Fighting you is like being in jail.

Leng Chang: Hey!

Hiratsuka Shizuka: Isn't this something everyone already knows? After all, who would come to ambush us for no reason?

Celia: If it were an outsider who ambushed me, I would have died on the spot long ago.

Bucciarati: Indeed.

Leng Chang: Ah...is it that obvious?

Madoka Kaname: It's so obvious! And how could you use a sniper rifle to shoot a girl! (Madoka's waist is so big.JPG)

Homura Akemi: He even steals money from girls, what do you think?

Bucciarati: What?! Leng Chang actually robbed a girl of her money?

Leng Chang: At that time, it was irresistible!

Homura Akemi: She robbed me and didn't return the money; she even spent it all.

Bucciarati: Hiss!

Leng Chang: Didn't I recharge you with a lot of money?

Homura Akemi: The money was counterfeit.

Leng Chang: Then I'll go and exchange the counterfeit money for real money.

Homura Akemi: Is there a difference?

Leng Chang: Is there no difference?

Homura Akemi: Tsk!

Madoka Kaname: This isn't important! The important thing is to get some rest!

Kazuma Sato: I'm full.

Goto Ichiri: Um... um, when do I leave the stage?

Leng Chang: Does Boqi want to go back?

Goto Ichiri: Yeah, I don't think I've been of much use. I'll just go to class.

Madoka Kaname: Well, after all, Pochi is a student.

Hiratsuka Shizuka: Pochi, do you want to transfer to my school?

Goto Ichiri: Huh? Well... let's forget about it.

Leng Chang: Boqi can have Xida as a friend, but he can't bear to part with her.

Goto Ichiri: It's alright, hehehe.

Hiratsuka Shizuka: That's true.

Leng Chang: Then I'll take action too. Boqi, you'd better die on the roadside today!

Goto Ichiri: Eh?!

Homura Akemi: Tsk tsk tsk.

......

That evening, Goto Ichiri was found dead in his office at the Central Hospital.

Upon receiving the news, Kaname Madoka immediately gathered everyone and rushed to the scene... Goto Ichiri lay in a pool of blood, shot in the back and unable to stop.

"What happened! Why did this happen?!"

Ayato stared wide-eyed at Goto Ichiri lying in a pool of blood; he had been perfectly fine just moments before.

Kaname Madoka lowered her head, the incandescent light from the office ceiling shining down on her, her bangs blocking the light and darkening her face.

A flicker of anger emanated from his golden eyes, and his fists were clenched tighter than ever before.

Silent Madoka Kaname took a deep breath, slowly turned her head, and looked around with indignant eyes.

“By the time I arrived, Pochi was already like this… There was no one on the surveillance footage. The killer shot him in the heart through the window.”

“…”

"..."

Upon receiving this result, Kaneki and Aya both felt a deep sense of unease, as if they would die at any moment!

"Isn't there even a single clue?"

Kaneki asked, his voice trembling.

“No…” Kaname Madoka shook her head and said regretfully, “We have no advantage in intelligence, and we don’t even know who the enemy is.”

"Could it be someone from the assassination squad!?"

Kaneki thought of a Stand, because only a Stand's ability could be so silent and stealthy.

"The high probability is..."

Madoka Kaname bit her lip and said unwillingly, her eyes flashing with reluctance.

"..."

There is absolutely no way.

Kaneki clenched his fists silently, unable to even muster any anger, and was plunged into a state of utter powerlessness.

"hateful!"

boom!

Ayato angrily punched the wall, the force of which cracked the wall as he gritted his teeth and vented his rage.

There's nothing we can do right now.

At this moment, Madoka Kaname said guiltily, "Please, everyone, please don't act alone from now on... I beg you."

"Ah."

"it is good."

Everyone nodded in understanding the seriousness of the situation.

That evening, Kaneki, Ayato, Kitahara Iori, and Sato Kazuma formed a team of four.

For safety reasons, the four of them booked a presidential suite at the hotel, which was just enough for all four of them. After what had happened, it would be dangerous to separate them.

Kaneki and Ayato were both feeling terrible, sitting blankly on the living room sofa and sighing.

At that moment, Kitahara Iori walked over to Kaneki with a Coke, sat down on the single sofa, and casually tossed Kaneki a bottle of Coke.

"Ah, thank you." Kaneki took the candy in a daze, feeling its coldness, and couldn't help but sigh.

