Vodka frowned. "But July has helped the National Police Agency catch quite a few wanted criminals and is a bit too close to the Public Security Bureau. Could he be a running dog for the Public Security Police?"
"There's no harm in investigating," Gin continued typing on his phone.
The fact that July came alone to such a place to buy guns revealed some inside information—
One: July had no power behind him and was likely acting alone. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to buy guns himself. Even if he had companions, there wouldn't be more than two.
After all, most organizations had their own channels. There was no need to go to a smuggler personally to buy weapons; someone would deliver the goods to a specific location.
Two: July had a subtle seriousness about bounty missions. Someone who knew the art of disguise and was willing to be a bounty hunter shouldn't be unknown.
Either he was an old hunter who had encountered a major upheaval and abandoned his original codename, or he was a newcomer entering the bounty industry.
Gin leaned towards the latter. Although from their brief contact just now, the other party was calm, experienced, and composed, Gin didn't think he was an old man based on the relevant intelligence he had seen before.
So, July should be a young newcomer, no older than 25.
Three: Although July appeared to interact frequently with the National Police Agency, many covert missions wouldn't be made public. One couldn't conclude that July was close to the NPA. Moreover, precisely because he seemed close to the Public Security Bureau, the possibility of him being a plant released by the PSB to mislead others was actually lower.
Of course, the specific situation still needed to be confirmed...
Gin pressed send. After seeing the words [Sent Successfully] pop up on the phone screen, he put away his phone. "It doesn't matter if he's an enemy. Once we investigate clearly, we'll eliminate him sooner rather than later!"
"True. An enemy who knows disguise would be troublesome if we don't understand him well enough. Investigating is indeed harmless," Vodka sighed. "But, Aniki, that guy really is ugly. That face was way too fat. No matter how he disguises himself, he can't disguise himself to be thinner. It's simply a waste of disguise skills."
"The face we saw might not necessarily be his true appearance," Gin analyzed calmly. "He peeled off his disguise in the arcade because his disguised face was scratched by the keys. A wound without blood would look suspicious. But the fact that he peeled off that layer without hesitation also shows he wasn't worried about the face underneath being seen. This doesn't fit his usual mysterious and cautious style. Moreover, judging from the speed with which he caught the keys, his reaction was very fast. The reason his face was still grazed by the keys is that the disguised face differed too much from his real face. In the instant the keys flew over, he subconsciously judged based on his original face shape that he wouldn't be grazed. In other words, there might be more than one layer of disguise on his face."
"More than one layer of disguise?" Vodka was speechless. "Rumors say July is cautious, and sure enough, he is cautious..."
"Sometimes being cautious isn't a bad thing," Gin mentioned one last thing and didn't continue.
Intelligence gathering wasn't his responsibility. Encountering July was accidental; helping to analyze and judge was enough. Verifying those things was left to the people who should be doing it.
He was very busy...
2:21 AM, Blue Sky Bar.
The bar was located on a secluded street side. When guests pushed the door open to leave, soft music drifted out through the crack, only to be shut behind the door again quickly.
By the roadside, a white car stopped.
In front of the bar, Gin and Vodka halted their steps, turning their heads to stare quietly at the person inside the car.
They met again!
Is that bounty hunter following them?
Chi Feichi also stared at the two, not rushing to get out of the car.
Tokyo is both big and small. Encountering each other again back-to-back was a bit too coincidental.
Just a coincidence, or...
Feimo squatted on the passenger seat. "What's wrong?"
Chi Feichi held down Feimo, who was about to fly up, and reminded him in a low voice, "Don't move."
Pets easily expose identities. Not many people kept crows. If both 'Chi Feichi' and 'July' kept crows, it would be easy for people to link the two identities.
"Master, their hands have been in their pockets. Looking at the state of their fingers, they are probably holding guns," Feichi observed against the car door, completely invisible from outside. "Are they coming for us? What do we do now?"
"Get out of the car," Chi Feichi quietly attached a silencer to his PPKS and put it in his pocket. "I'll leave the car window open later. Feimo, after we go in, keep watch outside. Tell me immediately if anyone tampers with the car. Feichi, come in with me and pay attention to their movements."
Both pets nodded seriously.
After Feichi quietly crawled into his sleeve, Chi Feichi opened the door and got out.
Vodka's nerves were taut, and the hand in his pocket slowly started to withdraw.
"Master," Feichi whispered, "they are holding guns and slowly taking them out."
Chi Feichi felt relieved instead. If they wanted to target him, Gin and Vodka could have just opened fire when he parked the car.
Their hesitation was likely because meeting again was too coincidental, and Gin and Vodka weren't sure if it was a trap.
In that case, he just needed to show he had no hostile intent...
After getting out of the car, Chi Feichi silently tore off the young fat face, revealing the balding middle-aged man's face underneath. He waved the fake face and tossed it into the car.
