A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1271

Chapter 1271: 858 Chapter Bronze Tree Chapter 1271: 858 Chapter Bronze Tree For the Special Tactics Bureau, the fact ghouls could appear right in headquarters incited rage and shock.

Before, it was mentioned that the Bureau also had means to identify ghouls–of course, not as powerful as the Tribunal's Bird Divination Tool, but generally still quite useful.

That would be the RC detection gate.

Based on the Bureau's analysis of ghoul corpses, ghouls have a far higher concentration of something called RC cells within their bodies than humans, and in fact, ghouls consume humans precisely to absorb the RC cells within them.

Targeting this, the Bureau invented the RC detection gate, which scans everyone entering and exiting; should it find any presence of RC cells exceeding human standards, an alarm would naturally be triggered.

So what do you know, this green-haired woman walked back and forth through the detection gate and it didn't make a peep?

What use is this thing! Is it broken? Or is there a quality issue? Or is it simply a defective product?

Thus, the entire Special Tactics Bureau headquarters was immediately sealed off, requiring everyone to undergo further inspection. After all, no one knew if other ghouls had infiltrated their ranks.

Of course, Duanmu Huai was also brought in to ask how he knew the other party was a ghoul, to which Duanmu Huai made no secret, presenting the Bird Divination Tool.

“Is this it?”

Inspector Marute looked at the Bird Divination Tool before him with a serious expression.

“I really didn't expect the Tribunal to have such capabilities, to be able to pinpoint a ghoul just with such a small device… But I also understand now how you could so easily and swiftly… Anyway, there's no point in discussing that.”

Inspector Marute coughed once, then turned to look at Duanmu Huai.

“So, Mr. Duanmu, I have a rather audacious request, would you please assist us in a comprehensive search of everyone in headquarters? We suspect that besides that one woman, there might well be other ghouls hiding their identities here.”

“Of course, no problem.”

Fortunately, after Duanmu Huai conducted a search on the entire Bureau headquarters staff, the other investigators and personnel were ruled out of suspicion. This put the investigators at ease; apparently, there was no issue with the RC detection gate, but that green-haired woman used some means to evade the scan of the RC detection gate.

Of course… This is absolutely intolerable!

Soon, the battered corpse that Mary had dealt with was immediately taken for research, and the investigators, like hungry wolves, pounced on the green-haired woman's home–after all, she's no ordinary person, but rather a well-known novelist with significant social influence, and acquainted with many people.

Then, how many ghouls were there among these people she knew?

This was the question the investigators had to tackle.

Duanmu Huai had no interest in this, and thus left headquarters with Mary. As for the rest, they would wait for the investigators to find the clues and then decide.

By the way, Duanmu Huai had also lent the Bird Divination Tool to the Bureau. One could imagine that at this moment, those investigators were scanning everywhere with the Bird Divination Tool, and if they discovered those ghouls hiding their identities, one could imagine it wouldn't be something good–well, at least for the ghouls.

For humans, it's obviously not a bad thing.

But for the ghouls, it's a nightmare.

“What the hell is going on! Why has it come to this!”

A blue-haired young man slammed his fist on the table, teeth clenched, utterly furious. There are several ghoul organizations, and right now, this blue-haired youth is a member of one such ghoul group, the Bronze Tree. Since its inception, Bronze Tree's goal was to establish a self-governing area for ghouls. And Bronze Tree's strength was indeed formidable; they had successfully subjugated several ghouls in various areas and brought them under their command.

They even followed in the footsteps of the Special Tactics Bureau's system, assembling hunting teams specifically to hunt down investigators.

However, unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Just when Bronze Tree was reveling in their pride, they were dealt a heavy blow.

In fact, Duanmu Huai was unaware that the auction he had casually destroyed previously was actually a Bronze Tree enterprise. After all, to maintain their large organizational structure, Bronze Tree also needed to operate and obtain financial support. They organized auctions and made contact with many ghouls in high positions to help with the cover-up.

However, overnight, everything was ruined.

Not only was the auction directly destroyed by the Tribunal, but the ghoul families involved were all killed without exception. This naturally left other ghoul organizations terrified, and rumors even started circulating that those people were targeted by the Bureau and lost their lives because of their connection with Bronze Tree.

