Chapter 27: Is it fun to earn money with blood? (5) Cool, slippery and sticky...
Since only the wines were different, the aperitifs and appetizers were served simultaneously to all four tables. However, as everyone's orders varied, the speed of the dishes being served varied.
The three Cui siblings ordered Caesar salad as their appetizer. To be safe, they each ordered one of the same salad. The Wu family members ordered baked snails, bread with caviar, and smoked salmon with bagel chips, respectively. After the dishes were served, they ate their own food in silence. The three anchors also ordered salads, but they didn't think there was anything wrong with sharing a salad, so they only ordered one. Feng Yang ordered balsamic pickled mushrooms. This seemingly dark dish was actually sour, fragrant, and refreshing. Feng Yang likes to calm his mind with sour things when he is upset.
Then the soup was served. In Western cuisine, each guest is served a portion of soup. When the guest has finished enjoying the soup and puts down the spoon, the waiter will immediately come forward and remove the soup bowl.
"Hello, this is your pan-fried cod." The waiter began to serve the subsequent dishes. A pan-fried cod with tender meat and cooked to perfection was placed in front of Wu Zhexian.
Five minutes later, the waiter came back with the dish: "Here's your medium-rare fillet."
A steak was placed in front of Wu Yunfeng.
Wu Yunfeng felt like he was being tortured while eating this meal. He sighed deeply, picked up his knife and fork, and was about to cut when Fang Liyi grabbed his wrist.
Wu Yunfeng frowned and looked at his wife. Fang Liyi opened her mouth to speak but choked. She gave Wu Yunfeng a look to signal him not to move, then reached out and pressed the service bell.
The waiter who was already at the table immediately asked, "What's wrong, ma'am?"
Fang Liyi held her breath and pointed at the steak in Wu Yunfeng's hand. "You guys must have made a mistake. The main course is already served before the middle course?"
That simple sentence sent a cold sweat down Wu Yunfeng's back. He then realized that steak was indeed included in the "main course" category, and the entree he'd ordered hadn't arrived yet.
"Ah... is there a dish missing?" the waiter muttered to himself as he returned to the kitchen. "Wait a moment, I'll check for you."
"What? No..." The host Aries behind him suddenly covered his throat. Everyone turned their heads and saw that his eyes were wide open, as if his neck was being strangled by an invisible hand.
Ryan and Cece both hurriedly dodged away, and Gemini stood up in pain and horror, staring straight ahead.
——At this moment, from Gemini's perspective, a female ghost suddenly appeared in red clothes, white skin and black hair. Her face was not ferocious, and could even be described as pretty. She floated in front of him and looked at him with a smile. Her hands with long nails had distinct joints, and she pinched his throat tightly.
She let him struggle, the smile on her face never changing, as if she was admiring a work that satisfied him.
Aries kicked and struggled frantically, but it was useless. In despair, his SAN value dropped by 20%. Taking into account the 10% drop in copper coins after witnessing the transformation of a living person, it was only 70% left.
Other people cannot see the female ghost. Although the ferocious appearance of Aries is also scary, it does not scare everyone to the point of brain failure.
So Xixi quickly reacted and pointed at the plate in front of Aries and said, "Is this the main course he ordered?!"
"He skipped the middle course and went straight to the main course!"
Wu Yunfeng suddenly shuddered again, and when he looked at Fang Liyi, there was a hint of looking at his savior in his eyes. Wu Zhexian couldn't help but gasp: "Mom...thanks to your quick reaction!"
At first, Aries could still see the other diners around him, but the female ghost strangled his neck tightly, and Aries soon suffocated to the point of rolling his eyes.
Suddenly, the shackles around his neck disappeared, air suddenly rushed into his chest, and Gemini fell heavily to the ground.
He opened his mouth and took a deep breath, and was surprised to find that the female ghost had disappeared, as had the other people around her.
He looked around blankly and found himself in a narrow hallway, reminiscent of an old hotel. The diamond-patterned carpet beneath him hadn't been washed in years, so stained it was hard to discern its original color. The lower half of the walls on either side were covered in dark brown wood trim, while the upper half, covered in beige, diamond-patterned wood, was already badly damaged. Some sections had peeled off, but none had fallen completely. They hung there quietly, swaying and making soft noises in the air currents.
There were wooden doors on both sides of the wall, and a dim yellow light hung every five meters on the ceiling, but more than half of them were no longer lit. Among the few that were lit, a few were still flickering, and the filaments made a slight whimpering sound with each flicker.
A smell of decay and dust in the dim light permeated the air, and the depressing atmosphere made Gemini very uncomfortable.
His breathing inadvertently became rapid, and he unconsciously opened his eyes wider, vigilantly observing every danger in the environment.
When his sight reached the end of the corridor on the left... all the lights in the corridor flashed at the same time, coincidentally.
“Sizzle——”
The lights dimmed and went out, and Gemini suddenly saw a dark shadow at the end!
It was a completely black silhouette, but he could tell from the figure that it was a woman with disheveled hair, staring at him quietly.
“Sizzle——”
The light flashed again. Gemini did not move his eyes in that half second of darkness, and clearly noticed that the ghost approached several meters after the light came on again!
