Chapter 31: The Last Key
The DJ’s assistant at the console had no time to look for anyone; he was frantically changing songs, planning to weld himself to his post for the night. Not that Tong Yishuai had any mind to trouble the DJ right now. The crowd had instantly noticed his arrival on the first floor. Like a drop of cold water in a pan of boiling oil, the beautiful and exquisite “dolls” erupted into a new wave of jubilation. They swarmed forward, layer upon layer, and in the blink of an eye, pushed him to the very center of the dance floor.
“Take off the mask! Take off the mask! Take off the mask!” the entire venue shouted, their voices excited and hoarse.
Removing his mask after the anniversary party was a public promise Tong Yishuai had made, and one of the biggest selling points of Yin Bar’s celebration. Now that the promise was brought up again, it quickly drew a chorus of resounding agreement. People are curious, especially when the answer to a mystery is within arm’s reach. Someone, unable to wait for Tong Yishuai’s response, simply shot out an arm, trying to uncover the alluring silver-white secret himself.
Tong Yishuai dodged clumsily. His fingers were astonishingly thin and long; pressed tightly against the mask on his face, they looked like two pale, bony ghost claws. The crowd continued to surge forward, their emotions completely ignited, viewing the unmasking as the most thrilling part of the entire party. It was unclear who started it, but by the time Tong Yishuai reacted, he had been lifted high into the air by countless hands! The surrounding scenery spun, and the brilliant crystal chandelier on the ceiling cast a blinding glare, making him instinctively shut his eyes.
“No!” In an inconspicuous corner, Tian Luxin was also shouting. Wen Yue had suddenly broken free from her grasp and rushed recklessly toward the dance floor. Even though the path was completely blocked, the girl in the white dress still struggled forward with all her might, stumbling and squeezing her way through. The degree of her mental contamination was clearly worsening. As she squeezed, she raised her hands high, standing on her tiptoes, trying to grab Tong Yishuai’s mask like everyone else. But her figure was too frail, and she was quickly pushed off balance. Just as she was about to fall, Zhuang Ningyu fortunately arrived in time, slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her out of the crowd.
Tian Luxin was on the verge of tears. “Captain Zhuang, I’m sorry, she just suddenly ran off.”
“It’s fine.” Zhuang Ningyu pressed Wen Yue down onto a chair and pulled her bracelet to check it. Green, operating normally. The protection level was fine, but it was obvious this normally functioning bracelet wasn’t having any of its intended effects. He glanced back at the dance floor. Tong Yishuai was still held aloft by a dozen pairs of hands. The lights enveloped his body, making him look like a fragile butterfly, a thin, withered leaf, or a pure Holy Son from a medieval oil painting about to be sacrificed, surrounded by demons.
With a ripping sound, the custom-made suit finally gave way under the tearing of a dozen pairs of hands, splitting open in the chaos. A piece of fabric fluttered down, revealing a stretch of pale skin to the air. The sound from Tong Yishuai’s throat suddenly rose in pitch. He pressed one hand to his mask and twisted his body violently, trying to break free. The tall, sturdy security guards outside the crowd finally sensed something was wrong and began to move their heavy steps “rumbling” toward their boss, but they were a step too late. Amid the shaking, a guest’s hand managed to hook Tong Yishuai’s bow tie. He immediately grew excited and pulled the bow tie towards himself. Just as he was about to pull the man off the “altar,” suddenly—
Thwack!
A red shadow descended from the sky, parting the crazed crowd like a hurricane. Two hands shot out as if on springs, accurately grabbing Tong Yishuai’s waist and forcefully snatching him away.
“Ah!” The guests watched their boss “float” over their heads, letting out a collective gasp.
Zhuang Ningyu looked at the doll’s neatly tailored red professional suit and said, “It’s You Hong.”
Even without an invitation, even though Tong Yishuai seemed to despise her, You Hong had appeared at the party, just as she had five years ago. She didn’t immediately put the person down but continued to hold him high, turning and running towards the staff elevator. And Tong Yishuai just rode on her head, frantically trying to fix his torn clothes. The scene was utterly absurd, and even more absurdly, a large group of wildly dancing, fanatical dolls followed behind them.
“Take off the mask! Take off the mask! Take off the mask!”
You Hong reached out and pressed the elevator button.
Tong Yishuai clutched his open collar, cursing sharply, “Are they insane?!”
