"Father Donatoplupla, the clown side is just missing you."
Daniel didn't immediately rush off to rescue Wujima Shin; instead, he planned to first capture a few SSS-class ghouls. Once he secured the priest, the Clown Organization would be nearly complete. As for Ibari Riri and Bei—the latter two being far less essential compared to the priest and other ghoul "transcendent" figures—he figured there was no need to apprehend them as well.
"Who are you?"
The moment Daniel's words reached the priest, the latter tensed up immediately. This identity had never been revealed publicly before. In truth, the priest had been living quite comfortably inside Kuikulia—a facility that served not only as a CCG prison but also as a massive research institute—thanks largely to the vast amount of intelligence he possessed and his occasional contributions to the CCG.
"You don't need to know that." Without wasting another word, Daniel suddenly appeared at the priest's side, knocked him unconscious, and then slammed him into his devouring pouch.
"Remember, the person in charge here is Di Xing Jia Yi—he's quite the genius."
Kuikulia wasn't just a prison for the CCG; it was also a gigantic research facility where countless Cookin were produced—almost all of which were fashioned by Di Xing Jia Yi himself. Originally, this guy had worked at a German ghoul research institute before coming here.
In terms of ability, Di Xing Jia Yi was far superior to Dr. Kanou Akihiro. His experiments with half-ghoul transformations had an extremely low success rate—so much so that even Takizawa Seido's eventual success was largely due to luck. In contrast, the Cookin surgical procedures he later developed were not only less difficult but also far more reliably successful than the half-ghoul surgeries.
Such an important figure was naturally a high-priority asset for the CCG. Although Daniel hadn't spotted Di Xing Jia Yi within the prison itself, he did unexpectedly come across a sizable cache of Cookin Steel. Considering all he'd contributed to this world, Daniel figured it was only fair to pocket some of that memory metal as his fee. After all, Cookin Steel—a type of memory metal—had a wide range of uses, far beyond merely constructing Cookin.
"Ayaka, continue."
After doing a quick scavenging run through Kuikulia, Daniel retrieved the utterly weakened Wujima Shin and then tossed him to the fighting Ayaka. When Ayaka saw Wujima Shin, he froze for a moment; luckily, there were no enemies nearby, or else that momentary daze would have cost him dearly.
"Ayaka… you—"
Wujima Shin, upon catching sight of Ayaka, was equally stunned. After all, when he was captured by General Arima all those years ago, both Ayaka and Touka were just kids.
"Damn old man," Ayaka grumbled, though he couldn't help but help Wujima Shin up and then withdraw from the battlefield.
"Touka, how are you?"
"Alive and well," came the reply.
"Those two fought fiercely—no way they'll settle their fate with a life-or-death showdown here," someone observed.
As the battle raged on, General Arima and Ait eventually joined the fray. The two clashed in a one-on-one duel; although Ait, having transformed into the One-Eyed Owl, was immensely powerful, he was constantly forced onto the defensive by General Arima's relentless assault.
After a while, Daniel simply departed. Whether General Arima and Ait were truly dueling or merely staging an act, Daniel preferred not to interfere.
"Never thought you'd meet your end like this," someone remarked.
The next day, as Daniel watched the news—with the CCG publicly announcing that they had annihilated the Bronze Tree faction and eliminated the One-Eyed Owl—he glanced over at Takatsuki Izumi, who was standing by his side. At that moment, Daniel finally understood the true purpose behind her earlier battle with General Arima.
The mere existence of the One-Eyed Owl, rarely seen over all these years yet renowned in both ghoul and CCG circles, meant that eliminating such a figure would greatly boost the CCG's prestige—and serve as a powerful statement to many of their investigators.
That battle, though it inflicted heavy casualties on the CCG, was nonetheless a significant victory. Nearly all the senior cadres of the Bronze Tree were wiped out—including a man known as Duoduo Liang, who had fought a fated battle with Special-Class Investigator Fashijia Xiangjie. Outnumbered, Fashijia Xiangjie managed to take down Duoduo Liang, albeit at a steep personal cost; he'd likely be forced to retire soon—or perhaps take up teaching at the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy.
