Chapter 171: Bird of Prey I will bring Hagiwara-kun back. ...
Chaomu left with brisk steps.
No imprisonment, no leaks, no deaths - it was not exactly the same as what the two undercover agents, who had seen many consequences of revealing their identities in the Black Organization, had initially imagined, but at least it had nothing to do with it.
The instigator had the look of an elementary school student who said, "Are you scared? I'm so awesome!" After dropping a bombshell, she turned around and walked away as if nothing had happened... and by the way, she packed up all the fruit plates, melon seeds, and drinks in the private room. God knows how much her bag can actually hold.
While packing, Furuya Ling heard her mumbling that Hagiwara seemed to like this kind of wine and Matsuda liked to eat this. As she was muttering, she started to list the dishes and figure out which restaurant to go to for dinner or supper.
...When you think about it carefully, it makes sense. She was indeed staying at Hagiwara's house during this period, so the person she made an appointment with in the evening was...tsk.
After she left happily, only dead silence remained in the soundproofed VIP room.
Furuya Rei stared at the closed door in a daze for a while, and finally squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...So what on earth was that idiot thinking...Is it really because he was deceived by you, Hiro, and he's so angry that he wants revenge?"
Judging from the change in Asami's attitude towards Hiro, she obviously didn't know about the relationship between Hagiwara and Matsuda, otherwise she would never have no grudge against Hagiwara... The extent of her intelligence on them was limited to the fact that they were all undercover "colleagues", not the worst case scenario they had imagined before, where she had found out all about their ancestors.
"That's right... Kogure is indeed that kind of... straightforward child. If he meets someone he doesn't like, he will directly retaliate. Otherwise, you, Zero, wouldn't have been targeted like this before." Regarding the question about childhood friend, Morofushi Kagemitsu could only smile bitterly - but even with a bitter smile, his tense shoulders did relax a little, and his face was still full of worry. "Now, things are fine between you and me. After she's taken revenge, it should be over. But Hagiwara and the others..."
He had just had a vague feeling that it would be better for Chaomu to understand all these things clearly, settle the accounts once and for all, and the matter would be over; but she still knew nothing about their relationship, and he and Zero were not in a position to tell her directly about this... What about Hagiwara and Matsuda's wishes?
But if he didn't say a word, then Chaomu, who realized his true feelings, would have suffered a second, even more serious betrayal and deception, which would be even more hurtful than the first time... By then, the relationship between them...
Thinking of this, Fūya Rei also felt a bit of a headache: "...This is indeed a problem..."
He raised his hand and pressed his aching temple. The dull ache in his knee was still nagging at him, but the turmoil in his heart was even more troubling than his physical discomfort. The plan for illegal detention had been aborted, the threat of his identity being exposed had been downplayed, and in the end, someone had used a photo to hold him hostage...
...And Hagiwara too, and Matsuda too! He'd told them so many times that the brat's identity was suspicious, yet they still insisted on bringing him home... Especially Hagiwara! That guy was definitely more than just a friend to Asami... Seeing him completely captivated by that brat...
The more Jiang Gu Ling thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he felt something was wrong: he had clearly explained the matter to them both so clearly, so why did he still have to worry about it now?
"We don't need to worry about this matter—talk to Hagiwara and let him solve it himself." After much thought, he made a decisive decision. "Isn't he close to that brat? Letting him comfort her is much better than us worrying about it here."
Although Asamure didn't seem to have any feelings for Hagiwara, and they weren't a couple... probably not, her affection and trust for Hagiwara Kenji were clearly much stronger than theirs. Hagiwara was naturally good at coaxing girls, so it was best to let him worry about it.
Zhu Fujingguang also felt that what he said made sense.
"Their work over there should be finished. Kogure will meet with him tonight." He took out his encrypted backup phone and expertly entered the number. "I'll talk to Hagiwara now and let him make a decision soon."
After sending the message to Hagiwara, he thought for a moment before sending one to Matsuda as well. It seemed like they were working separately that afternoon, so they might not be together now.
He sent a message, and Furuya Rei meticulously packed up any items left in the room that might reveal their whereabouts and identities. As he did so, his brows knitted slightly, as if lost in thought, yet he remained silent.
