Death Spiral [Infinite Flow] - Chapter 79

Chapter 79 – Three People Make a Tiger 15 

The second and third floors had almost been completely explored and this time there were no additional clues found. Everyone finally gathered in the sun room on the top floor. Outside the glass curtain wall was a bottomless darkness which surrounded the bare sunroom, making it feel like an island. The wild wind slapped against the windows and the entire glass house looked like it was going to crumble.

Fifteen chairs formed a circle that looks like some kind of cult ritual. There was a task paper on one of the chairs. Xu RenDong picked up the note and read the words that he had read before countless times:

“Instructions for the Courage Training Camp: 1. The theme of this event: the deepest horror within the heart. 2. The content of the event: Please turn off the lights at 00:00 every night and share a ghost story in the glass room and face the horror within the story. Every night at least one story must be shared. 3. A friendly reminder:  Stories cannot be repeated, someone will die oh. The story cannot be not scary, someone will die oh. 4. Just joking ah.”

 Xu RenDong has almost memorized this sentence. After reading it again he handed the note to the next person and then fell into thought.

This instance, there were two ways to die. One being that the ghost story you told was not scary enough, in that case the narrator would be frozen into ice and die on the spot. The second being that the ghost story came true and everyone will die according to the setting of the story. However, once a ghost story is established, not only will the ghosts within it come to life, but some key settings will also come true. The proof of this was when Lian Qiao deliberately added the element of the “elevator” to Sadako’s story.

The problem with that lay in the prior setting of Xu RenDong’s “Juniper Tree” story – being that you can’t look into the box, otherwise your head will be broken off. He didn’t realize that the elevator was also in the category of a “box” and hence when Lian Qiao entered the elevator, he was chopped into two and died tragically in front of his eyes.

The situation this time was worse than last time. In his rebirth, he had been out of shape and unable to recover from the mental blow of Lian Qiao being cut in half in front of him. So he wasn’t on guard against the troublemaker President and he actually already mentioned the names of the two movies: Nightmare on Elm Street and Night of the Soul Return already. 

Just Nightmare on Elm Street was already a headache. Now that two horror movies were put together, it was not at all unlikely that the entire team would get wiped out in one night.

Xu RenDong glanced at the time. There were only two minutes left until midnight. President Little Sun took a step forward and was about to speak when Xu RenDong interrupted him: “Anyway, I’ll give it a go first. If something happens to me, please take care of my two little followers for me.

President Little Sun had a stunned expression of “how come you stole my line” but since this was a Nine-Time Boss, he didn’t dare to make trouble. Lian Qiao was a little worried. He came over and asked in a low voice, “Brother RenDong, what do you want to do?”

Xu RenDong glanced at him: “Wipe your ass.” {I think the English/Chinese meaning should be the same? In case it’s not clear, it means he’s cleaning up after Lian Qiao’s mess – i.e. when he allowed President Little Sun to talk about the horror movies before.}

Lian Qiao: “???”

Ten thousand questions in Lian Qiao’s heart didn’t get a chance to be expressed before the lights in the glass room suddenly went out. His eyes couldn’t adapt to the sudden darkness and Lian Qiao was dazedly pushed into the chair by Xu RenDong, only to hear Xu RenDong’s low and sweet voice in the darkness: “Sit well, believe in me.”

Lian Qiao was so overwhelmed by his charisma that he couldn’t close his legs.

He suddenly felt that being beaten by the irritable and mad Xu RenDong and pushed against the wall was quite exciting! It would be even better if he could beat him until he has no strength to resist and then treat him like a crying rag doll…

Wow! So exciting!

Wait, I seem to be heading off into another direction’s pervert….

Of course Xu RenDong doesn’t know what indescribable things are in Lian Qiao’s head at this moment. He walked to the center of the circle surrounded by chairs in the dark. After he felt that everyone had taken their seats, he calmed down and began to tell his story.

“I am a financial analyst. This job is very stressful and there is endless data to read and endless reports to write every day. Not only that but my interpersonal relationship in the company is still very poor and I don’t know how to communicate with my boss. I don’t get along with my colleagues so I have been living a very depressed life.”     

