Ke Xue: Shinichi and I are childhood friends.

Just as Carmel was wondering what trump card a hat could possibly have, the coffee shop door opened with the sound of wind chimes.

Chianti's impatient voice came from the doorway: "How could that guy possibly be hiding in such an obvious place!"

Vodka, already used to Chianti's attitude, said, "Just in case."

It has to be said that vodka's unexpected success was a stroke of luck.

Carmel hid behind the cabinet and whispered, "They've come to the coffee shop."

Shuichi Akai's expression turned serious: "Have you brought everything I asked you to find?"

"Ah."

"Then let's get out of there quickly, camouflage is even more noticeable indoors!"

"clear."

Carmel responded, picked up his things, and bent over, just as he was about to leave, Vodka's words made him stop in his tracks.

"Speaking of which, Brother Rum is truly admirable..."

Rum? Carmel stopped abruptly.

The FBI had already learned of Rum's deployment from Rena Mizunashi, but they had never been able to gather any intelligence related to Rum. This time, perhaps, is a good opportunity.

He crouched down again, huddled up, and listened to Vodka and Chianti's conversation.

Vodka continued, "He suddenly joins our conversation and issues commands, and he's always right. He even anticipated the FBI's ambush."

Carmel's heart sank—so their ambush wasn't discovered, but rather guessed? This Rum is far too terrifying!

Chianti asked with some confusion, "You call him 'Big Brother,' have you seen what Rum looks like?"

Vodka chuckled: "It's just my imagination. There are many rumors about him, aren't there? Something about a big man, a man who looks like a woman, and an old man wearing a prosthetic eye."

"However, Gin said that only the prosthetic eye is real, and everything else is false information deliberately spread by Rum."

Chianti said, "So Gin has met Rum in person?"

Vodka nodded: "That's right, Big Brother even knows where he is and what he's doing."

Chianti scoffed, "Ha, where is he, and what is he doing?"

At that moment, Shuichi Akai's voice came through Carmel's earpiece: "Carmel, have you left there?"

Carmel whispered, "No, not yet, wait a minute..." He was eavesdropping on Rum's intelligence; he just needed to wait a little longer...

The two men, completely unaware of the presence of Camel in the shadows, continued to boast about what they knew: "I didn't ask in detail, but my brother said that he changed his face and the name he used was just something he made up on the spot."

A name made up on the spot? Carmel pondered the meaning of those words when suddenly, he heard a soft click under his feet.

He immediately realized he was in trouble; he had accidentally stepped on coffee beans that had just fallen out of the sack!

Although the sound was soft, it was particularly jarring in the quiet coffee shop, and Vodka and Chianti immediately realized that someone was there.

Shining the flashlight, they saw half of Carmel's face hidden behind the cabinet.

"It's that guy!" Vodka raised his gun and fired, but Cameron quickly dodged, and the bullet only hit the cabinet.

Seeing this, Vodka quickly gave chase: "Don't even think about running away!"

Just as he passed the spot where Carmel had been squatting, his foot slipped, and he fell flat on his face—he had also stepped on those coffee beans.

Chianti nearly tripped over the vodka and yelled, "What the hell are you doing?!" She ran around the vodka and chased after him outside, but Cameron had already disappeared.

She returned to the coffee shop, saying unhappily, "Damn it, he got away."

Vodka apologized somewhat guiltily, "I'm sorry, if it weren't for me..."

Chianti was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. She was a little confused as to why Vodka had suddenly fallen down. Looking down, she saw many small particles on the ground.

"What is this?"

Vodka crouched down, picked up a coffee bean, and examined it: "Coffee bean? Why is it here?"

Meanwhile, Carmel, who had successfully escaped, recounted what had just happened.

Yu also expressed some admiration: "Agent Carmel is really clever. If you hadn't set up the trap with coffee beans beforehand, you might have been caught by now."

Carmel said somewhat embarrassedly, "No, actually those coffee beans were accidentally spilled when I was looking for the sack."

Yuya: ...You're too early.

But it doesn't matter, as long as the result is good. Maybe this is what they mean by "fools are lucky".

Carmel, carrying the sack, asked in confusion, "So how do I use this sack?"

Yu also began directing Camel to do the work.

He first had Carmel cut open the bottom of the burlap sack with a utility knife, then glued the three burlap sacks together end to end. Then he made a pit in the forest big enough to bury a person, laid the burlap sacks in the pit, and covered them with soil and hay.

Finally, the man crawled into the sack and hid.

"Oh, right, remember to make a hole in the sack beforehand, just long enough for the straw to stick out and allow you to breathe."

"Understood!" Carmel's eyes lit up. This concealment technique was quite impressive!

Shuichi Akai glanced at Yuya and smiled, saying, "The legendary ninjutsu, Earth Release?"

Yu smiled and said, "That's right. This way, we can not only hide effectively, but also keep our body heat from being lost in the soil. If we hide in the soil, the organization will have to turn the whole island upside down to find us. There are still about two hours before dawn when the staff will be able to go to the island."

If they hold out until that point, the organization will have no choice but to retreat.

"Agent Carmel, this shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

Carmel replied, "It should be fine, I'll get started right away."

···

Meanwhile, Gin and the others also gathered at the coffee shop.

Gin looked at the crushed coffee beans on the ground, somewhat puzzled: "You slipped on a coffee bean?"

Amuro Tooru, standing nearby, suppressed a laugh. As expected of Vodka, he always manages to do something unexpected.

Gin gave him a cold glance, and Amuro Tooru immediately straightened up and pretended to be deep in thought.

Vodka said bitterly, "I never expected him to set such a trap."

Gin glanced around but didn't see the sack of coffee beans. He said coldly, "This isn't a trap. If he took the sack, it means he's planning to hide in the ground."

Gin immediately gave the order: "Listen carefully, find them before dawn, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

"Wait a minute!" Rum's voice suddenly came through the radio.

Everyone was taken aback and listened intently.

“I have a better way.”