books44 Chapter 176 Pisco's Cheat Sheet from Staying Up All Night
Chapter 176 Pisco's Cheat Sheet from Staying Up All Night
In front of the monitor screen reflecting warm light, a stern-faced man took off his knitted hat, put on a bulletproof vest, and surveyed the situation in the venue.
"What's the situation on the ground? What's Vermouth's move?"
“Shui, you’re here!” Blonde, blue-eyed agent Jodie Starling grabbed the mission log and approached Shuichi Akai, looking at him with admiration. “Everything is normal so far. Vermouth is socializing as an actress, but there is one anomaly that needs attention.”
"We found no information about this man; he appears to have been brought along by Vermouth herself and has no political or business background."
As she reported, she pointed her finger at one of the small surveillance windows next to Kuromon Haruya's face and teased, "But judging from this pretty boy's face, he must be some minor Japanese celebrity, right?"
Shuichi Akai pressed his face close to the screen, scrutinizing it closely. He was certain he had never seen this person in the organization before, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that it was a member of the organization in disguise.
Theoretically speaking, unless Gin himself is present, the other members of the organization pose virtually no threat... but he subconsciously felt that this young man was worth paying attention to.
Akai Hideyoshi frowned slightly at the sight of the single fold of his eye, then made up his mind: "Let's add him to our watchlist too, just in case."
"Huh? Okay."
Judy increased the screen weight, placing the two in the center.
As Shuichi Akai watched the silent film of handsome men and beautiful women exchanging glances, he mentally simulated their lip movements, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Lip reading probably won't work; the language they're using is neither native Japanese nor English."
This is problematic. Since the central objective of this mission is to escort the target back home, most of the agents deployed on-site are more skilled in action and interference, and there are no lip-reading personnel proficient in multiple languages—which means they will lose a lot of valuable on-site information.
"Then let's just send people to install listening devices near the site!"
After much hesitation, Judy finally succumbed to her curiosity and touched her ex-boyfriend's arm to ask:
"Show, since this operation was initiated by the other side, why didn't they share the audio with us?"
Due to the high level of secrecy required beforehand, Judy only learned the full picture after arriving at the command center, while the other agents responsible for peripheral operations knew nothing beyond their job duties! This was highly suspicious!
Unexpectedly, Shuichi Akai simply explained, "Pisco and his superiors haven't reached an agreement."
Judy was somewhat surprised: "James? There's someone he couldn't reach an agreement with? By the way, why isn't he here this time?"
"No, not James... I'm probably from higher up."
Shuichi Akai slowly shook his head, his gaze shifting upwards as if pointing something: "Pisco's official identity, Kenzo Masuyama, is a tycoon who dominates the Japanese motor vehicle industry. That alone is already beyond James's authority, not to mention that organization is involved."
It might even involve the legendary...that gentleman.
As soon as he finished speaking, those in the command center who were monitoring the situation in real time saw Pisco take a step forward and walk past the crowd toward Kuromon and Haruya.
“It’s been a long time, Ms. Vynyard. You’re still as youthful as ever!” Pisco straightened his tie and greeted Vermouth in fluent English, but his gaze fell on Kuromon Haruya. “And who is this unfamiliar young man?”
Vermouth rolled her eyes elegantly behind her veil, clearly disliking the old man. She didn't believe Pisco hadn't investigated Kurokawa Haruya:
"He is Yoya Kuromon, an outstanding photographer who is good at capturing the traces of beauty... You must know him."
Kuromon Haruya lowered his head and listened to her introduction before bowing respectfully at a ninety-degree angle to Pisco. He extended his right hand, displaying the demeanor of a humble junior: "Hello, Mr. Masuyama, I am Kuromon Haruya, and my stage name in the photography world is 'Kuroba'. It's an honor to meet you!"
"..."
Kuroba, if he remembered correctly, that seemed to be the surname of the current direct descendants of the Karasuma family... It was practically strong evidence that this person was the boss.
But could this person really be that gentleman? Would the boss obediently and respectfully treat him with the respect due to a junior?
I can't even imagine, it's absolutely terrifying!
The thought crossed his mind. Looking at his humble demeanor, Pisco felt a strange, phantom pain spreading throughout his right arm, screaming that he shouldn't get any help.
Ignoring his fear, he shook his hand and encouraged him with a kind smile, "Oh~ I remember hearing about you somewhere before! So you're the Mr. Kuroba who took the photo of the year."
“Hehe~” Vermouth covered her lips with her folding fan, her laughter revealing pleasure. She switched to Italian, “It seems you haven’t figured out the riddle yet. Here’s a little hint: I believe you must have met his mother.”
“Huh? His…mother?” Pisco wondered if he had misheard.
“Butbell,” Vermouth said, “one of the organization’s core members, appointed to the Operations Department... and the son of Miwa Kuromon.”
"!"
He turned around abruptly, almost losing his composure, and looked at Kuromon Haruya with the eyes of someone who had seen a living monster.
The moment that name appeared, the face of the woman he was leading the way became clear instantly, almost synonymous with the keyword "that gentleman"!
'Oh, right, Kuromon Miwa! The woman who was once very close to the Miyano couple, but whose entire family died in a fire!'
'The old faction's investigation back then didn't find any trace of that child, so it's unexpected that he's still alive... Could it be that Kuromon Haruya's identity is real? Is the Boss someone else?!'
Pisco instinctively reached into his pocket for the small piece of paper with the blurry portrait drawn on it to compare.
—That was a sketch of the boss that he had carefully drawn by hand in his bed during countless quiet nights, enduring more than twenty years of fear and anxiety.
The old guard has a blood-soaked lesson regarding that gentleman: [Never attempt to record information about that gentleman using any medium other than your own mind.]
Photography, taking pictures, writing notes, oral communication...
Those who attempt the first two methods will almost always die in accidents within three days, either bleeding from all seven orifices or their facial features becoming so distorted that they are unrecognizable. In the end, rumors even circulated that "that gentleman is beyond human observation."
The latter group had a much higher survival rate, but after privately checking, they found that the facial features of the boss they met changed each time, making it impossible to confirm their identity.
Years later, Pisco, who was becoming increasingly uncertain, realized that perhaps only that night at the Twilight Villa could anchor his true self.
As time flew by, fewer and fewer elders still possessed true self-awareness; even he himself had gone from a young man to a flickering candle in the wind. And the immortality promised by that gentleman was so stingy, so unattainable.
Regardless of whether Kuromon Haruya is the boss or not, once Pisco has chosen to take this unacceptable step, there is no turning back.
Realizing his lapse in composure, he awkwardly picked up the champagne glass on the table and reminisced in a nostalgic tone:
"Ah, it's you..."
I never imagined that the little boy who couldn't speak clearly due to aphasia back then would grow up so much.