Su Xiao stood behind a large tree, observing the scene for a moment before stepping out from behind it. His sudden appearance startled the high school girl, whose red eyes and Kagune quickly retracted, leaving her looking slightly panicked.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" she asked.
"CCG, Third-Class Investigator, White Night." Su Xiao replied.
The bright blade of [Dragon Slayer] appeared in his hand, its sharp edge gleaming coldly under the moonlight.
"A CCG investigator... I knew this day would come eventually." the high school girl muttered, lowering her head. Her hands, still stained with blood, hung limply at her sides.
Her red eyes and Kagune reappeared. She had a tail-type Kagune, with two thin tendrils extending from her lower back.
"So you've seen my face, huh? My name is Chinatsu, and I'm the one who's going to kill you," she declared, her once delicate face now twisted with malice. Despite retaining some semblance of humanity, she was, after all, a ghoul.
"This park is your hunting ground, isn't it?" Su Xiao said, already piecing together the situation. The ghoul he was sent to eliminate was standing right in front of him—Chinatsu.
"Ten seconds." he said coldly. "Leave your last words."
Chinatsu blinked in surprise, then laughed. "You? A mere Third-Class Investigator telling me to say my last words? With that puny sword of yours? It can't even hurt me."
"Quite the peculiar last words." Su Xiao said, not amused. Without wasting time, he dashed toward her, sword raised.
The sounds of fighting, screams, and desperate cries filled the forest for a brief minute. And then, silence returned.
Chinatsu lay on the ground, covered in blood. Her Kagune had been severed, and her arms were gone.
"It hurts... So this is what pain feels like... No wonder those prey scream so loudly." Chinatsu muttered, tears streaking down her face. She had been classified somewhere between an A and an S-grade ghoul, but Su Xiao had defeated her in just a few strikes.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked.
Su Xiao said nothing, standing beside her with [Dragon Slayer] raised.
"Was it really wrong to live as a ghoul? Haha... I guess eating people does come with consequences." she laughed bitterly.
"That has nothing to do with me. It's just my job. Farewell." Su Xiao replied coldly.
The blade came down, and blood sprayed out.
[You have killed the S-Grade Ghoul, Chinatsu.]
[Chinatsu was an ordinary ghoul. You have gained 0.5% of World Source. You now possess 5.7% of World Source.]
[Your talent, 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Your Mana has permanently increased by 7 points. Current Mana: 170 points.]
[You have gained 40 CCG contribution points.]
Though Chinatsu was classified as an S-Grade ghoul, she did not drop any treasure chest. Su Xiao wasn't surprised—there was a significant gap in strength between them. The minimal World Source gained confirmed that Chinatsu had little impact on the overall story.
Ghouls like Yamori dropped green-tier loot not because of their strength but because of their relevance to the storyline.
Su Xiao took out his CCG-issued phone and reported the situation to the 14th Ward Branch. After explaining, he hung up. The rest of the cleanup would be handled by the CCG. They would extract Chinatsu's Kakuhou, the organ responsible for a ghoul's powers, which would earn him additional contribution points.
He could have kept the Kakuhou for himself and had it made into a Quinque, but a weapon made from Chinatsu's Kakuhou would only rank as a white-tier item. Su Xiao chose to submit it in exchange for 10 contribution points instead.
With that, Su Xiao's current contribution points reached:
[Third-Class Investigator (Contribution: 50/50)]
[Promote to the next rank? (Yes/No)]
Su Xiao chose "Yes," but his rank didn't immediately change. Instead, Reincarnation Paradise provided an update:
[Awaiting confirmation from the CCG Headquarters. Estimated response time: 3 hours.]
Getting promoted wasn't as simple as just clicking a button. It required approval from the CCG Headquarters. Thanks to the influence of Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao's promotion to Second-Class Investigator was practically guaranteed.
Without the Reincarnation Paradise system, it would have taken him years to rise through the ranks, regardless of how many ghouls he eliminated. It wasn't just about combat—it was about seniority and experience.
But with Reincarnation Paradise in play, seniority became irrelevant. All that mattered was killing ghouls.
Still, even with the system's help, it wouldn't be easy to climb to the rank of First-Class Investigator or beyond.
The CCG ranks investigators into six levels:
[Third-Class Investigator (weakest)]
[Second-Class Investigator]
[First-Class Investigator]
[Senior Investigator]
[Associate Special-Class Investigator]
[Special-Class Investigator (strongest)]
When Su Xiao returned to the 14th Ward Branch, Shinohara Yukinori approached him.
