The afternoon assassination mission was temporarily changed by the Black Organization.
It became a transaction with a contact person; the contents of the transaction were unknown, and the transaction party was unknown.
Aiba Yu sat in the car, gripping a sniper rifle, listening to Vodka's voice through her earpiece, a drop of sweat trickling down her forehead.
—This is bad.
Such a sudden change in mission content was Gin's usual tactic.
Aiba Yu was now in a dilemma; going or not going, she had no choice.
If she went, she would definitely step into the trap Gin had set for her.
Moreover, she didn't know if Gin's purpose was to test whether she was a spy, or if he was coming for her life.
Not going would directly indicate that she had something to hide, which was the option she absolutely couldn't choose.
"Alright, tell me the transaction location."
"The item is in your car's left armrest."
Aiba Yu put away her rifle in the car and took out a portable handgun.
She opened the armrest, and inside lay a note for a pickup locker.
[Beika Grand Hotel Locker 2-22]
—When did this get put in the car... she sneered, stuffing the pickup note into her shirt pocket, then drove towards the Beika Grand Hotel.
Before getting out of the car, she confirmed the presence of the medicine in her pocket, then stepped out and took the elevator.
Upon reaching the lockers, she handed the note to the attendant.
She received a room card.
[Room 403]
Aiba Yu pulled down her hat brim, constantly observing her surroundings.
She made no unnecessary movements, heading straight for the elevator.
Because she knew that at this very moment, Gin must be observing her every move from somewhere.
Hearing a "beep"
She opened the door to Room 403, which appeared empty at first glance.
She adjusted her earpiece, "Vodka, where is the transaction party?"
"Wait a moment, Famas, stand there and don't move."
"..."
Aiba Yu's posture, holding her earpiece, froze.
She saw the reflection from the opposite building and the red light gradually moving up, aiming at her.
Her heart tightened, and she asked in a cold tone, "Gin, what does this mean?"
"..."
The person opposite didn't answer the question, and after a few seconds of silence, Aiba Yu made a judgment.
She quickly dodged behind the door, and sure enough, in an instant, a bullet pierced through the glass, hitting the spot where she had just been standing.
She made a decisive move, pulled off her earpiece, and ran wildly downstairs.
As expected, she had known all along that people in the Black Organization would rather kill a hundred innocents than let one escape.
Regarding Sherry's disappearance from the laboratory, besides her, no one else had a motive.
Even though she had an alibi provided by Vodka, that couldn't dispel Gin's suspicion.
In other words, even if she truly escaped suspicion this time, if anything happened in the Black Organization in the future, she would absolutely be on the suspect list.
So, under these circumstances, Aiba Yu decisively made her choice.
That was to escape the Black Organization!
This change didn't take too long to decide, also because she had originally planned to do so.
But now, being forced into a corner, and Gin wanting her dead in such a place, this was not just humiliation, but a trampling of her dignity.
Moreover, that person was no longer here.
She had scouted her escape route in advance when she came in.
First, she went down to the second floor via the stairs, then heard the noise of a crowd from the first floor, followed by the sound of several people walking up the stairs.
She paused, then ran out of the second floor to the changing room, quickly stripped off all her clothes, from inside out, and changed into a cleaner's uniform.
Aiba Yu pulled out the capsule from her pocket and swallowed it without hesitation.
She could feel the footsteps of those people getting closer.
But the medicine took effect too quickly; she only felt a tearing pain in her heart, gradually unable to move her legs, and her head also became dizzy.
At the critical moment, she saw a cleaning cart placed outside a room, so she flipped over and hid in the room's restroom.
"You go to the third floor, I'll go to the first floor!"
"Wait..."
Before losing consciousness, the last thing she heard was the approaching footsteps.
She secretly cried out that something was wrong, but her eyes went black, and she fainted.
Aiba Yu had a splitting headache, and when she woke up again, she saw a white ceiling, followed by a young girl's face appearing before her eyes.
"That's great, you're awake."
Aiba Yu immediately tensed up, first confirming that her hands and feet were not restrained, then felt a sense of discomfort.
How come... "Little one, where do you live?"
"Little... little one?" She widened her eyes, looking in horror at her small hands, then touched her face.
She suppressed the surging waves in her heart, "Please... please can you get me a mirror?"
"A mirror?" Ran Mouri paused, then picked up a mirror from the bedside table and handed it to the girl.
