Chapter 81

Bo Yezaki readily agreed, "Sure, let her come."

Vodka: "...?!?!?!?!"

System: [?!?!?!?! You really agreed?! I thought you were going to torture Vodka...]

If even you think that way, then Vodka must think I'm up to no good. So the more readily I agree, the more suspicious Vodka will become.

Usoppei analyzed very rationally: "Look, Vodka's suspicion level is really rising."

Yes, just as Usoppon Saiki predicted, vodka is now feeling quite terrified.

If a child is quiet, they're definitely up to no good.

He had made so many preparations to persuade Bo Ye Zaiji, but now Bo Ye Zaiji agreed so readily... Vodka didn't feel like he had wasted his time, but only became more wary, wondering if he hadn't thought things through. Bo Ye Zaiji was preparing to give him a big surprise.

This state of alert lasted for a long time. Basically, whenever his mind was slightly at ease, Vodka couldn't help but think of this matter, and then, while contributing his suspicions, he would ask Scotland if anything unexpected had happened on Usakata Saiki's side.

The first day was fine. At home, Usoppei spent his time lazing on the sofa watching TV and eating fruit, and he would go out to have a professional massage before coming back.

Vodka and Scotland were both quite puzzled, wondering what Usuke Saiki had been secretly doing behind the organization's back to make him so tired. Surely he couldn't have been doing manual labor?

The two called each other again the next day.

"How did he survive in the Middle East with such poor physical condition?" Vodka complained to Scotch while Usoppai was away. "Alex is spoiling the kid too much! This guy really doesn't know anything he should know!"

Scotland pondered, "There must be a reason for that."

What other reason could there be?

"...Potternis said before that he had fallen too hard in the Middle East and was left with some drowsiness as a side effect," Scotland said tactfully. "It's normal that Alex is a loving father and doesn't dare to let him take any more risks."

Vodka got the hint about Scotland.

—Shocking! It turns out that the occasional madness of Usoppō Saiki wasn't innate, nor was it caused by the distorted environment of the Middle East. It's possible that he developed mental illness after hitting his head!

Wouldn't that make it even harder to correct?!

"Sigh... If that happened, it's no wonder he's been pampered so much by Alex." Vodka's feelings were complicated.

Scotland seized the opportunity to gather intelligence: "It sounds like Ariel has a tendency to spoil children."

Although Ariel was an official and the head of the Middle East region, he was already dead. Vodka was more open-minded and didn't think there was anything he couldn't say: "Ariel... although he got along with everyone, I really don't know how he raised his children. After all, the only person who is still alive who offended Ariel is probably the one who killed him."

"Has no one in the organization offended him?"

"Let me think, it seems there really isn't one. But that's because he went to the Middle East too early. He was sent there more than ten years ago. Who was he working for back then? I forgot. That guy died too quickly, and Alex took over. He did even better, which is how he got the code name. He's been doing that until last year."

Vodka remarked, "When it comes to interpersonal skills, Ariel is truly the pinnacle. Although I'm not very familiar with him, I've never felt awkward during our meetings. He's far superior to Potnis."

"Bottenis is still young, he'll be fine when he grows up."

Vodka: "Do you even believe that yourself? He's not here, so stop trying to cover for him... By the way, isn't it time for lunch? Isn't he coming back yet?"

Scotland doesn't know.

He never tells Bo Yezaki where he goes, nor whether he will come back or not; he is extremely mysterious.

Sometimes Scotland felt that the other person really trusted him as a friend, and sometimes he felt that it was just an illusion. Usaku Saiki treated everyone that way.

The scariest thing is that, although he still can't figure out what Usaku Saiki is thinking, he feels that his logic is gradually converging with Usaku Saiki's.

Previously, Scotland, relying on the logic of Usaku Saiki's friend, made a small retort to Usaku Saiki's constant accusations that he was a traitor. At the time, he seemed to have everything under control, which perfectly fit the somewhat sharp persona of "Scotland". In fact, after returning to his room, he worried for half an hour that his mental state had also become abnormal, and during that time he even took a set of mental test questions for himself.

After all, he used to have to think carefully to figure out what Usaba Saiki's thought process was like, but yesterday he actually figured out how to use the other party's logic to block Usaba Saiki. That's terrifying!

As someone who is rarely able to stand up to Usaku Saiki, Scotland felt no sense of accomplishment, but rather was filled with worry.

He felt that he should talk to normal people more often. Usaku Saiki was simply toxic. Thinking about Usaku Saiki all day long might turn him into a mental patient.

Vodka suggested, "Why don't you just leave him alone for now? I have a mission tomorrow and I need a sniper. Do you want to come? Anyway, Potts agreed, right?"

Scotland did not turn down the opportunity.

As for Usoya Saiki himself, he didn't even return for lunch, and didn't come back until the next day.

Because he calculated the time, he immediately switched identities and returned to Han Chuan Shen Liu's apartment. If he didn't go back to clean it soon, it would be covered in cobwebs.

Sure enough, as soon as he switched back to Han Chuan Shen Liu's human data, all the soreness in his body disappeared, and he even felt like he could fight a hundred people again.

"As expected of the character I painstakingly crafted for the undercover organization." Usakabe Saiki remarked, "What a useful employee! Now the police are getting a free ride."

System: [Your choice of words... I think the Undercover System would probably suit you better if you were an undercover agent planted by the organization within the police force.]

The police got off easy this time; Usoya Saiki's ego is really twisted!

