Chapter 10
Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu stared at each other in the temporary residence arranged by the Organization.
"Hello, I'm Midorikawa Yui, sniper." Morofushi Hiromitsu was the first to break the awkward atmosphere with self-introductions.
Furuya Rei also snapped back to attention: "Amuro Toru, information broker."
Then the atmosphere fell into awkwardness again.
These two—one from National Police Agency Public Security, one from Metropolitan Police Public Security, and childhood friends—but neither knew they'd encounter the other here.
Because both had been spotted for their talents and cultivated as undercover agents, after graduation they'd each consciously distanced themselves from their original social circles. This resulted in neither realizing the other was doing the same thing. Now reuniting here, they suddenly understood what had been happening before.
Although they had many questions to ask, this was Organization territory and who knew if surveillance cameras or bugs were installed. So after normally greeting each other, they each found places to sit.
Morofushi Hiromitsu was adjusting his sniper rifle while Furuya Rei opened his phone to check emails. Both waited silently.
Though they'd now stepped through the Organization's doorway, they hadn't passed evaluation yet so weren't officially members. With limited intelligence, they'd only been given this address and told to arrive today. As for how many people would come or what they'd do—they knew nothing.
The only certainty was that someone responsible for evaluation would come. If the evaluator was observing them through surveillance, doing nothing was safest.
After an unknown time, suddenly the sound of a door opening came from the entrance.
The first person to enter the living room was a tall man with silver hair and sharp, sinister eyes. From the materials the undercover agents possessed, this person was someone requiring key attention—codename Gin.
Following closely was also someone the undercover predecessors had collected materials on—codename Vodka, said to be Gin's partner and subordinate, inseparable from Gin.
From the materials, Gin's status seemed quite high. Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu had thought they'd have to infiltrate deeper into the Organization before meeting him. They hadn't expected to encounter him as new recruits... Had they attracted attention?
Not knowing if this was good or bad, both undercover agents tensed and stood up from the sofa.
But before they could say anything, Vodka said impatiently: "Hurry up, why are you moving so slowly!"
There was still someone who hadn't come in?
Furuya Rei's sofa position allowed him to see part of the entrance situation.
He didn't hide his actions either—after all, his current identity was an information broker, so being curious was normal. He directly leaned his body and openly looked toward the entrance.
After a few seconds, a bulky figure dragging a suitcase appeared in Furuya Rei's field of vision.
Compared to Gin and Vodka's efficient, streamlined movements, this person's actions seemed somewhat sluggish. Who knew what was packed in that suitcase—the person looked like they were struggling terribly to walk.
Even with sunglasses blocking his view, Vodka's expression was visibly speechless: "Are you really that weak?"
"Because there's no elevator here..." That person panted heavily, sounding very aggrieved.
The voice sounded very young with apparently poor stamina, but to directly complain about elevators in front of Organization members—either they were confident in their position or didn't understand workplace dynamics yet.
While making mental judgments, Furuya Rei observed the Organization members and noticed that for some reason, hearing this answer made Vodka look even more speechless.
Of course Furuya Rei couldn't know that at this moment Vodka was frantically complaining internally—You survived the Middle East and you're pretending to be delicate?! Most ordinary people dragging suitcases up three floors wouldn't pant like this! Give you a bullet and all your problems would instantly be cured in a medical miracle, right?!
Gin was also made to twitch with a vein at his temple: "Leave your stuff at the door and come over!"
That person finally abandoned the suitcase and jogged into the living room.
Upon entering, he first removed his down jacket hood, revealing a head of messy white hair and a delicate, handsome face that was hard to tell whether it belonged to a high school or college student.
Vodka said with a stern face: "Since everyone's here..."
The sound of unzipping interrupted Vodka.
Honestly, in this weather wearing a down jacket was already somewhat hot, and taking off outerwear after coming inside was quite normal.
The problem was that after this silver-haired youth took off his down jacket, he was still wearing a windbreaker underneath, looking bulky—who knew what else was inside. Under everyone's gaze, he successively removed three more layers before finally wearing only season-appropriate knitwear and sweatpants, taking a long breath in the warm room.
Everyone just silently watched: "............"
The overheated youth seemed to finally realize what kind of occasion this was. He carefully glanced at Gin and quietly explained: "The suitcase couldn't fit everything... I..."
Vodka had already started hearing phantom words like "we ordinary people all wear clothes that don't fit in suitcases" and quickly interrupted: "Nobody cares how you dress. Just do what the Organization assigns properly!"
"Okay." The youth obediently agreed, then looked around. "Um, should I introduce myself now?"
Vodka covered his forehead while Gin silently took a deep breath.
Do you think this is a classroom introducing a transfer student?! What ordinary people are you basing your act on?!
They'd originally wanted to establish dominance, but now the atmosphere was completely ruined!!
Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu were full of questions but didn't dare let their guard down.
Although this youth seemed completely incompatible with the Organization's atmosphere, since the Organization had taken notice of him, he must have extraordinary qualities—maybe he was playing the pig to eat the tiger.
Since Gin and Vodka didn't answer, the youth seemed to take it as tacit approval and began introducing himself unprompted.
"Hello everyone, I'm Usuha Izuki."
