Chapter 76: Parting the Mist
"A well?"
"Yes, a well. A deep shaft leading underground. Those 'Primordial Species' come from there. What we need to do is drive those 'Primordial Species' back into that well."
After listening to Kishou Arima's description, Su Xiao's expression seemed to say, 'Are you fucking kidding me.'
There were at least several thousand 'Primordial Species' in the underground city. Forget fighting these ghouls; if they were discovered now, the two of them would be dead without a burial place.
"Arima, I wish you success."
Su Xiao patted Kishou Arima on the shoulder, turned around, and prepared to retreat. His decisive attitude left Kishou Arima stunned.
"Are you going to disobey the Bureau's orders?"
Kishou Arima's tone was calm, without any hint of threat, as if he were probing something.
"I'm an Investigator, yes, but I won't carry out a suicide mission."
Hearing Su Xiao's answer, Kishou Arima's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a different light within them.
"Disobeying Bureau orders usually results in being fired by the Bureau. But the situation is different now. If the two of us don't complete this task, it'll be our death sentence when we return to the surface."
Su Xiao stopped in his tracks and looked at Kishou Arima. Today's Kishou Arima was somewhat unusual, yet he couldn't pinpoint what was different—it was just an instinct.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think the ghouls here are normal? Most Investigators will never see a Primordial Species in their lifetime.
If I'm not mistaken, your mission this time is to reinforce me. The Bureau would have assigned one or two Special Class Investigators to you. Kuroiwa? Akira Amon? Or maybe Marude? Others are unlikely."
Kishou Arima had been deep within District 24 all along. He had a phone call with Su Xiao earlier, but after that, due to no signal underground, he lost contact with the outside world. Yet he guessed which Special Class Investigators the Bureau sent to District 24. If there was no trickery here, Su Xiao absolutely wouldn't believe it.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Complete this mission. We must, absolutely must complete it. If we can make it back to the surface alive, pretend nothing happened. Remember, even if you're unwilling, pretend to comply."
Su Xiao stared at Kishou Arima, pondering whether Kishou Arima was trustworthy.
In the original story, Kishou Arima always appeared obedient to Yoshitoki Washuu, like a pawn.
But now it seemed Kishou Arima was definitely not a 'gun' in anyone's hands. He probably knew many of CCG's secrets, and if he didn't obey, he would be eliminated.
"Answer me one question. If I return to the surface now, who will Yoshitoki Washuu send to kill me?"
Kishou Arima let out a long breath, as if he had been evaluating Su Xiao earlier.
"Ghouls."
Two simple words, yet they revealed too much information.
"What if we join forces to defy orders?"
Su Xiao still didn't know if Kishou Arima was trustworthy; he was probing.
"If the two of us join forces, there's a chance of survival. But after that, we'll face a relentless pursuit from enemies you wouldn't expect."
Silence. A long silence.
Around them, aside from the occasional low growl of a 'Primordial Species,' it was deathly still.
"Just the two of us driving these ghouls back is suicide. We need another way."
The attitude Kishou Arima had just shown was almost a subtle form of recruitment. After Su Xiao said, 'What if we join forces to defy orders?' Kishou Arima didn't show anger or loyalty to CCG; instead, he clearly answered Su Xiao's question.
Neither of them knew if the other was trustworthy, so they could only probe each other inadvertently.
One point Kishou Arima mentioned, Su Xiao thought was relatively credible: if they didn't complete the Bureau's current mission, even returning to the surface would be dangerous.
Su Xiao was learning more and more about CCG, and his strength was outstanding. CCG might want to train him into a second Kishou Arima, an 'obedient' 'gun.'
Kishou Arima's attitude toward CCG was feigned obedience; this guy was probably planning something.
Su Xiao sighed. He had only watched two seasons of the Tokyo Ghoul anime, and hadn't read the manga afterward. He mostly understood the Tokyo Ghoul world through bits and pieces on forums.
This made him decide internally: when he returned to the real world this time, he would catch up on anime, and lots of it.
Catching up wasn't for entertainment, but to gather intelligence.
……
Kishou Arima lifted his Quinque case, revealing a rare smile, as if he had figured something out.
"We need a plan, and my idea is this…"
Kishou Arima detailed his plan. It was simple: use fresh flesh and blood as bait to attract the surrounding Primordial Species.
The trust crisis was temporarily resolved, but a new problem arose: where to find fresh flesh and blood.
"Anyway, let's get out of here first. We can't do anything here."
Su Xiao surveyed the surrounding Primordial Species. There were only a few, and as long as they were cautious, they wouldn't be discovered.
"What were you doing here before?"
When Su Xiao found Kishou Arima, the latter was lying on the roof.
"Cough… Dehydrated and starving, I was a bit exhausted, resting here temporarily.
Let's leave first. We'll look for 'bait.'"
Kishou Arima was slightly embarrassed, as being too weak from hunger to wait for death was somewhat shameful.
Carefully avoiding the Primordial Species, both were highly skilled. In terms of stealth, Su Xiao was even better than Kishou Arima.
Leaping across the rooftops of steel buildings, Su Xiao soon arrived before the entrance to the underground city.
Making a standby gesture to Akira Mado and Juuzou Suzuya above, Su Xiao and Kishou Arima entered the passage.
They needed to find fresh flesh and blood as bait inside the underground passage.
After entering the passage, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, it was like being on silent mode; even speaking had to be in hushed tones.
"Arima, do you know the route? We won't get lost, will we?"
Kishou Arima shook his head.
"No. With such a drastic change in the Central City, all the ghouls in the control room fled. Those Primordial Species can't operate the machinery in the control room."
It seemed Kishou Arima was very familiar with the underground city of District 24.
Seeing Su Xiao's confusion, Kishou Arima continued.
"Central City is this underground city. It's Tokyo's largest ghoul gathering place. Most ghouls live here, just like humans live on the surface.
Explaining the control room is a bit complicated. Simply put, the control room is one of the most important buildings in Central City. It can manipulate the flesh walls of District 24, causing them to constantly change. That's why we get lost in the underground passages."
Kishou Arima revealed a secret: District 24 beneath Tokyo was the city where ghouls lived.
Humans lived on the surface of Tokyo, while ghouls lived underground in Tokyo, as if some kind of balance had been achieved. Only CCG could maintain this order.
But in Su Xiao's view, this order was somewhat twisted. Humans and ghouls were mortal enemies and couldn't coexist. Why did CCG force them to coexist? What was the reason?
Su Xiao could now confirm one thing: CCG definitely did not exist to protect humans. Perhaps the truth was far more terrifying than imagined.