in2ebook Chapter 1339 Anyway, it wasn't someone I lost.
Chapter 1339 Anyway, it wasn't someone I lost.
Chapter 1339 Anyway, it wasn't their own people they lost.
【coop—Fate Offset 2nd】
A brand new road has begun, and you have embarked on a new life from which there is no turning back and without fear.
Even with my eyes fixed on all the futures, I can no longer make any judgment about you.
Now, it's your turn to judge the future.
Should we end her suffering with a silver bullet, granting her a peaceful slumber, letting her forever sleep in the eternal night of lies, or should we pierce her fingertips with the stinging truth, waking her up?
Which version of Sleeping Beauty do you prefer?
"Why didn't you go shopping in Shibuya after school today? Did you come here for dessert?"
"No, not really. I was just wandering around randomly. I haven't been to many of the shops near Teitan Elementary School." Tang Ze naturally lowered his hand, concealing the semi-transparent tarot cards, and looked at Conan who had called him. "But I did get to enjoy a dessert in the end, so it was definitely worth coming."
Conan, whose thoughts had been wandering around the person who looked a lot like Akai, was still figuring out how to gloss over this problem.
Shuichi Akai's choice to fake his death and escape sends a very clear signal.
He still needs to fight against the organization, after all, from the beginning, his reason for opposing the organization was his father.
But now, he feels that the FBI is no longer reliable, and the resources it provides no longer meet his requirements. He also doesn't want to work for the FBI, which is why he chose to leave so decisively.
However, the organization is certainly not aware of his idea in the short term.
In their view, Shuichi Akai's biggest label is still that of an undercover FBI agent, and they probably couldn't imagine that he would even sever his ties with the FBI. In that case, it seems quite natural for them to come and test Jodie when they suspect that Shuichi Akai is really dead.
Now there's a question to consider: Has the organization become aware of the relationship between Tang Ze and Mr. Akai? Will they test Tang Ze's reaction?
If they really test him, what would his reaction be if he had already come into contact with Mr. Akai and even had a deep connection with his previous false identity, Karasawa?
Conan's expression became slightly subtle as he realized the situation was getting interesting.
"Uncle Mori said your case is about to start its first pre-trial coordination and hearing, and you seem quite relaxed."
"I've done everything I can. Considering the Juvenile Protection Act, although I don't really feel protected—and I can't publicly acknowledge my identity in the media—I can only trouble Uncle Mori a bit more."
Tang Ze shrugged casually, not elaborating on the issue.
This case is, frankly, hellish; he, the party involved, was basically not involved at all throughout the entire process.
He had nothing to do when it came to the trial and the verdict, and he had nothing to do when Hattori was busy investigating and guiding public opinion. Now, he has nothing to do with the retrial either.
Based on the information provided by Okita, and even the crime itself, he had nothing to do with it.
Aside from providing information from his own perspective, the entire process—from beginning to end—was entirely automated: crime, sentencing, reversal, and intelligent score-boosting.
"You have a good attitude." Conan's lips twitched. "The old man has been running around so much that he's not getting many requests lately."
"I'm very grateful to him, although I feel that he probably wanted to share the burden with Attorney Kiyoshi more. You too, and Hattori too, you've all worked so hard." Tang Ze was genuinely moved this time.
To be honest, the best outcome for his case might actually be similar to how it was handled in the original Persona 5: directly exposing the truly illegal aspects of his actions, igniting public opinion, and forcing the judiciary to respond.
Given that method and influence, coupled with the organizational power and the undeniable impact of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, no matter how unwilling they are to handle this case properly, even if they are just trying to settle things peacefully, they still have to give an answer.
Without using such external force, it would be quite difficult to solve this problem head-on.
"Is this a problem with our efforts? We can't just let your case go because of organized interference, can we?"
"Okay, okay, I know, I'll respond to the lawsuit actively. You'd better hurry up and go up, or Xiaolan will scold you if you keep dragging this out."
Watching Conan go upstairs, Tang Ze returned to the cafe with a smile, but when he saw Amuro Tooru's face, his smile changed into another kind of smile.
Well, he understands the logic. No matter how good Vermouth's skills are, she can't withstand the tearing and pulling of the disguise mask by the extremely sticky tape. Deformation is inevitable.
