Dating Caster

Chapter 04. Surviving

[Drip]

[Drip]

[Drip]

Just as he pushed open the inn door, Wang Xiaoming, who was dazed with exhaustion, heard a rhythmic sound of water droplets hitting the floor from somewhere, though it was faint.

"Landlady, your shop is leaking."

"..."

The landlady ignored Wang Xiaoming, keeping her head bowed behind the counter, busy with something unknown.

Seeing that the landlady wouldn't acknowledge him, Wang Xiaoming didn't bother to make a fool of himself; he shrugged and headed straight upstairs, wanting nothing more than a good night's sleep.

[Whoosh--]

Perhaps wanting to order the landlady around one last time, Wang Xiaoming forgot to close the door as he entered. The autumn night wind squeezed forcefully into the inn from outside, sweeping through the entire lobby.

[Thud--]

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed, but fortunately, Wang Xiaoming had already reached the second floor and did not witness the scene.

The floor behind the counter had completely turned into a pool of blood. The landlady, long since breathless, lay in the gore with her stomach sliced wide open—a sight so gruesome it would require full-screen pixelation to be broadcast.

Wang Xiaoming, perhaps due to extreme fatigue or the lingering, intense sensory stimulation of that mapo tofu, had failed to catch the faint scent of blood in the lobby earlier.

Perhaps he had mistaken it for the smell of rust.

And the situation for Wang, who had already gone upstairs, was no better.

"Time to sleep, time to sleep~"

Humming a little tune, Wang Xiaoming took out his room key. Just as he was about to enter, he suddenly heard movement behind him.

He turned his head to see a person standing in the hallway!

"Eh, Ryunosuke Uryu-kun?"

By the moonlight filtering through the hallway window, he realized the person was none other than the optimistic young man he had met earlier—Ryunosuke Uryu.

"Wang-san, I've finally found you." The moment he saw Wang Xiaoming, Ryunosuke Uryu smiled.

"Is there something you need?" In front of an outsider, Wang Xiaoming felt too embarrassed to remain sluggish, so he forced himself to perk up and ask Ryunosuke Uryu.

"I've come to invite you to attend a [Grand Feast]."

"Uh... sorry. I'm just too tired tonight." Facing Ryunosuke Uryu's enthusiastic invitation, Wang Xiaoming felt a bit tempted, but he still politely declined.

"Eh? Why like that?"

Seeing the disappointment on the optimistic young man's face, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help but feel a bit soft-hearted, so he comforted him: "If there's no chance this time, let's just wait for the next."

"That won't do, there's only one chance." Ryunosuke Uryu scratched his head in a panic, then his eyes lit up: "Then let's do this!"

"Do what?" Wang Xiaoming had just finished asking when he saw Ryunosuke Uryu walking toward him.

Immediately after...

Ryunosuke Uryu casually picked up a vase from the hallway and smashed it hard against Wang Xiaoming's head. Wang Xiaoming didn't even have time to react before his eyes rolled back, and he passed out quite cleanly.

Critical Hit!

"As expected, I'm just not good at this inviting business."

That was the last sentence Wang Xiaoming heard before losing consciousness.

Hiss--

Startled awake by pain, Wang Xiaoming opened his eyes again, feeling his head throbbing—likely a lingering side effect of being beaned earlier.

Why on earth did that bastard ambush me?

Wang Xiaoming was still completely bewildered; how could there be someone who resorts to violence without a word?

The top priority now was to figure out the current situation.

Although the dizziness in his head still lingered, Wang Xiaoming, now somewhat clear-headed, began to survey his surroundings:

It was a room that wasn't particularly spacious, with all the windows covered tightly by curtains. The only light source was the moonlight filtering in from the gaps. After struggling to climb up from the floor and walking to the window, he took a look down and estimated it was at least three or four stories high.

Turning his head to examine the room's decor, Wang Xiaoming felt he was likely in a bedroom.

"Oh, Wang-san, you're awake!"

The sudden sound of the door being pushed open made Wang Xiaoming tense up, but the voice that followed allowed his tight nerves to relax slightly.

It was the voice of Ryunosuke Uryu.

When Wang Xiaoming turned around, ready to demand an explanation for Ryunosuke Uryu's behavior, he stopped mid-sentence. It was as if someone had suddenly grabbed him by the throat; he opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound.

There was no other reason—he was simply terrified by the sight of Ryunosuke Uryu at that moment.

Although he was still wearing the same purple-toned clothes, they were now soaked in blood, with a few drops occasionally falling onto the floor.

"You... exactly who..." Wang-san pointed his finger at Ryunosuke Uryu, his voice trembling.

"Oh, you mean this?" Looking down at his clothes, Ryunosuke Uryu suddenly realized and scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed: "The people in this house resisted a bit too fiercely, so I got a little too excited and..."

"Resisted?" Hearing what Ryunosuke Uryu said, Wang-san suddenly had a bad premonition.

"But I'm perfectly fine!" As he spoke, Ryunosuke Uryu spun around in place to show that he was completely unharmed.

"These... are all someone else's blood~"

At this moment, if Wang-san still couldn't guess the true identity of this Ryunosuke Uryu, he might as well just go hit his head against a wall and end it all.

Ryunosuke Uryu was exactly the perverted serial killer he had been investigating.

"I didn't expect such a coincidence." Wang-san gave a bitter smile, feeling as if he had hit the jackpot. Wasn't it true? Out of the vast sea of people, the one he happened to hitch a ride with was the very target he was investigating.

Although it was absurd, this had indeed happened to him. Come to think of it, what would happen to him next? At the mere thought of the photos of the victims' corpses in those files, goosebumps broke out all over Wang-san's body.

