Chapter 214 A Follow-up Move
Curaçao, now back in form, is dominating the battlefield.
With the help of Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei, Curaçao returned to Rum's side, and the battle took a welcome and breakthrough turn!
Well, it needs to be specifically mentioned that this progress is due to the fact that Melo and his team have broken through Brandy's defenses at great cost and are now pressing their advantage.
There was nothing that could be done about it. When your own people make things worse, the trouble they cause is far more profound than that caused by others, especially since Rum had two of them. This wasn't just about nailing him to the pillar of shame for his failure; it was about parading that pillar through the streets ten or eight times over.
Rum, who was already impatient, saw his intelligence network, which he had poured most of his effort into, wiped out by the police who had been lying in wait. His defenses were truly breached. Unwilling to accept reality, he pointed at the air and shouted "traitor" one moment and "useless" the next, as if he wanted to suspect every single person in his mind in an instant.
Unfortunately, Binga, who was wholeheartedly devoted to rum, was right next to him. He had a personality that was perfect for taking the blame, looked like a perfect punching bag, and even wore eyeliner that was very appropriate for the occasion!
His outcome... well, you can imagine.
Rum naturally blamed Binga for the current defeat.
Binga was suffering in silence, cursing the troublemaker he didn't even know was in his heart. For a moment, his usually restrained expression became somewhat ferocious.
Where are his two good colleagues?! Bourbon! Curaçao! Say something! When it came to claiming credit, they were all eager to step up; now that they're being criticized, they've all disappeared!
Of course, without the help of anti-fraud experts, these two normal people couldn't have remained invisible. It was just that their keen sense of smell as working people and their inside information allowed them to bypass this step.
Bourbon faced the challenge head-on, secretly going to find Brandy. This seasoned political veteran was too cunning; even severely crippled, he was still beyond the capabilities of Curaçao at this stage. After much deliberation, Furuya Rei decided that he should personally take charge.
As for Curaçao, who is theoretically the most suspicious, after attending a lesson on Machiavellianism from Morofushi Hiromitsu, he went to Pisco at Bourbon's instigation to draw one last wave of hatred for Melo.
Pisco, who had anticipated the outcome, was the calmest of the three elders. He let Curaçao, whose expression had become much more lively, in, and then showed himself.
As expected, he was not very welcoming of Curaçao's arrival. He even removed the tea that was served to guests from the table, leaving only a cup of hot water for himself.
But unexpectedly, his physical condition...
Pisco's face was ashen, and his movements revealed his extreme weakness. If Morofushi Kagemitsu and the Anti-Fraud King were to see him, they would surely find that Pisco's life energy was severely depleted.
Curaçao was taken aback by his appearance, guessing that Pisco's refusal to show himself was perhaps because he didn't want others to know about his physical condition. But now, he had decided to see her—could it really be something good?
Curaçao sat opposite Pisco, maintaining a blank expression, and made a mental note of his appearance.
“Now you’ve come to me to confront me?” Pisco was breathless and no longer had the energy to maintain his composure. He was certain that Curaçao had betrayed Rum.
“No, I just suddenly thought of something.” Curaçao didn’t mention Pisco’s current situation at all, faithfully following the prepared script, ready to steer the conversation toward Melo at any moment. “Rum told me to keep it a secret, but I think it’s time to tell.”
Pisco didn't press her for answers. Instead, he looked at the woman closely for the first time and realized that Curaçao was truly different after changing masters. Even though changing the subject was clumsy, the fact that she said "I think" was in itself a novel thing.
Curaçao paused after receiving no response, then continued, "Black Guest is actually on Melo's side. Ethan Bendon, one of Scotland's men, contacted Black Guest's people a year ago. The reason those hackers were willing to cooperate with Rum this time was because of the trap Melo had set in advance."
Pisco, who had expected her to reveal some inside information about the lab, blinked, remained silent for a long time, then sighed wearily and asked, "Black Guest, what is your relationship with that project that Scotland is currently working on?"
This question left Curaçao somewhat at a loss for words. She wasn't quite sure what projects Scotland was working on, and this wasn't part of the prepared questions, so she naturally had no answer.
So she resorted to her old tricks: when faced with a question she couldn't answer, she should just stay silent.
As luck would have it, her silence seemed to confirm something for Pisco, who resignedly said, "Sure enough, the boss has excluded me from the core. Is it some new AI fate programming...?"
