I am a female swordsman.

"Yes, yes! I also want to be as strong as you, senior!"

"..."

"If I hadn't already died that day, I would have wanted to help and protect others too. I think if it were Senior Huang Quan, she could teach me how to become strong in the right way! So, please!!"

The boy had done everything in his power to plead, and Kaneki believed that if he missed this opportunity in the underworld, he would regret it for the rest of his life!

Kaneki has already seen a corner of the ghoul world, just like Yomi showed him!

In that strange and twisted world, the strong prey on the weak and die without reason; even from afar, one can feel the cruelty and ruthlessness of that world. If he were to one day have to step into that world, Kaneki certainly didn't want to be pushed in unprepared. He decided to confront his fears head-on!

As long as Senior Sister Huang Quan is willing to help him!

Then I'm sure I can do it, follow in Huang Quan's footsteps, and live in that kind of world!

"Good determination."

I admired Kaneki's intense gaze as he overcame his inner fears; perhaps it was Tagore's poetry that gave him courage.

“But you’re not ready yet.” Huang Quan shook her head and refused Kaneki. In her eyes, Kaneki was just a frightened child who wanted to find a pillar of support in his boundless fear. Huang Quan had also had this mentality before. When she first transmigrated to the ghoul world, if it weren’t for the glimmer of hope given by the system, Huang Quan would have been driven to the brink of collapse by herself long ago.

"Ready?" Kaneki looked at Yomi in confusion, feeling that he was already ready.

"That's right. When you're really ready for that day, come find me at CCG."

How long did Huang Quan prepare back then?

Summoning her courage, she honed her will step by step until she could draw her sword and fight her first ghoul. She had been preparing since she came into this world. Even so, Yomi almost gave up because of her cowardice and weakness. It was through long-term perseverance that she transformed into a sword demon that ghouls feared.

Staring blankly at Huang Quan's departing figure, Kaneki was somewhat bewildered.

Kaneki Ken had a vague understanding of what Yomi was talking about regarding preparations. What he saw was the powerful presence of Yomi, the sword demon, in that world, where she ruthlessly crushed and ravaged ghouls who treated humans as prey.

'Can I really become like that?'

As he looked down and flipped through Tagore's poetry collection, Kaneki Ken subconsciously thought of the sword of the underworld.

Poetry and sword...

………………

CCG20 District Branch

Mado Kureo, clutching his ever-present Quink, tilted his head to examine the corpse at his feet. The other person was also an investigator, but Mado Kureo hadn't killed him; the other had committed suicide before Mado Kureo confronted him. Clearly, someone didn't want Mado Kureo to continue the investigation; this was a warning sign.

"Mr. Mado...!"

Kotaro Amon, who rushed over from the other side, saw the investigator's body and his face showed shock followed by anger.

"These despicable traitors!"

"Calm down, Amon-kun. Getting angry at the dead is a sign of weakness. There might be someone laughing at us right now." Mado Kureo still had that enigmatic smile on his face. During the time he and Amon had sent Yomi away, they had taken the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the 20th Division.

The deeper you dig, the more shocking the things you uncover become.

The investigators are unbelievably undisciplined, allowing the "Gourmet" to run rampant while they do nothing. Due to the long-term peace in the 20th District, there are very few investigators with strong combat capabilities, and even fewer who possess Quinques.

There are quite a few ambiguous incidents involving ghouls.

Even more frightening is that some people in District 20 took this opportunity to form a circle of interests and deceive headquarters. All clues eventually pointed to headquarters and a contact person codenamed "The Joker".

The clues abruptly ended!

"【The Clown】...Could it be someone from back then?" Mado Kureo stroked his chin, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

As a veteran investigator, Mado Kureo was only a third-class investigator at the time, but he was also drafted into the great war that engulfed the entire city of Tokyo. Seven years ago, in order to subdue the ghoul organization "Clowns" that occupied the 3rd ward, the CCG amassed a large force and ultimately destroyed them.

