Kaleidoscope of Death

He still had many questions, but it seemed as though this matter also couldn’t be explained in detail in a short amount of time. While Lin Qiushi was finishing eating breakfast, he tactfully expressed that he wished to return home, saying that his house cat hadn’t been fed yet.

“Go ahead.” Ruan Nanzhu actually agreed to Lin Qiushi’s request and said that he would look for him on Friday, so that he could prepare himself.

Lin Qiushi asked, “Preparing myself means that I’ll enter those iron doors again on Friday?”

Ruan Nanzhu hummed calmly.

As Lin Qiushi thought about the scenes inside the door, the food before him gradually turned tasteless; he lost all of his appetite. Once the meal was over, Ruan Nanzhu sent Lin Qiushi back home as promised. The two didn’t talk to each other the entire way back. It was only after Lin Qiushi hopped out of the car that Ruan Nanzhu finally spoke, “I’ll see you on Friday.”

Lin Qiushi nodded and thanked him warmly.

Ruan Nanzhu drove away, and Lin Qiushi returned to his residence.

Chestnut saw Lin Qiushi come back home, but it continued to sprawl across the sofa, lazily resting on its belly. Lin Qiushi called out its name, but it didn’t move; it merely waved its tail in the air in a slow, carefree manner, indicating that it heard him.

Lin Qiushi took advantage of this opportunity to rush forth and pet it a couple of times. In any case, Chestnut didn’t seem to particularly mind and didn’t avoid him, but its attitude was still unfriendly.

Lin Qiushi: “Chestnut, let Dad hug you once.”

He just barely reached out with his hands, before Chestnut lifted up its hind leg and directed a flying kick at him. Lin Qiushi, who had just been ruthlessly kicked, shed tears of sorrow; he knew he had absolutely zero chances of obtaining his dearest Chestnut’s favor and grace for the time being.

The following day, Monday.

Lin Qiushi went to work as usual, and, once again, he informed his boss of his resignation.

When the boss heard that Lin Qiushi truly wanted to resign, he naturally tried doing everything in his power to persuade him to stay, even going as far as to promising the other a hefty raise and a promotion on the spot.

However, Lin Qiushi was utterly resolute. If he had been slightly reluctant and rather hesitant about letting go of this job before, at present time, that moment of hesitation vanished into thin air, and there were no feelings of attachment left behind. He was going to die; it was only natural that he wanted to do many things. Lin Qiushi didn’t know whether he would come out of the next door alive, and he certainly didn’t want to spend all of his precious, irreplaceable time on some mundane work.

The boss saw that all of the enticements he threw the other’s way wouldn’t convince the other, so he could only expose a look of deep regret and grudgingly accept Lin Qiushi’s letter of resignation.

Finally, I don’t have to work overtime every day. Lin Qiushi heaved a sigh of relief and decided to enjoy these precious few days of his life to the fullest.

At this time, the difference in the people’s attitude and mentality were vividly reflected; there were some who merely waited in excruciating anxiety, and there were also some who simply decided to relish every single second of the time they had left.

Five days passed, and Friday night soon arrived.

In the past few days, Lin Qiushi also went to the library to search for any more information on Fitcher’s Bird. Yet, no matter how much he researched, the only conclusion he arrived at was that this was just a gruesome children’s fairy tale; there wasn’t any useful information.

At around eight o’clock on Friday night, Lin Qiushi’s doorbell rang.

He walked over to the door, and the moment he pulled it open, he froze. On the other side of the door stood a woman. The woman was breathtaking, incomparably stunning; she wore light makeup on her face and a very long skirt. Her very being epitomized the essence of classic beauty. Currently, she was staring at Lin Qiushi indifferently. “Lin Qiushi?”

Lin Qiushi: “Holy shit! Ruan Nanzhu!”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Call me Ruan Baijie, thank you very much.”

Lin Qiushi’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. “Why are you wearing women’s clothing?!”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Hobby.”

Lin Qiushi: “…” Ruan Nanzhu had previously said this was a hobby he took pleasure in, but, truthfully speaking, the moment he caught sight of Ruan Nanzhu dressed up like this, he was seriously stimulated.

