Chapter 97, Chapter 96: The Hunter's Training: The Unburnt...
The world kisses me with pain
I responded with knives, guns, rocket launchers, spaceships, neutron bombs, and high-energy nuclear warheads.
Zhuge Tongzhi's words silenced Zhu Fujingguang for a full minute.
In an instant, countless random words flooded into my mind—amnesia, corruption, Zero is still staying up all night, the child has grown up, there's something wrong with this fire, Bourbon takes over, what happened to El... flashing through my mind quickly.
The effect was remarkable, causing the Scottish brain to spin.
"Didn't you go undercover there just to climb up the social ladder?" After waiting for a long time without a response, the black-haired girl turned to look at Morofushi Kagemitsu in confusion. "Instead of working for that old man, you might as well kill him. You might even get in touch with the BOSS."
Zhuge Tongzhi blinked and asked sincerely, "What are you hesitating about?"
He wasn't hesitant; rather, he was more in a daze. Morofushi Kagemitsu wiped his face and thought silently that he really couldn't imagine that one day a bottle of wine would suggest to him that he kill Rum.
“It’s not that I’m hesitant, Zero has been working hard to get promoted.” He said helplessly, trying to explain the absurdity of this idea: “But to get to the top, it’s definitely not as simple as just getting rid of Rum, right?”
"Hmm... Actually, that's not the case." Zhuge Tongzhi thought for a while, propping his face up, and said, "In my memory, the BOSS was a pretty wicked guy who valued people based on merit. Gin should be about the same age as Akai, but he was already the leader of the action team."
In my memory, because the training camp was originally based in the United States, although they had little contact with Sherry's laboratory, they had a few collaborations with Gin without meeting each other because Rum and Gin were at odds but had to cooperate.
Moreover, Gin had been in control of the operations team for about ten years, when he was only in his twenties, so the seniority system didn't really work in the brewery.
Rum is the only one who inherited his father's codename and became the second-generation Rum. She had never heard of any inheritance system for other codename members. Everyone else had fought their way through gunfire.
Ah, Rum, you nepotism bastard, you deserve to die.
The dark-haired girl, who had never hated the name so much, bit her tongue and raised the importance of killing Rum even higher.
In short, at 29, Bourbon is at the prime of his career, and he just needs a bit of an opportunity to rise to the top, because the brewery's system, which adheres to the law of the jungle, is actually quite straightforward.
“If you look closely, the succession is very simple.” Zhuge Tongzhi used himself as an example: “When Rag and I were ‘dead,’ Curaçao took over. Now that Curaçao has been captured, Rum’s confidants are also undergoing a succession.”
“You’re not dead,” Morofushi Kagemitsu corrected gently. The black-haired girl glanced at him and added, “Yes, neither is Rag.”
Morofushi Kagemitsu did not affirm this point, but said instead, "Kill Rum now? Isn't that a bit too fast? Zero is still under his command and has not yet reached the position of a confidant."
“Then kill Rum and his cronies together,” Zhuge Tongzhi said casually, the firelight dancing in her eyes, burning fiercely from her eyes to beyond them.
"I happen to know who his next confidant is. He's a crazy guy with corn braids named Binga. He's ambitious, good at disguise, and skilled at intelligence gathering, but his physical skills are terrible."
She looked up at Morofushi Kagemitsu, their two pairs of eyes, burning with fire, met in the darkness, and she saw his face illuminated by the firelight. "Capture him or kill him, make room for Bourbon."
"Clearing the way for him, isn't that what you... our original covenant was all about?"
The black-haired girl turned back and talked about what El had said that night, which naturally made Morofushi Hiromitsu think that the child in front of him was El, but the word "you" in her words clearly excluded herself.
"Your memories?" He tapped his forehead, leaving the question unanswered and giving Zhuge Tongzhi room to explain.
“Right now, it’s like… there are two movies playing face to face.” Zhuge Tongzhi held up his two palms facing each other, and said somewhat confusedly, “I can’t tell which movie’s protagonist I am.”