If the codename is "Joker," then he must be an investigator who experienced the extermination operation seven years ago.

"【Clown】? That sounds like an old code name. Is it for a ghoul or a ghoul organization?"

"Yes, back then, Amon, you weren't an investigator yet, right? It was a major battle that was no less impressive than the [Owl] Extermination Campaign, but it was a stain on the CCG."

Mado Kureo raised his eyes with a sinister look, exuding an invisible, profound, and oppressive aura.

Upon hearing this, Yamen was startled. Apart from the famous "Owl" Extermination Campaign, he had no idea that there was also a "Clown" Extermination Campaign.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned this?

"Back when we were fighting the 'Clown' organization, I was assigned to the same group as Hoji, along with two powerful guys, Hirako and Arima. Even so, the 'Clown' was only defeated, not annihilated, so few people are willing to mention it. It's perfectly normal that the new generation of investigators don't know about it. If I hadn't dug out information about the 'Clown' from his remaining records, I probably would have forgotten about it too."

Mado Kureo glanced at the investigator who had committed suicide on the ground, and the gloomy expression on his face deepened.

It was enough to drive an investigator to suicide rather than reveal the truth.

The conspiracy behind this is terrifying...

"Give this to Huang Quan. The person who betrayed her is on it. Let her settle things herself. If I'm not mistaken, this matter will be officially over. It's truly frustrating." Mado Kureo handed a note to Amon Kotaro. This was all he could do to seek justice for his disciple for the time being.

"Is Huang Quan okay with this?"

"That's enough. We've already grasped one end of the clue. All Huang Quan needs to do next is eliminate everyone he encounters along the way." Mado Kureo clenched his fist. He had complete faith in Huang Quan's sword.

Author's Note:

P.S.: New friend! Canghai-jun updates regularly, and he and I have a good relationship. Feel free to check him out if you're interested!

Book Title: Miss Mermaid Refuses to Be Pickled

Summary:

Lin Haiqi's bathtub can no longer be used for bathing, ever since an uninvited guest moved into his house one summer.

"Perhaps we could sprinkle some salt?"

Lin Haiqi suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"Gulp... I'm not a salted fish!"

A gurgling sound came from the bathtub. The mermaid with brown hair poked half her head out, and a lovely blush appeared on her usually cold and pale face. Her eyes, the color of the ocean, were like the most beautiful gems in the world.

At that moment, Lin Haiqi knew that he was in love.

Chapter Forty-Seven: Murder

When Yamen contacted Huang Quan, she was standing quietly on a street corner, meticulously trimming her nails with nail clippers. Huang Quan didn't like long nails because they made it difficult for her to grip a sword and made it very easy for her to injure herself.

He looked up at his partner, Yamen.

Behind his sunglasses, a mysterious light flickered in his crimson eyes. Huang Quan blew on his fingers, maintaining his calm and indifferent tone.

"You're so slow, Amen. It's very impolite to keep a girl waiting."

"Huang Quan isn't exactly an ordinary girl, is she?" The hot-headed Amon blurted out a shocking remark, and a dangerous smile visibly appeared on Huang Quan's face. Then, a sharp killing intent lashed out at Amon, who looked at her in bewilderment, his skin crawling with unease.

The big guy, Amen, had no idea what he had done wrong.

Huang Quan's lips moved slightly, and he whispered.

"Where's the information? Give it to me. Don't worry, nobody's following me."

"Your intuition is truly terrifying; you can even detect this." Amon felt a deep sense of frustration when he thought of Yomi's completely unreasonable intuitive perception. Logically speaking, having graduated first in his class, his perception was far beyond that of ordinary people, yet he had encountered Yomi and Mado, two monsters with exceptional intuition.

But the stronger your partner is, the more motivated you will be, right?

