Gin pondered for a moment, quickly matching the voice to the person.
"..." It was Bourbon's voice.
Gin was silent for a moment, then questioned, "Bourbon, you..."
He had originally intended to ask why Bourbon was colluding with Jiang Xia.
But after a brief thought, he realized something was off—now, it was proven that the person on the other end of the phone was not Akai Shuichi. And since Bourbon and Jiang Xia were both members of the organization, it wasn't strange for them to be in contact.
After all, compared to other peripheral members, Jiang Xia was indeed very useful—though his work attitude wasn't proactive, at least he never made any amateur mistakes.
If Bourbon had also discovered the convenience of Jiang Xia and found him increasingly handy... then it was quite reasonable for him to send messages to Jiang Xia for help from time to time.
...
While Gin was in thought.
On the other end of the phone, Amuro Tooru also gradually understood.
He seemed to be busy; Gin vaguely heard the sound of dishes clattering, and Bourbon, amidst his busy schedule, urged, "Hurry up and check, then release him. I still need him for something."
Gin, with a hint of suspicion, coldly asked, "What is it?"
Bourbon chuckled twice, not answering, and retorted rather unpleasantly, "Do you want to interfere with my work?"
Gin frowned.
Although he was a ruthless execution machine highly favored by the boss, when facing an Officer with a codename like "Bourbon," unless there was clear evidence proving the other party was a traitor, even he had to receive orders from the boss before taking action to eliminate them.
So, currently, theoretically speaking, as long as Bourbon didn't commit a crime, they were on equal footing and indeed shouldn't interfere with each other.
...
But then, the problem arose.
—Jiang Xia, an obscure peripheral member, should even less have any dealings with Bourbon.
In other words, if a peripheral member could know something, why couldn't he hear it?
Gin didn't want to let go of this suspicious point.
So he asked again. And with a threatening tone, he said that if Bourbon couldn't explain clearly, he would also be added to the suspicious list.
But the threat had no effect.
Instead, it drew the contempt of the intelligence expert.
Bourbon let out an "Ehh?" and said in a very subtle tone, "Don't you usually read the news?"
Gin: "...?"
He turned his head and glanced at Vodka.
Vodka, very astute, clattered on the keyboard for a while, searching Jiang Xia's name.
Soon, the page refreshed, and many entries popped up.
Vodka looked closely and was surprised to find that Jiang Xia, this minor cannon fodder, had unknowingly become a somewhat exposed celebrity, even having a dedicated webpage.
Upon clicking it, the homepage read, "For commissions, please contact Amuro Detective Agency, Phone: xxxx, Address: xxxx."
Vodka: "..."
...From what I recall, Bourbon's name seems to be "Amuro Tooru."
...
Vodka silently turned the computer to Gin.
Gin glanced at the screen and also fell silent.
He indeed had no time to pay attention to such news, because murder cases were too far removed from his life—Gin wasn't worried about being murdered, and in most cases, he was too lazy to use complicated methods to murder others.
When he killed, he only needed to openly give a shot, or subtly and circuitously give a shot, and then immediately leave... Anyway, he would never stay at the crime scene, waiting to be chosen from three options.
Moreover...
Gin scrolled down the page and saw the earliest reported case of "Detective Jiang Xia."
He calculated the time and found that not much time had passed since then. Jiang Xia's sudden rise to fame was really abrupt... Perhaps it was because too many people judged by looks?
Gin pondered for a moment and somewhat understood.
—Bourbon might have taken a liking to Jiang Xia's talent in detection, which is why he tried to cultivate a subordinate, letting Jiang Xia grow into an intelligence operative who could access important figures.
—There were many fierce characters in the organization, but those skilled in intelligence gathering were not so common.
...
Thinking of this, Gin fell into thought and remained silent for a moment.
On the other end of the phone, Bourbon put down the dishes and walked to a deserted place, saying with a barely noticeable hint of sarcasm:
"You really don't read the news? Although you're not an intelligence Officer, in our line of work, you need to pay more attention to surrounding intelligence, and if you don't have a basic understanding of your subordinates, it's easy to waste talent.
"Perhaps it's because of your style and attitude that the organization is constantly short-staffed. But you won't be able to change this overnight, so why not start with something simple, like paying more attention to the news.
"Coincidentally, the newspaper I work for part-time is giving out employee benefits, a year's worth of newspapers. I don't need such things, but if you want them, why not leave an address, and I'll have them..."
