Death Spiral [Infinite Flow] - Chapter 60

Chapter 60 – Butterflies in the Stomach

Xu RenDong woke up in the elevator.

After an initial trance, his mood gradually calmed down. He laughed at himself somewhat and thought: I really did apologize to Lian Qiao with my death.

Forget it, don’t think about it anymore. Let’s clear the instance first.

He sorted out his thoughts and quickly realized a key point: Shouldn’t Doctor Birdbeak be dead?

This thought immediately triggered something and all the clues he’d gathered so far began to connect together.

In the employee profile, the photo of Doctor Birdbeak was marked with a red cross. At first he thought it was the foreman who killed Doctor Birdbeak. Now thinking about it, the real Doctor Birdbeak probably died earlier and the one who pursued him in the factory was someone else pretending to be him.

The first thing Doctor Birdbeak did after catching him was to gouge out Lamia’s eyeball. Only two people were interested in his eyeball: the medical student and the gentleman. The medical student’s suspicion has been eliminated, so it could only be the gentleman who was pretending to be Doctor Birdbeak.

He originally thought that the corpse that Doctor Birdbeak threw into the molten pool was the gentleman but in fact he did not see the face. As for the height and shape, the distance was too far and he couldn’t see clearly. It seemed that that was actually the real Doctor Birdbeak who had been killed and the gentleman replaced him after putting on his clothes, creating the illusion that he was missing and fooling everybody.

No wonder the Doctor Birdbeak was particularly obsessed with the “butterflies” and even directly killed people. After all, the clearance prompt was “butterflies in the stomach”! 

At this point, Xu RenDong took a deep breath. He noticed that his breathing was irregular but he knew that this time it was not because of fear.

It was because of anger.

Being killed by the same person twice was an insult to his dignity as a nine time boss!

Lian Qiao in the left eye field of vision was browsing the encyclopedia app and a paragraph was displayed on the screen:

“Butterflies in one’s stomach: refers to the flapping wings of a butterfly in the stomach, describing a constant feeling of fear, tension, and anxiety.”

Xu RenDong interrupted him: “Lian Qiao.”

Lian Qiao: “Huh? What’s the matter?”

Xu RenDong: “Take off your eyeball.”

Lian Qiao: “??? Why?!”

Xu RenDong: “You have been with me for so long so it’s time to test you. I want to see if you can pass this instance by yourself.”

Lian Qiao: “A surprise test?! Why didn’t you tell me in advance so I can review!”

Xu RenDong: “If I give you advance notice can it still be called a surprise test?”

Lian Qiao: “QAQ”.

Lian Qiao: “Well okay… I’ll work hard…”

Even though Lian Qiao felt wronged, Xu RenDong decisively took off Lamia’s eyeball. Then he picked up his backpack and strode out of the elevator.

Once again he found himself in a medieval industrial town, with familiar muddy streets and familiar air pollution. The familiar beret man brought the familiar teammates to him and the familiar gentleman still had a polite smile on his face.

Xu RenDong walked into the team blankly and followed the gentleman. The gentleman glanced at him but did not strike up a conversation and did not seem to have any interest in him.

Xu RenDong remembered that when he saw the gentleman before, the gentleman stared at his face and said, “It’s so beautiful, it’s a pity.” Thinking about it now, he wasn’t talking about his appearance but admiring the double pupil in his left eye.

He actually liked something so deformed, what a pervert.

Xu RenDong squinted his eyes and didn’t take the initiative to speak. He just followed the large group to the factory silently.

He made a few minor moves when being assigned positions and was successfully assigned to the same workshop as the gentleman. After everyone left, the workshop suddenly became quiet and only the joint dolls beside the conveyor track were working mechanically.

This was an assembly workshop. The main work was to fix several pieces together with nails. Xu RenDong stared at the tool hammer in the hand of the jointed doll and the gentleman beside him curiously asked, “What are you looking at?”

