Combat, Reminders, and Counterattacks
A black Porsche broke away from the traffic and turned into an inconspicuous underground parking lot entrance.
Vodka, who was driving, glanced at Gin sitting in the passenger seat. He opened his mouth, but because of Akemi Miyano in the back seat, he ultimately didn't say anything.
Gin paid no attention to the woman in the back seat, focusing all his attention on Ray and Boben, whom he was about to meet. He twirled a car igniter between his fingers, his aura was cold and imposing, and his eyes under the wide brim of his hat shone with a chilling and terrifying dark light.
The black Porsche soon stopped on a flat area. This underground parking lot had been abandoned for some time, with a few square load-bearing columns standing in the empty space, and the light was dim.
The only light came from the slivers of light shining through the ventilation fan window on the west wall, which was close to the road.
As the black Porsche pulled in, its headlights switched on, illuminating the small area with a blinding flash. This included two cars parked not far away behind a pillar. Then, with a soft click of an open door, two figures stepped out of the car, one after the other.
Gin held his Beretta, which he always carried, in his right hand inside his coat, while his left hand pressed down on his hat, revealing a strand of long, silvery-white hair peeking out from under the collar of his coat.
The heels of Gin's leather shoes tapped rhythmically on the ground as he led Vodka step by step toward the spot. Vodka, who had been on high alert ever since he saw the parking lot was quiet and deserted, now had his hand on his bulging waist and his ears perked up, listening for any sounds around him.
Amuro Tooru and Ray stood a step apart, one in front of the other, both wearing hats, one a baseball cap and the other a knitted hat. With years of experience and keen eyesight, Amuro Tooru could tell in just a few glances that Gin's right hand, hidden under his coat, was gripping a weapon. They didn't make any rash moves, but waited for Gin to strike first.
Gin stopped about three meters away, slightly raising his head to reveal a pair of eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat brim. His cold, cruel, and emotionless eyes looked at them, and the atmosphere suddenly froze. Amuro Tooru tensed up and focused his attention.
Gin narrowed his eyes, his icy gaze sweeping over Bourbon and Ray. Noticing the wariness in their eyes, he uttered a single sentence: "I didn't expect you two to be so bold. Did the gambling organization not discover your identities?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Amuro Tooru's expression remained unchanged, and he calmly stared at Gin with a sullen face.
But this atmosphere didn't last long. In the next second, both sides drew their weapons. Everything happened quickly. After a few gunshots, the parking lot became dark again. The headlights of the black Porsche had gone out at some point, and the sudden darkness made everyone's vision go black. When their eyes adjusted, the open space was empty.
But the faint smell of blood in the air made everyone realize the outcome of the battle just now.
Amuro Tooru gripped his gun, his back pressed against the supporting pillar. Behind the pillar next to him stood Ray, his face equally grim. Their targets had been Gin and Vodka, respectively. The former had shot Vodka in his dominant right arm, while the latter had aimed at Gin, but Vodka's reaction was too quick; the bullet grazed his cheek and struck the wall behind him.
Both of them felt it was a bit of a pity.
Meanwhile, as the battle raged on this side, Tsurumi Kawakami on the cruise ship also encountered an unexpected person.
Shiho Miyano was taken away, and Nagaru Tsurumi was also ordered to return to his room. Two tall bodyguards stood guard at the door, their faces completely unfamiliar.
Tsurumi Kawakuri opened the door and peeked out, but before he could do anything, the bodyguard at the door stopped him and told him to go back inside. Realizing he was being watched, Tsurumi Kawakuri didn't react much, but simply closed the door somewhat angrily and looked at the only window in the room.
Just as the black-haired, golden-eyed boy approached the window, a figure, resembling a slippery fish or a nimble monkey, swiftly climbed outside and met Tsurumi Kawa's gaze.
The person who entered had a completely unfamiliar face. Tsurumi Kawaru was slightly surprised, and the person had already pushed open the window and leaned in.
"Shh." The newcomer, Asuka Tsurumi, gestured to his mouth and said meaningfully, "It seems you are well aware of your situation."
Tsurumi Kawakami blinked, lingering his gaze on the other person's featureless face for a few moments before stepping back to make room: "Who are you?"
“You don’t need to know who I am.” The man lowered his voice as well, and lightly jumped down from the windowsill. “Your affair with Sherry and what Bourbon and Ray did are known. Gin should deal with that now. No one can save you now.”
Hearing the other person's words, Tsurumi Kawakami was somewhat surprised and puzzled. "How did you know that, and why did you tell me?"
"The cruise ship is about to depart. Once you leave Tokyo Bay and go to the island, you'll probably never have another chance to leave," the man said to himself, ignoring Tsurumi Kawakami's words.
After saying that, Tsurumi Kawa saw the man reveal a strangely complicated smile, turn around and slip out of the window he had just entered through, disappearing in a few swift movements like a gecko.
Tsurumi Kawaru peered out the window and noticed several extra people on the first-floor deck. A moment later, he felt a slight sense of weightlessness beneath his feet as the cruise ship slowly left the dock and headed towards the wider sea.
After watching for a while, Tsurumi Kawaru straightened up, leaning against the windowsill. Just then, his phone beeped, notifying him of a message. He took out his phone and opened it, finding it was a message from Curaçao. He looked surprised upon seeing the message's content, but then immediately understood.
Thinking of Shiho Miyano, who had been summoned by Renya Karasuma, the black-haired, golden-eyed boy muttered, "This time we've really messed up."
