Mascot

The Ghoul faction's Contractors had been forced to join forces, but Su Xiao knew nothing about it.

Although he had guessed that the third stage of the Main Quest involved opposition, that was merely speculation based on the prerequisite quests.

Early that morning, Su Xiao went to Shinohara Yukinori's office. The other man had said last night that he wanted to see him today.

"Have you eaten breakfast?"

Shinohara Yukinori stood up and warmly greeted Su Xiao.

Su Xiao was surprised. Shinohara Yukinori's attitude was a little too enthusiastic.

"Not yet."

"Perfect. Let's go to a small shop nearby. It's pretty good. The breakfast provided by the branch is nutritionally balanced, but the taste..."

Su Xiao could now confirm that the other man probably wanted his help with something.

"My treat." Shinohara Yukinori emphasized the point.

This time, there was no mistake. The other man definitely wanted to ask him for a favor.

Su Xiao nodded and followed Shinohara Yukinori to a small shop.

The shop was small but lively, with quite a few customers already seated. The aroma of the food stirred Su Xiao's stomach, and hunger surged through him.

"Over here."

Shinohara Yukinori found a table for four, gestured for Su Xiao to sit opposite him, and ordered several breakfast dishes.

Once the breakfast was served, Su Xiao did not touch it. Instead, he looked meaningfully at Shinohara Yukinori.

"Special Class Shinohara, this breakfast is surprisingly lavish."

Seeing that Su Xiao made no move, Shinohara Yukinori chuckled and gestured for him not to hold back.

"Let's eat first. She'll be here soon."

Su Xiao said nothing and began eating breakfast.

"Byakuya, the Ghoul you drove out last night has already been sent to Headquarters. Headquarters made an exception this time and promoted you to Second Class Investigator. This is your new identification card."

Su Xiao put down the pastry he had eaten halfway and accepted the card.

Notice: Hunter has been promoted to Second Class Investigator. Contribution Points: 50/400.

Su Xiao did not need seniority to rise through the ranks, but he did need to drive out more Ghouls. Reaching 400 Contribution Points would probably require driving out two or three S-Rank Ghouls. The difficulty was obvious.

Promoting from First Class Investigator to Senior Class was even harder.

Under normal circumstances, Main Quest (2) should not have been this difficult.

The main reason was that Su Xiao was the only person in the CCG faction.

Under normal circumstances, the CCG side would have more than ten ordinary Contractors. If those ten or more ordinary Contractors split the Contribution Points, each person would need only around thirty points to advance to First Class Investigator.

But Su Xiao was alone in one faction, so he had to complete the missions meant for more than ten people. That was why his Contribution Points requirement was so high.

Most areas of Ward 14 were peaceful. Hunting Ghouls there was not easy, but if he had been assigned to Wards 1 through 4, the difficulty of the mission would have dropped sharply.

The density of Ghouls in Wards 1 through 4 was extremely high, to the point where ordinary people could not survive there.

The Ghouls in those areas survived by cannibalizing one another, so there were many powerful Ghouls in Wards 1 through 4.

Under normal circumstances, S-Rank was the limit for Ghouls. To grow stronger, they could only cannibalize other Ghouls and thereby increase the concentration of Rc Cells in their bodies.

D-Rank Ghouls were infants. C-Rank Ghouls could use Kagune, but were relatively weak. B-Rank Ghouls were ordinary Ghouls who hid among humans. A-Rank Ghouls were the elites of Ghoul factions. S-Rank Ghouls were rare geniuses among Ghouls. As for anything beyond S-Rank, they could only rely on cannibalism.

A Ghoul's strength was not cultivated through training. It came from eating—from constantly devouring others of their own kind.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao took a bite of the pastry in his hand.

"Sorry for being late."

While Su Xiao was thinking, a beautiful woman with a graceful figure sat down beside him.

Her pale golden hair was tied up, and she wore a black women's suit. It made her skin look especially fair and delicate, while her black stockings accentuated her two shapely legs.

