Chapter 176
Although Bourbon was so angry that he told Usui Saiki to get out of the car, there was no point in offending him now that things had come to this, so he patiently drove him to the game store and then drove away without even saying goodbye.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Bourbon received a call from Vodka.
Vodka first thanked him for his selflessness: "Bottenis is gone? Thanks to you, the atmosphere is back to normal now. Do you want to come back for a drink? You can still make it."
Bourbon refused.
Even if he's not in the mood right now, just the fact that Kenji Hagiwara might still be there means he would never go back.
What if something is revealed in front of the organization members?
Vodka wasn't genuinely inviting Bourbon back. After offering a perfunctory greeting, he revealed his true purpose with a gossipy and curious tone: "What important thing did Botness tell you?"
Bourbon, who had calmed down a bit, suddenly became agitated again.
He said through gritted teeth, "You know about that news too."
Vodka: "What?"
"Ray is an FBI undercover agent."
"...Why is he still bringing this up? Just how much does he dislike Ray and Big Brother!"
While Boehmichi and Bourbon were only referring to Ray, Vodka went straight to Gin: "Do you think having Ray cut his hair would prevent Big Brother from being implicated again? Before, Potts insisted on linking Big Brother and Ray together because Ray resembled Big Brother. Ever since we didn't listen to him and let Ray join the organization, it seems like he dislikes Big Brother even more..."
Bourbon: "...You can give it a try."
Vodka's thought process has become quite toxic; it's all Usui Saiki's fault, after all.
Vodka was relieved: "I knew he wouldn't say anything useful. Luckily, I didn't fall for it. I didn't expect someone as smart as Bourbon to..."
Bourbon felt like he'd been shot in the knee.
Damn it, if he hadn't known that Alex was indeed an undercover agent, he would never have fallen for this trick...!
When Vodka heard Bourbon fall silent, he realized he might have touched a nerve, so he wisely changed the subject, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then hung up.
Although he was drinking, Vodka was actually quite busy. Gin needed to find a sniper for his mission in three days, and he also had to help his brother contact people.
Since the topic of Lai had come up, Vodka simply gave Lai a call.
Unlike Chianti, who was provoked by Usoppon Saiki and was clamoring for a vacation, Ray was a very straightforward person. When Vodka asked him if he was free since he had no work to do, he agreed.
"By the way," Vodka suggested, "why don't you think about getting a haircut?"
Lei: "...?"
This absurd suggestion made Ray pause for a moment, then he asked quite naturally, "What's wrong with Potness now?"
Anyway, if something is weird or out of character for the organization, there's an 80% chance you'll guess it's about Usui Saiki.
Vodka: "It's nothing, you're just saying you're from the FBI again."
"Where's the evidence?"
Vodka said in surprise, "After all this time, you still don't know that he has no evidence? He's just trying to mess with you."
Lei calmly shifted the blame: "He still hates Gin so much."
Over the years, Rae has relied on this one trick to make a living: he claims to be similar to Gin, and that Potts dislikes him, so he spreads rumors about him and smears Gin.
Vodka sighed: "You know that's good. Anyway, it's just a suggestion. Think about it yourself."
Lei: "...Hmm."
That definitely can't be cut. If it is, how can Gin be used as a shield for him?
After hanging up the phone, Lei thought about where he had offended Usaku Saiki recently.
We haven't seen each other for so long... Is it because I didn't send him a New Year's greeting email?
Or is this actually an extension of the previous incident?
Thinking about what happened during their last meeting made Rae a little uneasy.
The last time we met was last year. He, Bourbon, and Scotland were on a mission when Bordenis suddenly got bored and said he wanted to come too. Up to this point, everything was fine.
Unexpectedly, his sister Sera Masumi recognized him on the street and followed him all the way, even after changing trains several times.
He had already met up with Scotland, and Bourbon and Botness would be coming soon. He felt it would be very troublesome, so he hurriedly bought tickets so his sister could take the bus back.
He only spent ten minutes buying the ticket and going back and forth, but when he returned, the situation had already become quite bad.
The Scottish bass had been taken out, apparently used to soothe the child... but there were still sniper rifle parts in the bass bag, just left there, and I wonder if my sister noticed anything was wrong.
What's even more troublesome is that Bourbon has started trying to trick people into revealing information.
"Hmm? This child is looking for his older brother? What's his brother's name?"
Lei quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Alright, this child has mistaken someone for someone else... Quickly tell this child to leave, we have important business to attend to."
It was at this moment that Potts arrived late.
"What's going on? Your sister came to our door?" Potts asked with a smile. "Why are you kicking her out so soon? It's not easy to meet, why not chat a bit before she leaves?"
Rye immediately felt an alarm go off in his brain.
Neither Scotland nor Bourbon realized that Sera Masumi was a girl, and Potts wasn't here either. How could he know so much as soon as he arrived...?
