Progressing from Arasaka Without Limits

"Officer Russell ..." Her voice was slightly breathless from excitement and running, "Based on the activity patterns of the Fueguchi Mother and Daughter, I speculate that in addition to the organization that 'Yamori' Jason belongs to, there should be another similar Ghoul organization in the District 20. And it's even more united."

"I know."

"Special Class Investigator Russell, should we request more from Special Class Investigator Marude...?" As she spoke, Mado Akira paused slightly, blinked, and frowned. "Huh? This..."

As if making a casual guess, Vera smiled and said lightly, "It's obvious."

"Compared to other districts, the probability of predation incidents in District 20 is quite low. 'Gourmets' and 'Gourmets' disappear suddenly during peak predation periods, which is not consistent with their behavioral characteristics."

"The Ghoul organizations in the District 20 might have been the ones who drove out, or even eliminated, the 'Big Ghouls,' just to prevent the CCG from searching them... Let's assume that Fueguchi Ryoko, Ghoul who has no hunting ability and is unwilling to hurt or kill others, would have sought refuge in the District 20 after her husband was killed?"

"There must have been a very united Ghoul organization that opposed 'communal eating' and accepted her, providing her with a stable supply of 'food' for basic survival."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Mado Akira said in a low voice, "Judging from your tone, it seems you have no intention of finding them."

"Otherwise what?"

Vera shrugged, gave a faint smile, turned around and gently pressed down on the junior adjutant's shoulder.

"I've only been in Tokyo for a little over three months. I've spent most of my time Hishikori Kouichi to make Quinque. There are still many things I haven't figured out. I don't think the people in Area 1 are unaware of the situation in District 20. The reason they don't care is probably a tacit understanding."

"Start with the difficult and then move on to the easy. Let them hide if they want. We also have to admit that, objectively speaking, they did contribute to the stability of District 20."

Mado Akira naturally understood the Ghoul behavior that Vera was referring to in her words.

Food stalls.

Many Ghoul establish their own ghoul territories based on their strength; if other Ghoul trespass into their territory to hunt, conflict and slaughter will ensue. District 20 is a ghoul territories managed by a certain Ghoul organization in the shadows, beyond the reach of humans.

"We don't need to take any risks for now; completely eradicating the Aogiri Tree is our top priority."

Vera smiled, her eyes sparkling with pleasure.

She could sense that they were observing from a great distance, probably using binoculars, and the faint feeling of being spied on had disappeared.

They didn't dare to make a move after all.

Very good, you've passed the test for now.

"The rain has stopped."

Meanwhile, at the "Anteiku" café.

Bang!

A loud thud as the door was pushed open.

"Welcome back Touka, Kaneki... Yomo... It seems the situation is worse than I thought?" an aged male voice said.

"Yes, shopkeeper. That female dove used a special new type of living Quinque armor, using Arata Kirishima Kagune. She killed Jason and Naki from District 13, the Bottle Brothers from District 11, Nico from the 'Joker' organization, and..." A heavy pause, "Ayato."

"..."

Silence.

"Well."

After a long while, a sigh from an old man was heard.

"Take action against the white doves, which means being prepared to take full responsibility. This was the way of life that Ayato chose when he left the Anteiku. From hunting white doves to being killed by them, it was all the path he chose."

"Touka, please accept my condolences. We... cannot intervene... including you. You are the only remaining heir..."

One week later.

Zone 1, CCG Countermeasures Headquarters, Quinque Manufacturing Workshop.

Vera tossed a failed S-class fusion Kakuhou onto the "New Proto" black armor unfolding on the workbench. With a thud, it reacted to the smell of blood, and the dark red veins on the surface of the armor wriggled. The Kakuhou was devoured and absorbed by the living Quinque, just like ice cream melting.

"You said that author Takatsuki Sen is going to postpone my meeting and interview?" Vera raised her eyebrows as she looked up from the Quinque production station and glanced at Mado Akira, who was holding a folder by the door.

"Yes... Ms. Takatsuki Sen said that it seems something happened at a friend's house."

Ha, it must be a friend or a subordinate who died.

Vera tapped her fingers rhythmically on the workbench in a wave-like motion.

The One-Eyed King has shrunk.