Xu RenDong glanced at him: “Heh.”

The gentleman sensed his hostility and asked in confusion: “Have we met before? Why do you seem to hate me?”

Xu RenDong stared at him and said with a look of disgust: “You misunderstand, I am a person who has a bad attitude towards everyone. Because I’m rude.”

Gentleman: “……”

He didn’t know how to deal with Xu RenDong so sighed helplessly and took out a bottle of mineral water from his pocket. He shook it in front of Xu RenDong: “Want some?”

Xu RenDong refused decisively. The gentleman shook his head, smiled and opened the bottle cap. He took a sip in front of Xu RenDong and said sincerely: “It’s not poisoned,  don’t worry.”

Xu RenDong said coldly: “Why are you still in the mood to drink water? Don’t you want to explore the factory?”

The gentleman was taken aback and sighed helplessly again: “You are so impatient, not at all like an experienced player…” Even so, he put the mineral water bottle away, turned and walked towards the door.

As soon as he turned around, Xu RenDong suddenly grabbed the tool hammer from the joint doll’s hand and rushed up to hit the back of the gentleman’s head with the hammer.

Joint doll: “???”

Gentleman: “?!” He turned his head, his eyes widened in surprise, blood dripping from his head.

Then he fainted.

After a while, the gentleman woke up and found himself tied to a pillar. Xu RenDong squatted in front of him, holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand and asked him coldly, “Want some?”

The gentleman struggled and said angrily: “What are you doing? Why did you tie me up?!”

Xu RenDong’s face was dark: “Want to drink water?”

The gentleman looked at the tool hammer in his hand and swallowed: “…no, I’m not thirsty, thank you.”

Xu RenDong: “Why are you so polite? I hate polite people.” After speaking, he pried open the gentleman’s mouth and poured the bottle of mineral water into it.

Gentleman: “Gulugulugluglugu… hicc.”

Xu RenDong threw away the mineral water bottle and found that the gentleman’s face had changed, his expression mixed with shock and panic. Xu RenDong asked, “Isn’t it not poisoned? What are you afraid of?”

The gentleman asked in horror: “What on earth are you trying to do? Is there some kind of misunderstanding between us? Isn’t this the first time we’ve met?”

Xu RenDong: “You are right. This is the first time we met. But I just feel like you’re not pleasing to my eyes so I want to beat you up.”

He raised the tool hammer and weighed it. The feeling was not satisfactory. So after looking around in the workshop, he was happy to find a mace. Although he didn’t know why there was a mace here, he felt very satisfied.

The mace weighed more than ten kilograms and was full of nails. Xu RenDong raised his mace in both hands, feeling that this weapon was a bit cumbersome to hold and too heavy. He couldn’t control his strength and direction. It is estimated that if he used this,  the gentleman’s entire head would turn to rot.

The gentleman’s eyes were full of horror: “Wait, don’t do it! I can explain…”

Xu RenDong stopped and looked at him thoughtfully.

The gentleman showed an excited expression: “We can form an alliance! I am a veteran player, I will definitely be able to help you! I’ll do whatever you ask me to do!”

When Xu RenDong found what he wanted in the toolbox so he raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. He asked, “Is that right?”

The gentleman nodded vigorously.

Xu RenDong leaned in his ear and whispered softly: “Then, can you please shut up?”

The gentleman was taken aback and finally realized that Xu RenDong was determined to kill him. He shouted in fear: “Help! Someone’s killing people! Help—” Before the words fell, Xu RenDong slapped a piece of duct tape on his mouth. It sealed the gentleman’s mouth tightly!

Gentleman: “Wuwuwuwuwuwu!”

Xu RenDong raised his mace high. This time he didn’t hesitate any more and directly smashed it down!

Gentleman: “Ugh!”

Xu RenDong looked at his bloody shoulders: “I’m sorry, I missed. Let me try again.”

Gentleman: “Ugh!!!!”