With no one around to consult, and knowing that Amuro Tooru was probably already at odds with Gin, Tsurumi Nagare decided to act on his own. He walked to the door, but the two bodyguards outside still wouldn't let him out, and wouldn't answer any of his questions.
Tsurumi Kawaru sighed in disappointment, closed the door, turned around and went to the bathroom to turn on the tap. He then moved a chair from the room, stood on it, and removed the bathroom light.
After dismantling the lights, he went to dismantle the room's lights. Once he was done, he went to the bedside, grabbed a pillow, stuffed it into the blanket, and fiddled with it to make it look like someone was lying inside.
After finishing all this, Tsurumi Kawa clapped his hands and nodded in satisfaction. He walked to the window and peered out to make sure no one was paying attention. Then, he carefully climbed out of the window, clinging to the windowsill.
He stepped along the edge to wipe away the footprints on the windowsill, then closed the window before slowly descending to the west-facing balcony on the first floor, following the foothold he had chosen.
The cruise ship's control room was at the very back, facing the opposite direction of the deck. Tsurumi peeked into the corridor, carefully making his way to the main control room while avoiding people and surveillance cameras.
There were only four people in the control room: the captain and first mate, who were in charge of steering the ship, and two assistants. The door to the control room was pushed open, and the first person to notice Tsurumi Kawakami was the first mate, who looked somewhat surprised to see him.
"you……"
Tsurumi Kawakami closed the control room door behind him, giving them an embarrassed smile. A moment later, the control room door opened again, and the black-haired, golden-eyed boy peeked out, looked around, and seeing no one in the corridor, retreated back inside and closed the door again.
Inside the door, the captain and first mate were tied together back to back, as were the other two. Because their mouths were also gagged, they could only look at Tsurumi Kawakami with terrified eyes and struggle with muffled noises.
Tsurumi Sho scratched his cheek and said softly, "I won't hurt you. I'm just letting you stay like this for a while."
After speaking, he glanced at the equipment in the control room and found the cruise ship's current route. Tsurumi Kawakami stared at the route on the screen for a while, then scratched his head. He couldn't understand the data or how to operate it, so he could only look at the captain and first mate, who were tied up on the ground.
Tsurumi Kawakami blinked and squatted down in front of the two, humbly asking, "I don't want to go to the island, how do I change my flight path?"
Captain/First Mate: "..."
Tsurumi Kawakami slapped his forehead, reached out to the captain to remove the gag, and whispered, "I'll take it off for you, don't shout."
Seeing the captain nod, Tsurumi Kawakuri began to act. The gag was removed, and the captain, his voice trembling, told Tsurumi Kawakuri how to operate the equipment. Following the captain's instructions, Tsurumi Kawakuri changed the route to the sightseeing route that was frequently used during the peak tourist season.
This cruise ship belongs to a Tokyo-based travel company. It's the off-season for tourism, and it's rare to have a customer who wants to charter the ship for a sea trip. Although the customer's request is a bit strange, and the bodyguards on the cruise ship all look intimidating and are carrying guns, the captain only instructed the first mate and two crew members to stay out of the way and avoid causing trouble, striving to complete this order peacefully.
But unexpectedly, it still caused trouble in the end.
After Tsurumi Nagare revised the course, he stuffed the cloth into the captain's mouth again. He couldn't stay there for too long, so he quietly opened the door, peeked outside, and cautiously returned to his room on the second floor.
As soon as he got back, there was a knock on his door. The bodyguard outside opened the door without waiting for a response and came in: "The boss wants to see you."
Tsurumi Kawa was startled. He glanced at the blanket on the bed, which was wrapped up with a pillow to make a person look like a ball. He hesitated for two seconds before going forward to break it up, and then followed the bodyguard to Karasuma Renya's room.
The door opened, and Tsurumi Kawaru immediately saw Shiho Miyano standing in the center of the room, though the latter looked pale and as if she had been through a shock. He glanced at her briefly before turning his gaze to Renya Karasuma. "You wanted to see me?"
Karasuma Renya: "Sherry said you accepted Rum's mission to spy on Gin."
Tsurumi Kawa was stunned. He subconsciously turned to look at Miyano Shiho, hesitated for a second, and then nodded.
Karasuma Renya narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Do you know what Bourbon did?"
Tsurumi Kawa was completely bewildered, not knowing what Miyano Shiho and Karasuma Renya had discussed earlier, but he honestly shook his head and asked, "What happened to Bourbon?"
Karasuma Renya did not answer his question, but asked a few more questions before waving him away with Miyano Shiho.
Upon leaving the second floor and arriving on the first floor, Tsurumi Kawakami noticed that the bodyguards who had been following him were no longer with him, and even the bodyguards who had been monitoring Miyano Shiho were gone. He wanted to ask, but seeing Miyano Shiho's pale face, he pursed his lips and remained silent.
Once back in his room and with the door closed, Tsurumi Kawakami finally had a place to say all the things he had been holding back.
"What did you just say to Karasuma Renya? Why are you suddenly asking about Rum?" He walked up to Miyano Shiho and asked with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Shiho Miyano pursed her pale lips, still feeling lingering fear as she recalled her conversation with Renya Karasuma. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and then told Nagaru Tsurumi about the conversation.
Tsurumi Kawaru stared in disbelief at Miyano Shiho, swallowing hard as he murmured, "So you're blaming everything on Rum. No wonder Karasuma Renya asked me so many questions about Rum earlier."
He didn't know what to say. Shiho Miyano was bold and quick-witted. However, it seemed that Renya Karasuma believed Shiho Miyano's story, but this was ultimately unsafe. He would know that it was all a lie once he confronted Rum.
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