Seeing the achievement task: (Cleaner), Su Xiao was quite surprised. This was truly an unexpected joy. Whether it was the 1 attribute point or the 7% world source, both were great rewards. Completing this achievement task was even more rewarding than his main quest.
He lit a cigarette, and the thin smoke curled up into the air.
Now that the conditions for the main quest (2) had been met, he no longer needed to hunt down ghouls. Although killing ghouls was a cruel act, Su Xiao had his own goals, and he would do whatever it took to achieve them. With 12 days left before the deadline for the main quest (2), he had plenty of time.
"Captain Bai Ye, what should we do next?"
Zhenhu Xiao, who had been following Su Xiao to hunt ghouls these past few days, looked quite tired.
"Return to the division."
...
The CCG convoy quickly returned to the division. As soon as Su Xiao walked in, he saw Shinohara Yoshiki and Suzuya Juuzou coming toward him.
"Captain Bai Ye, has today's hunt been completed?"
Su Xiao was quite famous in the 14th district, or rather, his name had spread throughout the entire CCG. In just eight days, he had nearly cleared out the entire 14th district. This achievement was something only 'that person' could accomplish.
Not only in the CCG, but even among ghouls, his name was known to some extent. Some ghouls called him Bai Ye, while others referred to him as the Black Reaper, due to his black hair and eyes, and his habit of leaving no survivors. Almost all S-rank ghouls had heard of Su Xiao, and even those who hadn't would definitely know of the 'Black Reaper of the 14th district.'
"I’ve finished. I’ve basically cleaned out the ghouls in the 14th district."
Shinohara Yoshiki smiled. This special investigator was not seeking personal glory; he was just happy to provide humanity with a bit more safe living space.
"On behalf of all the people in the 14th district, I thank you, Captain Bai Ye!"
Su Xiao was taken aback. Shinohara Yoshiki actually knew about his promotion to special investigator.
"Don't be surprised. The news from headquarters travels fast. I’m heading to the 20th district today to meet up with others. The situation in the 11th district has worsened; the Bronze Tree has taken over the division there, and it has already become a territory for ghouls."
Hearing this, Su Xiao frowned. The CCG division in the 11th district had been attacked? That was too quick. If there were no contractors involved, Su Xiao wouldn’t believe it.
"It looks like a direct battle with the Bronze Tree is not far off. Can you share the specific timing?"
Su Xiao wanted to find out when the CCG would go to war with the Bronze Tree; this would be beneficial for his plans.
"Not clear yet. We’re just heading to the 20th district to form a 'Special Response Team.' But Bai Ye, you’ll be going with me this time."
Su Xiao looked at Shinohara Yoshiki in confusion. Was he also a member of the 'Special Response Team'?
"Even though you’re going to the 20th district, you won’t be joining the 'Special Response Team.' The higher-ups have assigned you a more important, and of course, very dangerous task."
Su Xiao became interested.
"What task?"
"Whack-a-mole!"
Su Xiao was stunned.
"Whack-a-mole?"
Shinohara Yoshiki looked at Su Xiao with amusement, as if it were strange that Su Xiao didn’t know what 'whack-a-mole' was.
"Have you heard of the 24th district?"
Shinohara Yoshiki's expression became serious.
Su Xiao had certainly heard of the 24th district. If the 1st to 4th districts were areas densely populated with ghouls, then the 24th district was the human forbidden zone. There was a saying in the CCG that even special investigators didn’t have the qualifications to enter the 24th district alone.
The 24th district wasn’t a specific area but a series of tunnels dug out by ghouls underground in Tokyo, scattered all over the city. These tunnels were complex, and even now, the 24th district couldn’t be fully explored. Most ghoul investigators only dared to explore the outskirts of the 24th district.
In the entire CCG, only one small team dared to venture deep into the 24th district, and that was Team Zero, led by Arima Kishou, the strongest investigator in CCG history, known as the undefeated investigator.
Now, the order from CCG headquarters was for Su Xiao to go to the 24th district to 'whack moles.'
The danger level of the 24th district could be summed up in one sentence: A-rank ghouls everywhere, S-rank ghouls in abundance, and only SS-rank ghouls could barely shake things up.
But this 'shaking things up' came with great risk; one could be killed at any moment.
Yes, this was the 24th district, the human forbidden zone. There, cannibalism was a common occurrence. The ghouls there couldn’t even eat human flesh because there were no humans at all.
According to the intelligence gathered by Team Zero, there could be tens of thousands, or even more, ghouls deep in the 24th district, which was beneath Tokyo.
"Interesting. Will I be 'whacking moles' on the outskirts or going deeper inside?"
Su Xiao's question surprised Shinohara Yoshiki. Most people would feel fear when assigned to the 24th district.
"You’ll be with Arima and the special team, and with your strength, of course, you’ll be going deep to 'whack moles.'"
After understanding the situation, Su Xiao said goodbye to Shinohara Yoshiki, who was heading to the 20th district. His orders hadn’t arrived yet, but he would also head to the 20th district later to meet someone.
That afternoon, Su Xiao received the orders from CCG headquarters and got new credentials.
[Promoted to Special Investigator, CCG Contribution Value: 2053/10000.]
Being a special investigator was not the end; above that were the quasi-special investigators and special investigators. But for the main quest (2), he only needed to become a special investigator.
Su Xiao opened the task options.
[Main Quest (2): Special Investigator. (Completed)]
Task Difficulty: LV.3.
Task Summary: Quickly rise in rank within the CCG to prepare for future tasks.
Task Information: Use any means to elevate your status, including exterminating ghouls, bribery, and all other methods.
Task Rewards: 1 attribute point, 1500 Paradise Coins.
Time Remaining: 12 days 16 hours.
...
Su Xiao could complete the task at any time. Just as he was about to finish the main quest (2), he suddenly thought of something.
What would happen to the remaining 12 days and 13 hours if he completed the task now?
It was important to know that the longer he stayed in the derivative world, the more opportunities he had to gain benefits. The resources he needed to grow stronger were all obtained in the derivative world, and once he returned to the Reincarnation Paradise, he had no way to acquire resources.
By asking the Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao learned that if he completed the main quest now, the remaining stay time would be cleared.
After pondering for a while, Su Xiao decided not to complete the main quest for now.
Currently, he was the only one in the CCG camp. If he didn’t complete the main quest (2), it wouldn’t matter if the ghouls’ contractors completed it.
From the current format of the main quest, it was very likely that the main quest (3) would be a combat-related task. If he didn’t complete the main quest (2), the ghouls’ contractors would just have to wait.
He could complete the task anytime, anywhere, which was a huge advantage.
As long as the deadline hadn’t passed, Su Xiao wouldn’t fail the main quest (2). This meant he had an extra 12 days of free action time.
Now that the CCG headquarters had sent him to the 24th district to 'whack moles' with Arima Kishou, this was undoubtedly a great opportunity for benefits.
The more ghouls there were, the higher the chance of finding treasure chests.
Su Xiao’s luck was indeed poor, but he didn’t believe that ghouls would never drop treasure chests.
(End of Chapter)