Chapter 73: Essential Medications
Su Xiao walked at the front, holding a miniature computer. This device could track the location of Arima Kishou, provided by the CCG headquarters.
Although it could track Arima Kishou's position, the underground signal was poor, and the green dot representing him often disappeared.
What could be confirmed was that Arima Kishou was deep within District 24, at least several hours away from Su Xiao's current location.
The dark red fleshy walls on all sides of the underground passage gave a sense of oppression, and the faint stench of blood in the air was even more unsettling.
Su Xiao remained calm. The priority now was to find Arima Kishou. As for what to do afterward, Washuu Kichirou hadn't mentioned it, only saying to find Arima Kishou and act according to his commands.
Of course, he wouldn't blindly follow Washuu Kichirou's orders; he would judge the situation when the time came.
The group's advance was relatively smooth. With Akira Mado guiding the route, they quickly penetrated forty minutes deep into District 24.
"Thump."
A loud noise came from underground. Su Xiao's body tensed but immediately relaxed. The sound came from deep within the area, very far away.
After entering District 24, Su Xiao clearly felt that this place was different from before.
Large patches of blood were often seen on the ground, and occasionally groups of ghouls scurried through the passages.
Su Xiao didn't actively provoke those ghouls; he wasn't here to drive them out this time.
Surprisingly, those ghouls turned and ran as soon as they saw Su Xiao and the others, showing no intention to fight.
After encountering four groups of ghouls, Juuzou Suzuya spoke first.
"Why not kill all these ghouls?"
"Waste of time."
Su Xiao continued forward, holding the miniature computer.
Using the location of Arima Kishou displayed on the computer and a compass for direction, the reinforcement team advanced two hours deep into District 24.
"Boom, boom..."
Clamorous footsteps came from ahead. The reinforcement team had grown accustomed to this; after entering District 24, they had encountered over a dozen groups of ghouls.
This time was different. After Su Xiao saw the appearance of this group of ghouls, Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand.
These ghouls wore grass skirts around their waists, some had bone-tooth necklaces, heavy paint on their faces, and bare feet stomping on the ground—primitive ghouls! These guys were highly likely to attack the reinforcement team.
Sure enough, the forty-plus primitive ghouls, upon seeing the reinforcement team, lunged forward with claws bared.
"Roar!"
A primitive ghoul took the lead, its bronze-colored muscles bulging, full of power.
"Prepare to engage!"
Su Xiao and Juuzou Suzuya were at the front, while the investigators behind them looked somewhat stunned; they had never seen this type of ghoul.
"Captain Bai Ye, what are these? Ghouls?"
A first-class investigator swallowed hard. Su Xiao ignored him and charged forward with his blade.
Suzuya, who had been suppressed for a while, followed closely, rushing toward the primitive ghouls.
Suzuya had no questions; he only focused on slashing ghouls.
Su Xiao silently approached a primitive ghoul, severed its neck with one slash, and a brutal close-quarters battle began.
Once Su Xiao engaged the primitive ghouls, the other investigators also rushed forward with their quinques.
As soon as they clashed, these investigators realized the terror of the primitive ghouls. Quinques below S-rank couldn't inflict fatal damage on them.
Although primitive ghouls couldn't use kagune, their skin membranes were exceptionally tough, and their physical strength was immense.
A male investigator wielding a long whip struck a primitive ghoul on the back. The ghoul only had a bloody scratch.
The primitive ghoul roared, turned its head, opened its rotten teeth, lunged forward, and bit down on the investigator's face.
"Ah~!"
The male investigator let out a meaningless cry of pain. The primitive ghoul bit down on his neck again.
A large piece of flesh was torn off. The investigator clutched his neck as blood gushed from between his fingers.
Within ten seconds, the reinforcement team suffered casualties.
The sounds of battle cries, explosions, and blades cutting through flesh echoed through the empty passage.
