Kaleidoscope of Death

“I’m Behind You” was likely the most powerful among all the Hako Onna’s power cards—it could eliminate every single person in a room. However, this power had a very important triggering condition—it could only be used after six power cards had been unlocked. That was the only good news at this point.

The newbie wasn’t comforted at all. After listening to Ruan Nanzhu’s explanation she began to sob, weeping about how she shouldn’t have opened that chest, she knew her luck was awful, ten straight years of lottery tickets and she’d never so much as won five yuan, and of course the moment she opened a chest she opened up this sort of thing.

Lin Qiushi didn’t know how to comfort her either. To tell the truth, he really did think that this girl was unfortunate. But at least she’d opened up a power, not the Hako Onna herself…

“What do we do? Are we all going to die here?” Miss Newbie kept crying and crying, rubbing ceaselessly at her tears. “Maybe if we all stay in the same room, then the Hako Onna’s power can’t be activated…”

“In your dreams.” Ruan Nanzhu ruthlessly shattered her delusion. “The group cannot all stay in one room—that’s the rule inside the doors, or something completely beyond our control will happen. Besides, even if this door makes an exception for that rule and everybody squeezes into a single room, the moment the Hako Onna’s mole finds a chance to slip outside, she’ll easily be able to kill everyone else in one fell swoop.”

“So what do we do?” the girl asked pathetically. “Do we just wait around to die then?”

“Who knows.” Ruan Nanzhu didn’t give her an answer.

The three of them returned to their room, and Liang Miye sighed, saying this girl’s luck really was something awful.

“It is awful,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “She managed to find this of all cards.”

“Say, do you think the Hako Onna knows where every item is hidden?” Lin Qiushi suddenly asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Ruan Nanzhu shook his head. “When we played the game outside, at least, the Hako Onna knows.”

In the tabletop, the Hako Onna had a judge-like role, and was in charge of placing all the power cards. After she placed them, however, she couldn’t move them unless she used a power.

But what was the case inside the door? Ruan Nanzhu’s best guess was that most likely, she didn’t know the location of the items. Otherwise her mole among the humans could simply open up all her powers in one go. There was no escaping for any player if that was the case.

Lin Qiushi nodded, and felt that this made a bit more sense. At the same time he was pondering the matter of the mole. Presently, there were eighteen people left inside the house—it was still a large number, and finding the mole among them would not be an easy task.

Liang Miye and Ruan Nanzhu continued chatting idly about the mole.

Ruan Nanzhu said that he didn’t have any clues at the present, but in his tone of voice, Lin Qiushi could make out something of a glitch. He glanced at Ruan Nanzhu and just happened to meet his eyes.

Ruan Nanzhu said, “I honestly don’t know at this point who the mole is. They’re too well-hidden.”

As he said this, his gaze gradually landed on the chests before them, almost like he was speaking to the chests themselves.

“I really hope we find the mole soon.”

With that as his conclusion, Ruan Nanzhu called an end to the conversation.

Night fell, and the mansion quieted.

Lin Qiushi lied in the darkness with his eyes closed and ready to sleep. But then he felt someone worm their way into his bedding—undoubtedly, it was Ruan Nanzhu.

The two began another round of intimate whispering.

“Are you asleep?” Ruan Nanzhu asked.

“Not yet,” Lin Qiushi said.

“I know what you want to ask, but it’s not time yet.” Ruan Nanzhu was right next to Lin Qiushi’s ear, speaking in a nearly inaudible whisper. “I still need a bit more time.”

“Mh.” Lin Qiushi had always been like this—whatever Ruan Nanzhu didn’t want to say, he never asked.

And Ruan Nanzhu adored when Lin Qiushi showed him such absolute trust. He wrapped his arms around Lin Qiushi and said, “sleep now.”

Lin Qiushi closed his eyes, and the two drifted together into sleep.

Outside the doors, dawn meant the start of a new day. Inside, however, when sunlight spilled in golden pools through the window, it meant another round of a nightmare.

