Chapter 479
Although Potts seemed to be mainly targeting Rum, Curaçao was actually more nervous than Rum.
Who could blame them when it came to identifying spies, undercover agents, and traitors? Before being brought back by the organization, Curaçao had no idea that Potenes had also been involved in this mission!
As soon as he was picked up by the helicopter, he heard the news that Potts was involved, and Curaçao's heart almost stopped beating.
Although she didn't reveal the organization's information to outsiders, and was only slightly shaken, she realized after regaining her memories that the little girl with chestnut hair looked exactly like Sherry when she was a child.
If she tells the organization about this, that she has accomplished something even Gin couldn't, she will surely receive an unprecedented reward.
However... the way Sherry kindly tried to help her before she knew she was a member of the organization, and the memory of the children around Sherry happily pulling her to play together, made her feel confused.
As Rum's right-hand man, Curaçao wasn't initially given important responsibilities. In fact, she had access to classified information and almost got killed, but Rum saved her because of her photographic memory, which was like that of a supercomputer... Even so, she had to undergo a brainwashing process to gain his trust.
So, in reality, Curaçao didn't feel any sense of belonging to the organization. She clearly understood that she was still alive only because she was useful to the organization. In this case, asking her to remain loyal to the organization was only because she didn't want to die.
She has very few memories of the past. All she can recall is working hard for the organization to survive. To this day, those children stay with her, as if to make up for her lost memories, lost childhood, and lost happiness, playing with her in the aquarium.
It was only a short half-day, but the happiness and satisfaction that Curaçao gained from it outweighed all the positive emotions she felt after regaining her memories.
Curaçao responded to Gin's simple question with a blank expression, assuring him that he had "just regained his memories and had not leaked any information to the outside world," while secretly resolving to conceal Sherry's existence from the organization.
To be honest, Shirley's experience wasn't much better than hers. She didn't have any feelings for Shirley before, and when she heard that Shirley had been killed in the explosion, she just sighed. But now, Shirley, who has escaped the organization's pursuit and is playing with children, is like someone who has another choice.
Curaçao felt that it wasn't unreasonable for her to give her own life in exchange for Sherry being able to continue evading the organization's pursuit—her feelings for Sherry were still very faint, but she had placed some meanings on her that she shouldn't have, which was why she chose to do this.
After all, if Shirley died, those children would be very sad...
So here's the question.
After so many years of training, she was quite confident in facing Gin and Rum's interrogation. What made her uneasy was Potniss, whom she had never met but had heard a lot of terrifying rumors about!
Even Rum, who was always dissatisfied with Potts, was in a state of doubt about Potts' ability to judge people, yet he also felt that he couldn't completely distrust him. Curaçao was even more uneasy, worried that his choice had actually been in vain.
What if not only do we fail to hide it from the organization, but we also end up getting ourselves killed... Is this risk really worth it?
After Gin's questioning came to an end, Curaçao said wearily, "I've just regained my memory and I have a headache right now. I'll rest for a bit. If there are any problems, Rum will be in charge of interrogating me."
Vodka sighed. "Maybe it's Potts? I even introduced Potts to you before, but Rum stopped me. Otherwise, he might have thought of you as an undercover spy or something. But it's not too late now..."
Curaçao: "...I was personally trained by Rum. Are you questioning Rum?"
Who is this Vodka?! How could he shift the blame like that to her face?!
Vodka actually just wanted more people to be identified as undercover agents, so that he could speak well of Gin.
Chianti was quite happy to kick anyone he didn't like when they were down, like Rum: "Rum seems to have a lot of problems, and who knows what kind of people he's mentoring."
Cohen couldn't help but fall silent.
If Usakabe Saiki likes to set fires, then Chianti is the kind of person who would replace the water in a fire truck with oil at a fire scene.
Gin seemed to realize the problem as well. With Botnis alone, things were already chaotic enough. To avoid making things even more chaotic during the meeting, he decisively kept Chianti and Colon outside the meeting room and told them to stay in the lounge.
Although it seems like Potts is targeting Rum this time, Gin, based on his years of bad luck, believes that if there's an opportunity to take a jab at him, Potts wouldn't hesitate to do so. Therefore, the fewer helpers Potts has, the better.
Like Boss, Potts uses a video conference, and it's one-way; only they can see the base's conference room, while those on the other side of the conference room can't see them.
Actually, during the previous meeting, this distinction made Gin feel uncomfortable, as if the Boss and Potts were in cahoots.
However, Rum also participated in the video conference this time, so the feeling that only Boss and Potts were on the same side was much less pronounced.
Gin gave a mission report first, Rum shared his findings from the investigation so far, and finally Curaçao recounted in detail what she had experienced since her infiltration the previous night.
Before the boss could speak, Potts asked first.
