Chapter 66
Kono Seira originally wanted to casually discuss the world line issue with the system and then go to rest. But after watching the two CGs that the system sent him, he couldn't sleep.
Both of these sections are the original trajectories of the world line. In the section marked as "three years ago", the police officer with semi-long hair is still talking on the phone with his friend, and the bomb that had stopped counting suddenly enters the countdown.
The building exploded in flames.
In the period marked as this year, the curly-haired police officer sent the location of the next bomb to his colleagues and smiled for the last time on the Ferris wheel.
The same fire took away two equally outstanding policemen, and their bright futures came to an abrupt end.
[The above is the content of the original world line, but it has been deleted in this world, so don't worry!]
Before the contractor died of a heart attack, holding his chest, the light ball hurriedly said.
Gongye Shengliang was having trouble breathing, and forced himself to look away. When he felt his chaotic heartbeat slow down a little, he pressed the system and gritted his teeth as he spoke each word: "Couldn't you tell me these things in advance?"
[In principle, it is not allowed to be disclosed.] The light ball reminded him awkwardly, [And it is useless to tell it, Contractor, have you forgotten that your last death date was before theirs?]
“…”
[By some strange coincidence, the bomber who caused the deaths of Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei appeared early and caused the kidnapping incident at the Nishikawa Pharmaceutical Factory. Afterwards, the bomber was arrested, and the trajectory of the above two world lines was also reduced due to the absence of the bomber - in order to cope with this unexpected change, 35% of the energy was spent.]
Kono Seiryoshi: “…”
After a closer look, the criminal wearing glasses in the CG looked very familiar. It was indeed the man with glasses who took him hostage with a gun.
If you think in this way, shouldn't he be happy that his death saved his two peers?
The light ball sighed: [The world line is really serious. It's just a small change of the branch line, but it still costs such a heavy price.]
[So, the next task is very important.] It suddenly became serious, [the main line must not be destroyed.]
"Okay." Kouno Seiryo nodded slowly. "Well, now you can tell me the details of the mission, right?"
Light Ball: [Hmm!]
[Mission objective: Before the main story begins, ensure that the Black Organization's power value fluctuates by no more than 10%.]
[Mission deadline: one year... Wait! Why is it one year?!]
The light ball suddenly got stuck in the shell and plunged into the data stream. Kono Seiyoshi didn't understand why. He didn't feel anything strange about the mission time limit, so he stood aside and watched the system flying around busily.
After he silently counted thirty numbers in his mind, the system's white sphere suddenly lit up: [Found it!]
[There are still three years until the main story begins, but the mission deadline is only one year. I originally thought that this was unreasonable...] The wings of the light ball patted Gongye Shengliang's shoulders comfortingly, and said in a sad tone: [It turns out that the lifespan of your body can only last for one year at most, Contractor.]
Kono Seiryoshi: “.”
He took a deep breath tactically, his face expressionless, and opened the system, "Shut up first."
"Let me be alone for a moment to think."
In fact, he had noticed when his consciousness had just taken over this body that the physical condition of Saint Wine was really abnormally poor. If it weren't for the miraculous medicine, he would have been lying in bed for a month with all the sequelae.
It can be said that his current physical condition is worse than when he fell seriously ill during the Port Mafia incident. No one knows how he got into such a bad condition.
After searching his limited memory for a while, a few seconds later, Seiryoshi Kono came to a rather embarrassing conclusion.
Oh, it turns out he figured it out on his own.
That's fine.
Although the system once told him that he was always himself, Kono Seiryoshi still felt uncomfortable.
Whether in terms of personality, behavior, or even appearance, Shengjiu is undoubtedly the one who is most different from himself.
Kono Seiryoshi couldn't help but feel a little worried - this was his first time as a technology geek obsessed with research, and there were only scattered fragments of memory in his mind. Would he be exposed?
All I can say is that it’s a good thing that Shengjiu doesn’t know anyone well, although admitting this makes him a little sad.
