Chapter 32: Green Light
After lying on the road to rest for a few minutes, Su Xiao barely managed to stand up.
His current health was around 16%, and he was abnormally fatigued. Although the [XT-12 Life Vitality Potion] had restored his major injuries, the massive blood loss and physical exhaustion could not be recovered by the potion.
Above the queen's corpse floated a blood-red card.
This card flickered with a red light in the night, exceptionally conspicuous.
Even from a great distance, Su Xiao could sense that the red glow seemed to exude a bloody scent.
Su Xiao picked up the blood-red card, and a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[You have obtained 'Scarlet Card'. Use it?]
[Tip: 'Scarlet Card' is obtained after killing a contractor. After use, a random draw will be conducted.]
[Tip: Each 'Scarlet Card' has three draw chances, randomly drawing items or equipment from the deceased contractor's storage space or worn equipment.]
[Tip: The Ghoul World is a semi-peaceful scene. After a contractor dies, there is a 50% chance of dropping a 'Scarlet Card'.]
...
Su Xiao did not immediately draw from the 'Scarlet Card' but stored it in his storage space.
It was not safe yet; he could not confirm whether other contractors were still present.
Su Xiao walked over to a sleeping CCG member, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
Finding a phone on that CCG member, Su Xiao recalled for a few seconds and dialed a number.
"Mr. Shinohara, the squad I was leading was ambushed. I need support."
Shinohara Yukinori, who was handling important documents in his office, stood up abruptly.
"Any casualties? Where are you? I'll head over immediately."
Shinohara Yukinori was a very reliable superior. He rushed out of the office and began mobilizing personnel.
"I'm not sure of the exact location. You can trace this phone. As for casualties, Shisho may have been sacrificed, but I didn't see his body."
Hearing that Sushi Shisho might have been sacrificed, Shinohara Yukinori felt a tightness in his chest.
But that was the fate of a Ghoul Investigator. Shinohara Yukinori didn't say much.
"First Class Bai Ye, how are you now? Your voice sounds like you're badly injured."
"It's nothing. I won't die within a few hours. I'll try to find Shisho."
Sushi Shisho was the person Shinohara Yukinori had assigned to him, and Shisho had been quite helpful in the battle. After hanging up, Su Xiao began searching for Sushi Shisho nearby.
Before long, Su Xiao found Sushi Shisho in a street-side shop. The conspicuous bloodstains revealed Shisho's location.
Sushi Shisho was lying face down in a clothing store, with a large pool of blood beneath him.
Su Xiao turned Sushi Shisho over and checked his vital signs.
To be fair, Sushi Shisho was very lucky. He had several gunshot wounds, none of which were fatal.
"Cough~, cough."
Sushi Shisho unconsciously coughed up some blood, his eyes opening into slits.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment, took out a [Salt Rice Ball], and stuffed it into Sushi Shisho's mouth.
Sushi Shisho was completely unconscious and couldn't chew.
This didn't stump Su Xiao. He pressed his index and middle fingers together and shoved them into Sushi Shisho's mouth.
"Ugh~."
Sushi Shisho let out a mournful sound. The [Salt Rice Ball] was pushed into his throat and got stuck.
Su Xiao saw Sushi Shisho's body twitch, his eyes wide open, staring at him with a look of dying with regret.
"Gulp."
The [Salt Rice Ball] was swallowed by Sushi Shisho, who then fell unconscious again. Perhaps he had never truly woken up.
Whether restorative food worked on plot characters, Su Xiao wasn't sure. But since Sushi Shisho had helped him earlier, he would do his best to save him. It was that simple.
It could be said that without Sushi Shisho's help, the combined assault of the queen, Black and White, and Leaf would likely have killed Su Xiao.
Initially, Sushi Shisho intercepting Black and White played a crucial role.
After being brutally force-fed the [Salt Rice Ball], within five minutes, Sushi Shisho slowly woke up. The restorative food was effective.