"The intelligence was given to you by Rum, wasn't it?"
Rum asked instinctively, "What are you trying to say?"
"What are you afraid of now?" Pottnis asked, feigning surprise. "I'm asking Curaçao."
Rum's tone was harsh: "Potnis..."
The boss's electronic synthesized voice rang out: "Rum, be quiet."
Rum: "..."
What kind of spell did Potnis cast on the Boss?!
After the brief argument, Curaçao calmly replied, "Yes, Rum told me."
"Well, does Rum have anything to say?"
Rum couldn't believe that Potts had given him a chance to defend himself so quickly.
"...It's genuine intelligence. My CIA informant confirmed it with me. The list of undercover agents infiltrating Japan has been exchanged with the Japanese Public Security Bureau, but because he's not in charge of that area, he doesn't know who the undercover agents are," Rum insisted. "The CIA's statement corroborates the intelligence from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. My decision was rational and correct!"
Rum knew very well that what he needed to defend most was that he had not betrayed the organization and that he was not senile. Otherwise, as a member of the intelligence team, to have such a gullible habit was no different from telling the boss directly, "Let me retire."
To Rum's surprise, Potts didn't argue with him about it and readily accepted his explanation.
“That’s true. Rum certainly wouldn’t make a mistake on such a basic question, otherwise it would be too obvious. The reason I said that last time was because I suddenly received the news and didn’t have enough time to think, so I accidentally misunderstood.”
Rum: "...?"
So...so understanding!
I have a bad feeling about this; is there something else they're planning?
Gin: "…………"
Gin thought coldly, "Could it be that in the end it was all his fault after all?"
Is rum just the "introduction" in the "introduction, development, transition, and conclusion" structure?
“Given that we already know this, verifying Rum’s statement shouldn’t be difficult, so I believe Rum isn’t lying about this,” Potts said. “But… the list we received is indeed fake, isn’t it?”
Rum replied reluctantly, "That's how it seems for now. Apart from those who are already dead, there's nothing suspicious about the people on the list that Curaçao has.
"I've said it before: one or two undercover agents acting well might fool you, but so many people are all undercover agents. If they can all fool your investigation, unless they are innocent, your intelligence team can be disbanded."
With the Boss's tacit approval, Potts continued to lead the meeting, "Is it possible that the intelligence was leaked this time, so the Public Security Bureau deliberately created a fake list? After all, there's nothing wrong with Curaçao's process of hacking into the intelligence database. She has already broken through several layers of disguise and entered the deepest real database, but she still got a fake list... If she had prepared in advance, it would explain everything."
Rum: "...Only Curaçao and I knew about this operation."
“Hmm, Curaçao is highly suspicious.” Potts’ tone suddenly became enthusiastic. “What I heard from you just now was how smoothly the operation to bring Curaçao back from the Japanese Public Security Bureau went, without even needing to use the initial plan of breaking off the Ferris wheel gondola and taking her away. It’s really surprising, because based on my experience with Gin’s previous operations, such a large-scale operation would always have some kind of accident at this point… But Curaçao just came back with amnesia and then regained her memory, which is extremely suspicious—so I’m even more suspicious of Rum being involved.”
Rum: "???"
Are you out of your mind?! Have you forgotten all logic?!
Vodka suddenly murmured, "Chianti had the same suspicion, saying that Curaçao might have been a pawn thrown out by Rum to divert attention..."
Rum: "???"
“Because as long as someone is more suspicious than Rum, Rum’s suspicion can be reduced… So I’m not the only one who thinks this way?” Potts said excitedly. “I was worried that I was overthinking things, but it turns out that great minds think alike. Chianti can be quite clever sometimes.”
Gin suddenly snorted, setting aside his past grievances against Potts, and offered a weak consolation: "Indeed, Curaçao is far too suspicious. If she really wanted to avoid suspicion, she would have had a better way."
Rum laughed in exasperation: "If being overly suspicious can reduce suspicion, then I'm suspicious too! All the people still alive on the list have had conflicts with me or have some dissatisfaction with me. If I really wanted to eliminate dissidents, I would never have done it so obviously, right?"
Everyone: "…………"
In the ensuing silence, Potts declared firmly, "Rum! Is this the excuse you've been preparing for all along?!"
Rum: "...?!?!?!?!"
What's wrong? Curaçao can use this reason, but he can't?!
That Potts kid is so biased!!!
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Updated at 12 PM today!
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Curaçao will be a member of Thin Leaf from now on! We're really getting more and more people in the organization (?)
This chapter will discuss her emotional journey, so that her decision to seek refuge with Bo Ye doesn't seem too abrupt.
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Gin's Self-Awareness: The Odds of Gin
Gin was a little uneasy about not being dragged into this.
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