Inside the exhibition hall, the lighting was dim. After Uesugi Ryu found his seat and sat down, he eagerly looked toward the center.
At this moment, the hall was almost full of ghouls, and the gentle strains of classical music echoed throughout the venue.
The dim lights gradually dimmed further, leaving only the area in the center, reserved for the band's performance, brightly illuminated.
Two auctioneers, wearing strange faceless masks, appeared in the center.
At the side, a passage opened, and a half-naked Nutcracker figure slowly pushed out a large cage covered with a black cloth.
On the VIP seats, Kaneki Ken and Tsukiyama Shu sat together. Tsukiyama Tsukiyama Shu looked down with interest at the Nutcracker, a hint of disdain showing on his lips.
"Boring, looks like there won't be any interesting performances today," Tsukiyama Shu said with a sneer.
Kaneki Ken was somewhat distracted, scanning around for Madam A's whereabouts. Standing next to them, Kanae, with a look of dissatisfaction, glared at Kaneki Ken.
Her face twisted slightly in displeasure, and she cursed inwardly, "This bastard. How is he worthy of sitting with Lord Tsukiyama?"
The auction formally began.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is our first item!" The auctioneer spoke, raising one hand to point toward the massive cage.
Standing beside it, the Nutcracker reached out and forcefully yanked the black cloth off, revealing the contents inside.
All eyes immediately focused on the cage, where a beautiful woman in light clothing stood trembling in fear.
Her delicate body shivered slightly, and her eyes were filled with endless terror.
"This is the famous adult film actress: Sōzai Konami! Starting bid: 8 million yen!" the female auctioneer shouted.
Upon hearing this name, the entire room was instantly abuzz. Especially the male ghouls seated around, who appeared extremely excited.
Uesugi Ryu, however, merely curled his lips in mild distaste.
No wonder when he first entered the hall, he had noticed that the number of male ghouls was clearly higher than the female ones.
It turned out today's auction theme was rather... risqué.
At that moment, someone from the crowd immediately shouted the first bid:
"8.5 million yen!"
Uesugi Ryu glanced toward the source of the voice and saw a large, muscular male ghoul. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This guy really has a heavy taste..."
As time passed, the auction continued. But Uesugi Ryu's mind had already drifted far away.
Scenes like this, such transactions, truly held no interest for him. After all, as a human, witnessing such things was somewhat unsettling.
He lowered his gaze toward the watch on his left wrist, its second hand ticking away relentlessly.
A ghoul seated next to Uesugi Ryu noticed his strange behavior.
Uesugi Ryu kept his head down, fixated on the watch, never once looking away. The ghoul couldn't help but feel an overwhelming curiosity and finally spoke up.
"Hey buddy! With such an exciting scene, why do you keep staring at that damn watch?" he asked.
Uesugi Ryu slowly turned his head, his gaze calm as still water, and replied flatly,
"This? It's because I'm a Ghoul Investigator."
Although his tone was light and his volume low, his words instantly caught the attention of all the ghouls around him. The entire space fell into a dead silence.
Even the ghoul who had asked the question stood frozen in place.
However, after a brief moment of shock, no one immediately made a move.
After all, for these experienced ghouls, distinguishing between humans and ghouls was no hard task.
The aura emanating from Uesugi Ryu was unmistakably that of a pure, thick ghoul scent.
The ghoul who had spoken earlier snapped back to reality and glared at Uesugi Ryu, cursing under his breath, "Are you crazy? Don't joke around like that!"
These days, even speaking the truth gets no one to believe you. Uesugi Ryu shrugged indifferently.
Revealing his true nature, a chilling killing intent erupted instantly. He pulled out the Destroyer from his pocket and slammed it directly into the ghoul's face.
Bang! Bang!
Two deafening sounds rang out, their impact drowning out all the noise in the room.
The seating in the ordinary sections was quite close together, and the ghouls around Uesugi Ryu were ripped apart by the dense buckshot, their bodies disintegrating into pieces, blood and flesh flying everywhere.
Chaos erupted in the hall as the ghouls screamed and scattered in all directions.
In the midst of this commotion, Kaneki Ken seized the opportunity and rushed straight toward the VIP seats where Madam A sat.
From his position above, Tsukiyama Shu observed the chaos below, his eyes filled with helplessness.