The reinforcement team clashed with the primitive ghouls in a very wide passage, at least eight or nine meters across. Su Xiao couldn't block the primitive ghouls from breaking into the crowd, and besides, he was here to carry out a mission, not to be a babysitter.
The survival of these investigators depended on their own abilities. They were here to execute a mission, not for training. Their lives or deaths were none of Su Xiao's concern, and he didn't care.
Twenty minutes later, the battle ended. Over forty primitive ghouls were killed, ten members of the reinforcement team died, most were lightly injured, and the most troublesome was a severely wounded person.
This severely wounded person had one arm torn off, a large section of intestines pulled out, and was lying on the ground gasping. His dilated pupils indicated he could go into shock at any moment.
"Captain Bai Ye, what should we do?"
Kuroiwa Iwao walked over to Su Xiao, his expression grim.
Su Xiao took out two syringes and walked to the severely wounded person. Deep in District 24, severe injury basically meant certain death.
This was a first-class investigator, of average strength, not strong but steady.
"Captain Bai~, Captain, am I~, going to die?"
Su Xiao crouched down, looking at the first-class investigator.
"What's your name?"
"I, my name is Murayama."
Murayama was short but sturdy. He had been injured while covering a comrade.
In other missions, Murayama might have had a chance, but this was the "human forbidden zone" deep in District 24. It was impossible to send him back to the surface.
"This is morphine."
Su Xiao raised a syringe in his hand, looking at Murayama.
Murayama's face was ashen. The others around remained silent. Akira Mado, leaning against the fleshy wall, turned her head, unable to bear the sight.
"Inject it, Captain Bai Ye. I'm about to go into shock."
Su Xiao pinched the muscle on Murayama's arm and directly administered an intravenous injection.
Murayama's intestines had been pulled out; subcutaneous injection wouldn't alleviate his current pain.
After the morphine injection, Murayama let out a long breath, relaxed, and the twitching in his face stopped.
"Can you think clearly?"
Su Xiao stared at Murayama, who nodded.
"Captain Bai Ye, am I going to die?"
"Yeah. Any last words?"
Murayama let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.
"I already wrote them in advance, but my family was all killed by ghouls. No one will read them."
Su Xiao raised the second syringe.
"Captain Bai Ye, what's this?"
Murayama's voice was already tinged with tears.
"Cyanide. After injection, you'll 'fall asleep.' Your injuries are too severe; you can't return to the surface now."
Su Xiao didn't continue, waiting for Murayama's answer.
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die."
Murayama's emotions suddenly flared up. This was human nature; no one wanted to die.
"You are a ghoul investigator. Being an investigator isn't a cushy job. This is the mission you chose."
Murayama's body stiffened, and his constricted pupils gradually dilated.
"Come~, come on, Captain Bai, Bai Ye. I am a ghoul investigator. This is my duty. I died protecting civilians. I killed thirty-one ghouls and saved nine people from ghouls' mouths."
Murayama's lips trembled uncontrollably.
The cyanide was injected into Murayama's body. A minute later, his eyelids grew heavier, and he became drowsy.
Cyanide is commonly used for euthanasia. After ingestion or a large injection, the user quickly falls into a deep sleep, then the heart fails, and they pass away peacefully in their sleep.
Su Xiao led the reinforcement team onward. Deep in District 24, this was the harsh reality.
Morphine + cyanide was the standard equipment for venturing deep into District 24. As members of Zero Squad, Su Xiao, Yuna, and Arima Kishou all carried it, and this time Su Xiao had brought a lot.
Murayama's death didn't stir any emotion in Su Xiao. The strong live, the weak die—that was the law of the derivative world.
PS: (This week, we're on a strong promotion, which means we'll be going on the shelves on Friday. So this week's recommendation votes are very important. Please vote for Fei Wen. The updates after going on the shelves will be much better, and there will be a burst of updates on the day of release.)
Mobile users, please browse and read for a better reading experience.