Chapter 27 Even the landlord's family had no surplus grain...

Morofushi Kagemitsu had no idea what his two close friends from the same period were planning to do in secret.

After he emerged unharmed from the Metropolitan Police Department, he planned to find a hotel to stay in and then work with the Anti-Fraud 233 Legion to analyze the old foxes on the list. Unexpectedly, he was called away by a text message from Gin as soon as he entered the hotel.

Is this another group mission? How can the organization still afford to burn through this much money? Looks like he's not working hard enough!

His thinking stemmed entirely from his acute understanding of the organization's current financial situation and the prideful, self-serving finance department members. Even Melo had been subtly hinting to him these past two days that he should quickly seek investment and raise funds, indicating that the organization likely lacked the financial resources for a large-scale raid.

So, if they weren't planning anything major, why would Gin, the head of the action group, contact him? It's only been a few days, and the action group, which is usually flush with cash, is already short of money? That shouldn't be the case; these consequences should only appear gradually. Besides, an organization's financial difficulties aren't exactly gossip to be publicized; they're usually kept secret.

Puzzled, he quietly arrived at one of Melo's shooting clubs.

I heard that when this place was built, to save trouble, apart from the logo, the decoration style and management model were all modeled after the most famous shooting club in Tokyo. After it officially opened, thanks to its excellent staged accidents, this club became very successful. It not only covered all the expenses of its members practicing here, but also won awards in the annual performance evaluation every year.

This made him always want to ask the owner of that legitimate club in the United States for more in-depth business strategies when he was exchanging contact information with him.

Morofushi Kagemitsu shook his head, skillfully swiped his membership card, and took the organization's private elevator down to the third basement level. There, next to the shooting range, there was a specially set up bar and lounge area where codenamed members would occasionally come to sit.

He had just reached the bar entrance when he heard Chianti's angry roar coming from inside:

"Don't let me find out which bastard did this!"

Huh? What's going on?

"They even used up their reserve funds! I was waiting to buy that support frame to try it out!"

Realizing he had been verbally abused, Morofushi Kagemitsu acted as if nothing had happened, calmly walking past Chianti and finding a seat that wouldn't stand out or be forgotten.

As soon as he sat down, Melo pushed a glass of Scotch whisky in front of him, while holding a glass of lemonade himself, and said in a low voice, "Tell me, if I told everyone right now that the BOSS only agreed to move the action team's reserve funds because of your suggestion, would you still be able to walk out of here unscathed today?"

These words were utterly malicious and gloating.

However, Morofushi Hiromitsu remained unperturbed. His own suggestion was one thing; the one who had supported his proposal at the meeting and strongly persuaded the elite accountants was this very man, Mello. If they were to be retaliated against, they would die together!

"Even if you're going to spend money, there should be a limit. You've squandered all the commissions I give you after each successful mission?"

The person who answered Chianti's question was Calvados. This was Morofushi Hiromitsu's first time meeting him, but he had heard that Calvados was a sycophant of Vermouth, and sometimes, if he knew anything about Vermouth's missions, Calvados would eagerly approach her. This saved the finance team a commission, which they were happy to accept.

"You're making fun of me?" Chianti immediately retorted, "I've heard that the stocks you bought recently have plummeted so much you could fish for deep-sea fish! My money could at least buy some equipment, but you're just stupidly throwing it into a bottomless pit in the stock market!"

Ah, so you're stuck with losses in the stock market.

Calvados, a humble stock investor, felt stung and jumped up to retaliate, his emotions running high, and he even threw in a few American swear words.

Morofushi Hiromitsu overheard their argument and noticed that Vodka and Cohen were nodding in agreement with Calvados's point of view, and even Gin didn't stop the two from arguing.

He looked at Melo thoughtfully. He remembered seeing the stock trading software in her office after that incredibly embarrassing codename awards ceremony.

Melo tilted his head innocently and said, "Why are you looking at me? I already told them when I recommended the stocks that if they didn't make money, they can't blame me. The stock market is risky, and investment requires caution!"

...This woman is still sitting here perfectly fine. Morofushi Kagemitsu had never admired her as much as he did now.

