On the other side,
Everyone in the Antique Café was anxiously waiting.
They arrived two hours earlier than the time when Diko Ryoko met Summer, according to their plan.
But when the time came, they didn't see any rickshaws.
"Diko, you stay here. The rest of you split up and search other areas. Maybe the boss just changed his stall location."
"Meet back at the café in half an hour."
As time passed, Shiho Renji, Diko, and everyone else returned to the café with disappointment.
They shook their heads, the café fell into a deathly silence.
"Damn it!"
"Could this be just a joke from the gods? Why did they let us taste it, only to have it disappear like a fleeting dream?" Shiho Renji clenched his fist, feeling a sense of helplessness.
"There's still hope. The Monkey hasn't come back yet. There's still hope."
Irimiya Aoi's eyes were red, and she kept praying silently.
She still remembered the taste of the stinky tofu. The black tofu, the outer layer was fried to a crisp, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, every bite was full of flavor. Even the sweetness of the garlic and the spiciness of the chili, every food was so delicious.
Would she only be able to reminisce about the taste of stinky tofu in the future?
For the first time, she felt what it meant to live as a human. But why did heaven only give them a short night to experience it.
Inside the café!
There was not a sound.
If they had never seen the light, they could have endured the darkness.
A long time passed!
Touka Kirishima suddenly stood up: "I'll keep looking. If I can't find him in the Stable District, I'll search other districts. If I can't find him in Tokyo, I'll search the whole world!"
Arima Kishou didn't say anything. He neither agreed nor disagreed, but his heart was filled with a sense of dissatisfaction.
After a moment of silence,
"Everyone..."
Before the words were finished,
The last person in the café, Enma Koken, rushed into the café.
"I found him!"
Everyone immediately stood up.
"Where?"
Under everyone's urgent gaze, Koken grabbed a cup of coffee and gulped it down, unable to speak for a while. Finally, he stammered:
"He's... He's at the CCG branch."
"What? Is the boss a ghoul? We're going to get caught." Touka, who was anxious, turned around and put on her mask. "No, I have to save him."
"Wait... Let Koken finish." Irimiya Kanae stopped Touka.
"Everyone is anxious to death, just say it quickly if you have something to say."
Everyone's eyes returned to Koken.
"He shouldn't be captured. I saw it with my own eyes. The CCG officers surrounded the boss while he was selling stinky tofu. They were buying it like there was no money in the world, each of them bought several. The boss didn't seem to be forced."
"I guess he was invited to the CCG to set up a stall."
Another silence.
Damn it, why of all places, it would be there.
Shiho Renji said: "Manager, should we still go? Could this be a trap?"
"If the CCG really controls the food we can eat, they won't target only the few of us. It's probably just a coincidence." The manager shook his head. He had his own information, and this wasn't the CCG's doing.
"Yes, whether it's a trap or not, this risk is worth taking."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go."
Touka, who was always impatient, took the lead. The others looked at each other and rushed out. Irimiya Kanae was right, with their strength, even if it was a trap, they could still escape unharmed.
#@#@
At the CCG branch,
Kusakabe's superior, the rigid Tsukiyama Ushio, was eventually dragged out to try stinky tofu. Faced with the foul smell, he refused at first.
He would rather die of thirst, die of hunger, or be killed by a ghoul, than eat such stinky food.
But when Amon forced a piece of stinky tofu into his mouth, he only wanted to say.
"So delicious!"
"This taste is amazing! Kusakabe, don't use metaphors if you don't know how. Natto is an insult to stinky tofu!
"Boss, give me three to go. I want to take it home to my... to eat myself."
After hearing Tsukiyama's words, other investigators started doing the same, thinking that such delicious food should be shared with family.
They started placing orders, one after another.
"Yes, boss, give me three to go. I'll take it home too."
"I was first. I want two."
Summer was speechless at this moment.
