Countdown 2

Let's rewind half an hour.

Having just gone through a battle, Vodka, looking somewhat disheveled, clutched the gunshot wound on his arm. He licked his dry lips and turned to ask Gin, who was standing beside him.

"Big brother, where are we going now?"

The hem of his black trench coat was covered in dust, and Gin, looking somewhat disheveled, exuded a low-pressure aura, clearly in a very unhappy mood.

He had a bullet wound near his eye on his left cheek, with bright red liquid flowing down his face. This was the injury he sustained in the underground parking lot.

Vodka quickly treated the gunshot wound connecting his arm and shoulder, but dared not ask Gin a single question about the wound on his face. He only cautiously inquired about their next move.

Gin lit a cigarette, his long, slender fingers holding a scarlet dot. He didn't inhale, letting the wisps of smoke swirl around him. The smell of nicotine calmed him down from his rage.

I reached up and touched the abrasion on my face. Because it was from a bullet, there were signs of burns around the wound. Such wounds will leave scars after they heal.

This serves as a constant reminder to Gin of the fact that he was injured by the two rats.

Gin's face was frosty, his cold and cruel dark green eyes filled with a chilling light. He uttered a few words indifferently, deciding the course of action: "We're going to sea."

The only person within the organization who knew about Karasuma Renya's departure to sea was Gin, or rather, he was the only one who guessed it from the recent series of events.

Meanwhile, Sherry, a researcher at the core research institute in charge of major projects, was taken out to sea. At this delicate moment, he received a mission to take away Miyano Akemi, who was used to control her.

Now that Miyano Akemi has been rescued by Bourbon and Ray, the leverage she used to threaten Sherry is gone. The best way for her to atone for her sins is to go to sea now.

Furthermore, Gin suspects that Bourbon and his group already know about Karasuma Renya's voyage, and based on his speculation about those people, the forces behind Bourbon and Rae will definitely go out to sea to intercept them.

Vodka, who was standing to the side, nodded. He always did whatever Gin said, so he didn't ask any more questions and went to prepare for the voyage.

Twenty minutes later, Gin took vodka and set sail from the nearest dock.

Because of the time constraints, they could only get one yacht. As Gin's all-around driver, driving a yacht was one of Vodka's many skills.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Public Security Bureau, led by Morofushi Kagemitsu, with Amuro Tooru and Rai also boarding the ship and setting sail, quickly approached the waters where the cruise ship was located using the satellite phone on Tsurumi Kawaru's body.

At this moment, on the white cruise ship.

When Tsurumi Nagare and Miyano Shiho arrived at the cabin where the lifeboats were stored, they found that people were already busy inside—the captain, the first mate, and two crew members were busy moving the lifeboats out, and there were also some life-saving supplies, bottled water, compressed biscuits, signal guns, and communication tools on the side.

Their movement of pushing open the door startled the people inside. When they saw the newcomers, the captain's expression froze, and his gaze fell on Tsurumi Kawaru with a hint of fear, clearly remembering the binding he had been subjected to in the control room earlier.

Seeing them, Tsurumi Kawakami seemed a little surprised. He blinked, his gaze sweeping over them, and said with a hint of astonishment, "Captain, what are you doing here?"

He had just run into Vermouth, who was disguised as the captain, in the corridor, and he suddenly realized that besides the people brought by Karasuma Renya, there were also a few ordinary people on the ship, including the captain.

Regardless of what happened before, seeing them here now actually made Tsurumi Kawaru feel a sense of relief.

A hint of guilt flashed in the captain's eyes: "We've found a bomb," he explained.

Upon hearing this, Tsurumi River nodded in agreement.

Shiho Miyano ignored their conversation, focusing instead on the lifeboats they would use to escape the cruise ship. She took a few steps forward, checked the supplies prepared nearby, and after confirming that there were enough, nodded to Nagaru Tsurumi.

The two then stepped forward to help move the lifeboat to the deck at the stern of the cruise ship.

They were initially worried about being discovered by the ship's bodyguards, but they didn't encounter anyone along the way and arrived at the deck at the stern of the ship without any problems.

Tsurumi Nagare lowered the lifeboat, looked around the area, turned back to the door and peeked out at the long corridor. He then turned to Miyano Shiho, who was walking over, and said, "It's so quiet on the ship."