As expected... I should just run...

"Wang-san, Wang-san..."

Ryunosuke Uryu's voice interrupted Wang-san's thoughts. Seeing Ryunosuke Uryu already standing right in front of him, he subconsciously took a few steps back.

However, Ryunosuke Uryu didn't care about that; instead, he said to Wang-san excitedly: "Wang-san, do you remember that [Grand Feast] I mentioned to you earlier?"

Feast my ass, Wang-san looked at Ryunosuke Uryu in front of him and felt a sharp pain in his gut. Hearing this term from the mouth of this perverted murderer, Wang-san knew exactly what it meant, even without thinking.

"The feast you mentioned wouldn't be..." Although Wang-san had already cursed Ryunosuke Uryu ten thousand times in his heart, he still had to play along with his words.

While speaking, Wang-san used the corner of his eye to scan the dim space, hoping to find an escape route.

Then, Wang-san sadly discovered that, apart from the window he had seen earlier, the only path leading outside was being completely blocked by Ryunosuke Uryu.

Helpless, Wang-san could only console himself: since Ryunosuke Uryu hadn't tied him up, perhaps there was still room to maneuver.

The most important thing now was to keep his own life intact.

Chapter 05. Madman

"Come to think of it, I owe this to you for giving me a hint, Wang-san."

Shocked, how did I get dragged into this?

Ryunosuke Uryu's words successfully captured Wang-san's attention:

"Before meeting Wang-san, I just wanted to leave this town I had grown tired of playing in. But after meeting Wang-san!"

Ryunosuke Uryu suddenly turned his gaze toward Wang-san, his fanatical eyes giving Wang-san a sudden chill.

"Thanks to Wang-san, my inspiration has surged once again~"

The low tone made Wang-san feel cold all over.

Ryunosuke Uryu continued to speak to himself: "Wang-san, you know? I've tried many methods: decapitation, dismemberment, electric chairs... and I've had many experimental subjects: homeless people, office workers, wives, and children...~"

Halfway through his sentence, Ryunosuke Uryu stopped when he saw Wang-san's ashen face. He said in a tone of deep regret: "It seems Wang-san cannot yet accept my [Art of Death]."

"You... damn you!"

Thinking of the miserable state of the victims in those files, how could he bear to use such cruel methods to harm children?

"Damn me?"

"Damn you."

"Damn you!"

Ryunosuke Uryu laughed wildly: "Great art is always accompanied by sacrifice during the process of exploration; they are merely offering themselves for the sake of great art!"

Ryunosuke Uryu turned his back, spread his arms, and said in a tone like a chant: "Death is just like a flower; only at the moment it blooms is it the most beautiful moment of its life!"

[Psychopath]

Apart from psychopath, Wang-san could not find any other word to describe Ryunosuke Uryu's insane behavior.

"Alright, the banquet is about to begin. Although the guest of honor is not Wang-san, I still hope you will fully exercise your professional spirit and faithfully record the upcoming banquet. So..."

Ryunosuke Uryu suddenly snapped his fingers:

"Let's Party!"

As soon as he walked into the living room, Wang-san was choked by the overwhelming smell of blood. After his pale face finally recovered, he couldn't help but retch in the corner of the wall when he looked up and saw the scene in the living room.

The living room had turned into a scene like an Asura hell. Even though Wang-san had mentally prepared himself, he found it difficult to endure such a dual impact on his vision and spirit.

"Wang-san, you're still not quite there~"

The flippant words came from Ryunosuke Uryu's mouth. Wang-san looked at him with cold eyes, his expression showing no fluctuation: "What do you want me to do?"

"I just told you..." Ryunosuke Uryu pulled a camera from somewhere and threw it to Wang-san. When Wang-san caught it, he realized it was the very one he had left in his hotel room.

"I just need you, Wang-san, to fulfill your duty and record this... [Grand Feast] in its entirety!"

Ryunosuke Uryu then pulled a book with a very old cover from his back pocket. This book was the reason why he had appeared in this Far East Town.

A book capable of summoning a Demon, and after Ryunosuke understood its contents, he reached a state of pure ecstasy.

What a cool thing this was!!!

And so, Ryunosuke spared no effort in his long and arduous journey, finally arriving at the Spirit Vein Land recorded in the book—Fuyuki City.

Having just arrived in this place, Ryunosuke could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and began to commit crimes frantically.

It was just a pity...

The previous few experiments had all ended in failure, and a somewhat impatient Ryunosuke began to doubt the authenticity of the book.

Feeling somewhat disheartened, Ryunosuke had originally intended to catch a ride and leave Fuyuki, but he never expected to encounter Wang Xiaoming. Wang Xiaoming's profession reignited Ryunosuke's interest, and he decided to record this experiment in its entirety.

Now!

The stage, the characters, and the recorder!

Everything was ready!

Just waiting for the opening of this Grand Feast!

Ryunosuke hauled two buckets of fresh blood out from the corner of the living room and began to draw the Summoning Circle for the Demon according to the records in the book. In his excitement, he even started humming an unknown little tune.

Wang Xiaoming watched this scene coldly, mechanically raising the camera in his hand to begin filming the gruesome scene in the living room and the perpetrator who had created it.

Time slipped away slowly amidst the sound of the camera shutter closing and the little tune hummed by Ryunosuke.

"Huh?"

Ryunosuke looked in surprise at the blood in the iron bucket, which had already begun to dry, and then glanced at the Summoning Circle that still needed a few more strokes to be completed, sighing in disappointment: "How could it be like this!"

"..."