When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 504: This Is No Fun

Chapter 504: This Is No Fun

Once again, the skeleton side was filled with enthusiastic participants, while the human side was enveloped in a tense, unnerving silence.

Who were they kidding? After what had happened to the beefy man, who would dare to step forward and put themselves through the same predicament? Right now, they were no different than cattles lining up for slaughter, only waiting for the blade to descend over their necks. They knew that sooner or later they would have to participate in the elimination game, but was there really nothing they could do aside from avoiding the poisoned dessert?

As the third round commenced and a skeleton was selected, Mad Hatter turned to the players, his disappointment palpable in his tone. "Still no volunteers?"

When he was met with nothing but silence, he resignedly pointed to an unwilling player. "Alright, for this round, let me choose... you!"

This time, the chosen player was the bespectacled woman who had requested everyone to cooperate at the beginning. She possessed shoulder-length hair and a slightly plump frame, her thick glasses obscuring half of her face. When the Mad Hatter’s bony finger singled her out, she tensed up, biting down hard on her lower lip. But otherwise she didn’t utter a single word and slowly rose to her feet amidst the cheers and whistles from the skeletons.

"Yes, yes, finally!"

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mad Hatter!"

"Oh, I’m so excited for this round!"

Every player’s gaze was fixated on her, waiting for her decision with bated breath. What dessert would she choose?

Based on the two previous rounds, the strawberry shortcakes and the truffles had high chances of containing the concoction, so they were off-limits now. But even excluding those two, there were still a lot of desserts that remained untouched. Choosing the safe option was just like searching for a needle in a haystack.

After two prolonged seconds of silence, her tense shoulders abruptly sagged as though she had come to an important decision. She parted her lips to speak, her voice, albeit trembling at the end, still echoed with conviction,

"This is no fun."

As if a switch had been flipped, the cheers and laughter around the table abruptly ceased into a deathly silence, and the skeletons froze mid-movement as though a spell had been cast upon them. Mad Hatter, on the other hand, had his two skeletal hands poised mid-clap, only to freeze as he slowly turned his neck to face her. For the first time since the tea party started, his bone jaws dropped, displaying sheer shock and disbelief.

"N–No fun...?" he echoed, thick incredulity coloring his tone.

Taking a deep breath, the female player repeated, "That’s right, this kind of game is no fun. I’m getting bored."

BOOM!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck above the Mad Hatter’s head, petrifying him from head to toe. "...Hic!" a loud hiccup escaped him. He had proclaimed himself as the best host and promised to provide his guests with the pinnacle of entertainment. Tonight’s theme was ’fun’, so it was his duty and priority to ensure that everyone had their fill of fun.

And if... if a guest suddenly claimed that his tea party was boring, it could only mean one thing— failure!

Mad Hatter had never tasted failure in his long years of career, and he refused to taste it now. No, this couldn’t be... he must rectify this mistake as soon as possible!

"D–Dear guest," he began with a slight stammer. If he were human, perhaps he would be sweating buckets by now. "Is the game not fun for you? Do you have any suggestions to let everyone have the best fun?"

Upon hearing those words, a sudden epiphany dawned on a few players present, including Shen Nianzu, Noir, Shang, Ying, and the ninja player— aka the ones with higher intelligence. That’s right, even though the fake Santa Claus had gathered them in an elimination game, he had never specified what kind of game they needed to play. It meant the players still had some leeway to tilt the odds in their favor!

And the first person who managed to grasp this breakthrough was this bespectacled female player!

Sure enough, the Cycle never left them with no way out!

However, this approach came with its own risk. They could indeed manipulate the game to their advantage, but they still needed to come up with a game which all skeletons would agree with – a game they all considered fun. Otherwise... the consequences might prove to be dire!

What kind of game did she have in mind?

Under the intense scrutiny of all present, she clenched her fists and declared, "Let’s play truth or dare. Have you heard of it? As guests, we will choose between truth or dare, and as the host, Mr. Mad Hatter will demand something of us based on our choice. If it’s truth, we must speak nothing but the truth. If it’s dare, we must do as requested, no matter what it is. Success means passing the game, and failure... means elimination."

The skeletons glanced at each other, their interests piqued yet also tinged with hesitation.

"But what about Mad Hatter’s special concoction?" a skeleton inquired.

Meeting the skeleton’s empty eye sockets, she forced out a composed smile and replied, "Of course, we can ask Mad Hatter to offer the dessert with special concoction as a prize for passing the game. Don’t you think it will be double the fun? Not only will we enjoy delicious desserts, but we can also share our stories and watch many unique performances! What do you say, everyone?" she waited for the response with bated breath. Though she maintained her calm outwardly, in fact her heart was beating so fiercely that it almost burst out of her ribcage. Sweat beaded on her brows, and she clenched her fists so tight that her nails dug into her skin.

Please... please make this work! Please—

"...That sounds fun!"

A skeleton exclaimed cheerfully, and it was none other than the lady in tosca dress who was seated opposite Jin Jiuchi. "Don’t you agree?" she asked Jin Jiuchi while cupping her skull, her delicate voice almost a purr.

Blinking, Jin Jiuchi smacked his fist on his palm. "Count me in! I’ve never played truth or dare before, but it sounds hella fun!"

"T–That’s right, I also haven’t played it before!"

"Let’s give it a shot this time, Mad Hatter!"

"I– I agree!"

One by one, the skeletons and players voiced their support and agreement, leaving Mad Hatter with no choice but to comply. "Everyone, your joy is my utmost priority. Since we’ve all agreed, then let us play this game!"

Yes! She pumped her fist under the table, her eyes brightening with excitement. And when Mad Hatter directed the question at her, "What would you choose, dear guest?" She replied firmly,

"Truth! I choose truth!"

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A/N: Hii everyone, I’m here with the last Chapter for the month. Thank you so so much for all the support you’ve shown me despite my very unstable updates, and let me apologize in advance for the announcement I’m about to deliver QAQ

For the month of May (and perhaps June), please DO NOT purchase privilege as the update rate will be very, very scarce. I’m extremely sorry everyone, but as it turned out, writing two books is very draining both mentally and physically (I’ve had my eyes checked a few days ago and was strictly told that I needed to cut down the time i spent staring at the screen QAQ) and so I choose to focus on another book - Dark Salvation - as it’s always meant to be a short story. WBNC, on the other hand, still have quite a lot of content to be written, but I will ensure we will see the ending before 2025! ><

I’m so sorry everyone for this disappointing news QAQ

If you miss me, come visit ’Dark Salvation’. It already has more than 100 chs!

ps: the nsfw reward art will still be available until the last day of June, so don’t miss it out! For more details, you can visit my instagram or join my discord server ^^