The shoulder on the other side was also smashed. Xu RenDong apologized without sincerity: “This is the first time I’ve used a mace so I’m not very skilled. Please be considerate.”

Gentleman:”……”

In this way, Xu RenDong beat him casually. By the time Xu RenDong returned to his senses, the gentleman had died.

Xu RenDong was a little surprised. He deliberately avoided important organs and the mace almost only hit the bones and joints. Judging from his experience of many deaths, this level of beating does not constitute a fatal injury. Was the gentleman scared to death?

So you’re not afraid when you kill, but your courage when being killed is so small?

…It seems that there is nothing wrong with this either.

Xu RenDong threw away the blood-stained mace and squatted down to check the gentleman’s vital signs. The heartbeat and breathing was gone. Just in case, he also slit the gentleman’s carotid artery.

He heard that the pressure of the carotid artery was enough to spray the blood up to the ceiling but when he cut it, the blood just gurgled out without the spectacular fountain show he imagined. This showed that the gentleman’s heart had already stopped beating. And the color of the blood was abnormally black. It is estimated that the bottle of mineral water was indeed poisonous.

He was thoroughly dead now.

Xu RenDong felt relieved and was about to leave when the door of the workshop was suddenly kicked open.

The foreman held the sign-in pad in his hand, looked at the corpse on the ground and then at Xu RenDong with a shocked look on his face.

Xu RenDong immediately turned around and walked to the conveyor track. He mixed in the joint dolls and began to assemble the work pieces.

Foreman:”……”

He glanced at the blood-stained mace beside Xu RenDong and his expression suddenly became very complicated.

Xu RenDong turned his head and asked impatiently: “Aren’t you here to check the post?”

The foreman nodded.

Xu RenDong pointed to the corpse on the ground: “I’m working and he’s being lazy. Quickly give him a cross mark and deduct his salary.”

Foreman: “……”

Xu RenDong: “Are you finished? Hurry up if you’re finished, I’m busy.”

Foreman: “…” Why does he feel that he has no sense of power?!

Xu RenDong, who was in a state of irritability, exuded a murderous aura. Even a fierce person like the foreman was a little afraid of his aura and, after putting a cross next to the gentleman’s name, he obediently left.

Xu RenDong lowered his head to organize his clothes and after confirming that there was no blood on his body, he put on Lamia’s eyeball again.

As he went by each of the workshops and asked everyone to gather by the molten pool, he asked Lian Qiao: “How is the situation over there?”

“Two teammates died and an NPC butler. But the butler gave us some important information before he died…”

Xu RenDong: “Keep working hard. My side is almost over.”

Lian Qiao: “?????!!! So fast?! Aren’t we only half an hour into this instance?!”

Xu RenDong: “Hurry up, don’t let me wait at the elevator entrance for too long.”

Lian Qiao: “…Okay boss, I will try my best QAQ.”

Before long, everyone gathered at the side of the molten pool. A middle-aged man asked suspiciously: “What are you calling us here for? What happened to the man with you?”

The medical student also added: “Don’t be long-winded, focus on the key points, I have to go back to recite my book.” After that, he lowered his head and carried on reading.

Xu RenDong said: “I found the elevator, follow me.”

Everyone was shocked: “You found it so soon?” “What about the button? Where is the button?” “Didn’t the foreman tell us not to leave the workstation…”

The middle-aged man asked sternly: “Why should we believe you? First tell me, where is the teammate that was with you?!”

Xu RenDong said coldly: “Believe it or don’t believe it, it’s up to you.” After speaking, he turned his head and left, too lazy to talk to this group of people.

The people behind him looked at each other, not knowing what to do. The middle-aged man also looked dumbfounded. He didn’t expect Xu RenDong to be so tough and not give a single word of explanation.