Despite Asagao's miraculous manipulation, today's events still held numerous doubts. For Rei Furuya, the most concerning points were those before and after Asagao's counterattack... the inexplicable emotions and vague images that surfaced in his mind.
If it was a fantasy, then this fantasy appeared too abruptly and illogically under the tense situation and his mood, and the imagined scene was a little too real... as if it really existed and appeared in his memory.
He pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Finally, he shared his strange feeling with Xiao Xunran: "...That's probably it. Hiro, do you feel the same way?"
"Did you have that same feeling of déjà vu?" Zhu Fujingguang was deeply impressed by the two time points he mentioned. He frowned as he heard it and reconciled the situation with him. "The first time was almost when I was about to make the move, maybe only two or three seconds later. I suddenly had this strange feeling that I'd already done it before... as if it had already happened and we had already taken Xiao Mu back to the safe house... But that feeling passed quickly and wasn't very profound."
Furuya Rei didn't dare to mention the specifics of his "hallucination" at that moment—after all, the thought of kissing her in the room seemed almost perverse. Their perceptions were more or less identical, so this innocuous detail was... well.
That "hallucination" was indeed like a mist blowing across his brain, light and faint, disappearing without a trace. The only thing that impressed him was the kiss, and it was because Chao Mu stared at his lips and listened to her teasing that he reacted so strongly.
"The second time was after we fought—this time, my feelings were much deeper than before." He skipped over the innocuous little questions, frowned, and got straight to the point. "I have this strange feeling: we've fought her many times, with both wins and losses, but she almost never killed me, or regretted it after doing so... That's why I concluded that 'she had no killing intentions towards you or me.'"
"Besides, Kogure calmed down much faster than I expected." Morobushi Kagemitsu agreed with Koujunran's perception and added a new perspective, his handsome features hinting at confusion. "Originally, I thought we needed to temporarily keep her under house arrest. Besides needing to negotiate with the Vongola, the biggest problem was worrying she might do something impulsive in her anger..."
But Chaomu, who was clearly furious before, suddenly lost all her anger, as if she had truly let it go... This was unlike her character. Judging from the level of grudge she held against Zero, she should have been angry for at least a few more days and tormented them for a while longer...
"...a weird little brat." Fūya Rei, the most targeted, commented through gritted teeth, but he couldn't come up with an answer for now. She held so many mysteries, it was incredibly annoying, making it impossible not to think about her... Tsk.
"The Italian mafia has a lot of strange abilities. I'll try to do more research later." He forced himself to stop thinking about her and banish that cunning face from his mind. "Have Hagiwara and Matsuda replied to you? Their work should be finished, right?"
"Hagiwara didn't reply... Ah, Matsuda did." Morofushi Kagemitsu came back to his senses and looked down at his phone. "Let me see, he said..."
The moment he saw the message, the expression on the cat-eyed young man's face suddenly froze - even his breathing stopped, and the hand holding the phone tightened more and more until the knuckles turned white.
"What's wrong, Hiro? What did Matsuda reply..."
Almost immediately, Furuya Rei noticed something was wrong with Xiao Junran. He was standing next to her, and it only took him half a second to get a closer look: "......"
Almost the same expression appeared on his face: stiff, complicated, unbelievable...sad.
...Is this true? How is it possible? How could Kenji Hagiwara...
The overwhelming emotion washed over his mind like a tide, overwhelming him instantly. In the surging emptiness, only one thought remained in his mind.
Fortunately, he and Hiro were not in the organization at this time, otherwise neither of them would be able to hide the expression on their faces.
I'm still too inexperienced... too clumsy... I need to make up for it next time... No...
...Will there be a next time? Will there be a next time? What next time... How could there be a next time! Is he stupid?!
After regaining consciousness, all those chaotic thoughts rushed to fill my mind, which I'd rather keep blank. Past, present, future... the promises we'd made to work together towards our goals, the teasing and complaints I'd made to my friends just minutes before, the plans and fantasies about the future... all came flooding in at once, chaotic and disorganized, making me dizzy.
But you can’t think like that…you can’t dwell on such emotions.
The phone screen shook slightly, blurring the ridiculously short text. Fūya Rei took a deep breath, averted his gaze, and stared at Yu Junran's trembling hands.
