Chapter 138, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (10)
After the New Year.
January 25th.
Rei Furuya was dragged to the hospital by Kagemitsu Morofushi for another full-body checkup.
The examination results showed that I was very healthy, and the problems that were found in the last examination had basically disappeared during the two months of recuperation.
"I already told you I'm really fine, so you can finally relax, right?" Furuya Rei said helplessly.
Honestly, he was confused as to why everyone always seemed to think he didn't care about his health at all. Unless it was an emergency, he treated his body like his greatest weapon, maintaining and exercising it diligently. How could he just let it get damaged and neglected?
"Isn't it because you like to cause trouble too much? No one can rest easy after they know what you've done, right?" Morofushi Kagemitsu said while replying to the other three messages in the group. "And you always like to hide the negative things by yourself and always like to be strong and not let us know, so everyone is very worried and has to keep an eye on Zero."
Furuya Rei, unable to refute: "..."
"We're all the same on this point, so why single me out?" he muttered, a little resentful.
Morofushi Kagemitsu turned his head: "Zero, have you forgotten about the time the four of us got scolded by the class monitor together?"
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Okay, so it seems that he was the most closely monitored simply because he was the most reckless?
Rei Furuya pondered for a moment, then recalled the events and was surprised to find that it did seem to be somewhat true.
“You seem to be just realizing how reckless you’ve been all along, Zero,” Morofushi Kagemitsu said quietly.
"Actually, I only dared to do that because I was quite confident, really, really." Furuya Rei chuckled awkwardly, immediately got up to make tea, and changed the subject, "Let's talk about Shuichi Akai, his important storyline is coming up soon."
This is indeed a topic that Morofushi Kagemitsu cares about very much.
"How can I appropriately lead Ray into a storyline where his identity is exposed, without actually harming him?" Morofushi Kagemitsu had been pondering this for a long time.
"Don't worry, that guy won't die. He's tough as nails." Rei Furuya said with a smirk, his tone casual yet incredibly firm.
Zhu Fujingguang paused in his typing.
He put down his phone, turned around and leaned against the back of the sofa, watching the blond youth pouring hot water to make tea through the rising white steam.
"I wish Zero could have the same confidence and sense of security with us."
Amidst the soft, gurgling sound of water, Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed softly.
Rei Furuya paused, preventing the water from spilling, but almost poured too much and caused it to overflow.
"...Why do you say that? It makes it sound like I really believe Shuichi Akai, which gives me the creeps." He carried the two cups of tea back and placed them on the table, putting the almost overflowing cup in front of him.
“Because even now, Zero is still very worried about us, right? It’s like we’re bubbles that could disappear at any moment.” Morofushi Hiromitsu looked at him helplessly. “Even though I’ve survived, even though Zero knows that I’m even safer than you now that I’m following the Rum storyline, you still can’t help but worry that something will happen to me.”
Rei Furuya retorted stubbornly, "What's so strange about that? Isn't it the same reason why you guys are always worried about me? I'm not worried about Shuichi Akai not because of confidence or a sense of security, but simply because I don't care about his life or death. I've already shown a lot of restraint by not adding fuel to the fire and making him even more miserable."
"Yes, yes, yes, I didn't care whether he lived or died, but I had already thought of countless ways to ensure that he could safely complete this part of the story." Morofushi Kagemitsu laughed at him.
"Hiro!" Furuya Rei was somewhat embarrassed and angry. "This is just a necessary mission for the main storyline. It has nothing to do with Shuichi Akai himself. I would have done the same for anyone."
Morofushi Kagemitsu stopped teasing him, but finally couldn't help asking, "Zero, is there really no possibility of reconciling with Akai Shuichi? Actually, I think you two can become friends after everything is over."
This wasn't the first time Morofushi Kagemitsu had asked such a question.
Although Zero was ostracized and often fought with others because of his conspicuous appearance since childhood, Zero is so outstanding and powerful that even though he has been in fights and most people do not want to be too conspicuous and unsociable like him, many people are still attracted to Zero and want to be his friend.
Just like Matsuda.
Therefore, Morofushi Kagemitsu would ask this question almost every time he treated his childhood friend's injuries.
However, apart from Matsuda, most of the others simply became Zero's underlings and admirers.
Rei Furuya's face turned horrified: "Hiro, stop talking, I'm really going to throw up. Akai and Matsuda are completely different, it's impossible even after everything is over. After it's over, the FBI should get out of this country as soon as possible, I can't stand seeing them."
