I am a female swordsman.

The introduction was brief and to the point, but the tone was one of deep pride.

With a first-class investigator's apprentice and another rising star investigator's apprentice whose combat power was off the charts, Mado Kureo felt deeply gratified. Even if he died, he believed that his will had been passed on, and that living without regrets was the best he could do. For the rest of his life, he would probably dedicate himself to burning his life force to slaying more ghouls.

Shinohara and Hoji both smiled with joy for Mado, seeing their old partner show off his skills in the disciple's area.

After all, Mado's life has been really tough...

"Takizawa, my assistant." Hoji Juntoku's voice was just like his personality, exuding a cool and aloof demeanor.

“This… this bureau’s Countermeasures Division 1… Second Investigator, Takizawa Seidou! Nice to meet you!… Um, I’ve heard about Mr. Amon and Ms. Yomi’s brave deeds a long time ago, um…” Standing up and nervously saluting, Takizawa’s adorable gesture drew encouraging smiles from the others.

Hoji Juntoku continued, "He greatly admires Amon-kun, Arima-san, and Yomi-san, and he has cut out and compiled all the stories about you into a book."

Chapter 118 The Meeting Begins

Little fanboy?

Huang Quan raised her eyes and carefully examined Takizawa, the shy but handsome young man. Locked in by her aggressive, sharp crimson eyes, Takizawa immediately felt an indescribable pressure. He had already witnessed the power of the [Sword Demon] firsthand; charging into battle alone with his sword, his domineering sword light was unstoppable!

What an incredibly powerful and captivating figure!

Takizawa also wants to become someone like Ms. Yomi, Mr. Amon, and Mr. Arima!

"Takizawa, second classmate, please give me your guidance."

Standing up and extending her hand, Huang Quan's seemingly expressionless face softened slightly, and her lips curved upwards slightly. Takizawa quickly and carefully grasped his idol's delicate hands with both of his. He had long admired the consistently calm and decisive "Sword Demon," even idolizing Huang Quan as much as he idolized Arima.

"Please give me more advice."

Amen also stood up and reached out his hand. It was a rather subtle feeling to be able to meet one of his admirers.

“Oh! Mr. Amen! I am only the second-ranked graduate of the academy last year. Compared to you, who graduated first, there is much I can learn from you! Please give me your guidance!”

Takizawa was equally excited and grasped Amon's large hand.

If he hadn't already been highly regarded by Hoji Junto, Takizawa Ni-den would have loved to join the [Crow] faction.

"Alright, alright, that's about it for the introductions. Compared to before, we still have a lot more to do. Before the meeting officially begins, let me confirm that everyone has reviewed yesterday's preliminary report." The expression of Shinohara, the Special Commissioner in charge of chairing the meeting, gradually became serious.

The projector started working, and a series of shocking images of the scene appeared on the conference room screen.

"The situation is not optimistic."

"Because of the war in Ward 11, the ghouls in Wards 9, 10, and 12 have also taken action. Although they are not as bad as those in Ward 11 in terms of scale and intensity, the impact is real."

"The council at headquarters has issued an emergency order, instructing us to consolidate our forces and quell the unrest in District 11 [Bronze Tree] as soon as possible. We cannot allow the turmoil to spread any further."

Besides the photos from Area 11, there were also pictures from other areas, all showing signs of the ghouls' rampage. All the investigators here are extremely familiar with the battlefield maps, so they can naturally see that this trend is spreading outwards from Area 11.

Simply put, if the situation in Area 11 remains unresolved, even superficially, it will have a serious impact on the security of other areas. People only see the surface facts; the CCG can't do anything about Aogiri Tree, and ghouls with ulterior motives will take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

"We have enough manpower in the Pingjing region." Mado Kureo took the projector controller, reviewed a few photos, and used a laser pointer to signal everyone to focus. "The problem is, these rats in the gutter keep scurrying out from every corner, disgusting and extremely annoying!"

The mention of ghouls unconsciously brought a hint of ferocity to Mado's eyes, which widened in disbelief.

His posture was as if he wanted to rush into the scene, drag out all the ghouls, chop them up, and feed them to the dogs. This ferocious killing intent was far more violent and direct than that of the Underworld.

"Takizawa, you're an expert in this area, can you offer some ideas?"

"Please wait a moment!"