Furuya Rei, whose character setting was somewhat rebellious, decided this wasn't a big deal and ignored Gin entirely, smiling as he responded: "I'm Amuro Toru, and he's Midorikawa Yui."
"Hello." Usuha Izuki showed a shy smile and reciprocated the introduction helpfully: "This is Gin, and this is Vodka..."
Vodka: "..." Did I ask you to introduce us?!
Gin had just pulled out a cigarette from his pack, probably wanting to calm down, but then heard Usuha Izuki's "helpful assistance" and instantly crushed the cigarette.
"Shut up!"
Usuha Izuki seemed startled and quieted down.
Whether it was an act or not, seeing this performance, Gin's expression improved somewhat as he got to the point: "You all understand why you're here."
As he spoke, he observed Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu's expressions, trying to detect any guilt.
Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and spoke: "Sorry, I don't quite understand. Could you be more specific?"
Vodka picked up the thread: "Someone recommended you all. There's a task here—depending on your performance, if you pass, you can officially join the Organization."
Furuya Rei raised an eyebrow.
Usuha Izuki raised his hand: "What if our performance isn't up to standard?"
"..." Vodka looked at him coldly. "Then no one will help you avenge your father."
Father's revenge?
Both undercover agents' thoughts stirred as they noted this keyword.
Usuha Izuki seemed to suddenly become dejected, looking down at the floor.
Actually, he was secretly lamenting in his mind.
[Wow, Vodka's acting is better than mine. I need to look at him with new respect.]
System: [No, I think he's genuinely very annoyed with you right now...]
"So what's the task?" Furuya Rei asked.
"Make Fukuoka City's current mayor lose his election eligibility." Vodka smiled sinisterly. "Any means necessary."
"The Fukuoka mayor... that's Mayor Harada, right?" Furuya Rei adopted an information broker's posture. "If I'm not mistaken, he's very tolerant toward the yakuza. Wouldn't having him in office be more beneficial for us?"
Gin said coldly: "His cooperative partners aren't us."
So what if he was tolerant toward the yakuza? If all he attracted were competitors, the benefits still wouldn't fall to them.
"I see." Furuya Rei showed a very fake expression of sudden understanding. "On one hand weakening competitors' official influence, on the other hand Fukuoka's current chaos definitely can't be governed well in the short term. Changing people will only make it more chaotic, which is more suitable for fishing in troubled waters... Mm, I have no more questions."
Next, Vodka gave a few more instructions before leaving with Gin.
After getting in the car, recalling Usuha Izuki's expression when the mission location was mentioned as Fukuoka, Vodka couldn't help asking: "Will that Usuha kid notice the real target is Hakata Port and that the Organization is targeting him?"
"If he's smart, he'll know this is normal." Gin finally lit his cigarette, his expression much more relaxed. "The Organization needs to develop more smuggling routes and can't let him have too much influence in this area."
This was also a warning to let Usuha Izuki understand he wasn't irreplaceable, so he should cause less trouble.
The things he was doing now would all have to be paid back when the Organization no longer needed him!
Thanks to previously going to Hakata to deal with traitors and search for Usuha Izuki, Gin had taken the opportunity to survey Hakata and found it really was very suitable for the Organization to enter. Even if it required more manpower and energy upfront, it would be worth it.
The connections there were really comprehensive—they had everything. Building good relationships or becoming local power brokers could effectively alleviate the Organization's internal smuggling route difficulties.
The Boss had already been worried about having too few smuggling routes and the Middle East route being dominant. When Gin's report was submitted, it quickly received approval.
But to operate in Hakata, simple cannon fodder would be useless. The situation there was really complex—send one and lose one. They needed more elites, but the executives remaining in Japan were limited. Gin could only have the recruitment department hire more people while he paid attention to new recruit quality to see if anyone could be used directly.
It was precisely because the Organization suddenly wanted to recruit more people that the National Police Agency and Metropolitan Police, who'd originally wanted to train new recruits longer, worried the Organization might have major plans.
Currently their undercover agents in the Organization had either died or gone missing. They had to quickly send in undercover agents, and with massive recruitment providing perfect cover, missing this village meant losing this shop. That's why they hastily selected the best-performing Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu.
Vodka pondered: "If Usuha guesses the Organization's purpose and wants to secretly sabotage, what do we do?"
Gin sneered: "Wouldn't that be perfect? Someone who's exposed their disloyalty should..."
"Boss, let's not talk about loyalty or disloyalty. Even if he's an undercover agent, we can't kill him now, right?"
"............"
Very good point, don't say it again next time.
Gin's expression darkened as he stubbed out his cigarette: "The Boss can't tolerate him forever."
Vodka didn't dare say anything else and could only voice agreement: "Exactly! With that temper of his, nobody can stand it! He'll die sooner or later!"
Meanwhile, in the safe house, Furuya Rei tapped the table.
"Everyone, I think we don't need unnecessary pleasantries. Let's get straight to the point—we know the mission content. What is everyone good at? Let's discuss."
Usuha Izuki said readily: "I guess I'm intelligence personnel. I'm very good at finding routes."
Furuya Rei: "...?"
What kind of intelligence personnel specializes in finding routes? Is this some code or hidden meaning?
At this time, Furuya Rei still didn't know just how much information was contained in the phrase "good at finding routes" or what kind of shock it would give him.