Kaleidoscope of Death

Since arriving here, they’ve eaten several meals cooked by the mother of those triplets.

Although each meal prepared for them had its own distinct taste, one thing for sure was that almost all of the ingredients used in every dish were extremely vegan-friendly; that was to say, none of these dishes contained a single trace of red meat. If they were lucky enough to have an egg on their plate, then it would be considered the ideal balanced diet for weight loss; in fact, even one egg would practically be better than any of the meatless meals here—Xu Xiaocheng had even complained about this countless times, utterly dissatisfied with the lack of meat in their food.

However, today’s meal was clearly different, for what was floating in that clear, steaming broth were bright-red meatballs. The color of those meatballs was strikingly attractive, occasionally revealing an enticing deep crimson shade. The rich aroma hit everyone’s nostrils, arousing their senses. If they hadn’t just witnessed a horrifyingly gruesome murder scene, everyone surely would’ve succumbed to the temptation before them and dug into the meal by now.

“Eat up,” prompted the woman. “Hm? Why aren’t any of you eating? I made this just for you.” Her hair was disheveled, and her face carried an eerie smile. She stood beside the table and slightly stressed, “Go on, eat. It’s very delicious.”

Not a single person raised their chopsticks; everyone was as frozen as a statue.

Although the meatballs looked undeniably tantalizing, everyone was obviously thinking the same dreadful thing—just what kind of meat was used to make those meatballs?

“Hm? How strange? Why won’t any of you eat this?” Utterly baffled, the woman continued pestering them with questions. Carefully tucking her hair behind her ear and hunching her back forward, she took the initiative to pick up some chopsticks and soon reached for a meatball. “It’s very delicious.”

She raised her chopsticks to her mouth and gobbled the meatball whole. Bits of the juicy, blood-red meatball were stuck between her bright white teeth; the way she chewed loudly as the grease dripped down her lips made it seem as though the meatballs were unimaginably exquisite.

Watching this nauseating scene stimulated Xu Xiaocheng, once again leaving her with her hands tightly covering her mouth in an attempt to suppress her desire to hurl. The others’ complexions weren’t looking any better than hers, but the woman didn’t seem to notice this. She caught another meatball with her chopsticks and proceeded to stuff it into her mouth, her face colored with pure satisfaction as she ravenously swallowed it down.

“Crunch. Crunch.” With every meatball devoured, the hostess’ face grew more content. Issued from the depths of her mouth was a dull sound similar to that of fragile bones being chewed on. Xu Xiaocheng finally couldn’t endure hearing that disturbing noise. Shoving her chair back, she jumped to her feet and darted for the restroom.

One by one, the others also left the table, wanting to stay as far away from this lady and her steaming pot of meatballs.

Finally perceiving their terror, yet seemingly unable to understand the reason for their expressions of fear, the woman mumbled to herself, “Is the food I cooked not tasty? But everyone likes it, all of them like to eat it!”

The room was filled with a deafening silence. No one breathed a word. As of this moment, everyone missed that bland, dry bread from before; at the very least, something that plain shouldn’t have any problems with it, and they certainly wouldn’t feel as averse to eating it.

While some were still seated around the dining table, the two remaining sisters appeared. Hand in hand, they stood motionlessly at the doorway, silently watching their mother gorge herself.

Being the closest to them, Lin Qiushi furtively examined them from the corner of his eyes. After observing for a while, he found that it was exactly as Ruan Nanzhu told him, one of the sisters had glittering powder on her shoulder, while the other had some on her hair. Lin Qiushi recalled what Ruan Nanzhu mentioned, that the one with powder on her shoulder was Xiao Shi and the one with powder on her hair was Xiao Tu, which meant that the young girl who was murdered could be none other than the eldest of the triplets, Xiao Yi.

As before, the two identical sisters disappeared as unpredictably as they’d appeared. After standing at the doorway for a while, they soon vanished into thin air.

Their lunch was unpleasant to the point that everyone believed dinner couldn’t be any worse. But who in the world could’ve imagined that the hostess would bring out a large, steaming pot of bone broth for dinner.

