Chapter 151
"Um."
Vera nodded, then showed the text message in her hand to Mado Akira.
[Hishikori Kouichi]
Message:
"Vera, you're finally back in Tokyo! Come quick, come quick! I've completed the fusion of your [New Proto] living Quinque armor with the [Ayato] S+ body. I've been fine-tuning and perfecting it, and I'm just waiting for you to try it on..."
Vera couldn't help but grin, and said to the driver, "Change the destination. Go to the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau Headquarters in Ward 1."
"Yes."
The original author, Sui Ishida, did not include this part of the story. The only organizations explicitly mentioned are Japan's CCG, Germany's GFG, and China's Ghoul Investigation Team.
Another point raised by our readers concerns the parts related to China. For example, we should delve deeper into the operation to eradicate the "Red Tongue Syndicate" in which Kousuke Hoji participated.
Uh... it's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't touch on it; at most, I'll only dare to mention it briefly. Like the previous book, only the real China is the true world; the other worlds cannot bear its projection and manifestation of power. Hope you understand.
Yang: One.
~~~~~
150
Chapter 150 The Angel of Death (4.5K)
Burning, tingling, itchy...
This is Vera's most direct feeling after putting on the [New Ayato-α] living Quinque armor and, to some extent, liberating and activating her Kagune.
Simply by holding your breath, you can feel a slight stinging sensation as the blood flows through your veins.
Inside the armor, on the skin, something seemed to be crawling, tearing, and devouring...
It seemed ambiguous, but Vera even sensed a barely perceptible malice.
But--
That's all.
The hatred and resentment of those who eat people are not worth mentioning!
With a snap, Vera clenched her fist.
In the palm, encased in matte black gauntlets, was a long sword with numerous nicks on its blade.
A damaged and salvaged Class B Kagaku Quinque longsword, stained with blood on the front lines of investigations. One of the CCG's most basic standard-issue Quinque weapons.
In the bright, quiet room, as Vera's fingers snapped shut like iron pincers, a sickening metallic twisting sound could be clearly heard: creak-crack!
The blade shattered with a crack, the broken edge fell to the ground and bounced up, sharp fragments scattering from between the loosened fingers, gleaming coldly like fragile glass.
It's much easier now...
After weighing the force she had just applied, Vera squinted her eyes in satisfaction at the power amplification from the living armor and the slight, tingling heat.
She adjusted the precision-fitted gauntlets that conformed perfectly to her finger joints, then turned to look at the disheveled man in a white lab coat, slippers, and carrying a data tablet standing next to Mado Akira. She nodded to him to indicate that she was fine.
That unkempt mustache and signature dark green mushroom hair belonged to Dr. Hishikori Kouichi, the Chief researcher of CCG.
Vera's mentor in Quinque Manufacturing Technology and Ghoul Science.
"Although the problem of the continuous backlash from the [New Proto] has been resolved, the slight bloodsucking caused by activating and releasing the Kagune when entering overload mode is still unavoidable."
As Hishikori Kouichi and Yi made changes to the records on the tablet, they explained.
Conventional Quinque weapons are inanimate objects, but the 'new' series is different. They are living armor. In their normal state, they are fine, but once they enter the activated state, they need to ingest Rc cells.
Simply put, it's about blood—either from Ghoul or humans.
"If it hurts, how does it feel?"
He asked.
"It's alright, it's like scraping, cupping... pretty much."
Vera shrugged and moved her neck.
"Oh, Vera, you've even had cupping done?"
"It's a metaphor."
Interspersed with relaxed and pleasant conversation during the debugging process, Hishikori Kouichi continued to guide and introduce, "Take a deep breath. Compared to the previous Proto model, I have improved the fusion ratio and form of the Quinque Steel and the base body 'Arata Kirishima' Kakuja Kakuhou, making the attachment of the living armor more similar to the Ghoul transformation of Kakuja. The improvement in breathing and heat dissipation is significant."
"Call..."
