Resolving Ghoul Feeding

Chapter 8: Solving the Ghoul Feeding Problem

The next moment, in an apartment in the Tokyo Ghoul universe.

A large amount of gas instantly gathered and compressed, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

Seeing Chu Ke suddenly appear atop the sink, Kaneki Ken jumped in fright and fell backward, landing on the bathroom tiles with a thud.

"Hi~" Chu Ke waved happily at Kaneki Ken and lightly hopped down from the sink.

".Hi, Mr. Chu." Kaneki Ken smiled awkwardly and got up from the floor. "Your way of making an entrance is very unique."

Thanks to the Multiverse Chat Group, members speaking different languages were automatically translated, so there were no communication barriers.

Still, Chu Ke genuinely wasn't used to the Japanese honorific style once it was translated—every other word was "you" or "sir."

But given Kaneki Ken's current personality, he probably wouldn't break that habit anytime soon, so Chu Ke didn't bring it up.

"I'll watch it next time. Let's get to business." Chu Ke glanced at the watch on his wrist. "I've still got things to do on my end, so let's make this quick and solve your problem."

There was still a steak frying in his pan. Chu Ke didn't like steak cooked medium, with blood seeping out of it; he preferred it more done, but overcooking it would ruin the texture too.

"Tell me roughly about your situation."

"Okay!" Kaneki Ken nodded shyly and hurriedly pulled out a small notebook containing the plan he had prepared beforehand.

"Since I still want to keep my human form, I'll take the first package with three Word Spirits." Having only just become a ghoul, Kaneki Ken now had a bit of PTSD toward topics like "changing species."

At least ghouls still looked human. Upright Person in the group, meanwhile, seemed like he was about to turn into a Little Dragon Person.

It was worth mentioning that the Dragon Raja genes seemed to have been assimilated quite a bit after reaching that world. At the very least, the wings and scales growing on Steve were all pixelated.

"Okay." Chu Ke glanced at the vomit in the toilet and the half-eaten hamburger on the sink. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You can't eat normal human food right now, right? Let me see if I can modify that."

Chu Ke actually wanted to see what would happen if Kaneki Ken drank milk from Minecraft. Would a "half-ghoul" be classified as a status effect and removed, or would it be calculated by organs like in the brittle bone disease mod?

But Chu Ke restrained his curiosity. He could just grab some passing ghoul off the street to test that later; there was no need to experiment on a friend from the Multiverse Chat Group.

Being unable to eat normal human food was something that happened to practically every ghoul and half-ghoul, and it was one of the primary reasons ghouls and humans stood opposed in the Tokyo Ghoul story.

In this special Worldview, there was a special type of cell called RC cells. Everyone carried RC cells to some extent. Ordinary humans had a cell count of roughly 200 to 500, while ghouls had at least 1,000.

It was the repulsive nature of these special cells that meant ghouls could only eat food containing RC cells as well—human flesh and ghoul flesh. Otherwise, they would vomit endlessly, unable to digest it at all or gain the energy they needed to survive.

However, there was also a small group of artificial half-ghouls known as Quinx who could consume human flesh while also eating normal food.

The main reason was that they only possessed a Kakuho transplanted from other ghouls as an offensive means. Their other organs remained those of normal humans. In other words, the RC cell count in the parts of their bodies other than the Kakuho was no higher than that of ordinary people. Together with some psychological suggestion, real or imagined, this allowed them to eat normal food and gain energy from it.

Now, there were two possible ways to solve Kaneki Ken's eating problem: First, Chu Ke could directly use the Fundamental Forces to create normal food containing RC cells. The advantage was that it would maintain the RC cell count in Kaneki Ken's body and prevent his combat strength from dropping. The downside was that he would need to restock from Chu Ke every so often.

Second, he could directly suppress the concentration of RC cells in Kaneki Ken's body outside of his Kakuho, turning him into something similar to a Quinx. The advantage was that it was simple and convenient, and he wouldn't need to keep asking Chu Ke for food. The downside was that Kaneki Ken's combat strength as a One-Eyed Ghoul would decline.

But Chu Ke was an adult. He chose both.

Chu Ke snapped his fingers, and the Fundamental Forces immediately began affecting Kaneki Ken's body—first extracting his RC cells until they were only slightly above the level of an ordinary human, then casually stuffing in the three Word Spirits Kaneki Ken had selected. Then Chu Ke clenched his right hand, and two bags of seeds appeared in it.

These were hybrid plants he had created after analyzing the existence of RC cells: potatoes and tomatoes capable of producing RC cells.

"Here, take them." Chu Ke tossed the seeds to Kaneki Ken and briefly explained how they worked. "That's it."

"In short, you can eat normal food now, but your strength will be affected. Whenever you need to, pick some of the things grown from these seeds and chew on them. But remember not to eat too much. If you eat too much at once, your RC cell concentration will go back up."

The three Word Spirits Kaneki Ken had chosen were Weasel Sickle for searching, Sword Guard, which was highly useful in modern cities, and Don't Die for saving his life. It could take hits, fight, heal, and patrol. The temporary drop in his ghoul combat strength had been perfectly compensated for.

"Thank you, Brother Chu." Kaneki Ken hugged the two large bags of seeds. As he smiled, tears began to fall. "Thank you... Thank you, Brother Chu."

Only he himself knew the confusion of suddenly becoming a monster, as well as the fear and revulsion of being unable to eat normally and having no choice but to consume the flesh of those who had once been his own kind.

Now, it had finally been resolved.

Chu Ke smiled and quietly took a step back.

Even if it was only a clone, it was better not to get snot on himself.

With the important matter settled, Chu Ke didn't linger. Hugging the game console and discs Kaneki Ken had bought for him, his body dispersed into air containing Fundamental Forces, which Kaneki Ken packed into a red packet and sent back.

On the other side, Chu Ke recalled the scattered Fundamental Forces, and the steak had just finished cooking.

He simply hooked the newly acquired PS3 up to the television. Kaneki Ken had really splurged this time, nearly emptying his wallet.

"Whoa, there's even Dark Souls?!" Chu Ke flipped through the game discs, not expecting such a pleasant surprise. Only then did he remember that Dark Souls had just been released in 2011. He even found Batman: Arkham City, which had also been released in 2011.

Unfortunately, the ghoul world wasn't in 2017 yet, so he couldn't play that legendary game.

Chu Ke finally understood how Kaneki Ken must have felt when he ate normal food. After living through the era of the internet information explosion, the entertainment of 2006 felt somewhat outdated, and even using the game console felt strange. It just didn't feel satisfying enough.

Everyone, I'm moved to tears.

Now he had something to kill time with.

I got a site message. Thanks for the readers' support.

New author, new book—please support me in every way!)*