Chapter 11: The Open High School Girl
"Hey, hey, we're all colleagues here, we need to get along. Shisho, you can't greet a coworker like that."
Shinohara Yukinori stepped between the two of them and began instilling basic common sense into Suzusho Shisho.
For someone who lacked even basic common sense, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't fly into a rage over it.
However, he made a mental note to teach this little brat a lesson when the opportunity arose.
"Is that so~, I see, sorry~."
Suzusho Shisho laughed and actually apologized to Su Xiao sincerely—what a contradictory personality.
"Mr. Shinohara, is the test over?"
Shinohara Yukinori flexed his still-numb arms and nodded.
"It's over. You are now officially a Ghoul Investigator for the CCG."
Shinohara Yukinori's expression turned serious.
"Becoming a Ghoul Investigator is a responsibility. Protecting ordinary people and driving out those man-eating ghouls is our primary duty. For this, we may have to make sacrifices, but it's worth it..."
An impassioned speech began. Although Su Xiao found it boring to listen to, he didn't show any impatience.
"That's about it. If you're mentally prepared, you can start executing missions now. However, a Third-Class Investigator cannot act alone and must operate under the protection of a First-Class Investigator..."
Su Xiao let out a light cough.
"Mr. Shinohara, who do you think could protect me?"
Shinohara Yukinori gave a wry smile and shook his head.
"Well~, those are the rules."
"I can handle it alone. It's just about driving out ghouls. As long as the goal is achieved, the process doesn't matter."
After hesitating for a long time, Shinohara Yukinori nodded. Su Xiao indeed didn't need the protection of a First-Class Investigator; it would be more like Su Xiao protecting the First-Class Investigator.
"Since that's the case, I'll give you a lead on a ghoul right now."
Shinohara Yukinori walked to his desk and handed Su Xiao a file.
Su Xiao examined the contents. The information was very fragmented—strange sounds coming from the sewers, drying underwear being set on fire, female students going missing in the suburbs, things like that.
"This is what we deal with every day. Ghouls are very cunning, especially in a district like Ward 14, which isn't exactly stable but isn't chaotic either."
Driving out ghouls was no simple task.
Most ghouls in Ward 14 hid among ordinary people. They only revealed their true forms when hunting and stayed hidden the rest of the time.
Ghouls only needed to hunt once or twice a month to sustain themselves. To drive them out, the most important thing was to find them.
For Su Xiao, most of the difficulty in driving out ghouls lay in the search. Once found, things became simple.
"The information you have now should all be about the trail of one ghoul. Find him and drive him out."
Shinohara Yukinori's expression was solemn, and a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"No problem."
Su Xiao turned and was about to leave the office. Although time was plentiful, he didn't want to waste it.
"Bai Ye, remember to go to the Logistics Department to pick up tools. Those tools are very useful."
Su Xiao paused mid-step, nodded, and then left.
"Another cold colleague. Sigh, what a headache."
Shinohara Yukinori sat behind his desk, lightly pressing his forehead. When he looked up and saw Suzusho Shisho grinning foolishly, his headache only worsened.
Su Xiao first went to the Logistics Department. After presenting his credentials, he collected many tools.
An hour later, Su Xiao arrived alone at a park and sat down on a bench by the roadside.
The park was shaded by green trees. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, the midday sun scorched the earth, and summer cicadas chirped on the tree trunks.
Because of the hot weather, there were few people in the park. Fortunately, Su Xiao sat under the shade of a tree, where it was relatively cool.
The intelligence Shinohara Yukinori had provided wasn't very detailed, but it gave a general target. Over a dozen disappearances in the past six months had all occurred in this park.
The CCG had a clear division of labor. Ordinary investigators were responsible for finding clues, and those people weren't very strong in combat.
When the clues were relatively clear and there was a possibility of encountering a ghoul, First-Class Investigators would lead their subordinates to investigate personally, to avoid unnecessary casualties among ordinary investigators.
But even so, five ordinary investigators had already disappeared in this park.
Earlier, Shinohara Yukinori had been about to go out to patrol this very park.
Su Xiao kept an eye on the passersby, but after a long time, he had no results. Still, he wasn't in a hurry.
According to the intelligence Shinohara Yukinori had given, no disappearances had occurred in this park for two weeks.
That ghoul would show up soon, because this park was its hunting ground.
Ghouls had some behaviors similar to wild animals, such as marking territory (hunting grounds). They might even fight over territory with other ghouls.
Within three days at most, this ghoul would appear. Moreover, this ghoul might be of a high rank, definitely not some weakling below A-rank.
Most ghouls died because they couldn't control their appetite and were eventually discovered by investigators.
Success and patience went hand in hand. Su Xiao just sat on the park bench, waiting silently.
Time slipped by in an instant, reaching a little past three in the afternoon.
A soothing melody came from a distance.
"A school?"
Su Xiao looked toward a building in the distance. Half an hour later, the number of pedestrians in the park gradually increased, mostly high school students who had just been let out.
Most ghouls hunted at night, so Su Xiao planned to spend the night here.
"Big brother, why are you sitting here all alone? Must be lonely, huh."
A female high school student in a school uniform sat down beside Su Xiao. She wore a cool top, a black skirt, and black stockings that showed off her slender legs.
Su Xiao was taken aback. Had he encountered a legendary streetwalker? How unexpectedly open-minded.
"..."
Silence.
"Tch~, what a boring guy."
Seeing that Su Xiao ignored her, the female high school student got up and walked away.
Night fell, and the park's streetlights came on.
Su Xiao had been staking out the place all afternoon and was inevitably feeling a bit hungry. Just as he was about to get up and get dinner, he suddenly heard a short, sharp scream.
The scream was very brief, just a moment, but his keen senses caught it.
Su Xiao immediately stood up and quickly ran toward the source of the sound. It came from a corner of the park, not far from him.
When he reached the source of the sound, Su Xiao scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing. Not a single person, not even a ghost.
He was certain he hadn't misheard the scream, so something must have happened here.
After a careful inspection, Su Xiao found a few drops of blood on the edge of a flower bed, along with half a broken fingernail.
He touched the blood with his finger. It had already cooled but hadn't coagulated, indicating it was fresh.
"Crunch, crunch~."
The sound of tearing flesh came from the nearby woods. Su Xiao quietly entered the forest, and a brutal scene came into view.
An unrecognizable victim was lying face down, with a ghoul gnawing on top of them.
Finding a ghoul should have been good news, but Su Xiao frowned.
The ghoul before him wasn't strong, probably only B-rank. Moreover, this crude method of hunting made it unlikely to have evaded the ordinary investigators' scrutiny.
From the way this ghoul was wolfing down its meal, Su Xiao guessed the general situation.
This might not be this ghoul's hunting ground, but it was simply too hungry and had to take the risk.
"Stray dog, who allowed you to hunt in my feeding ground? Looking to die?"
A crisp female voice came from within the woods. At the same time, a very thin kagune swung toward the ghoul that was eating.
"Pfft."
The head flew off. Before the feeding ghoul could even speak, it was decapitated, its face full of terror.
The owner of the kagune stepped out from between the trees. When Su Xiao saw their appearance, he was somewhat surprised. It was the female high school student he had seen during the day.
She was a ghoul.
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