"So, that's what happened. You've successfully eliminated the ghoul. Are there more targets you want to hunt down?" Shinohara asked after listening to Su Xiao's report.
"I've already reported your elimination of the S-Grade ghoul to Headquarters. If everything goes as expected, you'll be promoted to Second-Class Investigator soon. Frankly, your abilities are wasted as a Third-Class. Even Second-Class might not be enough, but without significant merit, Headquarters won't promote you any further."
Su Xiao didn't say much. His focus was already on hunting the next ghoul.
The current situation was clear: all the other contractors in this world had been assigned to the ghoul faction. That meant Su Xiao's target, contractor #12470, was also part of the ghoul faction.
Based on the nature of the main questline of i.e Quest 1 and Quest 2, it was highly likely that the third part of the quest would involve some sort of confrontation between the two factions. Otherwise, there would be no reason to divide the contractors into opposing sides or to initiate the balancing mechanism.
"In that case, Mr. Shinohara, please provide me with more information about other ghouls in the area." Su Xiao requested.
Finishing the second part of the main quest early would definitely have its advantages.
"Sure, I can arrange that. But you should rest for now—it's already 10 p.m. Plus, I have a task for you tomorrow, or rather, Mr. Mado has a request." Shinohara said.
Su Xiao was puzzled but didn't press for details. After bidding Shinohara goodnight, he headed to the dormitory assigned to him on the 16th floor of the 14th Ward Branch.
Ota Ward, 11th District.
The 11th District had become the stronghold of Aogiri Tree, and it was now almost a no-man's land. Aogiri had repeatedly attacked the 11th District CCG Branch, leaving the human presence there extremely weak. Only a few scattered civilians lived near the CCG Branch, their lives constantly hanging by a thread.
These civilians weren't staying there by choice—they were trapped. The ghouls in the 11th District had corralled them in, treating them as emergency food reserves. Apart from powerful investigators, no one could freely enter or leave the 11th District.
The ghouls in the 11th District relied on imported human meat, which showed just how dangerous the area was.
In an abandoned building on the outskirts of the 11th District, about 20 humans were gathered.
They weren't all part of the same group. There were three separate factions among them. These were the contractors aligned with the ghoul faction.
"Han Yu, stop spouting nonsense. The balance mechanism is only in place because the CCG is stronger than Aogiri Tree. What 'overpowered contractor' are you talking about? Quit making up imaginary enemies." a hot-tempered young man with flaming red hair scoffed at Han Yu.
Han Yu smirked, shaking his head. If the other guy weren't a fire mage, he wouldn't have bothered with an alliance.
"Firestorm, don't get cocky just because I suggested an alliance." Han Yu said, tapping his staff on the ground. A thin layer of ice began spreading at his feet—Han Yu was an ice mage, specializing in control rather than damage.
"If we weren't in the same faction, I'd kill you right now." Firestorm retorted, gripping his short staff. A wave of heat radiated from him, with sparks flickering in the air around him.
Firestorm's display of power made Han Yu's face stiffen in alarm.
"Wait, that feeling... Did you find a staff that matches your element?" Han Yu asked, eyeing the short staff in Firestorm's hand.
The staff looked unimpressive, like a charred stick. But embedded at its tip was a tiny red gem, which seemed to contain flickering flames within.
Firestorm grinned, glancing disdainfully at Han Yu's own staff.
"This baby cost me 14,000 Paradise Coins. That's the total income from two worlds' worth of missions, including escorting newbies." Firestorm said, still feeling the sting of that expense but also pride.
"Lucky bastard." Han Yu muttered enviously.
Shaking his head, Han Yu retrieved a small video camera from his storage space and tossed it to Firestorm.
Firestorm caught the camera, fiddled with it for a moment, and his expression immediately changed.
The footage on the camera showed Su Xiao effortlessly killing Yamori (Jason) and brutally beating Rize.
Though Firestorm was hot-headed, he wasn't stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to gather a temporary team of ten adventurers.
"Let's team up, Han Yu. In this derivative world, we have no choice but to cooperate, or that maniac will kill us all. Killing an S-grade ghoul like it's nothing—what the hell kind of monster entered the ghoul world? That guy must be at least Level 7 or higher."
Showing his sincerity, Firestorm revealed a crucial piece of information. "The third phase of the main mission is a confrontation task. I spent 400 Paradise Coins to get this intel."
Han Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. If they joined forces, they might have a fighting chance.
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.