Consequently, everyone was wary, and although Bronze Tree's expansion became much smoother than before, it wasn't because of their massive power, but rather other ghoul organizations quickly fled upon hearing that Bronze Tree was coming. They did not wish to end up related to them and get executed en masse just like those Noble ghouls.

Moreover, even within Bronze Tree's ranks, many members, believing the rumors, chose to leave, and although the upper echelon forcibly suppressed their discontent, but…

“Damn it!”

The blue-haired youth punched the table again, nervously taking a seat. The reason for his dejection wasn't so much Bronze Tree's plight but more so for his sister–his naive sister, longing for coexistence with humans, lived in a cafe called “Safety Zone” in Ward 20 but had recently vanished without a trace. He had gone to check, only to find the entire cafe was sealed off, and he'd heard that all ghouls there were annihilated…

He didn't know the state of his sister, but this discovery left him restless.

“We must make a decision now.”

Just then, another man wearing a mask spoke out in a cold voice.

“Looking at the current situation, humans are gradually encircling us. Under these conditions, it's very dangerous for the Bronze Tree to continue expanding. Therefore… starting now, I believe the Bronze Tree should head to Ward 24 to lay low for a while.”

“What did you say?”

Upon hearing the masked man's words, the blue-haired youth dashed over and grabbed his collar.

“Are you kidding me, telling us to go to Ward 24?!”

It's no wonder the blue-haired youth was so angry. The so-called Ward 24 isn't an official district name; instead, it's a vast network of underground channels deep beneath the city. Long ago, it had become a gathering place for many Ghouls, where those with no way out, nowhere to go, would hide underground. Over time, it has become a new district.

Ward 24.

But… that's the place where only losers go!

“Are you saying that our Bronze Tree has to flee like those losers, scurrying into some hole?”

“Don't get so worked up.”

The masked man patted the blue-haired youth's hand. Although his motion did not seem forceful, the blue-haired youth's hand was still slapped away.

“You should be well aware that this situation is completely different. The Special Countermeasures Bureau has hunted Ghouls before, but they have never been as efficient as now – overnight, dozens of Ghoul Families were exterminated, not a single survivor. We don't even know who did it. Under these circumstances, blind expansion will only bring more danger to the Bronze Tree, and moreover…”

“Moreover?”

“What do you think those Ghouls, who left their own territories, went to?”

Hearing the masked man's question, the blue-haired youth's anger somewhat subsided.

“Are you saying… they also went to Ward 24?”

“That's the only possibility. Staying above ground, nowhere is safe. Only in Ward 24 do Ghouls have complete control. There, we can grasp everything and continue our plans. We won't give up this opportunity. What we need to do now is to temporarily retract our fists…”

As he spoke, the masked man clenched and drew back his fist.

“Then, wait for the right moment to strike.”

At this point, the masked man's tone was incredibly cold.

“Just wait, the Bronze Tree will surely return.”

What the Ghouls thought, Duanmu Huai neither cared for nor was concerned with. After all, to him, it was none of his business.

“How about it? Now you don't have to worry about competitors, right?”

Leaving the Countermeasures Bureau, Duanmu Huai teased Mary with a grin, and upon hearing his words, her face flushed.

“I wasn't worried, even if you hadn't killed her, Mr. Duanmu, I wouldn't have lost to her!”

“Alright, alright, just a joke. After all, she was a Ghoul, so dead means dead.”

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, then glanced at the time. The green-haired woman had delayed him quite a bit before, and after that, he had inspected all the staff at the Bureau's headquarters. By the time everything was over, it was already night. It was now time for people to leave work and school; the streets were crowded with people coming and going, who were obviously oblivious to everything that happened at the Countermeasures Bureau, just living in their own peaceful world — well, actually that's not so bad. Some things are better off being unknown forever.

Speaking of which…

“Are you hungry? How about we find a place to eat?”

“That's not a problem, but…”

“But?”

“But, I'm not drinking this time.”

“Ah, less drinking is good, too.”

To Mary's earnest answer, Duanmu Huai just shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

“It's wise to drink less of something that can impair judgment. How about some juice?”

“That will make you gain weight…”

“No worries, it's zero calories if it's not written on it.”

“………..Alright……….”

Chapter end

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