Chapter 142, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (14)
Bourbon returned on June 10th.
"Why didn't that Shuichi Akai defect on June 1st?" Bourbon sighed regretfully. "Wouldn't it have been perfect to celebrate his departure on Children's Day?"
The pursuit of Shuichi Akai seemed to have improved his mood considerably.
But Gin wasn't happy at all and didn't want to talk to him.
The biggest impact on Gin was Akai Shuichi's defection.
Shuichi Akai originally wanted to arrest him, but luckily Scotland and Vermouth discovered it, otherwise he might have been unknowingly captured by that damned traitor and taken to the FBI.
In the subsequent pursuit, Gin suffered several setbacks at the hands of Shuichi Akai. After fleeing to the FBI's home turf, he almost fell into an FBI trap and was captured. Even after successfully escaping, he was injured and unable to continue pursuing Shuichi Akai.
Moreover, the task force he was in charge of suffered heavy losses, which greatly angered the BOSS.
Although things have come to this point, the BOSS's anger is no longer about the fact that the people in the organization are not strong enough, but rather that Shuichi Akai is too strong.
Because Shuichi Akai was so terrifying, many within the organization, including the organization's boss, considered him a "silver bullet" capable of threatening the organization's survival.
Even so, Gin and Bourbon completely scoffed at this and continued their relentless pursuit of Shuichi Akai, convinced that they could definitely kill the guy.
So when the BOSS called them back to handle other organizational matters and they gave up the pursuit of Shuichi Akai, they were all a little unhappy, but they wouldn't disobey the BOSS's orders.
Even though Bourbon was greeted by Scotland as soon as he got off the plane, because it was the BOSS's order for him to help Scotland with the intelligence group's affairs before Scotland recovered, he still left with Scotland despite his terrible expression.
However, once the car drove away and they were sure it was safe to talk, the atmosphere between the two instantly changed.
Bourbon and Scotland instantly transformed into Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi.
"Is your shoulder really okay? Are you sure you can fully recover without any aftereffects?" Furuya Rei couldn't help but glance at his childhood friend in the passenger seat several times while driving.
He felt worried and distressed, but also frustrated and angry.
Damn the FBI! That despicable Shuichi Akai!! I knew he'd mess things up, but I never expected him to actually go back and snipe Hiro!!!
When Furuya Rei saw that message, he was so angry he almost fainted. For a moment, he nearly had a heart attack and thought the world was about to restart. He even crushed his phone in his hand.
But the world did not restart.
Yes, of course the world won't restart. This time, the convergence of world lines has almost perfectly brought back all the previous deviations, and the program is running perfectly correctly. How could it restart?
However, if Hiro is indeed left with irreversible aftereffects, then Rei Furuya will choose to reload the save and start over.
"I'm really fine. The organization's medical technology is really good. I'm recovering very well and I shouldn't have any aftereffects." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled after saying that. "However, I do need to recuperate for a long time. The BOSS has already decided to completely remove me from the front line of the action group and have me take charge of the intelligence group's affairs from now on."
Rei Furuya nodded: "That's a good thing. I'll help with the intelligence team, so you can focus on recovering. It's better if you don't have to be a sniper..."
Unlike intelligence agents, snipers actually take lives with their own hands on every mission, which is already too cruel for Hiro. It would certainly be a good thing if he could stop being a sniper and go deeper into the organization to infiltrate.
Anyway, now that they're in their positions, they can understand the operations team's affairs clearly even without being in the team themselves, so there's no need to personally probe and gather intelligence like before.
If it weren't for the timeline, Rei Furuya would have destroyed the organization long ago; there would have been no need to wait these past few years.
And now?
Not only could he not destroy the organization, but he also had to work for it and shoulder the great responsibility of rebuilding it, which was almost absurdly ironic.
*
June 25th.
Rei Furuya repeatedly checked Kagemitsu Morofushi's medical report and confirmed that his recovery was indeed very good and that he would basically not have any sequelae. His nerves, which had been uneasy for almost a month, finally relaxed.
