Fighting you is like being in jail.

Chapter 226 Thump! Thump! Thump!

Hot and Strange Supermarket.

As soon as Shinichi stepped through the automatic door, he felt the gazes of those around him, as if they were about to cut him to pieces, filling him with a sense of impending danger.

Even Mickey didn't dare to make any unusual moves, acting entirely on his conscience without any hesitation.

But it doesn't matter!

Even under such high pressure, even the feeling of cold sweat running down his face did not make Shinichi back down.

His eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he strode in with an air of awareness, heading towards the rice section as quickly as possible.

Just then, the passing waiters began to whisper among themselves.

What are we eating later?

"It's definitely meat!"

"Meat, can't we eat something different every day?"

"I'll have it medium-rare this time."

"You might as well just eat it raw."

"No, I never want to eat it raw again."

Shinichi's pupils contracted as he watched their conversation, and he couldn't help but turn to look at them.

Meat! Eat raw!

Ghouls!

These words put him under immense pressure and even reinforced his previous suspicions.

He stood carefully in front of the shelf, selecting rice while listening intently to the conversation around him.

Do you know anything about the people who have recently gone missing?

"I don't know, could it have been done by some idiot?"

"It's hard to say. Who would eat that stuff now? It doesn't make you stronger. If you wanted to become stronger, you'd have to eat your own kind."

Cannibalism?!

Shinichi shrank back and quickly grabbed the rice to pay the bill; he didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.

After quickly paying the bill, he ran home as fast as he could.

As soon as I got back to my room, I was panting heavily, sweating profusely, trembling uncontrollably.

He supported his body with his hands, knelt on the ground, staring at the ground, panting heavily.

"Hey! Shinichi, calm down."

Mickey's voice rang out.

"I...I know..."

Shinichi slumped to the ground, his legs limp and crossed.

At this moment, Mickey's extended organ transformed into a lump of flesh and ran to the computer, quickly starting to operate it.

"Ghoul news almost disappeared not long ago, and there are very few people discussing it, but there are still some."

Mickey said as he browsed through the information, and then investigated the thermal anomaly.

"Oh no, Shinichi."

"what?"

Shinichi looked up, panting, not understanding what Mickey was saying.

"Thermal Anomaly... It seems that there is a gang behind Thermal Anomaly Supermarket, and a national gang at that! Given the structure of human society, the fact that it can appear in our field of vision so brazenly must be due to government intervention."

"What?! What?!"

Shinichi immediately sprang into action, rushing to the computer and staring wide-eyed in horror.

Mickey, however, ignored him and continued, "These messages are readily available online; there's no intention of hiding them at all."

That would be terrible.

Shinichi watched Mickey browse the computer with despair, feeling immense pressure in his heart.

……

the next day.

On Shinichi's way home from school, Mickey suddenly reminded him.

"There are others like it."

"what?!"

Shinichi looked up in alarm, but found no one around him.

"Two hundred meters away."

Mickey said definitively.

"similar……"

Shinichi's expression darkened; he was unsure how to proceed.

"I do not recommend contacting you, Shinichi."

"No contact?"

Shinichi's face was filled with trepidation. Recalling what happened yesterday, he didn't have much courage to deal with this kind of thing.

Shinichi, who had just been about to get away from the parasites, was suddenly reminded by Mickey after taking only a few steps.

"The feeling has disappeared..."

"Have you left?"

"No, he was killed."

Thump! Thump! Boom!

Shinichi's pupils contracted, and he stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the spot to the side, as if it were the direction Mickey had just pointed out.

He quickened his pace as he left, and was even quite frightened.

As they walked, they asked curiously:

"Mickey, what will happen if we're discovered?"

"I'll die, won't I? If it's necessary, I won't hold back against my own kind."

"What about ghouls?"

"I don't know, but he'll most likely die."

"..."

Shinichi was under a lot of pressure and went home with his head down, filled with fear.

……

On the other side, in the back-end meeting room of the Reyi Supermarket.

Aite sat in the main seat, with Kisara and a few little kids beside him.

Bright white lights illuminated every corner of the conference room, shining everything into view.

Her short green hair was tucked behind her ear by her slender fingers. Her green eyes were fixed on the report in her hand, and her eyebrows were slightly raised in dissatisfaction.

After reading the documents, she looked up at the people sitting in front of her.

"Tell me about the recent disappearances. Is there someone among us who's up to no good?"

"I can guarantee that none of my men have this habit."

"I don't have any either. Who would eat that stuff? Isn't pork delicious?"

"I don't understand either, they're definitely not from my side."

"What era are we living in? Who still eats that stuff?"

For a moment, everyone looked bewildered and confused. After ghouls were allowed to eat other things, almost none of them ate humans anymore, unless they were psychopaths. As for those who couldn't change their bad habits, they had already been completely eliminated in the last purge, leaving no one behind.

Now that this kind of thing has suddenly popped up again, everyone's first reaction is bewilderment, followed by disgust.

Aite glanced at the people around him, his eyes gleaming, but he was certain that these men were really going to do it.

“I can see that you are all experts. The BOSS has noticed this matter and is the first to suspect us. As the BOSS’s most capable subordinates, we must prove that we have nothing to do with this.”

"What?! The BOSS has already followed us?! Ya Bei!"

"Doesn't that mean we're being blamed for nothing?"

"Damn it, I'm so angry! Who's so wicked?!"

The people around him clenched their fists in displeasure after Aite's words, their eyes flashing with a sharp light, and even their gazes toward those around them became unfriendly.

Aite observed again, his green eyes deep and thoughtful, and nodded.

"I don't even need to look at the people around me; I can already tell that none of us are involved in this matter."

Dudu ludu...

Suddenly, Aite's phone rang. He looked down and saw it was his subordinate.

Beep.

"What's going on? Hmm? You've found the murderer!?"

Aite's pupils contracted, and his voice became excited, quickly rising in pitch.

Those around him stared in surprise and turned their attention to him.

……

A moment later, in a hidden, empty warehouse.

A corpse with its head turned into tentacles was placed on the table in the room. Aite led his people in and was immediately shocked when they saw the corpse.

"What kind of monster is this?"

Kisara, wearing a white lab coat, mask, and gloves, stood in front of the table, observing the corpse that sent chills down her spine.

Aite, dressed similarly, stood to the side, holding documents in his hand, and looked up at his subordinates beside him.

What are the specific details?

"This thing was looking for trouble on the road with its empty eyes, then it went into an alley on its own. We were chased by the troublemaker, and then a fight broke out. The other side was very fast, almost invisible. One of our men had his leg cut off, and we had no choice but to shoot him."

"Hmm, how are the wounded?"

"It's not a big problem. The leg has been stitched back up. Fortunately, it wasn't a headcut."

Aite nodded and carefully examined the parasite's corpse.

"It seems this is the thing that's making us take the blame. It must be a recently emerged species. But maybe it's always been there, since we've been blamed for many things a long time ago."

"What's the next step?"

"Make sure that people going out don't go out alone and that they bring their weapons."

A fierce glint flashed in Aite's eyes, and he began to take this matter seriously.

……

The disappearance of the parasites naturally attracted their attention, and in just a few days, their intelligence grew dramatically, becoming comparable to that of humans.

Although the number of missing persons cases has decreased, they have not been eradicated, since there are not many obedient creatures among the parasites.

……

In the chat group.

Goto Ichiri: Wow! Why... did I get chosen as an exchange student?! Noooooo!

Hachiman: Huh? What a coincidence? You're an exchange student too?