Chapter 98 The Secret Manor
Zhu Fujingguang pondered deeply.
Zhu Fujingguang suddenly realized the truth.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu gladly accepted the mission.
Ultimately, he was just an undercover agent. This kind of job should have been handled casually, so why did he treat it like a normal job? It's not about the livelihoods and wages of some innocent workers; it's about the fact that I wasn't involved in any romantic relationships or monetary transactions!
If he really did his best to handle this matter well, not only would the organization gain more support for nothing, but he might also have his credit stolen by that old man Pisco. Why bother?
By reducing internal friction and no longer having to worry about negotiating partners, his thinking suddenly became much clearer.
Furthermore, there's a lot more to this celebration than meets the eye. Even if they release some information, it's just a signal to attract sponsors. The "sponsors" have already been decided in advance. Foreign companies like BOSS can't compete with local financial tycoons at all.
So, even so, the BOSS still has to get involved, and considering Pisco's attitude towards this matter... it can only mean that the organization only needs to offer money to "curry favor" and "get to know them."
Having spent the last few years immersed in the finance team, Morofushi Kagemitsu had come to understand the implications of this.
Ah, what a simple and unpretentious purpose.
[Anti-fraud expert #148: Why not just say it was a bribe to the president's family? Why go through all this trouble?]
[Anti-fraud expert #11: Tsk, it's not like it's anything to be proud of, who would want to brag about it everywhere?]
[Anti-fraud expert #148: ...That's true.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu used the anti-fraud discussion as background noise, relaxed, and started dealing with his business. Interspersed among them was gossip from No. 205 and his friends who were rummaging through someone else's confidential database, saying that even government employees had recently started buying Tokyo University's private label products.
After scouring the federal government and the IRS, the FBI and CIA are next, just waiting to wreak havoc on him... Although they won't directly disclose a lot of intelligence due to rules, the thought that even the highest-secret agencies like the United States can enter his territory with impunity still leaves him with mixed feelings.
Humanity's defenses are far too weak.
but……
He glanced at his upcoming to-do list.
They're fine as long as they don't cause trouble for themselves.
Morofushi Kagemitsu calmed himself down and continued working on the paperwork.
After a while, he felt that the time was almost up, and the anti-fraud expert also appeared amidst the "busyness" and gave him a hint:
[Anti-Fraud Guru #19: Pisco has sent a car to pick you up.]
[Anti-fraud expert #26: They even have a private car to pick you up! This is much better than last time.]
That's normal.
Last time, he was just a reserve member who hadn't even received a codename yet, the kind that was practically dispensable. If it weren't for a slight mishap on the action team's end, Gin probably wouldn't have even remembered him. For a member like him to run into Gin, whose paranoia had relapsed, it was already a miracle he survived.
Morofushi Kagemitsu grabbed his coat and his spare phone, and as soon as he went downstairs, he saw the organization's signature black car parked in front of the hotel.
He glanced at the driver, who simply gestured for him to get in the car and said nothing more.
As he sat in the passenger seat and closed the door behind him, his gaze lingered on the driver's throat for a second or two before he casually looked away and remained silent.
[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 66: Does being a driver for an organization really come at such a high price? Looking at the stitches and how well the wound has healed, he must have been mute for about four or five years.]
[Anti-fraud King #214: Okay, now I think I understand why Vodka is so devoted to that cold-blooded Gin. At least being Gin's driver means he doesn't have to worry about being poisoned and rendered mute one day, and he can still find time to follow the puppets.]
[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: You didn't do anything back then, but you unexpectedly learned a lot of valuable intelligence... Well done!]
…You bringing up the past has suddenly made me a little panicked. Even if I was a promising newcomer favored by Melo back then, there was really no need for me to know so much information, was there? Not to mention that there was a junior researcher sharing a space with me; this really doesn't seem like something Gin would do.
Recalling his previous experience in the United States, Morofushi Kagemitsu felt increasingly uneasy, and this subtle feeling reached its peak when he first realized the unusual nature of the driving route:
Strange, am I just imagining things? Why does this route I'm driving along seem so familiar?
[Anti-fraud expert #26: It's not that you're overthinking it, Jing, but I saw the car pass by the old warehouse. Look! Doesn't the big Mickey Mouse on the satellite image look just like the one Xiao Su drew? And this driving route...]
[Anti-fraud expert #205: The current driving route overlaps significantly with the direction to Base 3; in some places, it's just a change of highway.]
With the discovery of the Anti-Fraud King, Morofushi Kagemitsu became vigilant again, and a bad idea slowly took shape in his mind: Could the organization have been paying attention to me for a long time?
