Chapter 683: Human Hell!

Time rewound to seven hours earlier.

Night deepened; the winter night in Yamagata Prefecture was bone-chillingly cold, and the inn's hallway was laid with thick carpet that muffled footsteps.

Fuji TV's star anchor, the beautiful announcer Tei Reiji, returned to her own room.

She shed the exquisite, dignified kimono and announcer suit she had worn during the day, soaked in the bathtub for a long time until her skin flushed faintly red, trying to drive away the chill in her bones and the fatigue and unease accumulated over the day.

Amid the steaming heat, our Tei anchor gazed at herself in the mirror and could not help but flush a deep crimson across her face — she had in fact already entered the Uesugi household once last night......

But, Mai-sama was late, you know「

Tei Reiji watched her own expression in the mirror, twisted and ferocious, just like a fox that had gotten its meat, utterly unable to control her smile. Mai-sama was late, you know「

It's not that I'm too greedy, but...... Mai-sama was late!

Hee Hee Hee~

She dried her body, did not change into sleepwear, and instead opened her suitcase.

At the other end of the hallway, Uesugi Muneyuki's room door remained quiet; Tei Reiji glanced left and right like a thief, confirmed no one was nearby, then tiptoed and lightly knocked on Uesugi Muneyuki's door, heart pounding, both afraid and expectant.

The door opened quickly; Uesugi Muneyuki seemed not to have rested, still wearing a shirt and trousers, only his collar undone. He saw Tei Reiji outside, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then naturally dropped, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes.

Tei Reiji, visiting in the middle of the night, had changed into a full formal outfit — a dark gray tailored suit jacket, a white silk shirt underneath, a thin black silk tie at the collar, a matching tight pencil skirt ending just five centimeters above the knee, outlining her full yet firm hip curves; her legs were clad in black sheer thick velvet pantyhose, the material delicate as silk, the sheen catching a subdued, alluring glow in the morning light, hugging her skin tightly from ankle to thigh root so that every step produced a faint rustle.

A pair of beautiful feet in thick black stockings stepped into a pair of classic Roger Vivier black pointed-toe high heels, heels about ten centimeters, red soles flashing in and out of view as she walked, the uppers studded with tiny rhinestones, setting off the contrast between her fair soles and the black stockings, elegant and sexy.

This formal wear was specially custom-made for Tei Reiji — luxurious yet carrying a hint of forbidden tension: the tie thin as a binding, the pencil skirt tight as a second skin, the black stockings' sheen catching the light, the high heels arching her insteps high; the whole person looked both a sacred female anchor and a noblewoman at a ball.

The room door closed, shutting out the hallway light and any possible prying eyes.

Uesugi Muneyuki's room had ample heating; the air carried a faint scent of pine belonging to Uesugi Muneyuki and the extremely faint masculine scent always on him.

"What brings our Tei anchor visiting so late at night?" Uesugi Muneyuki said with a half-smile.

"Well, naturally, there is business, and a lot of...... business." Tei Reiji's bright, radiant face was flushed; she suddenly coquettishly said: "Muneyuki-san, you should come to the green room more often, two or three times a month is too few."

"Two or three times a month is already a lot." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled: "If you count rest days and recording programs, I haven't had three days off in a month."

"Then can't you just request me specifically?" The Tei anchor's large, limpid eyes blinked hard.

"I'll consider it." Uesugi Muneyuki neither refused nor took initiative nor took responsibility, and even kicked hard: "Oh right, about today's matter, did you notice anything strange?"

"No, isn't it just recording a program? And you were there too, right?" The Tei anchor leaned her body slightly forward; her soft, sheer thick black stockings rubbed with a faint sound, like a beautiful serenade, her moist gaze fixed straight on Uesugi Muneyuki: "If you must name the strangest thing, isn't it your sudden disappearance and Inspector Date's...... injury?"

The Tei anchor seemed to have noticed something off about Date's injury as well, but she had little interest in Date — idol otaku stuff, sex appeal MAX! "I'm talking about the Suou Hinata side." Uesugi Muneyuki said softly.

"If you put it that way, it seems so — Chairman Suou Hinata's side had two unfamiliar people before, didn't know what they were doing, but this afternoon they suddenly vanished, and they weren't seen again during the later recording." Tei Reiji nodded.

The room interior fell into brief silence, only the faint sound of the heater's airflow.

A familiar tension spread through the air, mingling with unresolved doubts, the pressure of the day, and the tacit longing between adults. Tei Reiji exhaled lightly, stood up, and walked to Uesugi Muneyuki.

