The sky was an endless gray-white, as it always is in winter. The dry cold wind blew across my cheeks, leaving behind red marks without mercy, sweeping away the remaining warmth in my body, leaving only a little bit of coolness.

No matter what the weather is like, people who work still have to work.

Shuichi Akai had just come out of the conference room and sat back in his car. The temperature inside the car was also very low, so he did not rush to drive, but first leisurely lit a cigarette and looked out the window casually.

It was also at this time that he realized that it was snowing in Tokyo.

At first there were only a few fleeting, flying snowflakes, as if an illusion, and then the snow gradually grew heavier, floating and rolling, as if it had piled up all the white clouds in the sky and covered everything with a layer of silver-white coat.

It was at this moment that, inexplicably, a familiar young man flashed through Shuichi Akai's mind again.

【Leiya! 】

“…”

It must have been a warm season when that child fell into the sea.

The cigarette between his fingers paused at that position, and his emerald eyes narrowed slightly.

The encirclement and suppression of the organization was finally won, and many old injustices and old love affairs were uncovered and resolved. Miyano Akemi was still alive, which was unexpectedly good news. Akai Shuichi saw the Miyano sisters walking hand in hand through the streets from a distance.

At that time, his car was parked on the side of the road and he did not get out.

As an FBI agent working undercover in the organization, Shuichi Akai has killed many people.

Men, women, guilty, innocent, strangers, close ones, their blood was on his hands. Shuichi Akai knew that nothing could be made up, but he never dwelled on the past. Instead, he continued to move forward firmly, silently shouldering all that he had to bear.

Only occasionally, when he had nothing to do and was numbed by nicotine, those figures would pass by him - the boy with brown curly hair was the one who appeared most often.

The other party in the illusion is still noisy, with a bleating habit attached to the end of every sentence, with an upward and cheerful tone. However, at the final farewell, the illusion that slides by is always quiet and monochrome, like a thin piece of paper.

The living still walk on the ground, while the dead remain forever in the darkness before dawn, with a clear black and white terminator in the middle.

The little lamb ice wine was hit and fell into the sea in front of him. Although Akai Shuichi knew deep down that he was not Lei, he had to admit that this was indeed something he had experienced and even done himself.

The boy with a strange habit, who always pesters me, shows a playful smile when receiving small money and has an awkward kindness, will never see the sunrise of the next day. He sleeps quietly in the deep sea.

And he was one of the accomplices in that hunt.

When the brainwashing was over, Rei Furuya punched Akai hard. After the meeting that led to the destruction of the organization, they met again in the corridor.

The blond man had a fake smile on his face, which he hadn't put away yet during the meeting. When Akai Shuichi asked about "ice wine", the smile slowly turned cold and sharp.

Shuichi Akai didn't know why he asked this question, but after asking it, he didn't explain anything and just looked back with a calm expression.

Furiya Rei's purple-gray eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists: "Hey... you bastard, why can you still maintain such a calm attitude! Asshole, you always have this expression, no matter what happens, you are always so silent and calm...!"

Shuichi Akai noticed the other party's fist, and he thought that Furuya Rei was going to attack. In fact, he certainly wouldn't stand there and do nothing, Shuichi Akai was ready to dodge and counterattack.

However, Furuya Rei did not take action. He just kept a sharp expression and said coldly, "There are no photos. Not a single photo. Watanabe... is a genius hacker. All the information has been cleared by him a long time ago. There is no way to recover it."

Oh, not surprising. Akai Shuichi blinked slightly. He knew that Ice Wine was a very good hacker.

And a photo... maybe there was one. But now there is nothing.

Shuichi Akai once tried to ask the organization to restore the data in the mobile phone under other reasons, but to no avail - everything disappeared completely and without a trace, just like the disappearance of the lamb ice wine.

Maybe it’s good for the impression to stay here. Let Icewine stay with the impression of a member of an organization who sacrificed in the red-black game.

However, Furuya Rei went on to say: "He wanted to go to school... Watanabe saved money to save his friend, and wanted to redeem the child Hiroki from Schindler's company and go to school with him."

"He wants to make friends and study with Hiroki. Watanabe's skills are so good that he will definitely become an excellent student in this major. Maybe he will participate in social activities, receive scholarships, and become an outstanding talent in the industry."

"He wanted to go to school." Fūya Ling raised his eyes and repeated word by word, "But now, there is nothing left."

"..." Akai Shuichi fell silent. He heard the boy's soft voice and remembered that he was indeed old enough to go to school.

But Watanabe Weilai has no future.

Furuya Rei took a deep breath and changed his hand to hold the documents: "I said, I am grateful for what happened to Hiro. Rationally, I also know that Watanabe's death is not your fault. But, but -" Furuya Rei half lowered his head, trying to control his emotions, his golden hair swaying in front of his eyes, "...I still can't forgive it."

The words sounded somewhat contradictory, but Akai Shuichi could understand them.

