"Speaking of which, the CCG shouldn't mandate that all Investigators must use the same attire, right?"
Lancer suddenly asked as he and Hideyoshi Nagachika were returning to the Ward 20 branch. The opponent froze for a moment, then took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped through it, and shook his head.
"No."
"That's good then..."
Lancer muttered to himself and then said no more, leaving Hideyoshi Nagachika to follow him completely Confused. But when the two returned to the branch, and Lancer came back after a trip to the logistics department, Hideyoshi Nagachika finally understood why Lancer had asked that question.
"Mr. Lancer, are you... serious? Although the CCG doesn't have such a regulation, as far as I know, only Special Class Arima's case is different from everyone else's..."
Lancer just smiled at Hideyoshi Nagachika's reminder.
"Since there's no such rule, then it doesn't matter. Well, I should be heading out now. I'll contact you."
Lancer, carrying the case in one hand, had a very casual expression at this moment.
Lancer naturally knew why most Investigators wore the same attire. Besides ease of management, the main reason was to prevent Ghouls from specifically retaliating against Investigators, but for Lancer, this was exactly what he was waiting for.
If it was difficult to find Ghouls, then he would let them find him.
His former self did not have the strength to do such a thing, but now he did. He believed that his black briefcase should provide those guys with a decent 'guidance,' right?
The CCG's 'White Reaper' was virtually the most untouchable presence in the Ghoul circle. Powerful Ghouls would not actively seek trouble with the opponent, as there was simply no need, so they would generally avoid the opponent. But in the past few days, another strange person had begun to circulate within the Ghoul circle.
He usually wore a black trench coat, and beneath the trench coat was the standard CCG tight-fitting combat uniform. In addition to that, the most obvious feature of the opponent was the completely black-painted briefcase.
Many Ghouls killed by the opponent initially thought the opponent was merely imitating the legendary 'White Reaper,' but when the opponent single-handedly raided a small Ghoul restaurant and slaughtered dozens of Ghouls, including one SS-rank Ghoul leader, four S-rank Ghouls, and dozens of ordinary Ghouls, they finally realized one thing: the opponent was apparently not just simply imitating.
Moreover, according to information provided by the 'survivors (humans in the Ghoul restaurant),' a 'Raven' had appeared near the Ghoul restaurant before the opponent showed up, which made the opponent's image even more mysterious.
If that was just the beginning, then the continuous slaughter of a large number of Ghouls over several consecutive days, and in many places that were 'uninhabited areas' that ordinary people would not approach, if it could be explained as the opponent's 'luck' once or twice, then after the fourth, fifth, or even more times, others couldn't help but begin to suspect—did the opponent have some method to find Ghouls?
His unpredictable whereabouts, the fact that he never left a single Ghoul alive every time he attacked, coupled with the mysterious rumors, immediately caused panic among some Ghouls, as they simply didn't know when or what time the opponent would appear next to them.
And as the opponent's name truly became widely known among Ghouls, a nickname also began to circulate.
'The Harbinger Bird'
The opponent had only appeared for less than a week, and over a hundred Ghouls had already been suppressed. This terrifying efficiency felt unbelievable.
This had nothing to do with strength; people were more surprised by his 'efficiency,' but this efficiency was terrifying enough, and some Ghouls finally made up their minds.
Although they didn't know if the 'plan' would work, there was no loss in taking a gamble, right?
Lancer was hunting Ghouls as usual because he was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for an opportunity to contact the CCG research personnel, but unfortunately, his Quinque had not been completed, so he naturally had no chance to contact those research personnel. After all, most of them were homebodies, and contacting them without reason would undoubtedly arouse suspicion in some people. He needed to be extra cautious, especially since Lancer suspected that the CCG's high-ranking officials had problems.
But when he eliminated a Ghoul that attacked him, he was stunned for a moment.
Due to the ability granted by his 'Hero in the Dark,' Lancer had a certain probability of obtaining information when eliminating an enemy, and it was by relying on this information that he found the whereabouts of many Ghouls. After all, Ghouls also had social circles, but what he hadn't expected was to receive a strange message at this moment.
'Those Aogiri Tree people better not hurt my daughter'
This message seemed unremarkable at first glance, but it was full of suspicious points for Lancer.
Generally speaking, the information he obtained from the Ghouls he eliminated was usually the Ghouls' curses towards him and their hopes that 'XXX' would avenge them, but the result was usually a complete wipeout. But this time, when facing the threat of death, the opponent was thinking about the 'Aogiri Tree.' What the hell was going on?
He had already fought 'Takatsuki Sen,' and the opponent should know that this kind of low-level Ghoul posed no threat to him. If the opponent truly wanted to deal with him, it would definitely be a joint effort with the CCG's high-ranking officials, but now the opponent was threatening a Ghoul whose strength was at most B-rank to attack him. Something was clearly fishy here.
But unfortunately, the Ghouls who attacked him this time had all been eliminated, and no relevant information was found from the others.
Although he didn't know what was going on, his 'intuition' told him that a conspiracy seemed to be closing in on him.
Lancer was alone, and the opponent coming after him was exactly what he wanted, but what if they targeted the people close to him?
'Is the Aogiri Tree planning to attack the Ward 20 branch like they did that year? No, that's highly unlikely, because the defense system of all branches was upgraded after that incident. Not to mention that the Ward 20 branch has the golden combination of the veteran Investigator Kureo Mado and the rookie Investigator Koutarou Amon, and the CCG also established a mobile unit to patrol between various areas, all to prevent the tragedy of that year from happening again. Furthermore, the people of 'Anteiku' wouldn't stand by and do nothing...'
Lancer truly couldn't figure it out, but the more he couldn't figure it out, the stronger the ominous feeling in his mind became. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly looked through the person's 'message.'
'Those Aogiri Tree people better not hurt my daughter'
Suddenly, seeing two specific words in the message, he remembered something...