The time to go to the institute was arranged in the afternoon. Gong Ye Shengliang had not slept all night, and it was not until the sky gradually brightened that he finally felt a little sleepy, but the sleep was little and shallow, and he woke up again after a few hours of sleep.
While sorting the luggage shipped from the United States, he observed the environment of the base.
Located in Tokyo, where every inch of land is valuable, the property is very large, surrounded by quiet forests on three sides and the sea on the other. The green space is endless, and it has everything from swimming pools, golf courses, and helicopters. Looking down from a drone, it looks no different from the villas and manors where the top rich people have fun.
However, the helicopter airport was under maintenance and the stadium was empty. No one knew that underneath was a shooting training ground and a weapons depot that could destroy the entire Tokyo if exposed.
Although the base facilities are complete and there is an air of affluence everywhere, it is not a suitable place for Kono Seiyoshi to live.
None of the members of the organization are good people. They were just plastic colleagues before. Even the waiter who delivered breakfast was a red name with hostile intentions. In this situation, even the most exquisite Western-style meals instantly made people lose their appetite.
Another thing is that this place is really too big! He really doubted that he would die of exhaustion if he walked halfway outside!
I remember that Seiji had a house in Japan, but I haven't been back to see it for many years. I wonder if it has become a haunted house...
Forget it, even a haunted house is better than this place.
Just as he was thinking about how to leave the base and return to his home, a place he had never seen before, a crisp notification ring interrupted his thoughts.
It was an unread text message from an unfamiliar number, telling him that his car was parked downstairs and he could leave for the institute at any time.
Signed "Scotch" - Scottish whisky.
Gongye Shengliang's heart, which had just relaxed a little, slowly sank again.
When choosing one of the three whiskies, the chance of running into someone you know is really too high.
Besides, Gin should have guessed that the person he originally wanted to pick was Ley. Gin disliked him so much that he would not let him get his wish.
Kono Seiryo sighed with a headache, holding his cell phone in the room, looking up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle with worry.
The gas mask placed on the desk seemed to be waving to him kindly: Come quickly, the potato chips in the store next door are half price.
“…”
He hesitated for more than ten seconds, then picked up the gas mask with a subtle feeling of sadness but unable to cry.
--
Zhu Fu Jingguang sat quietly in the driver's seat. After pressing the last key, the screen displayed "Sent successfully". He glanced at it and put his phone away.
The message was naturally not sent to Shengjiu. He was reporting today's itinerary to the public security liaison.
It was too rushed last night and he didn't have time to take a closer look. This was the first time he saw the entire picture of the Japanese base since he joined the organization.
The number of new members admitted to the action team is the same as the number of old members who were disposed of due to mission failure. The threshold is the lowest and the treatment is the worst. During the mission, they live in the safe house assigned by the organization. If they don't get the mission, they will fend for themselves. They are not allowed to enter the base without permission.
He was able to reach the heart of the base without any hindrance today, thanks to the holy wine.
As he silently recited this code name, Zhufu Jingguang's heart moved slightly.
He didn't know why Gin chose him, maybe there was some hidden story that he didn't understand, but since the opportunity was right in front of him, he absolutely couldn't let it go to waste.
The black-haired young man held the steering wheel with one hand, his brows lowered, as if in deep thought. When he caught a slight movement in his ears, his clear phoenix eyes suddenly turned away.
The rear door was opened, and when the strange black gas mask came into view for the second time, Morobushi Jingguang was able to control his expression well.
Shengjiu changed his clothes, but the turtleneck sweater still completely covered his neck, and he still had a pair of black satin gloves on his hands. His whole body was tightly wrapped in the clothes, with not a single seam showing.
Judging from his body shape alone, he seemed to be about the same age as him, only thinner and weaker.
Morofushi Jingguang nodded to the people in the back seat and started the car. His eyes paused on the electronic display in the car for a moment, then quickly moved away.