There's also District 11. After finishing the ghoul-eliminating mission in District 20, she went to the branch in District 11 to oversee things for five days. As a result, she didn't see many Ghouls, let alone attack the CCG branch.

Is he playing hide-and-seek with her?

The next chapter concludes the first part of Ghoul.

Chapter 084 I will bring Quinque technology to Arasaka (4.8K)

Two weeks later, the street battle between investigators and Ghoul in the District 20 half a month ago had become a thing of the past. With post-war reconstruction and disaster relief and compensation on track, yesterday's hot topic had been submerged by today's trivialities.

After all, Tokyo has the most Ghoul attacks in the world.

When similar public events occur multiple times in a short period of time, people tend to forget, except for those who experienced them firsthand and those who felt the pain deeply...

"Jason - Black Abyss IV".

Click. At the Quinque Manufacturing Workshop, Vera raised her hand, holding the black and red spear high, weighing it in her hand—long handle, sharpened at both ends, and the spearhead was in a crisscross spiral shape.

He swung the gun in a few beautiful flourishes.

It's very easy to use and perfectly fits her body shape, arm length, and fighting habits.

Mastering key technologies is a good thing.

Immediately, Vera stepped forward, her shoe sole making a dull thud on the workshop deck, and with a twist of her waist, she hurled "Black Abyss IV" out.

Amidst the sharp, piercing sound of air being torn apart, a clang! A tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound, powerful and resounding, more than twenty meters away, sparks flew from the Quinque Steel targets specially designed for testing hardness. The heavy steel targets shattered in response, sending a long string of dark metal fragments flying.

Vera stopped and looked around carefully.

The entire 2mm x 2mm Quinque Steel target was pierced by that black and red long gun, which then stuck into the second steel target, penetrating one-third of the way in, creating a hole the size of a basin at the entrance.

"Not bad."

Vera estimated that, compared to the unmodified "Black Abyss III", under the same conditions, the III could only penetrate two-thirds of the first steel target.

"Aaaaaah! My Quinque Steel!"

The moment Dr. Hishikori Kouichi had just stepped into the personal workshop assigned to Vera by CCG, covered his head and let out a sharp explosion.

"Vera Adelheid, Associate Special Class Investigator!"

Rubbing his dark green mushroom-shaped head, Dr. Hishikori Kouichi looked at the shattered Quinque Steel target on the ground with great heartache.

"The 'Black Abyss IV' is already an SS+ grade Hybrid Quinque. My lab doesn't have the steel targets and forged steel ingots to test its extreme performance!"

These steel targets are for mass-produced Quinque testing of Class B and Class A, and are sufficient for a long time. The damage caused by Class S Quinque testing is also barely acceptable. However, it is wrong of you to use the new Hybrid Quinque test of Class SS+.

CCG is very wealthy, but even a rich family can't afford to spend like this.

"If you really want to test its limits, you'll need an S-class Ghoul for field missions... no, not enough, SS-class is necessary, hiss... if it were that SSS-class 'One-Eyed Owl'... 'Black Abyss IV' would be at risk of damage... but, I haven't even handled Kagune SSS-class Kakuhou yet..."

Muttering to themselves, Hishikori Kouichi began discussing the possibility of expelling SSS-class Ghoul... a common trait of old scholars.

He really, really craved the body of an SSS-rank Ghoul.

Vera chuckled, shook her head, then took a few steps forward and beckoned.

With a whoosh, the "Black Abyss IV" gun, embedded in the steel target, trembled violently. The next moment, with a hiss, the second steel ingot was torn apart from the inside in a flash.

Clusters of scarlet light flickered; those were the Kagune that made up the spiral spearhead of "Black Abyss IV." Like molten iron, they suddenly bent and stretched, forming a sharp arc.

The scythe-like blade shifted the center of gravity, spinning and whooshing! The blade returned precisely to Vera's palm, pointing outwards.

"This is..."

Beneath his mushroom-shaped bangs, Hishikori Kouichi's eyes, previously hidden, suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

"Similar to the autonomous detached deformation capability of the Quinque 'IXA' possessed by Special Investigator Arima."

His tone was very certain.

Vera nodded.

"SS-rank, the Kagune of 'Transvestite' Nico; its healing abilities have been a significant help to my research..."

Don't be fooled by their ugly and strange appearance; their inner qualities are incredibly useful. Useful in every sense of the word.

