Outside the Haori Corporation building, Akai Shuichi stood beside the Porsche 356A and knocked on the window. As the window slowly rolled down, it revealed the gloating look in Gin's eyes. Unfazed, Akai Shuichi calmly asked Gin, "An evaluation mission?"
Right in front of Akai Shuichi, Gin opened his phone and tapped send. At the same time, a ding sound rang out from Akai Shuichi's pocket. "Is Lord Glenlivet not around? And seven days..." A heavy look filled Akai Shuichi's eyes as his fingers tapped rhythmically on his memo app. When he opened it, however, he was gradually drawn into the mission details. The gravity in his eyes was instantly replaced by amusement, and his body began to tremble with uncontrollable excitement—hunting, assassination, encirclement, torture, interrogation, manipulation...
It held a fatal attraction for Akai Shuichi, like Pandora's box or Schrödinger's cat. Death followed like a shadow, and the scythe was already at his neck. Akai Shuichi had no other choice, but he was also entirely willing to break the deadlock. "Gin, this is truly delightful!"
Sitting inside the car, Gin watched Akai Shuichi radiate a craving for prey and bloodshed, a thrill of excitement dancing in his own pupils as well. Gin appreciated this attitude in Akai Shuichi, yet he scoffed at Akai Shuichi's confidence. "Hmph! Your supervisor is me. An 80 percent success rate counts as passing, with a seven-day time limit. If you somehow manage to succeed, you'll earn a codename."
Akai Shuichi dropped his previous demeanor, wearing a poker face as he let out a puzzled inquiry. "I never expected I'd be so highly regarded by Lord Glenlivet!" Gin did not refute the remark. *"Gin, just let Moroboshi Dai go straight through the evaluation. I think very highly of him."* Recalling what he had said to Glenlivet, Gin believed that all three newcomers were fit to undergo direct codename evaluations.
Yet Glenlivet had only ordered Moroboshi Dai to take the direct path. Based on his understanding of Glenlivet, in Glenlivet's eyes, Moroboshi Dai was both a sharp blade and a threat; squeezing him dry of his value would be his ultimate end. At this thought, Gin let out a cold sneer and lit a cigarette. "Meet at the first mission location at 2:00 AM!" The Porsche sped away, leaving Akai Shuichi behind to choke on its exhaust.
At two in the morning, inside an abandoned factory, Akai Shuichi wore a headset as he arrived alone. The trading target for this mission was the Muse Association, the largest drug-trafficking organization in Osaka. Akai Shuichi had already reviewed all the intelligence on this group. The mission criteria were to stay alive and completely wipe out the opposing trading personnel. Unflustered, Akai Shuichi lit a cigarette, walked casually over to a fairly flat piece of debris, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and sat right down. Close-quarters combat? Akai Shuichi had no such intentions. Through the window on his right, about five hundred meters away, a Porsche was parked. The cigarette dangling from his lips had burned down to the filter.
"You must be the negotiator sent by the other side!" The people from the Muse Association had arrived, and with that, the game went from its beginning to its end.
Gunsmoke rolled, and explosions echoed endlessly. Sitting in the car, Gin watched and listened to everything unfolding. Vodka never expected this guy to be so unhinged that he would blow everything up without sparing himself. "Brother, this is..." Yet Gin grew even more appreciative of Moroboshi Dai's style. "Hmph, that guy isn't some idiot; he's a meticulous assassin. Without absolute certainty, he wouldn't act so recklessly."
Just as he finished speaking, Gin saw a figure gradually emerge from the smoke-filled path ahead. Akai Shuichi walked out without a single scratch, pulled open the car door, and said, "Let's go, to the next mission location." With that, he casually straightened his knit cap, then closed his eyes to rest. Gin said nothing more, but the way his fingers stroked the Beretta at his waist and the excited, predatory look in his eyes betrayed everything. His thumb continuously rubbed against the body of the Beretta, though that was as far as it went. "Vodka, drive."
Not daring to utter another word, Vodka dutifully drove to the second mission destination: the Tenkin Villa in Nishitoma City.
The second mission objective was to conduct a secondary transaction with the Matsui Pharmaceutical Group and seize thirty percent of its shares. On Akai Shuichi's phone screen was the profile of Matsui Masami, the head of the conglomerate. "A typical family business..." An old patriarch with an excessive need for control, a mediocre and greedy eldest son, an ambitious yet rash second son, and a shrewd and capable youngest daughter who faced prejudice. Inspiration instantly struck Akai Shuichi.
After resting for two hours, Akai Shuichi walked up to the front door of the Tenkin Villa. Ding-dong, ding-dong. "I have been waiting for you for a long time, milord." Smiling broadly, Matsui Masami welcomed Akai Shuichi inside. The interior featured a subdued yet luxurious Japanese style, but neither his wife Matsui Kaori nor his daughter Matsui Hanami were anywhere to be seen—only the eldest son Matsui Teruichi and the second son Matsui Junji were present. Wearing a cold expression, Akai Shuichi stated, "Cut the chatter. Where's the cargo?" Matsui Masami poured a cup of tea for Akai Shuichi and signaled his eldest son to make a good impression in front of him. At that exact moment, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the hall, and an unfamiliar woman stepped in, radiating the fierce aura of a confident career woman.
