Chapter 43
Gin wanted to kill someone.
Everyone present, except for Vodka who was being smart for once, he would kill them all, leaving no one behind.
Dismember them, draw and quarter them, grind their bones to dust, exterminate them all! Kill! Kill! Kill!
Don’t think Gin couldn’t see the secret instigation of Chianti and Korn, and the deliberate retaliation of Scotch and Bourbon. These people, who, like him, wore all black in the middle of the night, had hearts as black as ink.
Suspecting the big brother of the distillery? Where is your conscience? Where are your morals? Where is your camaraderie?
Put yourself in my shoes. If the roles were reversed, and someone else’s face appeared on the surveillance, Gin would definitely…
He would definitely pull out his gun on the spot and take the traitor’s damn life with a single bullet!
Thinking of this, Gin felt a strange sense of relief.
Everyone present was a soldier of the distillery. Big brother doesn’t talk about second brother. The paranoia had already become contagious.
Gin was sure he had been set up. He had been framed.
Gin had no idea who the suspect was for now—the number of people the Black Organization’s Top Killer had offended over the years was enough to fill Tokyo Bay. A real man never looks back at an explosion.
“There’s no need to stir up trouble here. After we get back, I will prove my loyalty to that person.”
The silver-haired man said with a dark face, his gaze as sharp as a sword, sweeping over everyone, his eyes filled with a thick suspicion that could freeze a person into a zombie.
“Don’t let me catch who it was,” he said coldly.
Gin had been in power for a long time. Chianti and Korn had worked under Gin for years. They weren’t afraid to talk trash, but they didn’t really dare to treat Gin as a traitor.
Bourbon was a mole. He could add fuel to the fire, but he couldn’t go too far. By the same principle, Scotch should also have backed down.
Hiromitsu was a cautious and careful person, but the person behind him was not.
Suspect An had always adhered to the principle that when there is an opportunity to do something bad, one must do it to the fullest. She had long since instructed Hiromitsu on how to act.
Her design was a series of interlocking rings, leaving no room for Gin to say no.
“The coast guard is about to board,” Scotch Whisky said, walking to the window and lifting a corner of the curtain.
A beam of light illuminated the dark sea. The faint sounds of voices and footsteps could be heard.
Scotch dropped the curtain and turned his head. “Gin, why are you still here?”
Gin: “?”
Vodka: “What do you mean? You’re trying to expel Aniki? A man can be killed but not humiliated!”
Aniki bought a ticket to get on this ship. He paid for it. Why are you trying to kick him out?
Gin and Vodka hadn’t reacted yet. They thought Scotch was being deliberately sarcastic to target them. But Bourbon, a proper police academy graduate, immediately understood Scotch’s meaning.
“Gin, the coast guard will come to you first after they board,” Bourbon reminded him. “Have you forgotten? You’re the one who reported the cultural relic smuggling case.”
In front of the captain, Gin had reported himself with his real face. He was the informant, the insider, the witness, and the person involved, all in one. Who would the coast guard look for if not him?
The Captain: Officers, this way, please! Come and meet our great hero!
The Coast Guard: Are you the legendary enthusiastic tourist? Good lad! We will definitely apply for a Good Samaritan award for you!
Before that, come, let’s take a statement first. Starting with your name, where you live, how many people are in your family, what bad things you’ve done in your life, and whether you have a criminal record.
The Undercover Public Security Officer: Are you ready to sign the police report, Gin?
It’s okay if you don’t have experience. There’s a very experienced person on the cruise ship. Fan An is very helpful. She will definitely teach you everything she knows.
“The coast guard is going to take Aniki away?” After Bourbon and Scotch had pointed out the facts, Vodka was visibly panicked.
He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. “What do we do? Is it too late to call the Osprey to pick up Aniki?”
A little brother who was flustered with concern, willing to start a sea-air war to save his beloved big brother. Gin was lucky to have Vodka.
Scotch, who was giving a live report from the window, said truthfully, “It’s too late. The coast guard has already boarded.”
There were less than five minutes before the police found Gin’s room number. The others in the room also felt the urgency.
In the dead of night, they were all gathered in Gin’s room. There were quite a few handsome men and beautiful women among them. What if the police asked…
Chianti & Korn: We can accept being arrested and imprisoned for our numerous crimes, but a person cannot, at least should not, have a record of group debauchery in their file… We would be laughed at for the rest of our lives!
Becoming the laughingstock of the distillery for generations to come? No! We will not accept such a future!
Bourbon immediately flew into action, quickly hacking the corridor’s surveillance and erasing the evidence of them entering and leaving Gin’s room.
The undercover Public Security officer wiped the sweat from his forehead. Now, all we have to do is leave quickly and return to our own rooms. On the surface, we don’t know each other. When the coast guard asks, we just have to pretend we’re not familiar with each other to get by.
There was only one problem left. “What about Gin?”
Everyone could escape, only Gin couldn’t. Was the big brother of the distillery really going to return to the organization with a big red banner around his neck that said, “To the enthusiastic citizen, Mr. Kurosawa. Justice and righteousness are in the hearts of the people”?
His reputation, his dignity, his self-respect… were they all gone?
The sea breeze rustled, the waves crashed. On the boundless sea, a true, iron-blooded black-side liquor was faced with the most difficult choice of his life.
