In the understanding of most people, the so-called '24th Ward' is a special area surrounded by a large amount of seemingly kakuhou-like substance, inhabited by a large number of ghouls. The ghouls staying here are basically those unwilling to live in normal human society or those who cannot survive outside. The residents here follow the extremely simple 'law of the jungle' survival.
Apart from this, people outside basically know nothing about this area.
Why did the 24th Ward appear?
What is the strange substance covering the 24th Ward?
Why do ghouls living in the 24th Ward rarely leave there?
Not only does human society know little about these questions, but even most ghouls don't know much about it. However, one person is very aware of the 'secret' here.
The so-called '24th Ward' was actually the place where the ancestors of the Washuu family first discovered the 'Dragon Virus,' and those strange substances that resemble kakuhou are actually the result of the corpses of the unlucky ones who failed to be infected by the 'Dragon Virus' being transformed by the Dragon Virus.
As for why ghouls living in the 24th Ward rarely leave, it is incredibly simple. Although they might die directly in the depths due to an excessive amount of the virus, their strength can slowly increase when living on the periphery. Who would want to leave such a good place?
But would the Washuu family be so kind as to enhance the strength of these people?
Naturally impossible. If they are only infected with a trace amount of the virus, there is still a chance to leave, but once the Dragon Virus in their body reaches a certain amount, they can never leave again, because the outside world has no Dragon Virus, which would cause death once they leave. It can be said that these ghouls have completely become 'gatekeepers' guarding this area.
The only ones who can go to the core area are the people of the 'Washuu' family. As for why no one knows, it's because since its discovery, only the Washuu family members have been able to go in alive and come out alive.
And just as Washuu was silently waiting for Kamishiro Rize's 'resurrection' at the origin of the 'Dragon Virus'------
"Boom!!"
The entire underground space shook twice, and the huge explosion also made Furuta Nimura's originally delighted expression turn a little ferocious.
'What's going on? Could it be an earthquake?'
Earthquake? Of course not.
"Cough cough~!"
The smoke and dust raised by the explosion made Amon Koutarou cough involuntarily. Then he saw a large pit in the ground in front of the two of them, and the originally somewhat lazy kitty was standing proudly on an explosive barrel.
"Meow~ (Hurry up and praise me!)"
Although usually he prefers to be lazy and act like a salted fish, Aru is very proud of his 'profession.' An ordinary person with enough explosives would probably only be able to blast a large pit, but under Aru's operation, the ground was directly blasted through without creating too large a hole. Should it be said that he is indeed a professional?
After petting Aru's head and promising him a double ration of dried fish tonight, the other party left satisfied. Lancer, on the other hand, threw a rune engraved with 'F' to illuminate the area below and then jumped down directly. However, when he landed, he found that his 'Chaos Mark' was actually still below.
"Tsk, at least there's another layer?"
But------
What surprised Lancer even more were the strange substances with peculiar light sources and the surrounding human buildings.
"What the hell is this place?"
Just as Lancer was talking to himself, Amon Koutarou on the other side also used a rope to jump down. He first glanced around and then his expression became somewhat serious.
"Eight out of ten, it's the 24th Ward? But I didn't expect this place to be the 24th Ward as well."
"The 24th Ward? I see."
Lancer originally felt a little strange, but as soon as Amon Koutarou spoke, he knew what was going on.
The 24th Ward is actually the first stop for most rookie investigators when they work, and Amon Koutarou, who graduated first in his class, had naturally been to the 24th Ward. Although the architectural style here was a bit different from the entrance he went to at the time, those bizarre substances left a deep impression on Amon Koutarou, and Lancer, though he hadn't been there, had long heard of it.
But just as Lancer was considering whether to let Aru blast the ground again to continue descending, a strange sound came from the distance.
There is no doubt that the explosion here not only made Furuta Nimura at the very bottom feel uncomfortable, but how could the ghouls living in the 24th Ward not care?
Almost at the same time the explosion sounded, they rushed towards this place, and Lancer and Amon Koutarou, wearing tight suits and holding Quinques, couldn't help but secretly observe them.
One must know that this is not the periphery of the 24th Ward; this core area has never been reached by investigators. So, their first reaction when they saw the two was------has the CCG above finally given in and launched a general attack to eliminate the 24th Ward?
But just when they thought a large number of CCG investigators would air-drop down after the two 'cannon fodder' had scouted the way, they waited for nearly 2 minutes but found no movement above.
'Could it be that an earthquake really just knocked two unlucky investigators down from above?'
For a moment, several ghouls showed cruel smiles. Many ghouls living here survive by cannibalism or on corpses. They haven't encountered such fresh 'food' for a long time.
More than ten ghouls, realizing that the 'prey' in front of them had no reinforcements, unhesitatingly revealed their claws.
And Lancer was extremely pleased watching the ghouls with kakuhou emerging from behind them. After all, he had prepared for the underground to be full of those monsters called 'Dragon Remnants.' Although both are enemies, the only difference is that one can only be killed, while the other can be------interrogated.
At this moment, Lancer face also showed a 'sincere smile' no less inferior to those few ghouls.
On the other side, Amon Koutarou's expression became somewhat complicated as he watched Lancer unhesitatingly charge towards the ghouls.
When Amon Koutarou met Lancer again half a month ago, he noticed the anomaly in Lancer body. Although everyone had grown in the past 3 years—for example, he was no longer an executioner but worked as a leader of the patrol unit, and Akira Mado had transformed from an inexperienced newcomer to the leader of the Quinx Squad, an experimental class.
It can be said that they are all growing, but... Lancer change is even greater than theirs.
The former Lancer seemed cautious no matter what kind of opponent he faced, but now?
Although he is still incredibly careful when attacking—at least Amon Koutarou has never seen Lancer be hit by an enemy due to his own mistake—the feeling he gives off is completely different, as if he simply desires battle...
From being passive to active, Amon Koutarou is very curious as to why Lancer has become like this.