Chapter 203

Usakabe waited patiently for Vermouth to finish her call, then told him about the latest developments on Eddie Cassano's end.

"...That's it, he's already with the FBI."

Vermouth was in a daze: "I heard that the FBI has gotten hold of the transaction videos."

Although it's unclear how this news got out, there's always a reason behind rumors, and given that the person has already been arrested, it's understandable that secrecy might be a little lacking.

However, from another perspective, the fact that there was no prior warning and the news only came after everything had settled shows that the FBI's operation was indeed of a very high level and deserves a subtle boast.

Although he had long suspected that the conman was suspicious and that Eddie Cassano was bound to suffer a loss, he hadn't expected the man to be imprisoned so soon. Bo Yezaki was stunned: "...Transaction video? Cassano and Vodka's?"

“…I don’t know,” Vermouth said. “After all, it’s not our mission. Even if something goes wrong, we’d definitely report it to the boss…”

Usoppon thought for a moment and said, "Call Gin."

Vermouth also recovered from the shock—what did it matter to her if Vodka failed his mission? She was just an ordinary Hollywood star who had attended a neighbor's party.

She had no sense of camaraderie; if she hadn't been startled by Bo Yezaki's "prophecy," she would have already been engrossed in watching the spectacle.

Vermouth readily agreed and immediately called Gin.

When Gin saw Vermouth's call, he remembered that Vermouth was in Los Angeles and it was normal for her to hear some news. In addition, since the person involved was from Hollywood, she might know some inside information. Therefore, he moved his finger, which was about to hang up, and clicked to answer.

"Gin, your mission this time... could it be that something went wrong, just like Potts said?" Vermouth asked sarcastically.

"..."

Gin's head throbbed.

Yes, as soon as the news broke that Eddie Cassano had been arrested by the FBI, Gin's first thought was of Potts's prophecy that Eddie Cassano would "suffer bloodshed."

As for the undercover operation, Gin had some doubts, but based on his deep-rooted prejudice, he mostly thought that Usaku Saiki was talking nonsense and that it was just a lucky guess—who said that just because Eddie Cassano was arrested by the FBI, it must be related to that researcher?

The incident just happened, and information is still being gathered; things are a bit chaotic, and it's unclear which link in the chain went wrong. Therefore, the cautious Gin is currently only willing to acknowledge Usui Saiki's normal judgment of people, as for the undercover agent…

"I told you that Japanese researcher was suspicious." Usoppei leaned close to Vermouth's phone, speaking with utter arrogance. "I even had Vodka tell you to be careful, and you still haven't reported him?"

When Gin heard Usui Saiki's voice, his grip on the phone tightened.

He hadn't spoken directly to Usaku Saiki in a long time, but Gin was never afraid of Usaku Saiki. He was just annoyed, so he still spoke very rudely and sarcastically: "If you really figured something out, why don't you just say he's an FBI undercover agent, as you usually do?"

The vague term "undercover agent" sounds like it was just something said casually.

Usakabe Saiki's tone suddenly turned somewhat displeased: "Huh? I do think he doesn't seem like a researcher at all, but he doesn't seem like an FBI agent either! Why do you have to tell me he's an FBI undercover agent!"

Gin grew even more impatient. Who else could it be but the FBI? The FBI must have been planning this for a long time to achieve such a decisive victory. Potts couldn't even see that and was still making a fuss over nothing. If it weren't for the boss protecting him, he would have taught this guy a lesson long ago.

So Gin simply ignored Usui Saiki and went straight to the person on the phone: "Vermouth, is this all you're calling to ask?"

Compared to Gin, Vermouth trusted Saiki Usui's words more: "Yes, who told you not to listen to Potness? If only you had—"

Gin hung up the phone.

He's incredibly busy right now. He's heard that the FBI might have video footage, and he's worried about what might happen if they capture Vodka on camera...

Considering that Vodka always wears sunglasses day and night, the impact may not be particularly significant. The most important thing is whether the transaction conversations recorded in the video exposed any information about the organization.

After hanging up the phone, Gin had no choice but to continue gathering people to work overtime to investigate the incident.

Because he might be targeted by the FBI, Vodka felt guilty for possibly holding the operation back and could only stay at the base to organize intelligence for the time being.

When people realize they may have made a mistake, they can't help but keep reviewing it. Even if there's no going back, they can't help but think, "If only I had done this or that."

The same goes for vodka.

“Brother,” Vodka finally couldn’t help but say, “if we had believed Potts back then…”

Gin said firmly, "We already believe you, that's why you're sitting here perfectly fine."

If he hadn't thought there was a real possibility that Eddie Cassano was in danger, would he have let Vodka leave so early?

They might be caught in one fell swoop by the FBI!

But that's not what Vodka wanted to say: "If we tell Eddie Cassano about that undercover agent..."

Perhaps if Eddie Cassano had taken precautions earlier, things wouldn't have ended up like this: everyone's in jail, all the goods are seized, and their deposits are gone.

Not to mention the potential risk of him being filmed.

The more Vodka reviewed the situation, the more he felt that if he had listened to that kid, Usoya Saiki, earlier, things might not have turned out this way.

I regret it!

But Gin couldn't stand Vodka's praise for a street hustler like Usakabe Saiki. He sneered, "Listen to Potts? If you listened to Potts, you'd be finished even faster than this! You really believe that researcher is an undercover agent? Potts is still saying that guy is definitely not an FBI agent!"

That's true.