“My only sustenance is when I go to bed at night, I pray that I can have a good dream. In the dream, I am omnipotent and the pleasure of controlling everything balances the pain of the day. “

“But even so, the burdens of life gradually overwhelmed me. The negative energy in my heart was accumulating and I had to find something else to vent.

“I began to look for violent images on the internet… murders, car crashes, natural disasters… Those broken human bodies excited me. The bones were white, the fat was orange-yellow and they looked sticky and slippery. The blood vessels were different in thickness but they are all fragile and, if they were broken, they would bleed. If it is the carotid artery, the blood can be sprayed to the ceiling…”

Xu RenDong slowly described the images as he screened his memory. These detailed descriptions brought to life the fragmented human bodies in front of everyone’s eyes  and everyone couldn’t help feeling a little terrified. At the same time they began to wonder: Does this man really have this hobby? Otherwise, how could he know the details so clearly?     

No one knew that Xu RenDong’s knowledge of human anatomy was all due to the things he had seen with his own eyes. He had personally experienced what it was like to have his carotid artery cut.     

“…Gradually, I stopped being satisfied with pictures and videos on the Internet. I really wanted to experience the thrill in person.”     

“I bought a rabbit and it was very docile and good-tempered. But when I sliced its ears, its limbs were kicking all over the place and rabbit fur was flying all over the bathroom. I accidentally let it get away and it was bloody and messed up the living room of my house. I had a hard time chasing it so I could cut up its belly.” 

“This taught me a good lesson. In the future when I buy frogs, chickens, cats and dogs, I will tie them up first so they don’t have the ability to escape. But I still don’t feel satisfied. The scissors and kitchen knives dull easily. When it comes to using a whetstone or buying new instruments, it’s very troublesome.”

“I thought… if only my hand could be integrated with the blade. This was the thought that I had before I fell asleep.”

Hearing this, someone took a breath of air and seemed to have guessed the direction the story was heading in. Xu RenDong paused for a moment, letting fear brew in everyone’s heart and then said with a smile and a slightly excited tone:     

“After I entered a dream, my wish came true.”

“In my dream, my hands turned into razors. They were so sharp that they glowed coldly in the moonlight. I admired these new ‘hands’ with satisfaction. I tried to cut my arm and the blood immediately spurted out.”

“I knew it was in a dream and I knew that I was omnipotent in my dream, so I didn’t feel anything was strange. I was walking in the streets at night. Walking and walking, I came to a strange place. In that place, I saw my boss hugging a woman and looking like they were having a great time. After I looked closely, I realized that the woman was actually a popular actress.”

“This is the world of dreams and it looked like my boss was also having a good dream.”

“Since it was in the dream, it doesn’t matter what I do. So I stabbed my finger, which was a razor, into his body slowly. He made an unpleasant cry like a pig being killed and, while holding his neck, asked me why and what I was doing there. At the same time his blood sprayed to the ceiling… As I said before, the pressure on the carotid artery is very high and, even if you cover the wound with your hand, the blood will spray out from your fingers and spray up higher and higher…”

“He wanted to escape and I also wanted him to escape because I like the feeling of chasing my prey- and because I was thinking that, suddenly an elevator appeared in front of him. It was a silver elevator and the door was open. He was covered in blood and ran in while staggering. While pressing the close button, he looked at me in horror. How should I describe his expression at the time?”

Xu RenDong thought about it very deeply. His lips curved and, in a tone of enjoyment and pleasure, he said: “When the elevator door was about to close and I forced it open with a razor, his expression was really funny.”     

This description of the abused and murdered boss made everyone’s blood run cold. How could you know such a thing so clearly?

Everyone – even Zhong Xiu and Lian Qiao – couldn’t help but start to wonder: Was this a story or real?     

In the darkness, Xu RenDong gently stroked his neck, recalling the feeling when Jiang Li stabbed his artery and trachea with a knife. Unconsciously, a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

“…looking at the dismembered body of my boss, I felt such a sense of relief and all my stress was swept away. I woke up content and went to work. Strangely, my boss was late that day. That guy, who always likes to dock my pay for being late, didn’t even show up at noon. In the afternoon, a few police officers suddenly came to the company and said they would invite a few people back to assist in the investigation. Only then did everyone know that the boss died last night.”

