Chapter 56

Gin, Vodka, and Morofushi Hiromitsu spent a long time researching before finally arriving at a conclusion that "designing the sniping trajectory from the very beginning with the sofa chair in front of the window as the target" seemed more reliable.

As a result, Usoppō Saiki arrived and gave them a live demonstration of metaphysics.

...Gin began to wonder if he had been tricked by Usui Saiki. After all, the whole thing had been suspicious from the moment he asked for a photo to divine which target he could kill.

Vodka's lips twitched: "Potnis, you—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted with a "bang".

Vodka almost thought Gin was about to kill someone to silence him, but he quickly realized it was the sound of a sniper rifle and looked at the guy who had suddenly fired in horror.

Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had been obediently maintaining his sniping stance, stood up, drew the curtains, and began disassembling his sniper rifle, while quickly explaining, "Target successfully eliminated, time to retreat."

Vodka: "...???"

Wait a minute?! In the time it took to say just one sentence, what did he miss?

Vodka looked at Gin with a puzzled expression, hoping his older brother could give him some guidance.

Gin had picked up his binoculars again, his expression now enigmatic. After putting them down, he checked his phone, which had suddenly rang, and succinctly concluded: "...Mission complete."

When the atmosphere around Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was in charge of sniping, suddenly changed, Gin sensed something and quickly picked up his binoculars again, but it was too late; he only caught the end.

Across the street, in front of the hotel's large floor-to-ceiling windows, a person suddenly froze, then collapsed with blood gushing from their head.

Gin believed that Midorikawa wouldn't fire a shot carelessly and expose himself. In addition, the person who was originally responsible for guiding the target's movement at the scene quickly sent an email informing him that the target was dead.

—In other words, everything is just as Usaku Saiki predicted.

The target was like a puppet on strings, walking to the position predetermined by Usakata Saiki, where he was shot in the head by a sniper who was prepared in advance.

If he wasn't mistaken, the sniper hadn't made any adjustments whatsoever; he was simply following Usaku Saiki's previous plan, waiting for the enemy to come to him.

How did you do that?

As Gin retreated, he mentally considered the possibilities over and over again.

After retreating to a nearby safe house, Usoppei was the first to object: "We've already completed the mission, so why do you insist that I come with you?"

Zhu Fujingguang comforted him, saying, "After all, we still need to write a report, so we must clarify some details."

Usoya Saiki retorted unhappily, "I really can't stand walking with a bunch of people with questionable taste like you."

Everyone: "…………"

Whose taste is truly questionable?! Even if you think you're good-looking and dress recklessly, you can't just go against your conscience and call it fashionable!

It's not surprising that Vodka is criticizing Usakawa Saiki as well, this time as well.

Because when Midorikawa was preparing to retreat, he half-forced Usaku Saiki to wear his brown trench coat, covering up his overly conspicuous attire.

Although Midorikawa seemed to be considerate enough to fold up the slightly long sleeves a few times, it couldn't hide the fact that he was going against Usui's will and might even be trampling on Usui's aesthetics.

Moreover, when Usakabe Saiki didn't want to walk with them and seemed to want to sneak away, Midorikawa half-dragged and half-carried him to the back seat of the car. If they had made any bigger moves, they would have been mistaken for human traffickers and called the police by passersby. It's normal for Usakabe Saiki to attack indiscriminately when he gets angry now.

Vodka was grateful for Midorikawa's sacrifice—it didn't matter if Usoba Saiki was conspicuous when he left alone, but it was better not to leave with the group! If someone saw him, the memory would be too vivid!

Gin never bothered with such meaningless details. After checking the safe house and making sure it was safe to talk, he asked directly, "What did you do?"

"What 'what'?" Usakabe Saiki took off Morofushi Kagemitsu's trench coat and threw it on the sofa, then lay down on it as a cushion. "I did the work you assigned me. The target is dead, the mission is complete, what other questions do you have? If you keep bothering me, I'll have to pay more!"

