This Might Be a Talent

Gin thought for a moment and quickly matched the voice to a person.

"..." That was Bourbon's voice.

Gin fell silent for a moment, then questioned, "Bourbon, you..."

He had originally wanted to ask why Bourbon was colluding with Jiang Xia.

But after thinking about it a little, he realized something was off—now, it had been proven that the person on the other end of the phone was not Akai Shuichi. And both Bourbon and Jiang Xia were organization members, so it was not strange for them to be in contact.

After all, compared to the other Peripheral Members, Jiang Xia was indeed very useful—although his attitude toward work was not very proactive, at least he never made any low-level mistakes.

If Bourbon had also discovered Jiang Xia's convenience and found him more and more handy to use... then it was perfectly reasonable for him to message Jiang Xia from time to time for help.

While Gin was pondering.

On the other end of the phone, Amuro Tooru gradually understood what was happening as well.

He seemed to be busy. Gin faintly heard the sound of dishes being scrubbed. In the midst of his work, Bourbon urged, "Hurry up and investigate. Once you're done, let him go. I still need him for something."

Gin asked coldly, with a trace of suspicion, "What for?"

Bourbon chuckled twice without answering, then asked back none too kindly, "You want to interfere with my work?"

Gin frowned.

Although he was a cold execution machine highly valued by The Boss, when facing a codename-bearing executive like Bourbon, unless he had clear evidence proving the other party was a traitor, even he had to first receive an order from The Boss before he could eliminate them.

So for now, theoretically speaking, as long as Bourbon did nothing wrong, they were equals. They truly should not interfere with each other.

But that was where the problem arose.

—Jiang Xia was merely an obscure Peripheral Member. He should have had even less contact with Bourbon.

In other words, if a Peripheral Member could know about something, why could he not hear it?

Gin did not want to let go of this doubt.

So he asked again. His tone carried a threat as he said that if Bourbon could not explain himself clearly, he too would be added to the list of suspects.

But the threat had no effect.

Instead, it drew the intelligence expert's contempt.

Bourbon made an "Eugh" sound and said in an exceedingly subtle tone, "You don't usually watch the news?"

Gin: "...?"

He turned and glanced at Vodka.

Vodka was very perceptive. His fingers clattered over the Keyboard as he searched for Jiang Xia's name.

Soon, the page refreshed, and numerous entries popped up.

Vodka took a closer look and was surprised to find that Jiang Xia, that little cannon fodder, had somehow become a minor celebrity with some exposure. He even had his own dedicated Webpage.

After opening it, he saw the Homepage read, "For commissions, please contact Amuro Detective Agency. Phone: xxxx. Address: xxxx."

Vodka: "..."

...If he remembered correctly, Bourbon seemed to be called "Amuro Tooru."

Vodka silently turned the Computer around for Gin to see.

Gin glanced at the screen and fell silent as well.

He truly did not have time to follow this kind of news, because things like Murder Cases were simply too far removed from his life—Gin was not worried about being murdered, and in most cases, he could not be bothered to use such troublesome methods to murder others.

When he killed someone, he only needed to openly give them a shot, or roundaboutly and tactfully give them a shot, then leave immediately... In any case, he would never remain at the Crime Scene waiting to be one of three suspects.

And besides...

Gin scrolled down and saw the earliest case involving "Detective Jiang Xia" that had been reported.

He calculated the time and realized it had not been long ago. Jiang Xia's sudden rise to fame was truly abrupt... Perhaps there were simply quite a few people who judged by looks?

After giving it some thought, Gin more or less understood.

—Perhaps Bourbon had noticed Jiang Xia's talent as a Detective, which was why he was trying to cultivate an assistant and turn Jiang Xia into an intelligence agent capable of coming into contact with important figures.

—There were many fierce characters in the organization, but those skilled at gathering intelligence were far less common.

Thinking of this, Gin sank into thought and did not speak for a while.

On the other end of the phone, Bourbon set down his dish and walked somewhere unoccupied, then said in a not-so-obvious mocking tone:

"You really don't watch the news? Though you're not intelligence personnel, people in our line of work need to pay more attention to the information around us. And if you lack even a basic understanding of your subordinates, it's easy to waste talent.

"Maybe it's because of your Way of Doing Things and attitude that the organization has been chronically understaffed. But you probably can't change that overnight, so why not start with something simple, like paying more attention to the news?