The temperature outside was not low, and Shengjiu wore so many layers of clothes, but he didn't seem to feel hot at all. Instead, he seemed to feel cold, and he held his collar tightly.
Thinking back to last night when the other person got off the car and looked so weak that he almost fell down, Morofu Jingguang had a vague conclusion in his mind.
He raised his hand and turned up the temperature of the air conditioner a few degrees. When he let go, the knob made a crisp sound, which was particularly obvious in the quiet and small space.
As his eyes swept through the rearview mirror, Zhu Fu Jingguang could see that the angle of the mask had not changed at all.
However, he had a strong premonition in his heart that the Holy Wine was watching him.
He pretended not to notice and withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened.
This silent gaze lasted for about a minute, and the mask of Holy Wine slowly turned to the window and stopped moving.
Zhu Fu Jingguang breathed a sigh of relief.
He should have... passed the first round of inspection.
The vehicle continued to move forward in silence for more than 20 minutes, far away from the empty barrier surrounding the base. The research institute they were going to was located in the suburbs, on the surface it was a chemical laboratory, and the closest road from the base passed through the city center.
The traffic on the road was getting increasingly crowded, and Zhu Fujingguang's driving speed also slowed down a lot. He glanced at the digital watch and saw that there was still an hour left before the agreed time.
"Stop ahead."
A low, indistinct voice came from behind something, and Morofu Kagemitsu paused.
Reason was faster than emotion. He immediately suppressed the waves in his heart and replied steadily, "Yes."
Two minutes later, a black car stopped at the entrance of an inconspicuous alley.
The person in the back seat opened the door and got out.
It was not until his figure disappeared from his sight that Morofushi Jingguang clenched his hands on the steering wheel.
Is the holy wine for meeting someone, or is it a transaction organized by the organization?
And that voice, was it his illusion? Why did it feel familiar for a moment?
Morofushi Jingguang's heartbeat quickened uncontrollably, and he almost bit his lips tightly to prevent himself from losing control.
His fingers trembled unconsciously, as if trying to smooth out a wrinkled page of paper. He groped along an outline that didn't exist in the air, and then picked it up tightly.
No... now is not the time.
He didn't know when the holy wine would return, so he had to restore himself to the state of Scotch whisky as quickly as possible.
the other side.
Seira Kono didn't think too much about it. He just caught a glimpse of the sign of a dessert shop from the car window and remembered the Sherry he was about to meet.
Shiho Miyano is only fifteen or sixteen years old now. Although she is involved in various drug experiments in the research institute every day, she still has the common hobbies of girls of this age.
For example, desserts, cute animals, and beautiful clothes.
Kono Seiryoshi went around to a secluded corner and paid special attention to the road surveillance cameras. He took off his gas mask when no one was paying attention - he didn't want to be arrested as a pervert and call the police without even entering the dessert shop.
The desire to find an alternative to masks quickly has become stronger.
He bought the cake like a guilty thief, then went around to the end of the alley and put on the mask again. It took him more than ten minutes to walk this short distance.
Kono Seiryoshi's originally somewhat nervous heart became even more nervous after he saw the driver, Scotland, waiting there without complaint.
He closed the car door and said calmly, "Let's go."
"good."
Morofu Jingguang calmly started the car and turned around.
The car returned to its original silence, but this time, no one tried to speak.
--
After entering the corridor of the institute one after another, Scotch Whisky was stopped in front of the office. He had not yet obtained permission from the head of the institute, so he could not move freely and had to stay in the reception room for the time being.
Gongye Shengliang paused for a moment and turned to look at him.
Morobushi Jingguang behaved very obediently and said politely, "I'll wait for you here."
“…”
As if he had noticed something, the black-haired young man lowered his slanted eyes and smiled: "This is my duty, don't worry about it."
Seeing him like this, Gongye Shengliang didn't know what to say. He nodded and followed his assistant into the elevator.