Those hands, which should have held the sniper rifle all night without a single tremor or shift, were now trembling violently with emotion. At that moment, Furuya Rei could hardly bear to look directly at his emotions, and returned to the words.
There was no unnecessary embellishment, no buffering. He simply stared at the line of text in silence for a long time, so long that he could almost hear the roar of a bomb exploding, piercing through the screen and causing pain in his eardrums.
"...It must be fake." Zhu Fujingguang said softly, "How could such a thing be possible? Hagiwara..."
Furuya Rei calmed down earlier than him - or perhaps his nerves were just frozen by the immense grief.
"Matsuda wouldn't joke like that." He heard his voice was relatively steady. "He's not..."
...It was just okay, he hadn't even thought of what to say next - damn it! He really hoped that Matsuda had suddenly become bad-tempered and started such a tasteless joke... Why couldn't Matsuda just act like that brat and do things without any reason...
Thinking of the girl who had just left happily, Furuya Rei's voice got stuck in his throat again.
"... Chaomu doesn't know yet." After a long while, he heard his vocal cords start working again like a radio with poor signal, "She is still on her way to find him..."
[From the Supreme Invincible Raccoon King who just defeated the Black Face: Is today's work over? I want to have a big dinner tonight——]
[From the Supreme Invincible Raccoon King who just triumphed over the Black-Faced One: If Matsuda doesn't want to treat, I can still pick up the tab. I'm in a great mood today! I just got my revenge and gave that nasty bastard a good beating!]
[From the Supreme Invincible Raccoon King who just defeated Little Black Face: Still working overtime? Then I'll go home first and wait for you and Matsuda to discuss what to eat before going out (Little Raccoon Sprinkling Flowers.gif)]
Chaomu put the silent phone back into his pocket and continued to touch the trash can: Good, my hands are very dark, and as usual, I didn’t pull out anything.
Today's daily routine has almost come to an end. She was skipping on the road with her hands in her pockets, in a good mood. She quickly shared the story of her revenge on the little black face with Mimi Akai and her teacher and senior brothers, sharing the joy of her victory.
Reborn simply replied, "The taijutsu mission isn't complete yet." Dino, however, praised her as a genius. Sawada Tsunayoshi, looking a bit troubled, told her to keep their secret if she still wanted to be friends—that she could tell them only to the three of them, but not to anyone else!
Chaomuxin said that she was not a fool, so of course she knew about this kind of thing... Apart from her teacher and senior brothers, she didn't even tell Mimi, but just told Mimi that she had successfully beaten up the little black-faced boy... After all, Mimi was still a colleague of them.
Perhaps because of this, Akai Shuichi's praise was a little bland, and it didn't hit the point that she wanted to be praised the most - it might also be because he was still busy with work, and his replies to messages while working were always perfunctory, not as thorough as Hagiwara-kun.
Thinking of Kenji Hagiwara, Asamura stood by the roadside, his pace slowing again as he flicked on his phone. The message he'd sent this afternoon still hadn't received a response. The chat screen, unusually devoid of back-and-forth, was filled with her messages and emoticons.
How strange.
She thought.
Did those minions plant a lot of bombs, scattered across the place? He seemed to be busy longer today than ever before. Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei were the kind of SSR-level bomb disposal officers who could offer SR experience cards, allowing people to defuse bombs in minutes. Based on her previous experience with their efficiency, wouldn't defusing a dozen bombs be easy?
Not only did Hagiwara not reply to the message, Matsuda hasn't replied either. Based on past experience, generally speaking, when this happens, they are either still busy defusing the bomb or in a meeting because their phones have been confiscated.
Chaomu thought about it and felt that the most likely possibility was a combination of the two situations: today's case seemed to be quite big, and they would probably be busy until very late and have to work overtime in meetings.
That made her have plenty of time, so she went home to tend to the crops. The neighbors weren't home today. It was unclear if she was at work or out with Fushiguro Megumi and Tsumiki. Kujo hadn't been around lately; the dark-faced guy was probably still there, wiping away tears over his loss, and Gin wasn't around either.
...What a strange feeling.
The raccoon brazenly searched a row of neighboring trash cans, but no one caught her, and no one challenged her to a duel of wits. She felt her gaming experience had plummeted, and she returned home bored.