Hearing the system mention a name he hadn't heard in a long time, Bo Yezhai was taken aback: [Oh right, is the undercover system still under maintenance? It's been a year!]

[It can't follow the time flow of this world anymore. Anyway, it will notify me once it's fixed, and then I'll go find it to get the data I forgot to hand over.]

Usakabe Saiki chatted with the system, then walked to the bottom of his apartment building.

Kenji Hagiwara was leaning against the door of the apartment building on the first floor, checking his phone. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Saiki Usaba. He was about to smile when he suddenly remembered something and his face turned serious.

"Second-year graduate student." Usui Saiki pretended not to notice Hagiwara Kenji's change in expression. "Have you been waiting long?"

Kenji Hagiwara: "Not long ago, but you, you finally agreed to meet people?"

Ever since he learned that the bomb disposal incident involving Shinryu Sugawa was even more dangerous than he had initially thought, Kenji Hagiwara had been determined to settle accounts with Sugawa for deliberately withholding important information.

He had already complained to Matsuda Jinpei twice, but Kagawa Shinryu still refused to come out and see him for the past two days.

When asked, the answer was always the same: no time, I have things to do.

Unfortunately, during his internship, Shinryu Hagiwara didn't have to go back to the dorm, and Kenji Hagiwara couldn't find him anywhere. He was almost at his wit's end when Shinryu Hagiwara suddenly agreed to let him go back to the dorm today.

Kenji Hagiwara vaguely suspected he'd been tricked—Shinobu had confessed to him that she was being targeted by an illegal group, and wouldn't let him investigate further, just so she wouldn't have to explain herself to him at a time like this?!

Usakabe Saiki has always been thick-skinned, and even if he were to switch to the alias of Hanchuan Shenliu, this wouldn't change: "Yes, something came up yesterday."

He was busy watching dramas and relaxing. He never imagined that his biggest challenge in working for the Mobile Investigation Unit wouldn't be accumulating suspicion points, but rather how to quickly relieve fatigue after switching back to his sub-healthy self...

Workers get backaches and pains from sitting in front of a computer all day, but he was jostled around in a car for almost 24 hours. This job is really inhuman.

Kenji Hagiwara decided to retract his thoughtfulness and get to the bottom of things: "What have you all been up to?"

"I can't tell you about the second-year graduate student," Bo Yezaki answered honestly. "But it wasn't dangerous, it wasn't illegal, and it even saved someone's life, so don't worry."

Previously, he couldn't say he hadn't broken the law, only that he hadn't done anything against his principles. This time, he persuaded people to turn themselves in and helped the police solve the case. There's no one more law-abiding citizen than him!

Even Bo Ye Saiki was moved by his own words.

System: [...It's one thing to fool your buddies, but don't fool yourself too...]

Bo Yezhai ignored it.

Even such a law-abiding answer still aroused Kenji Hagiwara's suspicions, after all, this guy had a history of concealing important information: "Tell me exactly what you did."

"I persuaded a person who was contemplating suicide to come back to life, and helped several people resolve the troubles that were troubling them."

Kenji Hagiwara automatically pictured someone about to jump off a building or into the sea, and Shinryu Kazukawa stepping forward to persuade them to come back... Well, it seems more likely they were scared away, but in any case, saving a life is definitely a good thing.

"What about the problem that has troubled several people?"

Bo Yezhai started using euphemisms again: "This involves a person's sad affairs and family reputation, which is inconvenient to tell others."

The shop owner had such a harmful niece. Even though she's dead, it still doesn't sound good when word gets out, right?

Kenji Hagiwara frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple: "Are you trying to fool me? You kept the bomb disposal thing from me last time because you knew I wouldn't approve. What's going on this time?"

“I have reflected on my actions thoroughly.” Bo Yezaki said something that even the system wouldn’t believe. “So what I did this time is to tell you that you will also say that I did a good job, really.”

Kenji Hagiwara stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly nodded, barely believing him.

The two arrived at the entrance of Usui Saiki's apartment and found that the neighbors next door seemed to be moving.

They hadn't intended to pay any attention, but soon a familiar face of Usakata Saiki came out from inside.

"Han Chuan-kun, you're back."

Bo Yezhai: "...Kujō-kun, what are you doing here?"

His colleague in the Mobile Investigation Unit, Kokonoe Seijin, replied with a serious expression: "Because I live next door to you, and I'm moving now... Please take care of me from now on, Kankawa-kun."

In front of outsiders, Kenji Hagiwara immediately adjusted his attitude and put on a smile again: "Fukuru, is this your new friend? Aren't you going to introduce him?"

The expressions of the people in the Nine Heavens cracked at that moment, because the way it was called was too cute and didn't match Han Chuan Shen Liu's image at all.

"Little, Little Fukami...? Hankawa-kun, is this your friend?"

Usaku Saiki, who was being watched by two people at the same time, felt the strange atmosphere and fell into a brief silence.

—Huh? Is he that familiar with the people of Jiuchong Shiren? What's with this second-generation official living in this run-down apartment?!

--------------------

Landmines (extra chapter)

The pronunciation of "Kofumi Ryu" is similar to that of "Shizuka-chan," creating a somewhat striking contrast.

.

Scotland: They finally beat Botswana, but aren't happy at all; they just want to know if they're sick.

Vodka: When a child is quiet, they're definitely up to something. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering why he agreed so readily.

.

Seeing so many people doubting that Bo Ye wouldn't agree to Vodka's offer so easily... it's like another wave of useless doubt points being generated across dimensions, making me feel sorry for Bo Ye.