Chapter 45

The contractors on the Ghoul side were forced to join forces, a fact Su Xiao was unaware of.

Although he guessed that the third stage of the main quest was a confrontation, that was only a guess based on the prerequisite mission.

Early in the morning, Su Xiao came to Shinohara Yukinori's office. The other party had said last night that he had something to discuss today.

"Have you had breakfast?"

Shinohara Yukinori stood up and greeted Su Xiao enthusiastically.

Su Xiao was surprised; Shinohara Yukinori's attitude was a bit overly enthusiastic.

"Not yet."

"That's perfect. Let's go to a small shop nearby. It's quite good. Although the breakfast provided by the branch is nutritionally balanced, the taste is..."

Now Su Xiao could be certain that the other party might have something they needed his help with.

"My treat," Shinohara Yukinori emphasized.

This time it definitely couldn't be wrong; the other party was asking him for a favor.

Su Xiao nodded and followed behind Shinohara Yukinori to a small shop.

The shop was not large but very lively, and many customers were already seated. The aroma of the food in the shop made Su Xiao's stomach active, and a sense of hunger emerged.

"Over here."

Shinohara Yukinori found a four-person table, signaled for Su Xiao to sit opposite him, and ordered several types of breakfast.

The breakfast was served, but Su Xiao didn't move, looking at Shinohara Yukinori with a meaningful gaze.

"Special Class Shinohara, this breakfast is unexpectedly sumptuous."

Discovering that Su Xiao hadn't made any move, Shinohara Yukinori chuckled and signaled for Su Xiao not to be polite.

"Let's eat first; she will be here soon."

Su Xiao didn't say anything and began to eat breakfast.

"Haise, the Ghoul you expelled last night has been sent to headquarters. Headquarters has made an exception this time to promote you to a Second Class Investigator. This is your new identification."

Su Xiao put down the pastry he had eaten halfway through and took the identification.

【Hint: The Hunter has been promoted to Second Class Investigator, Contribution: 50/400.】

Su Xiao's promotion in rank didn't require seniority, but it did require expelling more Ghouls. A contribution value of 400 would likely require expelling 2 to 3 S-rank Ghouls, and the difficulty of that could be imagined.

Promoting from First Class Investigator to Superior Class was even more difficult.

Under normal circumstances, Main Quest (2) shouldn't be this difficult.

It was mainly because Su Xiao was the only one in the CCG faction.

Under normal circumstances, the CCG side would have about a dozen ordinary contractors. If a dozen ordinary contractors split the contribution value, each person would only need about 30 points of contribution to be promoted to First Class Investigator.

But Su Xiao was alone in a faction, so the tasks for a dozen people had to be completed by him, which was why this high contribution requirement appeared.

Most locations in the 14th Ward were very peaceful, and the difficulty of Su Xiao hunting Ghouls was not low. If he were assigned to the 1st through 4th Wards, the difficulty of the mission would drop sharply.

The density of Ghouls in the 1st through 4th Wards was very high, to the point where ordinary people could no longer survive.

The Ghouls there all relied on cannibalism to survive, so there were many powerful Ghouls in the 1st through 4th Wards.

Under normal circumstances, S-rank was the limit for Ghouls. To continue becoming stronger, they could only rely on cannibalism to increase the concentration of RC cells in their bodies.

D-rank were infant Ghouls, C-rank Ghouls could use Kagune but were relatively weak, B-rank were ordinary Ghouls hiding among humans, A-rank belonged to the elites within Ghoul factions, and S-rank were a minority of genius Ghouls. As for anything after S, they could only rely on cannibalism.

A Ghoul's strength was not trained but gained through eating—constantly devouring others of their own kind.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao took a bite of the pastry in his hand.

"Sorry, I'm late."

While Su Xiao was thinking, a beautiful woman with a slender figure sat in the seat next to him.

Her light yellow blonde hair was tied up, and she wore a black women's suit, which made the beauty's skin appear exceptionally snow-white and delicate, while black silk stockings accentuated her two sexy, beautiful legs.

