After resting for about half an hour, the three of them recovered some strength. Su Xiao took off his shirt and pulled out a large bucket of water from his storage space, pouring it over his head. The reddish water spread around his feet.
Arima Kishou and Yuna did the same. This helped to wash away the blood and reduce the chance of being detected by ghouls.
"Is it always this dangerous exploring the 24th Ward?"
Su Xiao looked at the two of them. The level of danger seemed a bit excessive.
"Of course not. I've never encountered ghouls like these before. These guys are strong even without using their kagune."
Yuna's response surprised Su Xiao. She had been exploring the 24th Ward for half a year, yet she had never faced this situation?
"Arima, you seem quite familiar with these ghouls," Su Xiao said with a meaningful look at Arima Kishou.
Arima Kishou removed his glasses and broke off the shattered lens.
"They're a special kind of ghoul, unique to the 24th Ward. I don't know much more than that."
Arima's calm demeanor suggested he was willing to share information since they had fought together.
"Is that so? Here."
Su Xiao tossed two bags of jerky toward Arima and Yuna.
Yuna easily caught hers, but when the bag was thrown to Arima, he instinctively stepped back.
Thud!
The bag fell to the ground, with Arima's hand still hanging in the air.
Arima had failed to catch the jerky, which was nearly impossible given his combat skills. At this distance, someone like him should never miss.
Arima calmly put his glasses back on and picked up the jerky.
Yuna, happily munching on her jerky, didn't notice the incident, but Su Xiao did. He began to wonder if Arima's eyes were somehow impaired and dependent on those glasses.
Su Xiao had always been curious as to why Arima wore glasses during battle since they seemed impractical.
"It's good food, helps regain energy quickly," Arima said while eating, glancing at Su Xiao.
"I suggest you switch to contact lenses," Su Xiao advised. He knew they'd be fighting together, and if Arima were to die, Su Xiao's chances of survival would plummet.
"I tried before, but I couldn't get used to them."
They stopped talking, and Yuna looked at the two of them with confusion.
After finishing their break, the three continued their journey, preparing to leave the 24th Ward.
"The meat walls ahead haven't changed, so we can follow our original path back," Yuna said, leading the way. She was holding a tablet that recorded their route.
They were deep inside the 24th Ward now, where the tunnels were like a maze, twisting and turning endlessly.
"Uh-oh, the path has changed," Yuna muttered as she stared at the tablet. A red, fleshy wall now blocked their path, where there should have been a fork in the road.
"What now? Should we break through this wall?" Su Xiao stepped forward, gripping his sword.
"We can try. Let's see how much the terrain has shifted."
Su Xiao gripped the handle of Dragon Flash tightly, drove the blade into the wall, and slashed. A long gash appeared, about 30 centimeters wide.
Yuna quickly inspected the opening.
What she saw was another wall of flesh.
"Sigh, we'll have to use the old-fashioned way," Yuna said, putting away her tablet and pulling out a compass from her backpack.
Su Xiao sheathed his sword. As soon as Dragon Flash was withdrawn from the wall, it began to heal. In less than a minute, the wall was back to normal.
"Are you sure the compass will work?" Su Xiao wasn't convinced it would be effective in this labyrinth of tunnels.
"Yes, I've tested it many times. No matter how complex the path becomes, as long as we follow one direction, we can get out of the 24th Ward."
Despite being trapped in this twisted maze, Yuna and Arima didn't seem worried, which reassured Su Xiao that finding the exit wouldn't be too difficult.
"Left, right, left, right…" Yuna muttered as she randomly picked a direction at each fork.
Arima didn't comment, clearly accustomed to Yuna's method, and simply waited patiently.
"Go right. The airflow is faster here, meaning it's less likely to be a dead end," Su Xiao suddenly suggested.
Yuna paused, her finger hovering mid-air.
"Faster airflow? I don't feel it," Yuna said, looking at Su Xiao skeptically.
Su Xiao took the compass from her hand.
"Let me lead the way. Any objections?"
"Sure," Arima answered immediately.
"Well... okay," Yuna replied hesitantly.
The two of them followed Su Xiao as they moved quickly through the tunnels.
Five minutes later, they encountered another red flesh wall. It was a dead end.
"Ahem, minor mistake," Su Xiao said, frowning at the wall. He could have sworn the airflow had felt stronger here.
"White Night, are you sure you know what you're doing? I feel like we're going deeper underground," Yuna said, scratching her head, puzzled by Su Xiao's navigation skills.
She wasn't blaming him, though, since her method was just as random.
"Probably… no problem," Su Xiao muttered as they continued.
Another ten minutes passed, and they hit yet another dead end.
This time, there were a few ghouls standing in the alley.
"We've been avoiding you! Why do you keep chasing us? We don't want to fight!" one of the ghouls sobbed, clearly terrified of Arima.
"Ghouls should just die," Yuna said coldly, transforming her quinque into the 'M. Red Moon.'
Bang, bang, bang!
A burst of gunfire left the tunnel soaked in blood.
"Let's move on," Su Xiao said, determined to find the right path.
Twenty minutes later, they reached another dead end.
Half an hour after that, still another.
An hour later, it was still the same. Dead end after dead end.
Su Xiao's expression twitched. It seemed he was completely lost.
"Uh... how about I give it a try?" Yuna said, looking helplessly at Su Xiao. Su Xiao silently handed her the compass.
Yuna had a different method. Every time they reached a fork, she would mutter to herself for a bit before picking a path.
But even with Yuna leading, nothing changed.
An hour later, they found themselves at yet another dead end.
"Damn it, we're really unlucky this time," Yuna stomped her foot in frustration, clutching the compass tightly until it made a cracking sound.
Both Su Xiao and Arima shot cold glares at her, causing her to shiver. She quickly checked the compass.
Luckily, it was only slightly damaged on the outside and still functional.
"Let me handle this," Arima said, taking the compass.
Unlike the others, Arima seemed to have a lucky streak.
In just twenty minutes, they hadn't encountered a single dead end.
"At this rate, we'll be out soon. Covered in blood like this, I can't wait to get cleaned up," Yuna said, tugging at her sticky clothes. She looked enviously at Su Xiao and Arima, both of whom were shirtless.
As they rounded a corner, Arima suddenly stopped.
"What's going on...?" Yuna began to ask, but Su Xiao quickly wrapped an arm around her and covered her mouth.
When she saw what lay ahead, Yuna's eyes widened to their limits, her pupils shrinking in terror.
(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.