"First-Class Uesugi, hello! My name is Ihei Riri."
The blue-haired girl wore a pair of white gloves and greeted Uesugi Ryu politely.
The black-haired middle-aged man beside her seemed rather indifferent and merely nodded slightly.
"Hi," Uesugi replied, curiously glancing around at the furnishings nearby.
The high-precision instruments glinted with a metallic shine, and in the corner, a camera was fixed directly on their location.
Uesugi Ryu frowned slightly as he glanced at the camera.
"So cautious, huh. Not only did they send their own people, but they even set up surveillance. Kind of a hassle."
"Please cooperate with us for the following procedures," Ihei Riri said sweetly.
"We'll first draw some blood, and then use these instruments to further assess your physical condition. It might be a bit uncomfortable, so please bear with us."
As she spoke, the black-haired man began preparing. Seizing the opportunity, Uesugi Ryu struck up casual conversation with Riri, asking about various things.
Unfortunately, this lovely girl didn't seem to know much, most of the answers actually came from the middle-aged man.
A large machine cast a long shadow. Uesugi Ryu looked at it with curiosity and asked:
"Dr. Ihei, what kind of data does that machine analyze?"
Hearing the question, Riri turned to look and frowned but she didn't respond. As a half-human herself, she had no clue what that thing did.
She was mainly here just for show, and to supervise the procedure.
The middle-aged man noticed both of them staring at the machine and turned as well. With an annoyed tone, he began to explain: "That is-"
But just as he looked toward the shadows, a pair of crimson Mangekyō Sharingan eyes suddenly emerged from the darkness.
In that instant, a flash of scarlet light flickered like lightning.
Both Riri and the man's expressions turned dazed.
As if their consciousness had suddenly been severed, their bodies froze on the spot.
The man's lips moved a little, as if still explaining something.
With the setup complete, Mephisto's body phased into view like a paper-thin silhouette from the shadow.
He winked at Uesugi Ryu and made an "OK" gesture with his wing.
Uesugi immediately understood, he had already given Mephisto instructions beforehand.
It had all seemed like a hallucination and the two quickly returned to normal.
A faint smile tugged at Uesugi Ryu's lips as the surveillance footage glitched slightly.
Next, Uesugi Ryu and Riri's appearances were swapped.
Uesugi Ryu became a graceful young girl, and Riri transformed into Uesugi's likeness.
The procedure resumed as usual, except now Riri was the one being tested.
The blood samples and such were all swapped in the process.
After the whole operation was completed, the three of them exited the room.
In Ihei Riri's clear, autumn-water-like eyes, a faint glint of awareness flashed briefly.
But almost immediately after, a wave of exhaustion surged over her like a tide.
She involuntarily opened her mouth and yawned deeply. The sudden fatigue was strange, unnaturally so, but oddly, Riri felt no suspicion whatsoever.
As if she were unaware of how odd it was to feel this drained. She rubbed her sore shoulders and looked toward the vibrant, energetic Uesugi Ryu.
"First-Class Uesugi, thank you for your cooperation. I'm terribly sorry for taking up your rest time! The results will be submitted to your attending physician shortly."
She bowed slightly and took her leave.
"We'll be going now."
Hearing this, Uesugi Ryu's face lit up with a brilliant smile as he responded courteously:
"No worries! You all worked hard too!"
Riri nodded and left with the middle-aged man.
"Hypnosis... interesting."
Recalling those crimson Sharingan eyes and their powerful hypnosis ability, Uesugi Ryu couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
He finally understood why so many people in other stories loved to steal some Uchiha eyes.
This power was terrifying!
"If only raven eyes were the same size as human eyes," he mused.
"I'd dig that thing out and install it myself. Why bother fighting or using quinques? Just one glare and it's over."
Suddenly, the feathers on Mephisto's chest puffed up as a chill ran down its spine.
It became instantly alert, scanning the area warily.
Uesugi Ryu noticed Mephisto's behavior and smiled faintly.
"So Mephisto's sensory ability is pretty sharp."
Mephisto looked him up and down, feeling like that smile was a little too... sinister.
...
"Masterpiece!"
Tsukiyama Shuu was intoxicated, trembling all over as he stared at the crimson liquid in his wine glass.
"So completely different from Kaneki-kun's soft and mellow flavor, this is like liquor burning down the throat! Every cell in my body is shaking!"
His face was a mixture of ecstasy and madness.
"Subarashii!! Another new flavor discovered, I'm so lucky! So blessed!!"
Crystal-like tears slipped from the corners of his eyes as he sank into a state of manic joy.
Inori, watching his madness unfold and revealed a subtle, satisfied smile.
She said nothing and simply observed him silently.
Tsukiyama pulled a handkerchief from his suit's pocket and gently wiped away his tears.
"Now, Inori-san, let's talk terms. I want the source, and I'll pay any price to acquire the remaining stock from you."
Leaning on one hand, Inori replied with a casual tone, her red lips parting:
"Ten seats in the Gourmet Club. For that, I'll give you one bottle, 150ml."
"As for the source? I suggest you don't ask. You'll die."
Tsukiyama's eyes gleamed with greed, but he nodded without hesitation.
"No problem. If Inori-san doesn't want to say, I won't press."
He smiled confidently.
The Tsukiyama family wielded tremendous power, getting that intel wouldn't be hard later.
The reason he hadn't gotten his hands on this blood before was because the family's food supply was strictly managed by trusted subordinates, or acquired at high-end auctions.
Unlike the bottom-feeding ghouls who struggled for scraps, the Tsukiyama family lived in opulence.
Those ghouls wouldn't even qualify to access places like the Ghoul Restaurant or the Auction House, both were exclusive clubs.
In contrast to the lofty Tsukiyama Family, the information broker Inori seemed far more accessible.