The test tube spun between Su Xiao's fingers, leaving afterimages in the dim light due to the dexterity of his hands. Noticing the expression on Itori's face, a smile tugged at the corner of Su Xiao's lips.
Ding.
He tapped the test tube lightly on the bar counter, producing a crisp sound as glass met marble. The noise made Itori's heart skip a beat, afraid that Su Xiao might shatter the tube.
"Well? Do you want to cooperate with me?" Su Xiao asked, his voice calm but firm.
"You're the first investigator I've ever seen who's willing to work with ghouls," Itori remarked, curiously sizing him up. She knew very well that working with Su Xiao was a dangerous game, but the contents of the test tube he held had a lethal allure to her.
The liquid inside the test tube wasn't some miraculous cure, in fact, to humans, it was poison.
[Rc Cell Concentrated Solution]
[Quality: White]
[Type: Material]
[Rating: 8 (Note: White items are rated between 1 to 10; the higher the rating, the greater the value.)
Description: A highly concentrated solution of Rc cells, essential for the production of Quinque by the CCG, used to activate Quinque steel.]
The Rc Cell Concentrated Solution was exclusively produced by the CCG, and it was rare for ghouls to get their hands on it. When injected, it could greatly increase the Rc cell concentration in a ghoul's body, though it came with risks. However, these risks were much smaller compared to the dangers of cannibalizing other ghouls.
"You put something like that in front of me… how can I refuse?" Itori smiled seductively, but her smile was mixed with caution.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, knowing that all transactions come at a price.
"Give me the locations of ghoul gathering points in the 14th Ward, as many as possible," Su Xiao said, tossing the test tube to her casually.
Itori's charming smile quickly faded.
"Are you planning to… purge the 14th Ward?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear.
"Is there a problem?" Su Xiao's gaze locked onto hers, his eyes sharp.
At that moment, Itori felt as though the test tube in her hand had suddenly become scorching hot.
"No… no problem. Give me a moment." Itori turned to the side and started scribbling on a piece of paper.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao had a crude map in his hands.
"I've marked all the ghoul gathering points I know of—ghoul restaurants, auction houses, information exchange spots, and the like," Itori said nervously.
Although the map was hastily drawn, it would prove useful.
"If this map isn't accurate, I'll be back," Su Xiao warned, his tone carrying a subtle threat. He didn't fully trust a ghoul, especially not one as cunning as Itori.
After Su Xiao left the bar, Itori's fearful expression vanished.
"Come out," she called out, sipping on a glass of blood at her side. A faint smile played on her lips as the crimson liquid enhanced her already vibrant red lips.
A ghoul with a peculiar appearance, sporting lip rings and a somewhat gothic style, emerged. His name was Uta, the owner of a mask shop in the 4th Ward.
"Forget it, as long as we don't provoke him, we'll be fine. Has the organization made any plans recently?" Itori asked, trying to change the topic while internally deciding to move—far away from that monster! She had no desire to die. Being targeted by Su Xiao was never a good thing. While Itori craved more Rc Cell Concentrated Solution, her survival was far more important.
"No plans so far. Nico and Roma have disappeared somewhere," Uta replied casually.
Itori and Uta were both part of a mysterious ghoul organization called "Clown." As far as was known, the group consisted of five core members:
Kichimura Washuu (aka Furuta) – the current main antagonist and leader of Clown.
Nico – a flamboyant ghoul often seen with Yamori (Jason), known for his masochistic tendencies.
Itori – owner of a bar in the 14th Ward, once provided information to Kaneki about Rize Kamishiro.
Roma – a ghoul who later infiltrated Anteiku as a waitress, hiding her true nature.
Uta – the mask-maker who runs a shop in the 4th Ward.
Apart from Furuta, the other four were all classified as SS-rated ghouls, though they usually concealed their true strength and acted harmlessly.
Furuta, whose full name is Kichimura Washuu, wasn't just the leader of Clown; he also played a part in other organizations. At the moment, he was lurking in the shadows, his power at an elite level. In the Original Timeline after Furuta later transplanted Rize's kagune, his strength increased drastically, allowing him to easily defeat even the likes of Eto Yoshimura.
While the Clown group was indeed powerful, its members rarely gathered in one place, and they mostly carried out their own personal agendas. In essence, Clown was like a wildcard faction, staying neutral in the conflicts between Aogiri Tree and the CCG, with a tendency to benefit from the chaos.
...
After acquiring information on the ghoul gathering points in the 14th Ward, Su Xiao returned to the car.
"Take a look at this," Su Xiao said, pointing to one of the circles on the map.
True to her nature, Mado Akira squinted at it for a long time, her brow furrowed. "I think this is the Daiyuan Auction House."
"Think?" Su Xiao raised an eyebrow, handing the map over to her.
After comparing the crude map with a proper one, Akira eventually confirmed it.
"I'm sure of it now. This is the Daiyuan Auction House."
"The note says, 'Large auction at 11 PM on Sunday.' What do you think that means?" Akira asked, reading the scrawled annotation.
"It means exactly what it says. We're going ghoul hunting tonight," Su Xiao replied, reclining in his seat.
Coincidentally, today was Sunday.
Su Xiao wasn't sure what the ghouls would be auctioning, but it was unlikely to be anything of real value. Most ghouls had twisted minds, having been forced to rely on human flesh for survival.
Ghouls can only consume humans as food. Since ghouls look exactly like humans, they frequently end up eating beings that resemble them, which means their psychological state can't be healthy.
Su Xiao also felt that ghouls might not be a naturally occurring species. If they were, humanity would have been wiped out long ago during the course of evolution. While the strength of ghouls wasn't overwhelming on a global scale, compared to regular humans, they were incredibly powerful, often dominating in terms of raw ability.
If ghouls had existed from the start, humans would have gone extinct, and after that, ghouls themselves would likely follow.
The main mission had a time limit of 20 days, and only two days had passed so far. Su Xiao still had time to delve deeper into the secrets of the ghoul world. But for now, it was too early to think about that—his priority was completing Main Mission (2) first.
As Su Xiao leaned back in his seat, deep in thought, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise popped up in front of him.
[A large quantity of low-grade kagune has been delivered to the CCG headquarters. You have earned 135 contribution points.]
[Current Rank: Second Class Investigator. Contribution Points: 525/400. Would you like to apply for promotion?]
Su Xiao's eyebrows raised in mild surprise. Those low-grade kagune had fetched more points than he'd anticipated, 135 in total.
As for why he didn't keep the kagune for himself, it was simple: items obtained in this derivative world couldn't be taken out unless they came from loot boxes. Most of the regular items would disappear once the mission ended.
He selected the option to apply for promotion, and the system notification vanished. He would soon receive an official commission from the CCG for his promotion to First Class Investigator.
Now, he only needed to keep hunting ghouls. His plan was simple: purge the entire 14th Ward.
Su Xiao was confident that if he could wipe out all the ghouls in the 14th Ward, he would definitely earn enough merit to rise to Senior Investigator rank.
(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.