The soup was filled with bones, meat, and stewed radishes, and once again, the rich aroma assaulted everyone’s noses.

They had already skipped several meals, and seeing this pot of bone broth made their expressions turn even uglier, their complexions even paler, than when they first laid eyes on the previous stew.

Zhang Xinghuo couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Every single day, there was no fucking meat when I had wanted to eat some before. And now, there’s a shit ton to go around. Just look at how much fucking meat we got today.”

“You actually have the guts to eat this meat?” Tang Yaoyao was also feeling on edge. “God knows what it’s made of.”

The woman saw that no one picked up their chopsticks, but she no longer tried persuading them to eat. Rather, as if no one else was around her, she simply picked up the ladle, scooped out a fair amount, and slurped the broth. Although no one even got the chance to sample the soup, they strangely felt that it was delicious.

“Ah, so tasty.” The woman sighed in satisfaction, before shaking her head in regret. “It’s such a pity that none of you are eating.”

And thus, the starving individuals who hadn’t eaten for a whole day were left watching the woman gulp down an entire pot of soup filled with meat and bones.

After waiting for the woman to finish eating, everyone gathered together and wordlessly nibbled on the dry, unpalatable bread.

“You know, that soup actually looks pretty tasty.” As far as Zeng Ruguo was concerned, the meal looked quite appetizing. He was somewhat reluctant to part with the food that was set on the table for them. “Can we really not eat this? Not even a small taste?”

“No one knows what the hell this soup is made from.” Tang Yaoyao snapped, utterly exasperated. “Is it that hard for you to man up and bear with it for a few days, huh? Can you not be patient? Just wait until we return to our original world, then you can do whatever the hell you want. You want to eat till your stomach bursts, you want to drink to your heart’s content, you want to jump into a bath filled with meatball stew? Go ahead, no one will stop you then.”

“Also, what about that little girl’s dead body? Where did her mother take her corpse?” Xu Xiaocheng questioned in a low voice.” She then wrinkled her nose and pretended to stare at the pot of soup on the table without any interest, as it had nothing to do with her. “If the body’s found, do you think we can eat this?”

Lin Qiushi’s face revealed a mix of helplessness and awe. He thought to himself, this girl truly has the heart of a lion. Even if he himself found the body, he definitely wouldn’t want to taste a drop of the soup. No matter how fragrant the soup was, or how many times one breathed in its scent, no one knew for sure what raw ingredients were used inside it.

“If it’s found?” Tang Yaoyao pondered, “At first, I thought there was a problem with the triplets, but now, I feel like the problem actually lies with the mother of the triplets.”

“How about we search for the corpse first?” Ruan Nanzhu suddenly proposed, “Besides, the place isn’t that big.”

No one knew what happened to that girl’s body after the ground had been cleaned of the little child’s dismembered corpse. Fortunately, the area wasn’t too big, so it would be rather easy to find.

“Fine, let’s search for it.” Tang Yaoyao agreed to Ruan Nanzhu’s idea. “Since we’re here and we haven’t examined this room yet, let’s just quickly check the place out and try to find any clues.”

Thereafter, the group began turning the place upside-down, scouring the entire area for any indications of the corpse.

The place wasn’t big enough to lose one’s way, for there were only three rooms and two halls. The kitchen was the primary focus of their investigation. Intending to forage around for more clues, Lin Qiushi walked inside the kitchen, when he soon spotted some ingredients. Nearly all of the ingredients before his eyes were plain, organic, and apparently, awfully stale and rotten. No wonder they weren’t able to enjoy, much less swallow any of the food. Seeing this, it wasn’t surprising that everything served to them tasted horrible.

Right beside the kitchen was the washroom. There was nothing particularly special about the bathroom, except for that huge, eye-catching bathtub.

Unrecognizable black spots stained the bathtub, which looked as though it hadn’t been used in ages. Lin Qiushi shuffled forward to get a closer look. After studying the marks carefully, he couldn’t help but think those black stains resembled blood; nonetheless, he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain that his hunch was indeed correct.

