Chapter 7: Beautiful as a Flower, Ruthless as a Wolf
After all members of the Bronze Tree retreated, the battle subsided.
Su Xiao sheathed [Dragon-Slaying Flash], picked up his shirt from the ground, and draped it over his shoulder.
In the fight against Takatsuki Sen just now, he had lost a total of 12% of his health. Since the wound on his lower abdomen was still bleeding, his health continued to slowly decline.
Su Xiao also kept an eye on Takatsuki Sen's health bar. His two strikes earlier had probably cost her over 10% of her health.
It had to be said, the vitality of ghouls was indeed astonishing. In her kakuja form, Takatsuki Sen's physical attributes were at least 15 points or higher.
If comparing individual stats, Takatsuki Sen was definitely stronger than Su Xiao. But when it came to combat power, the two were harder to compare.
In Su Xiao's view, Takatsuki Sen's combat experience was fairly rich, but her combat technique was abysmal, relying basically on brute force.
This was why he could trounce S-class ghouls. Ghouls in battle just charged headlong and used raw strength to defeat enemies.
Otherwise, the investigators of CCG wouldn't stand a chance against ghouls.
CCG investigators were just ordinary people with superior physical fitness, fighting ghouls with technique and intelligence. Of course, there were exceptions.
Amon Koutarou's appearance meant this place was already surrounded by CCG personnel. This was undoubtedly a good opportunity to join CCG.
After sheathing [Dragon-Slashing Flash], Su Xiao walked slowly toward Amon Koutarou.
"Stop right there."
Amon Koutarou shouted loudly, simultaneously pressing the button on his briefcase handle. The briefcase underwent a massive transformation, with something inside rapidly expanding.
The briefcase fell to the ground, and Amon Koutarou now held a strangely shaped weapon.
A metal rod, with the upper half wrapped in a layer of kagune. This was Amon Koutarou's quinque.
This oddly shaped quinque made Su Xiao marvel. Could one really fight with this weapon?
"Who are you? A ghoul? A human?"
Amon Koutarou gripped his quinque with both hands, staring warily at Su Xiao. The scene of Su Xiao chasing down the One-Eyed King, Takatsuki Sen, had shaken this first-class investigator.
"Have you ever seen a ghoul fight with a blade?"
Su Xiao placed one hand on the sword hilt at his waist and continued walking toward Amon Koutarou.
Just as Amon Koutarou was about to speak, Su Xiao spoke first.
"No need to be nervous. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
A flash of white light, and [Dragon-Slashing Flash] left its sheath, directly resting against Amon Koutarou's neck.
"Gulp~." Amon Koutarou swallowed hard, somewhat incredulous. Su Xiao's blade-drawing speed was simply too fast.
"So, no need to be nervous."
Sheathing [Dragon-Slashing Flash], Su Xiao patted Amon Koutarou on the shoulder.
A great sense of defeat welled up in Amon Koutarou's heart. If the other party were a ghoul, his head would already be on the ground.
"Hey."
"What?" Amon Koutarou looked at Su Xiao in confusion.
"Is your CCG still hiring? The ghoul lying over there can be a greeting gift for joining CCG."
Only then did Amon Koutarou notice the headless corpse of the Lizard.
"Is this... S-class ghoul Jason?"
Amon Koutarou, quinque in hand, rushed a few steps to the Lizard's body. In CCG's files, the Lizard was known as Jason.
"You haven't answered my question."
Su Xiao took some medical bandages from his storage space, wiped the blood from his abdominal wound, and hastily wrapped it up.
Amon Koutarou hesitated for a moment, but knew in his heart this was an opportunity. Su Xiao, who could chase down the One-Eyed King, the Owl, was undeniably powerful.
In CCG, no more than two people could do that.
"Joining CCG requires strict assessment, but your situation is somewhat special. As long as it's confirmed you're not a ghoul, joining CCG should be no problem."
Hearing the clear answer, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
What he feared most was that joining CCG would be too troublesome. He didn't have much time for his main quest.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Rapid footsteps came. An old man with flowing white hair, carrying a briefcase, ran into the room.
The old man not only had white hair but also eyes of different sizes. His movements were somewhat neurotic, giving off a sickly vibe.
"Where is it? It must be here. The Owl."
The newcomer was Amon Koutarou's superior, upper-class investigator Mado Kureo.
Mado Kureo had originally been a very righteous ghoul investigator, gentle in manner. But after his wife died at the hands of a ghoul, and he personally witnessed her face being devoured...
After that, Mado Kureo's personality changed drastically. He developed an extreme hatred for ghouls and became obsessed with making quinques.
But even so, Mado Kureo treated his fellow investigators well enough. This was evident from how seriously he taught Amon Koutarou.
"Mr. Mado, you're here."
Amon Koutarou stepped forward and whispered something to Mado Kureo.
After a moment, Mado Kureo's already mismatched eyes suddenly widened. He stared at Su Xiao in disbelief.
Mado Kureo dashed over to Su Xiao in a few quick steps, moving very agilely, then sniffed around Su Xiao like a canine.
"Human. No mistake. The stench of those beasts, I'll never forget it until I die."
After confirming Su Xiao was human, Mado Kureo became very enthusiastic.
"Hello, I'm Mado Kureo. Did you really fight the One-Eyed Owl?"
Mado Kureo's eyes seemed to burn with flames, full of anticipation.
Seeing Mado Kureo's gaze, Su Xiao sighed. This was such a familiar look. He himself had once had that same look.
Hatred. Hatred that erased everything.
"Yeah, we fought. The terrain was unfavorable, and that thing escaped. A pity."
"Hahaha." A sickly, neurotic laugh rang out.
"You want to join CCG? Come with me. I'll be your guarantor."
At this point, Mado Kureo no longer cared about Su Xiao's background or identity. As long as he could kill the One-Eyed King, the Owl, he would give everything, including his life.
"Mr. Mado, calm down."
Amon Koutarou placed his hand on Mado Kureo's shoulder. Mado Kureo steadied his breathing for a moment and nodded.
"May I ask your name?" Amon Koutarou finished with a smile at Su Xiao.
"Bai Ye."
"And your background?"
"..."
Su Xiao's silence left Amon Koutarou somewhat helpless.
"How about this, Mr. Bai Ye. You were injured in the fight earlier, and it was against a ghoul. There's a medical vehicle downstairs. As for joining CCG, we can discuss it in detail at the 20th Ward branch."
Su Xiao pondered for a moment, then finally nodded. He followed Amon Koutarou downstairs.
Mado Kureo had long noticed the Lizard's corpse. He hoisted it onto his shoulder and went downstairs with the other two.
Downstairs, over a dozen cars were already parked. Sirens blared from all directions, red and blue police lights flashing.
CCG had probably received reports from citizens about ghoul activity here, so they dispatched two ghoul investigators. As for the police on scene, they were only responsible for evacuating nearby civilians. Before ghouls, these police had no combat capability.
Behind a medical vehicle, Su Xiao sat shirtless on a simple hospital bed. A pretty young nurse was focused on treating his wounds.
"Um..." The nurse's timid voice came. Su Xiao glanced sideways.
"The wound is too deep. It's better to use a little anesthetic, otherwise..."
"No need. Anesthetics affect my nerve reaction speed. Just stitch it directly."
The nurse hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Although this young nurse was beautiful as a flower, with a timid voice and a look that seemed easy to knock over, she was ruthless in her actions. This was evident from Su Xiao's occasionally twitching face.