Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

I dealt with a traitor this morning, a rat in the morning, and now there's the one that's about to die... I only need to take care of ten more before I can go home.

It's quite easy.

......

Snapped

The sound of the car door opening and closing rang out, and Vodka, wearing sunglasses, plopped down in the driver's seat, causing the car frame to sway slightly, which made Gin glance at him sideways.

“Brother, mission accomplished.” Vodka sat down to report to Gin. “We’ve installed heat-sensitive explosives under that woman’s bathtub as you instructed… But brother, wouldn’t it be easier for us to just wait here for her to come home and then take her out?”

Gin didn't answer immediately, but silently took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke drifting further and further away with the flowing air.

"Do you know when people are most relaxed?" he asked Vodka.

The fanboy Vodka pondered for a moment: "While watching idol shows on the sofa?"

"..." Gin was already used to the silly things Vodka kept spouting, but he continued, "It's when they're soaking in bathwater at 38-40 degrees Celsius." A cold smile appeared on his lips. "Leaving this world at the peak of their pleasure is the greatest luck those rats have ever had in their lives."

"Oh, as expected of the eldest brother." Vodka listened to Gin's philosophy of murder and nodded with admiration.

Vodka didn't understand any philosophy of killing; he only knew that listening to his older brother was always the right thing to do.

Only by working for the eldest brother can we eat!

This is his philosophy of life, as expressed in his vodka!

......

Sure enough, not long after, the roar of bombs rang out from across the street, accompanied by piercing screams.

"Let's go." Gin ordered Vodka, completely ignoring the commotion across the street and without even checking if the target was dead.

He had dealt with countless rats this way and was quite certain that the target was already a dead person.

The dead are not worth his time.

"By the way, brother." Vodka started the car and slowly drove away from the scene, then suddenly remembered something, "What do you think about the rumors circulating in the underworld lately about that 'Starlight' thing?"

......

I had actually heard of the so-called "Starlight" Gin.

Recently, while he and Vodka have been running around dealing with "rats" that might expose the organization's existence, they often encounter people carrying all sorts of weapons. These people are not particularly strong, but they always manage to create some obstacles for his rat extermination work by using all sorts of gadgets that Gin has never even heard of, which annoys him a bit.

The northern rats you usually clean up suddenly turn into southern ones—that's the feeling Gin gets.

Later, thanks to information provided by the intelligence team, Gin learned that this was all because a businessman known as "Starlight" had recently appeared on the black market, making money by selling inventions.

After learning about this incident, Gin would occasionally pick up one or two of "Starlight's" inventions during missions and send them back to the organization's laboratory for the researchers to study.

After their research, those people excitedly approached him and told him that these inventions all had anti-disassembly devices, which they couldn't study for the time being. However, based on their most rudimentary trial, they discovered that the inventors of these things possessed a level of technology in the field of weapons technology that was at least one level higher than that of the organization.

Even stronger than the organization?

As the organization's most loyal employee, and someone who knows most of the organization's secrets, Gin certainly knows what this means.

Over the years, the organization has been aggressively recruiting scientists from all over the world, and most of those who were impressed by the organization's high salaries are leaders in their respective fields.

After so many years of intensive research, the organization's technological level is conservatively more than fifty years ahead of the rest of the world.

This doesn't even include the organization's strongest trump card—biotechnology.

So, you scientists in this organization told me that someone has a higher level of technology than the entire organization?

Gin didn't really believe it, but their excited expressions didn't seem like they were lying.

He decided to tell that official about it.

Upon hearing this, the official was also shocked, and then gave Gin the order—to bring that "Starlight" back to the organization if possible. Of course, if it proved too difficult, he was also allowed to kill her—after all, the organization's core focus was still on the field of biotechnology, and other aspects were not so important.

Gin agreed verbally, but automatically ignored the latter part of the man's words.

With Gin taking matters into his own hands, how could he let the target escape?

......

Gin looked at Vodka, knowing that with his position in the organization, he didn't have the authority to know such things, and that mentioning it was probably just hearsay.

—Then there's no need to tell him. When you're in an organization, the less you know, the better.

......

“No need to pay attention,” Gin replied.

"Oh." Vodka nodded, wisely refraining from asking any further questions.

Gin looked out the window at a newly opened Chinese restaurant where the waiter appeared to be a handsome blond man with dark skin.

Gin frowned as he watched him chat casually with customers.

Bourbon must have a lot of free time.

He had previously messaged Bourbon asking him to investigate matters related to "Starlight," but several days have passed and there's still no news...

I don't know if it was because the target was too well hidden, or because Bourbon didn't take it seriously.

This is not okay.

Gin lowered his head, typed a harshly worded text message urging for intelligence, and sent it over.

Those who take the organization's operating funds but do nothing deserve to die.