[Anti-fraud expert #198: ...If they were to observe daily operations with the same rigorous standards as the Tottori Laboratory, it's not impossible.]
[Anti-fraud expert #214: But we hadn't even started to exert our influence yet, so even the 'rules' couldn't govern us, right?]
rule……
Looking at the trees rushing past the window, Morofushi Kagemitsu compared the time he had encountered with the buildings he had seen before. I first regained the feeling of that day. This road really does feel more and more familiar the longer I drive it.
After the driver made several more turns, he finally saw a blurry manor. Looking in that direction through the gleaming glass, he felt as if a pair of eyes were watching everything from behind.
That wasn't Pisco, nor Belmot, nor even BOSS; it was more like something intangible.
Having achieved their goal, the driver, who never spoke, conscientiously left his car at the manor without asking any questions and quickly disappeared.
He was left with only one path leading into the manor. This path was surrounded by flowers and plants, and sunlight streamed into the meticulously designed courtyard, making it look like a dazzling and alluring path.
[Anti-fraud expert #11: This is bad. We're restricted in every way in this manor. We can barely form a map of the terrain even if we do it secretly in your mind.]
[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 19: Here comes a spot where things are more likely to go wrong than with Vermouth. Could that woman have been "cultivating" herself here?]
This place looks very problematic.
[Anti-fraud expert #66: If Vermouth is like a cocoon entangled by fate, then this place is more like a headquarters covered in cobwebs.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu paused in his steps toward the gate, and a maple leaf drifted down to his feet.
[Anti-fraud expert #198: ...It's clearly not maple leaf season yet.]
"My lord, please come in."
An unfamiliar voice came from the walkie-talkie at the gate, probably some guidance from someone in the manor.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the door opened by itself.
This is quite a show of luring someone into a trap.
[Anti-fraud expert #11: It's okay, don't panic. This door is equipped with an automatic opening and closing system; there's a control circuit behind it.]
Zhu Fujingguang walked in without changing his expression, and the first thing he saw was the cross placed in the center of the manor hall.
...Okay, first they put on a show of mystery, then they unleash church symbols to intimidate the visitors. They didn't even use this outdated tactic on the Electronic God Cult.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #214: Hmm, the cross is placed far away, so you can't see it very clearly. But our camera clearly captured the white soft-light sign attached to the edge of the cross.]
[Anti-fraud expert #148: They even turned on the heater indoors... From your angle, this is probably a "cross miracle" effect.]
Well, now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense...
So what are they doing all this for? Do they want me to go to church with them this weekend?
Morofushi Kagemitsu had already entered the hall. A butler-like man stood at the top of the stairs, and his voice was the same as the one coming from the machine:
"Lord Pisco is already waiting for you upstairs. Please follow me."
This little old man has quite the air about him.
Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded and quickly glanced at the butler—good, not the kind of all-powerful butler that No. 26 likes to read in manga, who can fly and dive into the earth. Judging from his physique, he is just an ordinary person with some basic shooting skills.
The butler was also very quiet. After leading him to the door of a room on the second floor, he bowed slightly and left. It was obvious that Pisco was inside.
Morofushi Kagemitsu remembered his character, so he knocked on the door casually. After hearing a response from inside, he pushed the door open.
"Asakawa-kun, it's nice to see you here."
This was clearly a reception room. Pisco, dressed in a suit and tie, sat in the main seat on the sofa, which served as a greeting to Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the man's obviously concealed face. He took a few steps and sat down opposite him, saying, "It sounds like I've passed some kind of test. How mysterious."
Pisco did not deny this, but he did not say it outright either, only saying: "We have special methods to identify 'destined people,' we are all entangled by that invisible thread."
[Anti-fraud expert #205: ...This ambiguous statement suggests they know quite a bit. Could it be that they really have some method to discern those entangled by fate?]
This was something that Morofushi Kagemitsu was also very curious about. After all, even the Anti-Fraud System couldn't share this feature with him; how had the organization managed to develop it?
Morofushi Kagemitsu began his probing: "You're quite confident, aren't you? This so-called test shouldn't have started when I entered the manor, should it?"
He looked at Pisco and continued, "Let me think... it should have been confirmed when I called before I came to America. As for the test... it will only come sooner. What made you make this new judgment? The Tottori incident?"
“You have a lot of questions.” Pisco didn’t intend to answer them, “but I don’t have to answer them for you. After tomorrow, you’ll figure these little questions out for yourself.”
Minor issue.
Morofushi Kagemitsu knew that he might really be about to get in touch with the organization's core secrets.
He adopted a posture of listening attentively.
Pisco simply tossed him a tablet containing a document.
The anti-fraud team entered the information immediately and then shared their view with Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