"Let me introduce you: this is Akira Mado, your subordinate from now on."

Shinohara Yukinori looked at Su Xiao with a smile in his eyes, a gaze that seemed to say how loyal he was to let such a beauty serve as Su Xiao's subordinate.

"So that's how it is. I have no objections, but..."

Su Xiao raised his head and looked at Shinohara Yukinori with piercing eyes.

"She might die very soon. I am planning to enter areas with a high density of Ghouls recently, such as the Xijie District."

Hearing that Su Xiao had no intention of refusing, Shinohara Yukinori smiled, but upon hearing "Xijie District," Shinohara's smile immediately vanished.

"Xijie District? That's the cannibalism zone of the 14th Ward. The number of S-rank Ghouls there is unimaginably high. Haise, are you sure you want to go?"

"I am sure."

If it were anyone else, Shinohara Yukinori would never agree, but Su Xiao's strength left him with nothing to say.

"Akira, it seems I have to change your superior."

Shinohara Yukinori looked at Akira Mado to the side.

"Special Class Shinohara, I have no problem. As a Ghoul Investigator, I have long been prepared to face any situation, even if it means going to the Xijie District."

Akira Mado stood straight, her tone firm, and she even glanced sideways at Su Xiao.

"Tap, tap~."

Shinohara Yukinori tapped the table lightly with his index finger, took out his phone from his pocket, and dialed.

The call was to Kureo Mado; Shinohara Yukinori only said a few words before hanging up.

"Kureo, that guy... alright, you will temporarily follow Haise. Although you are both Second Class Investigators, you must obey Haise's command.

Haise, when do you plan to head to the Xijie District?"

It seemed Shinohara Yukinori also intended for Su Xiao to go to the Xijie District; cannibalism there was severe, and it was in urgent need of cleanup.

"Right now. Let's go, mascot."

The "mascot" in Su Xiao's mouth was Akira Mado. According to information from the original work, Akira Mado's strength was average.

As for whether Akira Mado would live or die after arriving at the Xijie District, that would depend on fate.

Hearing the term "mascot," Akira Mado froze, pointing at herself in astonishment.

Seeing this scene, Shinohara Yukinori gave a helpless, bitter smile, signaling for Akira Mado to follow Su Xiao.

A black sedan was driving on the road, Akira Mado was driving in the driver's seat, and Su Xiao was resting with his eyes closed in the passenger seat. They were heading to the Xijie District.

"Second Class Haise, do you have any plans for heading to the Xijie District? What do I need to do?"

Akira Mado's expression was solemn, her chest puffed out.

"Arrive at the Xijie District, and slash!"

This simple and brutal plan clearly shocked Akira Mado. The beautiful woman slammed on the gas pedal, nearly rear-ending the car in front, showing quite the flair of a female driver.

"Then... what do I need to do?"

After calming her emotions, Akira Mado asked the second question.

"You just need to be responsible for being beautiful."

Su Xiao's calm demeanor caused Akira Mado's anger to surge.

"Ghouls won't covet my beauty!"

Su Xiao chuckled; "being beautiful" was just something he said casually, and he didn't intend for the other party to seduce anyone.

"Don't worry, you have a 'very important' role. If it weren't for you, my 'plan' would be unlikely to succeed."

Two seconds ago, Su Xiao thought of a plan.

Noticing Su Xiao's gaze, Akira Mado suddenly had the thought of turning around and running away.

"Then... can you share your plan?"

Su Xiao's lips curled slightly, and he shook his head. Although the other party's combat power wasn't great, she could serve as bait; at least attracting Ghouls wouldn't be a problem.

"No. If you understand the situation, it might affect the 'plan'."

Akira Mado felt bitter inside, and as if venting, she slammed down on the gas pedal.

Amidst Akira Mado's uneasy mood, the two arrived at the Xijie District, this cruel cannibalism zone.