Chapter 37
Shuichi Akai watched the two men pile up large, round watermelons in the corner of the safe house. After a second of silence, he thought with a bit of dry humor: This serious posture seems to be a strategic reserve.
It’s just that they stockpile watermelons instead of weapons.
So what are you going to do with all these watermelons? Akai Shuichi didn't know about [Synthesize Big Watermelon], otherwise he might have thought of it for a moment.
He thought from another perspective: In fact, this is also a consumption of organizational assets, which is a good thing.
During the mission, transportation, food and lodging are basically reimbursed by the organization, and there is also a certain amount of free activity funds. So in a sense, buying a lot of watermelons and eating and drinking with public funds helps reduce the organization's funds, even if the mosquito is small, it still counts.
As the saying goes, a dam of a thousand miles collapses in an ant hole - at some point, Akai Shuichi seemed to have come up with a new idea.
But soon, he collected his thoughts and temporarily returned his attention to the melons piled in the corner, and asked one more question: "What is that?"
To be on the safe side, it is always safer to ask more questions. Maybe these things just look like watermelons, but are actually new weapons of some unknown organization.
Shuichi Akai is very cautious, he knows very well that there is no simple role in this organization.
Even the seemingly ordinary melon shop owner probably has a deeper identity, otherwise it would be impossible for him to have contact with the organization!
After hearing what Akai Shuichi said, Morofushi Kagemitsu tilted his head and replied, "These? Of course, they are the watermelons sold in that store. I brought some back to help me study the target of this mission."
He randomly picked an explanation that sounded more conventional. After all, collecting personal items and then analyzing character traits is one of the training methods of special professional cities.
Shuichi Akai's eyes fell on the watermelons piled up in the corner.
Although but...what kind of personal property is this? What can be analyzed from a watermelon? ?
As if he could guess what Akai Shuichi was thinking, Morofushi Kagemitsu continued, saying, "For example, the quality of the watermelon can be used to determine whether the store owner is a professional in the industry and to discern the store owner's business personality."
If you must say so, it does make sense.
Shuichi Akai stood up and took a few steps closer to the round melons. At a close distance, he could see that they were indeed real melons.
Well, he thought. Looks like these were really purchased from the Target store.
However, the reason for the purchase was probably not to collect intelligence in advance as they said. After all, it was just to collect target information, why would they need to buy so much at the same time?
They must have already carried out their mission. Akai Shuichi had already guessed it. Buying ten watermelons at the same time was essentially to attract the target's attention! It was just a crude method.
Although the three were assigned this task as a team, in reality, the reviewers would also make individual evaluations.
If this mission was completed by only two other people, his personal score would not look good.
Tomorrow. Akai Shuichi thought. It's time for him to take action.
If this was really a literal obedience task test, then it should not be difficult to arouse a person's suspicion.
Suspicion is easier to gain than trust. He can try it out step by step in many ways.
Akai Shuichi is very confident about this.
=
On the first day, Akai Shuichi was like a black wolf in the dark night, quietly changing the positions of the two opening celebration wreaths outside the store.
After waiting quietly, nothing happened.
Asahi Yuaki who didn't notice at all: Eh, has anything changed? Nothing has changed! (Cheerful)
The next day, Shuichi Akai pried open the tightly locked window of the house.
When Shuichi Akai pried the lock, Asahi Yuaki was not in the store. To celebrate the opening, he went out to have a big meal to reward himself.
By the way, he also planned to go to the supermarket again to buy some transparent plastic cups - starting from tomorrow, he planned to squeeze some affordable watermelon juice and sell it.
Now it is autumn and winter, the weather is cooler, and when summer comes, we can consider selling some smoothies. Chaohi Xiqiu has a good plan in mind.
As for why there are watermelons in autumn and winter... Chaori Xiqiu couldn't just say that these were street watermelons available all year round, so he simply said: Because they are watermelons grown in greenhouses!
After he had dinner and finished shopping, he went home and collapsed on the sofa to watch TV. When he felt the coolness, he noticed that the inconspicuous side window was open.
The cold wind of autumn and winter came in through the window gaps, and Chao Ri Xi Qiu was so cold that he shivered. He walked closer and found that the original lock core was missing.
Oh my god, how come the window is so old and rotten! Or is it the power of thermal expansion and contraction that has directly shrunk the lock core?
Asahi Xiqiu's teeth were chattering. As a person who was afraid of cold and liked warmth, he didn't think too much about this cold situation and directly called the housekeeping maintenance phone.
——Someone come and fix it! The red fox is about to freeze into a polar fox! QAQ
On the third day, Shuichi Akai stuffed a bunch of secretly taken photos into the crack of the door. As before, he did not reveal any traces of himself, and the surrounding cameras were also cleared.