"Let me introduce you. This is Mado Akira, your subordinate from now on."

Shinohara Yukinori looked at Su Xiao with a smile in his eyes. His gaze seemed to say how loyal he was for arranging such a beautiful woman to work under Su Xiao.

"I see. I have no objections, but..."

Su Xiao raised his head and looked sharply at Shinohara Yukinori.

"She might die very soon. I'm planning to enter an area with a high density of Ghouls, such as the West Block."

Hearing that Su Xiao had not rejected the arrangement, Shinohara Yukinori smiled. But the instant he heard "West Block," his smile vanished.

"The West Block? That's the Cannibal Zone of Ward 14. There are so many S-Rank Ghouls there that it's unimaginable. Byakuya, are you sure you want to go?"

"I'm sure."

If it had been anyone else, Shinohara Yukinori would never have agreed. But Su Xiao's strength left him with nothing to say.

"Akira, it seems I'll have to find you a different superior."

Shinohara Yukinori looked at Mado Akira beside him.

"Special Class Shinohara, I have no problem with it. As a Ghoul Investigator, I've already prepared myself for any situation—even going to the West Block."

Mado Akira straightened her body, her tone firm. She also glanced sideways at Su Xiao.

"Knock, knock~"

Shinohara Yukinori tapped the table lightly with his index finger, then took out his phone and dialed a number.

The call was to Mado Kureo. Shinohara Yukinori said only a few words before hanging up.

"That Kureo guy~ Fine, you can follow Byakuya for now. Although you're both Second Class Investigators, you must follow Byakuya's orders.

"Byakuya, when are you planning to head to the West Block?"

It seemed Shinohara Yukinori also wanted Su Xiao to go to the West Block. The Ghouls' cannibalism there was rampant, and the area desperately needed to be cleared out.

"We're going now. Let's go, Mascot."

The Mascot Su Xiao referred to was Mado Akira. According to the information from the original work, Mado Akira's strength was average.

As for whether Mado Akira would live or die after reaching the West Block, that would depend on fate.

Hearing the title "Mascot," Mado Akira froze and pointed at herself in disbelief.

Seeing this, Shinohara Yukinori could only smile helplessly and gesture for Mado Akira to follow Su Xiao.

A black sedan drove along the road. Mado Akira was at the wheel, while Su Xiao closed his eyes in the passenger seat. They were heading for the West Block.

"Second Class Byakuya, do you have any plans for going to the West Block? What do I need to do?"

Mado Akira's expression was solemn, and her chest was held high.

"Once we reach the West Block, slash!"

This simple and violent plan clearly stunned Mado Akira. The beautiful woman stomped on the accelerator, nearly rear-ending the car ahead. She certainly had the makings of a female driver.

"Then~ what do I need to do?"

After calming herself, Mado Akira asked a second question.

"You just need to be as beautiful as a flower."

Su Xiao's calm expression made anger rise in Mado Akira's chest.

"Ghouls won't lust after my beauty!"

Su Xiao chuckled. "Be as beautiful as a flower" had only been a casual remark. He had never intended for her to seduce anyone.

"Don't worry. You have a 'very important' role to play. Without you, my 'plan' probably won't succeed."

Two seconds earlier, Su Xiao had thought of a plan.

Sensing Su Xiao's gaze, Mado Akira suddenly had the urge to turn the car around and run.

"Then~ can you share your plan?"

The corners of Su Xiao's lips lifted slightly. He shook his head. Although Mado Akira's combat ability was lacking, she could serve as bait. At the very least, she had no trouble attracting Ghouls.

"No. If you understand the situation, it might interfere with the 'plan.'"

Mado Akira felt bitter inside and stomped hard on the accelerator as if venting her frustration.

Amid Mado Akira's unease, the two arrived at the West Block, this brutal Cannibal Zone.

Paying a fortune for votes—ah, forget it~ paying a fortune for children.