After finishing a bowl of salt-flavored ramen near the Metropolitan Police Department, he chose not to return to his apartment in Minato Ward and instead took a taxi to the research facility located in Nishitama City.
Tomorrow was the day they would depart for Mermaid Island. To keep Vodka from having to make two trips, he thoughtfully decided to spend the night in the laboratory.
Besides, he couldn't sleep anyway. It didn't matter where he stayed.
Inside Laboratory No. 4 of Meisen Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shiho was conducting experiments on APTX4869. Holding a notebook in hand, she carefully recorded the physical changes occurring in the white mice.
Thinking of the request made by thatgentleman, anxiety welled up inside her. Even if she suspected his words might be lies, at the very least… there was still hope, wasn't there?
—"If you can complete APTX4869, I'll let you and your sister leave the Organization."
Unfortunately, the experiment results were far from optimistic.
At its current stage, APTX4869 was highly toxic. After dissecting hundreds of dead white mice, she had reached another conclusion.
During the testing phase, APTX4869 possessed deadly toxicity capable of causing cardiac paralysis and death within a short period after ingestion. Even autopsies failed to detect any trace of poison, making it a perfect murder weapon that left no evidence behind.
Shiho had never reported this discovery to the Organization. She believed that if the Organization obtained a poison capable of killing invisibly, it would create enormous trouble.
And if the drug she created ended up killing people, then she herself would be no different from a murderer.
With a bitter smile, Shiho set down her notebook. Just as she turned around to brew herself a cup of black coffee, she saw Augier silently seated behind her, staring intently at her from a chair.
How did he get in here?
Why hadn't she heard a single sound?
Shiho looked at Augier warily. She disliked the man before her. He gave her a strange feeling… as though he could see straight through her thoughts.
"Good evening, Sherry."
"…How did you get in?"
"Obviously by walking in." Ritsu stood up and pointed at his long legs before calmly adding, "With my feet."
Noticing the change in Shiho's expression, Ritsu wisely shifted the topic before she could dwell on the pointless exchange any further.
"You should've already received notice that we're heading to Mermaid Island tomorrow."
Mermaid Island.
The moment she heard those words, Shiho replied in her usual sharp tone,
"I never expected the Organization to be naive enough to believe in creatures that don't exist."
"Heh. The Organization never likes to overlook even the slightest possibility. Besides, this trip to Mermaid Island isn't for discovering the secret of longevity. The real objective… you'll find out tomorrow."
That mysterious style of speaking was something he had learned from Vermouth.
"Oh."
Shiho coldly tossed out a single word before putting away her notebook and walking toward the counter to prepare herself a sugarless coffee to stay awake.
The Organization still had use for her. Augier wouldn't do anything to her.
There was nothing to fear.
At least, that was how she comforted herself internally.
Ritsu glanced at the two glass containers nearby. Just like before, she still had the same twisted sense of humor.
"There's another reason I came to see you today."
"Speak."
"There used to be an operative in the Organization named Macallan. You should know him. You worked together before."
After saying this, Ritsu tried to observe Shiho's reaction. Unfortunately, she had her back turned toward him.
Still, he noticed her hand tremble while pouring hot water, spilling half of it outside the cup.
Shiho had never expected to hear the codename Macallan come from Augier's mouth. Curling her lips into a self-mocking smile, she found it surprising these people still remembered Macallan at all.
"I don't have the power to bring the dead back to life."
"Bringing the dead back? You're overthinking it. I just want the research data he previously asked you to investigate."
Ritsu rose and leisurely walked to Shiho's side, leaning casually against the counter with an ambiguous smile.
"Or are you hoping for something? Hoping he's still alive?"
Sure enough, this man's personality was even worse than those two.
"The Rampage-1231 files are in the drawer. But first I need to ask whether you have the Boss's permission—"
"You're worried I'm overstepping my authority?"
Ritsu took out the email sent by that gentleman and held it before Shiho.
"You recognize this email address, don't you? If you need a phone confirmation, I can also—"
"The drawer password is 0207."
When he first heard "1231," Ritsu hadn't been narcissistic enough to assume the drug had been named after his birthday.
But now, hearing the drawer password was the date of his death, it turned out he hadn't been narcissistic after all.
"Is 0207 your birthday?"
"A person's death date." Shiho frowned impatiently.
"Mr. Augier, you're far more nosy than I imagined. Take the files and leave. I don't like having a second person in my laboratory."
"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I'll be staying here all night."
Without responding directly, Shiho hurriedly drank down the still-warm coffee in her mug. Picking up her notebook, she headed toward the exit. Before leaving, she added,
"Fine. Then I'll go rest."
Watching the laboratory door close once more, Ritsu shrugged helplessly.
The personalities he created were all pretty detestable. Even he found them annoying.
Whether it was Augier or Onizawa Takashi, both possessed terrible personalities. Even knowing the other person hated being questioned, they still insisted on dancing right on top of landmines.
'Tch. What a bastard.'
Collecting his thoughts, he entered the password, opened the drawer, and retrieved the USB drive inside. Turning on the computer and inserting the drive, he reviewed the detailed data and comparisons with the blood samples he had provided back then.
As expected of genius scientist Shiho. In just one year, she had grown even more formidable.
Ritsu stared at the data displayed on the monitor. According to Shiho's analysis, Rampage-1231 still contained several unidentified chemical structures that couldn't yet be analyzed.
However, based on Leo's condition after the injection, it was possible to infer the general direction of the remaining compounds.
Much like blood-doping stimulants banned in athletic competitions, these unidentified substances produced similar effects, rapidly increasing red blood cell counts in the body so that more oxygen could be delivered to the muscles, thereby enhancing physical performance.
It was essentially a stimulant-type drug.
A drug capable of exciting the human body while simultaneously improving every physical function and producing an extremely powerful analgesic effect.
From this, one could infer that the ultimate purpose of Rampage-1231 was likely, to unleash the maximum potential of the human body and achieve superhuman physical capabilities, thereby cultivating an elite army completely under their control.
The terrifying aspect of this drug wasn't merely the enhancement of human potential.
It was the removal of pain perception, turning people into irrational humanoid weapons.
And if it could further control the minds of those injected with it…
That would be even more horrifying.
Suddenly remembering something, Ritsu pulled out his phone and quickly typed out a message to Vermouth.
[Augier: I need the physical data from before the drug trials back then. You should still have backups, right?]
[Vermouth: Why do you suddenly need that?]
[Augier: Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. Just send it.]
[Vermouth: You really are no fun. I'll organize it and send it to your email.]
[Augier: Good.]
Pulling out the USB drive, Ritsu walked over to the cabinet and took out a clean glass cup. He poured himself a cup of steaming hot water.
Without hesitation, he loosened his clenched left hand.
Plop.
The USB drive fell into the hot water. The fewer people who knew about the Rampage-1231 research data, the better.
Silently returning to his seat, he glanced at the time displayed on his wristwatch.
Four hours remained before departure.
Might as well close his eyes and rest for a little while.
After all, there were still many things waiting for him to deal with.
One step at a time.