Okay, now we've decided we don't need to reload and start over.
While it's good that Hiro isn't a sniper anymore, if he were to permanently lose the ability to pick up a sniper rifle and also suffer from illness, Furuya Rei would still resolutely choose to reload the save file.
He was well aware that Hiro knew his thoughts and was worried that Hiro would conceal them, so all the information he obtained was genuine after rigorous review and could not have been falsified or concealed by Hiro.
Moreover, he was present throughout Hiro's entire recovery process, and no hidden dangers were found. The organization's medical technology is truly remarkable.
"Now you can finally relax, right? Honestly, Zero, you worry too much." Morofushi Kagemitsu, who knew exactly what his childhood friend was thinking, could only sigh helplessly.
"Although the more serious areas are recovering well, it will still take some time for your injuries to fully heal." Rei Furuya put away the report, turned around, and earnestly instructed with a serious expression, "If you need anything, just call me. Don't think it's nothing and try to do it yourself. If you accidentally aggravate your injuries, it won't be a small matter..."
"Okay, okay, I know, I definitely won't do it again next time, Blonde Master." Morofushi Kagemitsu raised his hands in surrender. He had accidentally aggravated his wound and had been scolded for several days, and was even forbidden from doing any heavy work.
Rei Furuya got stuck, stared at him for two seconds, and then both of them couldn't help but laugh.
In short, it's good that everything is alright, and the plan can continue.
Having safely weathered the Shuichi Akai defection arc, you can now focus on dealing with the class president's impending doom.
*
August 19th.
The weather remained hot, but the war between the organization and the FBI had calmed down somewhat.
Ultimately, the FBI was unable to do anything to the organization. At most, they crippled it, and that was only against easily dealt with forces lurking in the shadows. It was far from threatening the organization's survival.
The organization currently has no time to deal with the FBI or the manhunt for Shuichi Akai. It is frantically rebuilding and reorganizing its internal structure. Besides the casualties, the most troublesome issue is the relocation of the organization's bases.
All the bases and outposts that Shuichi Akai had visited and researched were no longer usable. If they couldn't be evacuated, they had to be blown up or burned down. In particular, the research and training bases could not be left behind; they all had to be relocated.
But the organization had so many strongholds, and Shuichi Akai had been undercover for years and knew so much about that position. It was an enormous undertaking, and the entire organization was running at full speed.
The large number of "accidental accidents" has kept the police very busy recently. Knowing the inside story, Date Wataru, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei have also secretly helped Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu. The five of them have worked together to do a lot of things, and the organization has no time to investigate because they think it is the FBI's doing again.
At times like these, the intelligence team is actually the busiest. In addition, the fact that the intelligence team leader, Scotland, was seriously injured by Akai Shuichi's sniper shot has greatly affected the team's efficiency. As a result, Bourbon successfully took over and processed a lot of important intelligence for the organization.
He knew almost everything about the search for and establishment of new strongholds, the transfer of many important members and data, and even the distribution of the organization's influence.
In response, Morofushi Hiromitsu couldn't help but sigh to Furuya Rei, "Actually, Akai Shuichi's shot has actually helped solidify our current identities. The organization's boss trusts us quite a bit now. Even Gin won't suspect that we're undercover agents anymore, right? The timeline has also been perfectly resolved, and our current situation is much safer."
Rei Furuya's smile gradually faded: "Hiro, you don't actually want me to reconcile with Shuichi Akai and become friends, do you?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu looked completely innocent: "Is it not okay? Look at me, I'm fine, aren't I? Besides, he was unaware of the situation and was just trying to help. It's a real shame that things turned out this way. If anyone should be blamed, it should be the convergence of the world lines, right?"
Rei Furuya sneered: "It's all his fault! Couldn't he have told me beforehand what he was doing? It's such an important thing, why did he have to wait until it was all done before telling me? It makes me so angry! That guy is always so self-centered! I'm only refraining from shooting him because of the tense situation."
