Chapter 224: Little Cookie

The conference room door was pushed open, and a tall man with a bare chest and a fabric head covering walked in.

The first impression the tall man gave was that he was difficult to get along with; the head covering had a fierce look, like something worn by an interrogation officer in an assassination unit.

Su Xiao recognized him. This burly man was named Bols. Although he had a large build and wore a somewhat creepy head covering, Bols was actually a shy man who was somewhat afraid of strangers.

Su Xiao sized up Bols's physique. It was hard to believe such a muscular man was shy. Imagining him holding his hands against his chest in shyness made Su Xiao feel it was a bit of an eyesore.

The image was too beautiful to imagine.

Although he was shy, the position Bols had held was not "shy" at all.

He was in the Incineration Unit, a terrifying department no less than the assassination units, responsible for burning down villages or towns infected with plagues.

The Empire would not send doctors to treat a plague; there was only one word: burn. Houses, humans, livestock—all were burned to charcoal.

As part of the Incineration Unit, Bols's Teigu was fire-related: "March of the Dead: Rubicante," a Teigu similar to a flamethrower, which could also self-destruct in critical moments.

Bols's steps as he walked into the conference room were hesitant; he looked shy.

"Um... you must be Mr. Bai Ye, right? Nice to meet you, I am Bols."

Bols walked to the conference table.

"Yes, I am."

Silence.

Bols awkwardly scratched his head covering and found a chair to sit on. His demeanor was reserved; Su Xiao's aura was too sharp, which made Bols somewhat nervous.

The conference room fell into a long, dead silence. Cold sweat appeared on Bols's face under the head covering, and he sat bolt upright.

Unlike the dead silence in the conference room, light footsteps came from the corridor outside.

It was a young man in his twenties with blue hair named Wave. He was also a Teigu user; his Teigu was called "Carnivore: Grand Chariot," an armor-type Teigu similar to Bulat's "Incursio," though Grand Chariot was an upgraded version with stronger performance.

Wave carried a large cloth bag on his back containing live fish. He was a navy soldier from a fishing village on the Empire's border, and he had brought local specialties to the capital to build good relationships with his colleagues.

Wave's attire was a bit rustic, but he was a young man with a sense of justice, though his personality was a bit goofy.

"Getting closer, getting closer."

Wave looked at the door in front of him; this was the meeting point.

Standing at the door, Wave felt a bit apprehensive. Inside were his future colleagues, and first impressions were important. He remembered the elders' warning from his village: "Don't let them look down on you; you have to give them a show of strength right away."

Wave took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and pushed open the door.

"Greetings, everyone! I am from the Imperial Navy..."

Wave had intended to shout, but his voice grew smaller and smaller halfway through because he saw Bols sitting upright.

The terrifying mask on the other man made cold sweat drip down Wave's forehead.

Wave turned his head stiffly and saw another pair of cold eyes. Wave's body trembled.

"Sorry, wrong room."

Wave said this at high speed and immediately retreated outside, closing the door tightly. He slumped in a corner against the wall outside the door.

"This seems to be an interrogation room. Phew, too careless."

Wave placed a hand on his chest. Both people in that room had terrifying auras, especially those cold eyes—how many people had he killed to have a gaze like that?

Wave looked up at the room number and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. The expression on his face froze.

"Could it be... that those two are my colleagues??"

Wave's young heart was traumatized; his goofy personality was fully exposed.

He opened the door quietly.

"Two... two sirs, excuse me for the disturbance."

Wave walked slowly to his seat. Just as he was about to pull out his chair:

"Wait."

Su Xiao spoke, and Wave froze.

"What is it..."

Wave looked at Su Xiao blankly.

"Your fish."

Su Xiao pointed to the bag at the door.

"Sorry!"

Wave quickly retrieved the bag of fish, sat down, and placed his hands on his legs, keeping his head low.

Bols, wearing the terrifying mask, stared at Wave, seemingly wanting to initiate a conversation but being too shy.

Bols's actions scared Wave, who was covered in cold sweat.

Su Xiao sized the two up with interest.

Wave's legs were shaking. He had come to the capital full of confidence, but now he wanted to go home.

Seeing Wave's comical appearance, Su Xiao wanted to laugh, but he was an assassin and absolutely could not laugh.

Wave's strength was actually not weak; he was just a bit immature in handling social situations.

The door opened again, and this time a black-haired beautiful girl walked in. She was dressed in a black school uniform, had beautiful long black hair, and was pretty even without makeup. She carried a long sword at her waist.

This sword-type Teigu was named "March of the Dead: Yatsufusa." This sword could record eight creatures it had killed and summon them during battle. It could summon up to eight creatures, human or animal.

The summoned creatures had immortality; even if their heads were destroyed, they could continue fighting. Once the Yatsufusa ability was deactivated, they turned back into ordinary corpses.

Although this ability was strong, it had drawbacks: using Yatsufusa to summon creatures temporarily weakened the user and rapidly consumed stamina.

The current user of Yatsufusa was named Kurome. She was the beautiful girl before them.

Kurome and Akame—what similar names. Indeed, the two were sisters, but their fates were vastly different.

Akame was much luckier than Kurome. The unit Kurome was in had subjected her to drug modifications. Now, unless her head was severed or her heart crushed, she could continue fighting regardless of the injuries, but her bodily functions were collapsing to a certain extent, and she had to keep taking drugs to maintain them.

Kurome's combat power was very strong. If she unleashed the full power of Yatsufusa, she could face the entire Night Raid unit head-on, but due to stamina issues, she lacked endurance.

Kurome's biggest trait was her gluttony and protectiveness over her food. At this moment, she was holding a small bag of snacks.

Kurome was not afraid of strangers. After sitting down, she started eating cookies.

Seeing Kurome, Wave was overjoyed. Finally, a normal colleague had arrived. He immediately stood up and walked toward Kurome.

"H-hello, my name is Wave..."

Before Wave could finish his sentence, Kurome hugged the snack bag in front of her with both arms.

"I won't share these snacks with you."

Kurome's attitude was firm, and she looked at Wave with some vigilance.

Wave was stunned. This was also an abnormal girl.

"Excuse me..."

Wave returned to his seat, feeling drained.

Kurome's pitch-black eyes scanned the room until she saw Su Xiao.

Kurome stood up and sat in the seat next to Su Xiao.

"You fought my sister, right? Her name is Akame. She looks a lot like me, and her eyes are red."

Kurome held the snack bag and picked up a cookie, eating it with a crunch.

"Yes, we fought."

Kurome's eyes flashed.

"Then... did you kill her?"

Because they were not in the same assassination unit, Kurome only knew the general details of what happened last night.

"Missed by a few centimeters."

Su Xiao's answer left Kurome confused.

"I'll give you some to eat. Tell me what happened last night."

Kurome handed over a cookie, seemingly having made a difficult decision.