The Gacha System had recently updated with a magical card pool, which deeply tempted Tamazawa Shuxin. At the same time, the forum finally unlocked, but the cost was a staggering fifteen thousand merit points. Tamazawa Shuxin had worked day and night just to scrape those points together, only to have his balance halved in an instant. "I have to see what they're saying on this forum!"
["How on earth did Tamazawa even get into the police academy? With that fragile constitution of his, he's running a fever and falling sick every other day, and he even managed to beat up Rei and Mazda!"]
["Tamazawa Shuxin, a frail man who can take on two opponents at once!"]
["In the Squad Leader arc, Tamazawa dropped absolute golden quotes: the Squad Leader is in high demand, while everyone else is just an empty shell! I'm dying of laughter!"]
["Tamazawa's snark during the robber car incident completely voiced what I was thinking. Robbing a convenience store near the police academy? Handing over merit scores before the year is even up—what a bonus! Those performance credits came way too fast!"]
["And those flashy clothes! But the camera gave a close-up of the Tiger Gold Society—surely that has something to do with The Organization, right?"]
["Did the person above skip the post-credits scene? It's definitely related to The Organization, oh! It's the workaholic duo! Glenlivet's sarcastic remark was thrown right in Gin's face: 'Gin, couldn't even bag Rum and now you're being bossed around by him, huh?' After saying that, Glenlivet even gave a mocking laugh. Seriously, the final shot was the two of them drawing guns on each other! So thrilling!"]
["Damn you, Aoyama! Which of the two actually won? Ahhh, I'm dying to know!!!"]
["Speaking of which, Glenlivet's facial features look just like those of our people in China. Could he be an undercover agent from China? After all, The Organization is full of fake booze, and the Boss hasn't fully shown his face yet either!"]
["No way. Gin finally gets a reliable teammate, and Glenlivet works even harder than Bourbon. Aside from frequently refusing to follow orders, he delivers when it comes to strength and works like a dog!"]
["Speaking of which, I feel like Tamazawa Shuxin and Glenlivet are quite similar—they both have that aloof vibe."]
["What is the person above thinking? They have zero in common! Tamazawa Shuxin and Glenlivet are two absolute extremes!"]
Tamazawa Shuxin stared at the forum's reviews of the police academy arc. "Is it my fault I have a weak constitution? And as for this workaholic thing, do you think I wanted to do that?! Speaking of that incident with Gin—tch, I'll pay him back sooner or later!"
He had finally managed to log off, only for someone to tell him he had to work overtime. The reason he had thrown down with Gin was purely because that entire night's worth of missions had been Gin's revenge. But it didn't matter; he had taken one bullet, while Gin had taken two—his ribs were probably broken in several places by him! Gin had spent a whole week recovering afterward. Thinking about it now, it still felt so damn satisfying!
"Tamazawa, if we don't leave soon, we're going to be late for the mixer!" Tamazawa Shuxin didn't care much for mixers, but it was still better than sitting around doing nothing. "Coming!"
At the mixer, Tamazawa Shuxin watched Hagiwara Kenji working the room with effortless charm and silently gave him a mental thumbs-up. Nearby, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu were discussing culinary arts, while Date Wataru and Matsuda Jinpei were busy eavesdropping on gossip. Now was the prime time for some covert card pulling. Fifty consecutive draws were poured into the card pool.
{SR Blood Replenishment Potion (Medium) ×2, SR Fireproof Potion ×1, SR Vitality Tonic (Medium) ×2, SR Brain Boost Potion ×2, SR Healing Potion (Medium) ×3, SR Invigorating Potion ×3}
Tamazawa Shuxin still had to curse: this card pool was truly rigged. A magical card pool produced no magic at all—just potions. It wasn't even as good as the Occlumency he had pulled from the Old Ones card pool.
"Does Tamazawa-kun have a preferred type?"
Hearing his name, Tamazawa Shuxin blinked in a daze, lifted his eyes, and looked at Fujiwara Keiko, who had asked the question. Then he heard her continue: "Because Tamazawa-kun is super handsome! Black hair with silver streaks, red eyes, and such striking facial features. Plus, Tamazawa-kun usually has that lazy look—he's just so charming!"
