Chapter 77: My Time Is Running Out
Su Xiao and the other person entered the underground passage, beginning their search for ghouls.
Strangely enough, when Su Xiao didn't want to encounter ghouls, they often appeared before him, but now he couldn't see a single one.
After searching bitterly for five minutes, Su Xiao smelled a faint scent of blood.
Kishou Arima nodded in acknowledgment, and the two walked slowly toward the corner ahead. Before they had gone far, they heard the sound of gnawing.
"Crunch, crunch~."
A ghoul weighing at least three hundred jin was sprawled over a corpse, wolfing it down. This was an ordinary ghoul.
The three-hundred-jin one wasn't very strong, probably between B-rank and A-rank.
"Arima, this one's good, plenty of meat."
Kishou Arima nodded.
"But we need to find a sturdy rope."
The three-hundred-jin one was startled by their conversation and looked at them blankly. In its hand was a severed leg, already gnawed to a bloody mess, revealing stark white bones.
"White, Reaper."
After seeing Su Xiao and the other person clearly, the three-hundred-jin one collapsed to the ground in terror, trembling like a sieve.
If the three-hundred-jin one had thrown away the severed leg and wiped the blood from its face, it might have looked pitiful. Unfortunately, its current appearance was like a deranged murderer who had killed and then devoured the victim's remains.
Kishou Arima and Su Xiao rushed forward. Neither used weapons; they wanted it alive.
"Help!"
The three-hundred-jin one let out a high-pitched scream.
Su Xiao kicked it hard in its large belly, sending it rolling several times. Kishou Arima stepped forward and struck the back of its neck fiercely.
The three-hundred-jin one's body went limp. Under the combined efforts of Su Xiao and Kishou Arima, even without weapons, it had no chance to resist.
With the bait secured, the two carried the three-hundred-jin one toward the central city.
As for why they carried it, this thing weighed more than three hundred jin, and it might wake up at any moment. Carrying it alone on one's back was risky.
...
In the center of the underground city, there was a vertical shaft about a dozen meters in diameter. The shaft was bottomless, pitch black inside, as if leading to the earth's core.
The inner walls of the shaft were made of steel, covered with green, slimy moss, smooth and damp.
On the moss-covered walls, dense handprints and footprints were clearly visible. Those original species must have climbed up from here.
On both sides of the shaft's mouth were two semicircular covers, very thick. If the covers were closed together, they would seal the opening tightly.
At that moment, the covers were wide open. On one of the covers, more than ten centimeters thick, there was a breach. The edges of the breach were jagged, with bloodstains visible.
The original species had broken a hole in the cover, then burst out of the shaft and opened both covers completely.
Logically, original species didn't have that kind of intelligence, but when Su Xiao had previously ventured deep into District 24, he had seen an original species that seemed like a leader. That one had intelligence and could command the others.
At that moment, Su Xiao was hiding near the shaft's mouth, with some original species wandering around.
"That Arima guy is too slow."
No sooner had he spoken than an explosion sounded in the distance.
"Boom!"
A burst of flames shot into the air, accompanied by rolling black smoke.
The original species in the central city all looked toward the explosion point, roaring as they rushed over.
After more than ten seconds, Su Xiao emerged from his hiding spot and quickly ran to the edge of the shaft.
He tried to lift one of the covers to close it.
"Clank, clank."
A sharp metallic scraping sound rang out. Su Xiao's face turned red.
"Kishou Arima, screw you. This thing weighs at least eight or nine hundred jin."
With his 15 points of Strength attribute, Su Xiao let out a roar, lifted the cover, and pushed with all his might.
"Clank, clank... boom."
One side of the semicircular cover closed. Su Xiao was drenched in sweat.
He glanced at the other cover and cursed under his breath. He should have been the one to "lure" the original species.
"Clank, clank."
He lifted the other cover. Fortunately, the covers were connected to the shaft's edge by thick bearings; otherwise, with his strength, he might not have been able to lift this metal cover.
"Boom."
Both covers were now closed. The one-meter-wide hole in the surface of the covers was especially conspicuous.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Su Xiao ran back to his previous hiding spot, dragged out the three-hundred-jin one, and also had a rope in hand.
He tied the three-hundred-jin one tightly, then, like fishing, kicked it into the hole in the covers, securing one end of the rope to the cover.