“Sizzle——”
The third flash, and the ghost's distance had been reduced to less than half! Gemini jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, running madly to the other end of the corridor.
"Hey...Aries!" Xixi saw him suddenly stand up and run and hurriedly called him, but Aries couldn't hear him at all. Wu Zhexian subconsciously reached out to stop him when he passed by, and Aries screamed and dodged and continued to run for his life.
…Aries felt a hand blocking his way, but there was clearly no one beside him. He didn't dare turn his head to look at the ghost behind him. He ran a few steps and saw a door on the right was ajar. He hesitated for a moment before rushing through.
"Aries!!!" Xixi and Ryan screamed in fright, but Aries still rushed into the kitchen. The heavy kitchen door opened and closed, covering Aries' figure.
The diners fell silent. No one wanted to see Gemini die, but no one wanted to take the risk of going in and pulling him out.
In the shabby hotel, Aries ran into the room without even taking a breath. He looked around and found that there was no light in the room. He saw the desk against the wall in the moonlight from the window and hurried over to pull it.
The desk is made of solid wood and although it is old it still retains its weight.
The corner of the table had just touched the door when there was a loud bang from outside!
Gemini broke out in a cold sweat, all his potential was forced out. He suddenly exerted force, and the table legs rubbed against the ground with a sharp sound, finally blocking the door completely.
“Boom—boom—!”
There was still a crash outside, and Gemini's legs went weak and he fell to the ground on his back.
"Bang, bang!" The impact caused dust to fall from the door, and even the door frame began to loosen. The desire to survive made Gemini overcome the weakness in his legs, and he quickly climbed up and rushed to the window.
He tried to climb out the window, but when he reached it, he saw that there were at least thirty or forty floors below. The door frame had loosened further from the persistent pounding from outside, and even the table propped against the door had been pushed back a little.
Gemini looked around again, and his eyes fell on the wardrobe standing not far away. He walked over decisively, opened the door, and hid inside the wardrobe.
Almost at the same moment, the door was completely kicked open with a loud bang, a cold wind rushed into the room, the window was blown outwards, and the glass shattered.
Even though Gemini was hiding in the closet, he could still feel a distinct chill. He shivered, the intense fear preventing him from looking outside. Yet, he couldn't help but peek out through the crack in the closet door. In the dim room, he saw the curtains, almost torn into strips, being blown out of the window by the wind. But other than that...
Nothing...
It seems like there is nothing.
But Gemini didn't dare to go out. He even breathed very lightly, not daring to make the slightest sound.
After an unknown amount of time, the wind outside gradually subsided, and the chill that had penetrated his bones gradually faded. Aries didn't dare relax for a moment, still staring outside. Only when the wind completely died down and the curtains that had been blown outside calmly drooped did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
As he breathed out this breath, he felt all the muscles and nerves in his body relax. The slight shift in his body's center of gravity caused the bottom of the wardrobe under his feet to squeak slightly. The Gemini's nerves suddenly tensed up again. He suddenly lowered his head and stared at his feet to force himself to steady himself. His ears also perked up again, and he observed every sound outside with his pounding heart.
But nothing seemed to happen, except...
Only then did Gemini notice that there was a shoe on his right side.
A pair of red embroidered shoes with a huge pearl on the toe. He couldn't understand the intricate embroidery, but it looked lively and auspicious.
Almost at the same time, the cold air that had just dissipated appeared again. This time it was not coming from outside, but from behind, touching him bit by bit from just behind his neck.
An ominous feeling surged into his heart, and Aries froze completely. Fear carved bloodshot veins in his eyes, and he felt that every limb was shaking violently as it stiffened.
He turned his head little by little and finally realized that this was not a wardrobe.
Not far to his side was a pale wall. In the corner stood a red candle as thick as a bowl. In the middle of the wall was a wedding character cut out of red paper.
Red silk and flowers made of silk were hung above the wall, exuding a faint scent in the dim light.
The corner of his eye caught an unusual shadow. Gemini didn't dare to look anymore, but he kept turning back uncontrollably. So after a few breaths, he finally saw it...
The same figure as the one at the end of the corridor was just one step behind him.
With her hair loose and wearing a wedding dress.
The embroidery on her Republican-era Chinese wedding gown was so intricate and elaborate that it was almost dazzling. Her dark hair, tangled and messy, made her look mournful and disheveled, a stark contrast to the exquisite attire.
Gemini subconsciously looked at her feet. Only the tip of her shoe was visible under her long skirt, and there was a huge pearl on the tip of the shoe.
There was no toe on the other side, so even the foot couldn't be seen.
Gemini suddenly felt something in his hand, cool, slippery and sticky...
He raised his hand breathlessly and saw that the embroidered shoe that was originally placed next to him had been taken in his hand at some point.
He could see the gorgeous embroidery more clearly, and also saw that the inside of the shoe was covered in blood.
Some of the undried blood plasma seeped out and stained his fingers.
Cool, smooth and sticky.
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The author has something to say: I’m going to give out red envelopes to all the comments on this chapter before the next chapter comes out. Mmmmm.
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