Chapter 219 One world, one group of leaders…
Will sabotaging this cooperation deter the upper echelons from their restless, money-driven ambitions?
Ah, that's impossible.
To prevent the higher-ups from causing any more trouble, they decided to change their approach: instead of letting these leaders hold their noses and ruin their crooked path to wealth, they would take advantage of the concept of high returns and high risks early on, encouraging them to prepare armed forces as soon as possible, so that this small criminal organization would not be ungrateful and ruin their money-making plans.
Having finalized the general plan, they used their limited manpower to spread rumors about the organization's ill intentions regarding the cooperation, preparing those high-ranking figures to take drastic measures against the organization should negotiations break down—this was much more acceptable than simply asking them to "send troops to suppress the bandits."
Morofushi Kagemitsu watched with a cold smile as the higher-ups accepted this explanation as if ice and snow were melting away, finally willing to discuss the matter of dealing with the organization at the meeting.
Having finally settled the internal disunity, he turned his attention to the FBI, who had long been cooperating with the organization. Although he was somewhat prepared for Commissioner Smith's "free-spirited" attitude, he still couldn't help but sigh when he saw the sheer number of projects they were working on with the organization.
Shuichi Akai, the provider of these cooperation documents, said calmly on the phone: "Although these projects have just been agreed upon, and there seem to be many opportunities to sabotage them, unfortunately, the advance payment has already been divided up by various departments, and it is impossible to get them to return it."
Morofushi Kagemitsu understood that the subtext of these words was that in order to prevent the funds from being withdrawn, Commissioner Smith would ensure that these projects would be successfully implemented.
They acted so decisively; he had no way to intervene.
"However, given the character of those guys, there's no guarantee what the final product will be like," Shuichi Akai said slowly. "'The quality of the people involved in the project varies greatly. Even if it's barely completed within the stipulated time, I can't be sure whether the final quality will meet the organization's requirements.' That's what I told the organization, to make them mentally prepared that this deal might be a waste of time."
"...That's not bad either."
Morofushi Hiromitsu realized that Akai Shuichi was sabotaging these collaborative projects with his unique American-style efficiency, causing the organization to lose money and time, and in the end, they might not even receive one or two qualified finished products.
As for whether the organization that discovers it has been tricked will become angry and protest... well, let's first hear a story about a bag of laundry detergent.
Shuichi Akai's actions impressed Hiromitsu Morofushi, who remarked that it was no wonder this man was able to continue being a double agent so smoothly; he certainly had his own unique methods.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: Okay, okay, let's put our emotions aside for a moment. You should still remember why we called him this time, right?]
Of course I remember. I just need to find out what's going on over there first. If the FBI really becomes a partner of the organization, what's the point of our joint talks?
Fortunately, the situation is not as bad as we imagined.
"Since the FBI and the organization have had in-depth contact, there should be some progress on the information regarding the 'Silver Bullet' project we mentioned earlier, right?" Instead of directly bringing up Shuichi Akai's sabotage of the cooperation, Morofushi Hiromitsu brought up the information that the FBI had been reluctant to share with them for a long time.
"...This project is too old, so we also sent agents to infiltrate and investigate." Shuichi Akai paused, then said somewhat indistinctly, "We've also shared his regular reports with you..."
Before Morofushi Hiromitsu could react to this, Agent 214, who was in charge of verifying this part of the intelligence, slammed his fist on the table and stood up, clearly very dissatisfied with the FBI's work during this period. Agent 19 also chimed in, obviously having seen quite a bit as well.
[Anti-fraud expert #214: Regular reports? That can be called a report?! Did they really just find someone to compile a daily observation log from an American lab? I suspect this guy who kept the log usually spends his time loitering on the organization's forum. He's only kept the log for five days and he's already gossiping about the lab!]
[Anti-Fraud King #19: Exactly! I can even see some of the forum's slang in my diary. But you can't say your guy is completely useless; at least the fresh gossip he provides gives me some creative inspiration…]
The reaction of these two anti-fraud agents is enough to show that the intelligence provided by the FBI was almost worthless, which explains why Shuichi Akai, who is always pragmatic, was not confident when he brought up this matter.
Morofushi Hiromitsu had also read those "reports" and was aware of the situation. He knew that the FBI probably wouldn't be able to produce any valuable intelligence in the short term, so he deliberately brought it up to highlight the other party's "debt" in the last transaction and to increase the leverage for the cooperation he proposed next.
