Chapter 102, Twentieth Round (21)

[We have a special mission. We need to proceed to this location immediately for assembly.]

Time is money!

Be quick! Bourbon!

——RUM——】

Bourbon clicked on the address, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.

It's Yokohama.

He typed a reply to his boss's email, saying he would be there right away. He didn't do anything special after that, but actually left Sherry's lab and immediately drove towards Yokohama.

However, in sections of the road where he was certain there were no surveillance cameras, he used one hand to drive and the other hand to skillfully operate his phone.

But Scotland did not reply to him, and his location showed that he was slowly moving in Hokkaido.

It might be snowing in Hokkaido at this time of year, and Scotland and Rye's mission location is deep in the mountains, so the signal might be weak.

However, it's rather strange that even Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru, who usually reply to his messages instantly during the day, haven't responded to his messages.

Bourbon immediately switched to his Sakura identity.

...Okay, so they were just in a meeting, which is why their phones were on silent.

Matsuda Jinpei, as a member of the Explosives Division, infiltrated the First Investigation Division for a meeting, naturally because this matter was related to him.

It's still about the Yamaguchi-gumi. There have been some changes recently, so Matsuda Jinpei, who accidentally infiltrated the Yamaguchi-gumi, needs to be careful. He also needs to help with the investigation, so it's best to have him work with the First Investigation Division for the time being.

Tsk, are the timelines starting to converge?

The blond young man in the white Mazda nervously tightened his grip on his phone, then quickly released it, his face darkening as he rapidly made plans.

Tokyo is very close to Yokohama. When Bourbon arrived in Yokohama, it was only 6 p.m., and it wasn't even dark yet.

Strangely enough, it snowed.

After getting out of the car, he looked up at the sky, reached out and caught a glistening snowflake, a hint of surprise flashing in his purplish-gray eyes.

Yokohama is a warm seaside city, and it usually only gets a little snow in December and early January.

But today is October 23rd.

However, the snow seems light and shouldn't cause any problems.

He closed the car door, turned around, and stared into thought at the two familiar cars over there.

Gin's black Porsche and Vermouth's red Harley-Davidson.

What special mission requires him, Gin, and Vermouth to gather at this abandoned warehouse in Yokohama at this time?

Bourbon had no good impression of warehouses like this. The last time he was in a warehouse like this at dusk with Gin and Vermouth, he almost got his undercover identity discovered and was tied to a pillar with Kir, with Gin pointing a gun at him.

Gin loves to execute rats in abandoned warehouses like these.

If Shuichi Akai hadn't risked his life to rescue him that time, he might have really died; Gin really could have shot him.

To be honest, he had the same bad feeling this time, but he still went.

The door wasn't closed properly, and Bourbon pushed it open.

The empty, dimly lit warehouse contained none of the people he had imagined, only a man in black and an ordinary-looking car.

The expressionless man in black invited him into the car, then drove for about ten minutes, passing through the forest and heading towards the mountains, before dropping him off in front of an ancient castle.

A luxurious but ancient castle, like a secluded island, is built on a towering cliff, accessible only by a stone bridge.

At both ends of the bridge stood many fully armed men in black, who were as emotionless as robots.

This is Rum's preference.

Rum's confidants and trusted subordinates have basically been brainwashed by him. They are less like humans and more like robots that strictly follow orders, fearless of death and unwilling to betray him.

Therefore, Bourbon did not intend to become his confidant.

Compared to Rum's confidants, he has the potential to become a major threat to Rum.

Rum was initially somewhat interested in this talented individual, but the BOSS stopped him, which is why Bourbon is now left to his own devices.

In other words, Bourbon didn't actually spend much time with Rum; their communication and reporting were mostly online.

By this time, it was already getting dark, and the snow was falling even harder.

Bourbon got out of the car. The fully armed men in black were covered in snow, but they only moved slightly when clearing a path for Bourbon. After he passed, they returned to their statue-like state.

The blond, dark-skinned youth walked on the bridge, openly and curiously turning his head to look around at the place.