But to be honest, recalling that scene again still makes me uneasy.
In particular, Amuro Tooru couldn't let others see the abnormality on his face at the time, so he could only turn his back and, under Tang Ze's cover, painstakingly remove the rather vicious tape without damaging the mask.
This inevitably caused the face belonging to Shuichi Akai to become deformed in a way that looked extremely painful. Amuro Tooru couldn't let the true skin color under the mask be exposed, and he also had to find a way to free up one hand to turn the mask back.
How can I describe how funny the scene Tang Ze saw was? It was practically Shuichi Akai's face, while maintaining the...
It's like the state of mind in "The Scream".
After going through all this trouble to maintain the integrity of "Shuichi Akai's" face, glue residue still inevitably showed up.
Regular glue residue on human skin is easy to remove; a quick wash will do. But if glue gets on a disguise mask, even if organic solvents are used, it would require Vermouth herself to handle it properly. Tang Ze wouldn't dare to mess with it easily, as he didn't know what formula she used to remove the mask. Such a large area of special effects makeup could be difficult to fix if ruined.
So, in the end, Amuro Tooru, who should have lingered in front of Judy a few more times to disturb her mind, found a mask, covered his face as if he had been slapped, and left in a sorry state.
After the dinner rush ended, Amuro Tooru, who was standing at the bar arranging glasses, immediately guessed Tang Ze's thoughts from his half-smile and glared at him.
"Still not enough laughing? I didn't anticipate this unexpected situation either. It's good enough that I handled it without giving myself away."
The robbery itself was an unexpected situation, and coupled with Judy's unexpected vigilance and initiative, the mask, which she had only received from Vermouth a few days ago, suffered great damage and had to be taken back for repair and rework.
He was able to handle such an unexpected situation, which showed he was quite resourceful. Seeing Tang Ze's amused expression, he was even more annoyed.
"The issue isn't whether I smile or not." Tang Ze tried to purse his lips, not letting the corners of his mouth turn up too obviously. "Anyway, I think Gin will smile."
Amuro Tooru's probing tactic of luring the snake out of its hole was a pretense to test Jodie; his real purpose was to attract the organization's attention.
By briefly showing this face on camera, it creates a false impression. Once it's confirmed that Bourbon was behind it all, Gin can only roll his eyes and curse his idle colleague; he can't do anything else.
Therefore, although it would attract the attention of those concerned about Shuichi Akai's whereabouts, doing so could actually further dispel suspicions and confirm the fact that Shuichi Akai was dead, so Karasawa would naturally choose to cooperate.
However, the problem lies here: Gin will inevitably see the evidence related to Amuro Tooru's activities.
It's hard to say how Gin will react when he sees Shuichi Akai like this.
Amuro Tooru frowned as he watched Tang Ze's expression begin to crumble again. He didn't know whether to raise his hand and give the brat a couple of slaps or join in the laughter.
Well, even though I was the one who messed up in front of the camera, just thinking about how I was wearing Shuichi Akai's face back then, and how it wasn't me who was embarrassed, gave me a strange feeling that it wasn't so bad.
Then think about it, this embarrassment will be directed at Gin as well —
Okay, he now admits it's a little funny.
Gin's feelings? Gin's feelings are naturally quite complicated.
"Has someone seen Shuichi Akai? And in Beika Town?"
Having reiterated this conclusion, Gin adjusted his hat and cast a complex look at Vodka in the driver's seat from under the brim.
He agreed to Bourbon's plan to have Bourbon contact more FBI agents to confirm whether Shuichi Akai was dead or alive. However, if Shuichi Akai were really alive, it would be hard to believe that he could be so easily tricked out by Bourbon.
Think about it carefully: if Bourbon can outsmart the FBI, why can't the FBI outsmart them in return?
If Bourbon is truly provoked by Shuichi Akai's news and reveals something, then it could really be a situation of heavy losses.
Although Kumail is already capable of handling things on his own, Bourbon's identity is not so easy to deal with. Giving up Amuro Tooru's identity now would put him in a passive position.