Mimi Akai was usually absent at this point. She wanted to summon Squalo, but was immediately rejected. A few seconds later, the opponent sent a kitchen knife emoji, saying that he was still killing people and would talk to him in the evening.
Chaomu wanted to go to Italy to see who he was killing - but she couldn't teleport to his side, so she could only teleport to the Vongola headquarters.
She had just poked half of her head out of the trash can in her senior brother's office, her ears twitching, when she heard a familiar and dangerous voice.
"Don't tell me those meaningless things, herbivore." Hibari Kyoya's sleeves fell on the side of the chair and he lowered his head abruptly, "...Hmm?"
The little raccoon who had just stuck his head out had already retreated back to his home at the speed of light.
*raccoon swear* It's Skylark! Has he reported to headquarters these days?!
Even after returning, Chaomu was still a little frightened. She patted her furry chest with her paws, and after a few seconds, she calmed down a little: It's terrible. She is not ready to face the big devil... It seems that she has to be extremely careful when going to Vongola these days. It seems that Skylark's perception is particularly sensitive...
The road to Vongola was also blocked, and she seemed to have returned to her boredom and idle state.
In the past, she'd been able to wander around or just lie down at home with her baby, but today she seemed particularly bored—was it because after defeating Black Face, the other side quests seemed bland and boring? Ultimately, it was Black Face's fault.
Since entering the game, Chaomu thought carefully and thought that this was the first time he had fallen into such a boring situation. In the past, he always had NPCs to accompany him most of the time, and his enthusiasm for exploring new lands was also very high...
...She realized that the main storyline of the game has been unresolved recently. Apart from the task of giving away an SSR by living in Hagiwara-kun's house, there are no new activities with many rewards. Now even the little black face has been dealt with by her... She has reached the stage of being idle!
Chaomu threw herself onto the sofa, her legs dangling on the coffee table, her slippers clacking to the floor. She stared at the chandelier for three minutes, watching it change from round to square and then from square to crooked, before idly scratching her hair.
What's next? I think we should harass Blackface more. His romance with her should be quite interesting. Same with Midorikawa-kun. There's always some overlap.
But those weren't things she could do tonight. Neither of them was home, and she didn't know where to go to meet him. And who knew if Hagiwara-kun would be off work soon? In the past, he'd never been later than this...
Thinking of Hagiwara, she took out her phone and looked at it again. The chat box was still stuck on the last flower-scattering emoji she sent, not even a read sign.
That's strange.
She scratched her head, clicked on Matsuda's chat box, and typed away: [Matsuda Matsuda, did Hagiwara lose his phone? Or did your boss confiscate it? If you ignore me, I'm going to hold a sit-in protest outside your police station. (Cleaving Knife.jpg)]
The message was sent successfully, but still fell into the sea.
...It's so strange, how did things turn out like this?
Asami found this strange: the probability of Matsuda and Hagiwara losing their phones together must be very low, right? Is it possible? Perhaps they were both forced to work overtime.
With nothing to do, she glanced at the time and decided to wait somewhere else. Remembering the Hagiwara family's balcony renovation plan, she had an idea and gathered some tools, teleported over, and prepared to do some renovations during this free time.
It was winter, and the outdoor temperature was low. Aside from a few hardy plants, the Hagiwara family's balcony was bare. The hyacinth bulbs they had bought had only sprouted, so theoretically they wouldn't bloom until spring.
But that's only in theory - players will always find ways to cheat.
She got a bunch of raccoon-specific nutrient solution and added it to each pot. A little more to the one the raccoon was holding, a little more to the one the Samoyed was holding... The one for the Doberman? Less. With Matsuda's competitive spirit, he'd be furious if his flowers bloomed a little late. That reaction would be hilarious.
The small animal flower pots were lined up in a row, and she added a little nutrient solution every now and then according to the tutorial to prevent the nutrient solution from being too concentrated and burning the flowers. Players are always a little impatient. Rather than waiting for spring, she wanted the hyacinth to bloom quickly.
Anyway, the timeline in the game jumps around a lot, so there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the hyacinth growing faster... I feel like if I water it again, it will bloom next week.
Every time she clicked on the hyacinth icon, a description of the plant would pop up, along with the flower's language. She bought a blue hyacinth, and its language was "life."