The castle is built on a high mountain by the sea, surrounded by cliffs and the sound of waves crashing can be heard very clearly.

With the current dim sky and the gradually increasing snowfall, it feels very much like the snow-covered mountain lodge scene from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None".

Bourbon entered the castle, pushed open the heavy iron gate, walked through the huge garden, and stopped in front of the house's main gate.

"Please hand over your communication devices," the white-haired woman at the door said, pointing to a safe containing three cell phones.

Bourbon and the pair of heterochromatic eyes exchanged a glance.

It was Curaçao, Rum's confidant.

Bourbon reached into his pocket, pressed the emergency send secret message button in less than two seconds, then calmly and slowly took his phone out of his pocket, turned it off, and placed it in the safe.

"My phone contains a lot of important information, so you must protect it well. Otherwise, I won't be responsible if anything happens," he said with a smile.

Curaçao nodded, his face cold, and said nothing. He simply turned and opened the door to let him in.

"Still the same boring personality," Bourbon sighed, strode inside, and immediately closed the door behind him.

However, his attention was no longer behind him, but on the huge living room that he could see as soon as he entered, and the huge dining table laid out horizontally in the middle.

Compared to the dim sky outside, the entire hall was incredibly luxurious and bright, with white lights illuminating every single hair on the person inside.

A man in a black suit sat in the middle, his head resembling a square computer monitor.

Two lines of white text were lit up on the black electronic display screen.

【RUM】

【NO.002】

He is the organization's second-in-command, Rum.

And it's probably not the real person, just a robot with a display screen and speaker.

Besides Rum, there were three other people in the living room.

Gin sat on the right, furthest from Rum, his gaze sweeping over him with a colder look than ever before.

Vodka sat next to Gin, still wearing sunglasses, his head turned towards him, looking like he wanted to speak but didn't dare.

Vermouth sat to Rum's right, the closest seat to him, three seats away from Vodka, and waved to him with a smile.

The four people sitting at this huge dining table looked quite out of place, and the 13 chairs neatly arranged suggested that there were probably many more people who hadn't arrived yet.

"Find a seat yourself." Rum's voice remained an emotionless, synthesized electronic tone. "Bourbon."

Bourbon sat down without hesitation in the seat closest to Rum's left, as if he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

"Mr. Rum, I'm here. I hope I'm not late?" the blond youth said with a tilted head and a smile.

"They acted quite quickly," Rum said, quite satisfied with his actions and having somewhat dispelled his doubts.

"Is it snowing outside?" Vermouth peeked out from Rum's other side, her eyes fixed on the unmelted snowflakes on his blond hair.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to snow in Yokohama in October." Bourbon sighed. "Maybe I should have gone back to get some clothes before coming back."

“Then you’ll be late and get yelled at by Rum,” Vermouth laughed.

"So I didn't waste time going back and came here immediately after receiving the message. I just didn't expect to see so many people. What kind of special mission is this?" Bourbon asked with a curious expression.

“Well…” Vermouth glanced meaningfully at Rum beside her, “You’ll have to ask Rum. I don’t know either.”

You don't seem like you know nothing at all.

"If even you don't know, then it must be something very special," Bourbon exclaimed in surprise.

Two blond men and women, both strikingly handsome, flanked Rum on either side, joking and talking as naturally as if they were performing a comedy routine, showing no respect whatsoever. This instantly transformed the originally dangerous and serious scene into a glamorous movie scene with a star-studded performance.

Rum felt his authority as the organization's second-in-command was being undermined, and worried that these two guys would spoil the atmosphere and lead others astray, so he said, "Quiet down. I'll explain everything once everyone else has arrived."

Bourbon fell silent, exchanged glances with Vermouth for a moment, then smirked as he looked at Gin and vodka in the corner.

Gin clearly knew something; his aura was very low, and his face was even more terrifying than usual. Even Vodka next to him didn't dare to move.

While Bourbon was pondering, the door opened again, and three people walked in, some of them covered in snow.

They were three snipers he knew very well, and their expressions looked very confused and bewildered.

