After the chubby investigator left, Su Xiao was left alone in the underground passage.
The sound of hurried footsteps grew closer, and Su Xiao prepared himself for a fight.
In the dimly lit tunnel, it felt like there were countless enemies hiding in the shadows, and sweat began to bead on Su Xiao's forehead.
From the sound of the footsteps, there were definitely a lot of ghouls—hundreds at the very least.
Although Su Xiao was an investigator, he wasn’t going to risk his life for CCG; he only joined to complete his mission.
Being loyal to an organization with unclear intentions was undoubtedly foolish.
Su Xiao hesitated, wondering if he should strategically retreat or just run away.
At that moment, the booming footsteps started to fade away, and the ghouls did not appear.
This made Su Xiao breathe a sigh of relief. If there were too many ghouls, he would have to retreat.
Something must have happened in Area 24 for the ghouls to be acting so crazily.
Now, there was Arima Kisho deep in Area 24. On the phone, he mentioned that he would handle the "source."
Was the "source" the reason behind the upheaval? It was hard to tell based on mere guesses.
“Over here, be careful, those ‘beasts’ have gone far away.”
“Can we still go back to ‘Central City’?”
A man and a woman were talking deep in the passage.
“Ah, we can’t go back for now. We can only go to the surface to take shelter. How did those ‘beasts’ break through such a strong blockade?”
“Daddy, I’m scared.”
“Rika, don’t be afraid. Daddy will take us out.”
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow; it sounded like a family of three—a couple with their daughter.
From their brief words, Su Xiao gathered a lot of information.
There might be a large number of ghouls living deep in Area 24. The "Central City" they mentioned could be the deepest part of Area 24.
The couple also talked about "beasts."
How could there be beasts underground? If "beasts" was a metaphor, then Su Xiao thought of a possibility: those guys in grass skirts could very well be called "beasts."
The footsteps grew closer as the ghoul couple and their daughter approached the entrance.
What came into view was a figure in a white coat, holding a sharp blade. The sunlight at the entrance made it hard for them to see the person’s face, only their cold eyes were visible.
“Zero Squad.”
The husband of the ghoul couple spoke, his voice a bit strained, revealing his helplessness.
“Looks like we have to fight.”
The couple stood in front of their daughter, a little girl with short hair and big, watery eyes, looking especially adorable.
“Can you let us pass? If we fight to the death, you won’t come out unscathed either, Zero Squad member.”
The male ghoul revealed his kagune, which was a type of ghoul ability, looking like he had at least two kagune sacs on his shoulders.
Two grayish-white blades formed around his arms.
He was definitely a powerful ghoul, probably around SS rank, and his stance showed he was not a pushover; he must have received professional training.
After the male ghoul showed his kagune, the female ghoul revealed hers too.
She had a red winged kagune, with massive wings spreading out behind her, at least three meters wide.
The larger the kagune, the higher the concentration of Rc cells in the ghoul’s body, which meant they were stronger.
This ghoul couple were both SS rank, and they seemed to work well together.
Sharing a bed every night, they would naturally have good teamwork.
“Please, we don’t want to harm you. Our family has never eaten humans; we only eat ghouls that died accidentally.”
The female ghoul spoke almost pleadingly.
“What do I gain by letting you go?”
The couple exchanged glances.
“We just want to leave Area 24. Can you really kill both of us? I’ve never seen you in Zero Squad.”
The male ghoul’s temper was not good, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
“Oh? Are you sure?”
Su Xiao smirked, gripping his blade tightly. The weapon let out a clear hum.
For some reason, Su Xiao felt like his blade had come alive recently; the more he used it, the more comfortable it felt.
When he was guarding the back door of the Bronze Tree base in Area 11, he even had the illusion that the blade was working with him in battle.
Su Xiao shook his head with a wry smile; how could a blade fight alongside him? It was just an inanimate object.
Even if a weapon could gain consciousness, it wouldn’t be something of this caliber.
The smile on Su Xiao’s face, combined with the sound of his blade, made the ghoul couple feel uneasy, and the little girl hid behind her mother, as if Su Xiao was a terrifying monster.
Ghouls had sharper instincts than beasts, and the couple sensed that this human might have slaughtered many of their kind, far more than they could imagine.
The couple felt some fear; it wasn’t that they were afraid of fighting or death—they were both SS rank ghouls.
But their daughter was right behind them. If they fought a dangerous enemy, she could get hurt; after all, blades have no eyes.
Su Xiao now felt like a super dangerous threat to the couple, not just "too dangerous."
“Don’t you investigators love kagune? If you let my wife and daughter go, I can give you a kagune.”
The man was definitely a ghoul, but he still had a sense of responsibility as a husband.
“Honey…”
The female ghoul wanted to speak but was silenced by a glare from her husband.
“Daddy.”
The little girl clutched her father’s clothes, shaking her head with tears in her eyes.
Su Xiao found it amusing; this family of three in front of him needed a cameraman and a lighting technician.
“What happened deep in Area 24?”
Su Xiao suddenly asked, which made the female ghoul’s face light up; as long as they could communicate, there was hope.
“Nothing to offer…”
The male ghoul started to speak, but his wife quickly pulled him back.
“Honey, the previous ‘King’ abandoned us. The current ‘King’ isn’t fit to lead us. Now we are free and no longer loyal to anyone.”
After hearing his wife’s words, the male ghoul closed his eyes in pain.
“Speak.”
The female ghoul looked guilty; sometimes women could give up a lot for their children.
“Mr. Investigator, the ‘beasts’ deep in Area 24 have been unleashed. I don’t know if you’ve seen a primitive-looking ghoul; now ‘Central City’ is occupied by those ‘beasts.’
They are different from us; aside from eating humans, we are just like humans most of the time.”
Even though the couple agreed to answer Su Xiao’s questions, their replies were brief.
“Where do the ‘beasts’ you mentioned come from, and who are the two ‘Kings’ you referred to?”
These two questions seemed to stump the couple.
“The ‘beasts’ come from deep underground; I’m not sure of the details. As for the two ‘Kings,’ it’s a long story.
The ‘King’ is the leader of our kind. The previous ‘King’ abandoned us, and the current one is someone named Kaneki…”
“Smack.”
A loud slap echoed.
The male ghoul slapped his wife.
“Have you forgotten who saved our lives? Do you remember who brought us medicine when Rika was seriously ill? It was her father. Without that man, Rika might have died. If it weren’t for the ‘King’ holding a grudge against her father, we would have pledged loyalty to her long ago.”
The male ghoul looked pained after slapping his wife, as if he had exhausted all his strength.
The female ghoul lowered her head and stopped speaking, guilt written all over her face.
“Pfft…”
Blood splattered, and a bloody kagune was thrown towards Su Xiao.
“Here’s the kagune for you; let my wife and daughter pass.”
Su Xiao took the kagune but didn’t step aside.
“It seems you know a lot of secrets. I can let you pass and provide you with a safe place, but I need some information.
Don’t underestimate the world above; SS rank ghouls like you, without the protection of a large force, will soon become Quinque.”
The male ghoul was about to refuse but noticed Su Xiao’s gaze becoming increasingly dangerous.
“Your daughter is really cute; it would be a shame if she died, wouldn’t it?”
The male ghoul’s expression twisted, wishing he could swallow Su Xiao whole. After a few seconds, he sighed and chose to compromise.
(End of Chapter)