That wasn't all. Su Xiao took off his backpack, which was very heavy—it was what Kishou Arima had given him earlier.
From the backpack, he pulled out several silver metal tubes. Each tube was over ten centimeters long, as thick as a fist, with an attachment device on one end.
He attached the silver metal tubes to the cover. His task was complete, and he quickly left the shaft, heading to a nearby vantage point.
Upon reaching the vantage point, Su Xiao found that Kishou Arima was already there waiting for him. This was the meeting point they had agreed on beforehand.
"You said earlier that those covers were made of special alloy, each weighing only three hundred jin. But that thing was at least eight hundred jin, maybe even heavier."
Su Xiao stared intently at Kishou Arima, which made the latter a bit surprised.
"Not three hundred jin? The intelligence from headquarters gave me..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
Su Xiao fell silent too. He vaguely guessed something. Maybe... the CCG was starting to abandon Kishou Arima? But with such a powerful combatant, would the CCG really let him die on this mission?
"Looks like you're not doing well among the CCG's higher-ups. In your current state, you couldn't lift those two covers. That thing conservatively weighs eight hundred jin. Sending me here might have been a safety measure—if you failed, I'd take over..."
Kishou Arima let out a light laugh. For some reason, Su Xiao felt that Kishou Arima's emotions were becoming richer, unlike his usual expressionless demeanor.
"My time is already running out."
Kishou Arima said something cryptic, as if tacitly acknowledging that the CCG might be abandoning him.
"Bai Ye, you killed a ghoul named Ken Kaneki before, right? The one with only one eye and white hair."
"Yes, during the fight in District 11 and with the Aogiri Tree."
"I see. When this mission is over, I can tell you a secret. You do me a favor, and we'll discuss the details later."
Kishou Arima's current words and actions made one wonder if he was about to betray the CCG.
"Don't rush to refuse. I noticed earlier that you're different from other investigators. You're not loyal to the CCG. I don't know your purpose, but we can cooperate. I'll pay you."
Su Xiao's eyes lit up. Some astonishing secrets might soon be revealed to him. The more secretive the matter, the more World Source he could gain. He was very interested in the secret Kishou Arima mentioned.
"Let's talk about it when we get back to the surface. It's too early for this now."
Su Xiao wasn't blinded by the benefits. Whether Kishou Arima could be trusted remained to be seen.
After the earlier explosion, the original species in the central city had gathered near the explosion point. Finding nothing there, they gradually dispersed.
The central city had become their territory, and they were patrolling it.
"Did you hit it too hard? That three-hundred-jin one still hasn't woken up."
Su Xiao looked helplessly at the closed covers.
"It should be soon. That thing has too much fat; it's hard to gauge the force."
The two lay prone at the vantage point near the shaft, waiting for the three-hundred-jin one inside to wake up.
Half an hour later, faint cries for help came from the shaft.
"Is anyone there? Help!"
"Which bastard investigator hung me here? It's so dark, help~~."
The shouts grew louder. The original species in the central city perked up their ears at the sound. This sudden noise from the shaft seemed to touch a nerve, and they surged over like a tidal wave.
"Are you sure these original species won't go into that well? I feel like these 'beasts' are completely enraged and will tear that three-hundred-jin one apart."
"Positive. Original species won't enter the well. I tested it before."
Since Kishou Arima said so, Su Xiao didn't press further.
"Someone!! Help!!"
"White Reaper, I ************."
After the initial fear, the three-hundred-jin one started cursing profusely. This was undoubtedly a good thing; hundreds of original species were being lured over.
"Big brother, I'll call you big brother. Just kill me. This is too painful."
The three-hundred-jin one began to beg for mercy.
An original species crawled onto the cover, cautiously bringing its head close to the hole, not daring to cross the line. Upon seeing the three-hundred-jin one, it let out a roar.
"Roar."
"Roar. Roar..."
Roars came one after another. A large group of original species paced anxiously on the cover, wanting to kill the three-hundred-jin one but afraid to enter the shaft, as if fearing something.
The time was ripe. Su Xiao took out a detonation device.
The silver metal tubes he had attached to the cover were bombs. He had carried the bombs himself, so he had to keep the detonation device in his hands.
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