They meticulously searched through the entire vicinity, looking high and low, rummaging through every nook and cranny, practically overturning everything. Not a single spot was left untouched by them, yet they still couldn’t find the bag that the little girl’s corpse was stuffed into.

“Just where on earth is it?” Tang Yaoyao huffed, obviously frustrated. “Are there any other places to check?”

Ruan Nanzhu fell deep in thought, musing on a possible location. All of a sudden, he straightened his back and headed for the kitchen.

“Why are you going into the kitchen again?” asked Tang Yaoyao, “We’ve already looked at everything there…”

Who would’ve imagined that a second barely passed since Ruan Nanzhu walked into the kitchen, when his clear voice resounded in everyone’s ears. “Found it.”

Without any delay, Lin Qiushi followed the other into the kitchen and found Ruan Nanzhu standing by the door of the refrigerator. As of this moment, the refrigerator’s door was wide open, revealing something inside.

A heavy, black bag.

It was the same bag that the woman used yesterday to carry her young daughter’s body parts. And now, that very body bag was stuffed into the fridge.

“To think it was actually inside the fridge.” Tang Yaoyao felt sick to her stomach. “I don’t even want to eat whatever she cooks anymore.”

Ruan Nanzhu promptly reached out and dragged the black bag out of the refrigerator.

Upon seeing his actions, Lin Qiushi inquired, “What are you doing?”

“Checking it.” Unperturbed, Ruan Nanzhu lowered his head. “Wouldn’t you all like to eat some meat?”

Zeng Ruguo, who had previously stated he wanted to eat meat, let out an embarrassed chuckle. “It’s not like I really have to eat…”

Ruan Nanzhu treated the other like air, completely ignoring him, and unfastened the rope on the bag, exposing the messy contents for all to see. Inside was scattered flesh piling on top of one another, pieces of a mangled dead body that could never be whole again, mutilated to the extent that it was practically impossible to identify each part. Without a doubt, it was the tragic corpse of the little girl

Despite laying eyes on such a bloody corpse, Ruan Nanzhu didn’t even bat an eyelid; his expression revealed just how composed he was. He examined the bag carefully, then looked up at the others. “There doesn’t seem to be anything important missing from here, which means she didn’t use her daughter as an ingredient for the bone soup.”

The others: “…”

Tang Yaoyao glanced at Ruan Nanzhu and smiled wryly before spitting out a snide comment, “Zhu Meng’s a bit too calm, don’t you think?”

Ruan Nanzhu coolly retorted, “Well, if I wasn’t this calm, I’d be pushing up daisies by now.” He soon turned silent as he mulled over something for a moment. “Let’s say that the mother truly did murder her own daughter. The question, though, is why exactly did she kill her?”

“Who knows, maybe she’s just crazy?” Tang Yaoyao crossly replied. “Let’s just stay away from her.”

“En.” Ruan Nanzhu grunted in agreement.

No one ate anything today save for a few bites of bland bread. By the time night arrived, everyone was famished and listless, completely drained of their energy and at their wits’ end. And the worst part about it was that the pot of soup was still sitting on the table, constantly baiting them with its mouthwatering aroma.

All everyone could think of was how delighted the woman looked as she sipped on that broth. Unable to stand being teased by that pot of soup any longer, the others soon expressed that they were tired and that they’d head off first. And so, one after another, they all retired to their bedrooms.

Lin Qiushi’s stomach also wouldn’t stop growling from hunger. After finishing off a loaf of tasteless bread, he wordlessly returned to his room, went straight for the bed, and reclined on his back, planning to go to sleep.

Ruan Nanzhu gently laid his body down beside him and suddenly asked, “Do you know why every family had so many children in the past?”

Faced with such a random question, Lin Qiushi languidly replied, “I don’t know…”

Ruan Nanzhu inched himself forward until he was only a breath away from the other. He then leaned his head even closer, and putting his mouth close to Lin Qiushi’s ear, he softly puffed out some air before coquettishly purring, “Because there were no electronics back in the day, and they had nothing else to do at night.”

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Ruan Nanzhu: “And what a coincidence, look at the two of us right now…”

Lin Qiushi nonchalantly fished out his mobile phone from his pocket and aloofly stated that he still had an electronic with him.

