In the loud music, it was eleven o'clock. "Snap." The bright lights in the auction house turned on, and the music stopped. The ghouls in the center of the venue stopped moving, some grumbling in dissatisfaction, but no one dared to cause trouble.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is about to begin. Please take your seats.” A strange voice came from a ghoul wearing a clown mask, who was the host for the night.
“Mr. Clown, do you have any surprises for us tonight? The last auction left me very unhappy,” said a ghoul dressed like a wealthy lady.
All the ghouls present were wearing masks. Ghouls couldn’t let humans see their faces, and the same went for ghouls among themselves. If two ghouls had a grudge and one knew the other's identity, they could report to the CCG, and the reported ghoul would be in serious trouble. Most ghouls hid in the shadows like rats in a sewer. However, there were exceptions, like a girl named Takatsuki Izumi, who was the leader of the Bronze Tree and also a novelist, exposing herself to the public.
“Let’s not waste time. Tonight’s auction items will definitely satisfy everyone, so…” The host was about to announce the start of the auction when Su Xiao pressed his Bluetooth headset.
“Action.”
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, the ghouls around him looked at him warily and took a few steps back.
“What did you just say?” one asked.
“He said ‘action.’ This guy is up to something; kill him!” another shouted.
“Could he be a ghoul investigator? I’m out of here.”
With Su Xiao’s command, a small area of the auction house erupted into chaos. It was no wonder the ghouls reacted this way; after years of being hunted by the CCG, they were a bit on edge. The tense atmosphere spread through the auction house, and the host noticed something was off.
“Bang!” All the lights in the auction house suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Screams, roars, and the sound of tables and chairs falling echoed through the space. Su Xiao found himself in complete darkness too, but he remained calm. Suddenly, he pulled out an item that looked like a monocular and put it on his head, restoring his vision. Although he could only see through his right eye and everything appeared green, it was still a sight.
Su Xiao had prepared night vision goggles and had given orders beforehand to cut off the power as soon as the action began. With his weapon, the Dragon Slasher, in hand, Su Xiao walked slowly toward a ghoul and placed the blade against its neck.
The ghoul was completely unaware, with its hands out in front, slightly bent, blindly searching in the air. Su Xiao was testing whether the ghoul had night vision. It was clear that the ghoul did not possess such an ability.
He pulled the Dragon Slasher, and the blade sliced through flesh with a soft sound, blood gushing out. The ghoul’s eyes widened suddenly, and it made choking sounds before collapsing to the ground.
In the pitch-black auction house, Su Xiao, wearing night vision goggles, was like a hungry wolf among a flock of sheep. He moved among the ghouls, the Dragon Slasher flashing in the darkness.
“Puff, puff…” The sound of the blade cutting through flesh continued as ghouls fell one after another, blood staining the path he walked. The chaos in the auction house masked Su Xiao’s actions. In just a few seconds, over twenty ghouls had died at his hands.
The auction house was a semi-enclosed building, and the strong smell of blood spread through the air, alerting the other ghouls.
“What’s going on? I smell blood.”
“This is a trap by the CCG! Run!”
“I don’t want to die! I refuse to die!!”
The auction house was in complete disarray, with over a hundred ghouls running around in panic. Some ghouls, with extreme tempers, unleashed their abilities and swung wildly, accidentally killing any ghouls that dared to get close.
This only increased the speed of casualties, and Su Xiao knew time was running out; the ghouls wouldn’t let him slaughter them freely.
With a blank expression, Su Xiao moved through the crowd, ghouls falling one after another. Blood splattered on his cheeks, but he didn’t care at all.
Would killing ghouls weigh on his conscience? Maybe for others, but in this deadly game, it was either him or them. In the struggle between killing and being killed, Su Xiao chose to wield his blade.
Blood and limbs flew, and Su Xiao’s eyes began to glow red with excitement.
“Bang!” A glass bottle shattered, and flames shot up high. The host, not knowing where he found a bottle of liquor, turned it into a makeshift Molotov cocktail and threw it to the ground.
This was probably leftover alcohol from the daytime auction; ghouls couldn’t auction off drinks. The flames lit up the entire auction house, dispelling the darkness.
“Drip, drip.” Blood dripped from the tip of the Dragon Slasher, and all the ghouls’ gazes focused on Su Xiao.
Around him lay at least thirty ghouls, all with their throats cut, blood forming a thin pool on the ground.
“Gulp.”
An B-class ghoul swallowed hard, eyes filled with terror.
When all the ghouls noticed Su Xiao, their first reaction wasn’t to attack him but to flee. But soon, they realized that all the exits were blocked.
This was Su Xiao’s order; those outside were just a precaution. Even though he was now the captain of the clearing team, the contribution points for the ghouls killed by CCG members were minimal.
So, to quickly rise to the rank of upper-level investigator, Su Xiao had to kill enemies himself.
With all exits sealed, the ghouls saw large groups of investigators outside, driving them into a frenzy.
“What do we do? We’re finished; we’re going to die today.”
“Run! That guy with the knife is coming!”
The scene grew even more chaotic as Su Xiao stabbed a ghoul in the throat, earning points as the ghoul collapsed.
Not all ghouls were fleeing; two S-class ghouls remained. One was the host wearing the clown mask, and the other stood right in front of Su Xiao.
This S-class ghoul wore a pig mask and was a hefty figure, weighing at least three hundred pounds, looking like a giant ball.
“You’re human!” the fat ghoul shouted.
The fat ghoul’s ability was called “Kaku,” which wrapped around its shoulders like armor. This guy looked tough, not fast, but with thick skin and plenty of meat.
Su Xiao charged forward with his knife, and the fat ghoul roared and charged at him.
The two quickly closed in; Su Xiao moved agilely, while the fat ghoul was like a heavy tank, shaking the ground slightly as he ran.
“Die!”
The fat ghoul lowered its head and charged at Su Xiao, who suddenly stopped, focusing intently.
With a quick sidestep, Su Xiao easily dodged the fat ghoul’s charge and slashed at its lower body.
“Puff.”
A thick leg fell to the ground, and Su Xiao didn’t need much strength; he simply used the fat ghoul’s momentum.
A scream like that of a slaughtered pig rang out as the fat ghoul fell to the ground.
Su Xiao quickly stepped forward, placing a foot on the fat ghoul’s back, the tip of the Dragon Slasher pressed against the back of its head.
“No, no~ please, don’t…”
The cold, sharp feeling on the back of its head made the fat ghoul stutter.
“Puff.” The long knife pierced through its brain without hesitation.
He felt the fat ghoul’s body twitch under his foot.
A light green treasure chest floated above the fat ghoul’s corpse, and seeing this, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow.
What luck! Killing an S-class ghoul rewarded him with a green treasure chest.
After putting away the chest, Su Xiao turned his attention to the second S-class ghoul in the auction house, the one wearing the clown mask.
Noticing Su Xiao’s gaze, the clown-masked ghoul hurriedly said, “Wait! I’m from the Tsukiyama family; you can’t kill me.”
Damn it, why am I always getting bitten by mosquitoes? Why is it always so urgent to fight among ourselves?
(End of Chapter)