They had to open a chest again, selecting their targets from over a hundred. Everybody’s hearts hung high in their throats before opening a chest. With a single soft click, the answer to their life or death was pronounced before everyone.

Another victim appeared this morning. One of the veterans got unlucky and opened up a Hakobito inside a chest. He was dragged in on the spot.

The terrifying howls that came from the chest right after told the tale of his miserable end. His companion collapsed, throwing himself onto the chest with a sob.

And Lin Qiushi just happened to witness the whole thing. He let out the softest sigh.

Reaching out, Ruan Nanzhu turned Lin Qiushi’s face toward himself, and said: “Stop watching him. Isn’t it nicer to watch me instead?”

Lin Qiushi smiled.

“Alright. I’ll watch you.”

Liang Miye muttered at the side something about how she wouldn’t starve even if she didn’t eat, since she’d got plenty of dog food to fill her up[1].

Before eating breakfast, they selected two chests on the first floor. After Lin Qiushi’s verification they carefully opened them.

When one of the chests opened, a black fountain pen appeared inside.

“The pen immortal?!” Lin Qiushi recognized this item. Truthfully, when he saw it he exhaled a long breath of relief, because this was the first usable tool they’d found.

The pen immortal was one of the carry-on items for players in the tabletop.

The item could be used to confirm which floor the Hako Onna was on. But the item had a major flaw, which was that if it was used in the same room as the Hako Onna, then the player died immediately.

Lin Qiushi picked up the pen. The moment it touched his palm he felt a pulse of cold; what looked like just a normal fountain pen had around it a vaguely ominous aura.

Lin Qiushi put the pen in his own pocket and said, “doesn’t feel like it’ll be of much use.”

“It’ll definitely be useful at a critical moment,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Come on, let’s go to the dining room and see what the others opened up.”

They entered the dining room and saw the group all sitting dead-eyed around the table. Some people were eating, but some were not.

Ruan Nanzhu counted the lot. Beside the person who died outside just now and the person still weeping, there were a total of sixteen people here.

“Did anybody find any key items today?” Ruan Nanzhu asked.

The crowd was silent for a bit, before one of the veterans answered: “I found a passcode card.”

“Really?” Ruan Nanzhu’s eyes flashed. They’d already gathered three passcode cards. One more, and the safe in the study could basically be opened.

“Really,” that person said, pulling the card from his pocket. “But…I’d rather not have the key, if it means I don’t have to open that safe.”

Somebody died to open that safe before, and he clearly didn’t want to take this risk.

“That’s fine,” Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

Nobody else in the house seemed to have gotten any items. No one’s luck seemed to be getting them anywhere.

Liang Miye even joked that if somebody particularly lucky came in here, then wouldn’t they be able to get out within a day or two?

Though it was a bit funny, that was indeed the truth. With enough luck, they really could have easily cracked the dilemma before them.

After Ruan Nanzhu got the passcode, he headed immediately for the second floor and began opening the strongbox.

Everybody else followed. Sun Yuanzhou stood right next to Ruan Nanzhu, watching his motions.

“You’re just going to try it like that? Won’t something happen?”

“Not likely,” Ruan Nanzhu replied. “The passcode in the tabletop could also be deduced. Plus, order doesn’t matter in the tabletop, but the lock in here needs it, so even if we get all four digits, we’d still have to try different combinations.”

All while he spoke, his hands never stilled. The lock continued to click out loud as it turned under his fingertips.

Roughly six minutes later, the crowd heard a light crack. The heavy strongbox door swung open, revealing what was sitting inside.

An antique copper key. It was a silhouette familiar to them—this was the key that belonged to the doors.

“The key, the key!!” Upon seeing the key, everybody began to shout in excitement. Some of the newbies even began to cry out of joy.

After such a sustained period of despair, it was as if the key reignited their desire to keep living. The anticipation in everybody’s eyes could practically materialize.

When Ruan Nanzhu saw this key however, he furrowed his brow.

“What is it?” Sun Yuanzhou asked him.