“Explain,” Gin patiently added, “How did you know he would be there?”

Usoya Saiki: "This is a separate price."

“Sure,” Gin replied decisively. “You can have all the mission rewards this time.”

Vodka wouldn't object to Gin's decision, and Morofushi Hiromitsu, who wasn't even a member yet, had no objections either. In any case, as people who were quite professional in sniping, they all wanted to know how Usui Saiki had done it. To get an answer, they felt it was worth sacrificing some mission funds.

Considering his superstitious accessories and all sorts of other miscellaneous elements like divination... they were a little worried that the answer might be too fantastical, and they weren't ready for their worldview to be shattered.

The most plausible answer right now is that Usaku Saiki can hypnotize, but even hypnosis should follow basic principles, right?

Bo Yezaki stretched out his hand, palm up: "Pay first."

Gin didn't hesitate and handed him one of his bank cards.

Although he didn't know how much money was in the card, Usaku Saiki, knowing that Gin wouldn't be stingy at a time like this, put the card away with satisfaction before explaining.

"Because he is very arrogant and has obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Everyone: "...?"

"The hotel's location is excellent; the night view from that spot is fantastic, giving you a sense of complete control, which your target will appreciate. He's always loved night views, so it's impossible for him not to come and see it. The banquet hall features a design with large areas of white marble surrounding black marble, and there are five black tiles near the floor-to-ceiling windows. He'll choose to stand on the one in the middle."

Bo Yezaki lazily slumped on the sofa: "Once we know where he'll be standing, all we have to do is adjust our angle and wait. It's as simple as one plus one equals two, isn't it? The only thing I'm not sure about is when he'll come over."

Vodka: "...???"

It's easy to say! Compared to such complicated and uncertain predictions, he'd rather sacrifice a guide to design the movement—that's much more reliable!

Even if they knew about the target's personality issues, they wouldn't be so confident that the target would act according to their imagination. Usakabe Saiki's trust in his own judgment was too much... or rather, this trust was like their trust in their own professional field.

Bo Yezaki complained: "The hotel is great, but the sniping spot you chose is not good. The angle is a bit off. But after all, when you chose the hotel, you chose a location where there was no obstruction to the view. There's no other way but to snipe from the side. I don't blame you. As long as the mission is successful, that's fine. It's just that I have to explain such a simple thing... No wonder the data you collected is full of useless stuff. I have to investigate it myself, and the time given is so tight. Luckily, I have a good eye for people."

Morofushi Kagemitsu was shocked. So Usaku Saiki really did go to investigate? He had thought Usaku Saiki was just making an excuse to sneak away...

This explanation was so logical and well-founded that even Vodka had to reflect on why he hadn't thought of doing it this way, but Gin remained calm and continued to ask.

“You said you don’t understand sniping,” Gin said. “How are you going to determine the impact of factors like wind speed and air humidity on the trajectory of a shot?”

"I haven't tried it before because I hate things that take so long. But I came back from the Middle East, and I've seen a lot of things. Even if I don't know how to do it, I should know what it's all about, right? Isn't calculating the landing point something you can figure out at a glance?"

The silver-haired boy, leaning casually on the sofa, lazily pointed to his thin green eyes.

The green that always evokes images of vibrant life now carries a sinister, almost poisonous quality.

"My brain is a computer, and my eyes are a ruler."

***

After explaining, Bo Yezaki took the bank card and left, demonstrating his ability to get things done for money. He managed to steal Gin's bank card in just a few words. Even the Boss would be amazed by his efficiency in making money.

Knowledge is money; that's absolutely true.

Vodka, Gin, and Morofushi Kagemitsu, who were left behind, didn't sit idle either; they immediately held a small meeting.

“Uh…” Vodka spoke first, “Anyway, I finally understand how he did it… Well, he grew up in the Middle East, how could he not know anything about sniping?”

