Chapter 115 - 113: Every Bush and Tree Looks Like an Enemy (Four updates, 12,000 words asking for subscriptions)_1

The moment the door swung open, Kevin’s eyes turned icy as he swiftly aimed the AK47’s barrel at the doorway. No horde of enemies appeared, nor did a hail of bullets materialize. Instead, Yosuke, standing at the doorway, suddenly took a bullet to his major artery, spewing a spray of blood. Before Kevin could react, a series of gunshots rang out. His face filled with astonishment, he swept his gaze around to find that everyone from the Sannou Group had fallen except for himself. FARK! What’s going on here? Kevin was dumbfounded, certain he hadn’t even blinked, yet the scene had transformed into this unbelievable spectacle. Even the brain of a professional special agent couldn’t process it. "Mr. Asai, what’s happening here?" Lying on the ground, Asai Etsuki’s eyes were wide open, his expression just as stunned. He remembered focusing intently on the doorway, but then his chest was abruptly hit by a bullet, and he had pulled the trigger, killing his own subordinate. More importantly, who was that man? Asai Etsuki stared with wide eyes, fixing his gaze on the space behind Kevin. That resentful look sent a chill down Kevin’s spine, as though a snake were slowly slithering around his neck, its moist, icy touch clinging to his back. Kevin swallowed hard and suddenly flipped over the table, aiming the AK47 behind him. He saw nothing, but a long, slanting shadow had appeared on the ground. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead instantly. Such a bizarre scene was beyond his comprehension. "Are you human or a ghost?" Kevin asked, his voice trembling. Aozawa, realizing he had been exposed, did not continue to tease his opponent with a time stop. Instead, he smiled and said, "To think you could notice the shadow on the ground so quickly. You’re truly a CIA special agent. I’m glad you’re not one of those useless types who just collect a paycheck." Cold sweat streamed down Kevin’s forehead, a strong sense of pressure gripping his heart like a hand. He couldn’t comprehend how the other person had silently gotten behind him. Wait a second, a thought suddenly flashed through Kevin’s mind. Was it possible that it wasn’t the enemy’s speed that was beyond imagination, but rather his own speed and thinking that had become very slow? Kevin had seen some human experiments where refugees, injected with certain substances, began hallucinating, aimlessly babbling at the air as if they had gone mad. To outsiders, it seemed that way, but to the refugees who were injected, they felt normal. Kevin suspected that, without his knowledge, he had inhaled some kind of gas. This caused both his body and thoughts to slow down dramatically, making it appear as if he were acting normally, when in reality, his movements were extremely sluggish. A person possessing such gas had to be no ordinary individual. "Are you with the KGB?" Kevin suspected that his cover had been blown when he was brought to the task force that afternoon. He gave up resisting and, feigning toughness, said, "Don’t expect to get any information out of me!" "Don’t worry, I have absolutely no interest in the information in your head," Aozawa replied leisurely. "I’m just taking a stroll at night and, incidentally, cleaning up some trash that spoils the view." ? Wait, this isn’t following procedure! Kevin’s eyes widened, but before he could speak, Aozawa used telekinesis to lift Asai Etsuki’s right hand, pointing the gun at Kevin. With telekinesis, Aozawa squeezed Asai’s index finger against the trigger. BANG. The bullet tore through his ribs, precisely hitting Kevin’s heart. At the same time, Aozawa telekinetically forced Kevin’s finger to pull the trigger of his AK47. An instant barrage of bullets blossomed into flowers of blood on Asai Etsuki’s body, annihilating any last chance of survival. Aozawa used telekinesis to erase his traces from the scene. It had to be said, real gunfights were far less dramatic than in the movies, but their lethality was undoubtedly far greater. People who were shot couldn’t just move around freely as if unharmed. Aozawa stepped out of the inner room. The hall outside was filled with the faint stench of blood. The light falling on the messy scene made him feel as if he’d stepped into a shootout movie. He savored the moment, then, as he stepped out the door, he instantly transformed into a peregrine falcon, rushing into the night sky. 「It was nine thirty in the evening.」 Morimoto Chiyoda glanced at the time but chose not to make a video call home to check in. She leaned back, stretching her limbs, emitting a comfortable groan. On the desk in front of her were four computers, each displaying a different feed: the gardener, the chef, and the maid, all asleep in their respective bedrooms. Another computer displayed surveillance feeds from various locations on the Yasuda Family property. The earpiece Morimoto Chiyoda wore allowed her to listen to any sounds coming from the three people’s rooms. Since her shift began, the three had shown no abnormalities. All their phone conversations were about trivial family matters. Morimoto Chiyoda even jotted down notes on such family talk, wary of the possibility that they might be using coded language. With the KGB as their adversary, such precautions were not surprising. This made the on-site surveillance task utterly boring. She needed snacks to pass the time. If she could just hold out until ten o’clock, she could wake up Iwaki Kususuke to take over. Then Morimoto Chiyoda could return to Adachi District, get some proper sleep, and come back the next morning for another shift. In the afternoon, she could go home for a bit more rest, then cook dinner for Aozawa. After a good meal, she’d return here to continue surveillance. This irregular routine was not to Morimoto Chiyoda’s liking, but that’s how work was. Even an ’iron rice bowl’ could feel tedious at times. A thought suddenly crossed Morimoto Chiyoda’s mind: why not try stock trading? If she could earn enough for a lifetime, she wouldn’t need to be troubled by work anymore. That’s what she thought. But having studied finance, she knew well that playing the stock market was a rich man’s