Only the medical student, with the textbook in his hand and still immersed in memorization, followed without raising his head. He was still muttering: “Ginseng has a sweet taste and nourishes vitality, quenches thirst, promotes body fluids and regulates nutrition. Astragalus… Astragalus…”

Xu RenDong casually continued: “Astragalus heats up the sweat and consolidates the surface, sore can cause muscle qi deficiency.”

The medical student raised his head in shock and was full of joy: “Are you a colleague too?!”

Xu RenDong said: “No. It’s just that a bald man once memorized this passage a hundred times in front of me so I remembered it.”

The medical student touched his hairline and thought with relief: Well, fortunately I am not bald. He’s not talking about me.

When everyone saw Xu RenDong actually leave and didn’t look at all as though he was just trying to scare them, then after a little struggle, they all followed. That middle-aged man walked at the end, still cursing and saying things like: “You’re going to drag us down, what’s with your attitude, why should everyone believe you?”

Xu RenDong heard him and turned to throw a sentence to him: “Just because I’m a big boss who has cleared nine instances.”

As soon as this statement was made, the old players in the team hissed and took in a deep breath. The middle-aged man was also shocked but still said unconvincingly: “Then you tell me! It’s only been half an hour! How did you find the elevator?! How do you know this is not a trap!”

Xu RenDong said: “I don’t want to.”

Middle-aged man: “Why?”

Xu RenDong: “Because I’m a mysterious boss who doesn’t like to talk.”

Everyone: “…”

The middle-aged man jumped his feet with anger and rushed up to him. Xu RenDong instantly pulled out the mace from the bag, shook the meat scraps in the cracks of the nails, raised his eyes and asked coldly, “What do you want to do?”

Middle-aged man: “…No, nothing. I’m afraid I’ll be left behind so I just wanted to run up a bit.”

Everyone: “…” How come they felt that this nine-time boss was more terrifying than the foreman!

Xu RenDong carried the bloody mace and walked into the underground labyrinth with a  murderous aura. The crowd followed him silently, not daring to breathe.

The identity of a big boss was really convenient, Xu RenDong thought.

An hour later, all the monsters in the underground labyrinth were knocked out. When Xu RenDong came to the final ventilation duct, the expressions on everyone’s faces had changed from shock to being accustomed to it.

Once they accepted the nine-level boss setting, it doesn’t seem to be a strange thing for one person to take out ten monsters.

Lian Qiao: “Big brother, are you in a bad mood today… why are you suddenly so cruel…”

Xu RenDong operated the console, stopped all the fans in the ventilation ducts and then took out his mobile phone and replied: “No. Sing a song for me to listen.”

Lian Qiao: “Huh???”

Xu RenDong: “Sing the theme song of Journey to the West: The Sound of Cloud Palace.”

Lian Qiao: “How do I sing?!”

Xu RenDong: “I’ll give you the tune. Diudiudiu.”

Lian Qiao: “?”

Xu RenDong: “Dengdengdendendengdengden.”

Lian Qiao: “???”

Xu RenDong was suddenly extremely irritable, wanting to crawl through the screen,  grab Lian Qiao’s collar and ask him: Why can’t you understand it! Do you want me to sing the entire song to you?

If you don’t make my heart move, how can I vomit butterflies!

At this point, he was suddenly stunned.

…… no, that’s wrong. He almost forgot that Lian Qiao didn’t like men. He needed to keep his distance from him otherwise they wouldn’t even be able to be friends.

At this moment, Xu RenDong suddenly understood why he was so irritable and so angry.

He had fallen into a love that would never bear fruit. For the first time in his life his heart had moved, but it was only destined to end in tragedy.

His heart felt stuffy. It was like a lemon exploding in his chest, sour and swollen.

Xu RenDong put the phone back into his backpack, pulled the chair and placed it under the ventilation duct. He turned his head and said to the people: “Come on. After this duct, we will arrive at the elevator.”

***

The author has something to say:

Lian Qiao: I am not as good at flirting as the myself from last week. What should I do? I’m very anxious, waiting online.

***