(VOL 2)
Jiangxia Tongzhi kept a straight face as he replied, "I didn't think it would work out, so I didn't bother reporting it."
Vodka felt there was something off about this, but after mentally chewing on Jiangxia's explanation for a bit, it started sounding surprisingly reasonable. The two contradictory thoughts jammed together in his brain, so he just gave up thinking altogether and went into default nodding mode. "Makes sense…"
Jiangxia added, with a hint of flattery, "Speaking of which, you gave me this mission as a test because Kimie Tsujimura had come to me earlier, right? I didn't expect our assassination ideas to line up so well."
Gin: "…" That wasn't the reason. The mission assignments were randomized.
Also, their idea of "assassination" didn't usually involve so many layers of fluff. It was typically more... direct.
But for the sake of the Organization's image, Gin didn't correct him.
He just nodded coolly. "Go back. Stay in Tokyo for the next few days."
Jiangxia nodded in return and got up to leave.
The door shut with a soft click.
Vodka stared at the door for a long moment, then slowly snapped out of it. Something still didn't sit right. "Boss, you think this is just a coincidence? Maybe Kimie Tsujimura originally wanted to kill her husband, and Jiangxia just happened to show up at the right time…"
Gin let out a cold laugh. "You seriously believe that was a coincidence?"
Vodka nodded. "I mean… it's not impossible. I heard where detectives show up, murder rates go up too…"
Gin scoffed at his innocence. "Have you ever thought about why Jiangxia suddenly became a detective? And why he can always solve cases within minutes? Like those media reports say—'It's as if he can see through the criminal's script.'"
Vodka blinked. He hadn't thought about it. In his mind, it was just a streak of bad luck—cases kept landing in Jiangxia's lap one after another.
But Vodka didn't say that out loud, since Gin clearly had more on his mind.
Gin picked up a teacup, poured a bit of water onto the floor, and then turned to Vodka. "Where did that water come from?"
"...?" Vodka worried Gin might be running a fever, but didn't dare ask. He replied carefully, "You just spilled it?"
Gin nodded. "Now think. A puddle like that could've come from rain dripping off an umbrella, a waiter messing up while pouring tea, or it could've been someone deliberately pouring it out. That someone might be you, me, or anyone walking by. But the moment I asked, you said it was me."
Vodka got that itchy feeling that he was being accused and reflexively took the blame. "So… I did it?"
Gin: "…"
He let that pass and continued, "Because you saw me do it."
Vodka froze.
After mulling over what Gin had said earlier, he finally started to connect the dots. "You're saying… Jiangxia can pinpoint the truth behind vague clues in seconds, not because of instinct—but because he's seen the events that created them?"
"Exactly." Gin leaned back and lit a cigarette. "Not only has he seen them, he may even be writing the script himself—like he did with Kimie Tsujimura."
Vodka thought back to the long list of cases Jiangxia had "solved" and felt a cold chill climb up his spine. "He's using murder to boost his reputation as a detective?! That would explain why the cases he solves always seem so dramatic and flashy. But… a lot of those cases, he stumbled into by accident."
Gin exhaled a puff of smoke, sneering. "Without hearing what he just said, would you have guessed he'd contacted Kimie beforehand, just from reading the report?"
Vodka racked his brain and started sweating. "…No."
Jiangxia was terrifying. That innocent, good-student face hid a ruthless killer who didn't even blink. Was this the future of the Organization?
Just then, Gin's phone buzzed.
He checked it—Chianti had texted: [Still tracking.]
Vodka saw it too and stiffened. "Another mission?" Chianti was their go-to sniper for assassinations. But wasn't Isao already dead…?
"I told her and Korn to keep eyes on Jiangxia," Gin explained. "He's done a bunch of these tidy little murder performances. This one was unusually clean, but Isao Tsujimura wasn't your average street thug. If the police really dig into this or she slips up, Jiangxia could get exposed."
"If that happens, he's just a one-off killer who faked being a genius." Gin looked out the window, going over their current manpower in his head. Thinking about Jiangxia again, a rare flicker of anticipation showed in his eyes. "But if not… then the next time we meet, he'll be a full-fledged colleague."
…
Back at home, Jiangxia sent a quick message to Haibara Ai: [Don't take any food delivery gigs this week. Too risky.]
Haibara replied with a simple [OK].
A few minutes later, another message popped up: [Stay safe.]
Jiangxia replied [ok].
Gin had started man-marking him. There'd definitely be an investigation. But Jiangxia wasn't too worried.
—Kimie Tsujimura wouldn't report to the police. Reporting him was pointless anyway—he was truly innocent.
Also, Jiangxia had been careful. He really had clipped articles for the office board regularly, and Kimie's cat-lady friends were very active online. Between them, they had over a dozen cats, all of whom loved to escape the house. Very noisy social circle.
So Jiangxia went about his usual routine. Only at night did he shift into ghost mode, driving out the tengu to spy and check whether Chianti and Korn were still on his tail.
The two snipers were absurdly committed—rain or shine, they were always up there on the rooftop.
Then, one afternoon, an unexpected email arrived. The sender's address was familiar, but also new.
Familiar because Jiangxia had seen it in spoilers. New because this was the first time the owner had ever messaged him directly.
He opened it. Sure enough, it was from the Boss. He'd passed the test.
The Boss gave him two lines of motivational chicken soup for the soul, then revealed his new code name:
—OUZO.
Jiangxia: "…" That name sounded kinda… villainous.
He opened his trusty browser plug-in and looked it up. Turns out, Ouzo was a Greek spirit. Not black at all—actually turned white when mixed with water.
Still, he'd been hoping for a cool-sounding black liquor. But, at least the name was short, pronounceable, and not completely ridiculous.
Satisfied, he set his phone down.
Then, as usual, he released the tengu ghost for a little recon. Sure enough, the snipers were gone.
Looks like he'd officially managed to scam his way into becoming a full-time Winery employee.
No idea what that job actually entails, but hey…
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 39/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*