Chapter 118 A Lucky Mistake

The manner of a person's death often best reveals what kind of person they are.

To be fair, Iori harbored no ill will towards Kagemitsu. On the contrary, he had a fairly good impression of his colleague. Therefore, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him when he saw Kagemitsu perish in a stinking ditch.

When Jingguang's body was pulled from the water, it was a gruesome sight. Even Gin only glanced at it briefly before pinching his nose and leaving. Perhaps confident in his marksmanship, he didn't consider the possibility of Scott's survival: after all, who could stay in that stinking ditch for so long? Of course, if Gin had seen the bulletproof vest at the bottom of the water, he probably wouldn't have thought that way. Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs."

Iori urgently explained to Gin that Burgundy (Ibe Taro) had no ill intentions towards that gentleman; he brought Scotland here to cover up the crime. They hadn't even noticed that the corpse lying on the ground was still breathing through its nostrils!

And it was at that moment that a terrible woman appeared.

The woman was wearing a mask, but Gin knocked it off. In an instant, Gin was shocked: he thought Wakasa was already dead.

And so, taking advantage of the moment when the assassin, who never remembered the names of the dead, was having a memory lapse, Wakasa took the body away.

Strangely, a few days later, Gin suddenly came to confront him, because he had discovered traces of Scottish activity again.

To prove his innocence, Iori had no choice but to thoroughly investigate the matter. He also felt the woman's appearance at such a suspicious time. However, the only evidence at the bottom of the river was gone, and Iori found nothing at the crime scene.

Another matter also prompted Iori to reflect deeply: three and a half years earlier, the Scottish records clearly stated "died in the line of duty." The date of death was December 7th, which was confirmed by his direct superior, Kuroda, five days later.

Meanwhile, Iori also noticed that food blogger Inuya Neko's first video was released on December 31.

Previously, Iori hadn't done much research on Inuya Neko's videos, mainly because this diligent blogger consistently updated weekly and even added extra content on holidays, making the research quite challenging.

Iori patiently watched all of the hundreds of videos, even the comments section. He noticed that Inuya Neko, who used to be very diligent, had recently been frequently delaying updates.

The first hiatus occurred last year following the devastating bombings in Tokyo. The blogger's response was rather perfunctory, offering only a simple cream stew to their eagerly awaiting fans. Things only worsened afterward, especially now that it's late April, with only a handful of new videos this year! The longest gap was a full two and a half months without any updates. It wasn't until recently that a midnight livestream finally silenced the critics.

It has to be said that Scotland is very successful as a food blogger. Even though he has become known as "Uncle Pigeon" (a nickname implying he's always late with updates), his fans are still very forgiving of his delayed posts.

But what did Scotland do with this new identity to benefit his undercover work?

Iori looked at it again and again, and finally concluded that Scotland had helped his classmate find clues to his missing son.

Besides that, there doesn't seem to be anything else.

Iori frowned, sensing that there was a big problem here.

All of the above means that Scotland died three years after Inuya Neko stopped updating weekly, and that's when it officially started taking action.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the exposure of his identity was absolutely unexpected for Scotland, and becoming a food blogger was merely a temporary measure. Since Scotland's death was completely unrelated to his actions over the past six months, there was no reason for him to lie low for three years to prepare, which is entirely inconsistent with the characteristics of a spy with over two years of undercover experience.

"It's like starting a new account from scratch!"

Iori thought to herself, "This makes everything even more confusing."

Why have the police found no connection between Scotland and Kuroda or anyone else in the past three years?

Why does Inuya Neko never appear in the videos?

Why would Scotland, as a public security authority, cooperate with the FBI?

Suddenly, Iori had a flash of inspiration: Could it be that the Scottish man who died three years ago was framed? He wasn't Scottish at all, but an FBI mole that they were trying to plant in the Public Security Bureau!

Iori became increasingly excited as she thought about it, overjoyed by this momentous discovery.

He calmed himself down and repeatedly considered his thoughts: three years was enough time for the imposter to complete the plastic surgery, and the FBI might have prepared several more candidates.

Furthermore, Iori clearly remembered that Scotland's skill tree only listed sniping and hacking, and cooking was not listed as an option. Iori felt that the other party's omission of such an important ability was not a cover-up, but rather that the real Scots were not very good at cooking.

However, the reality was that Jing Guang, who had just joined the Ministry of Public Security, was still naive and innocent. He foolishly fantasized that he would be like those cool and stylish agents in the movies. Little did he know that the job he did for the longest time after graduation would be a cook.

