy and his voice going just as terrifyingly cold: “Lin Qiushi, do you know what you’re doing?”

This was the Ruan Nanzhu from outside the door: impervious and haughty, like a god looking down upon ants.

“I do.” But Lin Qiushi was unmoved. He reached out and lifted Ruan Nanzhu’s head by the chin, enunciating each and every word: “I know exactly what I’m doing. You want to eat fish? Don’t even think about.”

Ruan Nanzhu glared at Lin Qiushi’s eyes like he was trying to find the slightest bit of wavering in Lin Qiushi’s gaze. But evidently, he failed, voice softening again: “Linlin, Linlin, but I really really want to eat fish…”

His attitude went back and forth like so, but Lin Qiushi stayed steely and completely unmoved.

Watching from the sidelines, Gu Longming was impressed as well. He said, “Damn Linlin, you can withstand all that?”

Lin Qiushi: “What am I meant to do if I can’t? Let him go eat the fish?”

He told Gu Longming what happened in the dining room and kitchen, and afterwards, Gu Longming scrunched up his face.

“Why this sudden development…” He seemed to think of something. “Could it be some kind of acceleration effect after the yellow-eyed fishman’s death?”

“I don’t know.” Lin Qiushi glanced at the time—there were still four hours until evening. They had to make it through these four hours.

He could practically see the shadow of the people gobbling up fish meat on Ruan Nanzhu. Lin Qiushi roughly calculated that there were no more than four people still normal on the entire ship; everybody else seemed to have been possessed.

No matter how much Ruan Nanzhu threatened or tempted, Lin Qiushi acted like he couldn’t hear a thing. In the end Ruan Nanzhu seemed a bit tired and stopped talking altogether, sitting in the chair in silence.

So Lin Qiushi began preparing for the task that night.

The entire ship was currently full of the aperitif. The long sword was in his hands, and the string had also appeared; he was just like a knight about to enter the labyrinth to rescue the princess—though it seemed the current case was that he’d tied his princess to a chair with his own two hands.

Seeing Ruan Nanzhu’s condition, Gu Longming sighed and scratched his head.

“That’s just really weird. You and I have both tasted the fish before, so why is Zhu Meng the one affected?”

Lin Qiushi indicated that he also didn’t know.

There must be some hidden condition—maybe only those who hadn’t tasted the fish were affected. But it was all only speculation for now, and the answer to their speculations wasn’t important. The important thing was that they finished this door as quickly as possible. Lin Qiushi couldn’t keep Ruan Nanzhu tied up forever, after all.

It was the first time he so anticipated an evening. Once he saw the sky gradually darken, Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming moved the tied-up Ruan Nanzhu back inside a room, chair and all.

Ruan Nanzhu still wasn’t speaking. Lin Qiushi understood him, however, and could tell from his eyes that Ruan Nanzhu still hadn’t given up.

“Linlin,” Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke.

Lin Qiushi glanced at him.

“Linlin, are you going off to defeat him alone?” Ruan Nanzhu said. “I’m worried about you going on your own. Won’t you let me go with you please?”

“No,” Lin Qiushi said. “See? You’re lying to me again.”

Ruan Nanzhu kept up the righteous tone, saying: “I’m not lying. When you go fight, I’ll be behind you watching your back.”

Listening to the way Ruan Nanzhu spoke, Lin Qiushi thought he ought to be angry, but couldn’t help a laugh instead: “Watch my back? You mean while I kill the monster up front, you’ll be behind me eating fish?”

Ruan Nanzhu peeked once at Lin Qiushi, and said nothing more.

“Does the fish taste that good?” Lin Qiushi asked him.

Ruan Nanzhu pouted, still silent.

“Does it taste better than me?” Lin Qiushi asked some more.

“Of course you taste better,” Ruan Nanzhu mumbled. At the present, his whole manner was off. It was like he was a little kid. “But I’m just too hungry right now, and I can’t eat you, I’d be too sad.”

Lin Qiushi laughed.

Beside them, Gu Longming could only eat up the dog food in silence, thinking aah, they can’t do that, shit’s already hit the fan and they still have to flaunt this flood of love.

Lin Qiushi watched the dimming sky outside and inwardly counted themselves lucky that he and Gu Longming were still normal. Otherwise, this door would’ve been a real problem.

By the time it got dark, Ruan Nanzhu was a lot quieter, staring peacefully out the window. Lin Qiushi initially thought that after he got some rest, he’d pester them to eat fish some more—but then he fell asleep.

“Should we put him on the bed?” Gu Longming asked Lin Qiushi quietly. Ruan Nanzhu had been tied up all day, after all.

But after some thought, Lin Qiushi shook his head.

“No. Keep him tied up.” He couldn’t be sure if Ruan Nanzhu was actually sleeping right now—if the bastard was faking it, then considering his fighting prowess, even Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming together might not be able to keep him down.

Plus it was nearly night. The monster was due to appear, and if Ruan Nanzhu got out, something could easily happen.

“I should still go with you,” Gu Longming said, watching Lin Qiushi fetch the long spike from the bags. “We can watch each other’s backs.”

Lin Qiushi shook his head and rejected Gu Longming’s suggestion: “You stay here to watch him. If I can’t manage alone, then you being with me won’t be much help. Plus, he’s not in a good state, someone needs to be guarding him.”

Seeing Lin Qiushi’s determination, Gu Longming could say nothing more but a wish of good luck.

Lin Qiushi nodded, taking Gu Longming’s blessings.

Once the night dimmed, Lin Qiushi kept an ear out for motion outside. Finally, he caught onto a faint sound. It was a sound he’d heard many times already—a large creature moving across wooden floor boards.

Lin Qiushi looked at Gu Longming.

“I’m heading out.”

Gu Longming: “Go on, Ge, I’ll take good care of my sister-in-law.”

Lin Qiushi: “…” Why did that sound so wrong?

Seeing Lin Qiushi’s expression, Gu Longming laughed quietly.

“Alright, it was only a joke. And as if there’s a sister situation here at all. Godspeed, come back soon.

Lin Qiushi opened the door and headed out. He went to the dining room first.

The dining room was the starting point of the maze. It was also the starting point of the insect string; by following the line of insects from there, he could find the monster.

Lin Qiushi took the long sword and followed the string carefully forward. Following his stride, he quickly began to hear an unpleasant noise. It sounded like a wild beast was gnawing on meat, and the only source of meat on the ship was…

Across the width of the top deck, Lin Qiushi found his target.

It was a giant fish-monster, its body buff and covered in ink-colored scales. Only, compared to yesterday, there were many more wounds on its body. Lin Qiushi naturally knew where these wounds came from. At this moment, all of the fishman’s attention was on the chewed up mess of a human body beneath its feet. It didn’t seem to have noticed Lin Qiushi carefully approaching from behind.

Lin Qiushi knew this was his only chance, so he was at once cautious and filled with ruthless determination. He took the long horn in hand and slowly lifted it—then he plunged downwards, piercing right through the fishman’s neck.

The fishman let out a ghastly screech. Black blood gushed from its body before it collapsed limply onto the ground.

But Lin Qiushi didn’t trust that; after the fishman fell he followed up with a bunch more aggressive stabs. Only when he was sure of its complete and total death did he exhale in relief.

He stood where he was, resting for a minute, before using the spike in his hands to split the fishman’s stomach open. He endured his disgust as he searched all over, and finally, amidst the wreckage of offal, found what he was looking for—a green bronze key that looked completely normal. Though there was nothing special about the way it looked, in Lin Qiushi’s current eyes, there was nothing in this world cuter than this very key.

He picked the key up, put it in his pocket, and left the deck.