Chao Ri Xi Qiu got up early in the morning to clean up. When he passed by the door, he saw photos scattered all over the floor. He picked up the photos on the floor that were obviously taken at a candid angle and stood there quietly for a moment.
After a moment, he sighed: It's me as expected, even my profile is so beautiful!
It's just that the watermelon guy next to me is stealing the show. Really, why is there not a single photo of myself, all of them are photos with the watermelon guy.
Chao Ri Xi Qiu curled her lips and then carefully sorted out the photos.
I think it must be the enthusiastic neighbors around here.
Thoughts of the morning sun and evening autumn.
It must be a neighbor who loves photography and took the photos of his work. However, because he is shy, he was too embarrassed to come to the neighbor's house directly, so he just stuffed the photos through the crack of the door and sent them to him.
The location of his new home and store is really good, surrounded by good neighbors. Chaori Xiqiu felt warm in his heart. He was in a good mood today, so he decided to give another 10% discount.
Day 4. The first three days were filled with non-aggressive tension and pressure. He originally thought that the previous ones were enough to make the melon shop owner look nervous and fearful, and doubt this and that.
It’s just a pity that the man’s expression didn’t seem to change at all.
So, this time, Shuichi Akai decided to push the process back a little bit. He carefully put on gloves, erased fingerprints, and put the fruit knife in the front desk drawer without leaving any trace.
Different from the feeling expressed by quietly changing objects and posting photos to express concern, this more aggressive and threatening suggestion will further stimulate people's emotions.
The other party was calm and not nervous during the previous two times. I'm afraid he will show something this time, Akai Shuichi thought.
On this day, Chaori Xiqiu finished business and began to count the cash income on hand. He counted it forwards, and then backwards. After counting it back and forth several times, his face finally filled with a bright smile.
Great, I can make money based on my own ability!
All this money was earned by himself, not from various unknown sources. Even if there is no more money from heaven in the future, he still has his own income.
Praise to the best partner Xiguajun.
It's just that Watermelon is occasionally rebellious and retains some traces of a greenhorn - for example, in front of two undercover market monitors, Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morobushi, his flesh is either a question mark or an exclamation mark, and once when he was cut open it turned out to be an emoticon.
He even lost a lot of money because of this!! Because these two people come here almost every day recently.
This made Chao Ri Xi Qiu a little worried. He was afraid that something was not done well and the melon shop that he had worked so hard to run would be closed.
He sighed inwardly, silently hoping that Watermelon would perform well tomorrow.
He carefully put all the money away and stuffed it into his big toast-shaped wallet.
As he put the counted cash into the drawer, he caught a glimpse of a flash of silver reflection inside.
Huh? Chaohi Xiqiu took out the reflective fruit knife, feeling confused. When did he put the knife here?
Everyone handles paper money, how dirty it is! How can you put a knife for cutting fruit together with these things! !
I must have been bewitched by the beautifully ripe watermelon before, which is why I did this unintentionally.
The conscientious businessman Chao Ri Xi Qiu felt deeply remorseful, got up and went to the kitchen to clean the fruit knife, and decided to sell the watermelons at a 10% discount tomorrow.
On the fifth day, Akai Shuichi calculated the deadline and decided that he couldn't continue to test the waters. He decided to go there in person.
As expected of a target person who has contact with the organization, he is still so calm and steady today, without showing any panic or nervousness. Akai Shuichi pondered and planned calmly in his heart. If this is the case, if he really wants to test the other party's attitude, he must have further contact.
The mission will last for a week. On Monday, Gin will come to check on their mission results.
During this time, in addition to gradually advancing his own exploration, Shuichi Akai also paid attention to the whereabouts of the other two teammates, whose code names were Bourbon and Scotland.
Compared to Akai Shuichi, their actions seemed to be more single-minded. Every day they went to the watermelon shop empty-handed, and when they came back, they carried a lot of watermelons.
A quarter of the safe house's small warehouse was taken up by piles of watermelons.
Akai Shuichi: “…”
Very good public spending.jpg
However, the method he chose this time was different from the other two. In order to complete the task more perfectly, Shuichi Akai still proceeded at his own pace.
He carried his guitar bag, which contained a sniper rifle. Of course, the purpose of this trip was not to shoot a sniper rifle but simply to arouse suspicion, so he carried a model that could be mistaken for a real one, not for real robbery.
Shuichi Akai deliberately left the zipper of his guitar bag unzipped, leaving just the right amount of gap, enough for anyone passing by to catch a glimpse of the silhouette of the sniper rifle inside.
