"Hey, hey, we’re all colleagues here. We should get along peacefully. You can’t greet a colleague like that." Yoshiki Shinohara stood between the two and started to explain basic manners to Shuzou Suzuya.
Of course, Su Xiao wouldn’t get too angry at someone who didn’t even have basic common sense. But he definitely wanted to deal with this brat someday.
"Is that so? I see, I’m sorry," Shuzou said with a smile, genuinely apologizing to Su Xiao, which was quite a contradictory trait.
"Mr. Shinohara, is the test over?"
Yoshiki Shinohara moved his stiff arms and nodded. "Yes, it’s over. You are now officially a Ghoul Investigator for the CCG."
Shinohara's expression turned serious. "Becoming a Ghoul Investigator comes with responsibilities. Protecting ordinary people and driving away those man-eating ghouls is our primary duty. We may face sacrifices, but it’s worth it..."
As Shinohara began his passionate speech, Su Xiao found it boring but didn’t show any impatience.
"That’s it. If you’re mentally prepared, you can start your mission now. However, as a third-class investigator, you can’t act alone and need to be protected by a higher-class investigator..."
Su Xiao cleared his throat. "Mr. Shinohara, who do you think can protect me?"
Shinohara chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that’s the rule."
"I can handle it myself. It’s just about driving away ghouls. The end goal is what matters, not the process."
After hesitating for a long time, Shinohara nodded. Su Xiao really didn’t need protection from a higher-class investigator; it was more likely that he would be the one protecting them.
"Since that’s the case, I’ll give you a lead on a ghoul," Shinohara said as he walked to his desk and handed Su Xiao a document.
Su Xiao looked over the contents, which were quite messy, including strange noises from the sewers and missing female students, among other things.
"This is our daily work. Ghouls are very cunning, especially in Area 14, which isn’t exactly stable but not chaotic either."
Driving away ghouls isn’t a simple task. Most ghouls in Area 14 hide among ordinary people. They only reveal their true selves when hunting; otherwise, they stay hidden.
Ghouls only need to hunt once or twice a month to sustain themselves. The most important thing in driving them away is finding them. For Su Xiao, the biggest challenge was locating the ghouls; once he found them, things became easier.
"The information you have is about the trail of a specific ghoul. Find him and drive him away," Shinohara said seriously, a hint of killing intent in his eyes.
"No problem."
Su Xiao turned to leave the office. Although he had plenty of time, he didn’t want to waste it.
"By the way, remember to go to the logistics department to collect your tools. They’re very useful."
Su Xiao paused for a moment, nodded, and left.
"Another cold colleague. Ugh, what a headache," Shinohara said as he sat behind his desk, rubbing his forehead. He then looked up at Shuzou, who was grinning foolishly, and felt even more troubled.
Su Xiao first went to the logistics department and, after showing his credentials, collected many tools.
An hour later, he arrived alone at a park and squatted on a bench by the road.
The park was lush with trees, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. The midday sun beat down on the ground, and cicadas chirped loudly on the branches.
Due to the hot weather, there weren’t many people in the park, but since Su Xiao was sitting under the shade, it was still quite cool.
The information Shinohara provided wasn’t very detailed, but it pointed to a general target. There had been several missing persons cases in this park over the past six months.
The CCG had clear divisions of labor. Ordinary investigators were responsible for finding clues, and they weren’t very strong in combat.
When the clues were somewhat clear and there was a chance of encountering a ghoul, higher-class investigators would lead their subordinates to search personally to avoid unnecessary casualties among ordinary investigators.
Even so, five ordinary investigators had already gone missing in this park.
Shinohara had planned to go out to patrol this park.
Su Xiao kept an eye on the passersby, but after a long time, he hadn’t found anything. Still, he wasn’t in a hurry.
According to the information from Shinohara, there hadn’t been any missing persons cases in this park for two Sundays.
The ghoul would show up soon because this was its hunting ground.
Some behaviors of ghouls were similar to wild animals, like marking territory (hunting grounds). Two ghouls might even fight over territory.
In less than three days, this ghoul would appear, and it likely wasn’t weak; it definitely wasn’t below A-class.
Most ghouls died because they couldn’t control their hunger and were ultimately discovered by investigators.
Success is closely tied to patience, and Su Xiao sat quietly on the park bench, waiting.
Time slipped away quickly, and it was past three in the afternoon.
A soft melody drifted from a distance.
"School?"
Su Xiao looked toward a building in the distance. Half an hour later, more people appeared in the park, mostly high school students just getting out of school.
Ghouls usually hunted at night, so Su Xiao planned to stay overnight.
"Hey, big brother, why are you sitting here alone? Isn’t it lonely?"
A high school girl in uniform sat down next to Su Xiao, wearing a cool top and a black short skirt.
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes.
"..."
Silence.
"Tch, what a boring guy."
Noticing that Su Xiao ignored her, the high school girl stood up and walked away.
As night fell, the park’s streetlights turned on.
Su Xiao had been waiting for the whole afternoon and felt a bit hungry. Just as he was about to get up to grab dinner, he suddenly heard a short scream.
The scream was very brief, just a moment, but he caught it sharply.
Su Xiao immediately stood up and quickly ran toward the sound, which came from a corner of the park, not far from him.
When he reached the source, he scanned the area but found nothing—there were no people around, not even a ghostly shadow.
He was sure he hadn’t misheard the scream, so something must have happened here.
After a careful search, Su Xiao found a few drops of blood at the edge of a flowerbed, along with a broken fingernail.
He touched the blood with his finger; it was already cold but hadn’t coagulated, indicating it was fresh.
"Creak, creak."
The sound of flesh being torn apart came from the nearby forest, and Su Xiao quietly entered the woods, where a brutal scene unfolded before him.
A victim, whose face he couldn’t see clearly, was lying on the ground while a ghoul was feeding on them.
Finding a ghoul should be a good thing, but Su Xiao frowned.
The ghoul in front of him wasn’t strong, probably only B-class, and its savage feeding method was unlikely to escape the investigation of ordinary investigators.
From the way the ghoul was devouring its meal, Su Xiao guessed the situation.
This likely wasn’t the ghoul’s usual hunting ground, but it was so hungry that it had to take the risk.
"Stray dog, who allowed you to hunt in my territory? Do you want to die?"
A clear female voice echoed through the woods, and at the same time, a thin thread of kakuja shot toward the feeding ghoul.
"Thud."
The head flew off, and before the ghoul could say anything, it was beheaded, its face filled with fear.
The owner of the kakuja stepped out from the trees, and when Su Xiao saw her face, he was a bit surprised—it was the same high school girl he had seen during the day.
She was actually a ghoul.
(End of this chapter)