——I cannot forgive the organization that was the culprit, I cannot forgive Akai Shuichi who was an accomplice, I cannot forgive the situation that made Ice Wine a sacrifice, and I cannot forgive myself for not noticing or changing anything even though I was so close to him.

Although they all knew that from a global perspective, Bingjiu's death brought a better ending and his death was valuable.

But personally, no one can accept that someone close to them becomes a sacrifice for some kind of gain.

When Furuya Rei raised his head again, he had put on the mask again. He put the document under his arm and said in a bored voice: "So, you FBI, get out of Japan."

"..." Akai Shuichi paused and replied, "Once all parties reach a relatively consistent agreement, we will go back."

He didn't say "the FBI will go back" because this involves the deeper relationship between the United States and Japan. These are not things they can change.

In the face of certain big situations, they are just ordinary people who are powerless in it.

"Then let's leave quickly." Furiya Rei said nothing more. He spread his legs and walked away with big strides.

Akai Shuichi stayed where he was.

The words just now appeared clearly in front of me again.

【Watanabe, he wants to go to school.】

The once blurry images of the cruise ship have become clearer.

The brown-haired boy happily shared his first experience of boating with him and happily sent the photos to his good friends. He said those unclear words about money, and when the wind blew up the small braid at the end of his hair, it brought with it the breath of youth and vitality, not the smell of decadent money.

He said he had saved a lot of money.

Are you almost there? Are you ready to realize your dream of rescuing your friend and go to school?

Shuichi Akai didn't know, and Lei didn't have the patience to listen or ask.

He lowered his green eyes, walked out of the building, and then silently lit a cigarette.

The mist was hazy, with an untouchable illusion. It matched the scene at that moment.

Shuichi Akai put those thoughts aside, he opened the car window, and let the cold winter wind take away the drifting white mist. His eyes swept across the promotional posters posted on the street, the spokesperson's photo on it was bright and eye-catching.

This reminded him of the email he had received not long ago.

One day after everything was over, he received another mysterious email.

When he caught a glimpse of the email address, Shuichi Akai's sharp thoughts paused for a rare moment, and then some memories deep in his mind were rekindled - this was the email address belonging to Ice Wine.

As they had been partners before, he memorized the other party's email address.

Seeing this number again that he hadn't seen for a long time, Shuichi Akai opened the email calmly, and began to guess possible new conspiracies and traps in his heart, and planned his future work.

The email did not contain any phishing information. What caught my eye was just a very familiar photo.

——Against the gorgeous background of the setting sun and the afterglow, the brown-haired boy smiled shyly yet cheerfully. He waved to him exaggeratedly yet naturally, and the boundary between the sea and the sky extended infinitely behind him.

This is a photo of life and the future.

Below the photo is a simple line of text:

[The photo is very nice, I forgive you! 】

The hand holding the phone tightened in an instant, Akai Shuichi narrowed his wolf eyes, his temples throbbing, leaving him blank for a moment - who is the other party, what is the purpose? What will happen next? !

He stared at the screen for a long time. But he didn't reply.

Akai Shuichi's rationality told him that he couldn't reply rashly, in case he revealed some information that couldn't be leaked. His fingertips brushed the phone, and after a long pause, he slowly entered a string of phone numbers.

He called Rei Furuya.

Real ice wine or not, the other party will definitely contact them both.

Whether it's a trap or real, Shuichi Akai must find out who is behind this!

...So, what was the result of the verification at that time?

Shuichi Akai took a deep breath of the cigarette and crushed it in the ashtray.

He couldn't quite remember the conversation with Rei Furuya at that time. However, it seemed that the other party had also received the message from Ice Wine.

Then, Xiao Mianyang Bingjiu's boss, the hidden BOSS Jiang Lai, explained to them after the meeting that Xiao Mianyang was still alive, and that they had prepared protective gear and people to pick him up, and that Bingjiu was currently studying abroad - and then showed them the video Xiao Mianyang Bingjiu had taken.

The brown-haired boy in the video still exudes youthful vitality. He waves at the camera, smiles to share his joy, and then pouts and complains about his recent schoolwork.

Akai Shuichi and Furuya Rei watched the entire video in silence without saying anything. This was different from what the viewers had initially imagined, so it was Jiang Lai who finally broke the silence and asked them if they had any other questions.

And they didn't ask any more questions.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, this ending is already very beautiful. There is no need to understand it one step further, so as not to misunderstand some originally beautiful happy ending.

So much for the ice wine.

——Is that the end?

Shuichi Akai's eyes swept over the news being played on the display screen in the building, that Schindler's company had come to Japan for a development press conference, where they would unveil the latest simulated reality technology, "Cocoon".

A familiar company name, a familiar Thomas Schindler.

Everything is not over yet. Akai Shuichi started the car and looked into the distance with sparkling eyes.

They also want to seek belated justice for the two teenagers.