Chapter 224

Because the phone was always switched off when I called Usakusaiki before, even though people would try to call whenever they remembered, no one called back immediately after Usakusaiki turned his phone on.

He leisurely unblocked the people on his blacklist, checked his emails for a while, and then received a call from Bourbon.

Thanks to Kiel's tip-off, Bourbon successfully made contact with Usui: "You finally answered the phone! Where are you now? Everyone's waiting for you to start the meeting!"

Bo Yezaki said firmly, "I'll talk to the BOSS about anything. I don't trust any of you."

Bourbon: "………………"

How to put it... this kind of direct condemnation of a whole group of people, frantically stirring up hatred, as if it doesn't matter if he doesn't live to see the next day, is very much in the style of Usaku Saiki.

However, at this point, Bourbon has no intention of going against Usaku Saiki.

He was now certain that Usui Saiki knew he was an undercover agent for the Japanese Public Security Bureau. After all, while the organization might see the Akai Shuichi incident as a coincidence, in his view, it was all just Usui Saiki's twisted sense of humor from beginning to end.

As for whether Usakabe Saiki knew that Ari was also an undercover agent for the Japanese Public Security Bureau... he tends to know.

But no one stipulates that the undercover agent's stance must be inclined towards the undercover agent's original camp. If he used to hope that Bo Yezaki was on the black side but his heart was on the red side, he is not greedy at all now. He thinks it would be good enough if Bo Yezaki didn't target him and Jing Guang.

Whether as a teammate or an enemy, it feels like torture. Rather than taking risks and testing the waters, it's better to maintain the status quo. After all, he and Jingguang are still doing fine, aren't they?

Perhaps this was already the result of Usakabe Saiki showing mercy; that guy is like a cat, always wanting to toy with others.

But keeping it a secret also has a downside: you never know when Usuha Saiki might suddenly need some amusement and decide to sacrifice the two of them...

No, I can't keep thinking about it. Sometimes thinking multiple layers is a good precaution, but in this kind of matter, thinking multiple layers can easily make me think I'm mentally ill.

In situations like this, it's best to adapt to the situation; things will work themselves out.

Rei Furuya, a Japanese public security officer who is strict with others but even stricter with himself, displayed an unusually cheerful and open-minded attitude in matters related to Saiki Usaba.

So even when faced with Usui Saiki's erratic behavior, he could calmly continue asking, "I'm currently in charge of investigating the blood relationship between Miyano Akemi and Akai Shuichi, and it's said to be related to you. Do you have any leads?"

"What did Mingmei say?"

"She said that Shuichi Akai claimed that he was forced into it by you."

At this point, even though he disliked the FBI, Bourbon couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for them.

On the surface, Usui Saiki was already tormenting Akai Shuichi, but who knows what he did behind the scenes to actually force him to undergo a blood relationship test...

Usuha Saiki sighed, "It's nothing, it's just that when we first met, I wasn't familiar with Akemi and that guy. He came straight to the hospital, claiming to be unemployed, and he even looked a bit like her, so I suspected it was a honey trap. I kept mentioning it whenever I thought of it, just as a joke. Who knew Akai Shuichi was so sensitive..."

Bourbon was speechless. "Fine, I got it."

His nonsensical attitude shows he's not going to explain properly. There's nothing he can do but polish his words before reporting to Rum... It's a way of making amends, and hopefully, considering how useful he is, Bo Yezaki won't choose him as the next target for bullying.

Seriously, it's really obvious when this guy is being perfunctory.

He'd met Shuichi Akai before, and he didn't seem like a fragile person at all. It was one thing for Usui Saiki not to admit how he tormented him, but to throw mud at him like that... Oh, the other party was the FBI, then never mind.

Damn FBI! Acting so arrogantly on Japanese soil!

A group of FBI agents entered Japan without any application, were caught in a street shootout, and then tried to use special channels to return home without paying anything in return. They were told by their superiors that they could get a backdoor to go home with just a word!

Dragging the Miyano sisters into this mess, leaving without a word, completely disregarding whether his actions would affect the organization's opinion of them... Shuichi Akai is no man! So cold-blooded and heartless even to his own family!

Ever since he learned about this, Bourbon had been cursing Shuichi Akai in his heart. Now, while chatting with Saiki Usaku, and the conversation was about Akemi Miyano and Shuichi Akai, he inadvertently revealed this attitude.

Since Shuichi Akai is already an undercover agent, it's normal for him to have a bad attitude.

As a result, Bo Yezaki, who had bullied him for several years, is now pretending to be a good person: "Sigh, he's a pitiful person too. Maybe he joined the organization to find his relatives."