The elevator stopped at the first floor with a ding. Before the doors opened, Yi Ke had already arrived. He wanted to take You Hong to Gate No. 3, but someone was faster than him. The bartender and A’Lin, one after the other, raised their arms high and swung heavily at You Hong and Tong Yishuai. Thud! Thud! Two dull thuds of wooden clubs hitting flesh were heard. You Hong stumbled forward, her entire body falling against the elevator doors. Caught off guard, Tong Yishuai rolled to the ground with a clatter. The edge of his metal mask cut his skin, and blood trickled down his neck.
“Ah!” he shrieked mournfully.
As if stimulated by the scream, You Hong scrambled up. She had intended to pull Tong Yishuai up but was held fast by the bartender, who had latched onto her legs. The mental contamination amplified all emotions. Perhaps remembering the whole process of his sister being dragged to hell by medical touts from Star Beauty, the bartender no longer had his past elegance and politeness. All the hatred he thought he had let go of, and the self-comforting thought that “CEO You might not have known about the touts’ actions,” were washed from his brain. He became a manic madman, his mind filled with the single thought of getting justice for his sister, and began to brawl with You Hong.
“Let me go!” Wen Yue was still struggling outside the crowd, chanting along with the main group’s rhythm, “Tong Yishuai! Tong Yishuai!”
Tian Luxin had already been slapped by her several times and was seeing stars, her stomach filled with anger. “What Tong Yishuai! Stop being a lovesick fool and wake up!”
Wen Yue continued to charge forward heedlessly, brandishing a wine bottle she had picked up from somewhere and smashing it around wildly. Tian Luxin, at the end of her rope, used the handcuffs Zhuang Ningyu had just given her to lock the girl to the bar’s faucet.
“Let go!”
“Think about your sister!”
Hearing the word “sister,” Wen Yue indeed stopped her smashing.
Tian Luxin patted her back soothingly while looking anxiously at the crowd. Although most of the dolls’ faces had long since become identical, as sisters who were so close, there should be some kind of telepathy, right?
Wen Yue muttered to herself, “Sister.”
Tian Luxin agreed emphatically, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m looking, sis, I’m helping you look!”
The guests in Yin Bar were now divided into four groups amidst the chaos:
One group was the fanatics, who, like believers flocking to their faith, ignored the fact that Tong Yishuai’s face was covered in blood and were determined to remove his mask.
One group consisted of Tong Yishuai and the security guards protecting him, who were covering their faces and fleeing in panic.
One group was You Hong, the bartender, and A’Lin, who were fighting.
The last group was the rule-breakers trying to take You Hong to Gate No. 3.
Although You Hong’s fighting power was astonishing, she was, after all, facing two 185 cm tall adult men and soon found herself at a disadvantage. She fell to the ground, and a look of terror appeared in her eyes as she saw a wrought-iron chair coming down on her.
Bang! Yi Ke sent the high chair flying with a punch.
The bartender and A’Lin both turned their heads, staring at him with hostility.
Yi Ke dragged You Hong up from the ground, but she showed no intention of thanking him. She threw his hand off and was about to chase after Tong Yishuai again. The latter had already scrambled up to the second floor and was now standing behind the railing, screaming his lungs out, trying to get everyone to calm down. The shrill sound, combined with the dripping blood, was both absurd and terrifying.
Tian Luxin had never seen such a horrifying scene and swallowed dryly. “…This is too crazy.”
Wen Yue stared at her intently. “Kill.”
Tian Luxin turned her head in shock. “What did you say?”
Gate No. 3 was in the opposite direction of Tong Yishuai. It was not an easy task for Yi Ke to take You Hong there, especially with the bartender and A’Lin, whose attack power was maxed out. Zhuang Ningyu clutched the NO.9 in his palm, hesitated, and was about to pull it out when he looked up and met Yi Ke’s fierce, warning-filled gaze.
But the warning didn’t work. Captain Zhuang had a high level of skill in “turning a blind eye.” He turned his head nonchalantly, operating on the principle that as long as their lines of sight didn’t meet, he was alone in the vast universe, and no one could control him. Watching his figure calmly float away, Yi Ke was furious, but he couldn’t use high-damage weapons on the monsters clinging to him. After all, he couldn’t be completely sure who the “key” to the rule-breaking zone was yet, so even the bartender and A’Lin, who had already failed to open the door, had to be kept alive.
Zhuang Ningyu furtively and rustlingly unwrapped the syringe package.
Yi Ke grabbed the back of A’Lin’s collar and threw him like a sandbag.
Faced with this human projectile attack, Zhuang Ningyu could have easily dodged. But considering how A’Lin usually took care of him—even if he was a monster, even if he had completely lost his mind, care was still care—he still reached out and caught the man’s body, which had completely turned to wood.
