"Here is the thing: the person I bought from you ended up dead on the street in the middle of the night, so I'm back to buy another copy." Aikawa Hiradai bowed his head toward the young man in front of him.
Today, Bai Yexiu once again used the Chain persona to visit the same bar as the night before.
The person who had bought information from him last night was named Aikawa Hiradai—something Bai Yexiu only learned today.
Bai Yexiu feigned surprise. "Oh? Is that so?"
Aikawa Hiradai looked deeply aggrieved. He closed his eyes with a look of suppressed agony, seemingly overcome with grief, and nodded. "Yes. That is why I wanted to ask if you have any other information."
"I do, depending on whether you're willing to pay for it." Bai Yexiu flashed a standard business smile. Was this the joy of fleecing a sheep?
Aikawa Hiradai pulled a check straight out of his pocket. "The higher-ups gave me this to buy intelligence. Is this enough?"
Bai Yexiu glanced down at the amount and nodded. "More than enough. I still have your email address, so I'll send it directly to you."
Actually, Bai Yexiu rather liked Aikawa Hiradai. He paid promptly, didn't drag his feet, didn't haggle, and seemed thoroughly honest. He genuinely couldn't understand why their gang would send someone like this to negotiate with a "cunning" information broker.
Was this what they called being a fool and parting with his money easily?
Bai Yexiu sent over the file of another person from the undercover agent list, as this person was his next hunting target.
He didn't plan to throw this person's corpse in front of them this time; instead, he planned to have them find the person first and then snipe them. In any case, they wouldn't suspect him—Chain was just an information seller~\(≧▽≦)/~
When the time came, he would just pin the blame on the Organization, claiming they were cleaning out undercover agents and trash.
Bai Yexiu silently approved of his own plan, sent the intelligence over, and took the check from the table.
"Good luck."
Bai Yexiu offered the habitual polite remark. Yet Aikawa Hiradai inexplicably broke out in a cold sweat, seized by a sinister premonition.
...
The next evening, at the same bar. Aikawa Hiradai sat across from Bai Yexiu with a look of utter despair.
"He... was killed again."
Suppressing a laugh, Bai Yexiu put on a shocked expression. "No way?"
"Chain, the intelligence you sold me..." Aikawa Hiradai seemed about to say something, but Bai Yexiu cut him off before he could voice any doubts. "What? Do you think there is something wrong with my intelligence?"
Seeing "Chain's" stern expression, Aikawa Hiradai hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, I didn't mean that..."
Rumor had it in the underground world that if you questioned Chain or pissed him off, you could forget about ever buying information from him again. Consequently, most gangs treated "Chain" with utmost respect.
"Then tell me, what happened?" Bai Yexiu took a sip of his cocktail, wearing the look of someone ready to enjoy some gossip.
"Well," Aikawa Hiradai sighed and continued, "I just found an excuse to break into that person's apartment, and before my eyes, he was picked off by an unknown sniper."
Bai Yexiu tactically took another sip of water, biting back his laughter with all his might.
That "unknown sniper" was none other than himself. He had been waiting at the sniper spot for Aikawa Hiradai to arrive long beforehand.
Looking at Bai Yexiu across the table, Aikawa Hiradai was plagued by a question: why was it that whoever's information he bought from this man ended up being assassinated? Could it be intentional...
The thought had barely surfaced before Aikawa Hiradai dismissed it himself. Chain was an information broker; why would a broker go to such lengths just to cause trouble for him? If Chain didn't want him to see the people in the files, he simply wouldn't have sold them in the first place.
Having successfully eliminated the correct answer, Aikawa Hiradai pulled another check from his pocket. "Do you happen to have any more files on Organization members?"
Ecstatic, Bai Yexiu pulled out his phone. "Of course. But I'm not entirely sure—do you think the same thing might happen again as you described?"
"It'll be fine! The odds of something like this happening are so small it won't happen three times in a row," Aikawa Hiradai said, his emotions flaring up once more. "If it does, someone is definitely pulling strings behind the scenes."
Bai Yexiu smiled without a word.
Well, that someone would be me.
Bai Yexiu sent him the third person's file, and Aikawa Hiradai looked brimming with confidence.
This time, the target definitely wouldn't die!
Aikawa Hiradai left behind an inspiring, determined figure.
"Good luck!" Bai Yexiu waved at his retreating back, and Aikawa Hiradai glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes filled with absolute resolve.
...
On the third evening, the same bar.
Looking utterly dejected, Aikawa Hiradai stumbled in and slumped into the seat opposite Bai Yexiu.
"He... died again."
Aikawa Hiradai's eyes were vacant, as if he might shatter at any second.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Here, have a drink." Bai Yexiu slid a cocktail just brought over by a waiter across the table, putting on a comforting air.
Aikawa Hiradai downed the cocktail in a single gulp, took a deep breath, and began to recount his tale to Bai Yexiu.
"While my subordinates and I were tailing him, he was poisoned to death by a venomous snake that lunged out of the roadside bushes."
Bai Yexiu's lips curved into a smile. His right hand, hidden beneath the table, was stroking Camilla, who was coiled around his left wrist.
Yes, that venomous snake was Camilla. Bai Yexiu had instructed Camilla to lie in ambush in the bushes beforehand, and the moment the target arrived, she sent him on his way—right in front of Aikawa Hiradai, no less.
Thanks to the taming methods provided by the Boss, Camilla was extremely obedient and could even understand such complex commands.
"Really? Your luck is truly terrible, then. My condolences." Bai Yexiu had the waiter bring over another cocktail and pushed it toward Aikawa Hiradai.
Aikawa Hiradai kept his head down, lost in thought, but his expression made it abundantly clear how profoundly depressed he was.
Why did anyone whose intelligence he bought end up dead from various causes? What on earth was going on...
Aikawa Hiradai let out a heavy sigh. "I think I need some time to calm down. I suspect I might be cursed."
Checking Aikawa Hiradai's mental state—
Bai Yexiu took a sip of his drink and answered ambiguously, "Perhaps."
Aikawa Hiradai departed, leaving behind a sorrowful, unsteady silhouette.
Touching the three checks in his pocket, Bai Yexiu felt a wave of happiness.
This guy was truly a joy to fleece, Bai Yexiu felt sincerely. Still, looking at him now, Aikawa Hiradai's mentality seemed to have completely cracked. After all, Bai Yexiu didn't want Organization members captured and interrogated by other gangs, even if they were undercover.
It seemed that if he wanted to keep shearing this particular flock of sheep, he would have to wait a few more days. How could he easily let go of a sheep that had delivered itself right to his doorstep?
At that moment, Bai Yexiu received another email from Gin, asking about his progress. Bai Yexiu naturally replied that he had already completed half of the list.
[Coincidentally, the higher-ups say the remaining three people need to be interrogated. Handle it as you see fit. — Gin]
Bai Yexiu froze.
If only the first person on the list needed interrogation, that would be fine, but what on earth was this about all the remaining three needing to be interrogated?
He suspected Gin was intentionally padding his workload.
Interrogating all three of them, and then silencing them afterwards—Bai Yexiu felt he was marching steadily down Gin's path.
In truth, the hardest-working person in the Organization was Gin, hence his title of model worker, while slack-off master Bai Yexiu came in a close second. Because he always looked like he was working diligently and his performance metrics were dazzlingly high, he was actually secretly slacking off the entire time.
Bai Yexiu felt that this steadily mounting workload was foreshadowing his eventual descent onto Gin's path.
What a heartless syndicate.
Feeling exasperated, Bai Yexiu stepped out of the bar and prepared to get to work.
...