Chapter 42: District 24
The next morning, under the shade of a tree in the park of the 20th District branch.
Su Xiao supported himself on the ground with one hand, maintaining a handstand position.
"543, 544, 545..."
Su Xiao was doing one-arm handstand push-ups, training his arm strength.
Sweat dripped down his cheeks, forming a small puddle on the ground beneath him.
Although Reincarnation Paradise could enhance attribute values, Su Xiao had never slacked off in his own training.
When experiencing the feeling of gradually becoming stronger, most people would become addicted to it.
Imagine being able to feel yourself getting stronger every day—how pleasurable that would be.
"Special Class Investigator Bai Ye, someone's looking for you."
A male investigator walked up to Su Xiao. He didn't recognize the man.
Su Xiao exerted force with his arm and straightened his body.
"Who is it?"
"Special Class Investigator Arima!"
After uttering the title Special Class Investigator Arima, the investigator showed a look of admiration.
"Special Class Investigator Arima, is it? Understood. Where is he?"
After learning Arima Takashi's location, Su Xiao picked up his shirt from the side and left the park.
He hadn't expected that the person he was waiting for was Arima Takashi.
In the branch's cafeteria, Su Xiao ate the food in front of him with big mouthfuls.
Sitting across from Su Xiao was a handsome man with white hair and glasses.
He was Arima Takashi, the strongest investigator of the CCG.
"So, you're my superior now?"
Su Xiao finished the last bite of his breakfast and looked up at Arima Takashi.
"Yes. You've been temporarily transferred to the Zero Squad, responsible for surveying District 24."
Arima Takashi's tone was calm, his expression as blank as a male god's.
Su Xiao thought for a moment.
He still had 12 days of free action time. Although District 24 was dangerous, it was also a good place.
To quickly grow stronger, one needed to take risks. No pain, no gain—this was the iron law of Reincarnation Paradise.
"When do we leave?"
"Now."
The first impression Su Xiao gave off was one of murderous intent, as could be seen from his mere 3 points of Charm.
Arima Takashi, on the other hand, was expressionless, so their communication was very straightforward.
Arima Takashi didn't propose testing Su Xiao's strength. Being able to purge District 14 already spoke for itself.
Su Xiao followed Arima Takashi out of the 20th District CCG branch and drove toward District 24.
District 24 was located on the edge of Tokyo, in the suburbs.
To be precise, District 24 was a stretch of desolate wilderness. The real District 24 was underground.
In the meeting room of the 20th District branch, Marude Shuu stood by the window, watching the departing car, and sighed.
"In the end, he's gone. If the Black Reaper had joined this operation..."
Marude Shuu's expression was somewhat dejected.
"Maru, it's okay. I might have a way."
Shinohara Yukinori patted Marude Shuu on the shoulder, watching the departing car, lost in thought.
"A way? Let's hear it."
Marude Shuu looked at Shinohara Yukinori in surprise.
Shinohara Yukinori smiled mysteriously, leaned close to Marude Shuu's ear, and whispered something.
"Yeah, that's right. I didn't expect you, Shinohara, to come up with something like this."
Shinohara Yukinori's face darkened as he looked at Marude Shuu speechlessly.
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District 24, a CCG bulletproof car stopped in a patch of wild grass.
"This is the place."
Arima Takashi got out of the car first, and Su Xiao followed.
A hole over a dozen meters in diameter appeared before Su Xiao.
This was an entrance leading underground. Inside, it was pitch black, with faint wailing sounds like ghosts crying.
That was the sound of wind, indicating a large space underground.
"Yuna, brief Special Class Investigator Bai Ye on the situation in District 24."
From the driver's seat of the car stepped down a beautiful woman who looked like a student.
This beauty named Yuna was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with long black hair, a white sailor uniform, and only a slight bulge on her chest. She carried a Koukaku case in each hand.
Yuna glanced at Su Xiao and cleared her throat.
One look and it was clear—she was also a cold person.
"District 24, we call it the Underground Labyrinth. To this day, we haven't been able to fully explore District 24.
"In District 24, there are large amounts of flesh walls..."
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. He had only heard a little about the flesh walls in District 24's underground and didn't know their exact appearance, only fragmented information.
"Yes, flesh walls. They're walls made from Kakuhou, somewhat similar to the technology used to create Koukaku.
"It's because of these flesh walls that exploring District 24 has become significantly more difficult..."
Yuna began to explain the situation in District 24 in detail.
In summary, the team currently exploring District 24 consisted of three people: Arima Takashi, Su Xiao, and Yuna.
As for the other members of the Zero Squad, they had been reassigned by headquarters due to Su Xiao's arrival.
Headquarters' exact words were to disperse combat power across various regions, as the current situation was unstable.
Although Yuna looked frail, she was a Semi-Special Class Investigator.
"That's all the information on District 24. We just happened to pass by here, so I gave you a rough overview. We'll start the operation this afternoon."
The three stood in silence. Su Xiao couldn't help but wonder—were they just going to stand here until the afternoon?
Finally, Yuna spoke first.
"Are you two just going to stand here?"
Arima Takashi didn't say a word and directly got back into the car.
Su Xiao looked at Yuna, and Yuna looked back at Su Xiao. They stared at each other, eyes wide.
"Back... to... the... temporary... branch~."
Yuna said this word by word, her tone a bit strange.
Through this brief interaction, Su Xiao realized his initial judgment of Yuna was wrong.
This beautiful investigator wasn't cold and aloof—she was somewhat neurotic and moody.
Five minutes later, the three drove to the temporary branch, a three-story villa.
This was where investigators in District 24 rested temporarily. There were very few investigators in District 24, and now only the three of them were here.
Entering the branch, Su Xiao saw some busy staff members.
Aside from these staff, there were no other investigators in the branch, making the temporary branch feel somewhat deserted.
"Don't bother looking. Besides newcomers here for training, we're the only three investigators here."
Yuna had shed her earlier cold attitude and become enthusiastic.
"What time exactly do we go explore District 24?"
Su Xiao looked around. The layout here was simple. The only important departments were the Logistics Department and the Information Investigation Division.
The Logistics Department should provide various supplies, and the Information Investigation Division recorded the situation in District 24.
"We set out at one in the afternoon. The cafeteria is inside, and that's your living quarters."
After speaking, Yuna's fair face suddenly leaned close to Su Xiao, her delicate nose twitching.
"I smell blood. I like the scent on you."
Su Xiao's mouth twitched. This woman was a complete replica of Shinohara Sōzō, even more neurotic than him.
Ignoring this neurotic girl, Su Xiao walked toward the Logistics Department window. He had just received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao was curious about what items could be exchanged at the Logistics Department.
"Special Class Investigator Bai Ye, welcome to the Logistics Department. Our items are of good quality and reasonably priced, but absolutely not free."
A skinny old man wearing small round sunglasses grinned slyly at Su Xiao from inside the window.
Su Xiao was a bit stunned. Was this really the Logistics Department of the CCG branch? It felt like he had walked into some kind of shop.
As the skinny old man spoke, a list of items appeared before Su Xiao.
After seeing the first item on the list, Su Xiao's eyes seemed to burn with flames.
That brilliant blue light—he was seeing it for the first time.
At that moment, Su Xiao felt grateful for coming to District 24, immensely grateful.