Chapter 70: Shizao, You

District 11, Bronze Tree base.

“Ahh~~!!”

A piercing scream echoed through the entire old building.

On the first floor, numerous Contractees had gathered; the earlier scream had come from the original protagonist, Jin Muyan.

To strengthen their side and ensure the plot continued normally, they had cooperated with Yomogi Amane to capture Jin Muyan and bring him to Bronze Tree.

Unlike Su Xiao, who didn’t care whether the plot continued—as long as he completed his mission, even if the difficulty rose slightly without plot guidance, he didn’t mind.

Strength is the only truth; over-reliance on the plot will inevitably lead to disaster once it collapses.

“Is this really fine, Huobao?”

The speaker was Han Yu; the piercing screams sent chills down his spine.

Han Yu secretly wondered what Jin Muyan had endured to produce such a scream.

“It should be fine—the original had Tobari torturing Jin Muyan; now it’s the hermaphrodite Nico, whose methods of torture are nearly identical to Tobari’s.”

Even Huobao felt uneasy hearing those screams.

“Tell me, tell me, tell me! One thousand minus seven equals what?”

A grotesquely shrill cry rang out above the Contractees.

“Will Jin Muyan die?”

Huobao swallowed hard.

“Probably not—he’s the protagonist, after all.”

Huobao and Han Yu fell silent.

Behind the Contractees stood a little girl—Xi Luoluo, the girl dressed as Connor who had traded with Su Xiao.

Xi Luoluo’s current position, and the Contractees’ dismissive attitude toward her, suggested she held a low status in Han Yu’s squad.

Has that freak from the CCG faction done anything recently?

Huobao asked casually, but Han Yu froze at the question.

“No activity.”

As Han Yu spoke, he secretly transmitted a message to Huobao via his mark.

‘That guy wiped out all the Ghouls in District 14.’

Huobao’s body stiffened; shock surged through him—eradicating all Ghouls in a district? What did that even mean?

Huobao understood Han Yu’s intent: the fewer Contractees who knew this, the better—it would crush their faction’s morale.

Both Han Yu and Huobao deliberately limited how much intelligence they shared with their squad.

Information superiority reinforced their leader’s authority and let them secure more benefits.

People are selfish, and Han Yu and Huobao had formed a temporary squad, not a permanent one.

Exploiting Contractees within temporary squads was an unspoken rule among all squad leaders.

Those exploited Contractees knew it too—but they had no choice; without joining a temporary squad, they couldn’t survive the derivative world.

“The counter-mission hasn’t started yet—how’s your main quest going? Mine’s over 50% done.”

Huobao changed the subject.

“Not bad—Ghoul Investigators are hard to find; scattered ones are too few. Most of my people are around 40% done.”

“After today, we’ve got twelve days left. District 11’s plot is about to begin—that’s a perfect opportunity.”

Han Yu sighed.

Su Xiao’s mission was to expel Ghouls; Han Yu’s group’s was to kill Investigators.

Of course, compared to expelling Ghouls, they needed to kill far fewer Investigators—each only needed to kill five.

If the number of Investigators to kill matched the number of Ghouls, even wiping out every Investigator in Tokyo might not complete the mission—Investigators were far too scarce.

Xi Luoluo, overhearing their conversation, felt deeply frustrated.

She had paid, yet Han Yu didn’t care about her progress.

Even now, her kill count remained zero; Han Yu’s exact words had been: “Don’t rush—plenty of chances later.”

But Xi Luoluo sensed sharply that Han Yu might renege.

Though she had paid and signed a contract, if someone had ill intent, her contract wouldn’t protect her.

The contract only required Han Yu to help her complete the mission and try to protect her.

The word “try” left ample room for loopholes.

If Xi Luoluo died, the contract would be void—Han Yu would lose only some Paradise Coins, an amount he could afford.

Painful, but not crippling—otherwise Han Yu wouldn’t have signed it.

Under normal circumstances, Han Yu wouldn’t do this—but Su Xiao’s presence had put immense pressure on him.

Han Yu no longer cared about Xi Luoluo’s Paradise Coins, let alone her life or death.

With powerful enemies outside, every Contractee harbored hidden agendas—even Han Yu and Huobao, supposedly allied, were likely scheming against each other.

District 20, CCG branch.

After receiving the headquarters’ order, Su Xiao headed to the District 20 CCG branch—the two districts were close, District 14 bordering District 20, easily reachable by car.

Standing before the branch building, Su Xiao stretched.

Previously weighed down by the main quest, he had been tense; now, he could complete it anytime, and he felt a little lighter.

It was five in the afternoon; the sunlight was soft, bathing the surroundings in warm pale gold.

The horizon blazed with crimson clouds; in the park beside the branch, elderly people sipped tea or chatted idly.

“Perfect day for training.”

Since entering the Ghoul world, Su Xiao had been in constant high-intensity combat.

If he had been learning combat techniques in the Cycle Paradise, now he was putting them into practice.

After iron-and-blood practice, Su Xiao felt his swordsmanship had slightly improved; the sensation described by Geng Silang—that the blade had become an extension of his body—grew clearer.

“White Night-san~~.”

A white figure rushed toward him; Su Xiao instinctively reached for Zhanlongshan—then recognized the familiar face.

“Shizao.”

Su Xiao smiled faintly; he held a favorable impression of Suzuya Shizao—they had fought together and shared some camaraderie.

Friendship forged in battle surpassed all others.

“White Night-san~, why are you here?”

“I’m looking for someone—and don’t call me White Night-san. Just call me White Night.”

Though he was looking for someone, he didn’t know exactly whom.

“I got lost earlier—is this the District 20 branch? I’ve been searching all afternoon.”

“White Night-san~, White Night~, do you know where the conference room is?”

Su Xiao nodded and led Suzuya Shizao into the branch—he had visited the District 20 CCG branch before.

As soon as they entered the conference room, Su Xiao sensed something was off; everyone he passed stared at him as if he were a rare creature—some female Investigators even secretly pulled out phones to take photos.

Inside the District 20 branch’s conference room:

Maru Tei, a Special-Class Investigator, was chairing a meeting.

Dozens of Investigators sat inside; excluding Maru Tei, there were two Special-Class Investigators, three Senior Special-Class Investigators, and even more Upper-Class Investigators.

Such a gathering was rare in CCG history.

Though Maru Tei was a Special-Class Investigator, he rarely fought—he excelled far more in command than in combat.

Whenever CCG had a large-scale operation, Maru Tei personally directed it on-site.

Maru Tei was CCG’s battlefield commander, especially skilled in large-scale campaigns.

With Maru Tei’s passionate tone, the room’s morale surged.

“This is a war between humans and Ghouls—so temporarily surrender your lives to me.”

“By the way, this is an order—you have no right to refuse!”

“I hereby announce the official deployment of the Special Operations Team in District 11…”

Maru Tei’s speech had reached a half-shout; he was about to utter the final line—the culmination of a two-day deliberated battle cry meant to inspire those present.

Pre-battle motivation was crucial.

“Bang!”

The conference room door swung open without warning; several Investigators jumped.

“Sorry~! I’m Suzuya Shizao, under Mr. Shinohara—I got lost and arrived late.”

Suzuya Shizao held both arms flat in front of him—no wonder the door had slammed so loudly.

Su Xiao stood just behind him; from his angle, he saw Maru Tei’s face—clearly the expression of someone who had just swallowed a dog.

The conference room fell into dead silence. Shizao, the little angel, had messed up.

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