Shiratori Midori's puzzle and this human puzzle are not the same thing.
After all, for Gin, the former is currently in a?? state.
Everyone can affectionately call Shiratori Midori's Puzzle "Puzzle" and his Human Puzzle "Figure."
Shiratori Midori's letter cards have not been fully decrypted yet, but Gin already has some clues.
..
Thank you to the Little Angels who voted for me with Overlord votes or provided Nutrient solution~
Thank you to the Little Angel who provided Nutrient solution:
Lianxiang Xiyu 20 Vases; Yishuihan 10 Vases; Di 5 Vases;
Thank you very much for everyone's support, I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 94: "Keep it."
The moment the lake water surged backward, even though the two had long since prepared themselves, the massive impact still caused them to lose their footing.
Fortunately, whether it was Gin or Akai, while they couldn't be called all-rounders, their swimming skills were quite competent; they were both able to manage by skillfully swimming against the current.
At first, they were worried that the distance between the Secret Room and the lake surface was too great, which might cause the two of them to run out of strength and drown, but perhaps God felt sympathy for the two after everything they had been through today—
In short, their Luck was good.
At least before exhaustion set in, the Lake surface was already right before their eyes—and once they could surface to breathe, their chances of survival would increase significantly.
Out of concern for the wounded, Akai went ahead first, while Gin brought up the rear—it was Gin who proposed this suggestion, Akai stared at him in surprise for quite a while.
Before the former could lose his temper, the Ace Agent gave him a reassuring smile and shifted his gaze away, showing a strong desire to survive.
Of course, there was no shortage of muttering in his heart.
As it turned out, his guess.. was completely understandable.
“You..” Finally swimming from the lake surface to the shore, whether it was the Top Killer or the Ace Agent, both were in a wretched state, however Akai had no mind to pay attention to anything else.
Even with his strong psychological resilience, Akai Shuichi still couldn't help but lose his composure, his voice trembling: "You brought his up too?"
Gin casually glanced at the girl in his arms—the Silver-haired princess's dress was completely soaked. The pure white fabric was clearly not waterproof, in its drenched state, it had become semi-transparent, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his exquisite curves.
Out of respect for the girl, who had caused such a massive stir at such a young age—both in life and in death—Gin took off his shirt and draped it simply over his to prevent any exposure.
After doing all this, the Silver-haired youth's green eyes finally lifted, as he spoke with a straight face, "The corpse might float—it might be useful when you're exhausted."
In every sense of his words, he was treating the Silver-haired girl like a lifebuoy.
Nonsense. Akai Shuichi's mouth twitched as he cursed inwardly.
However, it was clear that Gin had no intention of revealing his motives, so Akai Shuichi simply stopped pressing the issue. He shook his right hand, his untreated gunshot wound on his shoulder began to ache even more as it was soaked by the water.
The pain continuously eroded his brain; Akai let out a silent sigh, feeling strangely numb.
Since they were about to begin their "swimming exercise," the two of them couldn't possibly carry their coats and firearms on them. Whether for the sake of weight or convenience, their personal belongings certainly had to be selected.
Handguns and bullets naturally could not be brought—they would likely be rendered useless after entering the water, the mobile phone was also a lost cause. To avoid leaving any clues, they had even gone so far as to fire a shot at the mobile phone before leaving, destroying the evidence. After that, there were the clothes on their bodies.
At least the two who finally surfaced were wearing nothing but a pair of trousers and a shirt; they weren't even wearing shoes.
So Gin took off his shirt—you know the rest.
Akai looked at him openly, his green eyes containing a hint of admiration and appreciation. Noticing Gin's confusion, the black-haired youth flashed a smile and said with sincerity, "You have a good physique."
That was absolutely the truth.
The Silver-haired youth was tall, with a lean and handsome physique; his muscles were well-defined and his lines were smooth and beautiful. He was not overly exaggerated, yet he possessed every necessary feature. Perhaps due to his Western mixed heritage, his skin was very white, with droplets of water sliding down his skin, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight.
However, not everyone likes to hear the truth—especially at a time like this.
Gin's mouth twitched.
The sensation of soaked clothes clinging to his skin did not feel good; by comparison, being shirtless was not unacceptable to him, however, it did not mean he liked being stared at.
Especially that person's gaze, which was practically whistling.
Tossing Snow White onto the ground with a casual, rough motion, Gin's actions were simple and brutal, doing only enough to ensure the corpse wasn't damaged—tenderness and such did not exist in her dictionary.
He let out a cold sneer. "You're not half bad yourself."
Akai Shuichi was wearing a light-colored shirt. Once it was soaked with water, although it wasn't as awkward as white fabric—cough, cough—for someone with good eyesight.
Is Gin's eyesight poor?
What do you think?
In comparison, Akai Shuichi's reaction was much more natural. He accepted the barbed compliment with composure—even though he knew the other person did not mean it that way, it didn't stop Akai from treating it as a compliment—and thanked him with great interest.
Gin was speechless for a moment, but considering how the man had worked tirelessly to indulge his madness, he couldn't be bothered to care about such a trivial matter.
The sensation of water droplets clinging to his body was clearly unpleasant. He raised his hand to wring out his long hair, droplets trickled down the strands, seeping into the soil. Thinking back to how this had all started, a rare sense of guilt surfaced within Gin. After shaking out his long hair, he simply walked a few steps toward Akai.
