The ghouls' side of the contractors had no choice but to join forces, though Su Xiao was unaware of this.
Although he had suspected that the third phase of the main mission would involve a confrontation, that was only based on his own predictions from the previous tasks.
Early in the morning, Su Xiao went to Shinohara Yukinori's office. Shinohara had told him the night before that he needed to see him today.
"Have you had breakfast?" Shinohara asked, standing up and warmly greeting Su Xiao.
Su Xiao was surprised—Shinohara's attitude was unusually friendly, perhaps too much.
"Not yet."
"Perfect. Let's head to a nearby spot. They have good food. The meals here at the branch are nutritious, but the taste is... well..." Shinohara trailed off.
Now Su Xiao was certain—Shinohara definitely needed his help with something.
"My treat," Shinohara emphasized.
There was no doubt now. Shinohara definitely had a request.
Su Xiao nodded and followed Shinohara to a small, bustling shop. Despite its modest size, the place was crowded, and the aroma of the food stirred Su Xiao's hunger.
"Over here."
Shinohara found a table for four and motioned for Su Xiao to sit across from him. After ordering a few breakfast items, the food was served.
Su Xiao didn't start eating. Instead, he gave Shinohara a meaningful look.
"Special-Class Investigator Shinohara, this breakfast is quite unexpectedly lavish."
Seeing that Su Xiao wasn't touching his food, Shinohara chuckled and gestured for him to start eating.
"Let's eat first. She'll be here soon."
Without a word, Su Xiao began his breakfast.
"White Night, the ghoul you drove out last night has already been sent to headquarters. They've decided to promote you to Second-Class Investigator. Here's your new badge."
Su Xiao paused his meal to accept the badge.
[Notification: The Hunter has been promoted to Second-Class Investigator. Contribution: 50/400.]
Su Xiao's promotion didn't rely on his tenure but on exterminating more ghouls. To achieve the 400 contribution points needed, he'd have to take down two or three S-rated ghouls—a daunting task.
Rising from Second-Class to First-Class Investigator would be even more difficult.
Under normal circumstances, Main Mission (2) shouldn't have been this challenging. However, Su Xiao was the only person in the CCG faction. Typically, there would be over ten ordinary contractors in the CCG faction, and they could share the contribution points. Each would only need around 30 points to advance to First-Class Investigator.
But since Su Xiao was alone in this faction, he had to complete the tasks meant for ten people, which explained the high contribution requirement.
Most of the 14th Ward was relatively peaceful, making hunting ghouls challenging for Su Xiao. If he were assigned to Wards 1 through 4, the difficulty of the task would drop significantly.
The ghoul density in Wards 1 through 4 was so high that ordinary humans couldn't survive there. The ghouls there survived by cannibalizing each other, so many powerful ghouls roamed those areas.
Generally speaking, S-rated was the highest strength level for ghouls. To become stronger, they had to cannibalize each other to increase the concentration of RC cells in their bodies.
D-rated ghouls were like children; C-rated ghouls could use their kagune, but were relatively weak. B-rated ghouls were ordinary ones who blended into human society. A-rated ghouls were elites within ghoul factions, and S-rated ghouls were rare geniuses. Beyond S-rated, further strength could only be achieved through cannibalism.
Ghoul strength wasn't developed through training, but through constant consumption of their own kind.
As these thoughts crossed Su Xiao's mind, he took another bite of his food.
"Sorry, I'm late."
While Su Xiao was deep in thought, a slender woman arrived and sat beside him. Her light blonde hair was tied up, and she wore a black women's business suit, making her fair skin appear even more delicate. Black stockings accentuated her long, attractive legs.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mado Akira, your new subordinate," Shinohara said, smiling as if he had done Su Xiao a great favor by assigning such a beautiful woman to be his assistant.
"I see. I have no objections, but..."
Su Xiao looked up, his eyes sharp as he stared at Shinohara.
"She might die soon. I'm planning to head to a high-ghoul-density area, like West Street."
Shinohara was smiling at first, but as soon as he heard "West Street," his smile disappeared.
"West Street? That's the cannibal ghoul zone in the 14th Ward. The number of S-rated ghouls there is unimaginable. White Night, are you sure you want to go there?"
"Absolutely."
If it were anyone else, Shinohara would've refused, but Su Xiao's strength left him no room to argue.
"Akira, it looks like you'll need a new boss soon," Shinohara said, turning to Mado.
"Special-Class Investigator Shinohara, I have no problem with it. As a ghoul investigator, I'm ready to face anything—even West Street."
Mado Akira straightened her posture, her tone resolute, and even gave Su Xiao a sideways glance.
Tap, tap.
Shinohara tapped his fingers on the table, then took out his phone and made a call to Mado Kureo, Akira's father. After a brief conversation, he hung up.
"Kureo's on board. Akira, you'll follow White Night for now. Even though you're both Second-Class Investigators, you need to follow his orders."
"White Night, when do you plan to head to West Street?"
It seemed Shinohara was supportive of Su Xiao's decision. The ghoul cannibalism problem in West Street was severe and needed to be dealt with urgently.
"Right now. Let's go, mascot."
The "mascot" Su Xiao was referring to was Mado Akira. Based on his knowledge from the original story, her combat abilities were mediocre.
As for whether she would survive in West Street, that would depend on fate.
Hearing the nickname "mascot," Akira froze, looking a bit confused as she pointed at herself.
Shinohara chuckled helplessly and signaled for Akira to follow Su Xiao.
...
A black car sped down the road, with Akira driving and Su Xiao resting in the passenger seat. They were on their way to West Street.
"Second-Class White Night, do you have a plan for West Street? What do I need to do?" Akira asked, her expression serious as she tried to remain composed.
"When we arrive, we fight."
The bluntness of Su Xiao's plan left Akira stunned. She stomped on the gas, almost rear-ending the car in front of them—a very typical move for a reckless driver.
"Then... what should I do?" Akira asked, calming herself down and asking again.
"Just focus on being as pretty as a flower."
Su Xiao's calm demeanor only fueled Akira's anger.
"Ghouls won't be drooling over my looks!"
Su Xiao chuckled lightly. He hadn't intended for her to seduce anyone—"pretty as a flower" was just a casual remark.
"Don't worry, you'll have a 'very important' role to play. Without you, my 'plan' might not work."
Two seconds earlier, Su Xiao had thought of a new plan.
Sensing Su Xiao's gaze, Akira suddenly felt the urge to turn the car around and run.
"Could you share your plan?" Akira asked nervously.
Su Xiao smiled slightly and shook his head. Though her combat ability wasn't impressive, she could still serve as bait—at least she'd be good at attracting ghouls.
"Nope. If you knew, it might mess up the plan."
Akira's heart sank, and in frustration, she slammed her foot down on the gas pedal again.
As Akira's anxiety built, they finally reached West Street—the ghoul cannibalism zone.
(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.