Prey

The police officers had cleaned up the scene, and Huiqi decided to leave. According to the system's second mission, he was bound to be hunted down. Fighting somewhere this crowded would put him at a severe disadvantage.

"Mr. Ghoul Investigator, please come this way. We seem to have found traces of that ghoul's accomplice."

Just as Huiqi was about to leave, a police officer approached him. The officer wore a cap, and his voice was somewhat low.

"Traces of the ghoul's accomplice?"

Huiqi frowned and instinctively repeated the words. The system had only just issued the mission, and a ghoul was already coming to attack him? That was far too fast.

"Yes, there's a trail of unidentified blood over there. I was afraid of being attacked by a ghoul, so I didn't dare investigate further."

Wariness rose in Huiqi's heart. Wasn't this too much of a coincidence? Of all these police officers, only this one had discovered traces of a ghoul. More importantly, there was a note of impatience in his voice.

"Then take me over for a look."

After careful consideration, Huiqi decided to follow him and investigate. He would have to complete the system's mission sooner or later. Only then could he grow stronger.

One step... seven steps... a hundred steps...

Huiqi silently counted his steps. At some point, his previously relaxed right hand had closed around his Quinque longsword.

"We're almost there... Ghoul Investigator... uh... what?! Why?!!!"

Before the officer could finish speaking, Huiqi thrust his longsword straight at his heart. The strike was lightning-fast, giving the officer no time to react.

The officer's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. He had never imagined a Ghoul Investigator would attack an ordinary human, much less with such a vicious strike. His body instinctively tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

Huiqi's gaze was resolute and cold, without a trace of mercy. His longsword pierced the officer's heart with precision, and the body fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Huiqi's own heart skipped a beat. Then he took a deep breath and drove his longsword through several vital joints in the fallen corpse before crouching down to examine its face.

Thump... thump... thump-thump...

His heart pounded violently, and his pupils trembled. Instinctively slowing his breathing, Huiqi slowly pried open the corpse's eyelids.

"Kakugan... so he really was a ghoul."

The moment he saw the result, Huiqi instinctively sighed in relief. His earlier deduction had been correct.

To identify ghouls and prevent them from infiltrating key positions in human society, this world had provided extensive explanations on the details of distinguishing them. Every Ghoul Investigator had to memorize them thoroughly.

Still, those clues alone had not been enough for Huiqi to draw his blade and kill the officer. But the man had deliberately lowered his voice afterward, and the direction he led Huiqi in was clearly suspicious. Within a hundred steps, they had left the original street and entered a secluded neighborhood.

Taking everything into account, Huiqi had judged there was an eighty percent chance that the person before him was a ghoul. The remaining twenty percent had been a gamble.

"He's dead, huh? Well, he still accomplished his task."

"Have you decided how you want to die?"

"Tell me where your flesh is most tender, and I might consider making it painless."

As Huiqi reviewed his reasoning, three figures appeared around him. One was tall and muscular, with triangular eyes that gave him a vicious appearance.

The other two ghouls did not look particularly large, but they seemed highly agile. All three exuded an oppressive aura.

"S-rate ghoul, Yamori."

"S-rate ghoul, Raven."

"S-rate ghoul, Grave Robber."

"Oh, and the ghoul you killed was called One-Eyed Cat. As for this one, he hardly even qualified as a ghoul. He was too weak."

The ghoul named Grave Robber began explaining, leisurely introducing the three of them as though Huiqi had already been sentenced to death.

"Three S-rate ghouls. I wonder if that's enough to get me promoted to Rank 1 Investigator."

Killing intent surfaced in Huiqi's eyes. He gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, his entire body poised to strike.

"Rank 1? You won't even live to see tomorrow, and you're still thinking about Rank 1? Die!"

Raven's kagune spread out behind him in a semicircle, covered in countless spikes. The next instant, the spikes sparked and bombarded Huiqi head-on.

Seeing the ukaku user Raven attack first, Huiqi unhesitatingly swung his longsword to block the kagune rather than launch an attack of his own.

Boom... boom...

As the longsword met the ukaku, uneven vibrations traveled through it, the force fluctuating wildly. As the last tremor faded, a muscular brute appeared before him.

Four thick kagune sprouted from the man's shoulders and wrapped around his arms. His attack looked exceptionally intimidating. Judging by his appearance, this was the Yamori Grave Robber had mentioned.

Huiqi pulled back his blocking blade and moved at top speed, with no intention of clashing head-on with Yamori. His opponent's kagune was a koukaku, and combined with his build, he was almost certainly a strength-focused ghoul.

There was still a third ghoul present. Huiqi had yet to see what type of kagune Grave Robber possessed. Recklessly meeting them head-on would only put him in danger.

As Huiqi dodged, the two behind him launched a frenzied assault, refusing to give him any breathing room. Ukaku attacks occasionally grazed past his ears, while Yamori chased him relentlessly, eager to smash him into pulp with a single punch.

"This is fantastic! I want to play too!"

Grave Robber, the last ghoul on the battlefield, shouted excitedly. A kagune then emerged near his tailbone, and his eyes abruptly became kakugan as he joined the pursuit of Huiqi.

Kakuja, koukaku, ukaku-three types of kagune. The ukaku has the longest range and good burst power, but its user's physical abilities are inferior to those of the other two types. All I need to do is feign weakness and lure him over. If I don't give him a chance to unleash that burst, I can kill him outright!

Having formed a battle plan, Huiqi immediately put it into action. The first step was to act as though his stamina was failing.

Huiqi immediately displayed excellent acting skills on the battlefield. His panting and gasping grew more frequent, his footsteps gradually became unsteady, and he no longer dodged the ukaku attacks as nimbly as before.

Behind him, Yamori and Grave Robber grew wildly excited at the sight. Their movements became faster and faster, and they even began competing to see who could catch Huiqi first.

Still not enough. Those two aren't my target...

Seeing that the ukaku user still refused to take the bait, Huiqi felt somewhat frustrated. Was his performance not obvious enough, or did the ukaku user simply lack a competitive streak?

At that moment, the ukaku user looked anxious. His attacks on Huiqi grew erratic, as though he feared Yamori and Grave Robber would get to him first.

"Hey, hey, hey! Your aim's way off! But the prey belongs to me now... hahahahahaha!"

Grave Robber shouted smugly. The kakuja behind him exerted more and more force to increase his speed, and he briefly overtook Yamori.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! He's mine... he's mine... he's mine!!"

Grave Robber's taunting poured fuel on Raven's already frantic state. His teeth ground together with audible cracks, and the red patterns in his kakugan spread outward.

To hell with it! I want him!

Having lost his reason, Raven abandoned his attacks and switched to an explosive forward dash. Ukaku had the greatest mobility of all kagune, and within mere seconds, he overtook Yamori.

Sick leave. A cold and fever.