Taking a deep breath under the 'V'-shaped closed helmet, Vera did not feel any discomfort. As for heat dissipation, due to the indoor air conditioning and the amount of exercise, she did not feel it for the time being, but she believed that a pure scientist like Hishikori Kouichi would not be careless in this regard.
"Wow, Dr. Chigyou."
With a rare touch of humor, Vera turned around, looked at the mirrored wall in the gray-white room, and examined herself in the mirror.
[New Ayato-α] The unfolded life-size armor perfectly accentuated her tall and shapely figure, with healthy and beautiful curves that were neither seductive nor revealing, and it had a metallic sheen that shone with a piercing coldness.
Visually, she now appears to be nearly two meters tall.
Undoubtedly, Hishikori Kouichi used more Quinque Steel in her custom design.
The armor coverage is so extensive that it's like wearing a lightweight, life-size exoskeleton, with the entire body covered in matte black, fully enclosed armor, and faint scarlet veins adorning it like blood vessels.
There were also reddish-purple armor fascia grooves distributed on her shoulder blades, which slowly undulated and flowed like living things with Vera's breathing.
Compared to Yukino Shinoara, Iwao Kuroiwa's "New Proto" retains the mechanical and metallic feel while possessing a greater sense of Kakuja's dexterity and biological presence.
This is the prototype that armor technology should have.
"However, this level of improvement..."
Thump, thump~
As her semi-metallic, Koukaku combat boots pounded against the dry, polished floor, Vera slowly approached the training equipment placed indoors.
With a deafening roar, like a thunderclap, the 200cm x 55cm, 100kg sandbag, propelled by Vera's extremely unorthodox side-punching stance, swung up like a pendulum in an instant. The suspension rope holding the sandbag snapped instantly, and the two-hundred-pound sandbag was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the wall and exploding completely, its filling scattering all over the ground.
Relaxed and carefree.
The armor's overall movement, power generation, and amplification of strength and defense were as smooth and natural as a second skin or muscle. It was as if it were an extension of her body.
It did not become less sluggish with the increase of high-strength Quinque Steel.
That's not scientific...
Could there be a new breakthrough in the manufacturing process of Quinque?
With a click, the helmet disengaged, emitting a crisp, pleasant metallic friction sound and a clanging sound. The folded and deformed Remembrance armor plates automatically folded behind her head. Vera flicked her hair back and looked at Hishikori Kouichi.
As if by some unspoken understanding among the creators of the Quinque, who seemed to have figured out what Vera wanted to ask, Hishikori Kouichi shook their heads directly and said, "The manufacturing process isn't so easy to break through."
"So, what method did the doctor use?"
As Vera asked this question, she pushed the 20-foot container (about 2.2 tons) stacked together on the complex terrain for pursuit training with one arm, making a rumbling sound that made Mado Akira's eyes twitch.
Having anticipated Vera's performance after donning the armor, Hishikori Kouichi simply stated, "Piling on the materials."
"Ha?"
Vera was taken aback.
"Doctor, you wouldn't have taken the Special Investigator Kuroiwa's share..."
The most important material for crafting the "new" item is the SS-rank Kagura Kirishima's new complete Kagura Kagura bag.
It is currently known that the raw materials for the three sets of clothing worn by her, Yukino Shinoara, and Iwao Kuroiwa were all taken from Arata Kirishima, who was imprisoned by the CCG.
These are precious raw materials accumulated over a long period of time. Apart from those that failed to be made during the exploration of living armor, Arata Kirishima has had his Kakuhou removed by CCG-related guards as soon as it grows properly over the years.
Judging by the timeline, Arata Kirishima's most recently removed Kakuhou should not have regrowed by now.
"Even so, I think that given the current dire situation caused by the 'Aogiri Tree,' Special Investigator Kuroiwa probably needs 'new' help even more."
Hishikori Kouichi coughed awkwardly twice; he had indeed had such a thought in his mind.
He then said seriously, "Do you remember those two top-grade Feather Bags that you entrusted to me for safekeeping and emphasized that they should be integrated into the armor while still alive?"
Vera nodded.
"Ayato Kirishima."
She remembered what she had hunted herself.
