In the temporary base at the 24th Ward.
Su Xiao walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He tested his body's new capabilities. The training regimen that used to completely exhaust him now only left him slightly tired.
With his stamina having increased from 6 to 10 points, his endurance had at least doubled.
After drying his hair and stepping out of the bathroom, an urgent knock came from the door.
Opening it, he found a staff member standing there, looking anxious.
"White Night, there's trouble. Yuna just sent an SOS from the 24th Ward. Something unusual is happening underground."
"Something unusual? What happened?"
Su Xiao's expression became serious. He had a certain wariness toward the 24th Ward, especially after his last venture deep into its depths had left a lasting impression on him.
"There are a large number of ghouls attacking the security gate underground. White Night, you should come and check it out for yourself."
Su Xiao grabbed his coat and rushed to the underground entrance of the 24th Ward.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the scene. What greeted him was a mess. The temporary tents were scattered everywhere, some partially collapsed, and there were traces of blood on the ground.
Dipping his finger into a bloodstain, Su Xiao found it still warm—meaning the attack had happened recently.
"White Night, over here."
Yuna's weak voice came from a partially collapsed tent. Su Xiao quickly made his way over.
"Was the door breached?"
The situation was clear: ghouls from the 24th Ward had forcefully broken through, and Yuna had put up a desperate fight.
Looking at Yuna's pierced chest, it was clear she hadn't won that fight.
"I don't think I'll make it."
Yuna's face was pale, and she was on the verge of passing out from blood loss.
"You won't die just yet. I brought medics with me."
Carrying Yuna out of the collapsed tent, Su Xiao handed her over to the medical team, who immediately began providing emergency treatment.
"White Night... those rookies might be..."
"Yeah, I know."
It was likely that none of the new recruits had survived.
After the medics stabilized Yuna's condition, they took her back to the temporary base for surgery—her lungs had been punctured, and immediate surgery was necessary.
Su Xiao walked toward the underground entrance. There were bloody footprints on the ground, marking the site of a fierce battle.
Yuna could have escaped earlier but chose to stay and fight. Despite being so young, she understood that being a ghoul investigator wasn't a glamorous job—it was a responsibility.
Su Xiao entered the underground passage. The metal door lay skewed on the ground, twisted and deformed, covered in dents and footprints from the relentless ghoul attacks.
Just then, light footsteps echoed from the direction of the surface. Su Xiao tensed and readied his sword, Dragon Flash.
A figure crept into the passage, moving cautiously. Su Xiao rushed forward, startling the person.
The figure screamed and fired off a few wild shots from a handgun.
"BANG, BANG..."
The sound of gunfire echoed through the underground tunnel. Dragon Flash's blade was pressed against the person's neck.
"A human?"
Su Xiao glanced at the handgun, which was a model used exclusively by CCG officers.
"Are you... White Night?"
The person, a young man with a round face and a chubby build, was covered in dirt and blood. His clothes were the standard uniform of the CCG, though they were filthy and tattered.
"Tell me what happened here."
Su Xiao didn't need to guess—the person was obviously one of the surviving rookies.
On his way here, the staff at the temporary base had briefed Su Xiao on the situation: Yuna had led the recruits to the outer edge of the 24th Ward for training but had encountered a large-scale ghoul attack. Yuna fought to retreat and sent out a call for help.
The young man collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.
"We… we were attacked. Yuna told us to run, but... but..."
The young man was in shock, barely able to speak through his sobs.
Through his broken explanations, Su Xiao pieced together the full story.
After Yuna had returned to the surface and gathered the rookies, she knew that the metal gate, though sturdy, wouldn't withstand the continuous assault from the ghouls. She ordered the rookies to retreat, planning to hold off the ghouls by herself, fully aware that she might die.
However, one of the rookies, a particularly enthusiastic young man, insisted on staying behind to fight alongside Yuna. This sparked a wave of similar sentiments among the other rookies, who believed that if they stood together, they could fend off the ghouls.
These rookies were top students at the CCG Academy, full of confidence in their ability to repel the ghouls.
Their stubbornness infuriated Yuna. She knew that once a melee started, they would panic and scatter.
Before Yuna could use force to drive them away, the ghouls broke through the gate.
What followed was simple. With the "help" of the panicked rookies, Yuna was overwhelmed. The moment the ghouls charged, the enthusiastic young man was the first to run. His flight triggered the fear in the others, who soon followed suit, fleeing in terror.
The young man who had bravely vowed to fight to the death was caught by the ghouls, devoured, and left as a pile of bones. His head was taken by a particularly sadistic ghoul, likely to be turned into a "trophy."
Yuna, left to fight the ghouls alone while covering the rookies' retreat, was defeated.
"That idiot Ito... He insisted we stay and fight, and now Yuna's been dragged down by us."
With that, the young man broke down into even louder sobs.
"So, are there any other survivors among you rookies? How many are left?"
Su Xiao's question was met with more crying as the young man wept uncontrollably.
"Click... click..."
Su Xiao clenched the hilt of Dragon Flash. He was tempted to kill the blubbering rookie right then and there.
Everyone has moments of weakness, but wallowing in tears after tragedy shows true incompetence.
"White Night... What should I do now?"
The young man looked up at Su Xiao, eyes wide with helplessness, only to see Su Xiao on the phone.
The call quickly connected, but the other end was full of static.
"Arima, are you aware of the situation in the 24th Ward?"
"Zzzz... I know... Zzzz..."
The signal was terrible. After a few moments, the connection improved, though it was still spotty.
"Hold the... entrance. I'll handle it... soon..."
Su Xiao understood the gist: Arima wanted him to hold the entrance and prevent any ghouls from escaping to the surface.
"You're not... underground, are you?"
The 24th Ward wasn't huge, and there weren't many areas with poor reception. Given Arima's status as the top investigator in the Ward, he couldn't have left.
If Su Xiao was correct, Arima must be deep underground.
"Yes... I'm in the lower levels... where you came from... root cause... I'll solve it..."
The call continued cutting in and out, leaving Su Xiao frustrated.
If his guess was right, Arima was somewhere deep in the 24th Ward.
"Got it. One more thing—Yuna was injured pretty badly, but she's been taken in for surgery."
There was silence on Arima's end.
"That's all."
Su Xiao hung up.
The young man, still tear-streaked, gazed at Su Xiao with admiration.
"I..."
He was about to speak when Su Xiao raised a hand to silence him. Su Xiao pressed his fingers to the ground, feeling the faint vibrations beneath.
A large group of unknown enemies was rapidly approaching through the underground tunnels.
"I have a task for you. Go back to the surface and contact CCG headquarters. Tell them to send reinforcements to the 24th Ward."
(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.