Now that Huang Quan has achieved the dazzling feat of single-handedly defeating an S-rank ghoul, Amon is happy for her but also feels pressured. He can't let Huang Quan completely outshine him.

Yamen handed the note to Huang Quan.

Taking the note and glancing at it, Huang Quan, who had also been involved in some information relay work, thought for a moment before letting out two cold laughs. No wonder Madoka and the others gave her such a long vacation; they were actually trying to get rid of her to prevent things from getting out of control. The person on the note was just a pawn; the real dark secrets hidden within the CCG were still unknown.

"Let's go."

Before Yamen could provide any more information, Huang Quan pushed up his sunglasses, signaling him to follow him.

"...Do you know where this person is?"

"Ah, I asked a pervert to check my past hospital stays, and it was easy to catch him red-handed." Huang Quan's face darkened considerably when he mentioned a certain perverted doctor. But he couldn't deny that the guy was indeed well-informed; although he was a pervert, his medical skills were extremely high, no wonder he was so popular.

That's right, it's Dr. Koyasu from the CCG branch.

Huang Quan also specifically asked him to keep an eye out for news in the medical field, and to keep a copy of any information about Dr. Kana of Kana General Hospital.

Huang Quan was initially worried that asking such a favor might offend the person, but Dr. Zi'an on the phone accepted with unusual excitement. Of course, Dr. Zi'an also made a request: Huang Quan should find an opportunity later to give him a good scolding in a queenly tone…

………………

Yomi killed many ghouls; she herself couldn't count how many ghouls had died by her sword.

But for humans, this is the first time.

This CCG branch employee from the 20th ward had previously worked with Yomi. He knelt on the ground, begging Yomi to spare him, and said he was only doing so under orders from his superior. His conscience was also troubled by the fact that he had sold Yomi's information to ghouls.

Moreover, he has a wife and son to take care of, and if he doesn't follow his boss's orders, he will lose this job that supports his family.

"Since your conscience is tormenting you, then commit suicide. I will take care of your wife and son."

He said this, and threw the dagger in front of him.

Ironically, the guy who was begging and pleading just a moment ago, seeing that Huang Quan's sword was still in its sheath, pretended to draw his short knife as if to commit suicide and then suddenly rushed towards Huang Quan.

Standing outside the door, Amen heard a terrible scream coming from inside!

Then it abruptly stopped!

Not long after, Huang Quan emerged carrying the [Panming Sword]. Yamen noticed that she didn't seem to have drawn the sword, indicating that the person inside was already dead.

Back in the car, Huang Quan took off his sunglasses, closed his eyes, and his breathing became somewhat rapid.

As Amon slowly started the car, he noticed Yomi's unusual behavior. He turned on the car's air conditioning, letting the cool air blow towards Yomi. Feeling the icy air on his cheeks, Yomi's previously uncomfortable and stuffy chest gradually calmed down. The feeling of killing one's own kind is completely different from killing a ghoul; it's a more direct and intense feeling of realizing that one is taking a life. For Yomi, who was killing for the first time, the feeling was more of a strange sorrow arising from the desire to do it cleanly and efficiently.

"Are you alright? How about we go grab a drink together?"

Yamen scratched his head and came up with a terrible idea.

It's almost night, and an older single man is taking a young female colleague out for drinks. Even if they're partners, they're probably attracting flirtatious glances.

“I didn’t use a sword,” Huang Quan said as if to herself. She wasn’t saddened by the person who was killed; she was lamenting her own inability to act decisively. “I used his knife… Amen, you know, I wanted to forgive him after I came in.”

If that person truly intends to commit suicide and take responsibility for their actions, Huang Quan will knock his dagger away at the last moment.

Because he was just a pawn used to vent the anger of the sword demon, Huang Quan!

If Huang Quan wants to resolve this grudge, his target will definitely be the mastermind behind it all. This lowly pawn, the moment he decided to commit suicide, had already earned Huang Quan's respect and could avoid death.

But that person didn't.