“What do we do with it?” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Do I keep it on me?”

Sun Yuanzhou was a bit bewildered. The key was the way out—who would pass it up like that?

“I’m just worried that this key’s going to get buried,” Ruan Nanzhu sighed. “Because once something happens to somebody, every item on that person gets destroyed…The person carrying the key will no doubt become the Hako Onna’s target.”

“Then what do we do? What if you put the key back in the safe?” a girl asked in a hushed voice. “After we find the door, we come back for the key?”

There didn’t seem to be any issue with that, because the Hako Onna couldn’t go inside the safe. But this method was premised on the fact that Hako Onna’s mole wasn’t among them, or else who knew what would happen.

“I’ll just keep it on me,” Ruan Nanzhu announced placidly. “Lest someone with bad intentions takes it.”

The crowd didn’t speak. Ever since Ruan Nanzhu told them yesterday that the Hako Onna might have a mole among them, the trust between them only grew weaker.

Ruan Nanzhu was basically the only trustworthy person to the whole group. If he stopped telling them how to use an item or what a power card meant, they would become like headless flies bumping about, waiting to die inside this terrifying mansion.

Now that they’d gotten the key, all there was left to do was find the door.

According to the rules of the tabletop, the key must be used in the underground tunnel in order to escape, and the underground tunnel was also hidden inside a wooden chest.

Once the crowd dispersed, Ruan Nanzhu said he wanted to go talk to someone.

Lin Qiushi said, “let’s go together.”

Ruan Nanzhu, “sure. Miye, why don’t you stay in the room? Too many people would attract attention.”

“Okay.” Liang Miye was quite cooperative about this. She knew Ruan Nanzhu wouldn’t set her up.

Ruan Nanzhu headed for a bedroom on the second floor. Moments after knocking, the door opened, revealing a wary face.

“Do you need something?”

Lin Qiushi knew this man. He was the veteran who opened up the canister of gasoline yesterday. His name seemed to be Ren Ruyuan.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” Ruan Nanzhu said.

“Okay.” Ren Ruyuan kept up a good attitude toward Ruan Nanzhu, but the way he looked at Lin Qiushi was far less kind. Clearly, Ruan Nanzhu’s disguise had given him a convenient advantage.

“Have you used the gasoline?” Ruan Nanzhu asked.

“Not yet,” Ren Ruyuan replied.

Though he’d said he would use the gasoline to open up a chest today, he obviously hadn’t been able to bring himself to use such a precious item.

“Good,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Didn’t I mention that the underground tunnel is inside a chest?”

“Yeah,” Ren Ruyuan said. “What about it?”

Ruan Nanzhu, “what I didn’t mention was…the Hako Onna can arrange for herself or one of the Hakobito to guard the exit.”

After a beat of silence, Ren Ruyuan’s expression twitched.

“Are you serious?!”

“Of course I’m serious,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “The only way to prevent the Hako Onna from guarding the entrance is to find the exit immediately after finding the key.”

This was the only way to guarantee that the Hako Onna wouldn’t have enough time to act—get the key straight to the exit and get out.

Ren Ruyuan was frowning as he continued listening to Ruan Nanzhu.

“But there’s a problem here.”

Ren Ruyuan understood as well: “her mole being among us?!”

They couldn’t be sure, therefore, if the exit could ever be found. If the mole had already found the exit and had hidden it, then even if they did get the key, they still had to face-off against the Hako Onna or Hakobito. They wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

“Fuck,” Ren Ruyuan couldn’t help but swear, hissing angrily, “they better not let me fucking find them, or I’ll kill their ass for sure—”

As he spoke, he realized why Ruan Nanzhu was here.

“You came to me, to tell me to leave the gasoline for last?”

“Yes,” Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

Ren Ruyuan didn’t reply.

“This is the only item we’ve found so far that can hurt the Hako Onna.” Ruan Nanzhu’s attitude was very calm. He didn’t push, nor did he try to appeal to some greater good. “You’re the one who found it, so you have the right to use it however you want. I’m only telling you that this is a very important item.”

