CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 7: BEAUTIFUL AS A FLOWER, FEROCIOUS AS A WOLF

After all members of the Bronze Tree retreated, the battle also subsided.

Su Xiao sheathed the "Dragon Slash," picked up his coat from the ground, and draped it over his shoulder.

During the fight with Takatsuki Sen, he lost a total of 12% of his Life Value. Because his lower abdomen was still bleeding, his Life Value continued to decrease slowly.

Su Xiao also noted Takatsuki Sen’s Blood Bar. His previous two strikes probably cost Takatsuki Sen more than 10% of her Life Value.

It must be said that the vitality of Ghouls is indeed astonishing. In Ghoul Speaker form, Takatsuki Sen’s Physical attributes were at least 15 points or more.

When comparing various attributes, Takatsuki Sen was definitely stronger than Su Xiao, but when it comes to combat strength, the two were hard to compare.

In Su Xiao’s opinion, Takatsuki Sen’s battle experience was fairly rich, but her combat skills were appallingly crude, relying mainly on brute force.

This is also why he could easily defeat S-Level Ghouls. When fighting, Ghouls tend to charge headlong at the enemy, then use brute strength to defeat them.

Otherwise, those investigators from CCG couldn’t be a match for the Ghouls.

CCG investigators are just ordinary people with excellent physical qualities, fighting Ghouls with technique and intelligence, though there are exceptions.

The appearance of Amon Koutarou signifies that this place has been surrounded by CCG, which is undoubtedly a good opportunity to join CCG.

After sheathing the "Dragon Slash," Su Xiao walked slowly toward Amon Koutarou.

"Stop."

Amon Koutarou shouted, simultaneously pressing a button on the handle of his briefcase, causing it to undergo a significant transformation, as something inside rapidly expanded.

The briefcase hit the ground, and Amon Koutarou now held a peculiarly shaped weapon.

A metal staff wrapped with Heko in its upper half was Amon Koutarou’s Kuingke.

This peculiarly shaped Kuingke fascinated Su Xiao. Can it really be used for combat?

"Who are you? Ghoul? Human?"

Amon Koutarou gripped his Kuingke tightly with both hands, watching Su Xiao cautiously, as Su Xiao’s earlier pursuit of the One-eyed King Gaozhi Quan had spurred this First-Class Investigator.

"Have you ever seen a Ghoul fight with a sword?"

Su Xiao placed one hand on the hilt at his waist and continued walking toward Amon Koutarou.

Amon Koutarou was just about to speak when Su Xiao preemptively spoke.

"No need to be nervous. If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."

A flash of white light, and "Dragon Slash" was unsheathed, directly resting on Amon Koutarou’s neck.

"Gulu~." Amon Koutarou swallowed, unable to believe it. Su Xiao’s draw speed was astonishingly fast.

"So, there’s no need to be tense."

Putting away the "Dragon Slash," Su Xiao patted Amon Koutarou on the shoulder.

Amon Koutarou felt a surge of immense frustration. If the opponent were a Ghoul, he would have already been beheaded.

"Hey."

"What." Amon Koutarou looked at Su Xiao quizzically.

"Are you guys at CCG still recruiting? That Ghoul lying over there can be considered my gift for joining CCG."

It was then that Amon Koutarou noticed the headless corpse of Gecko.

"Is this~, S-Level Ghoul Jason?"

Amon Koutarou holding his Kuingke, ran a few steps to Gecko’s body. In CCG’s files, Gecko was named Jason.

"You haven’t answered my question yet."

Su Xiao took out some medical bandages from his storage space, cleaned the blood from his abdominal wound, and haphazardly bandaged it.

Amon Koutarou hesitated for a moment, but he knew in his heart that this was an opportunity. Su Xiao’s ability to pursue the One-eyed King·Owl speaks to incredible strength.

There are no more than two people in CCG capable of this.

"Joining CCG requires a stringent assessment, but your situation is special. As long as it’s confirmed you’re not a Ghoul, joining CCG should be no problem."