He deliberately wore a black windbreaker from head to toe, which made him stand out among the crowd of people dressed in colorful clothes. His tall figure and cold face were like an invisible knife, separating him from the bustling passers-by around him.
With a solemn expression and concentrated aura, Shuichi Akai walked past Asahi Yuaki who went out to do her daily shopping.
The first time I passed by, Chaohi Xiqiu was looking down at his phone and missed it.
So Shuichi Akai turned a corner silently and came back from the front.
However, Asahi Yuki was looking at the road signs in another direction at that time, so he didn't pay any attention to it.
Shuichi Akai simply stopped pretending to pass by and stood in front of Asahi Yuaki at the pedestrian zebra crossing and the traffic light, making sure the angle was high enough for the other person to catch a glimpse of the sniper rifle in the unzipped guitar bag.
This time, he felt someone pat him from behind as he wished.
"gentlemen……"
Shuichi Akai suppressed his conditioned reflex to counter, turned around, and looked at the target character with his narrow green eyes.
However, that person's expression was not what he had imagined.
Chaori Xiqiu smiled politely: "Hello sir, sorry to bother you, I want to ask, is the Yuanshan Music Park along this road?"
Shuichi Akai: “…”Is this a preliminary test?
Perhaps I caught a glimpse of the sniper rifle (model) in his guitar bag, so I tentatively asked him if he knew of a nearby music park, in order to find out whether he was a real music guitarist.
Thoughts quickly flashed through his mind, and Akai Shuichi knew that he should have made initial progress in the task of [gaining the other party's suspicion].
However, he couldn't expose his flaws too obviously, so he could still tell me the address of the music park. So he kept a calm expression and replied in a charming voice: "Go forward, then turn left."
"Okay, thank you very much!" The young man with fox eyes smiled and said goodbye to him.
Shuichi Akai stood still and followed silently, his eyes following the figure's back all the time, ready to see when the other party would explain to the police or take more action.
Then, he saw the other party actually entered Yuanshan Music Park.
Shuichi Akai:?
...You couldn't have really asked for directions just now? ?
There was no feedback on the fifth day either. It was on this day that Akai Shuichi finally sensed the unusual nature of this mission.
Maybe, probably, it seems...the doubt of achieving the target mission is indeed something that needs to be operated.
On the sixth day, Shuichi Akai silently decided not to do any indirect operations to make the other party guess, but to be direct and go straight to the point, so as to gain the other party's suspicion.
The deadline for the mission is approaching, and he can't care about that anymore. He has to make a direct threat, and he can't let it be ignored anymore!!
So on a rainy night, Shuichi Akai stood in front of the Chengxin Watermelon Shop holding a black umbrella.
The watermelon shop's opening hours are 9am to 9pm, opening at 9am and closing at 9pm. He arrived at the shop at exactly 9pm.
——This was a time he had chosen on purpose, because it was raining and it was closing time, so there were almost no customers in the store. This would make it easier to handle the follow-up operations.
Akai Shuichi folded his umbrella, and transparent raindrops slid down the umbrella and dripped onto the ground. His leather boots stepped on the floor, and the water on the soles of his shoes made a slight sizzling sound.
He just stood at the entrance, his green eyes like ghostly will-o'-the-wisp. With his long straight black hair and all black, he looked like a wandering grim reaper.
The light stretched his shadow, dragging it under his feet. Akai Hideo tightened his jaw and stared straight ahead. He did not try to hide his aura.
The fox-eyed young man at the front desk was tidying up the counter. When he stepped in, he raised his head and noticed the uninvited guest at the door.
Asahi Yuqiu blinked, and he looked at Akai Shuichi, and his first words were: "Oh - I knew you would come, and at this time."
He had noticed it a long time ago! This person doesn't have a common face, but the iconic eyeliner made Chao Ri Xi Qiu remember it at first sight.
What's more, recently he has been hanging around and wandering around his own store.
Hearing Asahi Yuaki's words, Akai Shuichi's body tensed up slightly, but his heart relaxed at the same time - very good, it seems that his previous plan was successful!
The person in front of him was just more able to endure and control his expression. In fact, he had already doubted himself.
"Did you guess that I would come at this time?" He nodded slightly, waiting for the fox-eyed young man to say the doubtful words that would make his mission a success.
"Of course." Chaori Xiqiu spread his hands, "After all, I have met people in similar situations to you before."
Similar situation? Hearing this, Akai Shuichi subtly felt that something was wrong.
Chao Ri Xi Qiu crossed his arms and lowered his voice: "You...actually you want to secretly buy melon rinds from me, right?"
He knew that the person in front of him must be just like Dr. Kitamura back then, a shy customer who loved melon peels but couldn't bring himself to talk about it!