He slowly stretched out his hand, gently covering his left cheek, and muttered to himself,
"Truly... Kaneki-kun has changed. It looks like his purpose in coming here today is to ruin this auction."
"Kanae, let's go!"
Before he finished speaking, Tsukiyama Shu swiftly stood up and, with lightning speed, dashed toward the emergency exit.
At the same time, Dual-Blade Jason appeared in Uesugi Ryu's hands. In the dim environment, his figure vanished in an instant.
Without concern for the mana consumption, he repeatedly activated Instant Step, vanishing and reappearing like a ghost.
How many ghouls were in the hall? Fifty? A hundred? Two hundred? No one could be sure.
From the perspective of the VIP seats, one could only see large groups of ghouls falling like grass in a strong wind, collapsing in their weak, disorganized states.
Long blades spun in the air, cold light flashing everywhere, and wherever they went, severed limbs and broken arms flew.
Uesugi Ryu had never been this fast before. The dual blades in his hands were like thin sheets of paper, effortlessly cutting through anything in their path.
No ghoul dared to look him in the eye. In a frenzy, they used their kagune to flee in all directions.
The sounds of slicing, breaking, and screams blended with laughter, echoing through the empty room.
The hall, which should have been playing classical music, had instantly turned into an endless hell.
[You have killed an A-ranked ghoul...]
[You have killed a B-ranked ghoul...]
[You have killed an A+ ranked ghoul...]
The system's prompts flooded the screen as the pleasant sound of notifications filled Uesugi Ryu's ears.
With the activation of Soul Devour, massive amounts of mana began to flood into Uesugi Ryu's body.
The speed at which his mana replenished even surpassed the rate at which he expended it.
A grin stretched across his face, and he laughed. The sensation of freely wielding his power without needing to calculate anything was intoxicating.
His eyes turned to dark golden vertical pupils, filled with excitement.
Blood covered the tips of his blades, and with a swift motion, they plunged into the chest of another victim.
Just as Uesugi Ryu was about to go on an unstoppable rampage, the lights above suddenly flared to life, lighting up the hall as bright as day.
A loud crash echoed, and the previously closed doors were instantly smashed open.
A large group of fully armed, black-clad investigators surged in like a tide. They quickly scattered into position, forming a horizontal shooting line.
Every one of them held a dark gun, their cold barrels aimed directly at the ghouls who had reached the door.
The ghouls, horrified, stared wide-eyed at this sudden turn of events. Their bodies involuntarily trembled.
In the center of this group of investigators, Mado Akira stood proudly, holding a long whip in her hand.
Her beautiful face was twisted in excitement, her finely sculpted features looking somewhat grotesque. Especially her left eye, which was unnaturally wide open.
"This area is off-limits!"
Before her words were even fully out, flames of gunfire erupted from the barrels of the investigators' guns.
With deafening gunshots, bullets rained down on the ghouls in a frenzied barrage. In an instant, the scene was filled with flames and smoke, the entire hall falling into utter chaos...
Mado Akira, along with the other investigators, pressed forward, while Uesugi Ryu, like a sharp spear, cut through the ghouls' ranks.
With his terrifying speed, there was no distinction between A-ranked or S-ranked ghouls; it was merely a matter of one strike or two.
With a sudden stomp, the white floor tiles shattered beneath him. A purple-red glow flashed as Uesugi Ryu charged forward, directly reaching the Nutcracker's position.
Confronted with Uesugi Ryu's onslaught, the Nutcracker instantly released her kagune.
Her kagune, resembling the hard exoskeleton of an arthropod, firmly shielded her.
Known for its unmatched defensive power, the Kakuja was renowned for its ability to withstand attacks.
But to Uesugi Ryu, this seemingly indestructible Kakuja was as fragile as foam.
With a swift turn of his blade, a cold flash cut straight through her kagune.
Uesugi Ryu surged forward, lifting one foot and kicking violently at her exposed abdomen. The force was terrifying, nearly splitting the Nutcracker in two.
Her thin waist was crushed, her vital organs rupturing and spilling into her almost paper-thin waist.
The Nutcracker's body arched like a cooked shrimp and flew backward, spitting out blood and shattered internal organs. The scene was horrifically gory.
With this single blow, Uesugi Ryu had reduced the Nutcracker to a state on the verge of death.