When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 503: Any Volunteers?

Chapter 503: Any Volunteers?

Jin Jiuchi swallowed the cake all too soon before delicately licking the cream from his fingers. Yet as expected, it did not manage to satisfy him and instead left him wanting for more. With a hopeful expression, he asked the host of the tea party, "Can I have more?"

It was apparent that the cake he ate was normal.

Gu Luoxin collapsed into his seat, taking in huge gulps of hair as he had forgotten to breathe earlier. Meanwhile, Shen Nianzu discreetly tucked away the healing prop he had been clutching in his hand, just in case Jin Jiuchi suddenly showed signs of food poisoning.

"Oh, I really love your enthusiasm, but..." Mad Hatter removed his hat and pressed it against his chest in a gesture of regret. "I’m afraid our desserts are limited, and wouldn’t it be no fun if some guests don’t get their share?"

Jin Jiuchi tutted in disappointment. "Okay fine, I understand, but..." he appealed once more, his different colored eyes shining with hope and hunger. "If everyone’s eaten their fill and there is still some left, can I finish them off? Can I??"

Mad Hatter: "..."

If he still possessed his skin and flesh, perhaps the corner of his eye would have been twitching violently. But now he could only convey his speechlessness through silence. He had hosted so many tea parties, but this was the first time he had ever encountered such an enthusiastic guest from afar. If not because of Jin Jiuchi’s perfectly human appearance, he would have doubted whether this person was a skeleton wearing fake human skin.

In the end, he managed, sounding slightly constipated, "...Of course."

"Hihi... hihihi..." eerie and chilling laughter came from the skeleton who had just eaten a piece of truffle, now slumped face-first onto the table. The other skeletons around him cheered and whistled,

"He chose the one with concoction!"

"Ahh, I’m so jealous!"

"Hihihi... so delicious..." the drunk skeleton chuckled in a state of delirium.

As the atmosphere grew more heated, the Mad Hatter clapped and announced, "Alright, let’s move to the next round! Who wishes to sample the next dessert?"

"Me!"

"Pick me, please!"

"No, me!"

More skeletons eagerly raised their hands, their voices filled with excitement and enthusiasm. In contrast, the players’ side was dead quiet now that Jin Jiuchi was banned from volunteering for the second time.

Mad Hatter appeared troubled by this. "No volunteers, guests from afar?" However, everyone kept their heads lowered and remained silent. In the end, Mad Hatter was left with no other option but to pick one himself, "Well then, since it has come to this, let me select one of you!"

He raised his skeletal index finger and with a twirl, pointed at one of the players. "You!"

The chosen one – the beefy man – flinched, pointing at his own nose in shock. "M–Me?" He stammered, his eyes wide in a mixture of panic and nervousness.

"Yes, you!" Mad Hatter clapped cheerfully. "Come on, let’s begin!"

The man begrudgingly rose from his seat and scanned the array of desserts before him. He swallowed, hot sweat oozing out of his pores. Under the combined pressure from the skeletons and the pitying and schadenfreude look of other players, he whipped his head to face Shang, imploring, "B–Brother Shang, you’re going to heal me if something goes wrong, right?"

Shang smiled. "Of course, please be rest assured."

The man let out a barely audible sigh of relief. After contemplating long and hard, he gritted his teeth and ultimately chose the same cake Jin Jiuchi had eaten – strawberry shortcake! His thought process was simple: Jin Jiuchi had turned out fine after eating one, so wouldn’t his chances of safety increase if he chose the same?

But alas, was ’simple’ truly the right answer in this kind of situation?

Steeling himself, he held his breath and took a decisive bite of the cake, savoring the sweet and fluffy texture that filled his mouth. His heart raced at an alarming pace, yet after a few agonizing seconds of wait... nothing happened.

His eyes brightened. "I’m—" he had just uttered that one word when his entire person abruptly froze, still with a wide smile plastered on his face.

To the astonishment of everyone present, he staggered out of his seat, his movements stiff and jerky. His arms formed a circle above his head, revealing his thick hairy armpits, as he rose onto his tiptoes. And then without warning, he... executed a sharp and powerful twirl, just like a professional ballet dancer.

"Pfft—"

The skeleton guests erupted into loud laughter, pounding the table with their bony hands, their jaws producing loud rattles of mirth.

"He ate the one! He ate the one with concoction!"

"Goodness, this is so fun!"

"Trust Mad Hatter to host the best tea party!"

"Thank you, thank you very much," Mad Hatter once again bowed graciously to the audience, a hint of pride and unmistakable delight in his tone. "Your joy is my utmost priority!"

The players, however, couldn’t bring themselves to muster any semblance of enthusiasm as the skeletons. For starters, there was nothing moderately funny or entertaining about a huge and muscular man dancing ballet in an awkward manner; it was more accurate to call it an eyesore. Plus, the man’s expression was just too unsettling – his face was fixed in a wide grin, yet his eyes betrayed sheer panic and horror, creating a jarring and eerie contrast.

"H... elp..." he managed to choke out through his tightly clenched teeth, pleading in desperation. "...help... me..."

The man’s breathing grew increasingly labored as he continued to dance around the table, eliciting another round of laughter and applause. His face flushed red, eyes bulging, and sweat pouring out of his pores to create a glistening sheen over his skin.

Just when the players thought this would be the end, they suddenly saw him grabbing his hair with both hands and—

"AHHHH!!"

With an unnatural strength, he ripped the skin from his scalp down to his neck, exposing the raw flesh and bone beneath. An inhuman howl escaped through his tightly clenched teeth, sounding like the growl of an animal in its death throes, yet he continued to twirl in place like a broken marionette, blood cascading down his body.

All around them, the skeleton guests laughed uproariously, sounding extremely entertained.

"Hahahaha, just look at him!"

"Beautiful... what a beautiful performance!"

The man’s bloodshot eyes slowly swept over the crowd of laughing skeletons before settling on Shang, brimming with a mixture of plea, fear, and agony. Yet Shang remained frozen in place, his expression one of shock and horror, seemingly too terrified to move and give a proper healing as per his promise.

Mad Hatter clapped cheerfully and announced, his voice tinged with a sinister delight, "This concludes the second round of challengers! Let’s move to the third, shall we? Any volunteers?"