Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Vera sat silently in the back seat, not reading the newspaper, but simply smiling faintly as she rested her chin on her hand and gazed at the dim lights outside the car window. She seemed quite interested, perhaps thinking of something interesting.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Vera suppressed her smile and looked at Akira Mado, who was walking towards her while checking messages on a PDA (handheld computer).

You seem to be in a good mood.

"Ah, it reminds me of a USA reality show I watched not long ago, a debate about nicknames."

Vera crossed her legs, finding a more comfortable position.

Although she reached out and took the PDA from the junior officer, she still kept her eyes on the 'outside the car window' out of the corner of her eye.

The 'outside the window' that only she can see.

She was just watching a 'reality show' in a different dimension:

At a joint press conference ostensibly between the Military Science and Technology Agency and the BSAA, a certain "resurrected" anti-BOW and anti-biochemical terrorist hero—a guy with black hands, black half-body, and black feet—performed on stage, putting on a show in various ways.

The performance included pulling on the Pillars of Hercules, bending steel pipes, overturning cars, pushing trucks, jumping beyond the limits of normal human ability, running at high speed, and controlling strength...

A grand marketing campaign for prosthetic products.

For Vera, the biggest highlight was watching that burly man complete various performances and public BSAA physical fitness tests with a grumpy face, and then he had to treat the celebrities, socialites, and children who came on stage to take photos with him with gentle hands and soft voices.

Just like watching TV, she has her own 'five' programs. For now, there are five.

If there were a 'she' in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, she would certainly not need to worry about the mental emptiness and lethargy caused by constant tension and lack of entertainment.

To bring her thoughts to a close, Vera picked up her PDA, swiped the touchscreen, and began browsing the document summary that her junior adjutant had brought up for her.

"Interview?"

Vera paused for a moment, her gaze lingering on the document sent by the 'CCG External Relations Section', before turning to Akira Mado.

“A rising star author wants to interview a frontline CCG investigator for her new book. She saw your name, sir, and was drawn to your experience transferring to Tokyo for the USA region. She wants to interview you.”

“She…” Vera’s lips curled into a slightly amused smile, “Who?”

“Takatsuki Sen.” Fearing that Vera might not know this person, after all, she was from the USA and had only been working in Tokyo for less than four months, Mado Akira explained: “The author of the popular novel ‘The Egg of the Black Goat,’ a beautiful young girl writer who is very popular among young people in Japan.”

She leaned down and lightly tapped the PDA in Vera's hand a few times.

The retrieved registration photo showed a sweet-looking, quiet woman with thick, voluminous dark green hair. She was strikingly beautiful; it was hard to imagine she was the kind of novelist who wore glasses and toiled away under the lights.

"If you're not interested, sir, I can refuse on your behalf..."

"I accepted."

"Huh?" Vera's answer surprised Mado Akira, but as a reliable and capable adjutant, she nodded and said she would contact the Foreign Affairs Department to schedule an interview.

After returning the PDA to Akira Mado, Vera immediately looked at the route LED electronic display screen inside the carriage, indicating that they were about to arrive at the CCG branch in Ward 20.

Takatsuki Sen... Yoshimura Eto... The One-Eyed Owl of "Aogiri Tree".

It takes no effort at all.

You're the one who insisted on delivering it to my door...

"Sergeant Russell, we have arrived at the CCG branch in District 20."

With a slight braking sound, the vehicle came to a stop. Inside the official bus, a senior investigator reported, "Our colleagues from the branch are already waiting here."

"Sir Russell, welcome to District 20."

Vera straightened her clothes and stepped out of the car. A CCG 20 investigator with a dove-shaped badge on his collar approached her with a smile.

"What about Mado Go-no-san, the senior officer?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she got straight to the point.

"Commander Mado and First Class Amon are out on a search mission and are currently unavailable..."

"Share their locations and send me their positions. At the same time, send out manpower to cooperate with my people in launching a raid."

With "Black Abyss III" in one hand and an eye-catching black and gold-rimmed case in the other, Vera turned to the dozen or so elite investigators who had followed her out of the car and gave them brief instructions: "Sector 20, our objective is clear: find high-risk ghouls and then drive them away and kill them. As for the small fry, kill them on sight, but don't bother with them."

"After the routine inspection of Ward 20, we're going to support Ward 11. Time is of the essence, that sharp-tongued guy Marude is pushing us hard. That's all I have to say, everyone, don't die easily... Let's go."

"Yes!"×N

Akira Mado pulled out her PDA at the opportune moment; the location was confirmed. "The position of Senior Officer Mado Kureo has been confirmed." Her voice was slightly complex and excited. Fighting alongside her father…

Vera stopped talking and turned to look at the downtown area.

Feeling of being watched.

From the moment she stepped out of the car and appeared in the parking lot of the CCG branch in District 20, talking to others, at least three malicious gazes lingered on her, along with a burning desire that seemed to want to dismember and devour her.

