Chapter 88, Twentieth Round (7)
Rei Furuya told Hiromitsu Morofushi about the plan and experiment to save Ethan Hondo.
Because that incident is happening in Yokohama a month from now, the two of them have been a little nervous lately.
Rei Furuya was naturally worried that if the experiment failed, it would mean that Hiro's ordeal would be even more difficult to overcome.
Morofushi Kagemitsu was worried about getting involved in such a dangerous matter. If it failed, Zero would have to start over, and all three years of time and effort would be wasted.
But an accident happened.
The time of Ethan Bendo's death has passed, but nothing has happened around him; he is still alive and well.
There was nothing unusual on Kiel's side either.
The plot that should have taken place at this point—introducing CAI's new liaison and the two's secret rendezvous—seems to have been completely overturned.
Therefore, Furuya Rei's original plan for Ethan Hondou to fake his death was no longer needed.
"Something's not right."
Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi were having a serious discussion face to face.
“Even if it’s because of me that only the people I care about are targeted by the system, the convergence of the world lines themselves won’t let Ethan Hondou’s death storyline go so easily, right?” Furuya Rei frowned. “Then how will the storylines about Kir, her brother, Conan, and the FBI proceed? Or is this just a butterfly effect that changed the events and delayed the timeline? Just like Hagi’s case, which was delayed by two months.”
“It’s also possible that the events we’ve done before have accumulated to a point where they’re enough to change the convergence of the world line where Ethan Hondou died, and the future plot of that world line has also changed,” said Morofushi Hiromitsu.
The magnitude of this change is actually impossible for them to observe and calculate.
Because any action they take each day that is different from before will change the world line, it's impossible to know the exact extent to which a certain event will change the world line, since none of them have reached 1% at once to trigger a system alert, nor have they reached 2% to trigger a world restart.
Since the current timeline has already surpassed the previous playthrough of Furuya Rei, many things around us will change to some extent, except for the important main storyline. However, if we were to say how much, it would probably be only 0.001% or 0.00001% or even smaller.
If only they had an instrument like Rintaro Okabe's that could measure world line changes, so they could observe the immediate impact of their actions on the world line.
It can also easily calculate the total accumulated deviation value and whether it can affect the main storyline.
Rei Furuya could certainly calculate the approximate range based on his reasoning, but since even he couldn't control or understand everyone's thoughts and actions, any tiny detail could lead to completely different consequences. Furthermore, the shift in the world line wasn't a simple equation like 1+1=2; it could also result in 1+1=1, 1+1=3, or even 1+1=0, so he couldn't be certain either.
“That’s possible.” Rei Furuya nodded. “If that were the case, that would be great, but I have a feeling it’s not that simple. Even if the timeline can be changed like that, the system shouldn’t let me off so easily. So let’s remain vigilant for a few more months. I will continue to keep an eye on them.”
"Be careful not to let the organization discover that your actions are suspicious." Morofushi Kagemitsu was always very worried about the relationship between his system and the organization.
In fact, he felt that Zero was the last person who should have gone undercover to get close to the organization, as it was far too dangerous.
Of course, he understood even better that the possibility of Zero not coming was zero.
"Don't worry." Rei Furuya smiled and gave his childhood friend a reassuring hug. "Trust me, I've never let my guard down when it comes to the organization and the system. Even if something like that really happened, I've thought of many ways to deal with it."
He understood perfectly well that if he were to die or be controlled, then everything would truly be over.
"In short, don't shoulder everything alone." Morofushi Kagemitsu reminded him again, "I'm still here with you, Zero."
"Mm," Rei Furuya replied with a smile.
But behind Morofushi Kagemitsu's back, where he couldn't see, the blond youth holding him revealed a cryptic expression.
So, what he's most worried about right now is that Hiro will leave him.
This was already foreshadowed during his time at the police academy. The system's malice towards Hiro and his focus on Hiro would cause Hiro's difficulty to directly become the highest level, Hell difficulty.
Back then, police academy was probably like the beginner village in a game. Although the main reason was a lack of information, it also gave him enough terrifying experiences.
Now that the main storyline has officially begun and the organization has directly intervened, just how difficult will that level be?
It's unimaginable that Ryougu would be so bad.
There was only one thing he was certain of: he would never give up, he would never fall into true despair, and he would definitely save everyone, even if he failed a thousand times.
It will definitely end with everyone surviving.
*
Two months later.
A few days before the New Year, as they were about to enter their fourth year, Rei Furuya and Hiromitsu Morofushi did not witness Ethan Hondou's death. Instead, they received news from above that the Whiskey Trio would be going on a mission together.
"Tsk, why did it have to be at this time? What bad luck." Furuya Rei scoffed loudly.
Morofushi Kagemitsu was also a little helpless: "Well, it shouldn't be that much of a coincidence. It would be really bad if Ethan Hondou or Gil came to go on the mission with us."
As a result, when the two, who had switched to Bourbon and Scottish modes, arrived at the meeting point, they found not only Gin, who had issued the mission, and another member of the group, Lei, but also a woman with a low ponytail.