A vein throbbed on Gin's forehead.
He pressed his hand back, cutting off the call.
...
The car instantly became quiet.
Gin silently exhaled, rolled down the window a little, and enjoyed the peaceful night outside.
He drove to the previously booked location, deep in thought all the way.
Originally, Gin felt that even if Jiang Xia hadn't betrayed the organization, he could still kill him to take the blame.
After all, he was just a tool, a peripheral member. The disposal of Jiang Xia was like dealing with a disposable napkin—it was enough for him to be of some use and die a meaningful death, without needing too much thought.
But now... Jiang Xia seemed much more useful than he had thought.
...
In this world, the status of a Detective is very high.
However, after so many years, the organization had not been able to cultivate a few decent Detectives.
Bourbon seemed to be working in this direction, but after so many years of effort, there was no visible result, indicating that not everyone could become a great Detective.
Although Gin didn't read many newspapers, he knew that in the Detective profession, one couldn't become famous just by relying on deduction.
One also had to encounter incidents with sufficient trickery at the right time and in the right place.
After all, there were so many Detectives nationwide, but the number of bizarre cases was limited. If one didn't encounter cases for a long time, it was easy to be forgotten by others... Simply put, this line of work required luck—the luck of encountering more bodies.
Judging by Jiang Xia's current momentum, perhaps he truly had talent in this area.
If he could continue like this and become a nationally famous Detective, gaining access to the secrets behind political figures... it would indeed be useful to the organization.
...
Moreover, Gin remembered that in recent years, Bourbon's position in the organization had gradually risen, making him much busier than before. Bourbon probably also saw this in Jiang Xia, which is why he found such an apprentice and helper.
And Bourbon... he was usually sarcastic and held grudges, making him difficult to get along with.
Gin: "..."
If he were to take that never-replied-to chat log from Jiang Xia's phone and accuse Jiang Xia of colluding with the Miyano sisters and Akai Shuichi... he felt like Bourbon would mock his intelligence analysis skills and conclude that he was just looking for an excuse to target him.
The more Gin thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.
A moment later, he made up his mind.
Gin decided how to deal with Jiang Xia tonight based on the reports sent by his other subordinates.
—It was said that Jiang Xia caused quite a stir when he went to withdraw money at the Enjyu, with fire trucks and the Police showing up, and many surveillance cameras in the Hotel.
No matter how much potential Jiang Xia had, once he was discovered to be breaking the law, not only would he not become a great Detective in the future, but he would also have the risk of "exposing organization intelligence after being arrested," so he had to die immediately.
However, if Jiang Xia successfully remained hidden in this operation, then sparing his life was not impossible...
...
Gin drove his car to an old factory and stopped.
Not long after, his phone vibrated.
He picked up the phone and found that his other subordinates had sent a video with some simple text explanations.
—The Police had indeed retrieved the surveillance footage from the Enjyu Hotel lobby.
But in the footage, Jiang Xia's figure did not appear. It only showed a child planting a bomb and stealing money.
"..." Gin stared at the screen, deep in thought.
Not much time passed from when he gave Jiang Xia the order to when the Hotel lobby exploded.
In such a short time, Jiang Xia was able to find an obedient and fearless runner... He probably lured a runaway street child to be his tool.
This kind of conduct was quite consistent with the organization.
Bourbon's words just now, though annoying, seemed to have one correct point: Jiang Xia indeed had something going for him...
...
Gin gradually developed a hint of appreciation for Jiang Xia.
However, at the same time, he thought that Jiang Xia was still a bit green—the authorities take "missing children" very seriously. Once the child in the surveillance footage was exposed to the Police again, it would immediately attract several times the Police force needed to arrest adult criminals, which would cause trouble for the organization.
Thinking of this.
Gin opened the rear door of the commercial van, removed the black cloth from Jiang Xia's head, showed him the surveillance footage on his phone, and lectured his junior, "Why didn't you deal with him immediately?"
After saying that, Gin's face was grim as he paused for a few seconds, intending to let Jiang Xia reflect on his mistake first, and then have him find that child.
However, Jiang Xia did not explain.
After his pupils focused, he looked around, then raised his hand to point at the bag in Vodka's hand, answering like he was submitting homework, "Dealt with him, he's in the bag."
Vodka was stunned for two seconds. After realizing, his arm trembled, and the bag in his hand dropped to the ground with a thud.