Shuichi Banjou felt as if he had seen something extraordinary, keeping his head down the entire time, not daring to breathe.
All he wanted now was to leave this place quickly.
It wasn't until Dong Xiang's figure disappeared upstairs that Shuichi Banjou breathed a sigh of relief, carefully raising his head to look at He Xi Qian Yu: "Tsuruki-xiansheng, we… should go now, shouldn't we?"
He Xi Qian Yu picked up his canvas bag, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Lead the way."
Shuichi Banjou nodded repeatedly, almost scrambling to pull open the back door and stepping out first, as if another second of delay would be agony.
He Xi Qian Yu followed closely, stepping into the deep night outside the door, the shadows of the back alley instantly engulfing his figure. The coffee shop's back door gently closed, and the dim yellow light of the streetlamp only managed to catch the corner of his departing clothes.
...
23rd Ward, Kukulia Outskirts
This Ghoul detention center was located on the outskirts of the 23rd Ward. When Shuichi Banjou led He Xi Qian Yu to the meeting point, hundreds of Bronze Tree Ghouls, all dressed in uniform dark red hooded robes, had already gathered there.
"Stop, password! Which squad are you from?" A Ghoul, also cloaked in a red robe, materialized from the shadows, blocking their path, his hoarse voice filled with vigilance. In the shadows beneath his hood, two points of crimson light locked onto them.
Shuichi Banjou quickly stepped forward to explain: "We are…"
"They are my people." A clear, impatient young voice broke the tense atmosphere.
Ayato's figure emerged from the gathered Ghouls, parting the crowd as he walked directly to the one blocking the way, "Let them pass."
The Ghoul blocking the way, seeing that it was a cadre, immediately bowed and retreated, his figure re-merging into the shadows.
"What took you so long?" Ayato walked up to He Xi Qian Yu, glaring at him without ceremony, his voice lowered, "The operation is about to begin."
"Busy saying goodbye to your sister," He Xi Qian Yu paused, adding, "She was quite worried and talked to me for a long time."
"You…" Ayato's face instantly flushed red, his fists clenched tightly, as he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "…Stop talking nonsense, get back to your position. Don't hold us back later."
With that, he abruptly turned and walked back to the front of the team, full of anger, as if another second would make him explode.
He Xi Qian Yu watched Ayato's furious retreating figure, a slight curve on his lips. He didn't provoke him further, simply standing casually in an inconspicuous spot next to Shuichi Banjou.
The latter kept his head down the entire time, pretending he didn't exist.
Soon, the Bronze Tree team was fully assembled. A tall figure wearing a red mask and a white trench coat slowly emerged from the shadows and stood at the very front of the team.
It was Tatara.
"Operation commence."
At Tatara's command, the Bronze Tree Ghouls rushed towards Kukulia in the distance.
...
"Ghoul Detention Center" Kukulia
This circular prison, specifically for detaining Ghouls, had most of its structure buried underground, like an inverted steel giant tower. Above ground, there was only a cold alloy dome and scattered entrance facilities.
According to regulations, the Zero Gate, used for large-scale Ghoul containment, would only open at specific times, but today was an exception.
When He Xi Qian Yu, mixed in with the Bronze Tree main force, arrived at Kukulia's entrance, the heavy Zero Gate was already fully open.
There were only a few guards at the entrance who had come to check on the anomaly.
"Ao… Bronze Tree?!" One of the quickest-reacting guards' pupils constricted. Almost instinctively, he pressed his communicator and screamed hysterically: "Alarm! Zero Gate! Bronze Tree att… Ugh—!"
His voice abruptly cut off.
Several thin, dark red tail Kouinks precisely pierced through the chests of all the guards. The guards' bodies, like broken puppets, trembled and fell, leaving only static crackling in the communicators.
Noro slowly retracted his Kouink, completely unconcerned by the viscous blood drops it brought out.
"Keep moving forward." Tatara's cold voice cut through the piercing alarm.
Following this command, the Bronze Tree Ghouls swarmed through the wide-open Zero Gate, leaping into the vertical passage leading underground.
The piercing alarm instantly reached its peak, echoing through every corner of this steel cage. Red alarm lights flashed wildly, illuminating the cold metal passages like a purgatory.
"...Damn noise… So loud…" Slaughter's voice sounded in Qianyu's consciousness, full of irritation, "...I really want to tear those speakers apart…"
...
Kukulia's security forces reacted very quickly. By the time the Bronze Tree's main force reached the circular support platform on the second level, fully armed guard units had already assembled on the platform.
They formed a crossfire network, relying on temporarily erected cover and the complex structure of the platform itself.
"Open fire! Stop them!" the commander roared.
Da da da da—!
Bang bang bang—!
Intense gunfire instantly erupted. Specialized Kouink bullets, like a metal storm, poured upwards against the descending Ghouls. Several Bronze Tree Ghouls, who had not yet fully landed, were riddled with bullets in mid-air, screaming as they fell, their bodies splattering into a bloody mess on the metal grates further below.
The Bronze Tree Ghouls let out furious roars. For a moment, the light of Kouinks flickered across the dimly lit platform. The tearing sound of bullets ripping through flesh, the rending sound of Kouinks cutting through human bodies, the screams of the dying… numerous sounds intertwined in this massive circular space, forming a bloody and brutal symphony.
Guards, after all, were not Ghoul Search Officers, and the damage caused by Kouink bullets to Ghouls was extremely limited. After a brief battle, under the fearless charge of the Ghouls, the newly established defensive line quickly collapsed.
He Xi Qian Yu noticed that Eto, as a cadre, remained hidden at the back of the team like an observer, not making a move the entire time, but rather appreciating the scene of the guards being Slaughtered with interest.
As the battle on the platform neared its end, He Xi Qian Yu's gaze swept across the battlefield, finding Warden Misaka Kenshin already fallen not far away, a hole in his chest, completely lifeless.
On the other side of the platform, Tatara was confronting Hoji Kousuke, who had rushed to provide support.
Tatara was originally a Chinese Ghoul, the younger brother of the leader of the defunct Chinese Ghoul organization "Red Tongue Chain." His elder brother, "Flame," was killed by Search Officers led by Hoji, thus creating an enmity with Hoji.
Enemies meeting again, their eyes burned with rage. Tatara waved his hand, signaling the surrounding Ghouls to retreat, clearing an open space.
"Hoji…" Tatara's voice was low, his eyes seeming to hold unexpressed fury, "Long time no see…"
...
He Xi Qian Yu had no interest in Tatara's personal grievances. Led by the three cadres, Ayato, Noro, and Eto, the main force of the Bronze Tree did not linger long on the platform, but continued downwards, surging towards the lowest levels of Kukulia.
The further down they went, the stronger the scent of blood in the air became. Because the central control room had been successfully infiltrated by the Bronze Tree, the gates of hundreds of Ghoul cells, spanning over a dozen floors from top to bottom in Kukulia, were now popping open one after another like dominoes, with piercing metal scraping sounds rising and falling.
Long-imprisoned Ghoul prisoners surged madly out of their cells. Most of them wore uniform blue prison uniforms, their eyes burning with the fire of revenge, and many unhesitatingly joined the Bronze Tree forces rushing downwards.