In the supernatural zone, the ghoul zone.
Against the backdrop of modern civilization, this world is largely no different from human society.
However, among these humans, there exists a hidden species called ghouls.
Ghouls are creatures that look almost identical to humans but must consume humans as food to survive.
This is because, apart from human flesh, other foods are like poison to ghouls, impossible to swallow. It's akin to humans eating rotten food; not only is it revolting and difficult to stomach, but forcibly consuming it can also cause harm to the body.
Humans label ghouls as monsters disguised as people, and understandably, no one wants to be eaten.
Moreover, in a certain sense, while ghouls eating humans is out of necessity, they do possess a monstrous aspect.
Though ghouls appear no different from humans in their daily lives, they possess a unique organ called a kagune, used to store or absorb a type of cell called RC cells during feeding.
These RC cells are also a ghoul's most potent weapon, capable of releasing weapons known as kagune from the kagune.
The more RC cells a ghoul possesses, the stronger it becomes. In fact, ghouls can absorb the RC cells of their own kind by consuming them.
On the human side, there are also forces dedicated to eradicating ghouls. Humans call them Ghoul Investigators, while ghouls typically refer to them as doves.
To combat ghouls, humans, in addition to their own training, excavate the kagune from deceased ghouls and craft them into weapons, known as quinques.
Ghouls devour humans, and humans hunt ghouls...
Compared to cruelty, there is a greater sense of helplessness.
A sense of helplessness born from natural selection and the cycle of the food chain.
Ghouls don't want to eat humans, but they cannot consume any other food.
Some ghouls attempt to endure, sustaining themselves with liquids like coffee.
However, such ghouls are rare.
Although a ghoul's body is far superior to a human's, prolonged starvation is dangerous. Thus, they occasionally resort to digging up corpses from cemeteries to consume.
Naturally, the majority of ghouls follow their instincts. Heaven has given them a reason to eat humans, so to survive, they must eat humans.
Much like humans consume cattle, sheep, and pigs.
Some ghouls even treat humans as beings inferior to themselves in terms of biological structure.
However, the number of ghouls is minuscule compared to humans, thus, while hunting humans, ghouls face a greater risk of being hunted.
Consequently, certain ghoul factions emerged to resist the doves.
Aogiri Tree is one such faction, and it is continuously expanding.
Saving Bai Ye is a part of Aogiri Tree's expansion plan.
The so-called Eater is the man in the suit Bai Ye saw last night; he has committed over a dozen similar acts within a month.
Such actions have attracted the attention of the doves and Aogiri Tree.
The doves intend to kill such a ferocious ghoul.
Aogiri Tree aims to recruit such a ferocious ghoul as a member.
Thus, the scene at the hotel unfolded.
The doves dispatched numerous Ghoul Investigators to the hotel to eliminate Bai Ye, while Aogiri Tree sent an executive, Ayato Kirishima, with his subordinates to rescue Bai Ye.
The only problem is...
Bai Ye is not the Eater!
Having learned the general situation from Ayato Kirishima, Bai Ye felt incredibly frustrated.
Who did he offend?
But at this moment, there is someone even more frustrated than Bai Ye!
"This script is not right!"
Li Jia Yi sat atop a building, watching the doves below clean up the mess, a look of bewilderment on his face.
Li Jia Yi only wanted to lure Ghoul Investigators to deal with Bai Ye. The first part of his plan went smoothly; the Ghoul Investigators did indeed arrive.
But the latter half deviated from Li Jia Yi's plan. He never anticipated Aogiri Tree's appearance.
And Aogiri Tree...
It just so happens to be Li Jia Yi's target!
Li Jia Yi would never want Bai Ye to be associated with Aogiri Tree, but at this moment, it appears...
Bai Ye seems to have already become involved with Aogiri Tree.
Meanwhile, Ayato Kirishima has brought Bai Ye to Aogiri Tree's headquarters.
An abandoned factory!
Ayato Kirishima stepped out of the car and said, "We're here. From today onwards, you're one of us."
Bai Ye asked, "Are you so sure I'll join Aogiri Tree?"
Ayato Kirishima sneered, "The doves are already watching you. If you don't join us, you won't be able to move freely and will soon be found by them. What will be your fate then? You should be able to guess, right?"
Ayato Kirishima spoke as he walked into the factory.
"Of course, we at Aogiri Tree do not force any ghoul to join us," Ayato Kirishima added. "If you wish to leave, feel free to do so."
Bai Ye shrugged and followed Ayato Kirishima into the abandoned factory.
Bai Ye was now somewhat interested in this area.
Ghouls, investigators?
Bai Ye was interested in both, but if he had to choose, his interest in ghouls was greater.
This interest stemmed from what he could gain from them.
From the current situation, the most valuable things ghouls possessed were quinques, but the core of quinques was a ghoul's kagune, thus the source remained ghouls themselves.
As for the value of ghouls...
Ghouls themselves were the most valuable things.
Bai Ye was interested in both kagune and RC cells. Furthermore, based on the information obtained from Ayato Kirishima, Bai Ye deduced that becoming a ghoul would undoubtedly enhance one's physical attributes.
Ghouls' physical attributes were far superior to humans', and they possessed kagune as special weapons.
Bai Ye did not rule out becoming a ghoul. As long as it could enhance his physical attributes and increase his strength, Bai Ye didn't care if he became a monster in the eyes of humans.
However, the current issue was that Bai Ye felt that if his inference was correct, becoming a ghoul would come at a great cost.
That cost was...
Aside from eating humans, the inability to consume any other food.
This side effect was quite substantial.
Bai Ye had lost count of how many people he had killed in his past and present lives.
To survive in the world battlefield, he had to continuously grow stronger. In order to grow stronger, he had killed people long ago, to the point of numbness.
If this world required killing to survive,
Bai Ye wouldn't mind categorizing "people" into two types.
The first type was himself.
The second type was everyone else.
For his own sake, Bai Ye could kill all others.
However, eating humans...
This was something Bai Ye could not accept. No matter what, as long as "humanity" still existed, this was an act that should not be committed.
...