"Hanami! Have you forgotten the rules for receiving guests?!" Matsui Masami's angry reprimand rang out instantly, but Matsui Hanami ignored him entirely. Casually and without drawing any attention, Akai Shuichi swapped the positions of the teacups. Seeing this, Matsui Junji served Matsui Masami a plate of wagashi. "Father, don't make a fool of yourself in front of our guest. Even Big Brother isn't making a fuss, so please don't scold little sister." "Ha? Wasn't it you old man who called me back here? Talking about some nonsense like splitting the family estate!"
Bang! A gunshot rang out. Matsui Masami collapsed to the floor, a look of terror frozen on his face. "Father! / Old man!" Following the line of sight, it was Matsui Junji who had fired the gun. Trembling slightly, Matsui Junji wore an expression of wild excitement and release as he said, "Hahaha, Lord Moroboshi, I have completed your test!"
Akai Shuichi remained silent. Then—bang! Matsui Junji also collapsed in a pool of blood. "Sorry, you weren't my choice." Akai Shuichi shifted the muzzle of his gun toward Matsui Hanami. Matsui Teruichi lacked the courage to make any petty moves; the cowardly and incompetent man curled up in the corner, not even daring to raise his head...
On the way to the third mission, Gin looked at a newspaper headline reading: *"Power Struggle within the Matsui Pharmaceutical Group Wealthy Family."* "Making a fuss over nothing!" Akai Shuichi continued to rest with his eyes closed, ignoring Gin's sarcasm. He hadn't gotten a proper rest in two days. Although he could still grit his teeth and endure, at this rate, he wouldn't even last the seven days. He needed to exploit the loopholes in the evaluation; if none existed, he would create them.
During the final mission, Akai Shuichi had already reached his limit. To top it off, the last mission was actually to infiltrate the FBI, make contact with Organization operatives, and acquire intelligence. How on earth could he fly back to America within a single day? This mission was blatantly a one-way ticket to death. Akai Shuichi narrowed his eyes. Without a doubt, this mission was meant to test whether he was an FBI rat. From the very beginning, this evaluation had been a dead end—it was far too pointed.
"But Gin didn't make a move, so the core of this mission isn't about making contact. It's about how to eliminate—no, join the Organization." He couldn't contact James and the rest; instead, he had to resolve the Organization's most pressing trouble.
In the dead of night, dressed all in black, Akai Shuichi quietly infiltrated the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He booted up a computer, entered commands to tamper with the contents of certain files, linked the Black Tiger Gang's drug-trafficking incident to the Matsuji Merchandise Corporation, and simultaneously tied the Sanma Group to mayoral candidate Hirano Isshin, before scrubbing all traces of his presence and slipping away under the cover of night.
As he got back into the car, his phone displayed a sent message notification, and the muzzle of a Beretta pressed directly against his temple. "Looks like you failed." Gin's excited voice sounded right beside his ear, but Akai Shuichi simply smiled. "Gin, time isn't up yet. Besides, the final mission is to prove my value to the Organization; otherwise, you wouldn't still be here wasting your breath on me." Gin withdrew the Beretta and lit a cigarette as if tacitly acknowledging his words. Akai Shuichi's vibrant green eyes were filled with absolute determination.
"That bunch from Public Security traced the Black Tiger Gang and got their tails on the Organization, driving the Organization up the wall." It was an absolute statement of fact that deeply annoyed Gin, yet he had no way to refute it. "Now it's time to drive to the Black Tiger Gang's turf. It's time for this play to reach its curtain call."
Near the territory controlled by the Black Tiger Gang, Public Security officers acting on erroneous intelligence were lying in ambush within the forest. As the morning sun cautiously peeked over the horizon, Akai Shuichi set up his sniper rifle, waiting like a rabbit by a tree. The scapegoat chosen by the Black Tiger Gang had already appeared within the ambush perimeter. Under the watchful eyes of the Public Security officers, Hirano Isshin appeared before them with his men. After blurting out all the evidence, he was taken out with a single shot from Akai Shuichi, throwing the Public Security officers into immediate chaos.
At the same time, Black Tiger Gang members leaped out from unknown hiding spots, bound the scapegoat, and handed over the decoy who had supposedly shot Hirano Isshin. With all the evidence and testimonies matching the internal intelligence of Public Security, they had no room for doubt; they retreated, took the two individuals into custody, closed the case that very day, and issued an obituary.
"Why not kill those rats and pin the blame directly on the Matsuji Corporation? Hmph!" Akai Shuichi let out a chuckle, casually lit a cigarette, and exhaled a slow puff. "As if the Organization would abandon such an obvious public lead? If I had tried to frame them like that, you probably would've shot me dead on the spot under the pretext of stupidity." Gin laughed cruelly. "Rye, as for your codename—I'm very much looking forward to the day you betray the Organization, so I can thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of killing you!"
