Chapter 77

"These ghouls are dressed so strangely."

Yuna murmured; it seemed she had never seen ghouls dressed like primitive people before.

"Are these kinds of ghouls rare in the 24th Ward?"

Su Xiao asked, appearing to be casual.

"They should be very rare. I've been exploring the 24th Ward for half a year, and this is the first time I've seen ghouls dressed like this."

Yuna examined the ghouls with surprise.

"Special Class Arima, you've been exploring the 24th Ward for longer; have you seen this type of ghoul before?"

Arima Kisho did not answer Yuna's question and simply walked out from behind the corner in silence.

Vaguely, Su Xiao felt that Arima Kisho might know something.

When he first met Arima Kisho, Su Xiao had a strange feeling that the man didn't seem human; that kind of powerful physique could only be possessed by a ghoul.

However, this was just Su Xiao's speculation. He had previously seen Arima Kisho eat human food with his own eyes, and after acting together for a long time, there had been no abnormalities.

Judging by the behavior Arima Kisho displayed, he could not possibly be a ghoul.

Arima Kisho's physique was like a ghoul's, but his behavior was not in the slightest.

While Su Xiao was deep in thought, Arima Kisho had already walked past the corner, and his quinque, "Narukami," appeared.

"Narukami" is an S+ rank quinque with three forms.

The first form is a cannon type, which can release a wide range of electrical currents.

The second form is a pincer type, which can fire electric orbs from a distance.

The third form is a sword type, which is very sturdy and suitable for close combat.

Arima Kisho was currently using the sword form.

"One each; we must finish this quickly."

Arima Kisho looked at Su Xiao, his meaning clear.

Arima Kisho's current actions made Su Xiao even more suspicious; those two ghouls were not particularly strong, and Arima could have handled them alone.

Was he trying to test his strength? That didn't seem very likely; the strength of those two ghouls didn't meet the standard for a test.

Since entering the 24th Ward, Su Xiao had felt that it was full of suspicious points. There must be some secret here, and Arima Kisho might know something.

But he wasn't close with Arima Kisho, and the man wasn't the type to be helpful; he would have to explore it himself.

"Understood."

Su Xiao held Checking Zhan Long Shan and stood side-by-side with Arima Kisho.

The two of them were behind the two ghouls, who were busy fighting over food and hadn't noticed them.

Arima Kisho held up three fingers and began to count down.

After Arima Kisho's last finger closed, the two of them rushed toward the ghouls at the same time.

During the charge, Su Xiao discovered that Arima Kisho was very fast—his speed was almost identical to his own.

This made Su Xiao even more doubtful of Arima Kisho's human identity. His own Agility was 13 points; could an ordinary human in the Ghoul World really reach 13 points in Agility?

After a burst of rapid footsteps, Su Xiao and Arima Kisho reached their respective targets at the same time.

Only then did the two ghouls react.

A brilliant blade light flashed, and a head with a wide-open mouth full of rotten teeth flew into the air.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless—a single decapitating strike; Su Xiao had finished his target.

Looking up, a headless corpse also lay before Arima Kisho.

Yuna, in the distance, stared blankly at the two of them. She had long known of Arima Kisho's power, but she hadn't expected Su Xiao to be this strong as well.

"Damn it, how did I become the weakest one?"

Yuna looked unwilling, but there was nothing she could do.

After Su Xiao killed the ghoul in front of him, Reincarnation Paradise provided a notification.

【You have killed a "Diakeman" resident.】

【CCG Contribution points increased by 46. "Diakeman Tribe" reputation -92. Current "Diakeman Tribe" reputation is below -50; the Diakeman Tribe will now actively attack you.】

After receiving the notification from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao was even more confused.

What was this "Diakeman Tribe"? In the plot he knew, there was no such organization at all.

"Squish."

Arima Kisho sliced open the back of the ghoul's corpse and extracted a kagune sac.