A few droplets of water still lingered on his fingertips, the youth's eyes were a lush, vivid green.
"Take off your clothes." The words were blunt and decisive.
"Huh?" Akai looked completely bewildered.
Gin's gaze slid toward Akai Shuichi's right shoulder, his lips twitched stiffly. "Are you planning to just leave it alone and let it become inflamed?"
The Black-haired youth froze for three seconds before he realized what Gin meant.
He was momentarily dazed.
"Oh.." Finally, having nothing left to say, Akai Shuichi could only utter this single word in response.
A moment of awkwardness.
A light chuckle came from the opposite side.
..
An overly complex medical procedure was impossible to achieve—whether considering the current tools or Gin's skills. He could only manage to simply remove the Bullet.
For Gin, being injured was practically a daily occurrence. There is a saying that "long illness makes a doctor," and in his case, that could arguably be considered true.
The two of them sat down side by side in a clean, open space. Akai expressed his surprise when Gin produced a dagger from somewhere and a small, sealed bottle of medical alcohol swabs from out of nowhere.
That surprise turned into amazement the moment the other man produced a Lighter.
"Can it still be used?" He raised the most practical question.
"It should work." Gin replied, pressing the switch of the metal Lighter to answer him with action.
A tiny flame flickered to life, with a hint of purple at its core and beautiful orange-red outer flames.
Gin brought the Lighter close to the blade of the Dagger, using the high temperature to perform a simple sterilization, then he opened the bottle of Medical alcohol cotton, treated it briefly, then looked up at Akai.
Akai Shuichi cooperated fully by extending his right arm, under Gin's somewhat satisfied gaze, for a brief moment, he felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter by his subordinate.
He couldn't help but wonder if he had ever offended Gin—and whether Gin would use this as an opportunity to settle a personal grudge under the guise of official business.
Clearly, the Silver-haired youth had no intention of making things difficult for Akai Shuichi for the time being. His technique was not professional—after all, he was not a medical professional—but it was quite decisive; due to professional habit, he would never use a second cut if one would suffice.
The sensation of the knife entering the flesh felt terrible, Akai Shuichi's endurance allowed him to remain silent throughout the process; however, his slightly tense muscles due to physiological reflexes and the faint beads of sweat on his temple both revealed the fact that it was not easy for him.
Gin said nothing, merely speeding up his movements in secret.
Thirty seconds later, the bullet embedded in the flesh was extracted.
The bloodstained metal rolled onto the ground, its path leaving behind a few traces of red grime. Akai Shuichi exhaled a breath, his tense body relaxing as he lifted his gaze to look at the other person.
Too close.
Gin did not notice his Companion's gaze; he reopened the Medical alcohol cotton and used it to wipe the Bloodstain from the Dagger.
It was close enough that Akai Shuichi could clearly see the long, thick eyelashes on Gin's slightly lowered eyelids, close enough that he could see the fine lines on the pale lower lip opposite him.
His gaze naturally drifted down, landing on the red string hanging around the Silver-haired youth's neck; the bright crimson stood out strikingly against his fair skin.
At the end of the red string, a ring-shaped jade pendant hung from the Silver-haired youth's chest.
“There's some medical alcohol cotton inside.” Gin glanced at Akai Shuichi's bleeding right shoulder before handing the small white bottle to Akai. “Use it to treat it.”
Akai Shuichi took it casually, his green eyes lingering on his companion's chest for three seconds, his voice tinged with curiosity: "Is this.. a Jade Ping An Kou?"
Gin froze for a moment, lowering her head to glance at her pendant with her peripheral vision. He seemed to fall into a long train of thought, only after several seconds of silence did he slowly nod.
He paused, as if to shift the focus: "What's wrong?"
Akai was using medical alcohol cotton to wipe away the blood seeping from his right shoulder. Hearing that, he looked at Gin and gave a simple smile. "It's nothing.. I'm just a little curious."
She opened her left hand, tilting her head as he smiled. "I always get the feeling that you aren't the type of person who wears charms."
Gin lowered his eyes for a few seconds and said indifferently, "A Jade Ping An Kou brings safety."
“You believe in this too?” Akai Shuichi asked in return.
.. I don't." Gin answered lazily. "Just seeking some peace of mind.
Having said that, the Silver-haired youth bent down to pick up the bullet lying quietly on the ground, a faint bloodstain staining his fair fingertips.
The afternoon sunlight was bright, shining lazily upon people; though their bodies were still wet, they did not feel cold.
Because the sunlight was warm.
The Bullet landed in her palm, the moment he opened her hand, it lay obediently in the center of her palm, as if nothing had changed.
Gin handed the bullet to Akai Shuichi, his eyes indifferent and his voice calm, as sunlight fell upon his pupils: "Keep it."
He seemed to have heard a saying: if you keep the things that have harmed you by your side, you will not suffer the same wound again.
What a coincidence, Akai Shuichi had heard that as well.
So the latter took the Bullet, gazed into Gin's eyes, spoke softly.
“Thank you.”
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Author's Note: That's all for now..
There will be one update tomorrow morning and another in the afternoon.