Listening and Trading

As dusk settles, the city lights begin to twinkle.

The dazzling neon lights flashed past the windows of the black Porsche.

In the passenger seat, Gin, dressed in a black overcoat, took a listening earpiece from his pocket. Vodka, who was driving, quickly turned off the car stereo, a shrewd glint flashing in his small eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

Gin leaned back in his chair with an air of nonchalance, a lit cigarette between his fingers, listening expressionlessly to the sounds coming from the other end of the listening device.

"Sizzle—buzz—" Gin frowned deeply and removed the listening earpiece.

Vodka noticed Gin's movement, turned his head, and asked, "Big Brother?"

Gin took a drag of his cigarette, frowned, and thought for a couple of seconds before asking, "Are you sure you put the listening device in that bag?"

Vodka's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said, "I'm sure, brother, I put the listening device in the sole of the shoe in my bag."

Gin paused, then turned his head and said coldly, "The sole of the shoe."

Vodka nodded repeatedly and explained, "I was afraid it would fall out if I put it anywhere else, and luckily the soles of those shoes were inflatable, so I put the listening device inside."

Gin sneered and casually tossed the listening earpiece into the storage box in the car door: "Go back and practice on the target fifty times."

Vodka's skin tightened, and he immediately realized that he had done something wrong with good intentions. He dared not refuse or show any unwillingness, and could only quickly accept the punishment.

Gin looked away with a hint of disdain, pondered for a few seconds, and said, "He was lucky this time. In a few days, find an excuse to test him. Remember, this time you must watch over him personally."

Vodka nodded repeatedly, secretly relieved.

-

Inside the bright, steamy room, the aroma of instant noodles became incredibly enticing.

Tsurumi Kawaru sat at the dining table, slurping noodles, while glancing up at Amuro Tooru with a puzzled look. Amuro was checking the backpack he had brought back.

“That bag was given to me by Gin to pretend to be a salesman. Inside was a pair of shoes to demonstrate how good the cleaning agent was and a few dirty clothes.”

Amuro Tooru emptied everything out of his backpack, checked his clothes and put them aside. He picked up a pair of shoes from the ground and examined them carefully. Suddenly, his gaze stopped and fell on the soles of the shoes.

Amuro Tooru rubbed the water stains next to the heel of his shoe, then his gaze fell on the bottle of cleaning agent on the ground that was missing its cap. He picked it up, sprayed some on his hand for comparison, and found that the texture and scent were exactly the same as the one on the heel of his shoe.

After putting down the cleaning solution, Amuro Tooru looked at the little gadget that had appeared in the inflatable cushion of the shoe's heel, glanced up at Tsurumi Kawaru, and gestured for him to be quiet. Then, he used the fruit knife on the coffee table to pry open the heel.

Snap—

The tiny listening device, resembling a round battery, lay upside down on the table.

Amuro Tooru's eyes narrowed. He picked up the listening device, stomped it under his feet and ground it several times, then picked it up and put it in the glass of water he had just drunk from on the coffee table.

Tsurumi Kawakami walked over carrying a bowl of instant noodles, glanced curiously at the small thing soaking in the water in the cup, and silently asked Amuro Tooru, "Is it still useful?"

Amuro Tooru swirled his glass, shook his head, and said, "You can speak now."

Tsurumi Kawaru swallowed the noodles in his mouth with his cheeks puffed out, his gaze sweeping over the shoes before belatedly realizing: "Gin is listening to me."

Amuro Tooru nodded solemnly: "I'm afraid he's already suspicious. Rum was just held accountable, and you're the person Rum pushed to him. Someone as suspicious as him will test you a lot in the future."

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked, looking innocent, and said, "But I don't know anything about it, whether it's rum or anything else."

Amuro Tooru shook his head, looking at him with a firm gaze, and said, "But Gin won't believe it. He will only believe those who have been screened using his methods."

Tsurumi River thought about Gin's character and realized that he really was that kind of person. Even Vodka, who was by Gin's side, boasted that he had been tested many times before being taken in by Gin.

"Then what should I do? I'll pretend I don't know anything," Tsurumi said somewhat awkwardly. "Pretend you didn't find the listening device, and if you ask, pretend you don't know anything."

He said this while staring at the listening device in the cup, looking somewhat troubled.

Amuro Tooru nodded: "Okay, just pretend you don't know anything. As long as Gin doesn't have any concrete information to prove you're the problem, he won't keep his eyes on you for long."

Hearing Amuro Tooru say that, Tsurumi Kawakami breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his instant noodles to take a comforting sip of soup.

After ending the topic and exchanging information about recent events, Amuro Tooru left Tsurumi Kawakami's residence with the listening device.

-

After resting for two days, Tsurumi Kawakami received another mission message from Vodka that evening.

Looking at the brief task information above, he cheered himself up, changed his shoes, and went downstairs.

Downstairs, the black Porsche was still parked in the shadows. Tsurumi Kawa jogged over, opened the back door, and got in. After settling in, he greeted Gin and Vodka inside the car.

The car started and moved forward smoothly.

Vodka glanced in the rearview mirror and said jokingly, "You didn't throw away the backpack your brother gave you that day, did you? Maybe you'll need it sometime."

Tsurumi Kawakami, who was fiddling with the seatbelt buckle, paused, looked up awkwardly, and stammered, "Ah, that bag..."

Upon seeing this, Vodka paused for a second: "You lost it."

