It wasn't easy; Gin has finally acknowledged his ability.
..
Actually, Gin was quite handsome in this chapter, a bit flirtatious too?
Akai's actions and reactions are also quite interesting~
Amuro will appear in the next chapter, along with Scotland.
Our Qinye is quite hard to catch!
..
Thanks to Little Angel 22538773's grenade, love you, mwah~
Thanks to Moming Qimiao Little Angel's two landmines, love you, mwah~
Thanks to Morin Little Angel for the landmine, love you, mwah~
Chapter 30: Chapter 28 "—But having had a layer of skin stripped away..
It must be said that recovering from injuries is a painful process.
Especially for someone like him, who had injuries to both his hand and his leg.
Strictly speaking, the place where Akai is staying now is not a formal clinic, but rather a location belonging to the Black Organization's Medical Department.
The Medical Department of the Black Organization has many "matters" to attend to, such as research, experiments, medical treatment, more.
This "clinic" is one of those responsible for treatment—it basically only serves internal personnel or those related to the organization.
However, they specialize in treating things like physical injuries, but in other aspects.. they are simply out of their depth.
But then again, it was close to the mission site.
It didn't take up much space, from the outside, it looked like nothing more than a low-end little clinic.
But it must be said that although it was small, it had everything. From Akai's own observation, the medicines provided here were quite complete.
During his hospitalization, he also saw other wounded individuals; some had been injured during a mission, while others were receiving treatment after being tortured, barely clinging to life.
In comparison, the latter were even fewer—after all, the Black Organization had similar departments within its own ranks, those undergoing interrogation were typically handled nearby; it was rare for them to be sent here.
But it was enough to make Akai frown.
The days of recovering from his injuries were quite boring. He hadn't been with the Organization for long, so he didn't know many people within it, even fewer were acquaintances. As for those who would specifically come to visit him while he was ill..
I suppose not, right?
Even if there were, most of them would be for the sake of mutual interests.
However, news of his hospitalization here likely wasn't known to many; after all, he was recovering from injuries sustained during a mission, he had no intention of specifically informing anyone.
Moreover, as far as Moroboshi Dai was concerned, the only person close enough to visit him in the hospital was likely Miyano Akemi.
—Since missions are kept confidential even from grassroots personnel like Akemi, Akai did not mention anything to Akemi after he was hospitalized following the end of the mission.
He probably doesn't even know about his own injury.
Actually, once the injuries have healed halfway, one can go home to recover and just come in for follow-up visits every now and then; there is no need to continue occupying a bed here.
Unfortunately, as an injured person, it was highly unrealistic for him to rely on himself to move into his rented apartment without any assistance.
So he could only continue to lie there, gathering mold under the doctor's eye-rolls.
In the midst of the boring days, there were actually some forms of entertainment; although most of the people in the Clinic were members without codenames, there were also one or two Cadres with codenames.
As someone who had to stay here for twenty days to a month, Akai chose to strike up conversations to add a bit of interest to his life.
He also heard some news regarding the recent New Cadre Ability Evaluation from them.
People in the Black Organization would sometimes gossip; while the Ability Evaluation for New Cadres was unknown to the lower ranks, it was no secret to this group of Organization Cadres, discussing it out of boredom was no big deal.
Of course, much of the information was merely hearsay, so there was no need to dwell on its specificity or truthfulness.
Calling it "gossip" would be an understatement.
"There are seven cadres in total this time. It seems all the members passed, except for that one from the Research Department, whom we aren't quite sure about," a middle-aged man with brown hair said to the Black-haired strong man beside him, his right arm in a cast.
There are so many Newcomers in this batch," the Black-haired strong man lamented. "Speaking of which, that Woman named Sheila has really suffered.. When Heine took her in, I thought he had feelings for her, but I didn't expect the Mission he gave her to be so difficult.
Akai Shuichi, who was quietly dazing off to the side, was also somewhat surprised to hear this news.
"It's not necessarily that it's boring; it might have been intentional—" the middle-aged man drew out his voice, his words sounding quite ambiguous.
True.." The Black-haired strong man wore an understanding expression before adding, "I wonder how that Newcomer that Heine was originally in charge of is doing.
I heard his luck wasn't great either." The middle-aged man shook his head, his tone tinged with emotion. "That guy fell into Gin's hands, I heard he barely survived; he had it even worse than Sheila!
No way.." The Black-haired strong man revealed a look of surprise. "Sheila's injuries were no joke; I heard several of her ribs were broken, a fracture in her right leg still hasn't healed!
Akai blinked; it seemed that the Newcomer's missions this time were not simple.
However, he soon discovered that his inference was incorrect.
Only those who had it worse than him," the middle-aged man said, moving his uninjured arm and shifting his position. "That person's injuries weren't any lighter than Sheila's; with a gunshot wound to the arm, he nearly didn't make it due to excessive blood loss.
Is the Ability Evaluation really that difficult?" the Black-haired strong man frowned, picking up the water from the chair beside the bed and taking a sip. "It wasn't like this back in our day..
