The test tube spun between Su Xiao's fingertips. With his nimble fingers, it left afterimages beneath the dim yellow light.
After noticing Ito's expression, a smile appeared at the corner of Su Xiao's mouth.
"Clink."
He pressed the test tube against the bar counter. Glass struck marble, producing a crisp sound.
The crisp sound made Ito's heart clench. She was afraid Su Xiao would break the test tube in his hand.
"Well? Do you want to work with me?"
"This is the first time I've seen an Investigator like you—actually cooperating with Ghouls."
Ito looked Su Xiao over in amazement. She knew that cooperating with Su Xiao would be extremely dangerous, but the liquid in the test tube held a fatal temptation for her.
The test tube did not contain some miraculous elixir. To humans, it was nothing less than deadly poison.
Rc Cell Concentrate Quality: White Type: Material Rating: 8 (Note: White items are rated from 1 to 10. The higher the rating, the greater the item's value.) Description: The test tube contains a high-concentration Rc Cell solution. It is indispensable to the CCG when manufacturing Quinque and is used to activate the Quinque Steel.
Only the CCG produced Rc Cell Concentrate, making it unlikely that Ghouls could obtain any.
If a Ghoul injected this substance, the Rc Cell concentration in their body would skyrocket. Although the risk was still considerable, it was much lower than the danger of cannibalism.
"You put this in front of me. Do I still have the option of refusing?"
A smile appeared on Ito's face, and her attitude changed dramatically.
"Tell me, what do I need to give in return?"
A transaction was built on mutual benefit. Threats of violence might bring short-term gains, but they were certainly not a long-term solution.
"I want the locations of Ghoul gathering places in Ward 14. The more, the better."
Su Xiao tossed the test tube to Ito, and the coquettish smile vanished from her face.
"You're planning to... purge Ward 14?"
A trace of fear appeared in Ito's beautiful eyes.
"Is there a problem?"
Su Xiao stared straight at Ito.
At that moment, Ito felt the test tube in her hand grow slightly hot.
"N-No problem. Wait a moment."
Ito took out paper and a pen and began writing and drawing.
Five minutes later, a crude map appeared in Su Xiao's hands.
"Every place I circled is a Ghoul gathering spot. There are Ghoul restaurants, Auction Houses, information exchange points, and so on."
Although crude, the map was quite useful.
"If the map isn't accurate enough, I'll come back."
Su Xiao gave Ito a meaningful look. She was a Ghoul, and he would not completely trust her.
After Su Xiao left the bar, the panic on Ito's face disappeared.
"Bei, you can come out now."
Ito picked up a glass of human blood beside her and took a small sip, making her red lips appear even more vivid.
A strangely styled Ghoul stepped out. A lip stud was embedded in the corner of his mouth, giving him a strong punk appearance.
This Ghoul was named Bei. He ran a mask shop in Ward 4, and Ken Kaneki's mask had been made by him.
"He noticed me."
Bei sat down beside Ito.
"How is that possible? With your ability to hide, that man noticed you?"
Ito looked incredulous. In her daze, a trickle of blood slid from the corner of her lips.
"There's no mistake. Just now, I felt as if something sharp were pressing against my back, like I was being watched by some beast.
"After all, he's the monster who drove back the One-Eyed Owl head-on. It's not surprising."
Bei leaned against the back of his seat, seemingly lost in thought.
"Forget it. As long as we don't provoke him, it'll be fine. Does the organization have any plans lately?"
Ito secretly made up her mind: move away! Stay far away from that monster! She did not want to die yet.
Being watched by Su Xiao was anything but pleasant. Ito desperately wanted more Rc Cell Concentrate, but her life was more important.
"No plans. Nick and Roma have disappeared. Who knows where they went?"
The organization Bei and Ito belonged to was called the Clowns. It was a mysterious Ghoul organization. Five members were currently known:
Souta (the main villain at present and leader of the Clowns.)
Nick (the cross-dressing masochist who was together with Gecko.)
Ito (the bar owner in Ward 14 who once provided Ken Kaneki with information about Rize Kamishiro.)
Roma (the female Ghoul who infiltrated Anteiku's café late in the story and became a waitress there.)
Bei (the owner of a mask shop.)
Of these five, all except Souta were SS-Rank Ghouls. They usually concealed their strength and acted harmless.
Souta's full name was Souta Washuu. He was not only the leader of the Clowns but also a member of another organization. He was currently hiding in the shadows, and his strength was among the very best.
After Souta transplanted Rize Kamishiro's Kagune Core later on, his strength grew explosively. He even reached the point where he could easily defeat Takatsuki Sen.
There was no doubt that the Clowns were powerful, but each of them usually handled their own affairs and rarely gathered together.
In other words, the Clowns merely stood between the Tree of Aogiri and the CCG, staying out of the conflict and showing signs of profiting as the third party.
After obtaining the locations of the Ghoul branches in Ward 14, Su Xiao returned to the car.
"Akira, what's this?"
Su Xiao pointed at a circle on the map. Mado Akira leaned closer, staring at it with tightly furrowed brows for a long while.
"This seems to be the Dayuan Auction House."
"Seems to be?"
Mado Akira took the map and studied it with a troubled expression for quite some time.
"Um... It shouldn't be wrong."
Su Xiao sighed. The map was far cruder than he had imagined.
"It's not wrong. This is the Dayuan Auction House."
Mado Akira took out an official map of Ward 14 and carefully compared the two.
"A large Auction will be held at eleven o'clock on Sunday night. What does this mean?"
Mado Akira read the slogan on the map, looking puzzled.
"It means exactly what it says. We're working overtime tonight to continue driving out Ghouls. We're going to Dayuan Stadium."
Today happened to be Sunday.
Su Xiao leaned back in his seat. He did not know what the Ghouls would be auctioning, but it probably would not be anything valuable.
More than seventy percent of Ghouls had somewhat twisted minds.
Humans were Ghouls' only food, and humans looked exactly like Ghouls. Frequently eating creatures with appearances similar to their own made it impossible for a Ghoul's mind to remain healthy.
Moreover, Su Xiao felt that Ghouls might not be creatures that had existed naturally. Otherwise, during the long course of evolution, humanity would have gone extinct long ago.
The combat strength of the Ghoul world was not high, but compared with ordinary humans, Ghouls possessed overwhelming strength.
If Ghouls had existed from the beginning, humanity would have gone extinct long ago. After humanity's extinction, the Ghouls would be the next to disappear.
The Main Quest had a time limit of twenty days, and less than two days had passed. Su Xiao might be able to uncover the deeper secrets of the Ghoul world.
It was too early to think about that. He should complete Main Quest (2) first.
At that moment, Reincarnation Paradise issued a notification.
A large quantity of low-level Kagune has been delivered to CCG Headquarters. You have obtained 135 Contribution Points. Current Rank: Second-Class Investigator. Contribution Points: 525/400. Do you wish to increase your rank?
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. The low-level Ghouls' Kagune had been worth quite a lot, actually earning him 135 Contribution Points.
As for why Su Xiao did not keep those Kagune, it was because they could not be brought out of the Derivative World.
Aside from items obtained from Treasure Chests, most items could not be brought out of the Derivative World.
He chose to increase his rank. Reincarnation Paradise's notification faded away. Becoming a First-Class Investigator still required an appointment from the CCG, but that appointment would arrive soon.
For now, he only needed to continue hunting Ghouls. He was going to purge all of Ward 14.
Su Xiao did not believe that after killing every Ghoul in Ward 14, he still would not be able to advance to Senior Investigator.
A graceful spiral flight, impossible to swat, impossible to swat~.
Before you continue