The ranks of investigators are divided into Rank 3, Rank 2, Rank 1, Senior Rank, Associate Special Class, and Special Class.
Oh, and above Special Class, there is Arima Kishou, who belongs to an entirely different level when considered separately.
The ranks are clearly distinguished, and generally speaking, there is also a significant difference in combat strength.
Gao Yu really wanted to know which rank he currently belonged to.
Of course, ranks could not be trusted.
He was continuously evolving, and his growth period had never stopped.
“Between the Ghoul Countermeasures Educational Center and the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy, which institution do you want to take a look at, Gao-kun?”
Kiyoko did not make the decision for Gao Yu herself.
To her, arranging either institution was just a matter of saying a word.
Gao Yu did not hesitate.
“Let’s go to the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy. The teaching there is more systematic.”
There were two investigator training schools.
One was the Ghoul Countermeasures Educational Center, and the other was the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy.
Both were institutions specifically established to train investigators, and all orthodox investigators came from these two institutions.
Their training standards were different.
The Ghoul Countermeasures Educational Center provided ordinary training, with a one-year curriculum.
It taught investigators how to use firearms such as pistols and rifles, with the goal of training ordinary investigators.
After all, powerful investigators were not easy to produce and required sufficient talent.
After graduating from the Ghoul Countermeasures Educational Center, students reported to the CCG and took up positions as Rank 3 Investigators, where they were assigned to work at branches.
The second was the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy, which specialized in cultivating elite investigators.
It had a two-year curriculum and taught the use of various firearms and quinques to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations.
After graduation, they directly became Rank 2 Investigators.
Most were assigned to work at the CCG headquarters and were later transferred depending on the circumstances.
The two institutions each had their advantages and disadvantages.
The former took less time and was less difficult, while the latter took longer and was more difficult, with different benefits as well.
However, Gao Yu did not care about any of this.
He simply wanted to take a look because the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy offered more comprehensive training.
After all, graduating from the investigator training academy would provide access to more information and resources.
Getting his hands on a quinque to play with would not be a problem either.
Kiyoko nodded.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have someone take you to the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy. Get some proper training there.”
Although she did not know why Gao Yu insisted on hunting ghouls, since he had made his decision, she would naturally send Gao Yu to the training academy for some training.
She had no intention of changing Gao Yu’s mind.
Everyone was an adult and had to take responsibility for themselves.
However, she had to personally test Gao Yu’s strength.
She could not let Gao Yu casually go kill ghouls with just a few moves.
That would simply be sending himself to his death.
There was no moonlight tonight, as the clouds concealed the moon.
Kiyoko returned to the area under her jurisdiction, while Gao Yu found a nearby hotel and stayed there for the night.
Before going to sleep, Gao Yu wrapped a bath towel around himself and casually dried his hair.
Hearing the notification sound from his phone, he picked it up and opened it.
Seeing who it was, Gao Yu sat down on the edge of the bed in surprise.
Gao Yu stayed at Anteiku every day, and he had a good relationship with everyone in the shop.
It was obvious that they all cared about Touka, so their attitudes toward him were also quite good.
The one he was closest to was probably Kaya.
When Touka did not return that early, it was Kaya who made coffee for him and chatted with him about what Touka had been like in the past.
Kaya: [Gao-kun, did something happen between you and Touka-chan? Touka doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood after coming back.]
When Kaya saw Touka looking depressed, she knew something was wrong.
She quietly asked whether her identity as a ghoul had been discovered, but Touka answered that it had not.
However, Touka’s depressed and even somewhat absent-minded appearance made Kaya very worried, so she came over to sound out Gao Yu and see whether he had discovered something.
Gao Yu quickly typed on his phone: [Nothing, I think. I went to Touka’s school today and walked around for a while. We had quite a good time.]
Gao Yu: [Yoriko originally wanted to drag us out to eat together, but I wasn’t free, so I didn’t go.]
Gao Yu: [What’s wrong with Touka?]
Gao Yu naturally understood why Touka was like this.
But it was fine.
He had plenty of time to let her slowly figure things out.
Kaya, wearing a thin set of pajamas, leaned against the bed with her delicate brows furrowed.
Had Gao Yu not noticed?
Touka was hesitating.