Shiho Miyano stood by with her arms crossed, calmly saying, "Vermouth will definitely take action. Although we don't know what she did, it's a good opportunity for us."

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded in sudden realization.

"Alright, let's go." The captain and his men boarded the lifeboat, each donning a brightly colored life jacket. The first mate, who was to take over the helm, stood at the very back of the lifeboat.

Shiho Miyano took the life jacket and put it on, then handed another one to Nagaru Tsurumi.

Tsurumi Kawaru stood behind Shiho Miyano, letting her board the lifeboat first. Just as he was about to board, the satellite phone in his pocket suddenly rang urgently.

Tsurumi Kawakami withdrew his outstretched hand, took out his phone, and saw that it was Amuro Tooru calling. His eyes lit up and he quickly answered the phone, briefly telling Amuro about the situation before the other party could speak.

"...Now Shirley, the captain, and I are preparing to leave in a lifeboat."

Tsurumi Ryu looked up and met Miyano Shiho's slightly nervous gaze. Thinking of her sister's situation, she quickly added, "By the way, how is Sherry-neechan?"

On the other end of the phone, Amuro Tooru was still reeling from the series of explosion reports Tsurumi Nagaru had given him. Hearing the last sentence, he casually replied, "The people were rescued and unharmed. Gin and Vodka weren't captured; they'll likely be out to sea as well."

After delivering this message, Amuro Tooru paused. He hadn't expected that Vermouth, who was always shrouded in mystery within the organization, would be on the cruise ship, and even more so, that she would plant a time bomb.

Remembering Tsurumi Kawakami's words that the bomb was about to explode, Amuro Tooru felt anxious and wished he could sprout wings and rush over immediately.

"No matter what Vermouth does, Karasuma Renya cannot be let go. Even if she dies at sea, we must find her alive or dead." Otherwise, all the efforts of official forces from various countries to send people to infiltrate the Black Organization will be in vain.

Amuro Tooru turned to Morofushi Kagemitsu beside him and asked how long it would take them to arrive at their current speed.

After receiving a less-than-ideal reply, Amuro Tooru gritted his teeth and slammed his hand on the railing. He remained silent for two seconds before saying in a low voice to Tsurumi Ryu, "Could you take Karasuma Renya with you? We'll be there soon..."

Tsurumi Kawakami paused for a moment, scratched the back of his head and nodded, then realized that the other person couldn't see his movements while on the phone, so he gave a heavy "hmm".

After hanging up the phone, Tsurumi Kawakami only had time to briefly tell Shiho Miyano about her sister before hurriedly turning around and running outside: "You guys go first, I'll catch up later."

Shiho Miyano, wearing a life jacket vest, looked surprised. She watched his retreating figure as he ran away, unable to stop him in time. The captain beside her shouted several times in a panic.

"What...what should we do?" The captain hesitated and looked at Shiho Miyano.

The girl with short brown hair remained calm, paused for two seconds, and said, "Let's go first."

They had already wasted a few minutes, and the time bomb on the ship had been a threat from the beginning. She didn't dare gamble with the remaining time, so she finally listened to Tsurumi Kawa and left first.

Moreover, judging from the conversation between Tsurumi Kawakami and Bourbon just now, Bourbon is already on his way. She already knows Bourbon's true identity and that he is an undercover agent sent by the Japanese Public Security Bureau.

So, the Japanese Public Security Bureau will definitely not send just one person to capture Karasuma Renya this time. Now, Shiho Miyano can only pray that Bourbon has brought a lot of people and that there are enough medical supplies on the ship so that they can be treated in time if any accidents happen.

-

Tsurumi Kawakuri was running down the corridor when he passed a time bomb installed in a fire extinguisher cabinet. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and noticed that there was only one and a half minutes left on the countdown.

He quickened his pace and rushed to the second floor of the cruise ship, heading straight for Karasuma Renya's room.

He stopped when he saw two familiar bodyguards lying dead at the door, their fates unknown. He noticed the door wasn't closed properly and was ajar, from which he could hear Karasuma Renya arguing angrily with Vermouth.

