Su Xiao held a microcomputer as he walked at the forefront; this device could track Arima Kishou’s location, provided by the CCG headquarters.
Although it could track Arima Kishou’s location, the underground signal was shaky, and the green dot representing Arima Kishou often disappeared.
What could be confirmed was that Arima Kishou was deep within the 24th District, several hours’ journey from Su Xiao’s current position.
The walls of the underground passage were of dark crimson flesh, creating a sense of oppression, while a faint stench pervading the air added to the irritation.
Su Xiao was very calm; the first priority now was to find Arima Kishou. What to do afterward was not mentioned by Washuu Itsuki, who only instructed to find Arima Kishou and act according to his directions.
He certainly wouldn’t follow Washuu Itsuki blindly and would judge the situation in due course.
The group proceeded smoothly enough, with Maniwa Haruo identifying the route, reaching deep into the 24th District within forty minutes.
A huge noise came from underground. Su Xiao tensed but then relaxed; the sound came from a distant location deep down.
After delving deeper into the 24th District, Su Xiao obviously felt different than before.
Large bloodstains were often visible on the ground, and occasionally, groups of ghouls would rush wildly through the passage.
Su Xiao did not actively provoke those ghouls; he was not here to expel them this time.
What’s surprising was that those ghouls ran away as soon as they saw Su Xiao and his group, with no intention of fighting.
After encountering four groups of ghouls, Shuuzou Suzuya was the first to speak up.
"Why not kill all these ghouls?"
"It’s a waste of time."
Su Xiao continued forward with the microcomputer in hand.
The location of Arima Kishou was displayed on the microcomputer, and along with a compass to guide them, the reinforcement team advanced for two hours into the 24th District.
Noisy footsteps came from ahead; the reinforcement team members were already accustomed to this, having encountered over a dozen groups of ghouls since entering the 24th District.
This time was different; upon seeing this group of ghouls, Su Xiao brought Dragon Slash to his hand.
These ghouls wore grass skirts around their waists, some even had bone tooth necklaces, with heavy graffiti painted on their faces, their bare feet pounding the ground—Primitive Ghouls! These creatures were highly likely to attack the reinforcement team.
Sure enough, these forty-plus Primitive Ghouls, upon seeing the reinforcement team, charged with fierce gestures.
One Primitive Ghoul took the lead, his bronze-colored muscles bulging with a sense of power.
Su Xiao and Shuuzou Suzuya were at the forefront, with the other investigators behind visibly flustered, having never encountered this type of ghoul.
"Bai Ye Captain, what are these? Ghouls?"
A First-Class Investigator swallowed hard. Su Xiao didn’t respond, instead advancing with a sword.
Tokaji suppressed for a long time, swiftly catching up with Su Xiao, charging toward the Primitive Ghouls.
Tokaji had no doubts, only focusing on slaying the ghouls.
Su Xiao, in silence, approached a Primitive Ghoul and swiftly sliced its neck—a brutal melee ensued.
After Su Xiao engaged the Primitive Ghouls, the other investigators raised their Kuingke and rushed forward.
Upon first encounter, the investigators realized the terrifying nature of the Primitive Ghouls, as S-level below Kuingke couldn’t cause fatal damage to them.
Though unable to use Heko, Primitive Ghouls had an unusually tough skin with immense physical strength.
A male investigator wielding a whip lashed at a Primitive Ghoul’s back, yet only left a bloody mark.
The Primitive Ghoul roared, turned its head, revealed rotten teeth, lunged, and bit the investigator’s face.
The male investigator let out an unmeaningful cry of pain as the Primitive Ghoul bit into his neck again. Official source ıs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
A large section of flesh was torn off, and the investigator clutched his neck, blood gushing through his fingers.
After a dozen seconds, there were casualties in the reinforcement team.
Cries of combat, explosions, and the sound of blade cutting flesh echoed through the spacious passage.