To make faded blue hyacinths bloom again, you must cut off the withered flowers.
This is something that needs to be considered in the second time. Chaomu wrote down the little knowledge in his small notebook. He felt that the combination of flower language and the habits of flowers was quite romantic - so its flower language is life and rebirth?
"...The dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences."
Jinpei Matsuda stood in the corridor smoking with an expressionless face, and nodded to his colleagues who were offering condolences.
At this time, he still remembered to go to the window for ventilation. The ashtray on the windowsill was already filled with thick ashes, with cigarette butts stuck in the ashes in a haphazard manner, like a messy tombstone.
It was windy at night, he lowered his head, and the wind blew the ashes onto his chin.
...Stupid. Today. Stupid as hell.
In the past, Kojinran would have come out at this moment, handed him a tissue, and laughed at his stupid behavior of smoking against the wind. But today, Matsuda was not afraid of him—because Hagiwara Kenji had also made a terribly stupid mistake today.
...so stupid.
The colleagues who were still working overtime all cast some subtle or obvious glances at him. The curly-haired man put out his cigarette, and finally left the window and went downstairs.
There was a dark alley next to the parking lot. He walked without stopping as he passed by. When he met two familiar pairs of eyes, he finally stopped.
I want to smoke again.
He pulled his hand out of his pocket a little too violently, and the cigarette box fell to the ground with a thud.
Fūya Rei squatted down and picked up the cigarette box on the ground—it was empty. He fished a pack out of his pocket and handed it over. The click of his lighter was particularly clear in the quiet alley. "What are you going to say?"
Matsuda paused, holding his cigarette in his mouth. "Just tell me."
What else could he say? The dead couldn't be resurrected, and he couldn't lie to her and say Hagi wasn't dead... so where would he turn Hagi into something?
Zhu Fujingguang, who had never smoked, eventually followed suit and lit one. The flames of three cigarettes flickered in the darkness, and his eyes drifted along the warm orange flames and rising smoke.
The three of them tacitly avoided mentioning that name—no matter how calm they appeared, even mentioning it was definitely not an easy thing for them. It seemed that discussing how to tell the girl who might be more vulnerable than them after knowing the news would force them to calm down and think calmly.
"Kogure...cares about him a lot." After a long silence, Morufushi Kagemitsu spoke first. "Hagiwara must be very different to her. Perhaps I should keep it a secret for a few days and then slowly...reveal it."
"I don't quite agree with being blunt," Furuya Rei agreed. "Despite that brat's status... he's clearly not the type to confront the lives of those around him head-on."
She didn't kill him even after they had a fight, let alone when facing Hagiwara - he always had a subtle intuition that if she knew about Hagiwara, she would definitely do something that no one expected.
Two votes for suspended sentence, Matsuda Jinpei snorted lightly, holding a cigarette in his mouth.
"I'm the one who's going to notify them. I have the final say." He said coldly, "Sooner or later... whether it's her or someone else."
If the person concerned vetoes the decision, the death penalty will be imposed immediately.
With him saying this, the two undercover agents, who couldn't show their faces, naturally couldn't say much. They simply finished their cigarette together and said goodbye in silence.
The undercover agent once again stepped into the darkness, and the police officer in a black suit was going to be the unwelcome harbinger of death.
"...Really, this is causing trouble for others." He bit the cigarette butt and muttered to himself incoherently, "Even if this is the last time...are you going to leave people with such a difficult problem?"
The person he was complaining to was not around, and only the strong wind that echoed through the empty alley responded to him.
He drove home and parked downstairs. On the way home, Matsuda Jinpei took three steps forward and then two steps back.
He even had a ridiculous thought: if he turned around and left now, pretending nothing had happened, would Chaomu never know about Hagiwara's situation? He would just assume that Hagiwara had just been forced by his boss to work overtime all night and would be back tomorrow...
...If only he could not know. How great would that be?
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked up. A small, warm yellow light was on on the balcony, filtering through the glass and casting a blurry shadow on the ground. The shadow wiggled, squatting, then standing up, fiddling with something… He knew who it was without having to think.
