He examined the red viscous liquid crawling up and down inside the can. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.
"Isn't this basically Carnage?"
This was a great item for increasing strength. Thinking about Carnage's performance in the movies, it could be described as incredibly powerful.
He twisted the can open forcefully, preparing to fuse with it first. He reached his hand inside. It felt icy cold, like squeezing slime.
Sensing the presence of its host, the symbiote quickly crawled up along his hand toward his body. Within a few breaths, it seeped into him.
He closed his eyes and felt the changes in his body. A surge of energy flowed throughout him. He immediately felt his whole body filled with strength, his mind becoming clearer, his five senses sharper. A warm sensation spread through him, indescribably comfortable.
"So this is what it feels like to have some actual power?"
No wonder some people lost themselves in overwhelming strength.
This feeling truly was intoxicating..
With a thought, the symbiote surged out. His hands transformed into red claws, then into sharp spikes, then into long blades. He raised his hand and gave a light swing. The coffee table in front of him split into two instantly.
"Not bad, not bad."
"From now on, we are Carnage."
He then controlled the symbiote to cover his entire body, transforming into a red monster over two meters tall. Six tentacles extended from his back, their tips shifting back and forth into various weapons.
Experiencing superpowers for the first time, Amano Hiro became somewhat carried away, repeatedly testing different abilities.
"Grr~"
"Hm? I didn't even notice it's this late. I should get something to fill my stomach first, then slowly study this later."
He retracted Carnage and took out his phone to check the time. It was already evening. He opened the refrigerator and took a look. There was nothing inside.
"Tch. Doesn't this guy keep any food at home?"
For some reason, he did not have the original owner's memories. He did not know whether he had any relatives or friends, parents or siblings. But judging from the clean call history on the phone, he was probably a lone wolf too.
Without memories, he had no choice but to search the apartment. In the bedroom where he had slept, he found a wallet. Opening it, he saw scattered bills inside that did not even add up to 100,000 yen.
"So poor. This kid only had this much savings."
"Sigh. I'll have to figure out a way to make money. This won't last long."
After changing into a different set of clothes, Amano Hiro prepared to go out and buy something to eat. He glanced at the coffee table that had been split in half, then turned to the side bedroom and took out a cardboard box. He propped the table back together and placed the box underneath it. It fit perfectly.
He clapped his hands, very satisfied with his repair job.
The sunset slowly sank, dyeing the entire street orange-red. There were only a few scattered pedestrians on the road, making it feel somewhat empty. Looking at the unfamiliar street, Amano Hiro did not know which way to go for a moment.
He could only take out his phone, open the navigation app, and search for a nearby convenience store.
"This convenience store is quite far."
Following the navigation prompts, Amano Hiro walked toward the store while taking in the unfamiliar streetscape.
By the time he came out of the convenience store, it was completely dark. The streetlights had lit up. Compared to daytime, there were even fewer pedestrians at night, making the whole street look somewhat desolate.
Carrying a large bag of food, Amano Hiro strolled slowly on his way home. At that moment, he suddenly stopped.
Walking toward him was a figure both familiar and unfamiliar. A girl. Light purple hair draped down in front of her right eye. Her delicate features looked especially soft under the dim yellow light.
As if sensing his gaze, the girl raised her head and saw a handsome boy standing by the street, staring at her blankly.
The undisguised gaze made her somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. She glared fiercely at Amano Hiro, snorted coldly, and quickly walked past him.
Only after the girl had gone some distance did Amano Hiro come back to his senses.
"So I transmigrated into the world of Tokyo Ghoul."
What made him stop was not her beauty, although she was indeed very pretty. What truly caught his attention was her identity.
The female protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul, Kirishima Touka.
It felt like the clouds had parted to reveal the sun. In an instant, he found direction and understood how he should live in this world from now on.
Although he had not read the original manga, he had watched the anime. Presumably, the main storyline would not differ too much.
That meant he could, to a certain extent, act with foresight. Once Carnage recovered to its peak state, in the world of ghouls it would be a ceiling-level existence. At that time, he truly would not need to fear anyone.
Now that he understood the world he had transmigrated into, his next goal was clear. First, restore Carnage to its peak condition. Getting stronger came before making further plans.
With his goal set, Amano Hiro quickened his pace toward home.
"Hm? I'm being followed?"
His brows furrowed. He sensed three chaotic auras trailing behind him. Following someone this late at night, nine times out of ten they were ghouls.
It seemed they had taken him as prey. Amano Hiro suddenly accelerated and began running quickly. Since they saw him as prey, he might as well use them to test his current combat strength.
Seeing their "prey" suddenly run, the three ghouls immediately chased after him. After passing several intersections, Amano Hiro, as if panicking and choosing blindly, turned directly into a small alley.
Seeing this, smiles appeared on the faces of the three ghouls. That alley was a dead end. Tonight they would have a full meal again.
"Ptui! You run pretty fast, kid!"
"Why'd you stop running? Keep running!"
The three ghouls appeared at the entrance of the alley. Two of them, as skinny as sticks, impatiently revealed their glowing red Rinkaku and lunged at Amano Hiro.
This was his first battle. Amano Hiro did not dare to be careless. In an instant, Carnage covered his entire body, transforming him into a massive red monster.
"Kakuja?!"
The three ghouls' faces showed shock. The two who had lunged forward tried to halt and turn to flee, but their forward momentum could not be stopped in time. They could only watch helplessly as they crashed toward the "Kakuja" before them.
Amano Hiro's hands turned into sharp giant blades. Crossing his arms and aiming at their necks, he swung violently to both sides.
With a slicing sound, the two ghouls, carried by their own forward momentum, fell behind him with their heads severed from their bodies. Their still-conscious heads, faces filled with terror, rolled to the side.
All of this happened in an instant. The last skinny ghoul who had followed in had not even run fully into the alley yet.
Six tentacles extended from Amano Hiro's back, aiming at the skinny ghoul. They fired countless sharp spikes, directly turning him into a pincushion before he collapsed to the ground.
He frowned as he looked at the corpses on the ground. This battle had provided no useful reference. He did not know what level they corresponded to. He only felt that they were very weak.
Retracting Carnage, he picked up the convenience bag, preparing to head home first and find another opportunity later to test his combat power.
"Almost forgot something important."
Amano Hiro looked at the corpses on the ground. Three tentacles swiftly extended from his back and precisely dug out their Kakuhou.
"The improvement isn't huge, but there really is some change."
After absorbing the Kakuhou, Carnage had clearly grown slightly stronger. Even his hunger had been somewhat alleviated.
Amano Hiro turned and left. The bloody scene had not affected his state of mind at all. It seemed that fusing with Carnage would indeed have an impact on the host.