A’Lin looked at him with dark red pupils.
Zhuang Ningyu forced a polite smile. “You’re welcome.” Then he pulled out his handcuffs and, with lightning speed, locked the man to the staircase railing. When he looked up again, he saw that the bartender had also been controlled by Yi Ke and was lying on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Yi Ke panted heavily and looked over.
Zhuang Ningyu quickly raised his hands to show his innocence. Didn’t hit him, I didn’t hit him!
Only then did Yi Ke relax. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up, and continued to chase You Hong. But before he could take two steps, Tong Yishuai on the second floor started going crazy again without any warning. He looked down at You Hong from his high perch, completely devoid of the pathetic state he was in when he was frantically riding on her neck to escape. He was back to his noble prince status, unhurriedly adjusting his bow tie, then extending a hand and pointing elegantly. “You.”
All the dolls turned in unison to look at You Hong.
Tong Yishuai then curled his finger and tapped his own mask, then mocked her cruelly and bitterly, “Yes, you. My bar doesn’t welcome an old woman like you, an ugly anomaly, a decaying monster. There are mirrors everywhere here. Take a look at your own face. Don’t you feel disgusted?”
An empty echo sounded from You Hong’s chest.
Tong Yishuai said lightly, “Get out.”
But the dolls in the bar didn’t give You Hong a chance to “get out.” They followed Tong Yishuai’s lead, jeering at her no-longer-young face, mocking her not-so-slender body, and closing in on her step by step.
Yin Bar had polarized into two classes. The upper class consisted of the young and beautiful guests and staff, while the lower class was the uninvited You Hong. In this polarization, the young and beautiful dolls voluntarily became cogs in the machine of “evil,” their souls terminally ill, and they all acted as thugs in unison.
Seeing that You Hong was completely surrounded, Zhuang Ningyu decisively clapped his hands—clap, clap, clap—drawing the attention of the whole venue to himself. “Everyone, look at me!”
The microphone amplified his voice infinitely. The dolls, though confused, obediently turned their heads. They still maintained a superficial friendliness towards “their own kind” with superior looks. They stared with wide, lifeless eyes, their mouths slightly agape, waiting. The scene looked somewhat comical.
Yi Ke seized this opportunity, grabbed You Hong, and charged toward Gate No. 3! He ignored her struggles and screams, crashing through the crowded throng with almost terrifying explosive force. You Hong was dragged along, stumbling repeatedly, her sharp heels leaving white scratches on the floor. She was on her back, and before she could exert her strength to break free, her gaze happened to meet Tong Yishuai’s on the second floor. She found that he was actually enjoying her predicament, with no intention of helping. She even saw, in those dark eyes deeply hidden behind the mask, a kind of contempt, a kind of disgust, a disgust so strong it was as if he wanted her to die immediately.
Zhuang Ningyu shouted a warning, “Be careful!”
Yi Ke was gripping You Hong’s arm. He heard a crack from his own fingers, and then his knuckles felt as if they had sunk deep into the branch of some thick tree. Then the branch was violently pulled away, and behind him came the rising and falling screams of the dolls. He hesitated and stopped. Under the lights, a giant human figure was rising from the ground!
Crash! The crystal chandelier on the ceiling was knocked and swayed like a dreamlike, brilliant swing. The light and shadow of the entire venue were cut into countless irregular golden fragments. The world spun rapidly between light and dark, and then, with a crisp shattering sound, tens of thousands of crystal beads detached at once, raining down on the dance floor like raindrops, refracting a kaleidoscope of colors in the air.
As for the bare lamp frame, it was held firmly in You Hong’s hand. Her body had just expanded and elongated, turning her into the only giant doll in the venue. When she bent down to look at the dance floor, everyone stared with wide, terrified eyes, silent as cicadas in winter. Their minds, once filled with fanaticism, cleared slightly. They all realized one thing: in this world where “beauty” was the sole measure of value, everyone else was merely “beauty” itself, while You Hong was the creator of “beauty.”
In other words, she could also be the destroyer of “beauty.”
In the dead silence, only Tong Yishuai gripped the railing tightly with both hands. “You demon,” he continued, “You ugly monster!”
You Hong opened her mouth but could only produce a meaningless sound. She walked step by step towards Tong Yishuai. The lamp frame in her hand was torn loose, leaving a trail of crackling blue and purple sparks.
