Kaleidoscope of Death

CHAPTER 26: BACK TO REALITY

"Tang Yaoyao..." Xu Xiaocheng was aghast at the scene. The look of sheer terror filling her eyes became more intense the longer she gaped at Tang Yaoyao. "What's going on with your body?"

At the other's words, Tang Yaoyao lowered her head and suspiciously glanced down at her own body, only to finally see what was happening to her. She could only stare in horror as the skin on her whole body turned glaringly red, as if the boiling blood underneath her skin was seconds away from overflowing and messily splashing the entire ground.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Issuing the most blood-curdling shriek, Tang Yaoyao frantically began rubbing and scratching her body, digging her nails into her skin, as if her actions would somehow stop the redness from growing; however, to her dismay, her actions only caused the crimson marks to spread even faster, until her entire body eventually became red through and through.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Save me ah! Somebody save me!!! Ackkkkkkk—" As ceaseless, plaintive screeches spilled from her mouth, Tang Yaoyao's body began to exhibit more changes. Her skin and muscles started turning stiff, as if rigor mortis had set in, and she soon collapsed to the floor like a mannequin.

All of this happened in a blink of an eye. No one could hardly process what they'd just witnessed. By the time they were able to react, the tragedy that befell Tang Yaoyao had already passed. Tang Yaoyao's body was sprawled across the floor, her wide eyes were staring vacantly at the ceiling, and she had lost all signs of life. It looked as though her entire body had been dipped into crimson paint; even the whites of her manic eyes had been stained by that diabolical red tint.

Utterly frightened out of her wits, Xu Xiaocheng started bawling outrageously. Lin Qiushi was also struck dumb by this scene; his words escaped him, and all that was left behind in his mouth was a bitter taste.

Zhang Xinghuo exhaled the breath he had been holding in and foolishly remarked, "There goes another one. Will all of us really be able to live through this?"

His question was met with deathly silence. With the exception of the group's labored breaths, there wasn't a sound heard. Everyone in the room remained tight-lipped and tense.

Tang Yaoyao's corpse was lying stiffly on the ground. Lin Qiushi didn't dare stare at it for a long time, but he couldn't help but notice that there was something oddly fishy with her corpse. Compared to those individuals who had died before, Tang Yaoyao's corpse did not lack any body parts; that was to say, nothing was missing and no part of her seemed to vanish with her death. Rather, she just dropped dead in front of the other just like that, without any warning and with all of her parts intact.

While the group was at a standstill, still trying to process what had just transpired, the hostess, who always seemed to be occupied with something in the kitchen every time they saw her, soon appeared again. She stood at the doorway, smiling at the crowd and lightly wiping her hands on her apron, and said, "I made you all something absolutely scrumptious! How about a taste, yes?"

Naturally, no one answered to her.

"Aiya, aiya." The woman chuckled. "Why the long faces, everyone? The time to celebrate the birthday party is approaching fast. When the time comes, those frowns will surely be turned upside down; you will definitely be jumping in joy!" She tittered endlessly, until she could no longer suppress her giggles and began cackling disturbingly. Her eerie laughter was particularly horrifying, chilling everyone down to their very bones. After making this announcement, the woman swiveled on her heels and sashayed back into the kitchen to continue doing God-knows-what.

"Wait." After a long time, Ruan Nanzhu finally broke the silence. His voice didn't carry a hint of panic or apprehension; in fact, his tone was incredibly calm and composed. "There shouldn't be any more deaths now."