Chapter 108: Barbecue

Late autumn had arrived, and the twilight deepened.

Before long, night fell. The numb crowd, acting like walking corpses, shed their fatigue and restlessness, wandering into the streets of Tokyo like beasts in search of prey.

In a popular yakiniku restaurant near Ginza, Su Cheng took a sip of the complimentary ice water served by the waiter and repeatedly scanned the menu in his hand.

He didn't know how the food tasted here yet, but the prices were truly exorbitant. After this meal, Su Cheng would have to survive on discounted bento boxes from convenience stores for a long time.

"As expected of an internet-famous barbecue joint; a single serving of premium marbled steak costs 8,800 yen. It’s practically highway robbery!"

The price made Su Cheng’s chest tighten. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't go out of his way to dine at such an overpriced restaurant where he wouldn't even leave full, but this time was an exception.

Incidentally, today was the third day since the completion of the "Ratman's World" instance.

Just as Su Cheng was staring intently at the menu, searching for an affordable barbecue set, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"Sorry, I’m late. The traffic was bad."

At that moment, a graceful and alluring figure caught Su Cheng’s eye.

Standing before him was a tall, beautiful woman with exquisite, fair skin and a captivating presence. She exuded the aura of a mature, sophisticated woman, and her long, straight black hair flowed down as she walked directly toward Su Cheng and sat down opposite him with effortless poise. Her phoenix eyes, clear as autumn water, swept over him, a strange glint flickering in their depths.

Nightshade Wei was dressed the same as the last time she met Su Cheng: a black bodysuit and leather pants that outlined her perfect curves. Her waterfall-like black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she carried an air of unconventional independence.

Unlike the soft and cute girls common in Japan, Nightshade Wei’s temperament was as cold as a winter lake. Her face seemed to bear a "keep away" sign, making the men around her hesitate to approach.

"It’s fine, I just got here myself."

The moment Nightshade Wei sat down, Su Cheng felt gazes filled with resentment piercing him like arrows.

"You’ve changed a lot in the month since I last saw you. No wonder even that vampire from the Tulip Mansion died by your hand." A sharp glint flashed in Nightshade Wei’s eyes. She clearly hadn't expected Su Cheng, who had been a mere novice not long ago, to become such a formidable professional player in such a short time.

This rate of growth was like using a cheat code; those who didn't know better might think Su Cheng was the game company’s favorite child.

Vampire?

A strange look appeared on Su Cheng’s face, and he asked curiously, "You know about that vampire too?"

"I do. She came from an ancient European vampire family and reportedly lived for centuries, sustaining her youthful beauty by consuming fresh blood. That vampire caused me some trouble a while ago. I didn't expect you to be the one to kill her." As she spoke, Nightshade Wei couldn't help but linger her gaze on Su Cheng, seemingly very curious about how he had managed to take her down.

One had to understand that a vampire who had cultivated for a hundred years was not easy to kill. Her blood domain could render all physical damage null, making it difficult to finish her off permanently.

If Nightshade Wei knew that Su Cheng had activated his Soul-Devouring ability while in Ghost-God mode to drain the Vampire Queen dry, one wondered what she would think.

"Speaking of which, you haven't been keeping up with the news lately, have you?"

Nightshade Wei suddenly changed the subject, looking into Su Cheng’s eyes as she asked.

"The news?" A strange expression crossed Su Cheng’s face. Since the horror game went live, murders and unnatural deaths in Tokyo had grown exponentially—even more terrifying than the world of a certain boy detective. Moreover, most of these supernatural crimes had been covered up.

"A week ago, several Europeans died in a Tokyo hotel. Police investigation concluded it was robbery and murder, but the culprit has yet to be found. What’s bizarre is that the crime scene was inside a hotel room, yet the security cameras in the hallway captured absolutely nothing."

According to the police investigation, how the killer entered the room, committed the crime, and then left remained a mystery.

"Are you saying the killer is a horror game player, or a professional?" Su Cheng deduced after a moment of thought; only professional players had the ability to commit crimes without leaving a trace.

"It’s possible, but what I’m interested in is the identity of those Europeans. I found out they belonged to that same vampire family." Nightshade Wei glanced at Su Cheng, the implication clear.

These vampires had likely come to Tokyo to seek revenge on Su Cheng, only to be taken out by someone else first.

"I think I know who finished those vampires off."

Su Cheng thought for a moment and roughly guessed the culprit’s identity.

These vampires certainly hadn't traveled all the way from Europe just for revenge; their primary goal must have been the Origin Blood in Yoshioka Izumi’s possession. It was just that Yoshioka Izumi, having absorbed the Origin Blood, had eliminated them beforehand, which saved Su Cheng a great deal of trouble.