Ruan Nanzhu refused to go down without a fight. “Well, does your phone still have batteries?”

Lin Qiushi’s expression couldn’t be any more deadpan. “I brought a charger…”

Ruan Nanzhu fell silent. After a moment passed, he pouted, acting as though he had been greatly wronged. “You know, because you’re always playing with your phone, you never talk to me anymore.”

Struck speechless by Ruan Nanzhu’s comment, Lin Qiushi simply gaped at the other. He suddenly fell into a fantasy where he actually had a cute girlfriend to pamper. And as of this moment, that endearing girlfriend of his was throwing a tantrum. She was sulking over the lack of attention her boyfriend was giving her, whining about how she wanted him to shower her with more affection.

“Fine. So, what do you want to talk about?” Lin Qiushi put his mobile phone away.

Ruan Nanzhu beamed brightly. “Want to bet whether someone will die soon?”

Startled, Lin Qiushi had to blink multiple times as he processed that. He certainly didn’t expect Ruan Nanzhu, who displayed such a lovely appearance just moments ago, to ask something that shocking as a conversation starter.

“I bet that someone is definitely going to die.” Ruan Nanzhu extended his arms and tightly wrapped them around Lin Qiushi’s waist, pulling the other closer into his embrace. He then lowered his voice into a soft whisper, “Because the eggs have already been stained with blood.”

Lin Qiushi didn’t respond as he brooded over what Ruan Nanzhu was suggesting.

Ruan Nanzhu didn’t bother explaining to him. He merely smiled faintly and warmly said, “Sleep. Talk to you tomorrow.” After saying this, he closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.

Ruan Nanzhu was already dead to the world, but Lin Qiushi was far from falling asleep.

This narrow, enclosed room could’ve been mistaken as a cramped coffin because of how stifling it was. Those who had claustrophobia surely would’ve felt suffocated being in this room.

Fortunately, Lin Qiushi wasn’t claustrophobic; however, he still felt rather overwhelmed and uncomfortable. Darkness had already enveloped the skies, and the fog grew increasingly thick, shrouding the surrounding area and making it impossible to clearly see the scenery. And as usual, only this one remote building existed in this hazy blackness, standing tall in one place, completely isolated from the rest of the world.

The night was strangely quiet, but this peaceful silence gave people a sense of security. Lin Qiushi prayed that such tranquility would be maintained until dawn.

Of course, that was just wistful hoping, for Ruan Nanzhu’s words seemed to have come true.

At around three o’clock in the morning, Lin Qiushi roused from his sleep. His sharp ears caught an awfully unpleasant noise that made his heart jump in his throat.

It sounded as if a sharp weapon was digging into the wall. A dull, yet piercing scratching noise. One second, two seconds, with every passing second, the steady sound grew even louder, closer; it was almost within his reach. It seemed that there was only a thin wall currently separating Lin Qiushi from the source of that sound.

Lin Qiushi’s eyes flew open. He slowly gathered his surroundings, and it took him a full minute to finally realize he wasn’t dreaming.

Ruan Nanzhu was still fast asleep beside him. Lin Qiushi was feeling somewhat conflicted; he didn’t know if he should wake the man next to him or just leave him be. But while he was hesitating, the scraping noise became even faster and more irregular, as if the person on the other side lost all of their patience and decided to hurry their task by picking up the speed.

“Scritch scritch scritch.” That penetrating noise wouldn’t cease. At last, Lin Qiushi reached out and gently shook Ruan Nanzhu, “Nanzhu, wake up.”

Ruan Nanzhu slowly opened his eyes. Despite having been woken, his eyes were as clear as jade; it was if the person who was sleeping so soundly just seconds ago wasn’t him. “What’s up?”

“There’s this weird noise coming from the other side.” Lin Qiushi responded. “It sounds like someone is chiseling at the wall.”

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at the wall next to them. Because the building was quite old, the worn-down walls weren’t as thick, so even faint noises, which were easily able to travel from other places, were heard without any trouble, making it seem as though the source of sound might be near. He extended an arm and gently placed his palm flat against the wall. It wasn’t long before his expression changed slightly. He ordered, “Get back. Move a bit further away from that wall.”

