Chapter 100: Your Daughter Is So Adorable

After the chubby inspector left, only Su Xiao remained in the underground passage.

The hurried footsteps grew closer, and Su Xiao prepared for battle.

In the dim passage, it felt as if thousands of troops lurked within; sweat slowly beaded on Su Xiao’s forehead.

From the sound of footsteps, the number of ghouls was certainly substantial—several hundred was a conservative estimate.

Though Su Xiao was an inspector, he had no intention of dying for the CCG; joining the CCG was merely to complete his mission.

Loyalty to an organization with unclear intentions was undoubtedly foolish.

Su Xiao hesitated: should he retreat strategically? Or retreat strategically? Or retreat strategically~?

At that moment, the thundering footsteps gradually faded away—the ghouls never appeared.

Su Xiao exhaled in relief; if there had been too many ghouls, he would have had no choice but to withdraw temporarily.

Something massive must have occurred deep within Zone 24, or the ghouls would not have acted so wildly.

General Ma Gui was deep within Zone 24; on the phone, he mentioned that he would handle the “Origin.”

Did “Origin” refer to the cause of the upheaval? Speculation alone could not determine it.

“This way, be careful—the ‘beasts’ have moved away.”

“Husband, can we still return to ‘Central City’?”

A man and woman’s conversation echoed from deep within the passage.

“Sigh~ We can’t go back for now. We’ll have to seek refuge on the surface first. How did those ‘beasts’ break out? The lockdown was so solid.”

“Daddy, I’m scared.”

“Ri Xiang, don’t be afraid. Daddy will get us out.”

Su Xiao, hidden in the passage, raised an eyebrow—the voices belonged to a family of three: a husband, wife, and daughter.

From fragments of their dialogue, Su Xiao gathered much intelligence.

Many ghouls likely lived deep within Zone 24; the “Central City” mentioned by the ghoul couple might be the deepest part of Zone 24.

The couple also mentioned “beasts.”

How could beasts appear underground? If “beasts” was a metaphor, Su Xiao thought of one possibility—the individuals wearing grass skirts were perfectly called “beasts.”

The footsteps drew nearer as the ghoul couple and their daughter reached the entrance.

Before them stood a figure clad in a white trench coat, wielding a sharp blade; sunlight at the entrance obscured the figure’s face, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

“Zero Team.”

The ghoul husband spoke, his voice strained, eyes filled with helplessness.

“Husband, it looks like we have to fight.”

The ghoul couple stepped in front of their daughter—a short-haired little girl with large, watery eyes, undeniably adorable.

“Please let us pass. If we fight to the death, you won’t come out unscathed, Zero Team member.”

The male ghoul’s kagune emerged—a kagune of the Kō type, with at least two kagune sacs, one behind each shoulder.

Two gray-white kagune greatswords formed, wrapping around the male ghoul’s arms.

A kagune user! This ghoul was certainly a kagune user, with power around SS-rank; his stance revealed he was no amateur—he had received professional training.

After the male ghoul revealed his kagune, the female ghoul’s kagune appeared as well.

The female ghoul’s kagune was a Hane type—a pair of massive crimson wings unfurled behind her, at least three meters in span.

The larger the kagune, the higher the RC-cell concentration in the ghoul’s body, and the stronger the ghoul.

This ghoul couple were both SS-rank ghouls, and their coordination clearly showed deep familiarity.

Couples who slept together every night would naturally be in sync.

“Please, we don’t want to harm you. Our family has never eaten humans—we only consume ghouls who died accidentally.”

The female ghoul’s tone bordered on pleading.

“What do I gain if I let you go?”

The couple exchanged glances.

“We only want to leave Zone 24. And can you truly kill both of us? I’ve never seen you in Zero Team.”

The male ghoul’s temper was poor; murderous intent flared in his eyes.

“Oh? Are you certain?”

Su Xiao’s lips curled as he gripped his Zhan Long Shan, which emitted a clear chime.

For some reason, Su Xiao had recently felt something within Zhan Long Shan had come alive—he was growing more adept with it.

