Chapter 13: Mascot
The contractors on the Ghoul side were forced to join forces, but Su Xiao was unaware of this.
Although he guessed that the third part of the main quest would be a confrontation, that was only a guess based on the prerequisite quests.
Early in the morning, Su Xiao arrived at Shinohara Yukinori's office. The latter had mentioned last night that he had something to discuss today.
"Have you had breakfast yet?"
Shinohara Yukinori stood up and warmly welcomed Su Xiao.
Su Xiao was surprised. Shinohara Yukinori's attitude was a bit too enthusiastic.
"Not yet."
"Perfect timing. Let's go to a small shop nearby. It's good there. Although the breakfast provided by the branch is nutritionally balanced, the taste is..."
Now Su Xiao could confirm that the other party probably needed his help with something.
"My treat." Shinohara Yukinori emphasized.
This time, there was no mistake. The other party had a favor to ask of him.
Su Xiao nodded and followed Shinohara Yukinori to a small shop.
The shop wasn't large, but it was quite lively, with many customers already seated. The aroma of the food stirred Su Xiao's stomach, and a feeling of hunger surged up.
"Over here."
Shinohara Yukinori found a table for four, gestured for Su Xiao to sit across from him, and ordered several breakfast items.
Once the breakfast was served, Su Xiao didn't move. He looked at Shinohara Yukinori with a meaningful gaze.
"Special Class Shinohara, this breakfast is surprisingly generous."
Noticing that Su Xiao hadn't made a move, Shinohara Yukinori chuckled lightly and gestured for Su Xiao to help himself.
"Let's eat first. She'll be here soon."
Su Xiao said nothing and began to eat his breakfast.
"Bai Ye, the ghoul we expelled last night has been sent to headquarters. Headquarters has made an exception to promote you to Second Class Investigator. This is your new credentials."
Su Xiao put down the half-eaten pastry and took the credentials.
Su Xiao's promotion didn't require seniority, but it did require expelling more ghouls. The 400 contribution points would probably require expelling two to three S-class ghouls, and the difficulty of that was easy to imagine.
Promoting from First Class Investigator to Associate Special Class would be even harder.
Under normal circumstances, Main Quest (2) shouldn't be this difficult.
The main reason was that Su Xiao was the only one in the CCG faction.
Under normal circumstances, the CCG side would probably have over a dozen ordinary contractors. If those dozen or so ordinary contractors split the contribution points, each person would only need about 30 contribution points to be promoted to First Class Investigator.
But since Su Xiao was alone in one faction, he had to complete the tasks meant for over a dozen people, which was why the contribution requirement was so high.
Most areas of Ward 14 were quite peaceful, making it difficult for Su Xiao to hunt ghouls. If he had been assigned to Wards 1 through 4, the difficulty of the quest would have dropped significantly.
The ghoul density in Wards 1 through 4 was so high that ordinary people could no longer survive there.
The ghouls there survived by cannibalizing each other, so there were many powerful ghouls in Wards 1 through 4.
Under normal circumstances, S-class was the limit for ghouls. To continue getting stronger, they could only rely on cannibalizing other ghouls to increase the concentration of RC cells in their bodies.
D-class were infant ghouls. C-class ghouls could use their kagune, but their strength was weak. B-class were ordinary ghouls who hid among humans. A-class were elites within ghoul organizations. S-class were rare genius ghouls. As for beyond S-class, they could only rely on cannibalism.
A ghoul's strength wasn't honed through training, but through eating—constantly devouring other ghouls.
Thinking this, Su Xiao took a bite of the pastry in his hand.
"Sorry I'm late."
As Su Xiao was thinking, a beautiful woman with a slender figure sat down in the seat next to him.
Her pale golden hair was tied up, and a black women's suit made her skin look exceptionally fair and delicate. Black stockings accentuated her two sexy legs.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mado Akira, your future subordinate."
Shinohara Yukinori looked at Su Xiao with a smile in his eyes, as if to say how loyal he was, assigning such a beautiful woman to be Su Xiao's subordinate.
"I see. I have no objections, but..."
Su Xiao looked up, his gaze sharp as he stared at Shinohara Yukinori.
"She might die soon. I'm planning to enter areas with high ghoul density, like the West District."
Hearing that Su Xiao had no intention of refusing, Shinohara Yukinori smiled. But when he heard "West District," his smile immediately vanished.
"West District? That's the cannibal zone of Ward 14. The number of S-class ghouls there is unimaginable. Bai Ye, are you sure you want to go?"
"I'm sure."
If it were anyone else, Shinohara Yukinori would never agree, but Su Xiao's strength left him with nothing to say.
"Akira, it seems I'll have to find you a new superior."
Shinohara Yukinori looked at Mado Akira beside him.
"Special Class Shinohara, I have no problem with it. As a Ghoul Investigator, I am already prepared to face any situation, even going to the West District."
Mado Akira straightened her back, her tone firm, and she glanced sideways at Su Xiao.
"Knock, knock~."
Shinohara Yukinori tapped the table lightly with his index finger, took out his phone, and dialed a number.
The call was to Mado Kureo. Shinohara Yukinori only said a few words before hanging up.
"That guy Kureo... Alright, you'll temporarily follow Bai Ye. Although you're both Second Class Investigators, you are to follow Bai Ye's orders.
Bai Ye, when do you plan to head to the West District?"
It seemed Shinohara Yukinori also intended for Su Xiao to go to the West District. The ghoul cannibalism there was severe and urgently needed to be cleaned up.
"Right now. Let's go, mascot."
The "mascot" Su Xiao referred to was Mado Akira. According to the original story's information, Mado Akira's combat ability was average.
As for whether Mado Akira lived or died after arriving in the West District, that would be up to fate.
Hearing the term "mascot," Mado Akira was stunned. She pointed at herself in some bewilderment.
Seeing this, Shinohara Yukinori smiled wryly and gestured for Mado Akira to follow Su Xiao.
...
A black car drove along the road. Mado Akira was driving in the driver's seat, while Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, resting. They were heading to the West District.
"Second Class Bai Ye, do you have any plans for the West District? What do I need to do?"
Mado Akira's expression was serious, her chest puffed out.
"When we arrive at the West District, chop!"
This simple and crude plan clearly startled Mado Akira. The beautiful woman slammed on the accelerator, nearly rear-ending the car in front, showing the style of a female driver.
"Then... what do I need to do?"
After calming her emotions, Mado Akira asked a second question.
"You just need to be beautiful like a flower."
Su Xiao's calm demeanor made Mado Akira's anger surge.
"Ghouls won't be tempted by my beauty!"
Su Xiao chuckled lightly. "Beautiful like a flower" was just something he said offhand; he didn't intend for her to seduce anyone.
"Don't worry. You have a 'very important' role. Without you, my 'plan' probably wouldn't succeed."
Two seconds ago, Su Xiao had thought of a plan.
Sensing Su Xiao's gaze, Mado Akira suddenly had the urge to turn around and run away.
"Then... can you share your plan?"
Su Xiao raised the corner of his mouth slightly and shook his head. Although she wasn't strong in combat, she could serve as bait, at least enough to attract ghouls.
"No. If you knew the details, it might affect the 'plan.'"
Mado Akira's heart felt bitter. As if venting, she stomped hard on the accelerator.
With a nervous heart, the two arrived at the West District, that brutal cannibal zone.