Chapter 122: Rize Kamishiro Wants to Eat Me?

While Rize Kamishiro might not have known who Sikong Xu was, he was intimately familiar with her. She was, after all, the soul of the entire *Tokyo Ghoul* storyline.

Generally speaking, a ghoul only needed to hunt one target per month, but Rize hunted two or three times a week. Her appetite was immense, and she always preyed on more humans than necessary, claiming she liked eating "men who were easy to hook and delicious." Furthermore, she possessed a cruel and ruthless personality, believing that ghouls were the apex predators of the food chain and trampling on human life at will.

However, those brutal traits were only reserved for enemies and strangers. Toward her friends, she was surprisingly gentle—a fact evidenced by her frequent help in gathering food for the coffee shop "Anteiku" in the original manga.

"I can't just let her be..." Sikong Xu decided to pursue her. If he continued to ignore Rize, more innocent people would certainly fall victim to her. This time, to ensure he wouldn't lose her, Sikong Xu activated his "Precision Perception," locking Rize firmly within his sensory range.

In his mind's eye, he watched Rize walking gracefully down the street, her long purple hair flowing behind her. Perhaps due to her natural beauty and intellectual aura, passersby couldn't help but steal glances at her. Sikong Xu knew that this charm was one of her primary tools for hunting.

Given the threat Rize posed in the source material, Sikong Xu remained extremely cautious. He used his phone to send a text to Mu Ning, urging her to come for support, and enabled location tracking to broadcast his position before slowly tailing Rize. He had a hunch that Rize wasn't wandering the streets without a reason; perhaps she was scouting for her next meal.

Sikong Xu had no idea how long he had been following her. His attention was so fixed on Rize that he had completely neglected his surroundings. Suddenly, he realized they had drifted into a secluded alleyway.

"This is indeed a good spot for a hunt, but there's no prey around..." As he became alert, a sudden realization struck him. "Oh no!"

There were no other humans around, but wasn't there one right here? Wasn't he the prey? He immediately tried to turn and leave to avoid becoming her target, but it was already too late.

"Hehe, you've been following me for so long, why are you in such a hurry to leave now?" A sweet, melodic voice rang out, sounding pleasant to his ears.

However, Sikong Xu’s heart skipped a beat as a slender figure blocked his path.

"What do you want?" Sikong Xu’s brow twitched, a surge of intense crisis rising within him.

"What do I want? I should be asking you that. A young man following me around... are you up to something improper?" Rize curled her soft red lips. With her white dress and red-rimmed glasses complementing her purple hair, she looked incredibly intellectual, like an older sister from next door.

"Haha, I was just heading the same way. Don't be afraid, miss. I don't mean any harm. Actually, I'm in a hurry, so I'll be going now." Sikong Xu smiled, but as he stepped forward, Rize blocked him.

She leaned in, her alluring form tilting forward, and whispered into his ear, "Does this little brother really have no feelings for me...?"

Sikong Xu’s cheek twitched. Rize was really playing the "mature" act. He remembered that in the original story, she was only eighteen when she first appeared. Even if she had transmigrated here, she couldn't be older than eighteen. Eighteen—only two years older than him—and she was acting so sophisticated.

"Sorry, I really have an urgent matter. How about we exchange numbers, and we can make plans later... er, stay in touch?" Sikong Xu pushed past her soft frame and gave a polite smile.

Seeing that Sikong Xu was unmoved by her temptations, Rize’s expression turned cold, and her temperament shifted. Sensing this change, Sikong Xu sighed. He was in real trouble now; he just hoped he wouldn't crash and burn.

"Following me all this way—it seems you’ve discovered something, hasn't it?" Rize tapped her lips with a slender finger and smiled faintly. Though she was smiling, Sikong Xu felt a chill run down his spine.

"What do you mean?" Sikong Xu forced a stiff smile. Rize was far too sharp; she had clearly realized he knew her true identity from the start.

Rize chuckled. In her eyes, Sikong Xu was merely prey, and no matter how a prey argued, it could never escape the hunter.

"Tell me... what is your name?" Rize cupped her face, her eyes filled with a hazy, dangerous light.

"Sikong Xu." He replied, taking a few small steps backward.

"Sikong Xu... what a lovely name... Now... may I... eat you!"

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, Rize kicked off the ground with her high heels and lunged at him with blinding speed, a wicked smile on her face. "I was just wondering what to have for dinner today, and here you are, serving yourself up."

"What!" Sikong Xu had anticipated that Rize would be strong, but he hadn't expected her to move with such explosive speed that he almost failed to react.

*Slash!*

Thanks to his desperate evasion, her fingertips only grazed his skin, drawing a few drops of blood.

"Oh my, I really underestimated you..." Rize licked the blood from her fingertips, covering her cheeks with her hands in an intoxicated manner. "How delicious... you are the best food I've ever had. Just a few drops of blood have left me wanting more... I can't imagine what your tender flesh would taste like..."

"Hehe, sorry, my flesh isn't as 'tender' as you think..." Sikong Xu’s face twitched. She made it sound like he was made of lard—he was pure muscle, thank you very much!

"I don't know how you dodged my attack, but next time, it won't be so simple."

Suddenly, the air became heavy with the scent of blood. A massive amount of crimson particles gathered around Rize’s waist, forming four indistinct, fox-tail-like appendages. Seeing this, Sikong Xu’s heart sank. He knew Rize was finally unleashing her full power; the *kagune* manifesting behind her was proof of that.

A *kagune* was a predatory organ unique to ghouls, formed from the release of RC cells within their bodies. It was their most formidable weapon.

His situation had become dire.