Lin Qiushi nodded and did as told. “What’s the matter?”

“There’s definitely something on the other side.” Ruan Nanzhu declared. “I just don’t know what it is.”

The two of them turned on the light. Once the bright glow illuminated the room, they fixed all of their attention on the wall that wouldn’t stop issuing that odd sound. They continued staring at the wall attentively, and scratching noise continued on without any rest.

If it was merely some irritating, relentless scratching, then it wouldn’t have been a major issue. But Lin Qiushi soon came to understand why Ruan Nanzhu kept him far away from the wall.

The thin wall chipped away as an almost-imperceptible hole gradually formed. And soon, a fine, pointed awl appeared through the minuscule hole, ever so slowly extending forward…

Because the room was too small and cramped, Lin Qiushi’s side of the bed was pushed directly against the wall. The awl was razor-sharp and indescribably long, reaching even further than arm, ruthlessly aiming for the very spot Lin Qiushi rested his head on. Witnessing this, Lin Qiushi’s complexion turned ash-grey. If he were still lying down on the bed, utterly clueless as to what was happening around him, he certainly would’ve been done for.

Once the awl reached its goal, it stealthily retreated back into the hole. Yet, seeing as though there was no blood on the awl, it immediately poked back out of the hole and mercilessly stabbed the same area several times before withdrawing once again. After noting there still wasn’t any blood on the awl, the person on the other side finally gave up on trying to skewer the other through the head and simply retrieved their pointed awl back.

A tense stillness remained once the awl disappeared. After a brief moment of silence, Lin Qiushi wondered, “Is it gone?”

Ruan Nanzhu frowned. “Just wait.”

“Let me have a look.” Lin Qiushi suddenly thought of something. He bent down and peeked through the small hole that was created in the wall; this quick glance nearly made his soul fly out of his body. What should’ve been a clear view of the other side was actually a bloodshot eyeball peering back at him. Pure insanity pervaded that sinister eye, giving rise to sheer terror in the hearts of those who happened to catch a glimpse of it.

The other stared at him dead in the eye for ages. Realizing they couldn’t kill him, they simply vanished in the next second, making it seem as though that unblinking eyeball watching him was just a figment of his imagination.

Lin Qiushi was on the verge of pissing his pants after seeing that. Cold sweat dripped down his back, and his hands shook furiously. His voice quivered with fear as he spit out a string of profanity, “Oh, shit. Fucking hell. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. What the hell was that? A ghost? A human?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “I don’t know. In any case, don’t go out until dawn.”

Lin Qiushi raised a trembling hand and wiped the layer of cold sweat coating his forehead. “That’s for sure…” This situation was exactly like one out of a horror film. He absolutely never imagined he would have front row seats to see someone playing ‘I spy’ on the other side. And it wasn’t enough that he was the object the little eye spied; to think they even stared at each other for a long time!

“That aside, how are you such a light sleeper?” questioned Ruan Nanzhu. “You always wake up so easily. And the sound also wasn’t even all that loud.”

“I have very good hearing.” Lin Qiushi proclaimed.

“So it seems.” Ruan Nanzhu hummed. “You are the first to wake up every time.”

Lin Qiushi heaved a sigh and swept one last glance at the hole in the wall. “Luckily I woke up.” Otherwise, he’d probably have a hole in his head by now.

However, as soon as he breathed a sigh of relief, he heard that same scratching noise again. Though, this time, the sound seemed a bit farther away from its initial position, as if the perpetrator was now drilling a hole through another person’s wall.

“Goddamn it, that bastard still hasn’t given up.” Lin Qiushi cursed lowly. “What should we do? Should we notify them?”

Ruan Nanzhu gazed silently at Lin Qiushi. “You just wait for me in here. I’ll go outside and check it out.”

Lin Qiushi immediately rejected his idea. “No, we’ll go together. Two people are better than one. If something bad happens, the least we can do is help each other out.”

Quirking an eyebrow in amusement, Ruan Nanzhu smirked, “Are you not afraid?”

