Chapter 213 Sprouting from Within
Generally speaking, the major villains in an organization cannot unite. They each have their own thoughts and schemes, and are simply incapable of backing down even a little for the sake of a common, great interest.
However, it is clear that this law does not apply when faced with life-or-death situations.
After Brandy was ambushed by Melo and Gin at their Kyoto headquarters, he has been struggling to deal with their endless tricks. Despite having the advantage of local resources, he still managed to fight them to a draw.
The others who had been watching from the sidelines were stunned by the force of the two men and didn't dare to interfere. However, ever since Brandy was betrayed by his longtime henchman, even the onlookers couldn't resist jumping onto the stage.
They wouldn't casually mention the idea that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," but their sense of crisis as potential replacements was evident in the orders they issued to their subordinates.
This delicate atmosphere, coupled with Bourbon's tireless efforts to stir up trouble, caused the small spark that had been hidden in their hearts to be blown about by a chilling, fearful breeze, and spread uncontrollably like wildfire.
"Ha, they really are a bunch of old fogies who love to stick together."
Melo quickly realized something was wrong, but she wasn't too worried. She looked down on these beings who were supposed to be their stepping stones; no matter how much pressure a bunch of cowardly rats put on each other, it wouldn't reverse the course of events.
The outcome of the struggle was already decided before she even planned to launch her attack on brandy.
However, what she perceived as a desperate counterattack not only failed to accelerate the course of the battle, but also made her sense something was amiss.
Something that could threaten her quietly happened.
So, to be on the safe side, she sent Scotland.
Having made preparations in advance, Morofushi Kagemitsu accepted the "secret mission" issued by Mello: to find out who or what force was providing support behind Brandy.
He knew perfectly well what Melo was really looking for. The older members of the organization weren't her target; she wanted to find Black Guest, the one with the power to influence the situation and who was quietly providing intelligence behind the scenes.
However, since they had orchestrated this situation to stir up trouble within the organization, they couldn't possibly hand over their answers so quickly. He wanted to delay the situation further, waiting until the police in Kyoto had completed their strategic deployment before revealing the secrets of his intelligence group.
Of course, in order to prevent Ethan Hondou, who already had deep ties with Black Guest, from being suspected, he would also lay the groundwork to make things seem natural.
Actually, he really wanted to try fabricating information like "the BOSS is providing support to Brandy," especially to see Melo's expression when he learned that the BOSS, to whom he had given his all, was secretly taking sides.
Unfortunately, Karasuma Renya, obsessed with cultivating treacherous relationships within the organization, has already carried out this kind of blood transfusion more than once. The idea of "severing ties with subordinates from the old era"... simply doesn't exist, absolutely not.
[Anti-Fraud King #26: Sigh... How can a boss possibly show mercy to subordinates with whom there's no emotional connection?]
[Anti-fraud King No. 19: After all, this is a filial son who would even sacrifice his own father. He probably only sees his subordinates' loyalty as a given... However, I like the phrase "lingering connection," and since rum and brandy are inherited code names, they're perfect for filling in the gaps in my previous writing about the love and hate of the previous generation!]
...I knew it, you two couldn't stay serious for more than a few seconds before revealing your true colors = =
Honestly, it must be because you guys live in my head all the time, influencing my thinking. Otherwise, how could I have come up with such an analogy? It's truly terrifying mental pollution…
Morofushi Kagemitsu secretly resolved to have Mr. Kinsen prepare to shut down that forum that was the root of all evil. He then processed the information sent by Furuya Rei and passed it on to Mello.
Thanks to the secret, coordinated efforts of these childhood friends to dig up the grave, the three old brandy men finally realized that even with the help of the mysterious Black Guest, they couldn't hold out for long and turned their attention inward.
The old guard, accustomed to skepticism, maintained a facade of "peace" as always, but an irreparable rift had developed beneath. Rum remained as enigmatic as ever, while Pisco simply stopped showing his face altogether.
Seeing that the alliance of the three elders was crumbling, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu secretly went to see Curaçao, who had been out of contact for a long time.
Under close police surveillance, Curaçao, who had briefly lost her memory and then recovered, is doing well and has accepted the fact that she was once a ruthless killer.
The development of this matter is quite dramatic.
Initially, Mr. Jinquan and his team were worried that Curaçao, who was loyal to Rum, would be difficult to control due to her determination to escape. However, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had already completed the "Curaçao instance" in one life, had plenty of ways to help her. He proactively provided the Public Security Bureau with a plan to change her stance (which also incorporated some of the Anti-Fraud Team's ideas).
