After fully adjusting her state, Akemi recalled the contact information given her the day before.
She dialed the number.
"My Lord."
Are you ready to move so soon?
"Yes."
Hearing the gentle voice on the other end, her restless mood gradually calmed.
Compose yourself. Wear clothing that makes you hard to recognize. In half an hour, someone will pick you up in a red Mazda in the underground parking lot of your apartment. Remember to bring the money and the boxes you took.
Akemi straightened up immediately.
"Yes!"
After hanging up, she almost leapt in excitement.
"Now is not the time to get carried away. Get ready!"
She quickly changed her appearance, pulling out the sportswear she had worn the previous night.
Her long black hair was tied up under a baseball cap large enough to hide her face, and she slipped on gloves to conceal her hands.
The simple disguise completely hid her identity.
It took her fifteen minutes to finish. She sat quietly for a moment, then left home and went down to the underground parking lot.
There, beside her own car, a red Mazda was already waiting with its lights flashing.
Without hesitation, Akemi went to her car, opened the trunk, and moved the five boxes of money into the Mazda.
Once finished, she opened the back door and climbed in.
The driver was a short-haired woman. With her new identity as a Secrets Suppliant, Akemi could sense the faint spirituality surrounding her.
"Hello."
"Ah, hello."
The woman didn't reject her attempt at conversation. After adjusting herself, Akemi asked:
"Excuse me, are you also a believer of god?"
The woman paused, then glanced back with a slightly awkward look. Clearly, Akemi's form of address had made her uncomfortable.
"Though I think he's worthy of that title, he doesn't like being called god. It's too ostentatious."
This reminded Akemi of what god himself had said. He had told her not to use that title in public, though it was fine in private.
"He just doesn't like the spotlight. According to him, he dislikes standing in it."
Listening to her words, Akemi was sure this woman knew god very well.
"Hello, my name is Miyano Akemi."
She extended her hand.
"Sato Miwako."
Miwako shook her hand, then turned back to drive out of the parking lot.
"I already know about you and your sister. He is one of the few people who takes such interest in you both."
"I really don't want my sister and me to become anyone's subject of curiosity. But his interest gave us another choice."
"His interests may be willful at times, but he is a good person."
"Yes."
Akemi also firmly believed god was a good person.
If he weren't, he would have treated her as nothing more than a tool, manipulating her without granting her the right to choose.
"Honestly, I was surprised when I heard he was suddenly interested in a bank robber. If I didn't know he wasn't the type to act on whim, I would've thought he was crazy."
Though exaggerated, Akemi could understand.
From an outside perspective, his decision was incomprehensible.
But in the end, it was clear to her he had truly taken interest in her fate.
Otherwise, why grant her such power?
"I never thought someone like me would be chosen by god."
"Don't belittle yourself. If I were in your shoes, I don't know what I would do. I would wish for my sister to escape that dangerous world, but I wouldn't have the ability to make it happen. That's despair…"
Yes, despair.
She had drowned in it for so long that when someone extended a hand to save her, she was left stunned.
But this time, there was no despair on Akemi's face.
Even facing the organization's killers, she no longer felt fear. She had already prepared herself.
"Thank you."
Through the rearview mirror, Miwako glanced at her, then hid the concern in her eyes.
It was hard to imagine arresting someone like this.
No wonder he had taken interest in her fate.
It wasn't just her identity, perhaps it was also her resolve.
Miwako shook her head and stopped thinking further, focusing instead on driving quickly to the meeting point.
It was a high-end restaurant in a tall building.
They entered a private room.
Inside, a boy sat leisurely, drinking Coke, eating potato chips, and gazing out the window.
The sight made Miwako curious.
"What are you looking at?"
Ren didn't turn, still looking out the glass.
"The laboratory built by that organization."
"!?"
The two women quickly stepped to the window. Following his gaze, they saw a pharmaceutical factory two blocks away.
The security was strict, and the scale was large.
The name on the building read Baijiu Pharmaceutical.
"A pharmaceutical factory… it's actually a laboratory? They disguised it like this?"
Akemi hadn't expected Shiho to be in that very place.
"A pharmaceutical factory has location requirements. It can't be in the city center. This area isn't central, and the surroundings are industrial and residential."
"Naturally, this makes it the perfect place for a laboratory."
"And hiding one inside a pharmaceutical company is entirely reasonable."
(To be continued.)
***
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