As for the existence of two One-Eyed Owls, aside from General Arima, Takatsuki Izumi, and a few others, nearly no one had known about the secret. Daniel was confident that once his drug research succeeded, that secret would vanish for good.
"Ait from Fangcun is dead. Now, I designate writer Takatsuki Izumi," Daniel declared.
"Since that's your decision, then I'll grant your wish—allowing you to become truly human," came the response.
"Aren't you the one who said the drug still needed time?"
"The drug that needs time is the one that can be mass-produced. You should understand: if this drug can't be widely available, it's meaningless. In the lab, cost aside, I could already turn ghouls into humans—and retain some of their innate attributes."
No one really knows how many ghouls exist worldwide, but conservatively speaking, there are at least tens of millions. With numbers that high, if the drug were too expensive, it could never be popularized.
"So that's how it is. Then, let's begin."
Daniel then performed surgery on Takatsuki Izumi, simultaneously extracting the kagune from her body. Unsurprisingly, for someone in the One-Eyed Owl role, her kagune was the strongest Daniel had ever seen—by far superior to even the so-called SSS-class "Mother of Chaos," Roma.
"Ghetto auctions… some ghouls really deserve it."
After hearing this from Takatsuki Izumi, Daniel devised a plan. Rather than have the CCG eliminate these ghouls, he figured it would be far better to repurpose them. Some ghouls, indeed, were worth saving—but those forced into the population auctions were utterly beyond redemption. In fact, when Daniel reviewed some dossiers, one ghoul's nickname made him burst into laughter.
"Big G Mama—if Charlotte Lingling ever found out, that'd be something else."
Within ghoul society, there was one whose nickname closely resembled that of Charlotte Lingling—a hidden ghoul who had long tormented humans. The wounds on Suzuya Shishou's body, including the red scars that marred him, were inflicted by her; those marks weren't merely for aesthetics, but were genuine blade wounds.
"Man, there really are a lot of them. These guys must have some serious nerve."
Even as the CCG was intensifying its pursuit of ghouls, they still had the gall to hold such auctions—almost as if they believed the CCG were still the same as before.
Though ghouls were powerful, human strength was even greater. In Tokyo, after all these years, the CCG hadn't managed to subdue the ghouls—not because the ghouls were invincible, but because of the policies of the Kaku Clan. In most other regions, it was the Counter-Ghoul Agency that kept the ghouls in check.
Duoduo Liang was no slouch either; he had once been one of Hua Xia's ghouls before being chased into Neon City.
"Gourmet Tsukiyama Xi? Perfect—last time I was too late, but this time I can nab him in one fell swoop."
Just as the auction was about to begin, Daniel sprang into action. He unleashed a barrage of smoke bombs that enveloped the entire auction hall. These weren't ordinary smoke bombs—they were vaporized, concentrated RC cell inhibitors.
Since ghouls derive their abilities primarily from their RC cells, these inhibitors could effectively suppress the power of their kagune. Even A-class ghouls would be significantly weakened, and only S-class ghouls might be able to resist—but even that resistance was only temporary. In a sustained environment of this dense fog, even SSS-class ghouls would be utterly helpless.
"Target accomplished."
After dispatching the so-called "Big G Mama" and Tsukiyama Xi—both formidable ghouls capable of resisting the inhibitors—Daniel began cleaning up the mess. Every single ghoul was rounded up.
His aim in capturing these ghouls wasn't to harvest more kagune—they already had plenty—but rather to obtain the Philosopher's Stone.
"Next up is the Tsukiyama Family; that can be left for the CCG to handle."
Although the Tsukiyama Family wielded considerable influence in Neon City, now that their ghoul nature had been exposed by Daniel, no faction would come to their aid.
"Finally, it's done. Now, it's time to build momentum."
After procuring several ghouls from the Antique Coffee Shop for experiments—and once he confirmed that his method worked perfectly—Daniel immediately contacted General Arima as well as the global Counter-Ghoul Agency. Next, he would begin publicizing the drug.