“The organization has kept this matter well under wraps, making it difficult to investigate. Dragging it out any longer would be a waste of time.” Morofushi Kagemitsu gave a polite summary before steer the conversation toward new cooperation details. “How about we change the transaction to a cross-border collaboration? Don’t worry, the part that’s actually handled by the FBI isn’t complicated; we just need to borrow some of your manpower.”
"...This goes beyond what we previously agreed upon in the 'deal'." Shuichi Akai reacted quickly, immediately understanding what the other party wanted. This matter couldn't be easily resolved with a simple 'deal'. "You guys came prepared...Are you finally ready to take action against the organization?"
"It hasn't come to that yet." Morofushi Hiromitsu revealed some information about the cooperation between the Public Security Bureau and the organization. In any case, even if they didn't say it, the FBI had internal channels to find out about it, so it was better to be tactful in his words than to hide it. "It's just that our actions are based on the premise of this broken negotiation. You know, they always need a pretext."
“Playing tricks on the organization? That’s not a good idea.” Akai Hideaki only said this briefly, without agreeing immediately. “The matter of transferring personnel still needs approval from higher-ups. However, we are currently in a honeymoon period of cooperation with them, so we need to use other pretexts to get their consent.”
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Akai." Morofushi Kagemitsu could tell that Akai Shuichi was willing to help. Since the other party was willing to go to the trouble for them, he would not hesitate to share information.
He thought for a moment, then switched to riddle mode and said, "The sea has been rather turbulent lately. Keep an eye on those small islands; perhaps they hold some unexpected secrets."
“Island…” Shuichi Akai murmured the word, then, as if remembering something, asked, “Are you trying to investigate Mello’s past?”
Morofushi Kagemitsu raised an eyebrow. He had only intended to hint at the existence of the island plan, but he hadn't expected such an unexpected gain: "Why do you think it's related to Melo?"
“She and Vermouth had a conversation where they mentioned ‘island,’ which seems to be a place they used to live in.” Shuichi Akai paused for a moment before adding, “Vermouth doesn’t seem to mind my eavesdropping methods.”
Vermouth...is she finally unable to hold back anymore?
Furthermore, the fact that she let Shuichi Akai overhear her discussion with Mello about the organization's core secrets suggests she already knows his true identity. However, given her influence—she can even uncover the past of those who were used as pawns in the CIA—investigating Shuichi Akai's past doesn't seem too difficult. After all, on the surface, they are indeed "competitors" in the United States.
However, from his own perspective, Morofushi Hiromitsu was reluctant to miss the opportunity to make a deal with Vermouth and have her sell some information to the FBI. So, while planning his next contact with Vermouth, he told Akai Shuichi that the woman had discovered Ethan Hondou's identity, so that they would be even more wary of each other.
"...Her intelligence network is indeed very efficient." Shuichi Akai was undoubtedly more wary of Vermouth after hearing this. "She also obtained firsthand information about the organization's turmoil in Japan during this period."
Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was relaying the message to Vermouth, remained silent; he was not foolish enough to reveal what he had done.
“However, I think I should congratulate you.” Shuichi Akai mentioned the organization and casually said, “It’s quite dramatic to think that those two people who never got along ended up ‘dying together’.”
Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't want all the attention to be drawn to himself. He recalled Karasuma Renya's indifferent attitude towards the two people's lives and deaths during this period, and the world without the Anti-Fraud King and the fluctuations of fate mentioned by Number 205, and said in a low voice, "The one who really caused Mello and Brandy to end up like this is not me..."
Upon hearing this, Shuichi Akai remained noncommittal. As an elite who had infiltrated the organization for a long time, he certainly knew the prevailing atmosphere within it. The culprit was none other than the BOSS.
Of course, he had no intention of standing up for or seeking revenge on these two criminals who had committed countless atrocities. If the BOSS were to die at his hands someday, it would only be because his duty as an FBI agent compelled him to pull the trigger.
"Look at who benefited from this allocation of authority. I think even if you weren't there, the eyes of the organization would still be on you." Shuichi Akai kindly reminded Kagemitsu Morofushi of the organization's focus during this period, as he didn't want anything to happen to such an ally.
"Of course, I'll be careful." Morofushi Hiromitsu accepted Akai Shuichi's kindness, then added self-deprecatingly, "Anyway, this isn't the first or second time I've become the center of attention; the gossip posts on the organization's forum have gone through countless rounds. And, as my rumored love interest, I seem to have seen quite a few people mention you~"
[Anti-fraud expert #26: He has indeed been mentioned on the forum. However… he's always portrayed as a loser, a far cry from his previous image as a dashing, handsome mixed-race man.]
"..." Shuichi Akai was speechless.
"Hmm, this reaction shows you do read the forums too."
How could even this be exposed?!
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