When she noticed someone was coming, she slowly raised her head, revealing her distinctive slightly curled bangs and upturned, round cat-like eyes, immediately giving away her identity.
"This is Gil, he's also participating in this operation with you all," Gin introduced the group, who were probably meeting for the first time.
Bourbon: "..."
Scotland:"……"
After Gin briefly explained the mission and process and Kiel left, the Whiskey trio got into the car and fastened their seatbelts. Only then did Bourbon turn his head and silently stare at Scotland in the passenger seat.
Scotland guiltily averted its gaze.
Well... we shouldn't blame him for jinxing things, right?
Yes, Zero is right, it must be Ray's fault, it must be Ray's fault.
Rye, sitting in the back seat, suddenly felt a chill: "?"
He looked ahead and noticed that Bourbon's expression wasn't very good.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy with the role assignments for this mission?" Lei immediately started taunting. "I thought you were already very good at this kind of thing, after all, haven't you been doing similar things all along?"
"Huh?" Bourbon's displeasure immediately increased by 80%, and his dagger-like gaze turned to pierce the long-haired man in the back seat.
Lei sneered: "Don't you often deceive women? With your abilities, you'll definitely be able to quickly become the No. 1 male escort, and you can easily hook up with your targets."
Whether it's Akemi, Vermouth, or even Sherry, they all think Bourbon is alright, even though they all knew he wasn't a good person when they approached him, but in the end... And what's even more terrifying is that even now they're still saying good things about Bourbon.
Bourbon, that man is absolutely terrifying.
Bourbon's forehead veins throbbed: "That was you, wasn't it? Well, people with dirty minds see everything as dirty. I just didn't expect that someone who climbed to the top by deceiving women's feelings would have the nerve to say such things to me."
“I didn’t deceive her feelings, Bourbon. Don’t you understand what normal free love is? I haven’t even asked you what you said to her that made me break up with her,” Ray said, still not giving up on getting information out of Bourbon.
"Ha." Bourbon sneered, "Of course it's because you're an absolute scumbag, what other reason could there be?"
"Alright, alright, you've argued about this so many times already. Let's focus on the mission now," Scotland said helplessly but skillfully, trying to mediate.
On other topics, and even in direct competition, the atmosphere between the two is currently quite good; it's the kind of confrontation where they're mostly in a pleasant mood.
But whenever this topic comes up, the two of them get really angry and become hostile.
There is only one reason: it involves someone they both value highly. They both feel that the other has hurt that person and will continue to pose a danger to that person.
Ray was completely unaware of the situation and maintained an enemy-like attitude towards Bourbon.
Bourbon was traumatized by past events and wary that those events might happen again.
Perhaps it's also a matter of incompatibility, given their differing views and the conflict between their respective countries and institutions...
This kind of relationship will probably only be somewhat alleviated when the truth comes out.
Well, as long as he's still alive, their relationship shouldn't have too many problems.
The question now is about Gil. Will this mission lead to the death of her father, Ethan Bendo?
If so, is it possible to overcome this crisis? And how should it be done?
After all, their mission location was Kabukicho, known as the largest red-light district in Asia, and their target was the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest existing yakuza organization. Chaos and danger were inevitable.
*
"In Kabukicho, organized crime involving illegal foreigners is rampant. It has become a hub for numerous yakuza gangs and criminals from various countries, deeply connected to dangerous foreign forces, making it an ideal hiding place for terrorists."
"Currently, the Yamaguchi-gumi controls most of the power in Kabukicho. They have approximately 120 offices and bases there, with as many as 1,000 members active in the town, most of whom illegally possess firearms."
The policeman standing in front reached out and slammed his hand down on the whiteboard covered with intelligence information.
“They act recklessly here, completely disregarding laws and regulations. If left unchecked, they will inevitably cause a major disaster sooner or later. Our momentum in recent years has been quite good, making it a good time to continue the pursuit and completely eliminate those criminal gangs.”
The Metropolitan Police Department finally decided to launch a large-scale crackdown on Kabukicho, requiring many illegal brothels to close for rectification. Following this, a large-scale "Kabukicho Renaissance" plan was initiated, aimed at redeveloping Kabukicho and expelling organized crime from the district.
Although the purge of yakuza organizations a few years ago was largely successful, some remained. Moreover, the government could not eliminate them all at once, otherwise dealing with those individuals would be a huge problem.
Most importantly, Kabukicho has been one of the most difficult places to manage since ancient times.
This place is arguably the most lawless, moral, and humane place, and it is deeply intertwined with all levels and circles of the country.
Therefore, to prevent leaks, most of the law enforcement officers involved in this operation did not even know what the mission was until the very last moment.
Only a very small number of high-ranking officials and a few police officers trusted for their character and competence were aware of the situation and convened the meeting to discuss the operation.
Naturally, Wataru Date, Kenji Hagiwara, and Jinpei Matsuda were all present.
Why is Matsuda Jinpei, who is in the "virginity-exploding group," also there?
That's because there are bomb-related missions, of course.
This will be the largest operation by the Metropolitan Police Department in years.
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