I knocked twice on the office door, and a cold female voice came: "Come in."
After pushing the door open, Kono Seiryoshi saw the face of a girl that was a magnified version of the little girl in his memory.
Miyano Shiho stopped typing on the keyboard. She glanced at the two people standing at the door and said coldly, "You go out first."
Upon hearing this, Gong Ye Shengliang was stunned.
He had just come in and was about to be chased away?
Just as he was hesitating about which leg to move first to appear less panicked, the assistant beside him half bowed to Shirley, turned and left.
He also considerately closed the door, leaving the space completely for the two of them.
Kono Seiryoshi: “…”
I'm not talking to him (゜▽゜)
"Isn't it boring wearing that mask?"
Miyano Shiho closed her notebook at some point, walked up to him, tilted her head, and said meaningfully: "This room is very clean."
It was quite stuffy, and after being stuffy all the way, Gongye Shengliang was almost out of breath.
His memory told him that Shirley was one of the few people who could communicate with him normally and had seen his true appearance.
Gongye Shengliang did not suspect anything and took off his gas mask impatiently. He sat on the sofa, pulled at the collar of his sweater which was a little uncomfortable, and adjusted his breathing slightly.
After a short break, he looked up and saw the brown-haired girl's indescribable expression. Following her gaze, he touched his face and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Miyano Shiho had a complicated expression and looked away: "...Nothing."
I just didn't expect to wear a mask behind the gas mask.
It’s still a pink mask with a Q version of a little bunny printed on it.
No matter how you look at it, it doesn't match the holy wine... Tsk, wait, it seems a little bit suitable?
White fur and red eyes, isn't that the same color scheme as the rabbits commonly used in laboratories?
Not knowing where the girl's thoughts drifted to, Kono Seiryoshi touched the ear loops of the mask, thought for a moment, and decided not to take it off.
This is a gift he saw when he went to a dessert shop, placed together with a handkerchief bookmark. There is only one color pattern to choose from. But this is not important. What is important is that the mask gave him some inspiration - the mask can cover the lower half of the face, so in the future, he can just wear a hat to cover the upper half and go out!
…but only with strangers.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. He doesn't know many people, but each of them is a close friend. This pretense cannot escape their eyes at all.
There's no point in dwelling on this, so Kono Seira thought of today's work and turned to look at Shirley.
The tea-haired girl held the teacup to her lips but did not drink it for a long time. She calmly observed the growth of the green plants on the desk, but her eyes occasionally wandered and quickly looked back when they touched another person.
Kono Seiryoshi suddenly understood, his eyes slightly shining: "Shirley, do you like this type of mask?"
"I still have a few packages that I can give to you."
Shirley: "...You can keep it for yourself. I think it suits you well."
The crescent eyes in her eyes at this moment fully demonstrated that she was speaking the truth and not being polite.
Kono Seiryoshi: “…”
Damn it, he won’t answer!
After this interruption, the strangeness after not seeing each other for a long time dissipated a lot.
Miyano Shiho pulled out a list from her folder. "I received the sample of the drug and am now analyzing its ingredients downstairs. But if the American lab can't come up with anything, I can't guarantee any progress here."
Her search froze, and her voice suddenly dropped: "...I'm sorry, I'm not capable enough."
She was not talking about the drug she was currently developing, but the drug that Gongye Shengliang injected himself with last night.
Some miracles are born as mistakes in the beginning, and no matter what people do, they cannot replicate the original conditions. They can only spend their whole lives trying to get closer to that mistake.
Kono Seira nodded to show that he understood, and then he tilted his eyes towards the girl: "Don't worry about the organization's orders, just do what you want."
He was not in a hurry. The system had clearly told him that this body could only last for a year at most, so there was no point in being anxious.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a look of disapproval on Shirley's face.
Before she could say anything, Kono Seiryoshi lifted up the paper bag beside him and said, "This is for you. Afternoon tea."
