Chapter 102 Everyone is here

Vermouth smiled.

A charming woman's smile is always particularly captivating, but the upturn of her lips at this moment carries a hint of something indescribable.

There was no sound inside the car; even the cool moonlight outside the window seemed to be choked by the deathly silence, and the atmosphere became subtle.

For a moment, Zhu Fujingguang almost thought he had made the wrong bet.

But Vermoto didn't do anything extra; he simply looked away from her.

At this moment, the car passed under the bridge, and Qiao Zhu's head flew past the shadow inside the car like piano keys, seemingly taking away the atmosphere that had just been frozen.

Morofushi Kagemitsu rubbed his fingers together and slowly let out a long sigh of relief. The pressure he felt during those few seconds of silence was far greater than that of Pisco and Gin.

The little alpaca then poked its head out, and the faint light emanating from its body seemed to tremble slightly.

[Anti-fraud expert #26: ...Does this count as passing the test?]

The other alpaca glanced at its ancestor, who was sitting quietly to the side.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #19: I think...right.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu subtly adjusted his posture, concluding that Vermouth had likely taken his words to heart. As for whether she would betray him…

He glanced at the man in the driver's seat through the rearview mirror. Vermouth wasn't afraid this man would reveal their conversation earlier that day, so... he was one of hers?

[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: Jing, there are some things we didn't want to say that might upset you, but since you've noticed, we still feel we should tell you.]

[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 11: This man was originally an observation target on the island, but due to a mishap during the experiment, the organization decided to transfer him.]

[Anti-Fraud Guru #19: That's what the report says, but now it seems Vermouth also played a significant role. And, based on her actions today, do you think she might…]

It's hard to say.

Someone like her, having been immersed in darkness for so long, has long since become one with it.

What she needs is a pure Knight of Light, not a Kamen Rider.

[Anti-fraud expert #26: ...To be honest, I really want to see you ask her: Do you believe in light?]

= =

[Anti-fraud expert #214: But the whisper she gave you did put our minds at ease.]

[Anti-fraud expert #198: Yes, the fact that you accumulated enough energy was quite abrupt. We were worried that this might be another unusual trap, but now we realize that Vermouth was the one who gave it a push behind the scenes.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes, no longer looking at Vermouth, but he was still very curious about the origin of this energy gift pack. How was she able to advance his energy progress bar?

The little alpaca also made a thinking motion.

[Anti-fraud expert #205: Rather than saying she pushed your progress bar forward, it's more accurate to say she presented you with crucial information. And because of her unique circumstances, fate doesn't seem to have hindered her much...]

While they were pondering the differences in Belmod, the car had already arrived at its destination.

It's another private estate.

Vermouth smiled and took Morofushi Kagemitsu's arm as they walked down the red carpet, embracing the Vanity Fair of the evening.

Morofushi Kagemitsu also got into the swing of things, matching faces to the guest list provided by Pisco in advance while showing off his ability to get along with everyone and become familiar with people.

As for negotiations, he wouldn't mention a word about it. He'd already made contact with these people, so he'd accomplished more than half the task. It was perfectly normal that he couldn't compete with those established capital groups in the end; even if that old man Miyamoto came, he couldn't be blamed.

After a round of drinks, Morofushi Kagemitsu had just taken a glass of low-alcohol champagne when an electronic alpaca slowly emerged from his glass.

Zhu Fujingguang: ...

Suddenly, I find it hard to bring myself to drink this glass of champagne.

The little alpaca was completely unaware that the faint light emanating from its body seemed to be a warning.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: This is serious, Jing. We just did a site scan of the manor, and guess what we found?]

Seeing that the Anti-Fraud King was still keeping him in suspense, Morofushi Kagemitsu thought it shouldn't be a big deal and even joked with him: "It can't be a bomb, can it?"

[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: No, that's not it. Even if there were a bomb, we wouldn't be this calm.]

So, what big surprise has the owner of this place hidden for us?

[Anti-Fraud Guru #19: This can't be blamed on the owner. To be precise, it was hidden by the organization.]

...

Morofushi Kagemitsu paused in his act of raising his glass, a bad premonition creeping into his heart. Countless past experiences and lessons had taught him that anything associated with the organization was never a good thing.

Tell me, what has this damned organization of ours done this time?

[Anti-Fraud Guru #148: They've hidden a sniper in the manor; looks like they're planning an assassination.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu habitually adjusted his position, glancing intentionally or unintentionally toward the places where snipers usually hid.

There's not a single day of peace.

[Anti-fraud expert #214: Actually, you don't need to be so nervous. The sniper who came this time is someone we know well.]

acquaintance?