He really didn't want to talk about this topic that gave him goosebumps, so he got straight to the point: "Just like before, once the plot starts, let Scotland replace Rum and [coincidentally] stumble upon Rye's plan, exposing his identity and causing him to defect to the organization. He can evade the organization's pursuit on his own, so we don't need to go easy on him."
"What about the Miyano sisters?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked.
“They won’t be affected for the time being. I don’t plan to try to change their storylines now, as that would make the situation more complicated and difficult to control. We’ll wait until Shuichi Akai’s storyline is over before making any decisions.” Rei Furuya frowned slightly. “What to do next depends on how well this timeline converges. We’ll decide on our next plan based on the degree of convergence.”
However, based on previous experience, this part of the storyline for Ray is inevitable; the only question is how much deviation it will have on the people around him.
But we still need to be cautious.
Because we don't know if Shuichi Akai will make completely different decisions and behaviors due to some butterfly effect.
That guy looks cold and hard, like a rock that can't be changed, but he actually has a lot on his mind. He's also excessively controlling and has a strong drive to act. He doesn't care much about other people's opinions or feelings, and he often dares to take action as soon as he finds a clue.
Rei Furuya is not worried that Shuichi Akai will get into trouble.
But he was worried that Shuichi Akai might ruin things.
That guy seemed to be his natural adversary, always managing to mess up his plans no matter what, which made him irritable just looking at that face.
Shuichi Akai is finally leaving the organization, and Rei Furuya is overjoyed. He wishes he could set off some fireworks to celebrate so he wouldn't have to see that face again for at least two years.
*
Three months later.
After successfully taking power, Scotland settled down and did not achieve much as others had predicted; it simply completed its tasks in an ordinary manner.
Aside from necessary work, he was usually either harassing Bourbon or on his way to find Bourbon.
It was also because of his interference that Bourbon seemed to be affected as well. Otherwise, given Bourbon's personality, he would have definitely worked hard to surpass the status of the disliked Scots and Rye, instead of quietly resting for several months as if on vacation.
Everyone else speculated that Scotland was interfering to prevent Bourbon from becoming too powerful so as to control him, but Rye guessed that it was because Bourbon dared not act as recklessly as before to climb up the organization after his identity was exposed in Scotland, but the threat from Scotland was certain.
Therefore, in the past few months, the person who has risen rapidly in status and gained the favor of the organization's BOSS has become Ray.
The opportunity was rare, and since Bourbon and Scotland did not seem to be affecting his plans for the time being, Ray ignored them and focused on quickly getting deeper into the organization.
Unlike Bourbon, who is an intelligence agent, he has to make more efforts to get more information about the organization and to get into the eyes of the organization's BOSS so that he can gradually get in touch with the organization's core secrets.
*
May 31st.
Shuichi Akai has confirmed that there is no information about his father in the organization.
Having climbed to his current position, there is virtually no possibility of him rising any higher. The organization's boss is clearly wary of the emergence of a second veteran-level leader who will control the organization's power.
He has gathered a great deal of important intelligence about the organization, so he can be considered to have successfully completed his mission. It's time for him to leave.
Of course, he planned to pull off a big heist before leaving: secretly capture the organization's number one assassin, Gin, and bring him back to the FBI for interrogation.
This was clearly an extremely bold and risky act. Whether it succeeded or failed, it would mean the end of Shuichi Akai's undercover career. That day would be the day he made a decision with the organization, and afterwards he would continue to search for his father's whereabouts through other channels.
Therefore, before that, he still had two things to do to end his undercover mission within the organization.
The first thing is Bourbon and Scotland.
In fact, Shuichi Akai hesitated between targeting Scotland or Gin.
Scotland is now in charge of the intelligence group, so he certainly knows a lot.
However, Shuichi Akai was a little worried that Bourbon would be implicated. Although there was no evidence, after paying attention to the investigation and starting to think in that direction, he felt that Bourbon was highly suspected of being an undercover agent, so he did not want to implicate his comrades again.
Since Bourbon didn't kill Scotland, it means that Scotland really had serious leverage over him. Perhaps it was a situation like, "If I die, your secrets will be exposed to everyone in the organization," or "If I disappear for a period of time without updating the program, your secrets will be exposed to others."
Otherwise, Shuichi Akai couldn't understand why Bourbon hadn't killed Scotland and was even concerned about his safety. It couldn't be that he was really smitten, could it?