There was no way back.
Gin would forever remember this day. He would not forget it even in death.
The silver-haired man, exuding a dark aura and a terrifyingly low pressure, began to take off his clothes.
His black fedora, black overcoat, and black leather shoes fell to the floor one by one.
Vodka’s voice trembled. “A-a-a-aniki, what are you doing?”
No way, no way. Could it be that Aniki can’t accept the fate of being the only one to go to jail and has decided to drag everyone down with him? Will everyone be arrested by the police for group debauchery?
Bourbon was probably the only one who wasn’t afraid, but he also felt ashamed.
Gin stripped down to his pants. He glanced at his little brother, who was imagining things, and the others with their twisted expressions, and suddenly felt he could not see the future of the distillery.
To explain at a time like this would be to cover up, and to cover up would be to admit the truth. Gin chose to say nothing. He pushed open the window with a force that seemed to release his anger.
The salty sea water, carried by the night wind, blew on his face and abs. The silver-haired man turned his head for the last time and stared coldly at the people in the room.
“To think you would force me to this point…”
If the mastermind were to appear before him now, Gin would surely grind her teeth and suck her blood, crush her bones and suck her marrow.
Without further hesitation, the Black Organization’s Top Killer, like a large, black, broken-winged bird, plunged into the sea with a splash.
Vodka rushed to the window. “Aniki—”
His cry was so mournful that Chianti subconsciously added, “You jump, I jump?”
Korn: “Are you going to jump with Gin?”
Chianti: “Am I crazy enough to commit suicide with him?”
Vodka could. Suicide pacts are a Yokohama custom. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
The sight of Gin being forced to jump into the sea deeply shocked the soul of the undercover Public Security officer. Looking at all the scheming red-side moles in the organization, who had achieved such a magnificent feat?
Bourbon: Although I don’t know who did it, it was truly amazing. The MVP of the whole show!
All the red-side moles should come and learn, to worship the one true god.
…
Gin jumped into the sea. The remaining five moved to Vodka’s room to discuss their next plan.
“Believe it or not, the person in the surveillance couldn’t have been Aniki.”
Without Gin as their backbone, the usually cheerful Vodka’s tone had become much more subdued, a look of melancholy on his face.
“What’s your proof?” Scotch Whisky asked.
“Vodka, you and Gin weren’t together the whole time. How can you be so sure?” Bourbon followed up, the two whiskies singing in harmony.
“Because Aniki and I went out together to split up and reinstall the bombs on the cruise ship.”
Vodka said, “I saw with my own eyes that after he separated from me, he walked in the complete opposite direction of the captain’s room.”
“That’s not proof… wait, what bombs did you say?” Chianti reacted.
Vodka: “Weren’t the bombs that were installed on the ship before dismantled? Aniki added some new ones.”
For every bomb that seemed to magically respawn, Gin was behind the scenes, carrying the weight.
“But the cultural relic has already been taken away by the police,” Bourbon said in disbelief. “The cruise ship is about to be sent back to Tokyo. We’re still on the ship. Who are the bombs supposed to blow up?”
Vodka made a “uh” sound, his voice gradually getting smaller. “Aniki didn’t know someone was going to report him when he was installing the bombs…”
Vodka vaguely swallowed the subject of the sentence. Otherwise, the distillery members would have heard the explosive statement “Gin installed the bombs and then reported himself,” and would have come to the terrifying conclusion that Gin’s jumping into the sea was not forced but premeditated, and that he had left the bombs to kill everyone but himself.
Gin (already blackened): I am enough to work like a horse for the organization.
The plot of tonight had been too full of twists and turns, one wave after another. No one was going to get any sleep. They had to act immediately to ensure they could see the sun tomorrow.
“Where did you install all the bombs?” Chianti demanded of Vodka. “Hurry up and dismantle them!”
Vodka also knew the seriousness of the situation, but the problem was, “I only know how to dismantle the bombs I installed. How would I know where Aniki hid his?” He was on the verge of tears.
Gin was well aware of his little brother’s intelligence. Gin’s plan was for Vodka to be in the open, and he in the dark. In case the bombs Vodka installed were found by the minesweeper again, at least there would be a backup.
A very thorough plan. As expected of the big brother of the distillery. His intelligence was online.
But Gin had never imagined that his thorough plan would backfire on his own people. Fate is a cruel mistress!
No one expected Vodka to be able to see through Gin’s arrangement, even if he was Gin’s confidant and had a relationship as close as conjoined twins. Vodka couldn’t do it.
The remaining few, Scotch, Chianti, and Korn, were all snipers. They only knew how to get headshots, not how to do demolitions. The only one who knew how to dismantle bombs was Bourbon.
The situation was urgent. The real and fake liquors all fell silent.
They all had a common thought in their hearts, but no one was willing to be the first to bring it up.
To find out where Gin had hidden the bombs, they either had to fish the jumped Gin out of the sea with a net, ask him clearly, and then throw him back, or find someone who was on the same wavelength as Gin.
Who had surpassed Vodka and was Gin’s true soulmate?
Who, with a nonchalant air, held the stunning record of blindly spotting all the bombs on the ship?
Who was the suspect of suspects, the savior of saviors?
True Liquor & Fake Liquor: “How about… we go ask the conceptual god?”