As the only investigator from the Countermeasures Division II among those present, Takizawa Seidou naturally possessed some unique skills. In order to better complete his work, he had already done his homework in advance.

"Please take a look, everyone. This is a map showing the attack range, route, and frequency of the [Bronze Tree]."

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

The diagrams shown by Takizawa No. 2 caught everyone's attention. This was definitely not Takizawa's work alone; he had been forced to work as a laborer and had compiled the information he had obtained from Marude Special Agent. Yomi's memory was always excellent, and these diagrams by Takizawa No. 2 had a high degree of overlap with the diagrams she had seen in Hideyoshi Nagachika's hands.

Or rather...

Yongjin's charts are more targeted and selective, while Takizawa's charts are more comprehensive. It's hard to say which is better.

"If you overlay these images, you can get the attack pattern of the [Bronze Tree]: increase and decrease, increase and decrease, increase and decrease. This simple and easy-to-understand pattern applies to both large and small attacks. Perhaps for the sake of easier management, the [Bronze Tree] is currently still following this pattern."

"Huh? Are they really that stupid~~?"

The fish-shaped object lay restlessly on the chair, spinning around in circles.

Driven by the pressure of survival, ghouls display cunning and ruthlessness to the fullest extent. The investigators have long been accustomed to outwitting and outmaneuvering various ghouls.

"Ghouls are not stupid, but ghoul organizations are limited by their vision, knowledge, and experience, so they appear stupid."

This was Yomi's answer, given after she had dealt with ghouls quite a bit.

The vast majority of ghouls, due to their status, are essentially incapable of receiving human education. Illiterate individuals and even simpletons abound; forget about self-taught individuals, some of them can't even read. How could they possibly learn on their own? It's not hard to imagine that trying to command and manage such a group would be futile unless the core leadership was entirely composed of highly capable individuals—otherwise, they would be completely helpless!

To better slaughter ghouls.

It's not enough to simply increase their strength; we also need to observe their habits, understand their structure, and know their species characteristics. Only by gaining a comprehensive understanding of these monsters can we deal with them in the most efficient way.

This is the philosophy that Mado Kureo taught Yomi through his words and deeds!

"This allows us to deduce where the next wave of attacks from the [Bronze Tree] will be, their route, and the scale of the attack. Zhengdao, well done." Hoji Juntsu understood the purpose of the chart. Since it was a war, the initiative should be in their own hands.

You must never let the other party lead you by the nose.

"Thank you for the compliment!"

Amon Kotaro frowned, looking somewhat worried. "So, what follows is an encounter with the [Aogiri Tree]?"

"No, rather than an encounter, the higher-ups believe this should be considered a purge."

After eliminating the personnel dispatched by Aogiri Tree from Ward 11, a large army of investigators will be assembled to launch a decisive attack on their stronghold. If any are missed, a pursuit operation will be initiated. Shinohara also agrees with this view. Aogiri Tree has gathered so many ghouls and worships the One-Eyed King's ideology, already possessing the rudiments of a powerful organization. The CCG cannot tolerate them.

"I have a question: have they found their hideout?"

"I'm sorry, Yellow Springs Third Class... I don't have a clue yet, the scope is just too vast..."

Chapter 119 Young Crow

Having revealed his incompetence in front of the person he admired, Takizawa Seidou scratched his head slightly embarrassed.

Huang Quan nodded, then looked at his teacher, Mado.

Mado tapped rhythmically on the briefcase with his fingers and nodded slightly to Yomi. After receiving confirmation, Yomi presented Takizawa Seidou with an unexpected message.

"Second-class officer Takizawa, perhaps we can offer some assistance regarding the [Aogiri Tree] base."

"Really!?"

Takizawa Seidou was so surprised he almost dropped the laser pointer.

“In the 20th ward, I had two encounters with Jason, who was confirmed to be a key member of Aogiri Tree. By tracking Jason, I confirmed that a ghoul codenamed Doctor was colluding with Aogiri Tree.”

"What about the [Doctor]?" he pressed impatiently. They hadn't captured [Aogiri Tree] alive on the battlefield yet, and if they could get him captured at this crucial moment, the impact on the entire battle would be unimaginable. Takizawa was impatient; his greatest desire was to one day achieve great feats in battle!

"He's dead. I killed him."