The specifics haven't been investigated yet. Maybe the person that Usoya Saiki identified is actually innocent? Wouldn't that be a good excuse to embarrass him later?

The vodka was instantly energized.

Although Gin had a cold face, he also felt like he wanted to prove something—the tone of "you'll regret not listening to me" that Usaku Saiki had used on the phone was really disgusting. He wanted to take down Usaku Saiki's arrogance in one go and teach this guy to stop causing trouble for no reason in the future!

This might be a benefit that lasts forever. Gin thinks that even the video of Vodka appearing in sunglasses might not be as important as this—a poor workplace environment has a huge negative impact on the mental and physical health of workers. Isn't that important enough?

Perhaps because Eddie Cassano, the big fish, had already been captured, and the FBI had just been embroiled in a scandal involving an insider who attempted to bomb an expert attending a conference in the United States, the FBI needed to boost morale internally. Therefore, the FBI did not hide anything about this case.

Eddie Cassano's identity is also quite special. He is a celebrity in Hollywood, and Hollywood paparazzi are better informed than any organization. They would dig up any news they had previously discovered but had been paid to suppress, and make a second round of money from it. For several days in a row, newspapers and television were full of news related to Eddie Cassano.

There were even interviews with Eddie Cassano. The evidence was conclusive, everyone who needed to be arrested was arrested, and the few who slipped through the net could be dealt with slowly. The FBI was very generous in boosting its achievements.

Thanks to American culture, Eddie Cassano did not refuse the opportunity to appear in public when he realized he could not recover. He desperately tried to beautify his image while strongly condemning the guy who had caused him to fall into such a state.

"I've been scammed! I've fallen victim to a fraud ring! They're posing as experts, researchers, and even FBI agents..."

In short, this fraud ring first pretended to have a "new" formula and wanted researchers to sell it to them, for which Eddie Saccasano paid $10 million.

But halfway through, the guy posing as a researcher was bribed by the FBI and betrayed them. As a result, the FBI caught him red-handed at the transaction site and also obtained the transaction video.

Eddie Cassano had experienced this situation before, so he chose to bribe the FBI with money, spending $100 million to buy evidence of his crimes.

He even asked the FBI what would happen if they denied it, and the FBI agent replied, "You have all the evidence of my bribery, what are you afraid of?"

Eddie Cassano thought it made sense.

It wasn't until his second arrest by the FBI that he discovered the previous group of FBI agents were actually part of a fraud ring in disguise. In other words, they had swindled him out of a total of $110 million...

He even passed on the evidence of his crimes to his subordinate, who then reported it to the FBI, thus gaining credit and successfully clearing his name!

Of course, Eddie Cassano embellished his story, but the FBI exposed the truth, so everyone roughly understood what happened.

An FBI spokesperson seized the opportunity to boost their reputation: "The FBI would never accept bribes. Please trust our professional ethics, blah blah blah..."

Vodka quietly turned the television volume down.

The atmosphere in the room was extremely heavy; Gin's low pressure was affecting vodka's breathing.

Since Saiki Usaba had already returned to Seattle, there was now Vermouth in the room, in addition to vodka and gin.

Vermouth didn't care what Gin was thinking; she just sighed.

"Potnis is absolutely right. You see, that conman was indeed playing an undercover agent, and he really wasn't an FBI agent... No problem, you should have just believed him sooner!"

Gin: "…………"

Vodka: "…………"

They were still thinking of slapping Usaku Saiki in the face, but now their own faces are swollen.

It turns out that Usakabe Saiki wasn't lying after all; that guy really... was an "undercover agent"?!

But who can blame them when Bo Ye Saiki himself said they were undercover agents? Didn't they know whether they were undercover agents or not?!

What's wrong with doubting that Bo Yezhai is talking nonsense?

Even if Gin and Vodka shouted "Impossible, absolutely impossible!" countless times in their hearts and made countless excuses to absolve themselves, they couldn't stop the facts from proving everything—they were completely wrong, and their biggest mistake was not believing what Saiki Usaba said.

Vodka was completely cracked open.

He was already working overtime, and with the added risk of being exposed in the video, his mind was already on edge. Now that this has happened, Vodka's mental state has completely collapsed.

He even thought about it in a daze.

If Usoya Saiki is right, then who is wrong? It must be me.

But how do you explain the claim that I am an undercover agent?

Could it be that I was actually an undercover agent, but I just forgot? Or did I get hypnotized to evade investigation?

It seems plausible, but is such an absurd possibility even possible?! Am I not myself? I'm just an undercover agent?

Who is the undercover agent?! Who is the undercover agent?!

Vermouth asked, "Have you reported this to that person?"

"Not yet..." Vodka, dazed from staying up all night, was no longer knowing what he was saying. "It's up to Big Brother to decide. What if Big Brother really is an undercover agent..."

Gin, equally shocked but managing to remain calm, had a dark expression: "...??? How could I be an undercover agent!"

Awakened by the murderous aura, Vodka quickly said, "Yes, a coincidence! It only happened once, it must just be a coincidence!"

I need to think carefully about how to report this to the boss...

Otherwise, if we're not careful, this fire might spread to him and his older brother, who were also identified as undercover agents by Usaku Saiki!

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Landmines have an additional 80/100 charge bar.

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Gin's good fortune is yet to come (x)

Once is a coincidence, but what about twice, or three times?

The pressure was put on Akai's side.

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Vermouth: Our Bo Ye is so good, why is our relationship with you so bad? You should reflect on that.