Morofushi Kagemitsu turned his clever mind around, and then thought of the vague riddles Vermouth had said before he came, and began to guess the existence of this acquaintance.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: Yes, that's right, it's our FBI double agent, AKA Shuichi Akai!]

...Vermouth is right, it seems that everyone who was supposed to be here today has indeed arrived.

At this point, he even considered contacting Ethan Bentang to ask if he had also been assigned to the manor.

[Anti-fraud expert #11: No, he's still in Japan meeting with his daughter. Don't forget, in Vermouth's eyes, members with codenames are practically non-existent.]

Okay, now that Shuichi Akai is here, what's the FBI up to?

[Anti-fraud expert #198: Did you see that short-haired blonde woman at the corner of the second balcony on the second floor? That's Judy; she sneaked in too.]

Morobuchi Kagemitsu sensed that something was amiss.

He began to recall information about this agent; his first meeting with her was at the police station. Sometimes, not only Shuichi Akai was there, but Vermouth was too!

[Anti-fraud expert #66: Oh no, Vermouth has seen Jodie's face!]

Morofushi Kagemitsu also felt a chill, but at the same time, he also felt something was strange.

Even if the other FBI agents are slackers, Shuichi Akai knew that Vermouth was also at the police station that day. There was really no need to push a colleague who had already been exposed onto the organization's face... Or was this an order from the organization to Rye, this "undercover agent"?

Anti-fraud expert, are you able to contact Shuichi Akai right now?

[Anti-fraud expert #148: Of course. Should we tip him off?]

Just tell him Vermouth's location; he'll make his own judgment. It wouldn't be good if we unintentionally disrupted his plans.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #214: OK~]

A small alpaca split off from the wine glass and, like a dove, flitted off to deliver a message.

Although Morofushi Kagemitsu knew that it only had a visual effect and that the actual transmission speed was very fast, he still couldn't quite drink the champagne. He felt like he would get a mouthful of wool if he took a sip.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: How is that possible...!]

The little alpaca protested by changing its own wool and rubbing itself against Morofushi Kagemitsu's suit, pretending to get all its wool on him.

Zhu Fujingguang: ...

[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: Huh? Wait... there seems to be something extra in your inner pocket?!]

Hmm? Lining?

As Morofushi Kagemitsu continued adjusting his suit jacket, he touched the inner pocket and actually found something.

This is... a chip?

How could such a thing exist?!

Morofushi Kagemitsu was sweating profusely as he began to recall the people he had interacted with that day.

[Anti-fraud expert #205: Let me see.]

The alpaca didn't rush to explore; instead, it scanned the chip first to make sure there was nothing wrong before diving inside to investigate.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #198: This is the organization's ecological simulation program for that experimental farm!]

!!

So it really was Vermouth who put it there. She's the only person who could slip something into my inner pocket so quietly.

[Anti-fraud expert #66: Wow, this woman is worth two people. With her help, we can still trace the existence of the manor by tracking down this information.]

But according to Pisco, the estate has a long history, and even if we find the information accurately, many people and records from that time may no longer exist.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #205: This isn't difficult at all. With our current computing power, we can already simulate events from the past 50 years. Coincidentally, we're currently in the United States, so if there are any discrepancies, we can investigate on-site.]

[Anti-Fraud King #198: Moreover, because we found a lost document in the experimental manor, we unlocked the secret of our memory database. We might be able to piece together a reliable record of memories related to the organization's island…]

He also recalled the vague past that the anti-fraud expert had mentioned after he came to the United States, and had some guesses in his mind.

During the brief silence, a soft tapping sound awakened Morofushi Kagemitsu from his reverie.

“Da—da da—da.”

This code word... was something he and Akai Shu discussed when they were playing duo queue together.

He came to see me in person?

Morofushi Kagemitsu decided to meet him, since they were both good members of the organization and it wouldn't give them any reason to talk.

He glanced around, making a point of looking in Vermouth's direction, before quietly leaving the banquet hall and heading towards the clock tower, as was Shuichi Akai's usual habit.

At that height, that guy is probably leisurely smoking on the third floor.

When Morofushi Kagemitsu climbed to the third floor, the familiar smell of tobacco wafted in on the wind.

"Even after you got to America, are you still smoking this brand of cigarettes?" he asked the long-haired sniper who was leaning against the window, while quickly glancing at the objects inside the clock tower.

“I’m used to it.” Shuichi Akai said, his hands in his pockets, the sniper rifle lying right next to him.

Zhu Fujingguang understood: "It seems we won't hear any gunshots today."

Hideaki Akai nodded.

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling a few strands of his hair. Perhaps it was a similar scene the day he first aimed at his passenger seat.