“Is the target? Interesting…” A barely perceptible smile appeared on Vera’s lips.

...

The rain poured down suddenly.

Suddenly, a torrential downpour violently pounded against the glass of the shops on the commercial street, making a crisp, crackling sound.

Just as pedestrians on the street were taking shelter from the rain and preparing to go home, a mother and daughter, one big and one small, with brown hair and brown eyes, who looked almost identical, seemed to be having some kind of disagreement on the sidewalk.

The mother, sporting a rather dangerous side ponytail, held an umbrella and pulled the girl along, seemingly preparing to go home, but the girl was excitedly saying something.

"Hina?"

"It's Dad...it's Dad's scent! Mom, Dad's nearby, he must be here to pick us up!"

"How...how could..."

The girl broke free from her mother's hand, followed the direction she had chosen, and, ignoring the heavy rain that soaked her hair and clothes, plunged headlong into the flowing crowd.

The mother anxiously chased after him.

Da da--

Finally, the girl turned a corner at a wide alley and called out, "Daddy!"

But what came into view was a figure carrying a suitcase, and the girl's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Hinashi!" The mother arrived as well. Without hesitation, she shielded her daughter behind her, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, her expression one of despair and struggle as she watched the two suitcase carriers approaching from the front.

"What a good rain."

The hunched-over, white-haired, middle-aged man with sickly-looking, bulging eyes grinned. "But if it keeps raining this hard, I'll be very troubled. Because then I won't be able to hear your cries of agony."

Two more armed figures appeared behind Kuanxiang, blocking the way.

"Could you spare a little time?" The middle-aged man with sickly, uneven eyes looked up. "Ms. Fueguchi."

"Escape...get out of here, don't look back, Hinami."

With utterly calm words, the mother's eyes suddenly reddened, revealing her ghoul eyes. Sizzle! Four off-white ghouls shaped like flower petals suddenly bloomed from her shoulder blades, forming an enormous moth-wing-shaped ghoul.

"Hmph, the love between a cannibalistic monster and its offspring? How disgusting!"

Click! The sound of the quinque opening came just as the tall, muscular man with a neat buzz cut swung the giant, cylindrical, club-shaped quinque forward. *Swish—*

A voice came through the headset.

"Mado, First Class; Amon, First Class, step back! Several S-Class Dangerous Ghouls have been detected operating in your vicinity!"

In response, a thunderous boom—

The chaotic and noisy Yuhe unleashed the whistling sound of crystal prisms and explosions.

The sound of walls collapsing and stones falling to the ground.

A broad and muscular figure flew out, smashing through the shop's facade. Rough, large, and sharp, its serrated blade-like body thrashed about, crashing into the ground with a deafening roar.

"Hiss... Blood, hiss, I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'm going to kill!"

The tall, muscular man wielding the club who had charged forward had retreated to the side of the hunched-over middle-aged man, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Jason the Gecko?!"

------

Chapter 080 Vera Eliminates the Ghoul

a few minutes ago.

The bustling downtown area of ​​District 20.

The drizzle fell softly, like silk threads.

People hurried across the street in the rain, and when they noticed a group of special pedestrians carrying silver-white trunks and wearing white coats with dove brooches on their collars, they spontaneously made way for them. At the same time, their pace became even more hurried.

Holding an umbrella, Vera, accompanied by Akira Mado and a team of CCG investigators, strolled purposefully through the peaceful and quiet neighborhood.

Gazing at the peaceful street, she turned her head with interest. "Xiao, do you think they welcome us more or are they more afraid and annoyed by us?"

"Perhaps it's because of the nature of our work."

After a pause, Akira Mado spoke very seriously.

"...The appearance of white doves signifies ghoul predation incidents, death, and misfortune. No one wants misfortune to happen around them."

Following behind Vera, she put down her PDA (handheld computer) and, instead of answering the question directly, thoughtfully observed the quickly departing crowd: students leaving school, office workers getting off work, loving couples, and families going out for the day…

This atmosphere, full of everyday life, vaguely reminded Akira Mado of the beautiful times when her mother was still alive and her father hadn't gone mad yet.

Compared to the rampant ghoul 'communion' in Ward 14, the well-established sadistic ghoul organization 'White Suit' in Ward 13, the frequent deaths of investigators in Ward 12, and the hordes of ghouls attacking humans in Ward 11...

District 20 is so peaceful and serene.

"I have to admit it. The 'Angel of Death' is also one of the side traits of the investigators." Vera wasn't interested in delving into this issue; it was just a casual remark. She wasn't a Tokyo police officer; her duty was simply to eliminate ghouls.

"The 20th ward is known for its stability. But is the 20th ward really that stable?"

She changed the subject, a strange smile appearing on her face, "Stability that has remained unchanged for over a decade. Formed naturally, do you believe it?"

"What do you mean...?"

"literal meaning."