By the way, it's said that this guy has a knack for judging people... but because he's been pointing out undercover agents everywhere, Ray still can't figure out exactly how good his judgment is.
But while he could relax before, after seeing his family, Lei became more wary, even suspecting that Sera Masumi's coincidental encounter with him today might also be a setup.
To appease the child, Potts even took off his bracelet and gave it to Sera Masumi: "Okay, here's a gift for you. Let's go home, I'll take you home."
Lei felt like his head was about to explode: "No need, let her take the car by herself."
Could there be something inappropriate inside that bracelet?
But I've seen Potts wear this bracelet before, so it must be for his own use. Would anyone put a tracking device or listening device in their personal jewelry?
It's one thing for others, but with Potts, he really wasn't sure about the answer.
Sera Masumi was still a child, and with so many people watching, he couldn't say anything. Potts even volunteered to take Sera Masumi home, as if he was monitoring her to see if she was doing anything in private. This made him even more suspicious that there might be something wrong with the bracelet.
Sigh, he could only hope that his mother hadn't lost the vigilance she had when she was a secret agent, and that after discovering that Zhenchun had brought home something extra, and after hearing what had just happened, she would have checked the bracelet more carefully.
During subsequent missions, Potts, who didn't go to see the child off, would occasionally say things like, "Is that really not your sister?", "She looks really sad," or "She's a middle school student, she shouldn't be mistaken for someone else," which annoyed him.
Bourbon, unusually sarcastic, chimed in, "If she's your sister, just admit it. What else can we do to your sister?"
"Ugh, don't even mention it. He doesn't acknowledge this sister, he doesn't acknowledge any of his other sisters either." Potts started talking nonsense. "That's why I said he's like an FBI agent, what a jerk."
From that day on, Lei had been prepared for his identity to be exposed, but to this day, the organization still trusts him. Usui Saiki didn't say anything—specifically, he didn't seem to mention meeting Sera Masumi to anyone else.
If he had spoken up in time, the organization could have investigated further and perhaps found something. But after all this time, Bo Yezaki is still just going on and on, only saying that he's an FBI agent...
Why didn't they take advantage of such a good opportunity? If it weren't for their differing stances, even he would be anxious! If the FBI produced someone like this, they would fire him on the spot!
After hanging up the phone with Vodka, Lei couldn't help but facepalm.
It's truly unexpected that the biggest problem for the undercover organization isn't anything else, but rather trying to figure out what a seemingly mentally ill person is thinking.
Sigh, no one will understand his feelings at all, given this bizarre undercover experience...
When Bo Yezaki sat at the gathering for ten minutes, everyone's smiles shifted to his face, and even Lai, who wasn't there, was inexplicably implicated and persecuted.
He bought the game with a great deal of money and played it with great enthusiasm, completely disregarding the lives of others.
Perhaps because of this incident, after that, no organization members would ever again stop him on the street and invite him to parties. If he wanted to have fun, he had to actively seek out people.
However, Bo Yezaki wasn't always in the mood to make that special trip just to raise a little bit of suspicion, so everyone in the organization remained safe and sound for a long time.
No one asked where Potts had gone; everyone tacitly ignored the question.
Usakabe Saiki is happy to be an office worker who doesn't need to work overtime, and plays games every day after get off work.
After organizing several social events, Kenji Hagiwara finally felt tired.
"I need to relax too... Little Fukami, do you want to go skiing?"
Bo Yezaki had no objection: "Where to?"
"Yamagata Prefecture, Zao Onsen Ski Resort—I've wanted to go there for a long time. I'll ask Jinpei if he's free."
Unfortunately, the duty roster for the Explosives Handling Unit is different from that of the First Investigation Division, so Matsuda Jinpei couldn't go with them this time.
"I'm not going," Matsuda Jinpei complained, unable to get leave. "I feel like we'll always run into cases when we go on trips with you guys, so I'll stay and work instead."
So in the end, Kenji Hagiwara and Saiki Usuba went to the ski resort.
I specifically chose a day when I thought there wouldn't be many people, but when I went there it was still incredibly crowded.
Many students, in particular, heard on the radio that two junior high schools had organized students to go skiing.
Kenji Hagiwara complained, "Not only that, I saw there's another film crew over there, it seems they're going to film here. Some fans found out about the schedule and came along... I should have changed the date."
Usoya Saiki: "No need to change it, it's fine as it is."
—Kenji Hagiwara perfectly chose the day when Heiji Hattori and Shinichi Kudo came to the ski resort. No wonder he's one of the main characters in the Police Academy arc! What incredible luck!
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Extra chapter tonight
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The ski resort incident, the first case in which Shinichi and Heiji clashed, I wonder if everyone still remembers it.
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Akai: No one can understand how difficult it is for me to be an undercover agent; the experience of my predecessors is not applicable...
Zero and Jingguang: We understand!
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Bo Ye: He doesn't acknowledge any of his other sisters either.
Akai: Talking nonsense again.
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