Nightshade Wei nodded. Seeing that Su Cheng didn't want to elaborate, she didn't press for details.

"Wei, you didn't just ask me out for a meal, did you?" Given her looks and figure, the number of men wanting to dine with her could likely fill a football stadium.

"What else would you like? Should we catch a movie and then go to my place for coffee?" Nightshade Wei said coldly.

Cold sweat broke out on Su Cheng’s forehead. For a split second, when she said those words, his mind had involuntarily wandered.

Feeling guilty after being intimidated by her powerful aura, Su Cheng picked up the ice water beside him and took a sip.

A pungent, fishy odor assaulted his taste buds. Su Cheng’s expression changed, and he spat the water he hadn't yet swallowed onto the floor.

Eerily, the ice water he spat out had turned into a pool of viscous blood.

*Bang!*

Su Cheng’s wrist flicked, and the glass fell to the floor, shattering on impact. The foul-smelling blood began to spread across the floor.

"What the hell?"

The sudden turn of events left both Su Cheng and Nightshade Wei stunned, a feeling of foreboding rising in their hearts.

"Something isn't right here."

Normally, the waiter at a yakiniku restaurant would have come over to clean up the broken glass by now. But neither the other diners nor the staff seemed to notice the anomaly at their table.

At this moment, Su Cheng’s attention turned to a young couple nearby who were feeding each other.

"Ka-chan, the meat is almost gone. Let’s order another plate." The chubby boy picked up the menu and asked with a gentle smile, "Which cut do you want?"

The girl pointed to a picture on the menu and said, "Let’s get another serving of face meat."

"Sure." As he spoke, the chubby boy revealed a gruesome smile. He picked up a table knife and sliced a chunk of flesh right off his own face.

The bloody piece of meat hissed on the hot grill, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the air.

Aside from this couple, Su Cheng saw a family of three at the next table grilling a blood-soaked arm. What was terrifying was that the young girl’s left arm appeared to have been torn off at the shoulder, with blood constantly seeping from the stump.

Two middle-aged men across from Su Cheng were eating skewers that looked like beef balls. Looking closely, they weren't meatballs at all—they were roasted human eyeballs.

"This is too bizarre; even horror movies wouldn't dare film this." Having been tempered by the horror game, Su Cheng’s resistance to horror had increased significantly, but he still felt physically and mentally unsettled.

Seeing this horrific scene, Nightshade Wei’s face went pale, and her delicate body trembled—she was clearly terrified.

"What’s going on? Are we in a horror game instance?" No matter how strong Nightshade Wei appeared, at her core, she was still a woman, and she couldn't remain as calm as Su Cheng in this situation.

"No, if we were in an instance, there would be a mission prompt." Su Cheng had encountered this type of situation before in the "Zombie Cafeteria" instance, but this was clearly not the doing of the horror game.

"Someone is targeting us; it’s likely a professional player." Ruling out the horror game, Su Cheng immediately guessed that someone had set a trap for them here.

As soon as he finished speaking, the diners in the restaurant suddenly turned their heads in unison, staring at Su Cheng and Nightshade Wei with eerie expressions.

Like beasts that had caught the scent of blood, these diners drooled, their dark eyes filled with predatory desire as they stood up and surrounded the two.

"It looks like we have trouble."

*Clang!*

The Gale Shadow blade left its scabbard. The killing intent wrapped around the blade sliced through the air, and Su Cheng’s aura shifted instantly.

"Meat! I want to eat meat!"

A ghastly, terrifying hiss erupted. The little girl from the family of three sprouted four demonic fangs and leaped toward Su Cheng.

*Puchi.*

The sound of a blade piercing flesh followed. Su Cheng ran his sword through the small torso of the girl-turned-demon.

But at that moment, more demons in the restaurant lunged forward, looking as if they intended to tear Su Cheng to pieces and devour him alive.

"Holy Light Judgement!"

A sharp, feminine cry exploded in the air. Nightshade Wei’s fair hand bloomed with a blinding holy light, which transformed into an arrow and shot toward the demons.

The holy light burst, and the demons lunging at Su Cheng let out shrill screams as they were all blown into piles of bloody scraps.

"Are you alright?"

Nightshade Wei’s breathing was unsteady as she calmed down and stood beside Su Cheng.

"I’m fine for now, but our situation is looking grim. I thought these demons were just illusions, that someone had used a mental ability to control us. Now it seems everything we see is likely real."

"What do you mean?"

Nightshade Wei asked, her expression dazed, not quite understanding.

"I mean, this is no longer the real world. We’ve been dragged into a different dimension filled with demons. The professional player hiding in the shadows must have used some method to pull us into this pocket space."

*Clap, clap, clap...*

As Su Cheng finished his sentence, a round of applause echoed from behind him.