“The way the boss died was exactly the same as in my dream. At two o’clock in the morning, he was stabbed to death in his sleep. The murderer stabbed him more than a dozen times with a sharp blade and every time the blade passed right through him. The most terrifying thing was that the knife wound in the neck pierced the carotid artery and trachea, and blood spurted everywhere.”

“The strangest thing was that there was no trace of the murderer left at the scene.”

“No fingerprints, no footprints, there was not even a clue as to the murder weapon. There were no signs of damage to the doors, locks and windows. The police suspected that an acquaintance committed the crime but after some investigation, everyone was cleared of suspicion.”

“It is reasonable to say that with such a large amount of bleeding, the murderer should have been splashed with blood when he committed the murder. When he left, he would have left some traces in the corridor. But no, there was nothing. The murderer evaporated like water droplets, leaving no traces behind.”

“All afternoon, my colleagues were discussing the murder case. The familiar boss was killed in such a bloody way, which made everyone feel both scared and excited. I also pretended to be scared and mixed in with them and listened to their various tales about the case as well as their analysis and guesses. I held in my laughter until I got home from work.”

“So I can really enter other people’s dreams.”

“So, if I kill them in my dreams, they will die in reality.”

Xu When Ren Dong said this, he suddenly stopped. Everyone listened with bated breath, wondering what terrible words he was going to say next.

However, Xu RenDong just smiled and said lightly: “Since then, I have become a gentle and kind person. I don’t need to buy small animals anymore.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a “click”. The light in the glass room turned back on.

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden light on. Someone trembled and said: “Who, who turned on the light?”

Xu RenDong said: “No one, it turned on by itself.” He glanced down at his legs and there was no trace of freezing. It seemed that the story was scary enough and he had passed.

Everyone’s faces were pale and they looked at each other. They all saw fear and suspicion on each other’s faces.

President Little Sun couldn’t help but say: “The story you just told… it’s a little bit similar to “Nightmare on Elm Street”? Murder in a dream or something like that…”

Xu RenDong narrowed his eyes: “You mean to say I plagiarized it?”

The president’s face still had the scars from his violent beating just before. Seeing Xu RenDong picking up his chair and walking towards him again, the president quickly begged for mercy: “No, no, no, I didn’t mean that you plagiarized it…”

{I reviewed it and there’s really no scene of XRD beating the President this time around, I assume the author got confused with the previous reincarnation or perhaps you can assume that the same thing happened as last time, she just didn’t write it again.}

Xu RenDong was satisfied. He put down the chair and suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at him with a panicked look.

Rock Monk said deeply: “So you are a crazy murderer.”

Xu RenDong “…” You are too straightforward. He replied kindly, “No, it’s just a story.”

Rock Monk: “Really? I don’t believe it.”

Xu RenDong pointed to the blue-faced president and said sincerely: “I just beat this person violently in front of you, which fully proves that I am not a gentle and kind person. Therefore, it can be seen that I am not the murderer in the story. Do you understand?”

Everyone: “…” Your reasoning is really well-founded and convincing!

When Lian Qiao heard this, the expression on his face was very complicated.

To be honest, he thought that Xu RenDong really was gentle and kind in real life, but he occasionally turned violent when he was playing an instance… He used to think that this is the unique personality charm of Boss RenDong, but now that he thought about it more, was this not the typical personality of a perverted murderer? He would usually pretend to be harmless to humans and animals but, once he entered a non-natural environment, he would let himself go!

Lian Qiao couldn’t help shivering, thinking: What have I fallen in love with?

After the story was told, there was no change in the glass room. Everyone waited for a while and then decided to rest first.

When they went downstairs, everyone deliberately kept their distance from Xu RenDong. Only Lian Qiao and Zhong Xiu followed him. Xu RenDong deliberately said “Good night, have a good dream” before everyone went back to the room. When everyone heard these words, their faces became even more ugly and they quickly closed the door so that they would not have to see him.

Once they were in the room and had closed the door, Zhong Xiu sighed: “Why do you want to make yourself into a target?”

 Xu RenDong said helplessly: “It’s just a story, really. Didn’t you listen to the President? I copied the setting of ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’.”