"It wasn't Bourbon who said it." Vodka, gripping the steering wheel, didn't dare turn to look at Gin's expression and answered honestly, "It was a robbery at the Teito Bank in Beika Town. Because the perpetrator's motives and methods were rather bizarre, it caused quite a stir—"
To say it has sparked heated discussion is somewhat of an understatement.
Tokyo's crime rate remains high these days, and crime is nothing new, but it's rare to see criminals made to look so funny.
So this heist, which was doomed to fail from the start, unexpectedly made headlines on the front pages of several newspapers, and related reports and videos went viral online.
Among them, the most widely circulated footage was the interview with the captain of the special police team who was mainly responsible for the breakout at the time.
The SWAT officer being interviewed was clearly trying hard to suppress his laughter, which caused his expression to fluctuate between holding it in and not holding it in, making it quite a sight. Combined with the hilarious content, that clip is even trending towards being made into a GIF and shared online.
The "Shuichi Akai" they noticed appeared in this clip.
"—The footage from that time is being replayed everywhere in the news and online, and among the hostages who were rescued, there is one who looks a lot like that guy."
"His whole face is showing?" Gin narrowed his eyes.
"No, he was wearing a mask," Vodka, who had already seen the clip, replied immediately. "He was also wearing a baseball cap, which basically covered his face. But judging from his face shape and hairstyle, he really does look like Ray."
This person is quite secretive, which speaks volumes.
If it's truly a setup to lure out a criminal, there's no need to deliberately conceal it, unless the person's identity is indeed shady.
"Let me see."
He stopped the car at a red light at the intersection and, without saying a word, pulled up the video.
The center of the image is a fully armed special police officer, who has just finished raiding a bank and is being interviewed by reporters.
Gin's gaze then fell on the person behind him.
There, a person wrapped up tightly walks through the background, standing out starkly from the surrounding crowd who are excitedly shouting about their escape.
As Vodka said, he was wearing a mask and his baseball cap was pulled down low. Apart from his face shape, half of his eyes, and a few stray hairs peeking out from under the brim, there were no other distinguishing features, making it almost impossible to identify him.
He does look a lot like Shuichi Akai.
—However, the way he walked forward with his face covered and his back hunched was also quite strange.
"Did he get into a conflict with the robbers during the heist?"
"Uh, I don't know. But that blonde FBI agent was there too, could it be that she's the one who hit him?" Vodka speculated aimlessly.
According to their investigation, this woman named Judy, who came to test Vermouth, was, in addition to being an FBI agent...
She was an agent, or perhaps Shuichi Akai's ex-girlfriend.
If he really faked his death and didn't let anyone know, then it wouldn't be surprising if he got slapped by a woman or something.
Gin didn't reply, but simply exited the video, turned off his phone, and seemed to have checked the screen and lost interest.
However, Vodka clearly noticed that Gin's lips were still curved upwards, as if whether Shuichi Akai was dead or not could not affect his mood.
"Notify Gil," Gin said, his lips tightening again. "Call her over."
"Hmm? Big brother, are you worried about Kir—"
"Since she was the one who killed him, if she hadn't, then things should have ended amicably." Gin didn't question Gil's loyalty, but simply lowered his hat again.
Just as Tang Ze and Shuichi Akai had predicted, Rena Mizunashi had shut down all possibilities first, and after showing even more suspicion than Gin, even if Gin discovered that Shuichi Akai was not dead, he would at most suspect that Shuichi Akai was cunning enough, or really lucky enough to survive such a desperate situation, but it was unlikely that he would question whether Rena Mizunashi was acting.
Rena Mizunashi used real guns and fired live ammunition. She killed more than just Shuichi Akai, an FBI agent. The intensity of the conflict was such that no one would believe they were faking it; the risk was simply too great.
After all, based on the organization's impression of Shuichi Akai, persuading him to cooperate with her acting would be impossible, let alone any undercover work. Even someone from the FBI would probably find it difficult.
Gin's attitude, rather than questioning, leaned more towards the idea that if Gil hadn't handled things well, then it was necessary for her to clean up the mess.
As her current boss, doing this is essentially giving her a chance to clean up her mess; for Gin, it's a kind of preferential treatment.
"Mihana Town, there's a big problem here."
Looking at the street scene outside the window, Gin simply summarized it this way.
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