Chapter 189

Finding out whether you are related to Akemi Miyano by blood is very simple.

There was no need to hide anything. The next day, after finishing his mission, Shuichi Akai went straight to Akemi Miyano and asked her for hair with follicles.

Akemi Miyano was bewildered: "...Huh? Why?"

She and this Lei don't seem to be very familiar with each other, do they?

Although it was indeed her accidental collision with Rye at first, Mr. Potts was so eager to compensate her... well, it seems he ended up getting Rye into trouble, but he did manage to extricate her from the accident.

So, as before, she continued to go to Mr. Potts' house regularly to clean, without having to take responsibility for Rye being bumped into. In addition, Rye and Mr. Potts didn't get along very well, and she hadn't seen Rye for a long time, even thinking that she would never see him again.

Then today, Ray suddenly showed up at her door, demanding her hair...

Akemi Miyano was very wary.

Shuichi Akai had already prepared an excuse, and he wasn't afraid even if Akemi Miyano went around spreading the word: "Potnis brought up that topic again about how we're related and conspired to set up a honey trap. I don't want him to keep talking about it, so please cooperate with me and get a blood relationship test done. Next time, I'll just throw it in his face."

Miyano Akemi, who was originally full of conspiracy theories, calmed down instantly when she heard that it was related to Potts: "I see, I understand, just a moment."

Akai Shuichi: "…………"

It has to be said that sometimes the name of Potts is quite useful... especially when doing strange things. It seems that as soon as people hear that it's Potts or something, they can instantly accept it.

Furthermore, judging from Miyano Akemi's reaction, she probably doesn't think the two of them are really relatives. In other words, Usui Saiki's source of information has nothing to do with Miyano Akemi, so what other source could it be...?

Although he felt that all this trouble was just a joke and fit Usui Saiki's character, Shuichi Akai still felt a little uneasy.

Akemi Miyano carefully found a small bag, put a few strands of her hair inside, and then handed it to Shuichi Akai: "Please."

"Thank you." Shuichi Akai took the bag from his hand. "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"It's nothing, just a few strands of hair," Miyano Akemi said with a smile, shaking her head. "But can a cousin identification tell the difference?"

Shuichi Akai nodded: "Okay."

"I see..." Miyano Akemi hesitated, then stopped herself from speaking.

Shuichi Akai asked directly, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Akemi Miyano smiled sheepishly: "Well... actually, Mr. Potts is a very nice person, he just likes to joke, and sometimes his jokes might go a bit too far, but that's because he didn't have many friends in the Middle East before... please don't take it too seriously."

Shuichi Akai: "…………Okay, I understand."

Another guy making excuses for Usui Saiki...

However, he knew that it wasn't that Miyano Akemi had a strange filter, but rather that Usui Saiki probably really hadn't tormented Miyano Akemi much.

Thinking back to what Futtka had complained about, Usoya Saiki's attitude towards Vermouth was also quite good... Did that guy really have sexism?

Shuichi Akai bid farewell to Akemi Miyano with a grumbling in his heart, then immediately took her hair and went to a private appraisal center to expedite the process.

There was no need to bother the FBI with this kind of thing. He figured that Usakabe Saiki probably didn't have the time or inclination to follow him and revise the report. He just needed to stay away from the organization.

Moreover, he wanted to resolve the matter quickly and didn't want to keep him in suspense any longer, so he just needed to find a reputable and reliable testing agency.

With the support of financial power, the results came out quickly.

Shuichi Akai flipped directly to the conclusion.

"………………?!?!?!?!"

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Shuichi Akai's hands, which never tremble even when sniping, almost couldn't hold onto these few light sheets of paper.

If the data regarding the similarity of his maternal mitochondrial DNA to Akemi Miyano is true...

At this moment, Shuichi Akai's mind went completely blank, a rare occurrence. If someone were to approach him and pull out a gun, he might not even be able to react in time.

The nurse had seen many people who were still in a daze after receiving their test results, so she waited patiently for a while before smiling and asking, "Sir, is there anything else you need?"

Shuichi Akai finally snapped out of his daze when the nurse called to him.

Despite having conducted a thorough investigation beforehand, Shuichi Akai couldn't help but ask the crucial question: "Is your assessment report accurate?"

The nurse's smile became much more formulaic: "Sir, if you don't believe me, you can choose another institution for further evaluation. Our fees are non-refundable."

"……Um."

Shuichi Akai took a deep breath silently, folded the report in half with unsteady hands, and stuffed it into his coat pocket—just to be on the safe side, he'd get it checked by another firm.

Shuichi Akai wasted the entire day doing kinship tests.

Unless all the institutions colluded to fabricate evidence just to deceive him, then his mother and Miyano Akemi's mother are probably sisters.

He doesn't follow any particular pattern in choosing which institution to work for. If even that allows Bo Yezaki to track down his fabrications, then he'll accept it.

When Shuichi Akai got home, he faced several reports spread out on the table and smoked half a pack of cigarettes before he finally felt that his brain could think about some more complex things.

—For example, if Usaku Saiki even knew that he and Miyano Akemi were cousins, then Usaku Saiki should have known about his identity long ago, right?

