Chapter 20
Hiromitsu knew.
Not only did he know about body-double literature, he also knew about the more advanced and niche “Honey Trap.”
Don’t ask. Just know that an undercover agent is a man of many talents.
“You know? That’s great,” Fan An said, relieved. “In that case, Hiro must have guessed my plan, right?”
The girl’s beautiful face was full of expectation and the joy of finding a kindred spirit. Hiromitsu could only rack his brains, trying to keep up with An’an’s thought process.
Body-double literature, ability-based face-changing, joining this family… I get it.
“You want me to replace Pinga?” Hiromitsu guessed. “Use Pinga’s identity to arrange a confrontation with Gin, and take him out then?”
Fan An: “Brilliant! From now on, the Black Organization will have a new tragic love story: Pinga, driven by unrequited love for Gin, turns to hate. After failing to possess him, he kills him and then commits suicide to follow him in death.”
From now on, the distillery, which knows nothing of the torments of love and hate, will no longer think that lovers’ pacts are just an ancient legend.
Twisted Deep-Closet Bro’s life will have been worth it!
Although Hiromitsu’s guess was a million miles away from Fan An’s actual plan, she was a democratic person and was willing to accommodate the thoughts of the person involved.
“Are you sure you want to be Pinga’s body double?” the girl asked, her face a mask of determination that said, ‘Since you’ve decided, I will support you to the end.’ “I understand. I’ll go find my senior from the film set right now.”
Hiromitsu: “What for?”
Fan An: “To teach you how to play a twisted, deep-closet character.”
Do you think being a body double is that easy? This line of work requires a lot of acting skill!
As a rookie actress, Fan An couldn’t yet handle a role as difficult as Twisted Deep-Closet Bro. She could only call in outside help for her respected Mentor Scotch.
Hiromitsu: [cracks_apart.jpg]
He would never speak carelessly again. Please, just give him one more chance to be a dignified human being.
Under the gentle, mesmerizing influence of Mentor Scotch’s “I’ll listen to whatever you say, your choices all have meaning,” Fan An let go of the “Twisted Deep-Closet Bro” joke and began to explain her plan.
Her inspiration came from none other than Pinga’s threatening letter.
The deliberate mystery of the letter had convinced Fan An that Pinga had absolutely not guessed the truth of Hiromitsu’s resurrection. Pinga most likely believed the “ghost” was a copycat of Scotch.
So, let his guess become reality. Let Pinga believe it with all his heart.
“Imagine, if there was such a person: he was an unknown sniper who once suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Scotch in a professional duel.”
“This person both hated and envied Scotch, becoming his copycat, specializing in imitating Scotch’s marksmanship. He imitated it to perfection, to the point where if Scotch himself were here, he would only win second place in a Scotch imitation contest.”
“He endured hardships, he studied diligently, he showed great reverence for his craft, and he finally mastered his art! At last, having maxed out his Scotch marksmanship skills, he decides to challenge Scotch again, to settle the score once and for all.”
“Shikashi! He searched everywhere for Scotch, but instead received the earth-shattering news—Scotch was dead! He had been forced to his death by the man-eating distillery! This person was devastated, his heart filled with rage. His life instantly lost its color, its meaning.”
(T/N: “Shikashi” means “however” in Japanese, often used for dramatic turns.)
“Scotch is dead. All those years of love and hate were ultimately for nothing. Just as this person is about to leave this oxidized, decaying world, he receives an invitation from his distant cousin, a Miss An.”
“He arrives at the abandoned distillery with his imitation Scotch sniper rifle and bass case. The moment he sees Silver-Haired Model Bro, the wheels of fate slowly begin to turn—”
Fan An: “If this person believes that Gin was the one who killed Scotch, that Gin was the one who destroyed his dream of a final duel with Scotch, does he have a motive to shoot at Gin?”
Hiromitsu: “He does… I guess?”
Fan An: “This person follows his distant cousin An to Nagano, and by chance, his existence is discovered by Pinga, who sees Gin as his lifelong enemy. Pinga extends an olive branch, inviting him to take down Gin together. Does he accept or not?”
Hiromitsu: “He accepts… I guess?”
Fan An: “With Pinga’s recommendation, this person joins the Black Organization. Because of his excellent marksmanship, which is identical to Scotch’s, he is given the codename ‘Scotch Whisky’—isn’t this a reasonable development?”
Who says a distillery codename can’t be reused? An ownerless codename belongs to whoever is capable!
“The above,” Fan An told Hiromitsu, “is your new character profile.”
Her: “Remember to memorize your character bio. There will be a test after you join the distillery.”
Hiromitsu listened to Fan An’s plan. Hiromitsu cat-in-space.jpg.
At this moment, he had only one thought:
Rye, you’re pathetic!
Rye, who had infiltrated the distillery by getting close to Miyano Akemi, was pathetic.
Look at this person’s thinking!
What is this pure-hate black-moonlight body-double literature?! (tactical lean back.jpg)
So stylish, terrifyingly trendy. All the red-side undercover agents in the distillery should come and learn from this incredibly creative thinking.
With just four words, “body-double literature,” Fan An had solved the problem of Gin recognizing Hiromitsu’s marksmanship once and for all. Pinga’s threatening letter was now completely useless.
The most surreal part was that Hiromitsu Morofushi, whose cover had once been blown, would now openly rejoin the Black Organization, righteously using the codename Scotch Whisky again.
Not only would Gin be unable to question it, but even Bourbon would know nothing. A dark horse had suddenly emerged in the final circle of the distillery’s undercover werewolf game!