Tsurumi Sho scratched the back of his head and said embarrassedly, "I didn't lose my backpack. It's just that I accidentally fell a few times when I was fighting with Kawai Jiro that night. A bottle of cleaning solution inside broke, and everything inside got wet. The shoes can still be used after wiping them, and I used the clothes to wipe the floor."

Vodka chuckled dryly twice, looked away from the rearview mirror, and focused on driving.

Gin snorted and took over the conversation, bringing up tonight's mission.

The black Porsche finally stopped in a back alley of the bar street. Tsurumi Kawakuri had never been to a bar before. After getting out of the car, he stood at the entrance of the alley and looked inside a few times.

"Hey Gin, aren't you coming in with us?" Vodka walked in, turned his head and looked back. Gin was sitting in the passenger seat and showed no sign of getting out.

Vodka, carrying a black briefcase, adjusted his hat and handed the briefcase to Tsurumi Kawa.

“Big brother isn’t going, it’s just the two of us this time.” Vodka, with his honest face but muscular build, grinned.

Tsurumi Kawaru said "Oh" without asking any further questions, and followed Vodka into a bar called Cocktail at the end of the alley, carrying a black briefcase.

They entered through the back door and were immediately confronted by seven or eight burly thugs. The man in charge was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, and his two exposed arms were covered with strange tattoos.

"Our boss is on the basement level." The man glanced at the two men very discreetly, then led them through a maze of turns to a small door.

Opening the iron gate reveals a narrow staircase leading directly underground. The walls on either side are painted with strange and unusual patterns that, under the colorful lights, resemble menacing beasts.

Tsurumi Kawa looked around curiously, but quickly had to look away and focus his attention on his feet.

As they walked further down the street, the noise and energetic music from the bar faded away. A strange chill lingered in the air, and Tsurumi Kawaru rubbed his arms, muttering something under his breath.

When they finally arrived at their destination, the man in charge led them to a tea room for receiving guests.

The interior is elegantly decorated; if you hadn't walked in, you would never have guessed that the outside is a bar.

"Is everything ready?" Vodka asked bluntly.

Tsurumi Kawaru sat next to the vodka, holding a black briefcase, somewhat surprised that the bar owner was a woman.

The woman sitting opposite me, brewing tea, was probably around thirty years old. She wore a modified black cheongsam, paired with long, wavy hair and red lips. Her face looked exceptionally charming and alluring, and every move she made exuded the aura of a mature woman.

"Jūjō, bring the things in." The woman chuckled and clapped her hands, signaling the man guarding the door to come in.

She poured two cups of tea and pushed them in front of the two of them, then, with a shift in her expression, asked, "Didn't Gin come?"

Vodka didn't respond, and the woman didn't seem to care. She picked up her tea, took a sip, and then fixed her gaze on Tsurumi Kawa.

"Little brother, try some of my newly brewed tea," the woman said with a charming smile, her red lips curving upwards.

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked and turned to look at Vodka, who was examining the file folder that Jujiro had brought in.

After Vodka checked it and confirmed that there were no problems, he said to Tsurumi Kawa, "Give him the bag."

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded and handed the briefcase to Jujiro, who was standing behind the woman. Jujiro didn't open it, but just weighed it in his hand before stepping back behind the woman.

The transaction was complete. Vodka stood up immediately without lingering. The woman seemed unconcerned that they hadn't had tea, only saying it was a pity, and then beckoned for someone to take them away.

As you come up from underground and pass through the iron gate, the noise of the bar and the loud dance music fill your ears again.

Tsurumi Kagawa craned his neck to look in that direction, but Vodka patted him on the shoulder. He turned around and reluctantly followed him out of the bar through another door.

"Aren't we going back?" he asked Vodka in a low voice, glancing at the unfamiliar street in front of him.

Vodka shook his head and led him through a maze of turns for about ten minutes until they arrived at an underground parking lot.

"We'll see how things go later. Once the transaction is complete, we'll take our things and leave."

Vodka led Tsurumi Kawa to a corner where he could see clearly, turned around and gave an instruction, then began to wait quietly.

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded and looked around. The dimly lit parking lot was very quiet, and a cold wind, seemingly from nowhere, whistled against his neck.

After waiting for a few minutes, the sound of a car driving in came from the entrance of the parking lot. Tsurumi Kawaru looked up at Vodka and saw him standing a little further in with his briefcase, so he followed him in.

Soon a black Audi drove in, its bright, almost blinding headlights illuminating the parking lot.

"Hmph, they always make a big fuss about it."

Tsurumi Kawakami raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light and heard Vodka mutter under his breath, sounding slightly dissatisfied.

The car lights flashed three times before going dark. The car door opened, and three men got out. The tall, thin man in the lead carried a silver case, glanced around, and then walked over.

"Everything's here." Vodka handed over the briefcase.

The tall, thin man waved his hand, and the person behind him stepped forward, took the bag, opened it, and checked it. After confirming everything was alright, he handed over the silver case.

Vodka gave Tsurumi Nagaru a wink, and he stepped forward to take the box. The silver box was heavier than he had imagined, and he wondered what was inside.

Having obtained the goods, Vodka nodded to the tall, thin man and prepared to leave with Tsurumi Kawa.

"Wait a moment--"

The tall, thin man called out to them, but before he could finish speaking, a gunshot suddenly interrupted him.