Chapter 8: Gin: "You sit in the passenger seat."
Cocktail Bar
When he came again, nothing had changed here.
The bartender was still the same as before, and the only two customers at the bar were still dressed in black.
"Good evening, gentlemen."
Hayashi Yoshiki walked to the bar and sat down next to Gin.
The bartender slid over a drink menu.
As Hayashi Yoshiki picked it up to look, Gin's cold voice rang out: "Did you clean up the mess?"
"Are you talking about that dump truck?"
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled quietly.
Behind his silver-rimmed glasses, he slightly narrowed his eyes, appearing somewhat pleased, and continued to reply in his clear voice: "That was just a pure accident; nothing has anything to do with me. Please give me a Mojito."
"Hmph."
Gin scoffed with a cold laugh.
Hayashi Yoshiki's words were very clear; he hadn't left any flaws.
Furthermore, he must have been very proud of his "accidental" crime…
Indeed, it was the most ingenious way to kill.
Even if the surveillance footage was replayed over and over, no human traces could be found. If it hadn't happened right under Gin's nose and with that countdown, he wouldn't have believed it was a premeditated murder.
However, although it was very interesting, and he couldn't figure out how it was done, Gin was too lazy to think further.
After all, this method of killing had too many limitations.
It not only depended on the location and time, but the target's reaction could also lead to different results.
"Speaking of which."
The bartender brought over a crystal-clear cocktail with mint leaves and lime slices. Hayashi Yoshiki took it, twirling the straw as he said:
"On the way here just now, it seemed like there was a car accident."
"People nowadays drive so carelessly."
Vodka let out a "heh" laugh, sounding a bit gleeful.
Just then, Gin's phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He picked it up without even looking at the caller ID: "It's me."
The next second, Gin's calm face darkened, and then he asked in a cold tone: "What's going on?"
Vodka put down his glass and turned to look at Gin.
He didn't know what was said on the other end of the phone, but the aura Gin emitted grew even colder, and then he directly hung up the phone.
"What's wrong, Big Brother?"
Vodka immediately asked.
However, Gin didn't respond. Instead, he slanted his eyes and looked at Hayashi Yoshiki coldly: "You've got guts."
"Is something wrong?"
"The Organization member sent to watch you died, killed in a very déjà vu accident."
Ah, this?
Hearing Gin's words, Vodka's face was filled with astonishment. He wanted to slam the table and stand up, but then he saw that Gin's tone was still relatively calm.
"People living in this world can never predict whether death or an accident will come first."
Hayashi Yoshiki still had that faint smile on his face. "Don't make such a terrifying expression; that was an accident, you know."
Gin continued to stare at him with those terrifying eyes.
After a while,
"You are not allowed to lay hands on Organization members without my permission. If I find out there's a next time…"
His tone exuded a murderous intent like a blade's edge, "You'd better be careful."
Hayashi Yoshiki merely smiled.
Gin gradually withdrew his killing intent and then pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
Silence fell for a moment.
Feeling the inexplicable sluggishness in the atmosphere, Vodka's movements also involuntarily softened significantly. He barely dared to pick up his own glass at this point.
A moment later, Hayashi Yoshiki got up and walked towards the restroom.
Vodka watched him leave the bar, then asked Gin: "Big Brother?"
"Check your computer."
"Oh…"
Vodka wasn't just a mere driver; in fact, his IT skills were quite good, and he would occasionally bring his portable computer when on missions.
As soon as the computer was turned on, Vodka quickly found the newly sent video in his email.
It was a surveillance view from a highway.
In the not-so-clear, grainy video, a car suddenly lost control while driving on the road, skidding and swaying violently, then sharply turned and crashed into the guardrail on the left side of the road, coming to a stop.
After a brief pause, the driver pushed open the car door and got out, appearing only slightly unsteady on his feet, seemingly unharmed.
But then, the other person in the passenger seat—Kusuda Rikumichi, the organization member sent by Gin to watch Hayashi Yoshiki—couldn't open the door because the left side of the vehicle had hit the guardrail, and could only struggle to crawl out from the right side door.
It was at this moment that a heavy steel coil suddenly rolled off a passing semi-trailer, directly crushing the crashed car.
The organization member who had left the car a step earlier luckily escaped, but Kusuda Rikumichi, who had been sent to watch Hayashi Yoshiki, was unable to get out of the car due to his injuries and was flattened along with the vehicle by the rolling large steel coil.
"…"
After watching the video, Vodka broke out in a cold sweat.
He was someone who often rode in the passenger seat.
"This… this should really just be an accident, right?"
"How could it be?"
Gin scoffed.
These two accidents were filled with the same scent; he had figured it out—that guy… liked to unleash his true killing intent just when people let their guard down.
But how was it done?
Unlike Ansei HiroNobu, who stood still, Kusuda Rikumichi and his companion were in a constantly moving vehicle, and it just so happened that only Kusuda Rikumichi died in the accident…
Gin realized he might need to re-evaluate Hayashi Yoshiki's abilities.
"…"
A moment later, Hayashi Yoshiki returned to his seat.
As he passed behind Vodka, Vodka's body involuntarily tensed, and he stared straight ahead at his empty glass through his sunglasses.
Gin handed him a phone.
"This phone is yours.
There's an address in it; if you have nothing to do, go there for training."
"May I ask about the training content?"
"Shooting, combat, counter-surveillance—whatever you want to learn."
"Sounds interesting."
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled.
He flipped through the phone, seeing 'Gin' among the contacts, and thought that this was an upgrade from one-way communication.
"Your ability is very interesting."
Gin pressed his cigarette butt into the ashtray and extinguished it, "Serve the organization well. Based on your performance, I will apply for a codename for you from the Boss."
"Also, there are no eyes on you now."
"But what happened to Kusuda Rikumichi must not happen again!"
By the end, Gin's tone was full of warning.
"So his name was Kusuda Rikumichi…"
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled, not directly responding.
He did not stay any longer.
After finishing his drink, he got up and left.
Gin and Vodka did not stay long either; they were rushing to complete a transaction.
Arriving at the bottom of Daikoku Building, standing in front of his beloved car, Gin suddenly called out to Vodka:
"Check the car first."
"Ah, okay."
Vodka thought it was a good suggestion.
After a thorough check, no abnormalities were found.
Vodka wiped his forehead: "Big Brother, should I drive?"
"You sit in the passenger seat."
"…Okay."
...
To be continued ...