Chapter 227: Gin's Shift Change, Esper Plan Activated (Patreon)

"If you cops could really stay close to Uncle Mouri, I'd honestly feel pretty safe."

"Let me give you a piece of advice."

"Next time you run into a timed bomb, a train bomb, or any other messy bombing case..."

"Bring Kogoro Mouri along."

"If that's not possible, bring that brat who's always next to him."

"He'll keep you alive."

Sato was half convinced, half doubtful.

"Is it really that mystical?"

Natsuka put on a look that said, "You're getting a bargain with this intel."

"This is information even the Special Division might not know."

Just then, there was a knock at the interrogation room door.

An officer hurried in and handed over fresh intel.

"We found something."

"The members of the film club agreed to meet today at the Suzuki family's mountain villa."

"But that place is deep in the mountains, in a surveillance blind spot, and the Star signal is terrible there."

"We can't reach them at the moment."

Natsuka glanced at the address and suddenly felt the setting was absurdly familiar.

"Isn't this..."

"The Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case?"

"What murder case?"

Miwako Sato's eyes locked onto him instantly, her expression turning grave.

"What else do you know?"

Natsuka smiled and brushed it off.

"Nothing."

"I'm an author, after all."

"Seeing a setup like this, I automatically start filling in the plot."

"By my reasoning..."

"The culprit would first kill the person who drove Atsuko to her death, because of what happened back then."

"And if their killing intent spiraled out of control, they might wipe out everyone who knew about it, too."

He raised a hand and pointed at the cliff beside the villa, then at the only road leading to the outside world.

"This is a classic blizzard-lodge setup."

"Eight participants."

"One werewolf."

"Only by dragging the wolf out from the crowd will they have a chance to leave that villa alive."

Sato suppressed her unease and pressed on.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Natsuka scratched his head, though his tone turned serious.

"What I'm trying to say is..."

"The Special Division people have probably already headed over."

"And this is most likely not just an ordinary murder case."

"There's a good chance it has a supernatural element."

Sakura City, Shinjuku Town, the basement of a research institute.

The room had no windows. The darkness pressed in heavy on every side, and the air carried a mix of cold and disinfectant.

Two beds stood in the room.

Vital-sign monitors were hooked up beside them, green lights blinking, the rhythmic beeping enough to raise goosebumps.

Two men lay on the beds.

One of them, a man with long white hair, twitched his eyelids and slowly opened his eyes.

In the darkest shadow of the room stood a woman.

She had golden wavy hair and exquisite, striking features. She wore black leather and a small top hat.

She held a slim cigarette between her fingers, her eyes tilting up at the corners, and parted her red lips to exhale a thin curl of smoke.

"Well, well."

"You're awake, Gin."

"Congratulations. The surgery was a complete success."

"You're a girl now."

Gin froze for half a second.

Then his face visibly darkened, as if a layer of ice had formed over it.

"Vermouth."

"I told you before."

"Don't bother me with boring jokes like this."

Vermouth took another drag, her smile wicked and amused.

"The doctor said..."

"Your kidneys were wrecked beyond repair."

"Completely scrapped."

Her gaze drifted slowly downward, her tone growing more infuriating.

"So, how about it?"

"Are you still in working order down there?"

Gin sat up with a cold face, yanked out the IV needle, and set his bare feet on the floor, heading for the mirror.

The man in the mirror had gone from familiar blond hair to white.

He stared at himself, his expression terrifyingly grim.

"As long as I can still pull a trigger..."

"Nothing else matters."

"Tch."

Vermouth clicked her tongue softly.

"Ruined kidneys don't just affect the man's side of things."

"Your stamina, strength, and condition will all decline."

"That's none of your concern."

Gin shot her a cold glare sharp as a blade.

Vermouth walked right up to him and deliberately blew a mouthful of smoke into his face.

"This isn't my idea."

"It's the BOSS's decision."

She stubbed out her cigarette, red lips curving.

"From now on, most of your work will be taken over by Rum."

Gin finished changing clothes, turned around, and a chilling smile even surfaced on his face.

"Rum?"

"Does that fool even deserve to handle the rats in the Organization?"

Vermouth exhaled a last drag of smoke and said lazily:

"Relax."

"The Organization has no plans to scrap you."

"We're just giving you a different post."

"The BOSS has launched a new plan."

"Most of the Organization's missions from here on will revolve around it."

"What plan?"

"Superpowered people."

"You know about them, right?"

Gin's eyes sank slightly, as if he suddenly understood something.

In his clash with Megumi Kato, many of the abilities she displayed had completely defied common sense.

That was why he had chosen to throw out a threat and retreat first.

He never did anything he wasn't sure of.

But as long as he was alive, he could always settle the score slowly later.

Just wait.

That face.

I'll never forget it.

Thinking of this, Gin fell silent for a moment.

...

"Looks like you know."

"Then I don't need to explain much."

Vermouth tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear, her tone indifferent.

"The BOSS is preparing to establish a new institution dedicated to researching superpowered individuals."

"He wants to keep pushing that ideal forward from the direction of superpowers."

Gin's eyes turned colder.

"So."

"Sherry is useless now?"

He drew a deep breath and set this grudge aside for the time being.

And there was Akemi Miyano.

That woman actually dared to scheme against me.

Then I'll collect some interest on that debt from her younger sister first.

"It's not quite that."

Vermouth pulled out her phone, brought up a file, and passed it to Gin.

"She'll be transferred along with the others as a researcher."

"Much as I dislike her..."

"I have to admit her brain works better than most people in the Organization."

Gin gave a cold laugh, his voice like shards of ice