"This kind of kagune sac is very valuable. If you want status, you can turn it in to the 24th Ward's Information Investigation Division."

Arima Kisho spoke as he took out a bottle of clean water, rinsed the blood off the kagune sac, and placed it into his backpack.

Su Xiao followed Arima Kisho's lead and extracted the ghoul's kagune sac. Upon touching it, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.

【You have obtained a Kagune Sac (Type I), which can be used to exchange for 40 CCG Contribution points.】

Whether it was killing the primitive ghouls or extracting their kagune sacs, both yielded a large amount of CCG Contribution points.

The contribution points gained from killing one primitive ghoul were more than ten times that of a surface ghoul.

Su Xiao didn't yet understand the reason for this; one mystery after another kept appearing, and the 24th Ward seemed increasingly mysterious.

Just as the three of them were about to continue deeper, a pair of red eyes stared at them with hatred from afar. At the end of the tunnel, a hundred meters away, stood a ghoul.

"Not good."

Arima Kisho showed an expression, which was rare for him; he seemed to be worried about something.

The ghoul in the distance also looked like a primitive person. After seeing the corpses of its two companions, it let out two strange cries.

"Oh~, oh~."

The primitive ghoul's cry was short and high-pitched, carrying very far.

The Narukami in Arima Kisho's hand changed form, becoming a long-range weapon.

"Bang."

A golden electric orb shot out, striking the ghoul directly.

After being hit by the electric orb, the ghoul convulsed and fell to the ground. A burnt smell wafted over; the ghoul had been electrocuted into charcoal and died.

Arima Kisho's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, and his expression was somewhat grim.

"Prepare to face the enemy. Yuna, get behind me."

Arima Kisho pressed his briefcase, and his other quinque appeared.

The quinque "Ixa," an S+ rank quinque, can change into multiple forms and is a tool that integrates both offense and defense.

"Where is the enemy?"

Su Xiao's expression was serious. Although he hadn't sensed the enemy, Arima Kisho's uncharacteristic behavior made him alert.

"Very soon..."

Before Arima Kisho could finish his sentence, Su Xiao felt a slight tremor in the ground.

"Boom~~~."

It was as if an army of thousands was charging from the tunnels on both sides, and the loose dust from the ceiling fell.

"Oh~, oh~, oh~..."

That strange cry came again.

From both the front and back of Su Xiao, dense crowds of ghouls came charging; both their path forward and their retreat were blocked.

These ghouls were all dressed like primitive people; grass skirts and bone-tooth necklaces were almost standard, and some of the primitive ghouls even had crude patterns painted on their faces.

If one looked closely, they would discover that the pattern was a bloated fish.

Pairs of large, bare feet stomped on the ground, kicking up dust as the primitive ghouls charged forward, shouting and screaming.

"Damn it."

Su Xiao cursed under his breath. A conservative estimate was that there were at least three hundred primitive ghouls on both sides of the tunnel, surrounding them completely.

"Although we haven't fought together before, let's cooperate; otherwise, we'll both die."

Su Xiao looked at Arima Kisho, who nodded solemnly at him.

"Let's cooperate. You take the left, I'll take the right. Don't let the ghouls surround us."

In battle, it is easy to build a connection, especially during a life-or-death crisis like this.

"Then~, then what do I do?"

Yuna asked helplessly, her face full of bitterness.

"Support us both at any time."

Su Xiao gripped Checking Zhan Long Shan tightly, preparing to face the enemy.

"Leave it to me."

Although Su Xiao was only a First Class Investigator, one rank lower than Yuna, there was no talk of rank now; strength was the only hard truth.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp~."

A primitive ghoul that looked like a leader let out a sharp cry. This primitive ghoul held a long piece of tree root and had several bird feathers stuck in its hair.

After this strange cry, those ghouls bared their fangs and pounced on Su Xiao like wild beasts.

PS: (Promoting a friend's Pirate novel, "Pirate: Gale Swordsman," it's quite good, everyone can go check it out.)