Tearing off a face feels good for a moment; keep tearing faces off and it feels good all the time.
Vodka: "..."
According to Aniki's judgment, the other party is very cautious and wouldn't easily reveal his true face. In other words, this balding middle-aged man image is also fake?
How many layers has this guy disguised?
Simply utterly insane!
Gin understood that the other party was signaling no hostility. His hand slowly returned to his trench coat pocket. However, he didn't turn to enter the bar but took a step back, clearing the way to the door.
After closing the car door, Chi Feichi entered the bar first. Obviously, Gin was guarding against him shooting from behind, but he didn't have such worries.
With Feichi as eyes on his back, watching constantly, if Gin and Vodka made any abnormal moves, he could react immediately without losing the initiative.
Both parties entered the door one after another, keeping a distance, and sat down on different sides of the bar counter.
There were quite a few people in the bar. A couple was laughing and talking at the counter, a bachelor came over to get a drink, and there was also a group of young people gathering and a middle-aged man drinking alone among the seats.
"Hello, sir. Would you like something to drink?" The young male bartender had a polite smile on his face.
Chi Feichi scanned the surroundings without staring at anyone too much. He suppressed his voice and said, "Non-alcoholic cocktail, dealer's choice."
Usually, for a scheduled transaction, both parties would arrive at the designated place at that time.
Perhaps the other party had arrived early, mingling in the crowd, and would come over when the time was right. Or maybe the other party would enter exactly on time... Anyway, until the designated time, it was hard to judge who was there to pick up the item.
"Alright, please wait a moment." The bartender turned around to work.
On the other side of the bar, Vodka couldn't help turning his head to look at Chi Feichi.
This time he figured it out.
Whether he couldn't drink, didn't like to drink, or didn't want to drink, for this guy to come to a bar alone and order a non-alcoholic cocktail, he definitely wasn't here to drink, but to conduct some shady transaction!
However, whether to drink or not was one thing; at least order something alcoholic as a cover, right?
Non-alcoholic cocktails were basically mocktails, mixed fruit juices. Usually, only girls who didn't frequent bars much would order them.
Eh, wait, I seem to have discovered something extraordinary... Could it be that July can't handle alcohol?
Suddenly want to whistle and provoke him, what to do?
Feichi hid in the sleeve, but he detected the outside situation clearly. "Master, they aren't making any strange moves, but that big guy keeps looking at you..."
Chi Feichi didn't turn his head. Vodka wearing sunglasses in a bar at night was weird enough, but even if Chi Feichi looked, he wouldn't be able to tell what Vodka was looking at or thinking. Better not to look.
Amidst the soothing music, Chi Feichi's drink was served.
During this time, two more people came to the bar to order drinks, but neither stayed.
Although the bartender was always at the counter, if the item was to be handed to the bartender, there was no need to set a time. Just saying 'leave it at the counter' or 'give it to the bartender' would suffice. Setting a time would be misleading and could result in the item not being delivered.
Chi Feichi took a sip of the non-alcoholic cocktail. Sweet and sour, with a hint of coolness. It was indeed nice as a beverage.
Estimating the time was about right, he took out his phone to check.
2:29.
If the other party didn't show up by the time, he would leave immediately.
Never gamble against accidents; it's easy to lose out.
On the other side of the bar, Vodka also took out his phone to check the time. "Is that guy playing us?"
"Leave when time's up," Gin replied coldly.
2:30.
At the bar counter, apart from the busy bartender who had turned away, there were only Chi Feichi and the Men in Black duo on the other side.
Chi Feichi suddenly thought of a possibility and turned to look in the direction of Gin and Vodka...
Gin also turned to look, stood up, walked over, and sat down beside him, lowering his voice. "I thought Mr. Murashita would come personally. I didn't expect him to send someone else."
A very standard probe.
Chi Feichi confirmed it upon hearing 'Murashita'. The signature in the employer's message was indeed 'Murashita'. He handed over the sealed Cheetah Delivery box. "He asked me to pass on a message: Here is the stuff, no need for the money, and please don't look for him again."
"Smart of him." Gin passed the box to Vodka, who had followed and sat down nearby.
Vodka looked at the Cheetah Delivery box. Using a cardboard box is one thing, but taping all the edges shut? That's a bit excessive...
After a two-second silence, he took out a folding knife from his pocket and complained while opening the package, "Specially sealing it in a cardboard box, isn't that too much trouble?"
"Envelopes don't look sturdy. Delivering things requires guaranteeing they arrive intact," Chi Feichi explained without lifting his head. "Besides, opening a box has a sense of ritual."
Vodka: "..."
Yes, sitting in a bar, cutting the tape on a box with a small knife, and then opening the box to take the item—it does have a sense of ritual!
But we aren't doing anything sacred. What do we need a sense of ritual for?
Getting an envelope, tearing it open to check, confirming the item, and being done with it—isn't that more convenient?
But I actually don't know how to refute that first reason!