With a low sigh, Ren Ruyuan said, “alright, I got it.”

Ruan Nanzhu stood and got ready to leave.

“How many doors have you passed?” Ren Ruyuan suddenly asked.

“This is the tenth,” Ruan Nanzhu answered.

“Oh,” Ren Ruyuan said. “Alright, thanks for the heads up. I’ll think about it.”

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu left Ren Ruyuan’s room. Both of them were preoccupied with thoughts—Lin Qiushi was wondering if Ren Ruyuan would use the gasoline, but he didn’t know what Ruan Nanzhu was thinking at all.

Obtaining the key was like a chemical stimulant. It got everybody fired up.

At lunch, the group eagerly discussed the location of the exit. There were still over a hundred unopened chests, they said; as long as they were lucky, they could definitely get out of here soon.

“How could it be that easy?” But Sun Yuanzhou ruthlessly emptied a bucket of cold water over the optimistic crowd. “Aren’t you all getting ahead of yourselves?”

The joyous-looking newbies all froze. One of them asked timidly, “Sun-ge, what do you mean by that?”

“We still haven’t found the mole,” Sun Yuanzhou said coldly. “Haven’t you considered the possibility that the mole’s already found the passage, but hasn’t told us?”

The room went immediately silent. All the smiling faces seemed to curdle in an instant.

Ruan Nanzhu had his head down as he ate. He hadn’t gotten involved in this discussion, though he’d thought pretty much the same as Sun Yuanzhou—he just hadn’t thought it a bad thing to let these people have a bit of hope.

“If something like that’s the case, then we’re utterly screwed,” Sun Yuanzhou said. “We won’t open chests that have already been opened, so the passage will never appear.”

The silence at the dining table was like death itself. The veterans had the experience, and most of them had already thought of the situation that Sun Yuanzhou was bringing up—so they could still be calm. But among the newbies, somebody couldn’t take such a sudden blow, and began to roar, “then tell us what to do then. Are we just supposed to wait around to die here?!”

Sun Yuanzhou shot him a cold look.

“If I knew what to do, would I still be sitting here talking to you?”

Seeing a vicious argument about to break out, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke up: “Alright, enough. Sun Yuanzhou, I want to talk to you alone.”

“Okay,” Sun Yuanzhou agreed.

So Ruan Nanzhu got up and headed outside with Sun Yuanzhou.

Chopsticks in hand, Lin Qiushi worked assiduously at his noodles. Liang Miye asked him quietly, “aren’t you curious what they’re going to talk about?”

Lin Qiushi said, “what’s to be curious about? He’ll tell us anyhow.”

At this, Liang Miye blinked, and laughed.

“Damn I envy you two.”

Lin Qiushi looked at Liang Miye, vaguely bewildered.

Ruan Nanzhu and Sun Yuanzhou stood together outside. Sun Yuanzhou was just about to light a cigarette when Ruan Nanzhu stopped him: “Don’t give me secondhand smoke. Here, have a candy.”

He passed Sun Yuanzhou a candy.

Staring at that small, colorful piece of candy, Sun Yuanzhou’s lips twitched.

“I didn’t expect such a childish side from you.”

“The lover likes them,” Ruan Nanzhu replied.

“Are you and Yu Linlin really together?” Sun Yuanzhou seemed disbelieving.

“The little one’s three already,” Ruan Nanzhu lied through his teeth. “And the oldest’s in middle school.” A kind, motherly smile appeared on his face. “For them, I can do anything.”

“…” Sun Yanzhou was silent for a while before sighing, “it’s not easy being a mother.”

“Indeed,” Ruan Nanzhu nodded as well.

“Right. What did you call me out here to talk about?” Sun Yuanzhou brought them back to the matter at hand.

“I know you’re not the mole, and you know I’m not the mole. So we can work together now, right?” Ruan Nanzhu asked.

“Why do you say that?” Sun Yuanzhou lifted an eyebrow.