“Too strong,” Hiromitsu murmured to himself. “An’an, you’re too strong.”
Her ability made this insane plan completely feasible. Unless Gin got help from [No Longer Human], he could test his blood, his DNA, everything, and still not see through Hiromitsu’s disguise.
Hiromitsu will join the Black Organization as Scotch Whisky’s body double—heavens, is that even a sane sentence?
Reason told Hiromitsu: This is weird.
Emotion told Hiromitsu: This is so weird. Let me look again.
“Let me think about it,” Hiromitsu said, rubbing his temples. My head is so itchy. I think I’m growing a brain.
…
Naturally, they couldn’t go out to practice shooting tonight. Tomorrow was the day to test the results of Fan An’s practice. She decided to go to bed early.
The girl lay in the hotel bed, neatly tucking in the corners of her blanket. She stared at the ceiling for a while, then suddenly spoke:
“Actually, as long as Hiro stays hidden in the ability’s space, they’ll never find you.”
“Or you could change your face again, get a new identity. That would also be very safe.”
“But I always feel like there’s something you want to do.”
The dark-haired girl slowly closed her eyes, her words like a dream. “Hiro, who is always by my side, trapped by my ability, is very gentle, very considerate, but he also hides anxiety and unease, and sometimes he has a lonely expression.”
“Is there something you haven’t finished? Are you longing for something? You’re always so full of worries, trying so hard to restrain yourself. You’ve been given a second chance at life. It’s okay to be a little selfish.”
“Whatever you want to do, just go and do it,” her voice grew softer, as if she were about to fall asleep. “Didn’t I say it before? In the future… I’ll be the one to protect you.”
An’an fell asleep, her soft cheek pressed against the pillow, her brow smooth and relaxed.
In the isolated ability’s space, Hiromitsu gazed at her for a long time.
As if he had made a decision, a faint curve formed on his lips.
“Good night,” Hiromitsu said softly.
…
Today was Fan An’s seventh day in Nagano with the film crew, and also the day of the final exam for her genius “morning and evening 1+1” sharpshooter training plan.
It was time to show the results of her practice. Mentor Scotch was watching her with encouragement from the Mentor Observation Room. Fan An would not let her mentor’s reputation in the education world be ruined.
The girl assumed a standard shooting stance, allowing Director Kawamura to inspect her.
Director Kawamura was more than satisfied.
“I knew you could do it,” he praised lavishly. “Fantastic! It’s exactly the same as the posture of the criminal gangs in a shootout I saw on the crime channel!”
“You praise me too much,” Fan An said humbly. “I’m just not tarnishing the reputation of Beika Town.”
The first scene she was to shoot today was the one with the third male lead. After the blond was fired, Director Kawamura had found a new actor to play the part.
“That bastard, the blond. After he was fired, he still dared to buy online trolls to spread rumors, saying that the third male lead role in this drama is a high-risk occupation. You die by the mastermind’s gun in the show, and you can’t escape death outside the show either,” Director Kawamura said, his brow furrowed so deeply you could kill a fly in it.
“Despicable!” Director Kawamura spat. “Does he think I can’t see through his tricks? On one hand, he spreads rumors that you’re a murderer. On the other, he makes it so I can’t find a new actor, hoping I’ll go begging him to come back and continue acting. Ptooey!”
While Fan An and Director Kawamura were talking, the props team had already prepared the set and was ready to shoot.
The dark-haired girl stood by the corpse, letting the gushing blood flow over the tips of her shoes.
The third male lead bursts into the mastermind’s murder scene. The girl, having just finished killing, pays him no mind, sighing lightly, “A rare guest,” before raising her gun.
The pitch-black handgun was on the table. Fan An just needed to pick it up, aim, and pull the trigger.
The third male lead had a pack of fake blood in his chest pocket. The blank cartridge would burst the blood pack, and the moment the blood splattered, he would fall down according to the script.
The camera would freeze on the white smoke coming from the muzzle. Off-camera, the props team was ready with a soft mat to catch the third male lead, to prevent his head from cracking like an egg on the concrete floor.
Fan An went over the entire process in her mind. Before shooting, she heard Director Kawamura instruct the props team to prepare the thickest mat. “Just in case. If the third male lead really gets hurt in this scene, I don’t even have to think about how high that blond will jump. That piece of trash.”
I have to do a good job in this scene, Fan An told herself. Director Kawamura had made all the preparations. She couldn’t mess up.
Director Kawamura’s instruction for this scene was “fast.”
From picking up the gun to firing, it had to be one smooth motion, with no pauses in between. The entire process could not exceed three seconds.
“Action!”
The warehouse door was kicked open. The third male lead’s figure was reflected in the girl’s jet-black pupils.
“A rare guest,” she said lightly, raising the muzzle of her gun.
A strange feeling washed over her.
Fan An’s index finger was on the trigger. The muzzle was aimed at the third male lead’s chest, at the position of his heart.
Director Kawamura stared intently at the camera. From his experience, he knew this shot would hit the bullseye.
It’s perfect! Shoot now! One take!
The moment she pulled the trigger, the dark-haired girl’s arm suddenly swerved outwards, catching Director Kawamura completely off guard.
The perfect trajectory in the frame was instantly shattered, becoming an ugly, slanted line. Director Kawamura was dumbfounded. “What are you doing—”
BANG!
The bullet grazed the third male lead’s hair and shattered the backdrop ten meters behind him.
The metal shell casing clattered to the ground. Thick white smoke billowed from the black muzzle.
The third male lead reacted, his face instantly turning pale.