No one could face the difference between species calmly, and Touka had already done very well.
Kaya sighed.
“This is troublesome. The way Touka is suffering probably means she really has quite a lot of feelings for Gao-kun. Suddenly being asked by that Yoriko girl to eat together, of course she would feel terrible.”
Kaya: [It’s fine. She might just be in a bad mood. Comfort her.]
She hesitated for a long time before sending the message.
Kaya thought that perhaps she was pushing Touka toward an abyss.
Kaya thought for a moment and edited another message: [Gao-kun, if you have time, let’s meet and talk. I’m worried that child Touka-chan will get herself stuck in a dead end.]
Gao Yu was surprised.
Touka had not made things clear to him yet.
Could it be that Kaya was going to make things clear to him first?
Gao Yu: [I don’t have much free time recently, Irimi-san. How about I come find you after I return?]
Kaya was stunned.
Gao Yu had not been free recently.
Could he really have gotten into a conflict with Touka?
Kaya: [Okay, then I’ll wait for Gao-kun to come back.]
She planned to sound out Touka again tomorrow.
Gao Yu: [OK, Irimi-san, get some rest early. Good night.]
Kaya smiled as she typed good night.
They saw each other at the shop every day and had long since become familiar with each other.
Gao Yu was tall and handsome, spoke pleasantly, and had a sweet tongue.
To be honest, if Gao Yu were a ghoul, and if Touka had not already developed some feelings for him, Kaya would even want to give it a try with him herself.
…
Kiyoko returned to her own branch and immediately had someone investigate Gao Yu’s background.
Previously, she had treated Gao Yu like a younger brother, so it was fine for her to be a little nicer to him.
Mm, thinking back to when her younger sister used to call her big sister, all her troubles could become happiness with just one call of “big sister.”
But since Gao Yu wanted to participate in investigator training, his background needed to be investigated.
Even though she believed it was impossible for Gao Yu to be a ghoul in disguise, as a Special Class Investigator, she could not be irresponsible about her work.
The information was quickly delivered.
Kiyoko took it and looked through it, nodding slightly.
She knew her senses had been right.
Gao Yu could not possibly be a ghoul.
His record was extremely clean.
It was impossible for him to be a spy sent in by the ghouls.
However…
“His parents passed away?”
A flicker appeared in Kiyoko’s eyes.
She could not possibly tell Gao Yu’s family situation just from his appearance.
Every time Gao Yu met her, he was always cheerful and smiling.
She had not expected him to have a sorrowful past.
“It’s fine. Gao-kun has me as his big sister.”
Kiyoko pressed a hand against her chest.
She would take good care of Gao-kun in place of his parents.
…
The morning sunlight streamed into the room, and Gao Yu stretched before getting up.
The path of evolution kept him full of energy.
He could even go without sleeping, at most experiencing a slight decline in his mental state.
He could go without sleeping, but Gao Yu preferred a normal life.
Every time he woke up, there was always a feeling that a new day had begun.
After a simple wash, Gao Yu checked out of the hotel and waited by the roadside.
Before long, he saw Kiyoko drive over in a car.
“Get in.” Kiyoko lowered the car window and unlocked the door.
Gao Yu got into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, asking doubtfully, “Sis Kiyoko, are you taking me to the training academy?”
Kiyoko was not just a busy person; she was also a guardian officer.
Having her personally take him to the training academy was incredible.
Good grief, this relationship was practically heaven-defying.
Kiyoko was Gao Yu’s connection within the CCG.
If he wanted to ask Sis Kiyoko for something, she had directly handed him the trump card.
“I had nothing else to do, so I figured I might as well take a look at the training academy and see if there are any promising recruits.”
Kiyoko explained, “We lost quite a few investigators during the previous ghoul-hunting battles, so I’m waiting for the training academy to replenish our numbers.”
“I see.”
Gao Yu nodded.
Even so, Kiyoko did not need to come personally.
But since Sis Kiyoko was feeding the food directly into his mouth, how could he refuse to eat it?
Today, Kiyoko seemed to be wearing a little light makeup.
Some faint traces could be seen beneath her eyes.
Unsurprisingly, Kiyoko often stayed up late.
Beneath the light makeup, she probably had dark circles under her eyes.