"Mr. Bai Ye, am I dead?"
"No, you're still alive."
Su Xiao leaned against the wall nearby, lit a cigarette, and tried to move as little as possible. He had many wounds, and blood was slowly seeping out.
"That woman earlier was really strong. I almost got my head blown off. So happy~."
Sushi Shisho seemed to have no joy of surviving a disaster; he was as usual.
"But Mr. Bai Ye, my throat hurts a lot, and my mouth feels uncomfortable."
Su Xiao, resting with his eyes closed, twitched his mouth slightly.
"It's your imagination."
"Really? But I taste food in my mouth. It feels like someone forced something into my mouth earlier."
"Imagination."
Su Xiao looked like a meditating old monk.
"Is that so? Strange."
Sushi Shisho scratched his head, seemingly unaffected by the several gunshot wounds. This might be related to Sushi Shisho's passive ability (Masochist), which could turn pain into excitement.
Before long, the outside became noisy. Shinohara Yukinori had arrived with his people.
"Bai Ye, First Class Bai Ye."
Shinohara Yukinori's voice came through.
Before Su Xiao could speak, Sushi Shisho shouted loudly.
"Mr. Shinohara~, we're here."
After Sushi Shisho's shout, Shinohara Yukinori rushed in with his team.
"Shisho, so you're okay."
Seeing that Sushi Shisho wasn't dead, Shinohara Yukinori couldn't help but smile.
"Bai Ye, how are you?"
Shinohara Yukinori walked over, and upon seeing Su Xiao's injuries, he was startled.
"Hurry, call the medical staff immediately."
Su Xiao's severe injuries alarmed Shinohara Yukinori, who ordered the investigators behind him to find medical personnel.
The medical staff arrived quickly. By then, Su Xiao's head was feeling dizzy. He had lost too much blood. After the [XT-12 Life Vitality Potion] healed his abdominal injuries, its effects greatly diminished, only partially restoring his other wounds.
"First Class Bai Ye, hold on."
After arriving at the scene, Shinohara Yukinori had already guessed the general situation.
Su Xiao had completed the cleanup of the auction house. The scattered body bags on the street were the best evidence.
From the explosions and bullet marks at the scene, it seemed that enemies had ambushed Su Xiao's squad.
In the CCG, this was not uncommon. While driving out ghouls, they also had to guard against ghoul retaliation.
Su Xiao was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed to the CCG hospital for emergency treatment. In the same medical vehicle, Sushi Shisho was also lying.
Su Xiao relaxed a bit. The massive blood loss made him want to sleep, but he couldn't.
He didn't fully trust the CCG. If the CCG's higher-ups suddenly ordered a ghoul organ transplant on him, he would be in big trouble.
It sounded absurd, but it wasn't impossible. There were precedents for such things, though they hadn't been exposed.
So throughout the medical treatment, Su Xiao remained awake, refusing blood transfusions and also refusing the doctor's injections of anesthesia.
After emergency treatment, his bleeding stopped, and his condition stabilized.
Lying in the warm, dry hospital bed, Su Xiao gradually fell asleep. In the CCG hospital, at least he didn't have to worry about threats from the ghoul side.
Due to excessive blood loss, he slept for over ten hours before waking up. His health had recovered to 65%. Although the wounds still ached faintly, he was capable of fighting again.
Su Xiao sat up, leaning against the bed. After sleeping for over ten hours, he felt full of energy.
The room was pitch black; it was still night.
The danger had completely passed. Su Xiao smiled bitterly, sighing that even a Level 3 derivative world was full of peril.
With nothing else to do, he took out the previously obtained 'Green Chest' and that 'Scarlet Card'.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao opened the 'Green Chest' first.
[Open the chest (Green)?]
He chose to open it.
This time, opening the chest was different from before. The chest slowly opened, and a dazzling green light emerged from within, even illuminating the entire hospital room...