Perhaps it was the wave he created in the United States that reminded everyone present of the storms they encountered while sailing in the stock market. The others, like Tequila and a few others who didn't say anything, didn't look at him and Melo with friendly eyes.

Zhu Fujingguang felt he was wronged.

The two guys arguing in the background had no idea that the real culprit was actually the cat watching the show from the sidelines, and they'd opened up a new battlefield:

"Except for that cunning guy, Ray, who got a back door, everyone else is the same!"

Calvados thought of Ray's girlfriend, who was interning at the stock exchange. He had persuaded Ray to trade stocks with him, but she stopped him at the last step of the transaction, preventing him from sharing the joys and sorrows with everyone else.

It's no wonder they can't feel at peace knowing that none of their colleagues have lost money, while they themselves are on the verge of ruin.

Chianti didn't care about these messy accounts and continued her indiscriminate attack: "Stop talking about everyone, everyone, I'm not as stupid as you guys!"

Calvados reiterated the words he used to persuade Ray to invest, trying to save face: "This is a long-term investment; how can we give up just because of a temporary downturn?!"

Unfortunately, Chianti was also there and recognized the quote immediately, but he couldn't figure out who said it and only vaguely remembered a 'Ray,' so the blame was simply placed on him.

Without even thinking, he blurted out, "Why are you just like Ray?"

"Tsk, who are you calling a 'like'?!" Calvados thought she was mocking him for deserting his post and shirking responsibility, which made him even more annoyed.

“You.” Chianti chose to believe her own memory.

You look like it!

You look like it!

"You're the one who looks like it!"

You're more like it!

You're the most like it!

Ray, who had been silently standing in the corner: ...

Meanwhile, Morofushi Kagemitsu was wondering, who is Rai?

He had never seen a codename member with such a good temper. His codename was being attacked like an insult, yet he hadn't gotten angry yet.

He silently searched the room, his gaze landing on Dai Moroboshi in the corner.

Could it be him?

Melo, standing nearby, timely offered some clarification, muttering with considerable displeasure, "Ah, him... he's Rai, Moroboshi Dai. He was on a mission in the US with you guys. After returning home, that guy kept tagging along with Gin on missions, and somehow got the same codename too. I bet it's because he hooked up with the researcher's sister... humph!"

Let's tone it down, Merlot. Even lemon juice isn't as sour as your words.

Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled and shook his head, then casually picked up the Scotch glass in front of him.

I never expected that Dai Moroboshi's codename would also be Whisky. Now that so many people have gotten codenames, it feels like this whole series of spirits has suddenly become worthless.

“Remember that legendary intelligence agent? His codename was the same as yours, also called Whisky, Bourbon.” Melo continued introducing the newcomer. After all, Scotland was on their side, and they couldn’t let the finance team look bad. “But he’s not in Japan right now. Rum sent him to England on a mission. You should pay more attention to this Bourbon than to Ray.”

No, both of them deserve attention.

Morofushi Kagemitsu did not stray from the right path and stuck to his own judgment and subsequent course of action.

Melo had never worked with Ray before and didn't know how terrifying he was. She thought this batch of whiskey was just a result of the BOSS spreading favors evenly to balance the power struggles within the organization. But anyone who knew Ray's execution capabilities would understand that Ray was definitely not the kind of sniper who only knew how to shoot.

And his girlfriend, Akemi Miyano, is directly linked to Shiho Miyano, a researcher under the organization's tight surveillance. Did he really not know about his girlfriend's background?

However, he has already made contact with this person, and can work on building a good relationship with him to extract information while slowly figuring out his weaknesses and figuring out these mysteries.

As for Bourbon, I haven't met him yet and don't know much about him. However, Melo just said that Bourbon went to England. He must have taken a large sum of money from the organization's accounts. If there are any more funds coming in next time, it might be better to pin the blame on him, which would reduce the pressure on the finance team.

He whispered his plan to shift the blame to Melo, and she immediately supported him.

Very good, pit organization member (1/1).

Today's merit +1

A note from the author:

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Bourbon: Which bastard put my expense report on my tab?!