Chapter 84: Ghoul × Investigator

After resting for several hours in the secret chamber, Su Xiao opened his eyes.

“Let’s go out.”

This chamber isn’t a place to stay long—it’s only for temporary rest; the environment here is too poor and could cause wound infection.

Yuna sat beside him, her head now resting on Su Xiao’s shoulder, emitting soft snores.

Su Xiao nudged Yuna’s shoulder; she jolted awake and rolled up to her feet.

“What’s wrong? Are there ghouls?”

Yuna’s reaction was normal—in District 24, failing to stay alert means certain death.

“Those ghouls are already gone.”

Su Xiao stood up and approached the gap in the flesh wall, slipping through sideways.

Yuna, who suffered from claustrophobia, hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and entered the gap.

Back inside District 24’s underground tunnels, everything was silent.

Su Xiao had faced countless dangers the first time he entered District 24.

Since entering the ghoul world, this had been his most dangerous experience—clearing ghouls in District 14 was child’s play compared to this.

Su Xiao used his hand-drawn map to orient himself and continued moving toward the surface.

He memorized every tunnel he passed and left markers inside them.

After two hours of navigating the labyrinthine tunnels, Su Xiao stopped.

“Why did you stop?”

“We’ve been here before.”

Looking at the “12” carved into the ground with a knife, Su Xiao marked an arrow on his hand-drawn map.

His current direction was wrong—it wasn’t leading to the surface, but deeper into District 24.

Without a clear direction, getting lost was routine.

Su Xiao wasn’t discouraged; as long as he kept trying, combining his hand-drawn map with the markers, he’d soon find his way out of District 24.

“Thud.”

A muffled sound came from the side, behind a flesh wall—someone was fighting.

“That’s Ma Gui—those are the massive electric discharges from ‘Ming Shen.’”

Yuna cheered—fighting meant Ma Gui hadn’t died.

Su Xiao said nothing, listening carefully to pinpoint the sound’s origin. Reuniting was good—Ma Gui was now an ally; without him holding the rear, Su Xiao would already be dead in District 24.

“This way.”

Su Xiao quickened his pace, shifting from brisk walking to running.

Navigating the maze-like tunnels, his steps grew faster—he’d already memorized the general layout of the area.

The battle sounds drew nearer; after rounding a corner, Ma Gui appeared in the distance.

Ma Gui no longer bore the dignity of a god—he was shirtless, his white hair stained with blood, his glasses gone.

“Why? Why won’t you speak to us? Has talking to us become a disgrace in your eyes?”

An elderly ghoul with snow-white hair stared at Ma Gui, heartbroken.

“Don’t waste your breath—he’s no longer one of us...”

Another elderly ghoul began to speak, but Ma Gui raised his “Ming Shen.”

“Bang. Bang.”

Two electric orbs shot out; the two elders weren’t weak—they dodged nimbly.

The “ixa” in Ma Gui’s left hand surged.

“Squelch. Squelch.”

Part of the “ixa” had already deformed and burrowed underground; now it erupted, impaling both ghouls like skewers.

“Why... why did you...”

One elder ghoul stared at Ma Gui, still trying to speak, but his life force drained rapidly—he could no longer talk.

Ma Gui’s lips moved silently, uttering something without sound.

From Su Xiao’s angle, he could see Ma Gui’s profile—his expression seemed almost sorrowful? Sorrow over killing those two ghouls?

Su Xiao frowned—the two dead elders had seemed to hold some respect for Ma Gui?

Yes, respect—as if Ma Gui had once been their leader.

The CCG’s strongest investigator was once a ghoul’s leader? That sounded absurd.

“Ma Gui.”

Yuna called out tentatively—she sensed something was off.

Ma Gui turned, facing Su Xiao and Yuna; his right eye was shut.

“You’re here. This exploration ends now.”

The atmosphere felt strange. Su Xiao said nothing—the CCG was full of mysteries; Ma Gui surely had secrets too.

His priority was to earn enough CCG contribution points to exchange for [Human Gene Enhancement Fluid] and [Shatter Sprite] at the District 24 temporary branch.

Together, they cost 28,000 CCG contribution points—Su Xiao had only earned a fraction.

But now wasn’t the time for suspicion; danger lurked constantly in District 24. From Ma Gui’s actions, he showed no sign of betrayal.

At least since entering District 24, Ma Gui had only killed ghouls—no signs of abandoning allies.

Unless Ma Gui intended to defect from the CCG, he wouldn’t turn against Su Xiao.

“Ma Gui, what happened with those two ghouls?”

Yuna, the neurotic girl, had no guile—she asked outright what she wondered.

“They were my old friends. They once disguised themselves as humans—I was young then and didn’t realize. It was many years ago. I never expected to meet them again, now as ghoul and investigator.”

A bitter smile touched Ma Gui’s lips; blood dripped from his chin.

“I see. I had friends like that too—my classmates. I killed them myself.”

Ghouls mingled among humans; it occasionally happened that investigators and ghouls became friends.

An investigator was just a job—they dressed like ordinary people. Ghouls concealed themselves, striving to blend into human society.

And cases of investigators and ghouls accidentally becoming friends were common—even in the original story.

Yuna believed Ma Gui’s words. They’d cooperated for half a year, shared life and death—friendship like that wouldn’t be shattered by this.

But could things really be this simple? At least Su Xiao wouldn’t fully believe it—he wouldn’t pry either. Everyone had secrets; those who spent every day digging into others’ secrets usually ended up isolated.

Su Xiao led the way with his hand-drawn map; Ma Gui and Yuna followed behind.

Without a compass, his hand-drawn map was invaluable.

Su Xiao recorded every tunnel they passed; his map grew more complete, the red arrow stretching longer—pointing toward the surface.

“Footsteps.”

Su Xiao stopped, staring ahead into the dim tunnel.

“Run—it’s the White Reaper.”

Over a dozen ghouls had just appeared; upon seeing Ma Gui, they turned and fled instantly.

Su Xiao and the others stood still—all three were exhausted, and they must minimize combat.

Ma Gui’s reputation wasn’t empty; in District 24, most ghouls fled at the sight of him—no one dared fight.

This undoubtedly accelerated their progress; an hour later, Su Xiao saw the metal door they had entered through.

Ma Gui opened the metal door; after all three exited, he slammed it shut and locked it.

It was to prevent ghouls from escaping District 24 and spreading to the surface—whether it worked, no one knew.

They passed through the straight tunnel; blinding light appeared ahead.

It was sunlight. Su Xiao had been underground too long—he was unaccustomed to its glare.

Squinting, he stepped out of the tunnel and returned to the surface—to the human world.

Though his time in District 24 had been brief, he felt as if he’d stepped out of another lifetime.

He took a deep breath—the air above was exceptionally fresh, free of the faint, metallic stench of District 24.