He spoke the last sentence almost in a whisper, so softly that even Curaçao's hearing struggled to catch it. She hadn't quite understood the word, but it was etched into her memory. She could simply relay it to Scotland when they met.
She has completed half of her mission here today; the other half is to extract some information about the organization from Pisco.
She looked at the elderly man in front of her and said, "Actually, Rum has been searching for the experimental data about the 'silver bullet' that was lost in the early years."
Pisco gave a dismissive snort, seemingly mocking Rum's futile efforts: "That's not what he should be thinking about."
Curaçao was about to say something when Pisco raised his hand and tapped the armrest of the sofa to stop him, saying, "Don't say anything. Vermouth knows more about the information you want to know than I do."
"You can leave now."
Curaçao stared at Pisco expressionlessly for a while, and seeing that the man was determined to take the secret to his grave, he didn't waste any more words and tactfully indicated that he would leave.
Pisco stared at the closed door of Curaçao for a while before snapping out of his daze. He then laboriously rummaged through a small compartment under the coffee table and retrieved the tea set. He pulled a capsule from the round teacup and drank it with the warm water beside him.
He had just caught his breath when he started coughing violently. His hoarse voice seemed to be tearing at his throat, and physiological tears, accompanied by pain he hadn't felt in a long time, dripped onto the table.
This self-torturing cough didn't last long. As he leaned back on the sofa to recover, he held a small metal ball in his palm, still stained with the blood he had coughed up.
[Anti-fraud expert #19: Hmm! Although we all know that Karasuma Renya is frighteningly guarded, we really didn't expect that he would still be so distrustful of Pisco, who has been with him his whole life!]
To observe Curaçao's various actions in order to betray him, the Anti-Fraud Team started a live stream for Morofushi Kagemitsu. Of course, they didn't use ordinary technological products to avoid being discovered by Pisco, but instead deliberately used energy to create a new perspective.
The anti-fraud team was actually quite dissatisfied with Curaçao's performance today, even suspecting that the accident had made her head stupid. However, this complaining was stopped by Morofushi Kagemitsu, who understood Curaçao's thoughts a little. Just as he was about to explain the reason to them, he unexpectedly witnessed Pisco's extra actions.
That's why I had those thoughts on the 19th.
[Anti-Fraud King No. 205: Judging from the organization's technological development level, this small listening device should be a product from about three to five years ago, which roughly corresponds to the period when he came into contact with the fluctuations of fate. It seems that Karasuma Renya's concern about fate-related events may be deeper than we imagined.]
[Anti-fraud expert #11: I was initially a little disappointed that I couldn't find out the secret of the Silver Bullet, but I didn't expect such an unexpected gain. Since Pisco has this kind of surveillance device, what about Melo and the others...?]
There definitely is.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #198: Ah, I remember now, before you went to that manor in America, didn't you stay in a hotel for a few days? We detected surveillance equipment then, but we thought it was a common precaution by the organization, so we just blocked important information and handled it routinely, like with the usual stuff. Turns out, that was what the BOSS used to keep an eye on you.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu was not surprised at all.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #214: So, it seems we've been under quite close surveillance since we returned from the US. I think one of those eyes must be that of the BOSS.]
...That's a bit odd to put it that way.
However, does that mean that the BOSS already knew about Mello's plot against Goto Shunsuke?
[Anti-fraud King #148: It's probably true. Karasuma Renya has known exactly what she's doing... Wait, the fact that Goshima Shunsuke's death wasn't discovered in time could be attributed to our interference, but why didn't he expose our act after Mello was killed?!]
Zhu Fujingguang frowned as he thought of this.
At this moment, he also remembered the butler Hase who was highly suspected of being created by imitating Anti-Fraud King.
They were too busy at the time to investigate why they suddenly created such a thing, only recognizing it as something their future selves had made. Now, thinking back, was it perhaps a response to Karasuma Renya?
[Anti-Fraud Guru #198: Just now, Pisco mentioned the term "new AI fate programming," which sounds like a research project. If I remember correctly, this project has already been assigned to that street—the very place where Shunsuke Goto received treatment at Manpu Hospital.]
The more I listened to this, the more unusual it seemed. Too many coincidences had come together, and even Number 66, who had been silently waiting in the cracks of time, suddenly chimed in.
[Anti-fraud King No. 66: ...Jing, it suddenly occurred to me, if it's really as we suspect, then isn't the future Electronic God Cult developing with Karasuma Renya's tacit approval? I don't know how to describe my current thoughts, I just have a feeling...of being used.]
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