"..." The girl's solemn expression was interrupted and turned blank.
Her eyes flickered and she took it uncomfortably.
The paper bag was opened, and inside were Morandi-colored macarons and golden, crispy croissants. Thanks to the driver's steady driving skills, the afternoon snacks were not scattered or damaged.
Miyano Shiho tried to hold back, but couldn't help it. She turned her head away and muttered softly, "If you consume too many calories a day, you will gain weight."
The genius scientist who always had a stern face was now frowning as he worried about his future weight, and there was a rare hint of wilfulness in his expression.
Kono Seiryo blinked and said, "It's okay to eat it once in a while. If you don't like it, I can do it for you."
"No, since it was given to me, it's mine."
As soon as the girl said her refusal, she couldn't help laughing and said, "But if there's only one, I can give it to you."
--
After waiting in the living room for an hour, someone was heard walking in through the door.
Zhu Fu Jingguang immediately looked over and saw that it was sherry.
The brown-haired researcher in a white coat nodded at him.
Morobushi Jingguang stood up and kept a proper distance. From the brief encounter, he judged that the other party did not like to socialize, so he did not make extra small talk and directly took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to her, "This is what the people at the base asked me to bring to you for inspection."
The seal of the document was intact. Zhu Fu Jingguang looked normal on the surface, but he was nervous.
Before coming here, he quietly opened the document, took photos of every page and sent them to the Ministry of Public Security. It was filled with dense English technical terms, so unfamiliar that even he, who had been active in North America for so many years, couldn't even read it fluently.
Although the documents have been restored to their original state, Morobushi Jingguang is not sure whether Sherry will notice anything.
He seemed to be doing his job properly, but his eyes were closely observing the reaction of the brown-haired girl.
However, to his surprise, Sherry only glanced down at the label and casually placed the document on the coffee table. "Shengjiu still has some things to do. Please take a seat first."
Zhu Fu Jingguang responded politely.
Shirley filled two glasses of water from the water dispenser and pushed them toward the man across the coffee table, while keeping the other glass for herself. Perhaps because it was break time, she ignored the documents on the table and took out a magazine from the wooden bookcase under the coffee table and started reading it as if no one was around.
Zhu Fu Jingguang took the paper cup, rubbed it with his fingers a few times, but did not drink it.
He suddenly remembered that he got off the bus halfway through the journey and when he came back, he had a paper bag with a dessert shop logo printed on it in his hand - was it for Sherry?
Their relationship seems to be going well.
His eyes wandered several times between the water in the cup, the documents on the table, and the expressionless face of the girl opposite him. After a moment, he finally made up his mind and spoke:
"I'm sorry, Shirley," Morobushi Jingguang said in a gentle voice, with just the right amount of helplessness on his face, "Can I ask you a question?"
Shirley didn't put the magazine down, but turned her eyes from the inside page to him, motioning for him to continue.
Zhu Fu Jingguang considered, "I was assigned to be the bodyguard of Shengjiu, but you know, Shengjiu... I'm not sure how to get along with him."
He keenly noticed that after he said a certain key word, Sherry's expression changed slightly.
The brown-haired girl's eyebrows slightly frowned, and her eyes darkened.
Morobushi Jingguang pretended not to notice these subtle differences and continued in a voice that sounded a little distressed: "There are some topics or behaviors that shouldn't appear. I think, in order not to offend each other, these should be prepared in advance."
His tone was earnest and his eyes were sincere, as if he was sincerely considering how to be a competent bodyguard.
Morobushi Jingguang was not worried that Shirley would suspect that he was an undercover agent.
Before the mission where he got the code name, the members of the organization who were responsible for evaluating him had once doubted his gentle and polite behavior. However, when the sniper rifle shot a flower of blood and Morobushi Jingguang still reported the completion of the mission in a calm tone like greeting each other in the morning, the suspicion was replaced by deep jealousy.
