A group of Aogiri Tree members gasped for breath as they rushed to the seaside. Many of them still looked confused, not knowing what exactly had happened.
Only Amano Hiro, Eto, and Rize were not looking at the sea. Instead, they all raised their heads and stared at the sky.
Their ears were perked up, carefully listening for even the slightest unusual movement.
When CCG suddenly called for a retreat just now, Amano Hiro's heart skipped a beat, directly triggering a certain "post-traumatic stress disorder."
After being bombarded by missiles twice in a row, the moment he heard the enemy suddenly retreat for no apparent reason, his first thought was: Damn it, they are definitely going to throw something down and blow me up again!
So without even thinking, he immediately told everyone to run, afraid that if they were too slow, they would be wiped out again.
But now, everyone had been waiting uselessly by the sea for quite a while.
The sky was still the same sky, the sun was shining brightly overhead. Forget missiles, they could not even hear the sound of a single fighter jet.
Amano Hiro looked up at the cloudless blue sky, the veins at his temples twitching.
After all that... it was just a false alarm?
Amano Hiro's face became as dark as the bottom of a pot.
This time, he had really scared himself. He had become a frightened bird.
CCG had not sent any missiles or fighter jets at all. They had simply retreated suddenly for some unknown reason.
Rize withdrew her gaze from the sky and softly said, "There is nothing."
Eto also looked around and clicked her tongue.
"Hiro, it looks like... we got played?"
Amano Hiro took a deep breath, suppressing the embarrassment and irritation in his heart.
"Let's go. We'll head back first."
Thus, under the continued confused gazes of the members, everyone followed their King and hurried back to the base the way they came.
Those who needed to patrol patrolled. Those who needed to stand guard stood guard. It was as if the mad dash just now had only been a group morning exercise.
The people below naturally could not help muttering.
Member A scratched his head. "Why did we suddenly run just now?"
Member B shrugged. "Who knows? If the people above tell us to run, then we run. Why think so much?"
Member C nodded. "True."
...
In the conference room, the executives gathered again.
Eto leaned back in her chair and looked at Amano Hiro sitting in the main seat.
"Today's battle was a little... sloppy. What do we do next?"
Amano Hiro had already returned to his usual appearance, casually leaning against the back of the sofa.
"Although it ended with a strong start and weak finish," he tapped his fingers on the armrest,
"it was not completely without gains. CCG suddenly retreating for no reason definitely means something happened internally."
Amano Hiro continued.
"But on CCG's side, it is not really a big problem.
I never planned to completely wipe them out anyway. If they escaped, then they escaped."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"The original plan today was to kill half of them and let Kaneki Ken bring the rest back.
Although things are slightly different from what I expected, the difference is not big."
He paused, his tone certain.
"The small clone body has already been given to Arima Kishou. Once he sends word, I will directly go and take down the Washuu Clan."
"Next, we just wait for what happens on Kanou Akihiro's side."
Amano Hiro leaned back into the sofa.
"As long as the 'Dragon's Core' is ready, the final plan can officially begin."
He stood up and summarized.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Tell Kanou Akihiro to speed up the progress. Also keep an eye on CCG's internal movements. I will head back first."
Amano Hiro and Rize had just entered their home. Before they had even warmed the sofa seat, Eto's message popped up.
[Hiro, the Dragon's Core is complete.]
Amano Hiro immediately stood up from the sofa and stared at the line of text on the screen, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
"What happened?" Rize looked over curiously.
While quickly replying [Good, I'll be there immediately], he said:
"The final boss's 'key' is finished. We need to go back again."
...
Aogiri Tree, underground laboratory.
A huge cultivation tank stood in the center. Inside floated an egg-shaped object.
Its appearance was very similar to the core Rize became in the original story, but the outer shell looked thicker and opaque, making it appear extremely sturdy.
Washuu Kichimura floated inside with his eyes closed like a human stick. Countless branch-like veins extended from his body, connecting to the inner wall of the egg.
Amano Hiro looked at it for a few moments before turning to Eto.
"Where is Kanou Akihiro?"
He had no idea how to operate this thing. The original story only briefly explained it, so he still needed to ask someone who understood.
Eto shrugged.
"Couldn't find him. He probably ran away. But he left an instruction manual."
She handed over the folder in her hand.
Amano Hiro opened it and quickly skimmed through several pages. He found that the procedure was not complicated.
The main thing was to find the location of the old core and replace it with this new one.
"That's simple enough."
He closed the document. The coordinates of the old core had already been marked when they went underground last time.
"Then do we awaken it now?" Eto asked.
Amano Hiro thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not yet. First completely eliminate the hidden threat of the Washuu Clan, then we move it."
He looked at the sleeping core inside the cultivation tank.
"Be more stable. Take it step by step."
"It's almost time. CCG's retreat this time definitely has something wrong with it. Maybe something happened to the Washuu Clan. We just need to wait for Arima Kishou's message."
CCG Headquarters, large conference room.
All Special-Class and Associate Special-Class Investigators had gathered, and the atmosphere was solemn. Marude Itsuki sat at the head of the table, his expression heavy as he scanned everyone present.
"I know many people have questions about the sudden cancellation of the Rushima Island operation. But today, what we are going to discuss is something far more serious than that."
He paused, his voice becoming deeper.
"I am officially informing everyone now: the founder of CCG, the Washuu Clan that has managed CCG for over a hundred years."
He raised his eyes and spoke word by word.
"Every single one of them is a ghoul."
After his words fell, the conference room became silent for a moment.
Then it exploded.
"What?!"
"Was what was written in that book actually true?!"
"The Washuu Clan are actually ghouls?!"
Shocked whispers, doubts, and disbelief echoed from below.
Marude Itsuki did not interrupt. He only watched silently. He understood this kind of impact.
Several minutes passed before the commotion gradually settled down. Everyone's eyes focused on him again, waiting for an explanation.
Marude Itsuki continued, his tone decisive.
"I have decided to reveal the truth publicly.
At the same time, completely cleanse CCG from within. Anyone here with a different opinion may speak now."
The people below exchanged looks with each other. Soon, voices began to ring out one after another.
"No objections! It must be made public!"
"Agreed! We should immediately send people to take control of all Washuu members and deal with them together!"
"We support this!"
No one opposed it. Faced with absolute truth and betrayal, their positions had become unified like never before.
Seeing this, Marude Itsuki stopped wasting words and made the final decision.
"Good! Then it is settled. Tomorrow morning, we will hold a global press conference. We will completely tear off the mask of the Washuu Clan."