The supernatural zone, the ghoul zone.
Against the backdrop of modern civilization, this world is largely indistinguishable from human society.
However, among these humans, there are hidden creatures called ghouls.
Ghouls, creatures that look almost identical to humans but must consume humans as food to survive.
Because, other than human flesh, all other foods are poisonous and difficult for ghouls to stomach. It's like humans eating putrid things; not only is it disgusting and unbearable, but forcibly eating them also causes damage to the body.
Humans' evaluation of ghouls is that they are monsters disguised as humans, and after all, no one wants to be eaten.
Moreover, in a certain sense, although ghouls eat people out of necessity, they do have a monstrous side.
Although ghouls appear no different from humans in their daily lives, they possess a special organ called a kakuhou, used to store or absorb cells called RC cells during feeding.
RC cells are also a ghoul's most potent weapon, capable of releasing weapons called kagune from the kakuhou.
The more RC cells a ghoul has, the stronger it becomes. In fact, ghouls can absorb the RC cells of others by consuming their own kind.
On the human side, there are also forces dedicated to eradicating ghouls. Humans call them Ghoul Investigators, while ghouls habitually refer to them as CCG.
To combat ghouls, besides their own training, humans excavate kagune from the bodies of deceased ghouls and fashion them into weapons, known as quinques.
Ghouls devour humans, and humans hunt ghouls...
Compared to cruelty, it's more a matter of helplessness.
A helplessness of natural selection and the cycle of the food chain.
Ghouls do not wish to eat humans, but they cannot consume any other food.
Some ghouls have tried to endure, sustaining themselves with liquids like coffee.
But such ghouls are rare.
Although ghoul bodies are far superior to humans', prolonged starvation is also dangerous, so they occasionally resort to excavating corpses from cemeteries to consume.
Of course, more ghouls choose to follow their nature; heaven has given them a reason to eat humans, so to survive, they naturally can only eat people.
Just as humans eat cattle, sheep, and pigs.
Some ghouls even treat humans as beings inferior to themselves in terms of biological structure.
However, ghouls are very few in number compared to humans, so while hunting humans, ghouls face a greater danger of being hunted.
Thus, certain ghoul organizations emerged to oppose the CCG.
Aogiri Tree is one such organization, and it continues to expand.
Rescuing Bai Ye is 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 drawn the attention of the CCG and also Aogiri Tree.
The CCG intends to kill such a ferocious ghoul.
Aogiri Tree intends to recruit such a ferocious ghoul as a member.
Thus, the scene at the hotel unfolded.
The CCG dispatched numerous Ghoul Investigators to the hotel to eliminate Bai Ye, while Aogiri Tree dispatched a cadre, Ayato Kirishima, to rescue Bai Ye with his subordinates.
The only problem is...
Bai Ye is not an Eater!
Upon learning the general situation from Ayato Kirishima, Bai Ye felt incredibly frustrated.
Who did he offend?
But at this moment, there is someone more frustrated than Bai Ye!
"This script is not going as planned!"
Li Jia yi sat on the rooftop of a building, watching the CCG clean up the mess below, completely bewildered.
Li Jia yi only wanted to lure Ghoul Investigators to deal with Bai Ye. The first half of his plan went smoothly; the Ghoul Investigators did arrive.
But the second half deviated from Li Jia yi's plan. He never anticipated Aogiri Tree would appear.
And Aogiri Tree...
happens to be Li Jia yi's target!
Li Jia yi would never want Bai Ye to be involved with Aogiri Tree, but as it stands...
Bai Ye seems to have already gotten involved with Aogiri Tree.
Meanwhile, Ayato Kirishima has brought Bai Ye to Aogiri Tree's headquarters.
A derelict factory!
Ayato Kirishima got out of the car and said, "We're here. From today on, you're a member here."
Bai Ye asked, "Are you so sure I'll join Aogiri Tree?"
Ayato Kirishima sneered, "The CCG is already targeting you. If you don't join us, you won't be able to move freely. You'll be found by the CCG soon enough. What do you think will happen to you then? You can guess, can't you?"
Ayato Kirishima said this as he walked into the factory.
"Of course, we at Aogiri Tree don't force any ghouls to join us," Ayato Kirishima continued. "If you want to leave, feel free to do so."
Bai Ye shrugged his shoulders and followed Ayato Kirishima into the abandoned factory.
Bai Ye was now somewhat interested in this area.
Ghouls, Investigators?
Bai Ye was somewhat interested in both, but if he had to say, his interest in ghouls was greater.
This interest stemmed from what he could gain from them.
As things stood, the most valuable thing about ghouls was likely quinques, but the core of quinques was a ghoul's kagune, so the ultimate source was still the ghoul.
As for the value of ghouls...
Ghouls themselves are the most valuable entities.
Bai Ye was very interested in both kakuhou and kagune. Moreover, from the information obtained from Ayato Kirishima, Bai Ye deduced that becoming a ghoul would definitely strengthen one's physical attributes.
Ghouls' physical attributes are far superior to humans', and they also possess kagune as special weapons.
Bai Ye didn't rule out the possibility of becoming a ghoul. As long as it could enhance his physical attributes and increase his strength, Bai Ye wouldn't care if he became what humans called a monster.
But the current problem was that Bai Ye felt that if his deduction was correct, becoming a ghoul would also come at a great cost.
That cost would be...
Inability to eat any other food besides human flesh.
This side effect was quite significant.
Bai Ye couldn't recall how many people he had killed in his past and current lives.
To survive on the world battlefield, one had to constantly become stronger. To kill for strength, Bai Ye had long since become numb.
If this world required him to kill to survive.
Bai Ye wouldn't mind dividing "people" into two categories.
The first category would be himself.
The second category would be everyone else.
For his own sake, Bai Ye could kill all other people.
However, eating humans...
This was unacceptable to Bai Ye. Regardless, as long as "humanity" still existed, this was something that should not be done.
...