Tsurumi Kawaru stepped over the bodyguard on the ground, gently pushed open the door, and the bright light in the room shone on his face, illuminating the face of the person who came in.

In an instant, the two who were arguing stopped talking and looked up at Tsurumi Kawakami with surprised expressions.

Tsurumi Kawaru stood at the doorway, blinking his golden eyes as he met their gaze. His clear eyes swept over Vermouth, who was looking at him with a cold and indifferent expression, and landed on Karasuma Renya behind the desk.

Tsurumi Nagaru felt he should still say hello, so he pointed at Karasuma Renya and said to Vermouth, "I'm taking him away."

Vermouth regained her face, but she was still wearing the captain's clothes, which looked rather out of place. She gave him a strange look and said sarcastically, "You're so kind."

Tsurumi Kawakami thought so too. He nodded, walked over to Karasuma Renya, grabbed his arm, and led him away.

It was too late to go back at this point. Tsurumi Kawa looked at the balcony of the room and pulled the person, trying to leave through the second-floor deck.

Vermouth, watching his actions, seemed to be thinking about something. With a slight smile, she stepped forward and said, "Boss, you probably don't know, but besides Gin and that good-for-nothing Vodka, Bourbon Ray and even the previous Scottish were all undercover agents in the organization."

Feeling that she had already been frightened enough today, Karasuma Renya's face darkened. Just as she was about to get angry, Tsurumi Kawa pulled her down to the first deck.

Crack—the fragile leg bones let out a groan, highlighting the deadly consequences of the action just now.

Karasuma Renya let out a painful howl, and Tsurumi Kawaru, startled, released his grip, his eyes wide, and blurted out, "I'm sorry."

Vermouth had just rolled off the deck when she heard his words and immediately burst into gloating laughter.

But soon, a loud crash came from inside the cruise ship, the deck shook, and people were thrown about, making things even worse for Karasuma Renya.

"It's exploded! Get out of here! I planted two bombs in the hold. The cruise ship is flooding and about to sink." Vermouth took off her coat and trousers, revealing a close-fitting wetsuit underneath.

Tsurumi Kawakami realized the problem and pulled Karasuma Renya out of the water and jumped into the sea.

Bang bang bang—

Flames filled the sky, and black smoke billowed into the heavens. The white cruise ship groaned in agony, its deck tilted, and a huge gash burst open at the stern, pouring seawater out. Like a balance scale with a heavy weight on one end, the cruise ship slowly but rapidly and violently sank into the sea.

After swimming a distance with the person, Tsurumi Kawakami breathed a slight sigh of relief. Karasuma Renya was exhausted and barely alive, looking utterly disheveled.

Not far away, Shiho Miyano spotted them and was directing the captain over. Tsurumi Nagare waved in that direction and was about to swim over when he suddenly heard a soft whooshing sound behind him.

He instinctively grabbed Karasuma Renya and slid down.

With a muffled thud, bright red blood gushed out, staining the surrounding seawater crimson. Tsurumi Kawa was unharmed; Vermouth's shot had struck Karasuma Renya in the back.

Are you alright?

Shiho Miyano arrived and became tense when she saw the blood on the sea. She was relieved when she saw that it was Renya Karasuma who was injured.

Tsurumi Kawakami shook his head and pushed the unconscious Karasuma Renya, who looked like a drowned rat, onto the lifeboat.

Shiho Miyano and the captain helped pull people onto the lifeboats. Just as they were about to pull Tsurumi River, the cruise ship suddenly exploded a second time. Some glass, wood chips, and sheet metal were instantly blown away by the giant waves. Everyone on the lifeboats instinctively lay down and covered their heads to avoid the explosion.

After the ringing in her ears subsided, Shiho Miyano shook her head, leaned over the edge of the lifeboat, and tried to pull Tsurumi Nagare up. However, she suddenly realized that the man was no longer on the surface of the sea, and her heart skipped a beat. Her face tightened, and she propped herself up, staring at the sea below.

"Tsurumi River Flow! Tsurumi River Flow! Suzuki Sake—!!"

...

So the person has disappeared.

"Find him! We must find him! Double the manpower, we must find him!"

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One more chapter and the main story will be finished. Then I'll go back to writing the Bungo Stray Dogs side stories.