Chapter 42

The bustling street was packed with vehicles, the honking of cars mingling with the chatter of pedestrians.

Su Xiao walked down the street, holding a map in his hand.

He had reached District 14; although he had originally intended to visit a café called An Ding Qu, he temporarily abandoned the idea after considering the shop owner’s strength.

There was no need to confront the shop owner yet. Unlike Kōgai Izumi, the shop owner, though also an SSS-class ghoul, possessed far superior combat skills—but due to his advanced age, his combat power had declined.

It was more convenient to hunt ghouls in District 14 than to seek out the shop owner.

Soon, Su Xiao found the CCG branch in District 14. As a Third-Class Investigator, he walked straight inside.

It was around 9 a.m., and the branch was filled with investigators. Su Xiao’s unfamiliar face drew attention from many of them—these men were hyper-alert, a professional trait of investigators.

“Excuse me, where is Mr. Shinohara Yukiki?”

Su Xiao approached the front desk, where a young female receptionist sat.

“Looking for Mr. Shinohara? May I ask who you are?”

The receptionist offered a professional smile, her tone gentle.

“I’m Bai Ye, a newly assigned Third-Class Investigator. I’m here to report for duty.”

Su Xiao produced his credentials and handed them to the receptionist.

After verifying the documents, the receptionist made a phone call.

“Mr. Bai Ye, hello. Mr. Shinohara is on the twelfth floor in his office. You’d better hurry—he’s about to leave.”

Su Xiao retrieved his credentials, stepped into the elevator, and headed straight to the twelfth floor.

The head of the District 14 CCG branch was Special-Class Investigator Shinohara Yukiki. Su Xiao had seen him in the original story—a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, humble and easy to get along with.

“Knock, knock, knock~.”

“Come in.”

Su Xiao opened the office door. Shinohara Yukiki was organizing his Quinque, clearly preparing to leave.

“You’re early, Third-Class Bai Ye.”

Shinohara Yukiki set down the Quinque he was holding, sat behind his desk, and gestured for Su Xiao to sit. He began searching through files.

“Let me see… ah, here it is. Bai Chuan’s family member, age 20, began training combat skills in childhood, combat rating SSS+?”

Shinohara Yukiki glanced at Su Xiao in surprise, then scrutinized the document again—he suspected he’d misread it. He’d heard a powerful Third-Class Investigator was being transferred, but he never expected the man’s combat rating to be SSS+.

The title of Third-Class Investigator had misled Shinohara Yukiki’s judgment.

“Hello, Mr. Shinohara Yukiki.”

Shinohara Yukiki’s gaze flickered between Su Xiao and the document—he struggled to imagine that Su Xiao’s slender frame could possess an SSS+ combat rating.

“Hello, Third-Class Bai Ye. But before your official appointment, we must conduct a combat assessment.”

“No problem. When do we start?”

The main quest (2) had a twenty-day window, which eased some of the tension in Su Xiao’s nerves.

Judging by the difficulty of the ghoul world, his current strength, while not the strongest, was certainly not weak.

Being sent to a world of this moderate difficulty might be the Lunhuileyuan ’s intention.

The Lunhuileyuan tested his eligibility to become a Hunter in the Pirate World; now, the ghoul world is its indirect reward.

After Su Xiao’s question, Shinohara Yukiki considered for a moment.

“Right now. We can conduct the assessment right here.”

Saying this, Shinohara Yukiki took off his suit jacket and stretched his arms.

Su Xiao understood Shinohara’s intent—it was a simple sparring match, nothing more. Shinohara wouldn’t use a Quinque, and Su Xiao wouldn’t use [Dragon Slash].

“I’m coming.”

“Go ahead.”

Su Xiao’s gaze sharpened instantly. Since this was a sparring assessment, Shinohara Yukiki hadn’t used a Quinque, and Su Xiao hadn’t used [Dragon Slash].

The office wasn’t large. Su Xiao closed the distance in a few steps; his Agility stat of 13 made his movements hard to track.

Shinohara Yukiki quickly raised his fists to guard his face—Su Xiao’s aura had already startled him.

Without a word, Su Xiao punched straight at Shinohara’s forearm blocking his face.

“Thud.”

Shinohara Yukiki involuntarily stepped back two paces, his forearm throbbing with pain.

“Damn heavy punch.”

As Shinohara retreated, Su Xiao launched rapid left and right hooks—Shinohara’s shoulders, forearms, and other areas quickly took several blows.

But Shinohara Yukiki, as a Special-Class Investigator, was no pushover.

After absorbing several hits, Shinohara roared, twisted his thick arm, and tried to force Su Xiao back.

The two immediately clashed in close combat. Su Xiao’s style was fluid and agile, yet each strike carried immense force. Shinohara fought with steady, grounded defense—he’d rather take a few extra hits than expose his vital points.

“Thud, thud, thud~.”

The dull impacts echoed as both men grew more energized with each exchange, their sparring turning increasingly serious.

Su Xiao swept a kick across Shinohara’s chest. Shinohara shifted his stance just in time to dodge the whip-like kick.

Shinohara dodged—but Su Xiao’s kick shattered the corner of the nearby desk.

“Crack.” The desk corner flew off. Shinohara’s lip twitched, yet his fighting spirit surged higher.

No coward could become a Special-Class Investigator of the CCG. Fighting ghouls with bare flesh required immense courage.

After Su Xiao shattered the desk corner, a cry of pain echoed from afar.

The cry interrupted Su Xiao and Shinohara’s sparring. Both turned toward the source.

A boy with snow-white hair entered Su Xiao’s view.

In appearance, he looked more like a girl—pale face, petite frame, and androgynous attire.

“Shizuo, are you okay?”

Shinohara Yukiki stepped forward, concerned, to examine the boy. A bruise on his forehead matched the shape of the desk corner Su Xiao had kicked off.

“I’m fine~ Mr. Shinohara. Why’d you stop? I hadn’t seen enough yet.”

The boy’s name was Ryouya Shuuzou, Shinohara Yukiki’s subordinate.

Or rather, Shinohara Yukiki wasn’t just his superior—he was also his guardian, even managing his daily life.

Though Ryouya Shuuzou’s appearance leaned feminine, he was biologically male, and now identifies as ‘none.’

Ryouya Shuuzou was raised by ghouls from childhood; his caretaker was Bigmadam, an SS-class ghoul.

Bigmadam was a pedophile and sadist. When Ryouya Shuuzou was young, he resembled a girl, but as he grew older, his once-feminine features began to change.

This transformation horrified Bigmadam, so she cruelly crushed Ryouya Shuuzou’s genitals to halt his male development and make him even more feminine.

During a later CCG raid, Ryouya Shuuzou was accidentally rescued, leading to his recruitment as a ghoul investigator.

His traumatic childhood made Ryouya Shuuzou’s personality strange—lazy, lacking basic social awareness, and a blend of masochism and sadism.

After examining Ryouya Shuuzou’s wound, Shinohara Yukiki confirmed he was unharmed.

“Good. This is a new colleague, Bai Ye. Say hello.”

Shinohara stepped aside, gesturing for Ryouya Shuuzou to greet Su Xiao.

“Hi~ I’m Ryouya Shuuzou. Can I cut you?”

This odd greeting left Shinohara exasperated—the boy meant no harm, he simply lacked basic common sense.

“Heh~ brat.”