I'm back!!!
Sorry for the long absence, I was trying to concentrate for my exams weeks. But it doesn't seem to be working as my result hangs in lower percentage 😢.
Math... why do you betray me...?
On happier news, I can upload steadily again! 💪
I'll be uploading 15 chapters immediately to make up for the lost weeks for you readers. along with the extra chapters from your power stones vote.
Enjoy Reading!!
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Tequila, who had been dancing with complete abandon, finally received a call from an unfamiliar number ten minutes later. With a sulky expression, he reluctantly left the dance floor and picked up the call, his tone unfriendly.
"Yeah? Who is this?"
That thick Kansai accent instantly brought to mind plump round takoyaki, it clashed badly with his intimidating appearance.
"Tequila, it's about time to start the mission. How long are you planning to keep dancing?"
Tequila froze for a moment, then looked around and spotted Ritsu sitting at the bar with a cocktail in hand, watching him. Awkwardly, he said, "Sorry, Macallan. I forgot I had a mission today."
Forgot? Looks like the organization's operations team is seriously short-handed, someone who can even forget a mission still made it to codename status.
Ritsu drained his cocktail in one go. After hanging up, he gestured for them to talk outside and walked toward the register. As a law-abiding citizen, he wasn't about to dine and dash.
In the alley behind the MEXICO bar, Ritsu leaned against a concrete wall with his arms crossed, waiting for the slow-moving Tequila, who still hadn't come out. What a guy with zero sense of time.
When Tequila finally arrived, he said with a long face, "Did Gin tell you the details of the mission?"
"No."
"Oh. Well, it's not a difficult job this time. We're delivering a generous gift to a client."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "A bomb?"
"Macallan, don't put it so bluntly." Tequila lifted the black briefcase in his hand. "The gift's inside. The client tried to go solo behind our backs. Once he pays up, we'll send him straight to hell."
So this Kansai guy liked speaking in riddles too. Vodka and the others liked to call bombs "fireworks," and he called it a "generous gift."
Quite the gift, just not one anyone would want.
"Fine. Let's get it over with," Ritsu said flatly. He had just finished a solo mission and hadn't slept all day, he just wanted to wrap this up and get back to his apartment.
A simple task like this didn't require two people. Gin was probably using this as an excuse to let him get familiar with more codename members in the operations team.
His own team had been formed for a while now, yet it only had Kir and Bourbon. Ironically, Rei, who held a similar rank to him in the Public Security Bureau, was actually subordinate to him within the organization.
As for why Akai hadn't joined his team, it was because his status was nearly on par with Ritsu's now. That guy's ruthlessness was approaching Gin's level, which left Ritsu deeply unsettled. He still couldn't accept his brother turning into someone like that.
Their target this time was a man named Yuya Goto. His line of work fell into the gray zone, he specialized in providing information services. That's why he had collaborated with the organization in the first place since their intel network had access to things ordinary people couldn't obtain.
But as Goto's business grew, he began thinking about quitting. Long-term dealings with the organization had made him uneasy. After all, if the police ever caught him, he'd be finished. Now that he had made enough money, he wanted out. But the organization would never let him go.
Even if he had no intention of leaking their secrets, ending the partnership still counted as betrayal, and the punishment was execution.
"For someone like that, wouldn't a bullet or poison do the trick? Is it really necessary to make a spectacle with a bomb?" Ritsu asked, placing his guitar case in the back seat.
Tequila drove a small Beetle. A nearly two-meter-tall man driving such a tiny car was absurdly mismatched, he had to hunch just to get inside and even then his head pressed against the roof.
"Lately, some people have been getting restless. Gin wants to make an example, kill one to warn the rest. So we're making it loud. Don't worry, Macallan, there are no surveillance cameras in the area."
"I'm not worried about that," Ritsu said calmly as he got into the passenger seat. "I just think it's a waste of resources to go this far for a small-time target. If the organization has money to blow things up, they might as well improve the operations team's pay and benefits."
"…"
Tequila sighed in disappointment. He hadn't expected Macallan to care so much about money. It seemed there really were no free spirits in the organization who loved dancing and drinking like he did, how lonely.
They drove to 2-18, Mita 2-chome, Minato Ward. A three-story building stood there, with large golden letters above the entrance, Goto Corporation.
That flashy gold signboard… incredibly tacky. Pure nouveau riche energy.
"This is the place?"
"Yeah. He should already have the money ready, waiting for us to deliver the goods."
Tequila rang the doorbell. About a minute later, a scruffy young man with messy hair appeared. Yawning, with greasy residue still at the corner of his mouth, he immediately became respectful upon seeing Tequila.
"Kamata-san! What an honor, please, come in. I just got some excellent tea."
Kamata? So that was Tequila's alias. Makes sense, no way they'd reveal a codename to someone about to die.
"We've got other deals to handle. No time for small talk."
Noticing there were two of them today, Goto smiled. "Is this your colleague, Kamata-san? Quite young and handsome. Please wait a moment, I'll go get the money."
Ritsu surveyed the first floor. It was clean but clearly maintained by hired cleaners, no way someone this sloppy kept it that way himself.
A few minutes later, Goto came down carrying two large suitcases, panting heavily. Even from the third floor, that wasn't much distance. His stamina was pathetic.
"Whew… Kamata-san, the money's all here. Want to check it?"
"No need. I hate trouble."
"??"
Unreliable as ever. Ritsu bent down expressionlessly and opened one of the cases.
"I don't."
After confirming the amount was correct in both cases, he closed them and picked one up.
"All good. Let's go, Kamata."
"…Right."
Tequila handed the black briefcase containing the bomb to Goto, grinning.
"Here's what you ordered. Make sure you open it somewhere private. Same password as usual."
"Heh, I'm a regular, you can trust me."
"Then, goodbye."
"Kamata-san, and you too, young man—take care!"
Once they were gone, Goto dropped the fake smile and spat on the ground before slamming the door shut. This was his final deal. The money he'd made was enough to get far away from these dangerous people.
Carrying the briefcase upstairs to his bedroom, he eagerly prepared to check the "information" inside. But the moment he entered the four-digit code, a sound like a countdown began.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
'This isn't information, it's—'
BOOM!!!
There was no time left for Goto to think nor any chance to throw the bomb away.
Three seconds.
And just like that, his final transaction ended in an explosion.