Chapter 66: Progress

Su Xiao had always been curious about one thing: how did the Shadow of Annihilation fight against mages?

And now it seemed the “Absolute Magic Immunity” was his effective means against them.

In Su Xiao’s understanding, the hardest part of fighting mages was getting close to them.

Mages were usually ranged, while he was melee; the “Absolute Magic Immunity” gave him the means to close the distance.

Once he got close to a mage, the battle was essentially over.

Su Xiao had observed the Lunhuileyuan trading market—he noticed most mages were slender and weak; once he closed in, he became their “daddy!”

Absolute Magic Immunity had two abilities.

The first was annoying: he could not learn magical skills; the second was immunity to 40% of magical damage.

Not being able to learn magical skills did not mean he could not learn skills at all—there were many abilities in the Lunhuileyuan outside the category of magical skills.

Most passive skills did not count as magical skills.

Moreover, Su Xiao believed the correct interpretation of “cannot learn magical skills” was “cannot learn mage-specific skills.”

That made sense—he was the Shadow of Annihilation; if he cast fireball spells in battle, it would be utterly absurd.

During the inheritance of the Shadow of Annihilation, the six statues’ attitudes suggested they deeply despised mages, which was why the Shadow of Annihilation could not learn mage skills.

Yet everything is relative: while he could not learn magical skills, he gained high magical resistance.

The next day.

Su Xiao woke early, shed the hospital gown, and put on his usual clothes.

“Mr. Baiye, why are you up? Lie back down—your injuries are severe.”

A young nurse in a white coat hurriedly blocked Su Xiao’s path.

“I’m fine. I’ve recovered.”

The nurse grew serious.

“No!”

This nurse was diligent; as a Class-One Investigator, Su Xiao naturally had dedicated medical staff.

Su Xiao patted the nurse’s soft shoulder, shifted his body slightly, and appeared behind her.

“Wait—”

The nurse opened her mouth, but a colleague pulled her back.

“Anko, forget it. Investigators have their own missions—we only need to treat their wounds.”

“Here’s Mr. Baiye’s today’s examination report—he meets discharge standards.”

Anko clearly doubted it, took the report, and checked it carefully.

“How is this possible? What kind of physical condition is this?”

…

Su Xiao stepped out of the hospital gate and immediately pulled out his phone, dialing Shinohara Kōki’s number.

“Senior Shinohara, I’m discharged. The clearance operation in District 14 can proceed.”

Shinohara Kōki was surprised by Su Xiao’s call.

“Your body’s fine?”

“Fine.”

“Good. Return to the branch. Same team, but Shichizō’s injuries haven’t healed—he can’t join the District 14 clearance.”

Su Xiao hailed a patrol car and drove to the branch.

Twenty minutes later, in Shinohara Kōki’s office.

“Personnel deployment is complete. I don’t care where you got the intel on the ghoul gathering point—I only need results. Turn District 14 into a safe zone like District 20.”

District 14 was large; if cleared, it could house many people and reduce ghouls’ threat to humans.

“Understood.”

Su Xiao finished speaking and made to leave the office.

“Baiye, have you heard? Headquarters is planning major action in District 11.”

Su Xiao stopped walking.

The “major action” Shinohara mentioned in District 11 was likely the scene from the original story where Jin Muyan was captured and CCG clashed with Bronze Tree.

“District 11 has grown increasingly chaotic. A group called Bronze Tree has openly assassinated ghoul investigators. I’m being transferred to District 20 in four days—I don’t know who’ll take charge of District 14 then, so the clearance must happen quickly.”

“I can support you, but others might not. I understand your hatred for ghouls—I once drove them out alongside your father.”

Shinohara Kōki had clearly misunderstood something—Su Xiao’s identity was fabricated by the Lunhuileyuan .

But this misunderstanding benefited Su Xiao; he wouldn’t correct it.

“Four days? I’ll do my best.”

Saying this, Su Xiao left the office.

Time was indeed short—if Shinohara Kōki was transferred, unforeseen changes might occur.

No one could guarantee the next Special or Senior Investigator assigned would support his plan.

The personnel assigned to the District 14 clearance were already waiting in the lobby; Shinoda Akira stood at the front.

Today, Shinoda Akira looked unusual—his eyes were dull, his usually neatly styled golden hair simply tied back.

“Senior Baiye, personnel are assembled—we can depart anytime.”

Shinoda Akira’s eyes were red, his focus scattered.

“Depart.”

Su Xiao didn’t ask about Shinoda’s condition—he wouldn’t indulge in sentimentality. Time was running out; the main quest mattered more.

According to the map marked by Inu, a derelict building on the outskirts frequently gathered 200 to 300 ghouls.

It was a loose ghoul group with several leaders.

This time, he wouldn’t charge in alone—there were too many ghouls; he needed to act within his limits and leverage CCG’s strength.

As Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat strategizing, a dripping sound came.

He glanced over—Shinoda Akira, driving the car, was already weeping.

Noticing Su Xiao’s gaze, Shinoda quickly turned his head away and wiped his nose.

“At your current state, your survival rate in this mission won’t exceed 20%.”

.」

Su Xiao leaned back in the passenger seat.

“Ugh~.”

Shinoda Akira could no longer hold back—he burst into sobs.

“Senior Baiye, is death in battle the fate of investigators?”

Shinoda’s voice cracked with tears streaming uncontrollably.

“Investigators drive out ghouls; ghouls kill investigators too—it’s fair.”

Su Xiao roughly guessed why Shinoda was like this.

In the original story, Shinoda Akira’s father, Shinoda Gojo, died early in the plot.

Now it seemed Shinoda Gojo had already died.

Shinoda Gojo’s death signaled the story had begun—Jin Muyan had been implanted with ghoul organs and become a ghoul.

The current timeline was shortly after Jin Muyan entered the Andingqu café, before his capture.

But since the Butcher was killed by Su Xiao, Jin Muyan might still be captured—but whether he was tortured remained unknown.

Ghoul side had Contract Holders; given Jin Muyan’s immense power after being “trained,” his transformation was highly probable.

As Shinoda Akira wept, the CCG convoy arrived at the edge of District 14, near the ghoul gathering point.