Although yesterday Usaku Saiki said he was only allowed to ask one question, it was actually equivalent to answering both questions; he just didn't tell him how he knew.

But how did they manage to do that? Did they investigate Akemi Miyano?

But if Usoya Saiki can investigate, didn't the organization consider investigating? Miyano Akemi's sister, Sherry, is a scientist highly valued by the organization. I heard that their parents are also members of the organization. The organization should be paying close attention to them.

Even if one were to trace the Miyano sisters' mother's siblings and even their children, the investigation should have stopped at their mother, because she had joined MI6 and the relevant information had been "processed".

Therefore, the organization should not have been able to trace his identity as an FBI agent through Miyano Akemi's line of inquiry.

Moreover...

The day Akemi Miyano bumped into him was her first day working at Saiki Usuba's company. Saiki Usuba probably didn't have time to investigate anything, but the first thing he said when he saw him was that they looked like relatives and he looked like an FBI agent...

This is outrageous!

That's why he always thought that Usoya Saiki was just talking nonsense and got it right by luck! If Usoya Saiki wasn't just talking nonsense, but had come prepared...

To be honest, the moment Shuichi Akai realized it, his mind went completely blank, and when he came to his senses, he felt a cold sweat break out all over him.

On his first day undercover, before he even managed to join the organization, his true identity was discovered by its members, while he remained completely unaware, believing he had gotten away with it... Even thrillers aren't this scary!

However, he was certain that although Usoppei Saiki frequently claimed to be an FBI agent, no one in the organization believed him.

As for Usoppō Saiki... he didn't seem to genuinely want to convince others to believe him, otherwise he wouldn't always say those things in such a frivolous manner or in situations where they wouldn't be taken seriously. Instead, he would directly present the evidence he had to destroy him.

Shuichi Akai closed his eyes, and the image of Saiki Usui's eerie green eyes, like poison, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He... despite constantly reminding himself to be cautious, it seems he still underestimated the person he should least have underestimated.

How much intelligence does Usaku Saiki actually possess? Why does he portray himself as someone untrustworthy within the organization?

What unfathomable secrets are hidden beneath his always joking attitude?

...That's terrifying. That guy was only seventeen or eighteen when we first met, right? He even fooled an FBI agent like me back then. Thinking back, Usaku Saiki's behavior was so obvious, yet he strangely conveyed an unbelievable image. That's an incredibly skillful technique.

It's just that her personality is a bit off... no, it's still uncertain whether it's a personality issue or a mental issue.

However, it's also thanks to Usakabe Saiki's bizarre thought process that he knows everything but hasn't informed the organization. His dislike for the FBI doesn't seem fake; he's just playing with him... and so on.

Could it be that Usakabe Saiki actually knows his mother?! He hasn't been in contact with his mother for a long time. If this is true, it seems like everything makes sense...

No, we shouldn't take a preconceived stance; we still need to investigate thoroughly... Sigh, I wonder if Usaku Saiki would still be willing to answer my questions properly if I asked him again.

Shuichi Akai really wanted to know what had happened yesterday that made Saiki Usui so happy to reveal these things to him.

Can these conditions be reproduced? He wanted to ask a few more questions...

Although he was still very scared, Shuichi Akai quickly realized that he might be able to test the waters and see why Saiki Usaba was willing to help him keep it a secret, since Usaba had never actually handed him over to the organization. He wondered if they could reach an agreement.

So he organized his thoughts, gathered his emotions, and dialed the number of Usoppō Saiki.

Based on Vodka's complaints and his own experience, it was usually difficult to get through to Saiki Usui on the phone, and Shuichi Akai was prepared to call twice a day, with only one call a month at most until someone finally answered.

Surprisingly, this time, as soon as he dialed, Bo Yezaki answered the phone.

Could it be that Usaku Saiki had actually been waiting for his contact all along?

This suggests that Usakabe Saiki is also waiting to make contact with him and is inclined to cooperate with him...

“Bottes, it’s me.” Shuichi Akai was slightly nervous.

There was nothing he could do. In his mind, Bo Yezaki's image was far too unfathomable. He still couldn't figure out the other party's thought process or what his purpose was. All of this put him at a disadvantage in the negotiations, and he could only make up for it by being cautious.

"Hmm? What do you want?"

Shuichi Akai carefully chose his words: "It's about what you told me before... My DNA test results with Akemi Miyano came back."

Usoba Saiki sounded as if he had been greatly surprised: "You actually went to get tested! Are you that free?!"

"...Didn't you say you'd regret it if I didn't get tested?"

"I just said it casually, I didn't expect you to go to such lengths to embarrass me," Bo Yezhai said. "Alright, I know you're not related, and I didn't set a trap. Is there anything else?"

Shuichi Akai's train of thought suddenly went awry: "…………???"

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Bonus chapter for landmine! One more chapter owed, energy bar 178/100

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Akai and Usui meet infrequently, making him one of the few normal people in the organization, so his thinking is also quite normal, and his art style is different from the others.

Now, the image of thin leaves in his mind is...quite frightening.