"Meat… human meat!"
"Let me eat you!"
Kaneki Ken let out a hoarse roar and lunged at the figure in front of him.
"Tch. Already so hungry you've lost all rationality?"
"How disgusting."
"You really look awful like this."
"Just like my sister back then, equally revolting."
The man was Ayato Kirishima, Touka Kirishima's younger brother.
This time, acting on orders from the upper echelon of Aogiri Tree, he had come to capture Kaneki Ken and bring him back to cooperate with Kano Akihiro's experiments.
The moment Kaneki rushed in front of him, Ayato swept his leg out.
Bang!
The kick slammed directly into Kaneki's abdomen.
Kaneki's body tumbled across the ground, rolling more than ten meters away as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ayato walked over unhurriedly, grabbed Kaneki by the head, and lifted him up before smashing him violently against the wall.
Boom!
Even the solid wall caved in, leaving behind a deep crater.
"As a ghoul, you don't have even the slightest bit of self-awareness,"
Ayato sneered.
"For the sake of so-called morality and humanity, you've tortured yourself into this pathetic state."
"Do you know something?"
"People like you make me sick."
He threw Kaneki to the ground and began stomping down on him repeatedly.
After a while, Kaneki's head tilted to the side.
At last, he lost consciousness.
"So weak,"
Ayato muttered to himself.
"You can't even withstand this much."
He hoisted Kaneki over his shoulder, then with a few rapid flashes of movement, vanished from the alley.
20th Ward.
Outside the CCG Branch Headquarters.
A petite girl stood at the entrance, constantly glancing around.
It was Chie Hori.
Before long, a security guard approached her.
"Hey, kid," he said kindly.
"This isn't a place to play. Go somewhere else."
Because she was short, petite, and had a face like a little doll, Chie looked no older than ten.
In reality, she was already twenty-four years old, with a mature and sharp mind.
Hearing the guard's words, she pouted unhappily.
"Don't look down on me. I'm here to deliver something."
"Deliver something?"
The guard smiled.
"To whom? I can pass it along for you."
"No need," Chie replied immediately.
"The person who gave me the item said it must be handed directly to Special Class Investigator Shinohara Yukinori."
"He also said that as long as I give it to Mr. Shinohara, I'll receive a 50 million yen bounty."
"That's a huge reward. I'm not giving that opportunity to you."
She lifted her chin proudly, speaking with complete seriousness.
"Fifty million yen?"
The guard's expression changed instantly.
"Isn't that the bounty for information on the 'Ghoul Hunter'?"
"Does this little girl actually have intel related to the Ghoul Hunter?"
The thought made his heart skip.
He didn't dare delay any longer.
"Alright, kid. Come with me."
"I'll take you to see Special Class Investigator Shinohara."
CCG Headquarters, 11th Floor.
Inside a small reception room.
Shinohara Yukinori was meeting with Chie Hori.
Also present were Houji, Amon Koutarou, and Mado Akira.
"Little girl,"
Shinohara said gently,
"what is it that you want to give us?"
"You can take it out now."
"First tell me something," Chie said seriously.
"If what I give you is really useful, can I definitely get that 50 million yen bounty?"
She looked like a child, yet spoke of fifty million yen without the slightest hesitation.
Amon and the others exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.
"As long as the information you provide can confirm the Ghoul Hunter's identity,"
Shinohara explained patiently,
"the bounty will naturally be yours."
"Hehe, that's more like it," Chie said happily.
"That big brother really didn't lie to me."
Of course, there was no "big brother."
That was something she had completely made up
a way to conceal her real identity and keep herself out of the whirlpool.
As she spoke, she reached into her small shoulder bag and took out a photograph, handing it to Shinohara.
"Here. It's this photo."
She turned her head aside, pretending she didn't dare look at it.
Shinohara Yukinori took the photo.
The moment he saw it, his pupils shrank violently.
In the photograph
A man stood beneath blazing spotlights.
Severed limbs littered the ground around him.
In his hand was a long blade, and his eyes were filled with intoxicated pleasure, as if he were savoring the blood-soaked scene.
The man in the photo was not unfamiliar to Shinohara.
He was the same person Mado Akira had shown him yesterday.
The third-year student from Kiyomi High School
Fushimi Kyo.
"You should all take a look,"
Shinohara said, passing the photo to Mado Akira.
Mado Akira glanced at it, then calmly wrote a note in her notebook:
Ghoul Hunter identity confirmed.
Kiyomi High School, third-year student: Fushimi Kyo.
Extremely high threat level.
"So it really is him…"
Amon Koutarou thought inwardly.
"I never imagined that an ordinary third-year high school student could do something this horrifying."
The photo circulated around the room.
"Well?"
Chie asked eagerly.
"Is it useful? Can I get the 50 million now?"
"Of course,"
Shinohara replied with a nod.
"I'll submit the application to headquarters shortly. The money will be transferred to the account you provided."
"Oh, right," he added.
"Can you tell us who gave you this photograph?"
"Oh, come on," Chie said innocently.
"When he gave it to me, he was completely wrapped up from head to toe. How would I know who he was?"
She sounded utterly sincere.
"I see,"
Shinohara nodded.
"If someone doesn't want to expose themselves, they'll naturally take precautions."
"Mado, please escort this young lady out first,"
he said.
"I need to report this matter to headquarters immediately."
Walking through the CCG office building, Chie looked around casually.
But her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Fushimi-kun," she mused silently,
"I do like you quite a bit…"
"But you're really worth too much money."
"Fifty million yen."
"Who would've thought a single photo could generate such massive profit?"
"Still…"
"I wonder if you'll survive this ordeal."
"After all, to the CCG, you'd make a pretty decent experimental subject."
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