......

Amuro Tooru was chatting with a regular customer when he felt his cell phone, which was used to contact the Black Organization, vibrate in his left trouser pocket.

After a few words to end the casual conversation, he politely returned to the kitchen to check the information.

Upon discovering that the message was from Gin urging him to provide information, he sneered and deleted it immediately.

He keeps urging us on and on. If intelligence were so easy to obtain, why would he need to work odd jobs every day?

They even tried to pressure him by bringing up that official... He hadn't received any orders from that official; he only agreed to investigate the "Starlight" matter out of friendship with his colleague.

Moreover, as a member of the Japanese Public Security Bureau's "Zero" Group, Furuya Rei couldn't just hand over such a brilliant inventor to the organization like that.

Amuro Tooru unconsciously took out a dirty plate and started wiping it, pondering the matter of "starlight".

At first, he thought that "Starlight" was Tohno Toru, who had only recently begun to emerge—after all, what a coincidence that two inventors would appear at once.

Although Toru Tohno's research level is significantly lower than that of "Starlight," the possibility that he deliberately concealed it cannot be ruled out.

However, after he continued to work at Tohru Tohru's favorite Chinese restaurant and deliberately got close to him, Amuro Tohru's suspicions about "Starlight" being Tohru Tohru decreased over the course of several days.

One reason is that Tohno Toru's actions don't match those of "Starlight"—there are often situations where Tohno Toru is still eating at the restaurant where he works, while "Starlight" has already successfully completed a transaction.

Secondly, during their casual conversation, Amuro Tooru discovered that Tohno Tooru didn't seem to know much about weapons design and even occasionally got some common-sense questions wrong.

Moreover, he discovered that Tohru Tono had a gentle personality and revealed a touch of the innocence unique to researchers... completely different from the outlaws like "Starlight" who dared to sell weapons underground.

This would further reduce his suspicion.

......

Amuro Tooru bit his nails, realizing that there really wasn't a good way to confirm the identity of that "starlight".

He also tried to track him down, but "Starlight" was very cautious, not only trading with cats but also never driving to the transaction site.

Like a ghost, the cat would disappear into the woods after each transaction.

As the famous Bourbon, he can't possibly have a race with a cat to see who can run the fastest in the woods!

"I'm stuck." Amuro Tooru sighed, never expecting that he would one day be unable to get any information no matter what he did.

It seems the only way is to wait for the action team to cooperate and take a hard line—he was also a little curious about who this "starlight" really was.

We can figure out a way to help him escape later, or just eliminate this dangerous individual once and for all...

But no rush, let's let the gin cool off for a few days first.

Amuro Tooru felt happy just thinking about how anxious and upset Gin would be, and continued humming a song while wiping the plates.

......

Regular customer Toru Tono placed the money on the table and stepped out of the Chinese restaurant.

When the Porsche 356A passed by the door, he thought Gin was coming to arrest him, and he was even planning to pull out his hang glider to run away.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

Toru Tono glanced back at the restaurant's sign and decided to eat at home for the next few days.

Lately, the concentration of Black Organization members around me seems a bit too high. One Bourbon, always trying to get information out of him, isn't enough; then Gin happens to walk by...

Scared.

Chapter 27 You've been keeping a mistress?

When Tohru Tono returned home, he found Maya Tachibana squatting on the floor petting the cat.

Yes, petting the mechanical cat.

Since his skill was upgraded to [Advanced Modification], he had also upgraded the delivery robot cat, adding flight capabilities and altering its realism. Now, not only does it look and feel exactly like a normal cat, but it can even perform some normal cat-like actions without human intervention...

But no matter what, petting the mechanical cat was still beyond his comprehension.

Toru Tono said he couldn't understand.

"Oh, you're back." Tachibana Maya heard the door open and withdrew her hand somewhat embarrassedly, looking at Tohru Tono.

She knew it was a bit childish to do this, but... Tachibana Maya twirled her fingers.

It feels really good!

Tohru Tono looked her up and down for a while, then suddenly frowned and fixed his gaze on her face.

Just as Tachibana Maya's face flushed slightly under his gaze, Tohru Tono spoke up: "Why aren't you wearing the mask I made for you?"

Maya Tachibana was taken aback, then reached out and touched her face all over: "Oh dear, I forgot."

She hurriedly ran upstairs, and came back down after a while, her expression now completely different.

The original features of a standard Asian beauty have completely disappeared, replaced by a mixed-race face with seven-tenths Caucasian features.

[Disguise Veil: A mask made using a special process. Once worn, it adheres tightly to the face and is not easily slipped off. Utilizing holographic projection technology, it can transform the wearer's appearance to resemble another person. It also features a built-in voiceprint synchronization system that can subtly alter the wearer's voice.]