In this chapter, Su Xiao finds himself in a situation where he has to team up with a reluctant ally. He is unsure about the main task ahead, although he suspects it involves some kind of confrontation.
Early in the morning, Su Xiao arrives at Shinohara Yukiki's office. Yukiki had mentioned the night before that he wanted to discuss something today.
"Have you had breakfast?" Yukiki stands up and greets Su Xiao warmly.
"Not yet," Su Xiao replies, surprised by Yukiki's overly friendly demeanor.
"Perfect! Let's go to a nearby little restaurant. It's nice there, even though the breakfast provided by the branch is nutritious, the taste is..." Yukiki trails off, hinting at his dissatisfaction.
At this point, Su Xiao realizes that Yukiki likely needs his help with something.
"It's on me," Yukiki insists.
Su Xiao nods, following Yukiki to a small but lively restaurant filled with customers. The delicious smells from the kitchen make Su Xiao's stomach rumble with hunger.
"This way," Yukiki leads him to a table for four and gestures for Su Xiao to sit across from him. They order several breakfast items.
Once the food arrives, Su Xiao doesn't start eating right away. Instead, he looks meaningfully at Yukiki.
"Yukiki, this breakfast is unexpectedly lavish," he comments.
Noticing that Su Xiao isn't touching his food, Yukiki chuckles lightly and encourages him to dig in. "Let's eat first; she will be here soon."
Su Xiao begins to eat in silence.
"By the way, the ghoul we expelled last night has been sent to headquarters. They've made an exception and promoted you to Second-Class Investigator. Here's your new ID." Yukiki hands Su Xiao a badge.
[Hint: Hunter promoted to Second-Class Investigator, Contribution 50/400.]
Su Xiao realizes that he doesn't need experience for this promotion, but he does need to expel more ghouls. To reach the required 400 contribution points, he would need to eliminate about 2 to 3 S-Class ghouls, which is no small feat.
Moving from First-Class Investigator to higher ranks is even tougher. Normally, the main task (2) shouldn't be this difficult, especially since Su Xiao is the only one in the CCG camp.
In typical situations, there would be over ten regular contractors in the CCG, and if they shared the contribution points, each would only need around 30 points to become a First-Class Investigator. But since Su Xiao is alone, he has to handle the tasks meant for many people, which explains the high contribution requirement.
Most areas in District 14 are relatively peaceful, but hunting ghouls isn't easy for Su Xiao. If he were assigned to Districts 1 to 4, the challenges would be much lower. The ghoul density there is so high that it's impossible for regular people to survive.
The ghouls in those districts survive by eating each other, which means there are many powerful ghouls there. Normally, S-Class is the limit for ghouls. To grow stronger, they can only do so by consuming other ghouls, increasing the concentration of Rc cells in their bodies.
D-Class ghouls are like infants, C-Class can use kagune but are weaker, B-Class are ordinary ghouls hiding among humans, A-Class are the elite within ghoul factions, and S-Class are the rare genius ghouls. Beyond S-Class, they rely on cannibalism to become stronger.
The strength of a ghoul isn't developed through training but through consuming and devouring others.
With this in mind, Su Xiao takes a bite of his pastry.
"Sorry for being late."
While Su Xiao is deep in thought, a stunning woman sits down next to him. She has light yellow hair tied up and wears a black women's suit that highlights her fair skin. Her black stockings accentuate her beautiful legs.
"Let me introduce you. This is Jin Hu Xiao, your subordinate from now on," Yukiki says, looking at Su Xiao with a smile, as if proud to have such a beautiful woman working with him.
"Got it, I have no objections, but..." Su Xiao raises his gaze, looking sharply at Yukiki. "She might die soon. I'm planning to go to areas with a high density of ghouls, like the West District."
Hearing Su Xiao's non-rejection, Yukiki smiles, but his expression quickly changes when he hears "West District."
"The West District? That's a cannibal zone in District 14. The number of S-Class ghouls there is unimaginable. Are you sure you want to go?"
"Absolutely."
If it were anyone else, Yukiki wouldn't agree, but Su Xiao's strength leaves him with no choice.
"Xiao, looks like I need to change your boss," Yukiki says, turning to Jin Hu Xiao.
"Yukiki, I'm fine with it. As a ghoul investigator, I'm ready for anything, even going to the West District," Jin Hu Xiao replies confidently, straightening her posture and glancing at Su Xiao.
"Tap, tap." Yukiki lightly taps the table with his finger and takes out his phone to make a call.
He speaks briefly with Wu Xu and hangs up. "Wu Xu is a piece of work. Alright, you'll follow Su Xiao for now. Even though you both are Second-Class Investigators, you need to listen to Su Xiao's orders. Su Xiao, when are you heading to the West District?"
It seems Yukiki is also keen on sending Su Xiao to the West District, where ghouls need to be cleaned up urgently.
"Let's go now. We're off, good luck charm." Su Xiao refers to Jin Hu Xiao as his good luck charm, based on the information from the original story that her strength is average.
As for her fate in the West District, that will be left to chance.
Jin Hu Xiao is taken aback by the term "good luck charm" and points at herself in confusion. Yukiki can only smile wryly, signaling her to follow Su Xiao.
...
A black car drives down the road, with Jin Hu Xiao in the driver's seat and Su Xiao in the passenger seat, resting his eyes as they head to the West District.
"Second-Class Su Xiao, do you have any plans for the West District? What do I need to do?" Jin Hu Xiao asks, her expression serious.
"Once we arrive, we attack!" Su Xiao's straightforward plan clearly surprises her, and she almost steps on the gas too hard, nearly bumping into the car in front of them, showing her inexperience as a driver.
"So, what do I need to do?" After calming down, she asks again.
"You just need to look pretty," Su Xiao replies calmly, which makes Jin Hu Xiao's anger flare up.
"Ghouls won't be attracted to my looks!"
Su Xiao chuckles lightly. He didn't mean for her to seduce anyone.
"Don't worry, you have an 'important' role. Without you, my 'plan' might not succeed."
Just two seconds ago, Su Xiao thought of a plan.
Feeling Su Xiao's gaze, Jin Hu Xiao suddenly has the urge to turn around and run away.
"Can you share your plan with me?" she asks hesitantly.
Su Xiao smirks and shakes his head. Although her combat ability might be lacking, she can serve as bait to attract ghouls.
"I can't. If you know too much, it might affect the 'plan.'"
Jin Hu Xiao feels frustrated and steps on the gas pedal hard, venting her feelings.
With her nervousness, the two arrive at the West District, a brutal cannibal zone.
(End of Chapter)