After acquiring his codename, Akai Shuichi never actually met his direct superior, Glenlivet. There were three members in his squad, and during his solo missions, he only ever learned their codenames: Bourbon and Scotch. Everything else remained shrouded in a fog, impossible to trace. "Dai-kun, I want to tell you about family I knew in Britain when I was a child. Burt. He's a very pretty and kind-hearted person. My parents loved him and adopted him, changing his name to Miyano Motoki. But ever since the fire, I've never seen him again."
At this thought, Miyano Akemi lowered her gaze, falling silent for a moment. Without changing expression, Akai Shuichi continued following the thread of conversation. "Akemi, a fire? The only places in Britain that have suffered fires in recent years are a few orphanages. What were you doing there?" Just as Miyano Akemi was about to answer, Tamazawa Shuxin stepped out from her right. "Because..."
Tamazawa Shuxin never expected that stepping out to buy groceries would lead to running into Akai Shuichi and Miyano Akemi, and even catching them talking about a fire. Operating on the principle that more trouble is worse than less trouble, Tamazawa Shuxin pretended not to hear, walked right past them, and vanished out of Miyano Akemi's line of sight. "Akemi, do you know that person?" Miyano Akemi shook her head. "No, I must have seen wrong." Akai Shuichi wanted to continue their previous topic, but Miyano Akemi had lost the mood, and in the end, she had to cut the trip short and head back.
"James, run a check on who Miyano Motoki is. He's the breakthrough point regarding the fire."
***
Easter Egg: Forum reactions to Hiromitsu's undercover arc
> ["Hiromitsu! After being molded by the Organization, the gentle Hiromitsu has finally turned into a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside black-belly!"]
> ["Grandpa Ge's sniping skills are insanely high, he can even blind-snag shots, and he handles paperwork too. Truly a top-tier boss proficient in both civil and military arts."]
> ["So straightforward. Whenever there's a disagreement, they just go straight to doing missions. As expected of Grandpa Ge, a true model worker."]
> ["Hiromitsu feels so dangerous under Ge's command. So was his exposure later on discovered by Ge? But how on earth did Hiromitsu survive under Ge's watch?"]
> ["To the poster above: whether Hiromitsu is actually dead or not is still a mystery. Ge's view of members is all about whether they have value; if they're useful, he keeps using them. Doesn't feel like Ge is the one who did it."]
> ["Judging from this chapter, Grandpa Ge still really appreciates Hiromitsu. The second half hasn't dropped yet, so it's still unclear how Hiromitsu passed the evaluation. If we reference Gin's selection process, that thing practically puts people through hell like they have a personal vendetta against them."]
> ["I'm totally shipping it—Gin and Glenlivet! Gin was unhappy because Ge wanted to pick new recruits, feeling like Ge was dissatisfied with him, so he looked at all the new recruits with hostility. But he still went all out to pick capable ones. Gin loves him so much."]
> ["Hey up there, this is a serious analysis thread, stop shipping random characters! All three newbies are undercover agents, so saying they're capable is no joke. But knowing Glenlivet's style, anyone with ability gets put straight to work—otherwise he wouldn't have sent them to the FBI."]
> ["There's just too little info, we'll have to wait for the second half. By the way, what must Bourbon and Rye's evaluations have been like?"]
> ["No clue. Anyway, Zero is playing his CIA identity so hard that even Kir still thinks Zero is a colleague from the CIA."]
> ["Aoyama, you old fox, when are you going to draw Hiromitsu and Akai meeting? Just imagining Akai getting the news that a new colleague is joining the Organization, only to look and see it really is a colleague—except they're on the Black side—must have him sweating bullets."]
> ["Bourbon and Scotch both stacked fake identities, only Akai didn't. Glenlivet is playing favorites, hahahahaha."]
> ["The second half is out! Grandpa Ge really dares to play big, going back to the Italian headquarters for a mission."]
> ["Hiromitsu has completely darkened, and this evaluation mission... why do I feel like Glenlivet is throwing the match?"]
> ["It's not a feeling, he definitely is throwing it. Personally, I think the missions Hiromitsu was given were already enough for a performance review, so Glenlivet didn't want to mess around too much with the evaluation."]
> ["Hiromitsu tricking Irish was SO handsome! A gentle rose with thorns ahhhhhhh."]
> ["The Organization has infiltrated so deeply, even the witness protection program got compromised. The FBI and CIA are in—wonder if the remaining MI6 is completely hollowed out too."]
> ["Hard to tell, let's see how the old fox draws it. The next chapter is back to the main plot, and it's Bourbon!!!"]
> ["Not just Bourbon, Vermouth is here too! Did Ge hand the evaluation over to Vermouth? This is getting spicy."]
> ["Why can't the old fox update daily? Now I have to wait another seven days! Wait, no, damn you Aoyama, a two-week hiatus?! Ahhhhhhh."]