“Don’t worry about it, Kaneki,” Kitahara Iori said casually, with a sense of nonchalance.

"Even so... how could I not mind? We're all such nice people."

“…”

No, you're making my conscience hurt so much!

Kitahara Iori was so heartbroken that she couldn't speak. It was all a lie, and only she, who knew the truth, could understand the pain she felt.

He sighed, took a sip of his cola, savoring the stimulating taste and the sweet aftertaste, and after a moment of silence, said softly:

"You won't believe it, but I'm a college student just like you."

"Huh?" Kaneki looked up in surprise, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"I worked hard for a long time to get into university... and then I stepped into the university I had always longed for. But I discovered something terrible: university is not as simple as it seems on the surface."

Kitahara Iori sighed, her face full of weariness, as if there was endless bitterness in her heart.

"I'm busy with my studies during the day and work a part-time job at night. At the end of the month, I can barely make enough to cover my living expenses."

"But the good times didn't last long... I discovered something cruel. There were many people in the school who couldn't even afford a full meal, even though they had tried their best.

"At that moment, I began to think about the problem, and then I realized how cruel this world is. It's as if everything is calculated, and if even one link is missing, someone will fall into suffering."

"Parents and work are both indispensable; if you lack either one, you will fall into a vicious cycle of not having enough money."

"The poorer you are, the harder you work; the harder you work, the poorer you become. Everything is planned. This will happen if you lose any one link in the chain."

"Everything is subtly maintained in an invisible balance, as if there is a team of skilled calculators behind the scenes calculating the income and expenditure of every individual and every family."

"Once this balance is broken, life will end, and no matter how hard you try, you will only be chasing the critical point of this balance."

"Rice nowadays... was already unaffordable for many, many people when it cost 2,000 yen."

"But do you know how much rice costs now?"

"Five thousand! A full five thousand yen! A one-hour part-time job only costs one thousand yen!"

"What the hell is wrong with this world? Eggs in North America are fucking eighteen dollars each!"

"That's one egg! Just a tiny, minuscule egg!"

"When I realized this problem, I was plunged into despair and even felt a sense of powerlessness I had never felt before."

"Then I met Leng Chang, who told me that Reyi Supermarket had cheap rice with guaranteed quality and quantity."

"After that, I went there and found it was true. But I knew there must be something wrong with it, so I started investigating."

"When I discovered it was smuggling, I wasn't afraid or terrified; all I felt was deep despair."

"The Japanese government keeps raising rice prices, while gangsters keep smuggling cheap rice to alleviate the suffering of ordinary people."

"The police are arresting people who are doing things for everyone, and even police officers are buying cheap rice."

"Capital chooses to starve 10% of the population to drive up food prices in order to gain more profits."

"Once that 10% starves to death, food prices will return to normal. Then, if another 10% starves to death, food prices will rise again!"

"What's wrong with this world...?"

"Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? I can't tell, I really can't tell!"

"However, one thing I am certain of."

"The Heat One cannot fall, it absolutely cannot fall! Even if it means death, I will stop anyone from harming the organization!"

"When I made up my mind to protect all of this, I felt like I was being elevated. This is not a selfish battle, but a battle to protect everyone."

"So there's no need to worry about it; everyone thinks the same way."

"Heat must not fall."

Kitahara Iori's words made Kaneki's pupils shrink and his heart tremble.

As a poor child, he understood the situation very well, especially since his mother died from overwork, and despite her hard work, she did not receive the reward she deserved.

He eventually died from overwork...

At that moment, Kaneki felt a surge of anger, resentment, and guilt, as if he had discovered the murderer who killed his mother.

It turns out I was caught in that so-called vicious cycle...

"I will not let everyone's passion collapse!"

Kaneki clenched his fists as if he had found his goal at that moment, and his eyes began to shine.

"Ah."

Sitting on the sofa, Kitahara Iori nodded heavily, a smile spreading across his face.

......

after one day.

Madoka Kaname suddenly notified everyone to prepare for action.

The operation was carried out a day ahead of schedule.

When Kaneki and the others arrived at the meeting point, they couldn't help but look puzzled when they saw Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi.

"Didn't we agree to act tomorrow?" Kazuma Sato walked up to Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi and asked curiously.

Madoka Kaname's eyes narrowed, and she said aggressively:

"Wouldn't this catch the mole among us completely off guard?"