Familiar

Hearing the question beside him, Huiqi stopped.

"You're overthinking it. We've never met."

"But your voice..."

"Plenty of people have similar voices."

With that, Huiqi pushed the door open, raised his umbrella, and left Anteiku, leaving a bewildered Ken Kaneki behind.

"Hey! It's time we settled the bill. You'd better explain your relationship with the Executioner!"

"I-I-I really don't know. I don't remember him at all."

"Huh? You don't remember something that important?"

Touka's glare grew fiercer, an invisible killing intent radiating from her.

"If he doesn't remember, don't give him a hard time," the manager said gently, stopping Touka Kirishima from taking things further.

"But this is important..."

"It's all right."

"The Executioner? Important? I know him?" Ken Kaneki felt as though his head was about to explode. He was the only one who understood none of this.

"First, let me explain who the Executioner is." Looking at Ken Kaneki's clueless expression, Touka felt the veins in her forehead throb.

"The people you see carrying cases out on the streets are called Box Carriers, White Doves, and plenty of other names. They all come from the CCG and are responsible for exterminating ghouls."

"Their strength varies. If you're lucky, you might run into a weakling. If you're unlucky, you might meet an experienced veteran. But the Executioner is one of the Ghoul Investigators' strongest fighters!"

Touka Kirishima put particular emphasis on those last words, wanting Ken Kaneki to understand just how powerful Huiqi was.

"I don't get it... I just feel like surviving is going to be really hard," Ken Kaneki muttered.

A large CCG meeting.

"The aftermath of the encounter in the 10th Ward has been dealt with, but organized ghoul activity has emerged in Ward 11! It's only a matter of time before it turns into another disaster like the 10th Ward."

"So I hope the Ghoul Investigators responsible for the areas surrounding Ward 11 will remain vigilant. If an emergency arises, report to headquarters before taking action. That concludes my investigation report."

Huiqi sat nearby, bored, forcing a serious expression onto his face as he attended the meeting. When will this meeting end?

"If there are no more reports, we can conclude. Does anyone else have a report?" Marute Itsuki looked over the people seated below.

"I'm First Class Ghoul Investigator Kōtarō Amon."

"Please look at the forceps on the screen. I believe everyone knows that Yamori from Ward 13 had contact with the S-rate ghoul Big Eater. Investigator Mado and I discovered this tool together."

"What is that?" Marute asked in confusion as he looked at the red forceps on the screen.

"Hemostatic forceps, perhaps? I'm not entirely sure."

Looking at the familiar object, Huiqi vaguely recalled Kureo Mado's damned intuition. He had left Huiqi to handle the interior while finding something outside himself. After that, Huiqi had barely seen him; he spent all day hunting for clues.

"We suspect this is a medical instrument used specifically by ghouls. Analysis revealed that it was made from a Koukaku Quinque. Although Jason's intentions remain unclear, no trace of Big Eater has been found since the two ghouls made contact."

As he listened to Kōtarō Amon's detailed report, Huiqi couldn't help giving him a glance. No one in the vast CCG should be able to find Rize Kamishiro now. After all, he had personally sent her to the laboratory.

Still, it would be better if Kōtarō Amon didn't put that persistence toward finding Big Eater. That would make things somewhat awkward for him.

"That was a good report, First Class Ghoul Investigator Kōtarō Amon. Since there's no trace of Big Eater, let it go."

"But..."

"I'll take responsibility."

Huiqi cut off what Kōtarō Amon was about to say. The cold glint in his eyes was already telling Kōtarō Amon to shut up and drop the subject.

"Sit down. Since Huiqi is taking responsibility, let's stay out of it. That frees up time to investigate other things."

Kureo Mado, seated beside Amon, spoke up, intending to abandon the investigation into Big Eater.

"O-okay."

Watching Kōtarō Amon sit back down, Huiqi's eyes flashed with satisfaction. Being capable and knowing how to read the room was the best combination. If Amon really insisted on foolishly continuing the investigation, he couldn't blame Huiqi for transferring him away.

"Amon's report was excellent, but since Special Class Investigator Huiqi will handle it, there should be no problem."

"Next, please pay attention to what's happening in your respective areas. With Ward 10 as a warning, we need to watch what the ghouls are doing, especially any recent changes."

"In short! Our CCG's objective is to exterminate every ghoul in Tokyo! Give these missions your all!"

"Yes!" everyone answered.

Marute finally brought the large CCG meeting to a close, and everyone gradually filed out.

"Special Class Investigator Huiqi, would you like to take a look at Ward 11?" Marute Itsuki pointed to the dots marked on the map. The green and red dots had originally been balanced, but now the green dots were visibly dwindling.

"No. It's not like any ghouls above S-rate have appeared. Handle it yourselves." Thoroughly bored, Huiqi fiddled with the charm in his hand.

"True. Killing a few small-fry ghouls wouldn't be worth it."

There was worry in Marute's voice as well. The battle in Ward 10 had left many vacancies among the CCG's core forces. The academy students still needed some time before graduating; only then would fresh blood join the CCG.

"Don't overthink it. Some things are inevitable. If they happen, do everything you can to solve them." Huiqi patted Marute Itsuki on the shoulder.

"Haha, you really do take things in stride."

Marute Itsuki was left alone in the meeting room.

After leaving the CCG, Huiqi planned to drive to Akihiro Kano's private hospital. He still had plenty of questions to ask, and most importantly, he had yet to collect his new equipment.

Half an hour later.

The car stopped in the hospital parking lot. Huiqi followed a nurse into the basement.

"Dr. Kanou has been wanting to see you lately, too, but he's been so busy that he hasn't had time to contact you." The nurse chatted with Huiqi along the way, occasionally mentioning the progress of Akihiro Kano's research.

"That's normal for a researcher, but the underground laboratory has changed a lot lately."

Huiqi frowned as he looked at the things around him that resembled fleshy tumors. None of these strange things had been here when he first visited the basement. Why had so many appeared recently?

"That's rc tissue. Essentially, it's a mass of highly concentrated rc cells."

"Disgusting. It's practically like Ward 24. Has Dr. Kanou made any breakthroughs lately?"

"There's been progress. Thanks to Ken Kaneki's experimental data, Dr. Kanou is already preparing for the next implantation."

"The next one, huh? Ken Kaneki has been a decent test subject. He hasn't caused any strange trouble for me, and he seems to be living well, too. He's found a job."

"That's wonderful!"

The nurse's voice suddenly rose as she replied, overjoyed.

The reaction prompted Huiqi to glance over. Although he didn't know what the nurse was so happy about, they were almost at Dr. Kanou's laboratory. It was the perfect chance to get his questions answered one by one.