Inside the command vehicle, Itsuki Marude looked at the images on the screen from all over with a serious face. In these images, the CCG investigators were eliminating the enemies in the building with an astonishing momentum, but -
"Something's not right..."
"Special Class Marude?"
Itsuki Marude's muttering made the subordinate in charge of monitoring beside him a little stunned. After all, he didn't quite understand why his superior was unhappy? Right now, an extremely brilliant victory was being won with very few casualties in exchange for such impressive results.
"Special Class Marude! Amon and I have finished resting. Where are we going next?"
But just as Marude was in a dilemma, a somewhat 'familiar' voice came from the communicator.
"Second Class Lancer? Have you finished resting? Then please head to the rooftop. No one has reached there yet. Please go and check it out first."
"Yes!"
Lancer no-nonsense response made Itsuki Marude very satisfied. This newcomer was not only very obedient, but he could also complete the tasks he assigned. In his opinion, this guy Kureo Mado was really lucky to have two good subordinates who were not inferior to Hirako.
But just as Itsuki Marude was about to continue monitoring, he found that the communication on Lancer end didn't seem to have been hung up.
"Second Class Lancer, what's wrong with you?"
"Special Class Marude, Amon and I just found something that's not right. We found a box next to the bodies of several ghouls, and it was filled with bombs."
!!!
Lancer words were like a basin of cold water poured over his head.
Why haven't the enemy's cadres been attacking the main force? Why did those ghouls always appear in twos and threes? You have to know that even if those ordinary ghouls are small fry, they wouldn't be wasted like this, and what's even more bizarre is that the number of Aogiri Tree cadres that have appeared is not many, and they are even just leading...
"Damn it! Get me the locations of all the team members!"
Looking at the signal map showing the locations of all the CCG investigators, Itsuki Marude broke out in a cold sweat. At this time, it could be seen from the signal map that all the CCG investigators were rushing into the shopping center in three arrows, and at the current speed, all personnel would completely occupy the entire shopping center in a maximum of 20 minutes!
Immediately withdraw everyone!
But just as he picked up the microphone next to him, his hand stopped in mid-air.
Because of the 'unwritten rule' between the two sides, large-scale weapons of mass destruction have not been used... So neither he nor the other two Special Class Investigators considered the option of the enemy using bombs, but now the enemy seems to have completely abandoned their scruples, and the more troublesome thing is...
"Second Class Lancer, can you confirm if the bomb you found is a timed bomb or a manually detonated one?"
"Uh... sorry."
Although Lancer remembered that in the movies, timed bombs would have a digital clock with a countdown, the one in front of him didn't. But Lancer couldn't confirm what it was. Who knew if those ghouls deliberately made this kind of bomb without a timer?
On the other side, Itsuki Marude also rubbed his head after hearing Lancer words. Although the CCG had quinques and firearms, as a CCG investigator, you would at most practice shooting. As for defusing bombs? That's a police officer's job.
"Hoo~! Lancer, you and Amon go to the rooftop to provide support as planned. I will notify the other commanders and assault team members. No matter what, we must evacuate, but in order to prevent the enemy from discovering us in advance..."
"YES SIR!"
Lancer unhesitating answer made him not know what to say for a moment, but in the end, a strange but confident smile appeared on his face.
'Since you have entrusted yourselves to me, I will never let you down!'
"Hey, this is the command center..."
Although he was announcing news that could affect everyone's lives, Itsuki Marude's confident voice also minimized the confusion. Without anyone noticing, the attack was suspended, the Second Class investigators all returned to the first floor to be ready to evacuate at any time, and the higher-ranked investigators also began to control their positions.
Although their strength was stronger than others, they were still flesh and blood. If they were caught in an explosion, they would still die without a complete corpse. And with Lancer hint, they also began to pay attention to some hidden places when they walked, and in the end, they did find quite a few bombs.
The intel was confirmed, and the goal of this battle also began to change from 'annihilation' to 'self-preservation'.
And compared to their side, the other group's expressions became extremely strange.
"What is the CCG's current movement?"
Yoshimura, who was wearing a red cloak of Aogiri Tree, asked habitually, but Kaya Irimi, who was standing next to him, had a very strange expression.
"The CCG seems to have stopped the attack and started gathering their personnel."
"Gathering their personnel? Could it be that they are preparing for a full-scale attack?"
There is no doubt that neither the CCG nor Yoshimura expected Aogiri Tree to dare to use bombs directly, but no matter what the reason, for Yoshimura, this was undoubtedly the best situation. After all, their purpose was only to rescue Ken Kaneki. As for how many people the CCG would die or whether Aogiri Tree would be wiped out? That had nothing to do with him.
"It seems that I don't need to act for now. I just hope Touka and the others can be faster..."
If Lancer knew about Yoshimura's thoughts at this time, he would probably give a wry smile, right? After all, the reason he had been strengthening his weapon was to have a chance to fight this 'manager' once.
With only one month left, Lancer could defeat S-class ghouls, and he had also encountered SS-class ghouls. As for SSS-class? As long as he encountered one, he basically wouldn't even have a chance to run. But the manager was an exception. In this operation, he didn't kill any investigators. His goal was only to rescue Ken Kaneki, so Lancer had a chance to understand the power of an SSS-class ghoul while ensuring his own safety to the greatest extent possible.
But -
"Lancer, have you seen Suzuya? His communicator has not responded."
"What's wrong?"
"It's almost time to evacuate. Most people have already reached the safe evacuation point, but Suzuya..."
Shinohara's voice came from the communicator, and Lancer frowned and looked at Koutarou Amon beside him. Undoubtedly, he was asking for his opinion.
As for Lancer himself, he sympathized with what Juzo Suzuya had gone through and he could also understand what he did, but understanding did not mean support, and sympathy also did not mean he was willing to put himself in a dangerous situation for someone he had known for less than a day, and he still had one more thing to do...
"Let's split up and look for Suzuya. If we don't find any trace of him after 15 minutes, we will also retreat."
Koutarou Amon choice was undoubtedly the same as Lancer. After all, at this time, Juzo Suzuya's life was unknown, and he couldn't put his friend in a dangerous situation for the other party.
"Special Class Shinohara, Amon and I will help look for Third Class Suzuya, but when it's time to evacuate, we will also evacuate as planned."
"That's enough... Thank you."
After hanging up the communication, Lancer and Amon looked at each other and extended their right fists together.
"Don't die."
"You too."
After that, the two of them went their separate ways...