Rei Furuya was genuinely angry. If before it was simply because of their incompatible personalities and stances that he felt it was impossible to become friends with Shuichi Akai, now he hated him again and was even extremely wary of that guy getting close to his childhood friends again.
Morofushi Kagemitsu could only helplessly appease him, saying that he would never mention the annoying Akai Shuichi again, and promising to stay away from Akai Shuichi as much as possible in the future.
Well, anyway, Shuichi Akai still suspects Zero is an undercover agent and feels a little guilty, so he won't really harm him anymore. Even if Zero targets him relentlessly, it probably won't matter. There's no need to worry too much about him posing a danger to Zero's safety.
Although I really wanted Zero to get along well with Shuichi Akai, this "silver bullet," and become friends to make things safer, I figured since Zero really hates him that much, I should just let it go.
It's a bit of a pity. There was still a chance before. If he had been more careful back then, things would have been better.
However, at this stage of the story, even if they are not friends, cooperation in the future is not a problem.
"By the way, where has Akemi Miyano moved to now?" Hiromitsu Morofushi changed the subject.
“Beihana Town, the world line has completely returned to its original position,” Furuya Rei said.
Although Akemi Miyano said she had no idea about Shuichi Akai's true identity and successfully acted as if she was the most heartbroken and deceived, the organization believed her. However, because of her identity, she was still treated specially.
Although most people believed that a terrifying man like Shuichi Akai wouldn't be influenced by a woman he had long since abandoned in the organization, and the Boss and Gin also thought she was just a useless piece of trash whose only use was to keep Sherry in check, Akemi Miyano was ultimately forced to move and hide, and was strictly monitored to prevent her from contacting Shuichi Akai.
Because the surveillance was too strict, Rei Furuya only went to her house after she moved, posing as Bourbon, who was also Shuichi Akai's mortal enemy, to make sarcastic remarks. Once he confirmed that she was doing well, he didn't go to see her again.
“There’s no other way. The closer we get to the actual start of the game and the appearance of the protagonist, the more the world lines converge.” Rei Furuya leaned back on the sofa, resting his chin on his hand. “We can only try faking our death.”
I just hope that Miyano Akemi's faked death will go as smoothly as Ethan Hondou's.
*
September 10th.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is here, also known as "Moon Viewing Day," a day for family and friends to gather and admire the moon.
Therefore, Furuya Rei decided to go and meet Morofushi Kagemitsu.
At this point, the war between the two major organizations, the organization and the FBI, had stopped, and if we disregard the losses incurred, things had almost returned to their previous state.
Therefore, Bourbon had no reason to stay in Scotland and continue helping.
Moreover, Scotland's shoulder has fully recovered, and he can handle most things without any problems. In any case, he no longer needs to carry a sniper rifle around. Although he hopes Bourbon will stay by his side, he will not actually let Bourbon take away his power.
The boss also doesn't want to see the two of them wasting talent together; they should each handle different tasks separately to maximize resource allocation.
Without a sufficient reason, Bourbon cannot go to Scotland, otherwise the established character would be out of character.
But Scotland can force Bourbon to come over. Anyway, most people know that Bourbon must have something on him that Scotland has seized to threaten him so he can't fight back. All he needs to do is coordinate his statements with Hiro.
When Furuya Zero arrived, Morofushi Kagemitsu was still working.
"Sorry, Zero, wait another half hour." Morofushi Hiromitsu looked up from his computer and smiled, pointing to the kitchen. "I made moon-viewing dumplings. They should be ready to serve now. Zero, go and get them for me. We'll go to the rooftop to admire the moon together later."
After preparing the dumplings and tea, Furuya Rei returned to his desk and watched him work.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu spun the mouse and dragged a file from the corner to show him.
“Perfect timing, I was also thinking of showing this to you, Zero,” he said. “It’s information and plans that were temporarily shelved and forgotten because of Shuichi Akai.”
Rei Furuya bent slightly to look at the information on the computer screen.
That was a child's file.
Hiroki Sawada is a prodigy who became a graduate student at MIT at the age of 10 and made remarkable achievements.
The organization wanted to recruit him as a research staff member.
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