"Ahem, I don't have a preferred type."
"Eh?!" At that, the ladies grew even more interested in Tamazawa Shuxin. Tamazawa Shuxin cast a pleading look at Hagiwara Kenji.
"Looks like little Tamazawa doesn't know how to handle women!" Hagiwara Kenji teased.
Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, Tamazawa Shuxin excused himself: "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom!"
Outside the izakaya, Tamazawa Shuxin let out a breath of relief, then checked the functions of the potions. *Replenishing blood, healing wounds, restoring stamina, clearing the mind and boosting brain power—aren't these just what a hardcore grinder needs? I suspect this card pool is mocking me!*
However, Tamazawa Shuxin realized this combination could be used for something else. "Gin, let's have a contest to see who works until they throw up first! Hehe!"
Thinking of the various uses for these potions, perhaps getting all potions actually meant he had great luck? Tamazawa Shuxin opened the card pool once more and went all in with a hundred consecutive draws: {SSR Felix Felicis ×1, SR Disposable Shock-Absorbing Speed Reducer ×1, UR Golden Snitch}.
The moment both golden and colorful lights appeared, Tamazawa Shuxin prayed it was a useful card. "Felix Felicis! Pure luck! But what does the Golden Snitch do?"
Tamazawa Shuxin clicked in to check its attributes: {Golden Snitch: When you are lost, the Golden Snitch will point the way for you. Follow its footsteps and catch it, and miracles will happen!} Tamazawa Shuxin was baffled.
"Tamazawa! I've been looking all over for you, you guy! Turns out you've been outside the whole time!"
Tamazawa Shuxin snapped back to reality and saw Matsuda Jinpei looking at him with an angry expression.
"Is the mixer over?"
"Yeah. By the end, all the ladies were asking where little Tamazawa went. It was clearly my home turf, yet little Tamazawa stole the spotlight!"
Recalling the helplessness of being surrounded by women just moments ago, Tamazawa Shuxin shook his head frantically. "Hagiwara Kenji!"
Seeing that Hagiwara Kenji had stopped teasing him, Tamazawa Shuxin suddenly remembered a question. "By the way, which department are you guys planning to go to in the end?"
"The Mobile Unit, of course!" Matsuda Jinpei replied instantly, without a hint of hesitation.
"Hiro and I are more interested in Public Security."
"I'll probably report to the Special Assault Team!"
Tamazawa Shuxin had anticipated these answers; after all, the five people in front of him were all top elites. "Which department are you planning to go to, Tamazawa? Your health..."
A tick mark appeared on Tamazawa Shuxin's forehead. "I'll probably go to the Public Relations Department of the Metropolitan Police Department."
Hearing that, all five of them let out a sigh of relief. After all, in their eyes, with Tamazawa Shuxin's constitution running a fever every three days, a desk job suited him quite well. Afterward, all five of them offered their congratulations.
Back at the dorms: "Gin, let's kick off a delightful twenty-four-hour non-stop mission!"
Inside The Organization, Tamazawa Shuxin parked his Maserati at the entrance and headed straight for the Intelligence Division's territory.
"Glenlivet-sama?"
"Where are the most troublesome and heavy tasks recently? Hand them all over to me!"
An hour later, Gin saw Tamazawa Shuxin walking out of the base. Tamazawa Shuxin looked at Gin, who was smoking, and tossed out a provocative remark: "Gin, don't burn out and die in there!"
Gin laughed as well, returning the words to Tamazawa Shuxin: "Glenlivet, that line applies even better to you."
"Tamazawa, Tamazawa, wake up! It's time for lunch!"
"Tamazawa, are you sure you don't need to go get a health checkup at the hospital?"
"Leave this guy alone! He's been running a fever for a whole week, and he won't even go to the hospital!"
Tamazawa Shuxin mumbled groggily that he didn't want this either, but he had dragged Gin through a week of underworld transaction missions with no more than seven hours of rest. Glenlivet's disguise had emerged completely unscathed thanks to the potions, but Gin was currently lying in a hospital bed and probably wouldn't come out for a month.