Bourbon: "…………"

If you pity him, then be nicer to him! All you talk about is the FBI and undercover agents. Even he has to admire Shuichi Akai's incredible mental fortitude to have been an undercover agent in the organization for so many years…

Vermouth, who was far away in the United States, had heard about the disappearance of Usui Saiki and was quite concerned about it. Her way of showing her concern was to call Bourbon.

After all, Vermouth felt she preferred chatting with Bourbon to Rum. When Bourbon wanted to be charming, he was really good at talking, far superior to Rum.

So Bourbon had just hung up the phone with Usui Saiki when he received a call from Vermouth.

"So, have you found Potts yet?"

"...You really know how to pick your timing," Bourbon retorted, speechless. "I just finished talking to him, why didn't you call him instead of me?"

Vermouth said matter-of-factly, "Because he's always switched off when I call him these past few days, I habitually ask you first. So, is he alright?"

Bourbon felt a chill run down his spine at the similar tone to that of Usui Saiki, but he still replied, "It's nothing, he's just too willful and hates the hassle of turning off his phone himself..."

Vermouth immediately retorted, "What do you mean by being willful? This is just a perfectly normal thought. If you were in this situation, would you not turn it off because you didn't want to?"

Bourbon: "…………"

Is it because she's too scared to do it anymore?! Vermouth and Saiki Usaba spent a few days together in America, how come she's talking so hurtfully now?! Saiki Usaba is some kind of terrifying acute infectious agent!

"So, what did Shuichi Akai say about this?"

When it came to business, Bourbon breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to talk about Usakabe Saiki anymore, so he succinctly summarized the information and told Vermouth.

Vermouth's position as an executive is rather unique; he's currently in the phase of trying to ingratiate himself with the other party, and it would be great if he could get leverage over them soon...

As they talked, Bourbon added, "Potternis actually said that Shuichi Akai is a pitiful person, and that he might have joined the organization to find his family... If he really wanted to find his family, shouldn't he have taken the Miyano sisters away? Why did he give up so quickly and turn around to kidnap Gin! The FBI agents are all so ruthless, they can even use their own family members. I don't know what Potternis was thinking."

Bourbon subtly hinted that the Miyano sisters were unimportant to Shuichi Akai, and that the organization should stop investigating them and move on...

Bourbon is really worried about how Dr. Elena's daughter, whom he values ​​highly, has inexplicably become a top influencer in the organization these past two days. He wants them to go back to being low-key.

Vermouth paused for a moment, then said quietly, "Ah, speaking of the surname Akai... he might actually have joined the organization to find his relatives. More than ten years ago, the organization dealt with an MI6 member named Akai Tsutomu... could he be his father? You can investigate in that direction."

Bourbon: "...Huh?"

Seriously?! Usui Saiki guessed that correctly?! That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it? And why is the father a member of MI6 in the UK, while the son is an FBI agent in the US? Did he join the FBI to avoid suspicion? But the undercover organization doesn't use real names…

Was Usui Saiki referring to the Miyano sisters at the time, or was she alluding to Akai Tsutomu?

...What other shocks does this kid have that I don't know about?!

Achoo!

Usoppei sneezed and rubbed his nose: "Who's talking bad about me again..."

System: [That's too many...]

"Alright, I've explained everything to the boss, so I can continue looking at houses." Bo Yezaki closed his flip phone.

Is that an explanation...? It's obviously just a lie...

The answer is always "intuition," "because I came back from the Middle East, and his demeanor is like an American's," "Do you need a reason to dislike someone?"...

Considering that Usui Saiki immediately questioned whether Akai Shuichi was an FBI agent upon meeting him, and could not produce any evidence, it was entirely plausible that he claimed it was just his intuition. The boss was also skeptical.

As for the others...

"I'm easy to get along with. If someone is someone I dislike, they must be an undercover agent."

—Just ask for this reason, boss, are you convinced or not? You have to accept it, because it perfectly matches Usaku Saiki's consistent behavior.

Bo Yezaki checked his income: [Permanent residency, half the points are up, I can probably take a long vacation before continuing.]

System: [Alright, your efficiency is really high. The others are basically just getting by in the early stages, only really starting in Conan Year One, since Conan's suspicion value has a particularly high weight... Any plans for the future?]

Anyway, let's buy a house and move first.

Usui sighed: "Although Shuichi Akai definitely won't burn my house down, it's too small to hold all my gadgets now. I might as well get a bigger one... Hmm, maybe I can invite Conan over sometime. Let me think about how to decorate it..."

system:【…………】

Are you already thinking about how to mess with Conan? Isn't that a bit too early...?