However, before the carefully crafted script outline could even be titled, an accident occurred during the mission Curaçao was on. By the time Furuya Rei received the news and was preparing to notify the police, Curaçao, who had been soaking in the river for several hours, was already enjoying a hot lunch with her kind-hearted rescuers.
Oh, I need to emphasize that it's the amnesiac version of Curaçao.
The smooth progress of the incident left the police officers, who were prepared to put on a lifelong performance, looking at each other in bewilderment.
After an emergency discussion, the police team believed that there were quite a few people in Curaçao whose nature was hard to change, but considering the emotional instability of the amnesiacs, they ultimately adopted a more lenient approach.
In order not to provoke her, they did not intervene too obviously. Instead, they secretly sent plainclothes officers to infiltrate her life, trying to sway her with goodwill as planned, while keeping an eye on her to prevent her from becoming violent and harming innocent people after regaining her memory.
Without the organization's forced, periodic brainwashing and the police team's tight surveillance, Curaçao's peaceful days passed by one by one. Even the period when she regained her memories was exceptionally calm. If it weren't for the observant young woman playing the role of her neighbor, the police might not have even noticed that Curaçao had regained her memories as a codenamed member of the distillery.
Thus, the public security team, having prepared for the worst, acquired a somewhat adorable humanoid intelligence machine.
While the group members, questioning their existence, stared at the absurd script about "love conquering all," Morofushi Hiromitsu could only silently lament the arrangements of fate.
He thought that even Curaçao, who had regained her memories, might have had doubts about whether the girls who rescued her were part of a script aimed at her. However, pure kindness shone brighter than any other emotion, and the emotional response she received was more intense and colorful than in her previous twenty-odd years of life.
Doubt can shake the foundation of trust, but goodwill can also dismantle the barriers of malice.
Curaçao's redemption came a little earlier than the script suggested.
Although the current Curaçao doesn't have access to as many secrets as the future one, it doesn't matter. Morofushi Kagemitsu will fill in the gaps with the information he gets from her in the future.
At the same time, he also believes that saving her life according to the prophecy is just as important as keeping her hands free from sin.
Now, Curaçao, who has been silently awaiting her own trial, has a completely different mindset when she sees the organization's Bourbon and Scotland again.
Of course, in order to prevent the tragedy of friendly fire fighting, the police team promptly informed both sides of their identities.
Curaçao stretched her wrists, picked up an apple from the table, and started peeling it. Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei also nonchalantly put away their weapons that they had prepared to retaliate.
“I have told you everything I know about the organization.” Curaçao’s cooking skills haven’t improved much yet, but her knife skills are still quite excellent; she hasn’t even broken an apple peel yet. “Now that you’ve come to me in person, it must be for something more important.”
“That’s right. The internal strife within the organization isn’t over yet. We need both Brandy and Melo to suffer heavy losses, which will exacerbate their internal suspicions.” Before coming, Furuya Rei carefully reviewed the current observation report on Curaçao and decided to speak frankly. “I can keep an eye on most of Rum’s men, but we need someone to contact Binga and have him add fuel to the fire in this final frenzy of the struggle.”
After listening, Curaçao pondered for a moment. Although she hadn't had much access to intelligence about the organization lately, she still had some recollections of the organization's situation before the accident during her mission. Furthermore, the two bottles of counterfeit alcohol had been given some information by an undercover police officer beforehand, allowing her to assess the current situation to some extent.
“Binga has always liked to take credit. Rum entrusted him with the task of finding me, so he will definitely take most of the credit himself.” She told him some information about Binga based on her memory. “If I contact him now, it will definitely attract Rum’s attention. In that case, Brandy and Pisco might have some ideas.”
Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded. Since Furuya Rei had stated the purpose of their trip from the beginning, he naturally wouldn't hide anything from her. He also told her about the risks of this mission: "We previously attributed your disappearance to Melo. Now that you've reappeared, you'll not only face the ill intentions of Brandy and Pisco, but you'll also have to deal with Rum's suspicions. Moreover, you might be remembered by the BOSS who's watching everything from behind."
“I understand.” Curaçao finished peeling a whole apple, placed it on the top of the fruit plate, and calmly stated the information she needed, “I also need to know Rum and his men’s recent activities.”
“Of course, we’ve included the action plan in there as well.” Morofushi Kagemitsu placed the prepared file folder on the table and pushed it over. “Please.”
"Thank you." Curaçao accepted the file bag and thanked him in a low voice.
The matter has been settled, and they should leave now.
When Morobuchi Kagemitsu pushed open the door, he heard Curaçao's voice again.
“Kashima Yuki”.
Her voice came from behind, "This is my new name."
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