It's all because Bo Yezaki usually seems so unreliable. In a sense, this guy is quite good at pretending to be an ordinary person, and he even fooled the person who knew the truth!

Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled wryly: "Although I thought it was impossible for him to be completely ignorant, I didn't expect that he wouldn't need any aiming aids or anything, just one glance and he was good... This is completely at the talent level, it's really impossible to learn."

Vodka sighed: "I understand what happened last time. He probably deduced the target's movement pattern and then designed a special sniping trajectory based on that, taking into account the weather that day, so it didn't matter that the curtains were blocking the view..."

Who makes assassinations this difficult? Trying to figure out what the target is thinking is the intelligence team's job. The action team just needs to follow orders and stand by. The rest will be taken care of.

"Tsk, this kid, he said before that he had a good eye for people, but I didn't expect he could use that skill for assassination," Vodka remarked. "With such strength, why is he hiding it all the time?"

It's quite remarkable that someone with such talent, a true genius, could somehow manage to make Vodka subconsciously think of him as a good-for-nothing who just gives up and does nothing, all through his own hard work.

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "...Because he wants to be an ordinary person? Can I ask him why he has this idea?"

Vodka: "Because he's sick."

"……OK."

The two finished their conversation and looked at Gin, who had remained silent.

Gin stood to the side, silently smoking.

As a highly ambitious and dedicated individual who treats the organization like his own, Gin has a strong aversion to incompetent individuals and traitors taking advantage of the chaos.

But now he finds that he seems to have less tolerance for capable but lazy bums... which may also be mainly because this person is Usaku Saiki.

Given Usoba Saiki's personality, it's already good enough that he cooperated this time. He'll probably only agree once out of ten times. Such a useful person, yet he disappears every day and hasn't made any contributions since joining the organization so long ago.

The thought of wasting such human resources made Gin so upset that he wanted to smoke to calm down.

“…Midori.” Gin finally pinned his hopes on his reliable partner, who was the complete opposite of Usui Saiki. “Can you increase your influence over Potts?”

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "...?"

When did he begin to influence Usaku Saiki?

Although I was a little confused, I could roughly guess what the misunderstanding was about, and I absolutely couldn't say no in this situation.

So he forced a smile and slowly nodded, giving me a smile that suited me perfectly: "...I understand, I will do my best."

Meanwhile, unaware that a group of people were having a secret meeting and trying to use him as a partner, Usakabe Saiki was rushing back to the police academy.

The system, which had been hesitant to speak, finally managed to say something: "You've really taken 'Omnipotent Navigation' to a whole new level. Pre-setting the bullets in the chamber and the target's head, so even before the target appears in your field of vision, you know where it will appear... But when did you go to investigate? How do you know he has OCD?"

"I made that up," said Bo Yezaki calmly. "He just happened to step on the middle black brick."

[…What if he steps on white bricks?]

"Then let's change the story, is there a problem?" Bo Yezaki asked, bewildered. "Anyway, they can't prove what a dead person was thinking, so of course I can spread rumors as I please, right?"

System: […Alright, you win. Hopefully, you won't be greeted by instructors when you get back to the dorm.]

You reminded me.

Bo Yezhai opened the navigation and glanced at it: [Hmm, the second-year graduate student is in my dorm... How did he get in?]

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Bonus chapter for tonight! Mine charge bar: 126/100

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I've been updating on time lately because I'm out with my best friend, and I can't eat until I finish writing...

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Bo Ye, who wanted to sneak back to the police academy but was dragged to the safe house, was as unhappy as a cat being swept up in a trench coat and taken to a pet store for a bath.

Bo Ye, who is good at spreading rumors: My brain is a computer, and my eyes are a ruler. If you can't do it, it's your own problem!

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Jingguang: Why did he want to be an ordinary person?

Vodka: Because he's sick. (A universal answer)

Gin couldn't get Usopp to work with enthusiasm; it felt like ants were crawling all over her.