Earlier, while guarding the rear entrance of the Qingtong Shu base in Zone 11, he’d even felt as if Zhan Long Shan was cooperating with him in battle.

Su Xiao sighed and shook his head—how could a blade cooperate with him? It was just an inanimate object.

Even if weapons could gain consciousness, Zhan Long Shan was not of a rank capable of such a thing.

Su Xiao’s smile and the chime of Zhan Long Shan sent a chill down the ghoul couple’s spines; the little girl hid behind her mother, as if Su Xiao were a monstrous flood.

Ghouls’ instincts were sharper than beasts’; the couple sensed this human had slaughtered countless of their kind—far more than they could imagine.

The ghoul couple felt fear—not fear of battle, nor of death; they were both SS-rank ghouls.

But their daughter stood behind them. If they fought a threat this dangerous, their daughter would be at risk—blades showed no mercy.

To the couple, Su Xiao was no longer merely “dangerous”—he was super-dangerous.

“Aren’t inspectors always eager for ghoul kagune sacs? Let my wife and daughter pass, and I’ll give you one.”

The man was undoubtedly a ghoul, yet he carried the responsibility expected of a man.

“Husband…”

The female ghoul started to speak, but the male ghoul glared at her; she fell silent.

“Daddy.”

The little ghoul girl tugged at her father’s sleeve, shaking her head with tear-filled eyes.

Su Xiao was speechless—this family of three needed a lighting crew and a camera.

“What happened deep within Zone 24?”

Su Xiao suddenly spoke. The female ghoul’s face lit up—any chance at communication was a chance.

“We can’t tell you…”

The male ghoul started to speak, but his wife grabbed his arm.

“Husband, the former ‘King’ abandoned us. This generation’s King isn’t fit to lead even the two of us. We’re free now—we answer to no one.”

After hearing his wife’s words, the male ghoul closed his eyes in pain.

“Speak.”

The female ghoul’s eyes filled with guilt—sometimes, a mother would sacrifice everything for her child.

“Inspector, the ‘beasts’ from deep within Zone 24 have broken free. Have you seen any ghouls resembling primitive humans? Now, ‘Central City’ is occupied by those ‘beasts.’

They’re different from us—we, aside from eating humans, live exactly like humans.”

Even though the couple agreed to answer Su Xiao’s questions, they spoke briefly and tersely.

“Where did these ‘beasts’ come from? And who are the two ‘Kings’ you mentioned?”

These two questions seemed to stump the couple.

“Those beasts emerged from deep underground—I don’t know the details. As for the two ‘Kings,’ it’s a long story.

The ‘King’ is our ghoul leader. The former ‘King’ abandoned us. This generation’s King is named Fang Cun…”

“Slap.”

A sharp slap rang out.

The male ghoul struck his wife across the face.

“Have you forgotten who saved our lives? Have you forgotten who brought medicine when Ri Xiang was gravely ill? It was her father. Without him, Ri Xiang might have died. If the ‘King’ hadn’t held a grudge against her father, we would have pledged loyalty to her long ago.”

The male ghoul’s face twisted in anguish; after striking his wife, he seemed to have expended all his strength.

The female ghoul lowered her head, silent, her face filled with guilt.

“Pfft…”

Blood sprayed as a bloodied kagune sac was thrown toward Su Xiao.

“The kagune sac is yours. Let my wife and daughter pass.”

Su Xiao caught the kagune sac—but did not step aside.

“It seems you know many secrets. I can let you pass—and provide you safe shelter—but I need information.

Don’t underestimate the surface world. Ghouls like you, without powerful faction backing, will soon become kunik.”

The male ghoul started to refuse, but noticed Su Xiao’s gaze growing more dangerous.

“Your daughter is so adorable. It would be a shame if she died, wouldn’t it?”

The male ghoul’s expression twisted with rage—he wanted to tear Su Xiao apart alive. After ten seconds, he sighed and surrendered.

ps: (Please vote for recommendations,)