Putting everything else aside, thanks to Nico's close-range entanglement and continuous treatment of Jason Yamori before his death, Jason, who was already ranked S+ on the CCG's wanted list, had more of Nico's Rc cells and some remnants of the healed Kagune in his body after he became Half-Kakuja.

Jason was already very close to SS-class. As Half-Kakuja, Vera dissected his body and found several Kakuhou that were well preserved and active, from Rinkaku, Ukaku to Koukaku that was forming, but no Ukaku.

All of them have been used, and along with that S-class Koukaku named Naki, they were incorporated into "Black Abyss IV" by Vera.

With Nico's healing-type Kagune by her side, her creation process was quite relaxed. If she made a mistake, she didn't have to rush. She could fix it and try again. It was thanks to such a powerful tool that she was able to complete the upgrade of "Black Abyss IV".

Harder and tougher is the foundation, sharper is an addition, the key is that it retains some characteristics of healing Kagune, giving the IV model weak Self-Healing ability, as well as the coordination and balance enhancement brought by the integration of a whole set of Ukaku and Rinkaku produced by the same Ghoul. In addition to supporting moderate deformation, it can also achieve autonomous separation and autonomous reset.

"But it's still not a living Quinque... What are you sending signals to 'it'?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Doctor."

With a whoosh, Vera stored the "Black Abyss IV," which had transformed back into its spear form, into a black gold box next to her workbench.

The use of Black Gold Boxes is not explicitly stipulated in the CCG, but because Kishou Arima uses Black Gold Boxes, they have been given an aura of rarity and power, a view now held by the Ghoul community.

Then, she took off her sterile gloves.

"Huh?"

In a flash, Hishikori Kouichi stepped forward, staring intently at Vera's raised right hand, examining it as if they were microscopically scrutinizing the metallic grooves on it. It was exquisite, like some kind of tattoo, yet not quite, Quinque ornament.

"Not 'Gun III'..."

"The 'Gun III' is over there." Vera pointed to a silver-white box on another table not far away. "It Quinque structure extracted from 'Black Abyss IV.' According to the predetermined implantation settings for the Memory Metal, 'it' is the main body."

It can be understood as some kind of unconventional Kagune signal generator. Although it doesn't even have a level as Quinque, it can still serve as a 'coordinate' to allow "Black Abyss IV" to reset autonomously.

Hishikori Kouichi stroked their chins and scratched their heads.

"And the distance?" he asked.

"It's about seven or eight meters long. It's quite difficult to control, and if the blade isn't properly positioned when resetting, it can easily injure the user."

"The barrier to entry is too high, so it's not very valuable for widespread adoption. Only high-ranking investigators like you with a penchant for martial arts could use it. But your... minimally invasive surgery-like technique?"

"More or less. Just something I was thinking about."

Vera didn't elaborate on this topic; she couldn't very well say that she referenced cyber implant technology from another world.

Just as she will bring Quinque- related technology to Arasaka, far away in the heavens...

Stretching, she took off her lab coat and tidied up the workshop, then asked thoughtfully, "Doctor, shouldn't you be in the workshop at this hour? Why are you suddenly calling me... have you run out of Kakuhou material?"

The 'Eliminate the Ghoul' operation yielded not only the few named ghouls that Vera took, but also more than fifty intact Ghoul corpses and Kakuhou.

While most of them are B- or A-class Ghoul, the CCG also has a large number of junior investigators.

Vera admitted that she was not as Hishikori Kouichi in this respect. He was truly open to all comers and willing to create Quinque for every investigator, even if it was a B-grade one.

"Not yet. But it'll be soon..." Hishikori Kouichi shrugged. "Oh, I almost forgot, the second set of 'New Proto' is finished, it's the one for Special Investigator Shinohara."

"Aren't you supposed to attend a high-level meeting at the Countermeasures Headquarters this afternoon? Could you please pass this on to Special Investigator Shinohara..."

"No problem."

Vera picked up the Quinque case containing the "Gun III," dusted off her clothes, and followed.

"Russell, I noticed you haven't used that complete Twin Feather Hero Pack labeled 'Kirishima Ayato'. What are you planning to do with it after returning to North America?"

Along the way, since they were like-minded colleagues, the Hishikori Kouichi talked a lot.

"Wait."