Lin Qiushi: “I mean, what’s there to be afraid of? You’re with me, aren’t you?”

Having heard what was said, Ruan Nanzhu’s smile grew deeper than the night.” He leaned forward and huskily murmured, “Do you know how unbelievably irresistible you are when you trust others so wholeheartedly like this? If you keep tempting me, I won’t be able to hold myself back.”

Dumbstruck, Lin Qiushi reflexively blurted, “Hah?”

Ruan Nanzhu shrugged it off, “Nothing. Nevermind it.”

The two strode over to the doorway and opened the door slowly, unexpectedly generating an ear-splitting creaking sound. The loud noise ensuing from the iron door being pulled open echoed through the pitch-black corridor, whereupon the faint scratching sounds on the wall stopped. Ruan Nanzhu stepped out of the room first, and Lin Qiushi immediately followed after him. The corridor was void of any light, completely submerged in murky shadows. In order to light their way, Lin Qiushi whipped out his cellphone and turned on its built-in flashlight, before taking the lead and shining the light on the path before them. Fortunately, the corridor wasn’t endless, so it didn’t matter if they stood at the very end of the corridor, for they’d still get a panoramic view of the entire corridor; that was to say, this corridor was convenient in the sense that everything, from one end of the hallway to the other, was clearly visible and would not be able to escape from one’s line of sight.

Lin Qiushi remembered that the source of the sound came from the right side, and so he took two steps to the right.

“Wait a second.” Ruan Nanzhu suddenly grabbed Lin Qiushi’s arm, pulling him back. “Somebody’s there.”

Lin Qiushi looked in the direction Ruan Nanzhu indicated, and sure enough, he discovered a figure crouching in the corner. He squinted his eyes as he scrutinized the silhouette, before sucking in a cool breath. Surprise was written all over his face, and he softly exclaimed, “Isn’t that one of the triplets?”

“Without a doubt.” Ruan Nanzhu stood at guard. “Darling, what are you doing over there?”

The figure shrinking in the corner stood up ever so slowly. The lovely skirt she wore flowed down past her thighs, and her hair was immaculately tied into two cute braids, but her face remained impassive, and her eyes were as dead as ever. Having been spotted, she gently skipped over to Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu and stood directly in front of them.

“I can’t sleep.” A hint of childishness and youth streaked the little girl’s sweet voice. She approached Lin Qiushi and lifted her head, gazing straight up at him. “I can’t sleep.”

“Go back to your room.” Lin Qiushi said, “It’s very late, and it’s not safe outside.”

Upon hearing his words, the little girl glanced back at the door to her room. In the end, she said nothing. She simply turned on her heels and headed towards the direction of her room.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu watched on as she disappeared into the darkness, once again.

“Was it her?” Lin Qiushi was filled with skepticism. “Why would she do that…”

Ruan Nanzhu pursed his lips. “She has no powder on her body.” The implication behind his words was as clear as day. The triplet they’d encountered tonight was neither Xiao Shi nor Xiao Tu, but Xiao Yi, the dead little girl who had been cut up into several pieces.

Lin Qiushi: “…Perhaps one of the other girls took a bath and changed her clothes?”

Ruan Nanzhu chuckled darkly. “Oh, I sure hope so.”

Because this incident kept haunting the back of his mind, Lin Qiushi didn’t get any sleep for the latter half of the night.

On the other hand, that Ruan Nanzhu sure had some large guts. He gathered Lin Qiushi into his embrace, sweetly snuggling against him, and slept so soundly; absolutely nothing could disturb this individual from getting his beauty sleep. Even when morning arrived and it was time for them to get out of bed, he lingered in his spot, reluctant to part from the comfort of the bed.

“I’m down. I need a sweet kiss from my dear Qiushi to help me get up,” whined Ruan Nanzhu, rolling around the bed.

