Question marks floated above the players’ heads, their confusion palpable. Fun? What kind of the was that? Wasn’t this supposed to be an elimination ga? So why were they having a tea party instead?!
anwhile, the skeleton guests collectively showed a look of relief mixed with excitent. "The mont I’ve been waiting for the longest ti—!"
"Ah, it’s my luck to receive the invitation to tonight’s tea party. I can finally rest in peace in my graveyard later!"
"Excellent choice of the, Mad Hatter!"
"Thank you, thank you for your complint," Mad Hatter gave a theatrical bow. "Your joy is my utmost priority!"
But then, among the players, there was one who matched the skeletons’ excitent with equal fervor, if not more.
"Fun? I love fun!" Jin Jiuchi exclaid, unable to tear his gaze away from the tantalizing array of sweets before him. His mouth literally watered at the sight. After hours of trekking through the forest, a feast was just what he needed! Who could have guessed that the Nightmare would be so generous as to serve him just as he was getting hungry? Swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth, he asked eagerly, "So, when can we start? Do you have rules for that, or can I directly dive in? I am eyeing that strawberry shortcake over there..."
The other players gaped at him, utterly flabbergasted. What the hell was wrong with that person? He was thinking of eating strawberry shortcake at a ti like this? Was this so sort of strategy, by any chance???
anwhile, Gu Luoxin was covering one side of his face, not wanting to be associated with the man beside him, and Shen Nianzu was cosplaying as a real doll, hearing and seeing nothing.
Mad Hatter’s movents paused for a second, his head slowly tilting toward Jin Jiuchi with an eerie creak.
In return, Jin Jiuchi t his empty eye sockets with a puzzled look on his own. What was it? Had he said sothing wrong? It wasn’t like he had secretly stolen the desserts; he was just asking! So he shouldn’t have violated any rules, right?
Just as the tension seed to stretch to its limit, Mad Hatter suddenly burst into a loud guffaw, his jaws clicking in a rapid rhythm. "What an enthusiastic guest we have here!"
Following him, all the skeleton guests laughed along, and the one seated opposite Jin Jiuchi, dressed in a faded tosca dress and fancy-looking hat in a similar shade of green, even comnted with a giggle, "I like him already!"
"Thank you," Jin Jiuchi chirped happily. "I like the shape of your skull too!"
"Oh my..." the skeleton lady covered her cheeks, just like a bashful maiden upon receiving a complint from a gentleman.
"Of course, we have no such thing as rules here, but..." the Mad Hatter quickly added just as Jin Jiuchi was about to swoop in and seize the cake for himself. "Where’s the fun if we dive straight to the main course? Rember tonight’s the?"
"What do you propose, Mad Hatter?" one skeleton in a formal suit inquired curiously.
"Let’s see..." Mad Hatter tapped his fingers on his chin, producing a crisp sound. With a sudden ’aha!’, he suggested, "Why don’t we play a ga first?"
"Oh, sounds interesting!"
"What ga do you have in mind?"
"Count in!"
In stark contrast to the skeletons who appeared to be having the best ti of their skeletal lives, the players gulped nervously, their bodies tensing with anticipation. Finally, the elimination ga was here! They must not lower their guard down!
"Actually, among all the desserts here, there are so which contain my... secret concoction," Mad Hatter revealed mysteriously, eliciting various reactions from the skeletons and humans alike. While one or two skeletons groaned with an expression of boredom, most expressed genuine excitent.
"Oh, I love Mad Hatter’s concoctions!"
"For real, I still dream about it once in a while since the last ti!"
"It’s such a unique taste that makes you get addicted to it!"
The players’ expression turned inscrutable upon hearing those words. A taste so unforgettable that it was seared into the skeletons’ nonexistent brains and tongues... it shouldn’t be edible to humans, right? No matter from which angle one suspected it, it sounded like bad news!
"Um..." a player braced herself to speak up, and it was none other than the bespectacled woman who had initiated the first conversation earlier. "What exactly is in this concoction? I an, what would happen if we were to ingest it?" She voiced the question everyone wanted to know the most.
The one who answered her wasn’t Mad Hatter himself, however, but a chorus of ’testimonies’ from the skeletons.
"What would happen? Hahaha, at most you will be acting a bit funny for a while!"
"That’s called being drunk, silly!"
"Please do not make a scene like last ti, alright?"
With each remark from the skeletons, the situation seed to take a turn for the worse. A concoction that could even make them drunk? Shouldn’t it be more accurate to call it ’poison’?!
Mad Hatter clapped his hands to regain control of the situation, drawing everyone’s attention. "Now, now, I’m sure you have all been eagerly waiting for the tea party to start. Without further delay, let us select our first challengers! Any volunteers, ladies and gentlen?" he inquired, prompting several skeletons to raise their bony hands.
", ! I’ve been dying to taste it again!"
"Over here! I’ve yet to experience it!"
Jin Jiuchi looked left and right, and seeing how there were no volunteers from the players’ side, he excitedly offered himself, " too! I want—"
"Da Shen!" Both Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu exclaid in horror. For fuck’s sake, they should have seen this coming!
"What? Either way, this is sothing we will have to face sooner or later, right?" Jin Jiuchi retorted with a righteous tone, choking both of them speechless because his point was undeniably valid! No one could possibly avoid being part of the elimination ga, but... who would be foolish or crazy enough to set an example for others? Wouldn’t people usually want to observe first?! But knowing Jin Jiuchi, it must be because he could no longer wait to stuff his greedy mouth with delicious cakes!
His confident declaration, however, took on a different aning when heard by the other players.
Upon seeing how he so valiantly offered to be the first volunteer, the first thing that crossed their minds was — holy shit, where’s this big shot co from?! Is he so fearless because he’s immune to poison? Or is it because he has a revival potion at his disposal?!
As such, the players’ gazes toward Jin Jiuchi changed subtly. There was curiosity and admiration, but the ones that dominated were wariness and greed. Jin Jiuchi himself paid them no need, of course. He was too busy choosing which dessert he wanted to sink his claws into first.
Mad Hatter selected a random skeleton as the first volunteer. After that, he declared, "Very well, we have our first two challengers here! Will they eat the ordinary desserts or will they be lucky enough to taste my special concoction?" A fiery glow flashed in his empty eye sockets, looking both captivating and eerie in equal asure. "Please, help yourselves to whatever suits your palate and share your thoughts with us!"
"Yesss!" Jin Jiuchi rubbed his hands excitedly before picking up a small and delicate shortcake topped with a fresh, round, and juicy strawberry. Grinning from ear to ear, he shouted, ’Thank you for the food!" and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes going wide in surprise.
"Hmmm... sho yummy!" he remarked in utter bliss.
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