With a definite answer, Su Xiao smiled.

His biggest fear was that joining CCG would be too troublesome; he didn’t have much time for his main quest.

"Da, da, da..."

The sound of urgent footsteps came, and an old man with shoulder-length white hair, carrying a briefcase, rushed into the room.

The old man not only had white hair but also had one large and one small eye, moving with a slightly neurotic behavior, giving off a sickly impression.

"Where is it? It must be here, Owl."

The newcomer was Amon Koutarou’s superior, First-Class Investigator Shimohira Washitsu.

Shimohira Washitsu was originally a very justice-oriented Ghoul Investigator, humble in demeanor, but his wife was killed by Ghouls, and he personally witnessed her face being devoured.

After that, Shimohira Washitsu’s personality changed dramatically, harboring extreme hatred for Ghouls and becoming obsessed with crafting Kuingke.

Yet even so, Shimohira Washitsu was quite good to his fellow investigators, as evidenced by his earnest mentoring of Amon Koutarou.

"Mr. Matsumae, you’re here."

Amon Koutarou went up to meet him, whispering something to Shimohira Washitsu.

Not long after, both large and small eyes of Shimohira Washitsu suddenly widened, staring at Su Xiao in disbelief.

Shimohira Washitsu took a few brisk steps to Su Xiao, moving very agilely, then sniffed around Su Xiao like a canine.

"Human, there’s no mistake. That beastly smell—I’ll never forget it until I die."

After confirming Su Xiao was human, Shimohira Washitsu became very enthusiastic.

"Hello, I’m Shimohira Washitsu. Did you really engage with the One-Eyed Owl?"

The flames seemed to burn in Shimohira Washitsu’s eyes, full of anticipation.

Seeing Shimohira Washitsu’s gaze, Su Xiao sighed. It was such a familiar look. He once had that gaze too.

Hatred, all-consuming hatred.

"Yeah, engaged, but the terrain was tricky, and the bastard got away. What a pity."

"Hahaha." A laugh that was both morbid and crazy came out.

"You want to join the CCG? Come with me, I’ll vouch for you."

At this point, Shimohira Washitsu no longer cared about Su Xiao’s background or identity. As long as the One-Eyed King·Owl could be killed, he would give anything, including his life.

"Mr. Matsumae, calm down a bit."

Amon Koutarou placed his hand on Shimohira Washitsu’s shoulder, who took a moment to calm his breathing and nodded.

"May I have your name?" Amon Koutarou said, smiling at Su Xiao.

"Bai Ye."

"Your background?"

"..."

Su Xiao’s silence left Amon Koutarou a bit helpless.

"Alright, Mister Bai Ye, you’ve been injured in your previous battle and it was against a Ghoul. We have our medical car below. As for joining the CCG, we can discuss it further at the District 20 branch."

Su Xiao pondered for a moment, finally nodded, and followed Amon Koutarou downstairs.

Shimohira Washitsu had already spotted Gecko’s corpse, lifted it over his shoulder, and went downstairs with the two.

By then, a dozen vehicles had already stopped beneath the building. A cacophony of police sirens blared, and red and blue lights flashed.

CCG might have received a report from the public about the Ghoul’s presence, so they dispatched two Ghoul Investigators, while the on-site police officers were only responsible for evacuating nearby civilians.

At the back of a medical vehicle, Su Xiao sat bare-chested on a makeshift sickbed as a beautiful young nurse focused intently on treating his wound.

"Uhm,~" a timid voice from the young nurse reached his ears, and Su Xiao glanced sideways.

"The wound is too deep; I should use a bit of anesthetic, otherwise..."

"No need, anesthetics will affect my nerve reflex speed, just go for the stitches."

The young nurse hesitated momentarily, but eventually nodded in agreement.

Though this young nurse was as pretty as a flower, with a timid voice and a look suggesting she could easily be pounced on, she worked with a fierce hand, as seen from Su Xiao’s occasionally twitching face.