I heard that most of those in charge of this Newcomer Ability Evaluation are High-level members! But compared to the others, the mission arranged by Cavendish seems to be the simplest; the two newcomers Vermouth was responsible for only sustained minor injuries.. Then again, that kid also turned a misfortune into a blessing..
Akai felt his throat was a bit dry; he wanted to drink some water.
A blessing in disguise?
The black-haired youth looked around and found that there was no water by his side, but there was a small water dispenser on a table not far away.
However, even if it was "not far away," given his current condition, it would not be easy for him to go and get some water to drink.
Now he felt a slight itch in his throat and wanted to cough.
Aside from that Newcomer who joined the Research Department, it is said that his comprehensive ability evaluation is the highest among the group this time." The middle-aged man shifted his body to lie more comfortably. "There are many Newcomers this time, their abilities are quite good, but he has taken the lead.
After a pause, the Middle-aged man revealed an emotional expression: "But it's no wonder; after all, he is under Gin's command, he nearly lost half his life!"
"Cough, cough.." Having been listening in the whole time, Akai Shuichi finally couldn't help but start coughing.
"Little brother, are you alright?" Hearing the voice from the bed beside them, the Black-haired strong man and the Middle-aged man finished their gossip and asked about his condition.
"I'm fine, just a little thirsty." Akai Shuichi shook his head, a hint of helplessness appearing in his green eyes.
Oh.. let me pour you a glass.
After all, having stayed in the same hospital room for three days, the middle-aged man didn't mind helping out with small favors; his arm was fractured, but his legs were still fine.
Akai looked at him with a hint of envy as he got out of bed and walked toward the table, unable to help but lament how important it was to have all one's limbs intact.
Before this, he had never imagined that there would come a day when he would envy someone's ability to simply walk over and pour some water.
The middle-aged man poured the water, walking toward him while asking casually, "By the way, what is your name?"
Moroboshi Dai," Akai Shuichi said, his eyes fixed on the cup of water; he was truly thirsty. "Codename Rye.
Rye?" The middle-aged man repeated his name, sounding somewhat puzzled. "That name sounds very familiar; I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.
He had already walked to Akai's bedside and handed the water cup to him.
Ah.." Akai raised his left hand to take the cup, kindly offering a guess, "It might have been not long ago. I am the Newcomer you mentioned, the one who 'lost half his life under Gin's command'.
Splash—
The middle-aged man failed to hold his water cup steady, it spilled all over Akai Shuichi.
Akai: ……
..
It was not an isolated incident.
It seems like that guy Rye took the top prize this time?
The blonde-haired youth wiped the sweat from his forehead, his breathing heavy as he spoke, having just finished his warm-up exercises. He turned his head to look at the youth not far away who was putting on his coat, his greyish-purple eyes shimmering under the lights of the training ground.
The youth, who had taken off his jacket to prepare for warm-ups, turned his head upon hearing this, his gaze filled with helplessness. "You don't seem to have much affection for Rye, do you?"
“Do I?” Amuro Tooru tilted his head slightly with a smile, but the mirth did not reach his eyes as he looked away. “I don't think so.”
He denied it.
Then I suppose not." The older youth did not want to argue this point with his junior, lest he be led astray by him sooner or later. As he spoke, he walked over. "I heard that Rye's mission this time is the most difficult, with Sheila being second. It wouldn't be strange if he took the top spot, would it?
Risk and reward are directly proportional.
Although Gin had tested Akai during the mission, he did not go out of his way to make things difficult when writing the report.
After concealing some unimportant matters—such as the fact that the very first bullet was unnecessary to mention—Gin still provided a very objective evaluation of Akai Shuichi's abilities.
Gin himself is incredibly powerful. He was very young when he joined the Black Organization, although he is not old, his experience can already be considered quite extensive.
And what this experience provided him, besides his judgment when in peril, was a sharp and ruthless eye.
Considering this mission, his analysis was incredibly accurate.
In his view, although Akai Shuichi still had some flaws, his overall strength could be described as "quite impressive."
Not bad—Gin thought, barely acknowledging Akai's ability, no longer limiting the name "Akai Shuichi" to that green Boy playing accordion from years ago.
Of course, he did not reveal his attitude in the Report.
An objective and detailed ability analysis, combined with Gin's additional emphasis on Akai's specific strengths and the results of this mission, provided the Black Organization with a thorough understanding of Akai Shuichi's capabilities.
His true level—Gin had no intention of helping him hide it in this regard.
Of course, the introduction he saw while reviewing the files before the mission made Gin realize that Akai was hiding his true strength; exposing his actual abilities directly this time would likely cause him a great deal of trouble later on.
In most cases, Gin would choose to stand by and watch coldly—if they had the ability, they would naturally be able to handle these matters on their own.
In essence, Gin is someone who adheres to the "law of the jungle"—this may have something to do with his experiences.
However, he was in a good mood this time—out of interest for a future opponent who wouldn't be bad, he temporarily helped Akai fend off these troubles, leaving them for Akai to worry about after he was discharged from the hospital.
So that this Mr. Nemesis wouldn't even be able to find peace while recovering from his injuries.
Naturally, due to the high-risk nature of "barely making it back alive while severely wounded," Akai also received the reward of being "the newcomer with the highest ability evaluation in this session."