"And they all have static on the screen, making many things unclear." As she spoke, she raised her hand to pat her head, shook her head, and muttered, "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Don't take your head to a TV repair shop. Morofushi Kagemitsu helplessly raised his hand to rub the kid's probably very messy head, and then his hand was quickly slapped away.
"Regardless of which part of my memory it is, I'm at least nineteen years old." Zhuge Tongzhi tried to warn the twenty-nine-year-old adult beside him, defending his basic rights and self-respect as an adult.
But the effect was obviously not good, because the 29-year-old full-time adult laughed and said that you are actually not even 19 years old, just a fake adult who has not even completed a year of adult internship.
Zhuge Tongzhi was speechless for a long time after being refuted, and finally brought the topic back to the beginning, "Getting rid of Rum is not fast at all. If we don't make a move, he will come to Beika Town himself soon."
Since it concerned the organization, Morofushi Kagemitsu immediately became serious and said, "Are you still going to be a sushi chef? Conan-kun has already told us all about it."
Just as Elle had predicted, the child whose real name was Shinichi Kudo showed absolute sincerity in cooperating. He was both naive and talented in balancing the various forces, and quickly became the irreplaceable center of the Red Team after obtaining the intelligence.
"Highly likely, and he will become Kogoro Mouri's third disciple, thereby gathering intelligence on the Red Team."
Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, Zhuge Tongzhi knew that Conan had already shared this part with them, so he immediately cut off the conversation and moved on to the most crucial topic.
“Then guess.” The six-year-old black-haired girl pointed to her face and asked Morofushi Hiromitsu, “How likely is it that Rum, who gave me the code name, wouldn’t recognize me when I was a child?”
Zhu Fujingguang's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't speak. However, he knew that the possibility was probably infinitely close to zero.
“However, it’s not like I can’t try wearing a pair of glasses.” Zhuge Tongzhi’s tone suddenly became cheerful again, and he swung his legs as he said, “I’ve wanted Conan’s glasses for a long time, so I can take this opportunity to trick Professor Agasa into making me a pair.”
She cleared her throat, solemnly raised a finger, and announced, "As everyone knows, when a person puts on glasses, they become a completely different person."
With her youthful face, coupled with her deliberately serious voice and wording, if Morofushi Hiromitsu were to evaluate her, he could only say that Kiri-chan's cuteness has surpassed the perfect score.
However, the black-haired girl quickly quieted down, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at the campfire that was gradually dying down, saying, "But rather than gambling, it's more valuable to make this identity exposed."
“Use me as bait to lure out Gin, Rum, and Binga.” Zhuge Tongzhi bluntly stated his idea: “We will cooperate to push Bobon to power. You will get the information and power you want, while I only need Gin’s whereabouts.”
"Regarding Gin, Zero is already..." Morofushi Hiromitsu's brows furrowed deeply as the girl spoke. Furuya Rei was already investigating Gin's whereabouts, but the actual results were...
“Gin’s whereabouts are hard to trace, aren’t they?” She looked at Morofushi Kagemitsu’s tightly furrowed brows and laughed instead: “He’s either on a mission or on his way to one, always running around catching mice. His destination is too hard to predict.”
“Moreover, I not only need to know his whereabouts, I also need him to take me to find Rag.”
The campfire, surrounded by empty benches, finally burned out, leaving only embers flickering in the wind, slowly consuming the remaining embers, which danced occasionally, while the remaining ash drifted away on the evening breeze.
“So there’s no need to hesitate, I just can’t wait to strike first.” Zhuge Tongzhi’s dark eyes also sparkled as he said, “If there are no problems, I’ll leak the information.”
If she can get Noah's Ark to trigger the all-age recognition system and detonate everything ahead of time, she might not be at a disadvantage with the first move. In fact, with Conan's help, the success rate should be quite high...
"Then you can..."
“No way.” Morofushi Kagemitsu interrupted Zhuge Tongzhi gently but firmly, stood up from the ground, walked to Zhuge Tongzhi, looked down at the calm girl and said, “I do not agree to this risky plan.”
"Fortune favors the bold, and you can't get wine without risking your child." Zhuge Tongzhi casually rattled off a string of proverbs, but after only two lines of his ramblings, his guardian grabbed his head and manually shut him down.
