After digging through the entire institute and still failing to locate the missing Shirley, Gin finally made a brutal decision—
He burned the research institute to the ground.
The next day, this incident was reported across major newspapers nationwide.
Upon seeing the headline, the shrunken Shiho Miyano immediately experienced a wave of PTSD.
It wasn't the Organization's cruelty that shocked her—she had long known what they were capable of.
What scared her was how clearly it reminded her of the kind of relentless threat she was facing.
For the time being, Shiho was staying at the Kindaichi Detective Agency.
And thanks to that, Hayashi Yoshiki finally learned the real reason why Gin occasionally showed signs of emotional instability.
"From what I overheard before," Shiho explained with uncertainty,"They actually believe you suffer from some kind of serious mental illness."
She didn't know the details—and after spending time with Hayashi, she was more confused than ever. After all, he spoke clearly, expressed emotions normally, and had none of the classic traits of mental illness.
Hayashi tried to put himself in the mindset of Gin and the others.
And after a moment...
"..."
He said nothing.
Just then, Hayashi received a message on his phone—from Gin.
Meet at the Black Widow Bar.
"Going out?" Shiho asked.
"Yeah, probably won't be back too early," Hayashi replied casually.
He didn't say who called him.
Seeing Shiho Miyano still visibly on edge, he smiled and said:
"If you're ever worried while I'm gone, just hide in your room. I have the only key. No matter who knocks, don't answer. There are cameras everywhere—call me the moment anything feels wrong."
"...Got it."
She wanted to protest being treated like a child.
But after all he had done—saving her sister, giving her refuge—Shiho stayed uncharacteristically quiet and nodded.
Back with the Organization
Hayashi Yoshiki arrived at Black Widow Bar after a 30+ minute drive.
As expected, Gin had a new assignment for him.
In fact, he handed over five names at once.
"What's going on?" Hayashi asked.
Gin's expression was darker than ever.
Only Chianti dared to respond with her usual disregard:
"Because we still haven't found Shirley, he's about to explode."
"I'm asking why I'm the one given five targets."
"There's a long hit list. Everyone's pulling weight," Cohen said calmly.
Ah.
So it wasn't just him.
Hayashi understood:After Shirley's defection, Gin had come under fire from the higher-ups. Now, he was scrambling to show results—or perhaps, launching a witch hunt for any internal traitors.
Fortunately, Hayashi had never been involved in sensitive intel, so he had little to fear.
"But five targets will take time," Hayashi pointed out.
"That's your problem," Gin snapped, setting down his glass.