Iori then reported to Gin: "The death in Scotland is an indisputable fact, and the Public Security Bureau's records are correct."

"Then how do you explain that he's still alive and kicking?"

"Well, the reason is obvious. Scotland has been completely transformed."

Gin nodded knowingly, and Iori mistakenly thought that the other party understood his meaning, but he had put it too euphemistically.

Gin's interpretation was completely different; he thought Iori meant to say: Scotland died, but for some mysterious reason, it came back to life. A complete transformation!

Thus, the two, each with their own thoughts, embarked on different paths:

Iori visits relatives and friends, dedicated to finding evidence of the Scottish switch.

Gin investigates Rumi Wakasa, determined to uncover the truth behind Scotland's resurrection.

It should be said that the latter's reaction was exactly what Jingguang wanted, while the former was completely unexpected.

On this day, Iori receives a mysterious email from Scotland inviting him to meet in person. Iori doesn't know where Scotland got his private contact information, but he's determined to find out.

The meeting place was a bar that Iori was very familiar with: it was here that he talked at length about praising the wonders of Scotch whisky.

Iori noticed a man in the corner who looked very much like Scotland in terms of clothing and build. He walked over and called out, "Scotland."

The man straightened up and turned around. Iori realized she had mistaken him for someone else and was about to apologize when she heard him swirling his glass and ask, "Would you like a glass of Scotch whisky too?"

"No, thank you. I'm waiting for a friend."

"What a coincidence, I'm waiting for the same thing."

Iori sensed that this man was somewhat unusual, so she struck up a conversation: "My name is Iori Muga. May I ask how I should address this gentleman?"

"Okiya Subaru."

"Is Mr. Okiya waiting for a friend?" Iori asked casually, taking a sip of his drink.

"Perhaps, I don't really know what kind of person the other person is."

"Huh? An online friend?"

“Father-in-law,” Okiya replied in a muffled voice, seemingly troubled.

Iori's eyes widened: "Mr. Okiya, you must be joking, right?"

"To be precise, my future father-in-law."

Iori roughly understood: this guy was probably still dating his girlfriend and hadn't met her parents yet! But the fact that their first meeting was arranged at a bar like this made one wonder who this future father-in-law was.

"It's normal to be a little nervous when you meet someone for the first time, but don't drink too much, it's not good to get drunk."

Okiya sullenly downed a drink and complained, "I don't think he's coming. He's already an hour late."

"Perhaps something has delayed them?"

"Well, I heard he's very busy with work. But who knows?"

What does your father-in-law do for a living?

"I don't know, I only have the address of my workplace."

Iori glanced at the address curiously: 2-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku.

"Isn't this the Metropolitan Police Department?!"

“Mr. Okiya, I have a friend who also works here. How about I ask around for you?” Since Scotland hadn’t shown up yet, Iori was happy to just watch the show.

Okiya was delighted and grasped the other's hand tightly: "Thank you so much! I'm so sad to be here in a completely unfamiliar place! Oh, by the way, my father-in-law's name is Hashiba Takahisa."

Iori's smile instantly froze when the gossip reached his own head: he knew Hashiba Takahisa all too well. He knew Hashiba had a daughter, that was true, but the problem was, the girl was only in high school!

"Judging from what you're saying, Mr. Okiya, you're not from Tokyo?"

“I am American. Although I have been doing business with the Japanese for many years, I have never been to Tokyo before.”

"So your girlfriend is American too?"

"She's mixed race, and so am I."

"Could he be talking about Hashiba's illegitimate daughter?!"

Iori gasped. If this got out, it would be very difficult to handle!

Okiya poured himself a drink, and perhaps having had too much to drink, he started rambling: "Mia said she's never met her father. She was raised by adoptive parents, but she still wants to invite her biological father to her wedding. I even asked a friend who works at the FBI for help in finding him. I came all this way, and who knew that old man would be so rude!"

Okiya slammed his fist on the bar, and Iori quickly reassured him, "Calm down! Calm down!"

Okiya stared wide-eyed at the other person and asked, "Mr. Iori, can you help me find that old man?"

"Hmm..." For some reason, Iori felt a little uneasy being stared at: This is too much of a coincidence, isn't it? He was looking for evidence that the Scottish had been switched by the FBI, and his "friend" from the FBI just happened to appear in front of him.

So, who else could this Mr. Okiya, who made up a friend out of thin air, be?

It's none other than Shuichi Akai, the FBI's ace agent who killed the Scottish rye whisky three years ago!

"I'd like to say, Mr. Akai..." Iori chuckled and leaned closer, "It's a very bad thing to randomly claim someone as your father!"