Chapter 54

Amid the noisy music, eleven o’clock arrived.

“Snap~.”

The auction hall’s main lights turned on, and the music ceased.

The ghoul in the center stopped dancing, some muttering complaints, but none dared cause trouble.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is about to begin; please take your seats.”

A strange-toned voice came forth—a ghoul host wearing a clown mask.

“Mr. Clown, any surprises tonight? Last auction left me quite dissatisfied.”

A ghoul dressed as a noblewoman spoke.

All ghouls present wore masks; ghouls must not reveal their faces to humans, and likewise not to each other.

If two ghouls are enemies and one learns the other’s identity, then reports them to the CCG, the reported ghoul will be in grave danger.

Most ghouls hide like rats in sewers, lurking in the shadows.

But exceptions exist—such as a girl named Kōsuke Izumi, a reckless show-off who leads the Bronze Tree and is also a novelist, openly exposed to the public.

No more nonsense—tonight’s auction items will surely satisfy you all. Then…

As the host on stage was about to announce the auction’s start, Su Xiao pressed his Bluetooth earpiece.

“Action.”

The moment Su Xiao spoke, several ghouls beside him tensed, glancing at him and stepping back.

“What did you just say, you bastard?”

“He said ‘action’—this guy’s off. Kill him.”

“Could he be a CCG investigator? I’m out.”

Just because Su Xiao uttered “action,” a small section of the auction hall erupted.

No wonder these ghouls reacted so wildly—years of relentless CCG hunts had left them all on edge.

Tension spread through the auction hall; even the host on stage sensed something was wrong.

“Snap!”

All lights in the auction hall suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness.

Screams, roars, and the crash of overturned chairs and tables followed in succession.

Su Xiao’s vision was pitch black, yet he showed no panic, his expression calm.

A device resembling a “monocular telescope” suddenly appeared in his hand; he calmly placed it on his head, and his vision returned.

Though only his right eye saw, and everything appeared green, it was still vision restored.

Su Xiao had prepared night-vision goggles and pre-ordered the power cut the moment action began.

Zhanlong Flash appeared in his hand; Su Xiao walked slowly toward a ghoul, placing the blade against his throat.

The ghoul was completely unaware, hands stretched out before him, body slightly bent, blindly groping the air.

Su Xiao was testing whether ghouls’ red eyes had night vision.

Clearly, ghouls lacked this ability.

He pulled Zhanlong Flash; the blade sliced through flesh with a soft sound, blood gushing forth.

The ghoul’s eyes suddenly widened, his throat gurgling; seconds later, he collapsed.

In the pitch-black auction hall, Su Xiao wearing night-vision goggles was like a hungry wolf among sheep.

Moving among the ghouls, Zhanlong Flash carved through the air with streaks of blade light.

“Squelch, squelch…”

The sound of weapons piercing flesh came one after another; ghouls fell one by one, blood soaking the ground where Su Xiao walked.

The chaos in the auction hall masked Su Xiao’s actions.

In just over a dozen seconds, more than twenty ghouls died beneath Su Xiao’s blade.

The auction hall was a semi-enclosed building; the thick stench of blood spread, and other ghouls sensed something amiss.

“What’s going on? The smell of blood.”

“It’s a CCG trap—run!”

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!!”

The auction hall had become a madhouse; over a hundred ghouls ran wildly in all directions.

Some extreme-tempered ghouls unleashed their Kakuja and swung them blindly; any ghoul who came near was killed by accident.

The death rate among ghouls accelerated further; Su Xiao knew time was running out—the ghouls wouldn’t let him slaughter them indefinitely.

Su Xiao moved expressionlessly through the crowd, ghouls falling one after another.

Blood stained his cheeks, yet he paid it no mind.

Does killing ghouls bring psychological pressure? Perhaps others feel it.

But in the Cycle Paradise, it’s either you die or I live; between killing and being killed, Su Xiao chose to raise his blade.

Blood and severed limbs sprayed; Su Xiao’s eyes began to glow red from killing.

“Crash!” A glass bottle shattered, flames bursting high with a whoosh.

The ghoul host on stage, having fumbled for a bottle of strong liquor, turned it into a makeshift incendiary and smashed it on the floor.

This was likely leftover alcohol from daytime auctions—ghouls would never auction alcohol.

The flames illuminated the entire auction hall, dispelling the darkness.

“Drip… drip…”

Blood dripped from the tip of Zhanlong Flash; all ghouls’ gazes fixed on Su Xiao.

Around Su Xiao lay at least thirty ghouls, sprawled haphazardly, all with throats slit, their blood pooling beneath him into a thin crimson lake.

“Gulp.”

A B-class ghoul swallowed hard, eyes filled with terror.

Once all ghouls noticed Su Xiao, their first reaction wasn’t to swarm him—but to flee.

But these ghouls soon realized all exits were sealed.

This was Su Xiao’s order; the men outside were merely a precaution. Even if he were now captain of the Purge Team, the contribution points he earned from CCG members killing ghouls were minimal.

So, to rapidly rise to Senior Investigator, Su Xiao had to kill enemies himself.

With all exits sealed, through the cracks, the ghouls saw large groups of investigators outside—driving those present toward madness.

“What do we do? We’re done. We’re dying tonight.”

“Run! The guy with the sword is coming!”

The chaos intensified; Su Xiao stabbed a ghoul’s throat, earned points, and the ghoul collapsed lifeless.

Not all ghouls were fleeing; two S-class ghouls remained—one was the clown-masked host on stage, the other stood directly before Su Xiao.

A pig-mask, a fat body—before Su Xiao stood an S-class ghoul, at least three hundred jin, round and bloated like a ball.

“You’re human.”

The fat ghoul’s Kakuja was a Kōja; the Kakuja sacs sat on his shoulders. Once manifested, he looked like he wore half-body armor.

This guy clearly had high durability—slow, but thick-skinned and tough.

Su Xiao charged forward with blade in hand; the fat ghoul roared and charged at him.

They closed in rapidly; Su Xiao moved nimbly, while the fat ghoul lumbered like a heavy tank, shaking the ground with each step.

“Die!”

The fat ghoul lowered his head and slammed into Su Xiao; Su Xiao abruptly halted, focus razor-sharp.

He sidestepped effortlessly, avoiding the ghoul’s charge, and swung his long blade at the ghoul’s lower body.

“Squelch.”

One fat leg fell to the ground; Su Xiao used almost no force, relying entirely on the ghoul’s own momentum.

A pig-like scream rang out; the fat ghoul crashed to the floor.

Su Xiao leapt forward, planted his foot on the ghoul’s back, and pressed the tip of Zhanlong Flash against the back of his skull.

“No, no~… please, don’t…”

The cold, sharp sensation against his skull made the fat ghoul stutter.

“Squelch.” The blade pierced his skull; Su Xiao showed no hesitation.

As he stood on the ghoul’s foot, he clearly felt the body convulse.

A pale green treasure chest floated above the fat ghoul’s corpse; seeing it, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Lucky—killing an S-class ghoul yielded a green treasure chest.

He stowed the chest, then turned his gaze to the second S-class ghoul—the clown-masked host.

Noticing Su Xiao’s stare, the clown-masked ghoul hurriedly spoke.

“Wait—I’m from the Tsukiyama family. You can’t kill me.”