His target audience should be the ghouls. If he had known that CCG investigators were also big eaters, why would he use gem soybeans? Ordinary soybeans would be fine for them.
The price difference between the two was three times. He had wasted a great opportunity to make money.
At this moment,
The group from the Antique Café arrived, and through the open iron gate, they saw this scene.
The boss was busy, a little kid next to him was busy collecting money, and the investigators were eating stinky tofu with delight.
There was no trap in such a harmonious scene.
Investigators are fighters, not actors.
"Yes, it's this taste."
Shiho Renji, such a calm and composed person, looked at the stinky tofu on the rickshaw in the courtyard, his eyes were shining.
"Manager, what should we do now?"
Touka was also stunned when she saw this scene.
"The CCG gate has a detection function, we can't go in. Diko, can you try to call the boss out?"
Diko Ryoko froze, obviously embarrassed, but she still seriously said to Summer: "That... stinky tofu seller."
"Hmm?"
Summer looked in the direction of the voice.
He saw everyone from the Antique Café. From their silhouettes, he recognized Shiho, Touka, Arima Kishou... even Hinami was there.
Summer's mouth twitched.
Wow, everyone from the Antique Café is here. Are you going to attack the CCG? Don't you worry about being wiped out?
After Diko Ryoko met Summer's eyes, she said timidly, "Boss, can you come out to sell stinky tofu? We're not comfortable going into a government building to buy things."
Summer looked up at the detection device on the gate: "....."
The excuse you came up with is too bad.
No, he realized belatedly, did he come in through this gate earlier?
Summer glared fiercely at Kusakabe. Good fellow, you were testing me.
"An old customer has arrived. I should go out to sell."
Hearing this, Kusakabe felt a little embarrassed. He said he would buy everything for them, but there were still too few investigators, and they couldn't buy all 200 stinky tofu.
"Boss, don't worry, sell boldly outside the gate. The police and city management can't control this place, and no one will complain."
Summer nodded and directly pushed his rickshaw out of the gate, followed by Tsukiyama Ushio who still had orders to pack.
"Boss, why did you run over here? You made us search everywhere. Let's not talk about that now. Give me five stinky tofu." Koken immediately handed over the Japanese Yen.
"The original place was complained about. I met Kusakabe, and he brought me here."
"Oh,"
Koken nodded, it was almost the same as what he had heard.
Tsukiyama Ushio put on a sincere face and lazily said: "You have so many people, five is not enough. Listen to me, at least ten each?"
He usually didn't bother with others, but he was happy today.
"Right, right. What five? Koken, you're so narrow-minded. Boss, how many more stinky tofu do you have? We'll take everything."
Irimiya Aoi said domineeringly.
"There are still 8 orders for the investigators to pack, and there should be 123 left. Are you sure you want them all? It's 123,000 Yen in total." Summer said without looking up as he packed the stinky tofu.
"....." Irimiya Aoi was silent, and her right hand stopped taking out her wallet. She turned to look at her manager for help.
Arima Kishou shook his head helplessly and took out the money. "We'll take the rest."
Hearing this, Tsukiyama Ushio looked up at them. These people were eating stinky tofu like it was their daily meal. He was wrong to worry.
He took the packed bag, and was about to return to the CCG branch when his phone suddenly rang with a call from headquarters.
Tsukiyama Ushio frowned and muttered: "Why would those guys call me?"
"What's the situation with Tsukiyama Ushio? The public has been calling to report the situation. Has your branch been wiped out by ghouls?"
"No, there are no ghouls in our branch." Tsukiyama Ushio looked confused. "It's peaceful and harmonious. The public is having a meal in front of the branch."
Arima Kishou: "....."
Touka: "......"
Shiho Renji: "......"
Summer: "......"
Being ghouls, their hearing was exceptional. Hearing the phone call, everyone looked at each other in silence.
Summer's tofu-frying movements paused for a second. He quietly looked at everyone from the Antique Café, his expression was quite interesting.