In short, if Daniel decided to use this drug for profit, he'd become the richest man in the world in no time. With the capital available, no one would miss an opportunity like this; Daniel could even devise a whole array of schemes. For example, the temporary drug he'd developed allowed ghouls to subsist on human food for five days—such a product could fetch a high price. Then he could offer versions lasting ten days, a month, and finally a formulation that would reduce a ghoul's RC cell count below 1,000.
Of course, Daniel had no intention of monetizing it directly. He planned to release the drug's formula free of charge—though not simply by posting it online, but by having nations sign an international agreement that ensured the drug would be distributed for free, with no profit taken. If anyone still tried to capitalize on it afterward, that would be their problem.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after years of research, I have finally discovered the true nature of ghouls: they are, in essence, human beings—only afflicted by a disease of an excessively high RC cell count."
Wearing his fox mask, Daniel defined ghouls on the television screen.
"Likewise, after years of study, I have developed a drug to treat this disease. Please watch the demonstration."
The demonstration was straightforward: two ghouls were selected from a CCG prison, and their RC cell counts were tested publicly. While relying on kagune measurements might be dismissed as falsification, RC cell counts—especially when endorsed by the CCG—were incontrovertible evidence.
"To treat the vast number of ghoul patients, I have decided to release the formula for this drug free of charge. However, before I do so, I require that representatives from all nations convene and sign an agreement to ensure that the drug is distributed free of charge and not exploited for profit. In one week's time, I will deliver the formula to those nations that sign the agreement."
After his announcement, Daniel stepped away from the podium and handed it over to General Arima.
"Mr. Daniel, your actions truly benefit the masses," a middle-aged man said as Daniel stepped down.
"Director Zhang, you're too kind—it's merely an effort to do something worthwhile. Let's go have a chat outside."
"Alright."
That middle-aged man was the director of the Ghoul Countermeasures Agency from Hua Xia. After Daniel's successful development of the drug, he had contacted him and immediately delivered the formula. At that point, production and distribution of the drug had already begun in Hua Xia—though, for confidentiality reasons, it had not been publicly announced.
"Here are all my research findings on ghouls. From now on, you will handle any further matters in this area. I, for my part, can finally be free to enjoy life."
In a secluded corner of a café, Daniel sat down, pulled out a portable hard drive, and handed it over.
"Do you have any requirements?" the director asked.
"None whatsoever. I've decided never to pursue ghoul research again; keeping these results is simply a waste."
After the drug had been developed, Daniel had transformed figures like Kyudo Nibifuku and others into mere components for the Philosopher's Stone. Once he consolidated his equipment and sorted everything, he incinerated the entire laboratory in a single blaze.
Daniel had always pursued personal strength. Although he did dabble in scientific research, it was never his primary goal. He was well aware that even with the Surgical Fruit—a near-cheating ability—he had not devoted his main energies to technology. After all, he wasn't Tony Stark; he didn't possess a genius-level mind capable of revolutionizing technology on a trans-era scale.
True technological prowess isn't the achievement of one individual—it's the collective might of a group. Even Tony Stark, as formidable as he is, stood on the shoulders of giants. Without that support, even the brightest ideas would fall short. Consider Howard's early work on anti-gravity vehicles and new elements—despite his breakthroughs, his inventions didn't truly succeed until the era of Tony Stark, when anti-gravity systems and new elements were finally perfected. Even though Stark's Iron Man armor is incredibly powerful, he couldn't possibly manufacture every component himself—he had to purchase various alloy steels and other materials.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I plan to start a company soon, so I'd appreciate your continued support."
After all, even if this world's drug didn't enhance Daniel's personal strength, it could still provide other valuable resources.
"As long as it's legal, there's no problem."
"Rest assured—it will be perfectly legal."
"This is probably the final battle; even at the very last moment, you're presenting me with a gift."
With high-ranking CCG officials from various nations arriving and powerful ghouls appearing worldwide, a drug that could turn ghouls into humans would, for ordinary ghouls, be a tremendous boon—but for those who craved immense power, it was an outright disaster. The CCG could use it to manufacture bullets and other weapons to fight them. In such circumstances, some ghouls naturally aimed to eliminate Daniel—the very inventor of the drug.
"Finally, it's over. Now, what should we do next? Maybe start an entertainment company—first, let's acquire the publishing house owned by Takatsuki Izumi."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]