Unlike peripheral members and those low-ranking agents who were never taken seriously, the researchers within The Organization were quite familiar with the name Scarlet. After all, every few days they would receive experimental guidelines for a certain kind of serum, and the test subject was always Scarlet.
Yet everyone who had ever seen Scarlet looked completely ghastly, vowing never to go near her again under any circumstances.
As Mao Akai’s time in The Organization grew longer, someone finally revealed the reason.
"It's terrifying! She has no emotions at all—she's a complete maniac!" a researcher who had seen Mao Akai blow a peripheral member's head off cried out in panic, trembling. She had done it simply because that poor sap happened to block her line of sight.
As for why that researcher had witnessed such a scene?
Because the laboratory they were in had been compromised, and he had been extremely unfortunate to be taken hostage.
...
With a click, the restraints around Mao Akai’s wrists were unlatched. Her body slumped limply against the hard chair as she gasped for breath.
"This is enough for confirmation now, isn't it?" Brushing away a strand of hair stuck to her cheek, she stared fixedly at the silver-haired woman standing before her.
Curaçao pressed her lips tightly together. She disliked Mao Akai's gaze, but unfortunately, Mao Akai was someone valued by Lord Rum, so she could not tamper with the interrogation.
"You may leave. Your mission details will be sent to your phone later."
Mao Akai let out a sneer. "Has that old bastard finally decided to trust me?"
"Watch your language! Address him as Lord Rum," Curaçao rebuked with displeasure.
Her words amused Mao Akai. To think that someone who would eventually betray The Organization would care about such things.
Waving her hand indifferently, Mao Akai skillfully departed from the "secret room."
In the half-year since she joined The Organization, Rum had summoned her periodically—sometimes to brainwash her, sometimes when she was injured, when Rum would use some kind of wonder drug on her obtained from parts unknown, and sometimes for interrogation.
She had a hunch before coming here that Rum already mostly trusted her. After all, who would ever suspect a cold-blooded assassin who stopped at nothing to complete her missions and killed without blinking of being an undercover agent? Especially since her mental state was still somewhat unstable after the brainwashing.
Humming a cheerful little tune, Mao Akai tore off her clothes and submerged her body in the bathtub. Dense bubbles floated on the water's surface. Reaching out, Mao Akai scooped up a handful of foam, held it before her, and gently blew on it.
Watching the bubbles scatter, she burst into a silly giggle.
After so long, she would finally get to see Bourbon. "Darling, wait for me."
Mao Akai wrapped her arms around her shoulders and submerged her head under the water. A sensation of suffocation slowly crept in. With her life threatened, her heartbeat grew faster and faster, yet she willingly abandoned herself to the feeling.
Only when a burning sensation flared in her lungs did she break the surface, her cheeks flushed bright red from oxygen deprivation. Still, this did little to diminish her eager yearning to see Bourbon right away.
"It really did affect me after all," Mao Akai murmured, closing her eyes to calm her surging emotions. Her already fragile mental state had only worsened after joining The Organization. "Still, this much is manageable."
After resting for a day to fully recover her strength, Mao Akai followed the address on her phone to the designated location.
Someone was already waiting there, and a man in a black trench coat with long silver hair stood out particularly.
"Gin," Mao Akai whispered the name. Yet the surroundings were so quiet that even with her voice lowered, everyone heard it clearly.
Leaning against the wall and smoking in silence, the man lifted his gaze, his green eyes, resembling those of a solitary wolf, fixing sternly on Mao Akai.
"Scarlet," he said.
The next second, Gin drew his pistol and pointed it at Mao Akai. "What are you here for?"
"Don't be so dramatic." Mao Akai took a couple of steps forward unconcernedly. Please—the safety on the gun wasn't even off; Gin was merely trying to scare people.
However, the others present did not see it that way. They shrank back in fear, a reaction that only made Gin even more annoyed.
This batch of recruits was far too cowardly.
Puts his gun away, Gin motioned with his eyes for everyone to check their phones.
The mission details had already been sent to their devices.
Mao Akai quickly scanned the contents, her pretty eyebrows knitting together. "Are you sure this is our mission?"
The other three looked at Mao Akai with uncomprehending expressions.
Gin flashed a mocking smile, his low, raspy voice announcing, "Your mission has changed. This time, only one person can earn a codename. If you can't even find the real target, you might as well go die early. The Organization doesn't keep fools."
With that, he turned and strode away.
After Gin left, Vodka, who had been standing guard outside the door all along, closed it. Mao Akai heard the sound of the deadbolt sliding home, and she raised an eyebrow, guessing that Gin had deliberately told Vodka to do this.
A sealed room containing three vicious men and one woman—you didn't need to be a genius to guess what would happen next.
Fortunately, people who were close to becoming codename agents didn't drop their standards quite that low. The others stood in the four corners of the room, eyeing each other with utmost vigilance.
Only after the sound of the car engine fading away in the distance could no longer be heard did the atmosphere relax slightly.
One of them walked over to the door to check and found that it was bolted from the outside. If they wanted to complete the mission, the first step should be to find a way out.
"Strange, why did he lock us in?" A chubby man kicked the heavy door, but it didn't budge at all.
"Looks like we need to get out of here first. Shall we cooperate?" said another man wearing glasses.
"He did it on purpose." Mao Akai let out a cold snort. She walked over to the spot where Gin had just been standing, picked a pinch of powder off the floor, and gave it a light sniff.
"Hey, woman, what did you mean by that just now?" A muscular brute glared down at Mao Akai, his eyes wandering lewdly over her chest as he spoke.
"What a disgusting gaze," Mao Akai muttered under her breath.
The man didn't catch it clearly and strode right up to her. "I asked you a question."
As he drew closer, his gaze grew increasingly brazen. Seeing that Mao Akai didn't utter a word of scolding, the big man's mind began to race.
This fresh, vibrant little beauty probably only climbed to her current position by relying on her connections with those codename agents. In that case, couldn't he have some fun with her before the mission started?
After all, besides himself and this little chick, there was only some balding, weak-looking nerd and a fat guy in the room.