Lin Qiushi stared down at Ruan Nanzhu and exposed a pained expression from seeing Ruan Nanzhu acting petty and asking to be pampered. With a heart experiencing great internal struggles, he begged, “Big brother, could you please stop asking to be spoiled with that kind of appearance?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Why, ah? You don’t like your cute Mengmeng?” His delicate smile emphasized how pitiful he was, making people’s heart’s clench, and his lovely countenance shone with slight misery, arousing deep sympathy from others. But he still had a trick up his sleeve. His large doe eyes began to fill with glistening tears–that’s right, those brimming tears were the ultimate blow which caused all of those who’d witnessed such a sight to collapse to their knees. Honestly, someone should just praise him, ’cause this level of acting truly deserved an Oscar!

Lin Qiushi: “Mengmeng. Get up.”

Ruan Nanzhu: “…”

After dawdling around in bed for a long time, the two individuals sauntered over to the washroom and took all the time in the world to brush and wash. As they were washing up, this guy Ruan Nanzhu suddenly decided that he didn’t have enough fun, and so he decided to continue teasing Lin Qiushi. Once again putting his award-winning acting skills to the test, he provocatively leaned his entire body against Lin Qiushi’s and shyly crooned, “Big brother Linlin, you were such a beast last night.”

Before Lin Qiushi could utter a word, Zeng Ruguo, who was brushing his teeth beside them, happened to overheard their not-so-subtle conversation. In an instant, his jaw dropped open and his eyes rapidly shifted between the two. After letting out an awkward cough, he suggestively remarked, “Young people sure are very healthy and energetic.”

Ticked off, Lin Qiushi spat out between his gritted teeth, “And how exactly was I a beast?”

Ruan Nanzhu playfully slapped Lin Qiushi’s arm and covered his face in fake embarrassment. “Oh, how hateful! How could you insist on having someone else tell it to you loud and clear? Don’t tell me you want the whole world to know about us?”

Lin Qiushi gnashed his teeth so hard that he nearly snapped the toothbrush in his mouth in half.

Unlike the day before, when they were served meatball stew, they were given tasteless, odorless bread for breakfast today. But after yesterday’s upsetting events, everyone thought that this plain, dry bread was oddly satisfying…at least there wouldn’t be anything strange in this bread.

“I have something to tell you all.” During the meal, Tang Yaoyao began to speak. “I went to check the fridge before I ate, and…the body disappeared.”

“It’s gone?” Xu Xiaocheng’s eyes turned as wide as saucers. “What do you mean by it disappeared? Don’t tell me we’re going to be served meat for lunch again…”

When the subject of meat was mentioned, everyone’s stomach began to churn.

“I can’t say for sure. It may just be a misunderstanding on my part.” Tang Yaoyao tried to reassure the rest of the group. “Besides, didn’t someone already examine the body yesterday? It’s not like there was a piece or two missing, right?”

“Who knows.” Ruan Nanzhu responded. “Unless you yourself think you can find a missing piece or two from that mess of flesh?”

In the midst of their discussion, the two identical sisters stepped out of their bedroom.

Having remembered something at that moment, Lin Qiushi stood up and pretended to want to grab the remote control for the television, walking past the two little girls along the way. Taking advantage of the second he passed the twins by, he snatched the opportunity to examine the girls’ bodies.

However, he was left in utter disbelief at the inconceivable sight before him. These two girls…one had bright powder on her shoulder, and the other had glittering powder in her hair—so who was the one Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu ran into in the corridor, just who could it be? Was the one digging a hole into the wall truly the sister who had died, Xiao Yi?

Thinking back on that bagged pile of pulpy flesh and organs of a mutilated corpse that was just sitting inside the refrigerator, a cold lump settled in the pit of Lin Qiushi’s stomach; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard.

Ruan Nanzhu shot a questioning glance at Lin Qiushi, who only shook his head slightly in response, silently giving Ruan Nanzhu the answer to their dreadful suspicions. However, Ruan Nanzhu wasn’t surprised to see his reaction. He merely smiled calmly and announced, “Today’s dry bread tastes quite scrumptious.”

“Doesn’t this dry bread taste the same as always?” Tang Yaoyao nastily grumbled back.

“Of course not.” Ruan Nanzhu disagreed with the wag of his finger. “The last supper before death is always much more delicious than any of the ordinary meals one has been served.”