Others are one thing, but someone like Bourbon is definitely not. His current temporary infiltration must be for a bigger goal.
If possible, Shuichi Akai still didn't want to implicate his fellow undercover agents.
Therefore, the ultimate target was Gin, the organization's number one assassin.
Gin was a greater threat than Scotland, and Scotland, who had joined the organization just as recently as Bourbon, would not have been considered in the first place if it weren't for wanting to help Bourbon.
Anyway, his identity will be exposed soon, so let's make some preparations for Bourbon. Hopefully, Bourbon is really an undercover agent and can put aside past grievances and cooperate with him to destroy the organization.
Shuichi Akai switched to his Rai mode, grabbed a sniper rifle, and headed to the organization's advanced training grounds.
Bourbon and Scotland are practicing target shooting inside.
Bourbon's sniping skills have become even more impressive.
Perhaps spurred on by his two former sniper partners, he has been training in target practice frequently in his spare time lately, and his scores have been rising rapidly. He quickly surpassed Cohen and Chianti again, and it seems he can really catch up with the records of the top three snipers: Gin, Ray, and Scotland.
Ray was trying to figure out how to say things without angering Bourbon at the outset.
Before he could even speak, just by walking over and standing behind the two of them, Bourbon got angry.
"Ray, do you know what day it is today?" Bourbon asked with a dark expression.
“May 31,” Lei said.
"Do you know what day it is today?" Bourbon asked.
"What day is it?" asked Lai.
Bourbon fired a shot at him with one hand while holding the rifle in his hand.
Ray didn't move. The bullet grazed the cigarette butt he was holding, extinguishing it. The wind, carrying the dangerous smell of gunpowder, lifted the bangs on his forehead.
“Today is No Smoking Day,” Bourbon sneered.
Lei: "..."
Well, it seems there's no chance of reconciliation.
He sometimes wondered if Bourbon actually hated him more than Scotland, but why?
Or did Bourbon's dislike reach a certain point where it ceased to be directed at him and he simply became indifferent and ignored him?
And Scotland, don't look so concerned. Only you would like being targeted by Bourbon like this.
*
June 2nd.
Six o'clock in the afternoon.
It was time for most people to get off work.
The evening sunlight wasn't very bright, but it was just right for Shuichi Akai's actions.
Before making a decision tomorrow, he has one last, most important thing to do.
Shuichi Akai is going to see Akemi Miyano and confess his undercover FBI identity to her, and then bid her a proper farewell.
Although he and Akemi Miyano broke up a long time ago, he joined the organization through Akemi Miyano, and even now, despite the breakup, he still maintains a good friendship with the Miyano sisters. Therefore, his defection will definitely have an impact on them.
Actually, Shirley is alright. Shirley has a special status, and they are just normal friends, so it won't have a big impact. It's not even as much trouble as it has caused Bourbon Scotland.
Only Miyano Akemi, and only Miyano Akemi, even if it's a former boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, might still bring her to the brink of death.
Because they had a serious romantic relationship, and because they maintained friendly contact and remained friends even after breaking up, he still cared about her.
Because Akemi Miyano is just an ordinary low-level member of the organization, she can be abandoned by the organization at any time.
In any case, before everything ends tomorrow, he must see Akemi Miyano and sincerely apologize to the woman he had deceived so badly.
Shuichi Akai is serious about Akemi Miyano.
At first, it was indeed deception and exploitation, but in the subsequent interactions, he genuinely developed feelings for her.
He realized that Akemi Miyano was truly a very gentle and kind person, and that her feelings were pure and passionate. She wasn't one of those organization members who pretended to be kind but were actually broken inside. It was really, really bad to deceive her about her feelings.
That's why he went along with Bourbon's meddling and broke up with her.
This was not only to keep her away from him, a dangerous ticking time bomb, but also because he felt that such a deceitful relationship was too cruel for her.
Their meeting and falling in love were all calculated manipulations, which is so unfair to Miyano Akemi.
Shuichi Akai feels guilty towards Akemi Miyano. He hopes that after successfully resolving the organization's problems, if there is still an opportunity, he will once again solemnly face Akemi Miyano with his real name and true heart, hoping that they can have a real love affair and become a real boyfriend and girlfriend.
If tomorrow's plan goes smoothly, if he can successfully evade the organization's pursuit, and if he can survive, he will definitely find a way to bring the Miyano sisters out of the organization.
Shuichi Akai promised to protect them, and that was not a lie.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com