By the fourth day of their grind, the look in Gin's eyes carried the desire to blow his brains out. Vodka had collapsed by day four, and by day seven Gin was clinging to life by a single breath. If Gin hadn't been someone who couldn't afford to check out here, Tamazawa Shuxin wouldn't have bothered calling Vodka to deliver Gin to The Organization's hospital. It wasn't like there were *that* many gunfights and explosions—how could Gin not have held out?!
Right now, he was running a fever again from overexertion. If he hadn't pre-emptively downed a Brain Boost Potion and an Invigorating Potion, Tamazawa Shuxin had no doubt he would have lost consciousness.
Tamazawa Shuxin forced his eyes open and saw Furuya Rei looking at him with an anxious expression. "Tamazawa! You're finally awake! If you didn't wake up, we were going to call an ambulance."
"Sorry for making you guys worry." Tamazawa Shuxin felt mostly recovered and was just about to get up when Date Wataru and Morofushi Hiromitsu stopped him.
"Tamazawa, get some proper rest first. Skip the cleaning duty this afternoon."
Seeing the serious and firm look on Date Wataru's face, Tamazawa Shuxin obediently nodded. Then the five of them left.
Tamazawa Shuxin slowly got up and suddenly noticed a notification alert from Glenlivet's end. *Switch identity.*
As soon as he opened his phone, he saw a message about a base assembly. Tamazawa Shuxin checked the sender: Vermouth. It seemed it had been called by Rum, so there was no need to go. Besides, he hadn't relaxed in ages. He might as well take the car out for a drive, and by the way, drop by The Organization's hospital to check out Gin's sickly state—just thinking about it was delightful.
Tamazawa Shuxin was a man of action. He drove to The Organization's hospital and walked into Gin's private ward.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Vodka peeling an apple for Gin. Seeing Gin's lifeless expression, Tamazawa Shuxin burst out laughing. "Gin, you're looking like you're recovering pretty well. Mission?"
"Glenlivet!"
Seeing Gin's enraged expression mixed with the helpless fury of being unable to strike him, Tamazawa Shuxin laughed even harder. "No way, the Organization's top killer can't cut it anymore? Tsk tsk, this is just too pathetic!"
However, after saying that, he didn't see Gin fly into any further rage. Instead, Gin remained completely calm and ignored Tamazawa Shuxin altogether. Vodka, on the other hand, boldly stepped forward.
"Glenlivet, stop disturbing Aniki's rest. Get out!"
Tamazawa Shuxin knew when to quit while he was ahead and obediently left the ward. Right before stepping out, he dropped one last line: "Gin, once you're out of the hospital, let's keep going!"
Then, from outside the door, he heard a furious roar: "Get lost!"
After maintaining such a good mood over a cup of afternoon tea, Tamazawa Shuxin was driving down the road when he spotted Morofushi Hiromitsu and the others chasing a truck before abruptly coming to a stop. Tamazawa Shuxin couldn't just let these guys pull dangerous stunts. He flipped a U-turn, heading toward the direction of the highway under construction, and drove onto the road running directly beneath it.
He slammed the accelerator all the way to the floor. Just as he reached the gap in the overpass, he saw a truck and a Mazda flying across the void.
"No, even if the truck makes it across, the front end is going to get crushed!"
Tamazawa Shuxin locked onto his target and used the [Shock-Absorbing Speed Reducer].
Furuya Rei was sitting in the driver's seat of the truck. Just as he felt the center of gravity shift downward and the glass crack and shatter under pressure, he suddenly felt the pressure lighten. The front end of the truck wasn't crushed; instead, it flipped smoothly across. Though he sustained some injuries, compared to escaping death by a hair's breadth, it was completely negligible.
"You okay, Zero?"
Furuya Rei shook his head, and shortly after, an ambulance rushed over to send the wounded to the hospital.
Hearing the ambulance arrive, Tamazawa Shuxin got back into his car and drove away.
"The deed is done and away I go, hiding my merit and fame!"
Returning to his residence, Tamazawa Shuxin switched his consciousness back and arrived at the gates of the police academy, just in time to run into the five of them returning.
"Welcome back, heroes!"
"Eh?! Why did you know about that, Tamazawa?!"
"It's magic! I used magic to defeat magic!"