“Because I need your help to find the mole, of course,” Ruan Nanzhu said.

“How would I help?” Sun Yuanzhou asked.

Ruan Nanzhu pulled a few sticky notes from his pocket. These had all been provided by Sun Yuanzhou to record the contents of the opened chests.

Ruan Nanzhu said, “you’re the one who gave these out, right?”

Seeing the sticky notes in Ruan Nanzhu’s hands, something in Sun Yuanzhou’s gaze flickered. But just as quickly he returned to normal, and smiled.

“What are you saying?”

“We’re all old foxes here,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Must I say more?”

After he’d gotten the sticky notes, he’d felt they were off, so he and Lin Qiushi and Liang Miye had done a close comparison of all their notes. There was nothing odd to be gleaned from appearances alone, but there was a very faint scent on the pieces of paper. And Ruan Nanzhu, who’d always been sensitive about details, had immediately detected that there was something wrong.

But by doing so, Sun Yuanzhou hadn’t harmed his interests, so he’d been too lazy to say anything about it. Now though, things were different. He needed Sun Yuanzhou’s help to determine which boxes the mole had opened.

“Fine.” Sun Yuanzhou put the candy in his mouth. “I did do something to the sticky notes.”

He pulled an ultraviolet light from his pocket and shined it on the notes in Ruan Nanzhu’s hands—the number 8 appeared.

These were items he always carried on him, just in case, but he’d also been surprised when they became of use.

With a click of his tongue, Ruan Nanzhu said, “alright Sun-ge, good one.”

Sun Yuanzhou laughed before sighing, “like I’m anywhere as good as you.”

They’d all witnessed Ruan Nanzhu’s abilities; indeed, someone who could get the hint to a tenth door was nobody to be trifled with.

“So you’ve already confirmed who the mole is?” Sun Yuanzhou asked.

“Probably,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “IQ doesn’t seem to be very high though, how did the Hako Onna choose them?”

He fished another piece of candy out of his pocket, opened it, and popped it into his mouth.

“How easy would it have been if she’d chosen me? I guarantee I’d kill you all within the shortest amount of time.”

Sun Yuanzhou guffawed.

“Kill us all? I don’t think you could bring yourself to do it.” Anybody with eyes could see the atmosphere Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi had between them. “Isn’t your husband here as well?”

“Oh he’s not my husband.” With a bat of the eyes, Ruan Nanzhu tacked even more pages onto his own script. “He’s my sidepiece.”

What had at first been a brilliant grin froze on Sun Yuanzhou’s face.

“He’s handsome and good in bed—” Ruan Nanzhu’s addiction to drama was finally getting a fix. “—you understand, right?”

Sun Yuanzhou, “…” Sorry, he truly couldn’t understand. He could practically hear the background music play for Ruan Nanzhu’s husband—how did that song go again? I saw raindrops falling on that field of green grass?[2]

“Forget it. Anyways.” Rubbing at his nose, Sun Yuanzhou decided to skip this wholly awkward topic. “What are you planning after this?”

Ruan Nanzhu said, “open all the chests that the mole’s already opened, naturally.”

Sun Yuanzhou, “isn’t that time-consuming?”

Ruan Nanzhu shrugged. “If not that, do you have any better ideas?”

Sun Yuanzhou, “nope.”

“Then that’s that,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “It may be a stupid method, but at least we can make sure all the work we’ve done hasn’t been useless.”

Translator’s Note

1. References to dog food are a slang way of calling out a couple for being too lovey-dovey. So when two people are being gross, you could say they’re “feeding others dog food.”
2. You might recognize the lyrics “我聽見雨滴落在青青草地” from Hebe Tien’s “小幸運“ / “A Little Happiness” from the VERY well-known Taiwanese movie 我的少女時代 / Our Times. The first line became a meme-y way of saying “being cheated on,” because in Chinese, someone “putting a green hat on you” means they’re cheating on you, and “field of green grass” is like a headful of green hair.