As a naïve and earnest individual who was so caught up with working overtime every day, he had no idea what a trap¹ even was. Utterly lifeless and wallowing in his lamentable misery, Lin Qiushi dispiritedly pulled open the door for Ruan Nanzhu; the glum expression marking his entire face was beyond forlorn.

“What’s the matter with you?” Ruan Nanzhu wondered. “Do you know that you’re dying very soon?”

Lin Qiushi: “No, it’s nothing.” He was so sad and disappointed that he couldn’t even control his own expression.

He didn’t know who did Ruan Nanzhu’s makeup. The other’s original masculine appearance didn’t even come close to a woman’s appearance, but now, he looked so lovely, so delicate and soul-stirring. Every frown, every smile carried the peerless grace, femininity and allure of females. Apart from his height and voice, there were no other indications of his true gender; absolutely no one would be able to tell he was actually male.

“One’s dignity isn’t as important as one’s life.” Ruan Nanzhu casually sat himself down on Lin Qiushi’s sofa, and Chestnut instantly hopped onto his knees. “Of course, I also don’t dress like this all the time. It’s just that I took up a job this time.”

“What kind of job?” Lin Qiushi unblinkingly stared as Ruan Nanzhu stroked his cat; his face was green with envy…he also wanted to stroke his dear cat.

Ruan Nanzhu: “The look in your eyes is very disturbing.”

Lin Qiushi: “…Is it?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “It is.”

Lin Qiushi shed even more tears of sorrow.

Once again, Ruan Nanzhu glanced at his watch, then made Lin Qiushi change his clothes, mentioning that it’d be better if the other wore clothes he didn’t normally wear. Lin Qiushi didn’t even ask why and just obediently went to change his clothes. After he finished getting dressed, Ruan Nanzhu told him, “It’s best that you don’t let the other participants recognize you in reality.”

“What do you mean?” Lin Qiushi asked. “What will happen if you’re recognized?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “You’ll know later.”

After stating this, he immediately said, “It’s almost time to go.”

He then set Chestnut down on the ground, stood up and walked to the door.

Lin Qiushi followed behind him. He watched as Ruan Nanzhu pushed the door open, and he soon discovered the scenery behind the door had changed. The familiar ordinary corridor had vanished and, instead, twelve cold iron doors appeared before their eyes. One of the doors were covered with a blood-red seal; this very door should’ve been the one that opened to the place Lin Qiushi visited last time.

This was the second time he laid eyes on such a sight. Although he was already mentally prepared, Lin Qiushi’s heart still couldn’t help but jump in his throat.

At Ruan Nanzhu’s ‘after you’ gesture, Lin Qiushi began pulling open the iron doors one by one.

One, two…Lin Qiushi had nearly reached the last door when he finally felt the door handle slightly unlatch. He pulled hard, and with a loud creak, this seemingly heavy door was slammed open.

As before, the moment Lin Qiushi opened the door, a violent force struck him; his entire body was dragged directly inside the door by this unavoidable pull. Soon after, the scenery changed again, and a tall, isolated building manifested before his eyes.

The area surrounding this tall building was submerged in inky blackness. Only the building in front of him emitted a faint glow, as if calling out to him, urging him to come over.

Lin Qiushi looked all around, but he didn’t see Ruan Nanzhu’s figure; in fact, there wasn’t anyone around him, not a single soul in sight. After a brief moment of hesitation, Lin Qiushi finally took a step forward, then strode into the building before him.

Upon walking through the doorway, Lin Qiushi spotted six to seven individuals gathered near the foot of the staircase. Some of the people were rather cool and composed, while others were on the verge of a break down; they would scream and shout, demanding for answers.

Lin Qiushi strode over to the crowd and heard someone roar, “Where is this place?! Who are you all?! I’m going to call the police!!!”

In an instant, Lin Qiushi knew what was happening. This was apparently the very first time this raging man had entered the world beyond the doors.

Author’s Comment:

Lin Qiushi: You have a very interesting hobby.

Ruan Nanzhu: Sure do, would you like to see even more interesting hobbies of mine?

Lin Qiushi: It’s fine, I’m good.

¹女装大佬—Crossdresser/Trap. Basically, a guy who looks like a genuine girl/dresses like a woman but is actually male.