Zhuang Ningyu glanced towards the corner and tilted his head slightly. Tian Luxin immediately understood, quickly undid Wen Yue’s handcuffs, and before her sister could have a second meltdown, she piggybacked her and rushed into the first-floor restroom.
But Wen Yue refused to stay in the safe room and began to crawl out with her hands and feet.
Tian Luxin pulled her back, coaxing and deceiving, “You’re injured. Let me bandage you up first.”
Wen Yue’s gaze fell blankly on her own bloody feet.
…
Tong Yishuai looked at the fallen lamp, the wrecked bar, and You Hong’s red suit that was about to burst at the seams, once again transforming into a midnight screaming maniac. His voice was like trembling magma from the depths of hell: “You bastard, you ruined my anniversary party!”
You Hong’s throat made a “kaka” sound. Yi Ke pressed the walkie-talkie on his chest, translating in real-time, “She seems to be saying something about ‘ruined’.”
“We don’t have time for their sea of love and hate,” Zhuang Ningyu threw off his jacket. Just before the wire-entangled lamp frame could smash onto Tong Yishuai’s head, he decisively stepped on a security guard’s shoulder, flipped over the second-floor railing, and pulled the man out of the danger zone.
The lamp frame smashed the railing to pieces with a wild, whistling sound.
Tong Yishuai was still roaring, “Let go, I’m going to kill her!”
Zhuang Ningyu cuffed the crazed boss’s arm and looked down at the first floor again.
Yi Ke leaped up and mounted You Hong’s neck. She clearly hadn’t expected anyone to be so audacious. Feeling immensely humiliated, she raised her hand to throw him off but was caught by the wrist by Yi Ke, who forcibly spun her 180 degrees. Gate No. 3 was now directly in front of them. Zhuang Ningyu grabbed the boss’s collar, pressed him against the railing with a thump, and commanded, “See that door? Tell them to push her out.”
Tong Yishuai turned his head, breathing heavily, and looked at him with eyes smeared with blood, his gaze utterly terrifying.
Zhuang Ningyu repeated, “Have everyone push this demon who ruined your party out!”
But Tong Yishuai shook his head, his tone sinister. “The party is already ruined by her. I won’t kick her out. I’m going to kill—oof!”
Zhuang Ningyu punched him hard in the stomach.
Tong Yishuai crumpled in a twisted heap, furious. “You!”
Zhuang Ningyu held him down with one hand and gripped his mask with the other, leaning in close, his beautiful eyes filled with icy coldness. “Do you want to kick her out, or do you want me to unmask you right here?”
Tong Yishuai’s hands were pinned by his own body and the railing. He couldn’t struggle or resist. Feeling the mask being slowly peeled away, he received the greatest shock of his life. Forgetting that his throat was already hoarse, he began to roar with all his might, “Make her get out! Make her get out! Get out! That door, push her out! Quick!”
All the dolls were jolted by his roar.
“Quick—”
Another crystal chandelier on the ceiling finally gave way, crashing to the ground with a great clatter amidst Tong Yishuai’s heart-wrenching, high-pitched, drawn-out note.
The dolls covered their heads to dodge. The concentration of mental contamination in the bar was rapidly rising along with the terrifying screams. This time, it wasn’t just their appearances that were converging, but their thoughts as well. The world was heavily enveloped in a white mist thick with the stench of decay. And outside the white mist, faint whispers could be heard, piercing the eardrums like the buzzing proboscis of a mosquito—
“Kick her out.”
Kick out the destroyer of this party.
The wave of dolls began to surge in the same direction. You Hong, who was desperately trying to throw Yi Ke off her shoulders, was now disturbed by this external force and had to move her feet, stumbling towards the “door of life”!
Bang! Dozens of dolls at the forefront crashed into the door. As expected, it had no effect.
You Hong, meanwhile, was pushed so hard she lost her balance. She instinctively spread her arms to steady herself, but was instead pulled forcefully by Yi Ke, her feet slipped, and she fell with a crash, her two hands landing firmly on the door!
With a loud bang, the ground trembled faintly.
But amid the rising dust, the door remained closed.
—You Hong was not the “key” either.
Zhuang Ningyu and Yi Ke, the rule-breakers; Tian Luxin, the intruder; Wen Yue, the sister-seeker; the bartender and A’Lin, the avengers; and Tong Yishuai and You Hong, the bar owners—a total of eight deep participants in the rules, yet not a single one was the “key.”
Zhuang Ningyu glanced at the electronic clock on the wall, his palms faintly sweating.
In less than an hour, he needed to find a new way to open the door, or, find the ninth “key.”