Calvados was taken aback when he saw Vermouth, and his slow steps suddenly became fast. Before the other two could react, he sat down next to Vermouth, straightened his back, and placed his hands on his lap, looking very obedient and serious.

Chianti let out a loud "tsk" and prepared to walk over and sit next to Calvados to keep an eye on her sniper buddy and make sure he wasn't being used by the bad woman.

Cohen, fearing they would argue and cause trouble, sat down next to Calvados first, leaving Chianti resentfully sitting between Cohen and Vodka.

At this point, all six seats on the right were occupied.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you calling us over here for? Are you planning something big with so many people?" Chianti has always been a fearless and crazy woman. She has never respected Gin or Rum. As long as she thinks she is right, she can keep making a fuss.

Rum didn't want to repeat himself to this rude woman.

So, the very considerate subordinate Bourbon immediately smiled and spoke up to help explain and control the situation: "We'll explain the mission together once everyone is here. Chianti, you just wait quietly for a bit."

"Tsk, who else is there? Why aren't they here yet?" Chianti said impatiently.

Yes, who else wants to come?

Bourbon already had a guess in his mind and felt a little regretful about the position he had chosen.

But he also knew that regret would be useless unless he arrived before Vermouth and sat in her seat.

The door opened again, and two more snipers walked in, this time Scotland and Ray, covered in even more snow.

Naturally, Scotland, like Calvados, immediately sat down next to Bourbon.

Leigh paused briefly, glanced around the entire table, and then sat down next to Scotland.

"What are they planning to do? Why are there so many people? Is it a dinner party?" Scotland whispered to Bourbon.

“How could that be? Mr. Rum has given us an important task, but we have to wait until everyone is here,” Bourbon whispered back.

Lei, who had heard everything, narrowed his eyes slightly.

Only three chairs remained at the table to their left and behind them. Who were the other three people coming? And what was their connection to those already present? What was Rum's special mission? Was this Rum just a robot double? Was the real Rum controlling them from a distance, or was he watching them from somewhere within the castle?

With a creak, the door opened, and the last three people finally arrived, covered in thick snow. They took photos as they walked before coming over.

Scotland stopped whispering with Bourbon, turned around, and looked slightly taken aback.

It's someone I know.

Ireland casually sat down next to Rye.

Kiel and Takahiko Itō had no choice but to sit in the last two chairs.

Kiel is in front, Ireland is next, and Takahiko Itō is at the very back.

At this point, all six seats to Rum's left were also filled.

Aside from Curaçao at the entrance and Rum in the middle, there were a total of 12 people present, all of whom had participated in Yamaguchi-gumi missions.

"Everyone's here, let's start serving the food," Rum said.

As several well-trained servants served the dishes, a synthesized mechanical voice emanated from a robot in the center of the table, echoing clearly throughout the empty and quiet hall.

"Don't be nervous, the special mission is a joke. It's just because you performed exceptionally well in the Yamaguchi-gumi incident, bringing huge profits to the organization and greatly suppressing its enemies. So, on that gentleman's orders, we've prepared this celebratory dinner for you."

Bourbon didn't know whether others believed it or not, but he didn't believe it at all.

The long table setting, the current time, and the 12 people present all amplified his bad premonitions and terrible guesses.

"However, before we celebrate, we need to resolve a small issue."

After the sumptuous dishes were served, the servants, their faces expressionless, quickly withdrew.

Bourbon rested his chin on his hand, looking at the red wine in front of him.

He carefully recalled the world-famous painting in his mind: "The Last Supper".

"Everyone here is an outstanding codename member of the organization. Even Ito-kun will soon receive his own codename. You are all very capable. I believe that with everyone's efforts, the organization will become stronger and stronger."

The painting depicts the tense moment in the Bible, on the night before Jesus was crucified, during his last meal with his twelve disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. After Jesus said to them, "One of you will betray me," the twelve disciples displayed different expressions and postures in that instant.

"but--"

Rum's synthesized electronic voice delivered the final sentence without any softening.

"I'll be frank, there's an undercover agent among you."