Zhong Xiu shook his head: “I’m not talking about that. Not only this story, but also your attitude towards the president. If you do that as soon as you arrive, everyone’s impression of you will be bad. They will think that you are rude and reckless and won’t cooperate with you. In this way, you will become the target of public criticism. If something happens, everyone will be the first to push you out to sacrifice you.”

Xu RenDong did not speak but only listened. Lian Qiao said in displeasure, “Why are you so naggy, like an old mother.”

Hearing this, Xu RenDong and Zhong Xiu looked at him in unison and there was a hint of surprise in their eyes. Lian Qiao felt confused: “What, did I say something wrong?”

Xu RenDong coughed unnaturally: “No… no.” He quickly realized that nothing was appropriate to say at the moment so he quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go to rest early. I’m tired.”

“En.” Zhong Xiu grabbed the towel, “I’ll go wash my face.”

She slammed the bathroom door and left the room to Lian Qiao and him. Xu RenDong’s heart skipped a beat, thinking how could this woman be so unkind?

Sure enough, Lian Qiao’s ghostly voice floated from beside his ear: “Brother RenDong, do you have an Oedipus complex?” {I.e. if he’s attracted to older women that remind him of his mother, LQ doesn’t know ZX is actually XRD’s mum.}     

Xu RenDong’s forehead burst into blue veins: “What nonsense are you spouting? Didn’t you promise me not to be jealous?”

The bed next to him was pushed down and Lian Qiao crawled up to him and put his head in front of him: “No, I can’t help it. Unless you kiss me to soothe my wounded heart.”

 … What jealousy, this is clearly just robbery. Xu RenDong had no choice but to hold up Lian Qiao’s chin and place a light kiss on his lips.

“Okay, go to sleep.” Xu RenDong blushed, pulled the quilt and wanted to lie down.

“No, it’s too perfunctory!” Lian Qiao pressed up and wrapped his whole body in the quilt. Xu RenDong was so restrained that he couldn’t move. He only felt that he had turned into a silkworm chrysalis. Before he had time to complete his transformation, his cocoon was forcibly broken. His body is still trapped in the cocoon but his head stuck  out, disturbed and helpless.

“Don’t make trouble…” Xu RenDong struggled but Lian Qiao was still pressed down on him tightly. He was so overwhelmed that he was suddenly a little scared, but inexplicably also felt a sense of expectation.

As for what he was expecting, he couldn’t tell exactly.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t mess around.” Lian Qiao poked his blushing cheeks and the smile in his eyes was dazzling. “I just want to show you what a ‘soothing kiss’ is, okay?”

 “…” Xu RenDong only felt the blood all over his body rushing to his cheeks which made him at a loss. He felt as though he had a fever. His head was dizzy, his body was soft and he didn’t have any strength. He nodded dazedly.

At this time, Xu RenDong was obedient and soft, and Lian Qiao simply fell in love with this part of him. His warm and dry fingertips rubbed the corner of his mouth a few times, as if looking for a suitable position, and finally stopped on his lips.

Then, there was a kiss that was as gentle as spring water.

Xu RenDong was immersed in the tenderness that was almost drowning and thought in a daze: It turns out that Lian Qiao likes to touch my lips before kissing… Where did this habit come from…?

The next second.

“I’ve washed up, do you want to…” Zhong Xiu opened the door and saw two people on top of each other. She didn’t have time to react before she heard a muffled groan—

 With great effort, Xu RenDong kicked Lian Qiao out of bed again.

“…” No matter how sluggish Zhong Xiu was, she understood what had just happened. She touched her nose awkwardly and hastily beat a retreat back to the bathroom. “I forgot to brush my teeth.” 

She closed the door again and even considerately locked it behind her.

Xu RenDong was sitting on the bed holding his forehead. How was it that he would be caught red-handed every time and had to keep kicking Lian Qiao out of bed… He felt a little embarrassed.

Lian Qiao propped himself up against the edge of the bed and said faintly: “Do you know where you kicked just now…”

Xu RenDong: “?”

Lian Qiao: “It almost broke. If you can’t use it in the future, then you will regret it later…”

Xu RenDong: “???”

Huh? Can’t be used? What can’t be used? Aren’t his hands and feet all fine? Where did he kick exactly?