She looked down at him from above; the fabric of her winter skirt swayed slightly with her movement, the stockings glowing with a soft luster under the light. "Temporarily...... forget those unsolvable mysteries and anxieties, okay?" she said in a low voice, fingers brushing his shoulder, "Just for a little while." Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze deep behind the lenses; he did not refuse, reached out, and pulled her close.

This was it — got it! Tei Reiji laughed cheerfully and batted away his large hand, extended one beautiful foot wrapped in thick black stockings in an RV-model high heel and placed it on his knee, toes swaying slightly~ crimson lips moved but made no sound, yet the tone was clearly.

"Take it off~"

This is the take-it-off divider line

Merely a wall away, another room presented a starkly different miserable scene.

Date Nagamune lay on the bed in an extremely awkward, cautious posture, his lower waist covered by a thin quilt, but his buttocks area deliberately propped up with a soft cushion for ventilation and to relieve pressure.

His complexion was ashen, his eyes hollow as he stared at the inn room's monotonous ceiling. The throbbing pain from his wound and the devastating blow to his spirit left him in a state of utter despair.

The phone screen was lit, showing a handsome photo of Moriya Akane at today's prayer event, but at this moment this face that could usually recharge him instantly only brought doubled pain.

"Akane-chan...... I'm sorry...... I've already...... already lost my purity......" he murmured, voice choked.

Thanks to this injury, Date finally added Moriya Akane as a private Line friend; he sent several messages, waited a long time, and Moriya Akane's side finally sent a voice message.

"Date-san...... hello...... you...... did very well today...... mm, I like it...... ah~"

In the voice message, Date Nagamune heard some panting sounds and creaking noises; he excitedly hurriedly replied: "Moriya-san, hearing you say this, I am terrified; to receive Moriya-san's affirmation, I am overwhelmed with gratitude; today's recording must have been tiring, right? I hear you panting heavily."

"Mm...... ah, indeed a bit tired...... just......" Moriya Akane's voice message was intermittent.

"Then what are you doing, why not rest earlier?" Date Nagamune immediately sent back.

"Running away...... so tired, still wearing slippers......" Moriya Akane replied with a voice message, then showed the other party had gone offline, and never replied again.

Date Nagamune pressed the phone to his chest, as if trying to draw some strength from the Second Young Lady's panting.

Just then, faint, barely perceptible sounds came from next door — like fabric rubbing, like low murmurs.

Date Nagamune's dull ears caught this; he froze for a few seconds, then suddenly realized what that sound was, and from whose room. Fuji TV's star anchor Tei anchor again? This isn't one night two days anymore, this is already two nights three days!

"Ri-ri, ritual phrase!!" He buried his face in the pillow in grief and indignation, letting out a muffled wail: "Uesugi-san! You cold-blooded, lucky, peach-blossom-luck-exploding bastard! I'm suffering here, and you actually...... actually still have this kind of leisure?! Heaven is unfair!!" However, his indignant shout could only be muffled in the pillow, not reaching next door at all.

He lay alone on the bed, his rear aching faintly, listening to those faint sounds drifting over that symbolized the happiness of the fulfilled, feeling his life pitch-black.

Is this...... hell?

Second Young Lady, I really only have you left!

In the peaceful, tranquil inn, everyone gradually fell asleep, anticipating the arrival of Shirakawa Mai and the others tomorrow.

In the pre-dawn hours, our truck driver was experiencing an unforgettable scene in his life.

He held his never-lagging, eternal-battery-life Huawei phone, carefully identifying what he saw.

As a truck driver, Sato was still well-traveled and knowledgeable; he examined it for a long time and finally understood what it was.

It was pale, human nape skin.

And on the skin, a deep, bone-visible, neat cut mark edge.

Sato Hiroshi's breathing stopped.

Time seemed to freeze. His brain refused to process the information before his eyes, but his eyes continued to observe and analyze uncontrollably. Hair...... growing from a urinal drain...... skin...... cut mark......

Someone was stuffed into the drain pipe.

The head was severed from the neck.

This realization pierced his reason like an ice pick.

Sato let out a short, sharp, inhuman sucking breath, the mobile phone slipping from his hand and hitting the wet concrete floor with a "crack," the flashlight beam shaking wildly, illuminating the wall, the ceiling, and a pool of half-coagulated dark red liquid beneath the urinal — that liquid spreading out from under the drain, like an ugly, blooming flower.

"Ugh... uwaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Hell, it's hell aaaaaaaaaah!"