Huang Quan calmly stated a fact, cruelly shattering Takizawa Ni's beautiful dream.

Not only Takizawa, but the other investigators present, unaware of the inside story, also felt a sense of disappointment, like they'd been kept in suspense only to be disappointed. But then they thought about it, and it made sense; given the reputation of the "Sword Demon," very few ghouls could escape her sword.

"but……"

Suddenly revealing a faint, excited smile, Huang Quan once again stirred up the emotions of the others.

"...However, I obtained important information about the Aogiri Tree from the mother, a ghoul codenamed 'Mother and Daughter,' among my subsequent targets. This information has been handed over to my assistant, who has organized and analyzed it with some success. Therefore, Mr. Takizawa, I am submitting this request to you for information sharing and cooperation."

Information about ghouls is an invaluable asset to CCG investigators.

For those not on the same team, or even in the same class, information sharing is quite challenging. After all, nobody wants their hard-earned, risky information to be stolen by someone else without their knowledge. Of course, important information is backed up in the headquarters database and accessible only to those with sufficient authority. For collaboration and sharing, information exchange is still necessary.

Therefore, Huang Quan only made this request for sharing and cooperation with other teams after obtaining Mado's consent.

"can."

Hoji Juntoku nodded directly, and the matter was considered settled. With his relationship with Mado as a guarantee, nothing unexpected would happen to the younger generation. Even if some unpleasant things did occur, his and Mado's prestige would be enough to resolve the situation.

"As for my assistant, I will introduce him to you after the meeting."

The goal was achieved and the plan went smoothly.

After giving a polite smile, Yomi remained silent. The outcome would depend on whether Nagachika Hideyoshi could quickly catch up with Takizawa Ni-dono, who had graduated with honors from the Ghoul Investigator Academy. She intentionally wanted Nagachika to become a member of [Crows], or rather, [Crows] was merely one screening net Yomi used to prepare for unpredictable threats. In fact, the arrival of the Internal Affairs Department had already made Yomi feel a sense of urgency.

"In that case, let's hope for some good news at the formal meeting tomorrow night."

Shinohara, who chaired the meeting, expressed his expectations.

"By the way, Yomi, Third Class. Yesterday... were you alright? Those bastards probably wouldn't dare do anything too outrageous." Before ending the meeting, Special Class Shinohara casually asked this, as if it were just ordinary concern.

"It's fine."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

Mado Kureo, Yomi's master, suddenly stopped tapping his fingers, and his gaze met Yomi's calm and clear eyes. Their eyes met briefly in the air before naturally looking away, neither Yomi nor Mado Kureo saying a word.

There are some things that, even if you sense them, you can't say them out loud.

Yomi didn't believe that Mado hadn't noticed anything. Once or twice could be attributed to his age, but after repeated occurrences of this familiar feeling, Mado's inexplicable intuition about ghouls was enough to allow him to detect clues about the CCG's upper echelons.

fuse……

It must be that First Class Investigator Furuta Nifuku!

…………

"This is Second Investigator Seidou Takizawa, Nagachika-kun. I will draft a document outlining the specific details of our cooperation later. The investigation and screening of the [Aogiri Tree] bases will be up to you. I hope you will perform well at the major meeting tomorrow night. I am also looking forward to it."

Both Nagachika and Takizawa nodded confidently.

This confidence stemmed from the fact that the two had reviewed each other's charts beforehand, which broadened their perspectives. Seeing the energetic Nagachika and Takizawa, Yomi gave them a few more instructions before hurrying to another floor of the 11th Ward branch.

The crow's prospective new member:

Second Investigator Akira Mado from Headquarters, Third Investigator Kamui Igarashi from Ward 7, and Third Investigator Hilde from Ward 24.

As soon as Huang Quan entered the reserved room, his eyes quickly scanned the situation inside.

Akira Mado sat in her seat, speaking slowly and deliberately, while Kotaro Amon looked somewhat helpless and annoyed. Before even entering the room, Yomi heard the words "honorifics," "efficiency," and "work" constantly tumbling from Akira Mado's mouth, leaving Amon speechless.

On the other side, a girl with brown hair and twin ponytails, wearing glasses, was holding a sword. The way she was holding the sword so tightly that it sank deep into her high chest, creating a shape that was somewhat lewd.

Huang Quan recognized this person, but couldn't recall where he had seen her before.