"At the beginning of the year, when the improvement work on 'new' was hitting a bottleneck, I met with Arata Kirishima."
"Huh?"
Vera raised an eyebrow. "So..."
"Ghoul have a special sense of smell. Arata Kirishima recognized the scent of its offspring that remained on my body, and it went berserk."
Hishikori Kouichi said, "Even after becoming a beast, Arata Kirishima's personality had long been shattered by the act of gorgonism and years of imprisonment, but his paternal love still stirred his remaining consciousness. He frantically extracted Rc cells from his body, regenerating his Kakuhou and entering Half-Kakuja state..."
At this point, Hishikori Kouichi also sighed and paused for a moment.
"Speaking of which, I have to thank you for your ideas. In the experiment on the Rc cell synthetic food into edible Ghoul, all the products from the initial exploration were fed to it, and its recovery speed was faster than I expected."
The CCG will not, on the surface, feed Ghoul captured alive, including those in the District 23's ' Ghoul Prison 'Ghoul Quilalea. After all, investigators are human, feeding them human corpses is uncomfortable, and feeding them Ghoul flesh is aiding the enemy.
Therefore, the food standards are even lower than those in regular prisons.
Human food is bad for Ghoul; it will make them feel extremely nauseous and uncomfortable, but they won't die. They can eat it or not, it's up to them. If they faint from hunger, they'll force-feed them liquid food.
The prison wants them to be half-dead and miserable. They even feed them food mixed with Rc inhibitors.
As for what certain people secretly fed them, who knows...
This is also why Arata Kirishima only produced three sets of Kakuja Koukaku) in all the years since he was arrested. While the CCG's extensive investigations and repeated depletion of his energy were certainly factors, his chronic malnutrition and weakness were also contributing factors.
Since late 2014, Hishikori Kouichi has been researching Rc cell synthetic food. In the early stages, the products still tasted like rotten feces to Ghoul, but the fact that they could provide Rc cells was progress.
Arata Kirishima is the direct beneficiary, Vera is the indirect beneficiary.
"I removed its Kakuhou once again and integrated it into the suit that was highly customized for Vera's physique. Perhaps because of the freshness of the new Kakuhou and the connection between bloodlines, I then successfully fused [Ayatsu] into the living Quinque armor without causing Kagune co-eating..."
No wonder.
Vera couldn't help but sigh.
Sometimes, the simplest and most direct approach—stockpiling quantity and materials—is indeed effective.
"Vera."
Hishikori Kouichi looked intently at Vera and said excitedly, "[New Ayato-α] will be the most prized product of my life! Without a doubt."
"No."
Vera smiled and corrected Hishikori Kouichi's statement.
"To be precise, it should be the current stage. The One-Eyed King of the 'Aogiri Tree' and its complete set of SSS-level Kakuhou are still waiting for us to retrieve in the future."
"That depends on you investigators. I'm just a scientist; I don't have the same power as you."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Snap, snap.
Clapping hands, "Let's get back to the main topic." Hishikori Kouichi pointed to Vera's left and right shoulder armor areas. "The S+ grade Ukaku Blade, after merging with 'New,' has even better performance. I've set the activation switch to..."
Before the words were finished, a roar—
On the shoulder blades of the living armor, the reddish-purple indentations shimmered, and Ukaku bloomed, spraying blood mist like gas.
The next moment, the high-density Kagune instantly coalesced and ignited, burning like the wings of a phoenix with gradually changing blood flames, viscous, scarlet, and eerie, illuminating the surrounding space as red as blood.
"The Quinx Surgery... has it already yielded results?"
Vera looked at Hishikori Kouichi.
The Quinx Surgery is a process used in the manufacture of Quinque. Unlike Quinque, it involves coating the Kagune extracted from a Ghoul with Quinque Steel and implanting it into the human body. It is similar to the Half-Ghoul Transformation surgery that Ken Kaneki underwent, but it is safer and allows the user to consume human food.
Moreover, thanks to her reminder and her broadened perspective, Dr. Chigyou has clearly found a new path.