“Things aren’t so bad that you need to reveal your identity. Even if Rum comes to Beika Town, we have better countermeasures.” Morofushi Kagemitsu pressed down on his subordinate’s head and said gently, “Don’t worry, Kiri.”
Seeing through the deep unease in the child's heart, he whispered a promise: "I and everyone else will fight alongside you to the very end. Trust us, and trust Rag."
Upon hearing the last word, the black-haired girl, who had been keeping her head down and whose expression was obscured, swayed her shoulders deeply. She managed to squeeze out each trembling word with difficulty: "Fire will eventually burn out."
Just like the campfire in front of us, when it burns down to just embers and is barely clinging to life, if no one adds firewood to it, the fire will burn out completely.
What use would it be to bring firewood now? What would be left after the gradually cooling ash buries the flames?
After getting the clue from Shuichi Akai, she really, really couldn't wait any longer.
“No.” The figure that had been standing in front of him squatted down, raised his hand and pressed it firmly on Zhuge Tongzhi’s trembling shoulder, and said firmly, “You’re wrong, Tong-chan.”
“Flames are hard to extinguish.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at the girl whose chin was constantly adorned with falling starlight and said, “There’s a saying that goes like that, but my English isn’t as good as Zero’s, so don’t laugh at me.”
"Cheers to the fire in my heart."
"And revere the fire of my heart."
As the gust of wind sweeping through the valley tousled my hair, a Japanese-accented English voice and a woman's voice that had been silent for a day rang in my ears at the same moment.
“Never extinguishing.”
"Never die out! Wuhu!"
The sudden gust of wind, the crackling sound of burning firewood, and the intense heat of the flames assaulted my senses.
Zhuge Tongzhi looked up blankly and saw that the campfire, which had been extinguished, was reignited by the fierce wind, with the embers buried deep inside bursting into flames.
"See, it won't go out." Her cheek was gently touched, and she watched as Morofushi Kagemitsu raised his hand to wipe away a wet finger before belatedly raising his hand to wipe his face haphazardly.
The black-haired girl took a deep breath and retorted stubbornly, "Don't think I don't know you're using a fallacy."
“But my feelings haven’t been betrayed.” Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled gently as always, considerately handing over a handkerchief, and said, “Don’t be afraid, don’t worry, and don’t talk about others. At least I will always stand by your side.”
“We will have a better way to solve all this.”
Determined people always radiate a light that irresistibly draws people in, forcing them to look away to stay clear-headed.
Zhuge Tongzhi turned his head and said, "Alright, but I think my method is the best."
“You can’t change my mind. This is the fastest way to save time.” After she finished speaking, she emphasized to Morofushi Kagemitsu in front of her again, “I’m not afraid of you.”
"Alright, but we need to go to sleep anyway." Morofushi Kagemitsu took the sniffling Moroko Tongzhi's hand and led him into the house. "Children shouldn't stay up late."
“Even children who aren’t afraid of me won’t be allowed.” The phoenix-eyed man, anticipating the girl’s next words, spoke first, gently escorting Zhuge Tongzhi back to his room to sleep. “In short, no staying up late.”
Watching the child with red eyes slam the door shut, Morofushi Kagemitsu slowly walked back to his room, thinking to himself: Because you're not afraid of me, you can't change your mind, right?
The man with phoenix eyes smiled and reached out to turn off the lights in the room.
Then find someone who can change your mind.
…
The next day, Zhuge Tongzhi was dragged by the heartless Scottish man to Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji's apartment.
They called it "visiting someone's home."
-----------------------
The author's note: But in reality, it was a denunciation meeting ( ).
Xiao Tong: pitiful, weak, and helpless.
Jingguang: A gentle smile
…
Equivocation refers to
Xiaotong is talking about real "fire," like a campfire, like life itself.
But Jingguang further spoke of the "fire" of the spirit, the fire of the heart.
(Shy)
…
Ugh, I have to adjust my sleep schedule when school starts!
But it feels like the tone of Chenxing staying up all night... was somehow destined when writing this book (sad).
…
Mwah!
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