game. Morimoto Chiyoda did not want to become one of those who lost everything on the stock market. She picked up her orange juice and took a sip. DRIP-DRIP. Her cell phone suddenly vibrated. She reached into her pocket, pulled it out, and saw a message from Okayama Buji. "Morimoto, wait for me to get there before you go back." Seeing this message, Morimoto Chiyoda was somewhat puzzled and typed back, "What happened?" "A major shooting occurred at Shinjuku Kabukicho Ichi-chome. Fifteen people shot each other to death. A large amount of white powder and cash were seized at the scene." A dog-eat-dog bloodbath ending in mutual destruction? Morimoto Chiyoda replied, unable to understand what this incident had to do with Okayama Buji coming over. "Among them was Kevin from the CIA." Morimoto Chiyoda was startled. She thought for a moment, and a chill rose in her heart. They had interrogated Kevin just that afternoon, and a CIA section chief had come to collect him. That night, Kevin was caught in a deadly shootout at a deal site. All fifteen people at the scene were dead; the money and goods were left untouched. Was this a coincidence? Considering Kevin’s special status, Morimoto Chiyoda didn’t believe this failed deal and shootout was a mere coincidence. If it wasn’t a coincidence, then someone had to be orchestrating it all from the shadows. The KGB. The name surfaced again in Morimoto Chiyoda’s mind, and she understood why Okayama Buji was coming to relieve her. With only Iwaki Kususuke here, whose skills lay in paperwork, he would likely be unable to fend off a KGB assassination attempt. There was a high probability of ’accidents’ – a house fire, an unfortunate fall leading to a fatal head injury, or some other staged demise. "I’m waiting here for you to come over." Morimoto Chiyoda quickly replied. She took out her gun, disengaged the safety, and shouted towards Iwaki’s room, "Iwaki, stop sleeping! Get up right now!" Iwaki Kususuke’s door opened. He emerged in strawberry-print pajamas adorned with an anime girl. "Is it time to change shifts?" "Not yet, but there’s an unexpected emergency. I need you to hack into the building’s security cameras and check who’s coming through the entrance." Hearing the uncharacteristic seriousness in Morimoto Chiyoda’s usually smooth voice, and seeing the gun in her right hand, the sleepiness in Iwaki Kususuke’s mind vanished. He tensed up and stammered, "Morimoto, don’t tell me the KGB is coming to assassinate us? No way! I’m not even married yet! I haven’t even lost my virginity!" Damn it! If only he’d known, he wouldn’t have let the fear of STDs keep him away from the brothels! His ’cannon’ had never once been fired in real combat, all its ammunition wasted by his own hand! "No one is interested in whether you’re a virgin or not." Morimoto Chiyoda shot him a look and stood up. "Just hurry up and do your job. Leave the rest to me." "Okay." Iwaki Kususuke nodded hurriedly. Intimidated by Morimoto Chiyoda’s sudden all-business demeanor, he instinctively obeyed. He moved to the computer connected to the Yasuda Family surveillance system. His fingers rapidly tapped on the keyboard, hacking into the building’s security cameras to check for any suspicious entry or exit at the door. After completing the task, Iwaki Kususuke wiped beads of nervous sweat from his brow. He looked at her hopefully. "Morimoto, you’ll protect me, right?" "If you die, I’ll consider avenging you, depending on the circumstances." Morimoto Chiyoda had no intention of sacrificing her life to protect anyone. If she died, what would happen to Aozawa? She knew all too well the pain of being abandoned by loved ones, and she would never let Aozawa suffer that kind of anguish. Iwaki Kususuke was on the verge of tears. Indeed, the prettier the woman, the more heartless she was. He said, trying to relieve his nervousness, "How can you be so sure the KGB wants to silence us?" "It’s not certain. I just got a message from Okayama. There was a suspected shootout in Shinjuku Kabukicho Ichi-chome. Fifteen people died, including CIA agent Kevin," Morimoto Chiyoda answered truthfully. The word "suspected" immediately convinced Iwaki Kususuke that the KGB was definitely behind this. Faking a crime scene wasn’t that difficult. With a bit of professional knowledge, one could easily stage it. The KGB was too ruthless. Iwaki Kususuke shivered, his voice trembling, "D-do you think we shouldn’t have gotten involved in this case? After all, shouldn’t cases like this be handled by the Public Security Bureau people?" "Didn’t Emily tell you? The secret police from the Public Security Bureau are already investigating Dio. But the higher-ups still haven’t disbanded our special task force. It involves a power struggle between the Metropolitan Police Department and the Public Security Bureau," Morimoto Chiyoda said with a helpless expression. Ever since Yasuda Masao died, the Police Director had changed his stance of not wanting to solve the case. He was now putting hope in the three suspects monitored by Emily, aiming to outdo the Public Security Bureau. Although the Metropolitan Police Department has its own Public Security Department, it is not managed by the Police Director. The actual body managing the public security police is the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office. At this critical juncture in their rivalry, the Police Director would never let them abandon the task. Unless Morimoto Chiyoda wanted to leave her ’iron rice bowl’ job and end up in prison. I don’t want to die. Iwaki Kususuke clutched his head. If he’d known it would come to this, he should have fought tooth and nail against the transfer. Morimoto Chiyoda understood his fear. Fifteen dead. That alone proved how ruthless the KGB was, treating human lives as if they were mere weeds. Morimoto Chiyoda felt no pity for the scum dealing in ’powder’, but she worried about facing such ruthless methods herself. Getting involved in such a case... Morimoto Chiyoda felt it might be better if she couldn’t find any clues. But if she did find even the slightest trail, she and Aozawa might end up in deep trouble. Thinking this, Morimoto Chiyoda suddenly missed Aozawa and wanted to make a video call to see if he was safe and sound.