Chapter 30: Gin: Kill them one by one, and we shall see at which point he finally emerges!

"Calvados followed you to Tokyo too? And then what? He died?"

"What a coincidence. Vodka just called me to say that Chianti and Korn are dead as well... The three of them were such good friends; they even managed to die on the same day."

In the makeshift meeting room, Gin spoke with a sneer. He had no desire to say anything more about that fool, Calvados. Under normal circumstances, organization members were expected to remain on standby at their previous mission location unless explicitly ordered otherwise; even traveling to another city required prior reporting. Gin had received absolutely no word that Calvados was in Tokyo.

In other words, the man had simply been so infatuated with Vermouth’s tiresome, lustful games that he had forgotten who he was, daring to follow her to Tokyo to help her deal with that urban legend!

Heh. Irish and Pisco had both been killed by that urban legend, along with dozens of men. Gin wasn't the least bit surprised that a waste of space like Calvados, who wasn't even as capable as Irish, had been finished off.

Gin downed the red wine in his glass and slammed it onto the coffee table. The glass immediately developed several cracks, looking as though it might shatter at any moment. The ace of the Black Organization’s operations team said coldly, "If Calvados is dead, he’s dead. Submit your own report regarding him."

"Rum is already aware of the situation here. He said that a mole he planted within the police force just sent over new information regarding that urban legend..."

"According to the mole, the urban legend’s name is 'Yan Shuangying,' an overseas Chinese living in Chinatown!"

Gin’s words made Vermouth raise an eyebrow. Not for any other reason, but she was somewhat curious that the organization had managed to plant a mole within official forces. She was used to seeing Gin, as the ace of the operations team, flying around the world to root out traitors within the organization. She never expected Gin to be the one receiving intelligence from a police mole.

Vermouth swirled the wine in her glass, letting the liquid dance. She looked like a socialite or a noblewoman, perfectly elegant. Only her other hand, which looked somewhat unnatural, shattered that perfect grace.

"Is that so? A name filled with killing intent. An interesting man..." she whispered. "In that case, let’s investigate in that direction."

"Oh, right, Gin, I’ve discovered a very interesting pattern."

***

Vermouth’s words grabbed Gin’s attention. He turned to look at her, his face etched with coldness and distrust.

"Yan Shuangying generally only takes action when the other party uses lethal force."

"Therefore, he uses verbal provocation and intimidation to determine if the opponent truly has the guts to pull the trigger. Under normal circumstances, he appears at the crime scene to disarm or kill the criminals."

"But some cases seem different. Sometimes, Yan Shuangying kills in a 'strange' way." Vermouth tapped her fingernails against the wall of her wine glass. She continued softly, "In those cases, the people he killed had criminal records, but they hadn't committed any crimes in the last month."

"This is intriguing. If Yan Shuangying only kills criminals with a record, why have there been so few instances? Is he seeking revenge for the victims these criminals had harmed?"

"...Moonlight Island?" Gin narrowed his eyes.

Because all the information regarding Seimi Asai in the Metropolitan Police Department files Vermouth had sent him was false, he had personally ordered an investigation into everything concerning Seimi Asai. He eventually determined that "Seimi Asai" did not exist at all; the only real person was Seimi Aso. And Seimi Aso was the son of the famous pianist Keiji Aso, who had died in an accidental arson case on Moonlight Island over a decade ago.

As for all the deaths on Moonlight Island, clues later confirmed that the first three to die were the very culprits who had burned Keiji Aso to death over a decade prior—all because Keiji Aso refused to sell heroin for them. The most coincidental part was that the people Yan Shuangying later killed, even after the police had arrived, were all discovered to be members of that original heroin manufacturing and trafficking syndicate.

"Interesting... truly interesting." A dangerous smile curled Gin’s lips.

He had to admit, the intelligence Vermouth provided this time was useful. It was far more useful than the completely false police files on Seimi Asai that had wasted so much of his time. If he followed this line of investigation...

"We’ll catch them one by one, and kill them one by one."

"I want to see how many we have to kill before Yan Shuangying finally crawls out to face us!"

As the ace of the organization's operations team, Gin stood up without hesitation. He intended to arrange the next phase of the mission immediately. After all, investigations, kidnappings, and assassinations all required manpower. He planned to ask Rum for some muscle, pulling in a few peripheral organization members from the Tokyo metropolitan area near Beika City, to teach this guy—who he found more repulsive by the second—a lesson he would never forget!

***

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Gin’s footsteps faded away, accompanied by the sound of the door opening and closing.

Once he was sure Gin had left, Vermouth began to ponder how she might discreetly get rid of Sherry. If that woman stayed by Shinichi Kudo’s side, there was a risk the organization might discover her true identity. If that happened, Shinichi’s identity would be exposed as well, and both the Kudo and Mouri families would be wiped out by the organization. She had to eliminate Sherry before any other organization members found her.

"How vexing... If only I could get this woman to come out and walk to her own death..." Vermouth’s fingers gripped the wine glass as she took a small sip. She whispered, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"It doesn't seem that difficult after all."

"Akemi Miyano once sent a floppy disk to Shiho Miyano. If I simply claim that the disk contains vital information left for her by Akemi, Shiho will surely go to any lengths to get it back... won't she?"

***

"They can find Seimi Asai, which means they can find you."

"I suggest you put things aside for now and lay low, just to be safe."

Having changed into casual clothes, Hikaru Nara stood in a corner outside the Poirot Café, communicating with someone. After ending the call, he tucked his phone back into his pocket.

Just then, a high school girl with a pointy hairstyle that mimicked a horn hurried down from upstairs. She seemed anxious and was trying to call someone, but kept getting no answer. Seeing Hikaru Nara standing there wearing his plain-rimmed glasses, she made sure to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nara!" Ran Mouri said.

"Good afternoon, Miss Mouri," Hikaru Nara replied, pushing up his glasses.