Xi Xi Zheng Li!
No one defines what a bad person should be like. After proving their own value, all the organization needs is loyalty that is willing to work hard for it.
Morofushi Jingguang kept smiling and met Sherry's gaze without dodging or avoiding.
Miyano Shiho seemed to have suddenly forgotten Scotland, and looked at the black-haired man in front of her with a completely new, mechanical, cold and objective gaze.
Her memory accurately recalled the information about Scottish whisky.
A sniper who has been active in North America for a long time, his mission success rate is as high as 90%. In just three years, he was given a code name and became an elite member that the organization focused on.
If he had a bright future in this world, he would have had a bright future. However, he used his talent to sink deeper and deeper into sin, and he was happy with it.
Even like now, with a smile on his face, he was not hesitating to expose his ambition to climb up, and was trying to test her likes and dislikes of the holy wine in an indirect way, trying to realize his ambition.
Really——it’s a perfect match for this organization.
Miyano Shiho has lived in the organization since she was a child, and she has kept a cold and indifferent attitude towards most of the members here. Maybe there are people like her sister who are kind, warm and hopeful in the dark, but such people cannot pass the code assessment and cannot survive in the cruel darkness.
She herself was not an exception, nor was Scotland, nor was the Holy Wine.
Thinking of the latter, an indescribable complex emotion flashed across Miyano Shiho's ocean-blue eyes.
【“Didn’t I tell you not to follow me?”】
The white-haired young man raised his hand and threw the paper scraps from the shredder into the pool. Behind him, blood gushed out from the aorta and soaked the lab coat of the person on the ground, which was exactly the same as hers, and flowed to her feet.
The plain handkerchief was handed to her eyes, but Miyano Shiho only noticed the other person's hand wrapped in black satin at that time - she had seen this hand uncovered before, and the fingers holding the injection needle were slender and weak, still shaking, more fragile than the most fragile porcelain.
Were these the hands that shot and killed the researcher?
【“Remember to wash and change clothes before returning to the lab, and don’t bring dirty things into the lab.”】
Shengjiu looked at her, without any blame in his tone. Despite the content, he actually sounded somewhat caring and considerate.
Miyano Shiho stood there stiffly, and reacted suddenly when she took the handkerchief.
The dirty thing refers to the blood of the dead person.
…
The faces of the person who tenderly handed the handkerchief to the young girl and the person who was chatting with her with a smile half an hour ago overlapped, and it was hard to tell which day it was.
Seeing that the brown-haired girl seemed to be lost in her own memories and hadn't said a word, Morofu Jingguang was very tactful and didn't make a sound to disturb her.
After about a minute, Sherry finally moved.
The girl tucked her fallen hair behind her ears and looked at Scotland with her blue eyes still calm and emotionless.
Compared to the other candidates, Scotland is relatively law-abiding, so it doesn't matter even if he is just pretending.
——You can also disguise yourself, which makes you better than many people.
"Don't go into his room without permission."
Shiho Miyano didn't care how the other party would react after hearing this. The Holy Wine really needed a capable subordinate by his side, and these advices were not so much a warning to Scotland as a way of protecting the Holy Wine on another level.
But Miyano Shiho naturally would not reveal her true thoughts, and still said to Scotland in a calm voice: "He has a mysophobia and doesn't like people to get close to him."
...This situation seemed to have improved a lot. She suddenly remembered that at least when he handed the cake to her just now, it was completely natural.
Scotland lowered his head and pretended to listen attentively.
Miyano Shiho paused, and his tone suddenly became a little stiff: "If possible, please send me his physical condition regularly, thank you."
The black-haired young man raised his eyes in surprise, then nodded: "Okay, I'll remember it."
Shirley was friendlier than he had expected in his most optimistic scenario. Did he overestimate the vigilance of the code members, or was Shengjiu more difficult than he had imagined?
Zhu Fu Jingguang remained calm and crossed out the first option.