When she saw her childlike face reflected in the mirror, Aiba Yu let out an incredible laugh, "So... so it's true..."
"Little one..."
She suppressed the joy in her heart, not only because her body had shrunk, giving her a new lease on life, but also because she had thus grasped the mystery of Sherry's disappearance.
However, she still had to play the role of a child first... "Big Sister, did you save me? Thank you." Her face lit up with a smile; not only did her tone of voice change, but her demeanor also became like that of an innocent and lovely child.
"It's nothing to do with saving, I was just passing by and happened to see the cleaning Big Sister discover you unconscious." Ran Mouri waved her hand, "But why were you unconscious there? Where do you live, and do you have your parents' contact information?"
"Ran! Is that brat awake?"
Before she could answer, a girl with a headband appeared at the hospital room door, looking the same age as the girl in front of her, but not as gentle.
"Sonoko..." Ran Mouri called out with a hint of reproach.
"Hey, brat, did you run away from home?" Suzuki Sonoko saw Aiba Yu sitting on the hospital bed, stepped forward and bent down, "Running away from home is bad behavior, you know."
Aiba Yu's expression suddenly became somewhat difficult to hide in its pain, and she tugged on Ran Mouri's sleeve, "Big Sister, I feel a little dizzy..."
"Ah, wait for me, I'll go call the doctor right away."
After Ran Mouri left, she looked at Suzuki Sonoko, who had been noisy since entering, "Beautiful Big Sister, I'm a little hungry, could you please buy me a rice ball?"
Sonoko awkwardly touched her cheek, "Bea...beautiful, you little brat sure know how to talk."
With that, Suzuki Sonoko also walked out of the hospital room.
Having sent everyone away, Aiba Yu looked at the small patient gown on her, pulled out the needle from her arm, and in a few steps, wearing slippers, ran to the stairwell.
In the bustling, noisy streets, a girl in a hospital gown walked through the crowd.
Passersby all turned to look at this strange girl, but the girl walked with her head down as if no one else was around, deep in thought.
Now that she had shrunk, her identity had undoubtedly changed.
She was no longer Famas, the assassin in the Black Organization, and could no longer have any contact with people from the Black Organization.
Instead, she needed a new identity and a place to live.
Neither of these things was too difficult for her; she could hack into the system to process her identity herself, and just needed to wait for the application to be submitted and for an identity to be issued.
As for a place to live, she had secretly maintained a residence outside the Black Organization, and she was now heading to that place.
However, she wasn't sure if the Black Organization knew about this place.
Famas had only escaped the Black Organization's pursuit, not died, so the Black Organization would definitely do everything in their power to find Aiba Yu and eliminate her.
Her current place of residence was probably an unsafe ticking time bomb.
To be safe, Aiba Yu still glanced at the apartment as she passed by; no suspicious vehicles were parked on the street.
She opened a roadside clothing recycling bin and rummaged out a black tracksuit to change into.
Just then, several elementary school students were walking into the apartment building, and seeing this, she followed them.
"Hey! You guys! Wait for me!"
"Eh?"
The three turned around and found a completely unfamiliar face.
Aiba Yu took the hand of one of the girls, "Honestly, why did you guys just leave without saying anything! I had such a hard time finding you!"
"Who are you?" Genta asked.
"Do we know each other?" Ayumi also said.
The few of them talked as they entered the building, and after going inside, Aiba Yu seemed to notice something and let go of Ayumi's hand, "Ah, sorry, I think I mistook you for someone else."
With that, she ran off down the hallway.
Mitsuhiko looked at the retreating figure and mumbled, "What a strange child..."
Aiba Yu observed the hallway all the way, looking for any subtle details, until she reached her own door, confirming several anti-theft measures she had set up, and checking if there were any extra marks on the password lock.
Everything was the same as when she left, so she unlocked and opened the door.
Everything in the house was also normal.
Aiba Yu quickly grabbed her backpack, packed all the cash and bank cards from her safe, and took a few self-defense weapons and her usual tools.
For a short period, she couldn't return to this place... Not long after Aiba Yu left, a pure black sedan stopped below the apartment building under the cover of night.
Several men in black went down and returned to the car shortly after.
"Gin, it looks like she was here."
Gin snorted coldly, "It doesn't matter, she won't run for long."