"Coincidentally, the Newspaper Agency I work part-time at is handing out employee benefits—one year's worth of newspapers. I don't need that sort of thing. If you want it, leave an address and I'll have them..."

A Blue Vein bulged at Gin's temple.

He pressed the button with his backhand and cut off the call.

The car instantly fell silent.

Gin silently exhaled, rolled down the window slightly, and enjoyed the peaceful night outside.

Lost in thought, he drove toward the place he had arranged earlier.

Originally, Gin had thought that even if Jiang Xia had not betrayed the organization, he could still kill him and have him Take the Blame.

After all, he was only a tool-like Peripheral Member. Dealing with Jiang Xia was like disposing of a disposable napkin—so long as he could serve some use and die a worthwhile death, that was enough. There was no need to think too much about it.

But now... Jiang Xia seemed far more useful than he had imagined.

In this world, Detectives held a very high status.

Yet after all these years, the organization had failed to cultivate even a few decent Detectives.

Bourbon seemed to be working in that direction, but after trying for so many years without results, it was clear that not just anyone could become a Great Detective.

Although Gin did not read many newspapers, he also knew that becoming famous as a Detective did not rely on deduction alone.

One also had to encounter incidents with sufficiently elaborate tricks, at the right time and in the right place.

After all, there were so many Detectives across the country, but only a limited number of bizarre cases. If one went too long without encountering a case, it was easy to be forgotten... Simply put, this profession required luck—the luck to encounter more corpses.

Judging by Jiang Xia's current momentum, perhaps he really did have a talent for this.

If he could keep going like this and become a nationally renowned Detective, gaining access to the secrets behind political figures... he truly would be useful to the organization.

And Gin remembered that in recent years, Bourbon's position in the organization had gradually risen, leaving him much busier than before. Bourbon had probably noticed this quality in Jiang Xia, which was why he had found himself such an apprentice and helper.

And Bourbon... was usually sarcastic, held grudges, and was difficult to get along with.

Gin: "..."

If he used the chat history in Jiang Xia's phone, which had never received a reply, to accuse Jiang Xia of colluding with the Miyano Sisters and Akai Shuichi... he felt that Bourbon would mock his intelligence analysis skills and conclude that he was making excuses to target him.

The more Gin thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.

After a moment, he made up his mind.

Gin planned to decide how to deal with Jiang Xia tonight based on the reports sent by his other subordinates.

—He had heard that when Jiang Xia went to Enjyu Hotel to withdraw money, he had caused quite a commotion. Fire Trucks and the police had both arrived, and there were plenty of Cameras in the hotel.

No matter how much potential Jiang Xia had, once he was discovered breaking the law, not only would he be unable to become a Great Detective in the future, he would also carry the risk of "exposing organization intelligence after being Arrested." He would have to die immediately.

But if Jiang Xia had successfully hidden himself during this operation, then sparing his life was not impossible...

Gin drove to an old Factory and stopped.

Before long, his phone vibrated.

He picked it up and found that his other subordinates had sent him a video, along with a brief written explanation.

—The police had indeed retrieved the surveillance recording from the lobby of Enjyu Hotel.

But Jiang Xia did not appear in the footage. It only captured a child planting a bomb and stealing money.

"..." Gin stared at the screen, deep in thought.

From the time he gave Jiang Xia the order to the explosion in the hotel lobby, not much time had passed.

In such a short time, Jiang Xia had actually managed to find an obedient errand runner willing to risk his life... He had probably coaxed some runaway homeless child into becoming his tool.

That style did fit the organization quite well.

Although Bourbon's words just now had been irritating, there was one thing he seemed not to have been wrong about: Jiang Xia truly had some ability...

Gin gradually developed a trace of appreciation for Jiang Xia.

But at the same time, he thought Jiang Xia was still too green—officials took "missing children" very seriously. Once the child in the surveillance footage appeared in the police's sight again, it would immediately draw several times the Police Force used to catch adult criminals. That would bring trouble to the organization.

Thinking of this.

Gin opened the Back Door of the Commercial Vehicle, 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 paused with a grim expression for several seconds. He intended to let Jiang Xia reflect on his mistake first, then have him bring that child over.

However, Jiang Xia did not explain.

Once his pupils focused, he looked around, then raised his hand and pointed at the bag in Vodka's hand. Like he was handing in homework, he answered, "I dealt with him. He's in the bag."

Vodka froze for two seconds. Once he understood, his arm trembled, and the bag in his hand fell to the ground with a Paji.