Matsuda stood downstairs for a full five minutes. His pockets were empty. He hadn't picked up the empty cigarette box, so he didn't even have an empty shell to pinch.
In the end, he could only go upstairs with his knuckles turning white and open the door with the spare key.
He took off his shoes very gently, as if he was afraid to disturb anything. The living room still had Hagiwara's usual incense, and the lights were warm, quiet and gentle.
When he reached the balcony door, he saw Chaomu squatting over a flowerpot, spraying water on the hyacinth buds with a small spray bottle. The warm yellow light fell on her hair, making it look like a newly awakened animal. The three pots of hyacinths in front of her had already sprouted half-foot-tall stalks. In the center, the Samoyed-shaped pot, there were even tiny blue-purple buds.
"Are you two finally done with overtime?" She seemed to be engaged in some serious scientific research. She finally put down the spray bottle when she heard footsteps. She turned around and said teasingly, "Matsuda, you look so haggard from all that overtime... The smell of smoke is so strong, you've been pickled."
In fact, saying he looked haggard was an understatement. Chao Mu couldn't help but look at him several more times in surprise. She felt that the curly-haired police officer's appearance was even more outrageous than when she was forced to work overtime for two weeks in a row and didn't go home until after midnight every night.
"Did you defused hundreds of bombs today?" She was shocked. "Aren't you and Hagiwara-kun both highly energetic? How could you be so exhausted? Even though working is like dying, haven't you both always loved working..."
And why was Matsuda the only one back? Did Hagiwara-kun, so tired, go out to buy a midnight snack? She didn't really need to eat this midnight snack, and she wasn't craving it that much...
All her mumblings were finally muffled by the man's hands.
The tall, curly-haired young man seemed extremely tired. He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down deeply.
The moment he was hugged, Chaomu felt like he was soaked in an ashtray... It was outrageous. The last time he had this feeling was when he buried his face in Mimi's belly. This time it was the promax version, 360-degree surround without dead angles.
She sniffed in disgust and was about to push him away when she felt something warm land on her neck. The man buried his face in her shoulder and exhaled deeply.
"...Matsuda?" She suddenly felt her heart skip a beat, and an uneasy feeling took over her mind instantly. She could only raise her hand to support him, "Where's Hagiwara-kun? You don't need to buy me a midnight snack..."
"...He...will not come back."
At this point, Matsuda Jinpei, who had just said "speak frankly" with absolute certainty, could only suppress his trembling lips and answer her like this.
He also wanted to appear more mature and rational - but in fact, the death of his childhood friend almost broke the heart of this young man who was only 22 years old.
Too bad. He almost didn't dare to look at her expression, nor did he dare to face his own terrible face. He could only hold her like this, hold her tightly, trying to give her some comfort with his body temperature: "You..."
What if she cries? Where's the tissue? I can't give her a cigarette, so maybe we can have a drink together tonight...
The girl in his arms was much calmer than he had imagined.
"When did it happen... Who did it? What happened?" After hearing his words, she paused for a moment, then supported his shoulders and stroked his back soothingly. "Tell me slowly, I'm listening."
The tone was so gentle and tolerant that Jinpei Matsuda became strangely calm.
He raised his head from the crook of her neck and met Chaomu's face. Her expression was much the same as before, neither crying nor laughing, but her golden eyes shone startlingly bright in the shadows, flickering with a furious fire.
"...Why are you making that expression? You're talking as if Hagiwara-kun is really dead." She stood on tiptoe, wiped his tears, and patted his cheek, her tone as casual as ever. "The dead can always be resurrected. This is just a plot device designed by the idiot planner to make people cry... It's just a matter of reloading the file."
"Be good, don't cry—wait, I'll go bring Hagiwara-kun back."
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The author has something to say: The handsome Kogure makes a dashing appearance——
Originally, the update was supposed to be interrupted in the first half, but I was afraid of hurting everyone, so I saved up two days to write the extended version for pure enjoyment because the key plot was stuck... It's definitely not because I opened the Jieyuan after I got a little better, and I was distracted while playing and writing. It's definitely not that reason (whistling)
I feel like this kind of thing happens a lot later in the series... Humans are so fickle, huh, Kurushi. I'm going to speed up and write this next bit after I'm stuck! Hagi's still waiting to become Shugou and commit to me!
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