The reinforcement team and Primitive Ghouls clashed in a broad passage of at least eight or nine meters wide, where Su Xiao couldn’t prevent the Primitive Ghouls from charging into the crowd, nor was he here to babysit them.
The survival of these investigators depended on their capabilities, as they came to undertake a mission, not for training; their life and death were unrelated to Su Xiao, who didn’t care about their fates.
Twenty minutes later, the battle ended; over forty Primitive Ghouls were slain, ten members of the reinforcement team perished, and most of the rest suffered minor injuries, including one seriously injured person being the most troublesome.
This seriously injured individual had an arm torn off, with intestines spilling out, lying on the ground and gasping for breath, his dilated pupils suggesting imminent shock.
"Bai Ye Captain, what should we do?"
Black Basalt approached Su Xiao, his expression not looking well.
Su Xiao took out two syringes, heading to the seriously injured team member; deep within the 24th District, being seriously injured typically meant inescapable death.
This was a First-Class Investigator, moderately powerful though not exceptional, but steady.
"Bai Ye Capt~, Captain, am I~, about to die?"
Su Xiao crouched, looking at this First-Class Investigator.
"I, I’m called Murayama."
Murayama wasn’t tall but was quite strong, injured while covering a comrade.
In other missions, Murayama might have a slim chance for survival, but not here, in the ’Human Forbidden Zone’ deep within the 24th District, where returning Murayama to the surface wasn’t possible.
"This is |mo|rphine."
Su Xiao raised a syringe in his hand, looking at Murayama.
Murayama’s face was ashen, while those around them remained silent, and Maniwa Haruo, resting against the flesh wall, turned her head away, unable to bear the sight.
"Inject it, Bai Ye Captain, I’m about to pass out."
Su Xiao pinched Murayama’s arm muscle, injecting directly into his vein.
Murayama’s intestines had been exposed, so subcutaneous injection couldn’t alleviate his pain now.
After injecting |mo|rphine, Murayama exhaled, relaxing, as his facial muscles ceased twitching.
"Can you think clearly?"
Su Xiao watched Murayama, who nodded slightly.
"Bai Ye Captain, am I about to die?"
"Yes, do you have any last words?"
Murayama let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.
"I’ve written them already, but all my family was killed by ghouls, so nobody will read them."
Su Xiao raised the second syringe.
"Bai Ye Captain, what’s this?"
Murayama’s voice carried a hint of sobbing.
"Cyanide, after injection, you’ll ’fall asleep’; your injuries are too severe, and you can’t be returned to the surface now."
Su Xiao did not continue speaking, waiting for Murayama’s response.
"I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die."
Murayama became suddenly agitated, which was human nature, for none wished to perish.
"You are a Ghoul Investigator, and being an investigator is not a good job; it’s your own chosen mission."
Murayama’s body froze, his constricted pupils gradually dilating.
"Come~, come on, Bai, Bai Ye Captain, I’m a Ghoul Investigator; it’s my duty to die protecting civilians. I’ve slain thirty-one ghouls and saved nine from their clutches."
Murayama’s lips shivered constantly.
Cyanide injected into Murayama’s body, and a minute later, his eyelids grew heavy, sleepiness enveloping him.
Cyanide is typically used for euthanasia; when ingested or injected in large doses, one quickly enters deep sleep, later passing away peacefully in their dreams.
Su Xiao led the reinforcement team onward as the harshness of the 24th District revealed itself.
|Mo|rphine+cyanide is a standard for delving deep into the 24th District, carried by Su Xiao, Yuna, and Arima Kishou as members of the Zero Squad, and Su Xiao brought plenty this time.
Murayama’s death didn’t leave any impact on Su Xiao, as in the Derivative World, the strong survive and the weak perish, a set law.
PS: (Entered the strong recommendation this week, meaning it will be released on Friday, so this week’s recommendation votes are vital. Please cast them for the Wasted mosquito; post-launch updates will improve greatly, and there’ll be an outburst on the release day.)