He also gave Miyano Akemi his personal mobile phone number, telling her to notify him immediately if she discovered anything unusual.
Gin moved his fingers and reached into his Coat to pull out his Lighter.
The Silver Zippo was exquisitely crafted, with simple and elegant engravings that skillfully blended a modern texture with a hint of antique charm; its superior windproof technology allowed the user to use it with ease even in bad weather.
Gin flicked his thumb, an orange-red flame ignited. The tiny flame flickered lonely and restless in the wind, illuminating Gin's somewhat pale face.
His Green eyes reflected the tiny flame.
Pausing for a moment, the Silver-haired man raised his hand and brought the flame close to his cigarette.
However, he did not get what he wanted.
"Didn't I tell you not to smoke these few days?" A clear, pleasant Voice came from behind, the end of the sentence rising slightly, as if demonstrating the Master's good mood.
The silver-haired man lowered his eyes slightly, his thumb relaxed its pressure, causing the flame on the silver lighter to vanish in the wind.
“The wound healed long ago,” the Man said, throwing the words back without even turning her head.
However, he did not ultimately stick to his original plan.
This action seemed to put Bourbon in a better mood. The blonde-haired youth walked a few steps toward him and stood side by side with him. "Try to smoke less if you can."
Bourbon looked meaningfully at the writing printed on the surface of the JILOISES cigarette pack, which clearly stated the warning that smoking is harmful to health: "You can definitely read, right?"
Gin let out a sneer.
There are so many unhealthy things these days, how many people can actually manage to avoid them all?
If just a few lines of text could be effective, then every tobacco company in the world might as well just declare bankruptcy.
People are always like this; even when they clearly know something is a temptation, even when they know that touching it will lead to eternal damnation, they will still throw themselves into the fire like moths to a flame, as if their hearts were blinded by greed.
Not even afraid of being burned until nothing remains.
Amuro Tooru lowered his eyes slightly and said with inexplicable certainty, "At least not right now."
Gin remained silent for several seconds, then suddenly turned his head to look at the person beside him.
This blonde-haired youth, whose real name is Furuya Rei, alias Amuro Tooru, codename is Bourbon, has a face that looks very young. He is already twenty-nine years old this year, yet he looks no different from someone in his early twenties.
And those sharp greyish-purple eyes, which seemed capable of piercing through a person's heart, were now gazing at Gin with a clarity and purity, as if they were pouring out his true feelings.
How is that possible?
Gin thought.
It wasn't that he didn't know people liked him.
The Bar was bustling with noise, there were always a few inexperienced girls who took a liking to his face—or perhaps his aura, so they would approach him despite his indifference, wanting to buy him a drink.
The alley was cold and desolate in the dark night. He raised his hand and pulled the trigger, a chilling smile playing on his lips as he harvested lives, while around him, a Partner looking up to his strength gazed at him with eyes mixed with lust and longing.
The streets of Milan were crowded with tourists. During his travels in a foreign land, he would also encounter a few people who wanted to develop a romance with him; their eyes were either clear or murky, their clothes were either decent or fashionable.
..
He just didn't care.
He did not mind physical entanglement, whether with men or women, but he rarely felt any resonance because of it.
Love is such a stupid thing.. or to put it more crudely, these emotions are just too stupid.
They are ethereal and elusive, devoid of any logic or rationality; for an Assassin like him, they are undoubtedly a death warrant.
However, for humans, they seem to be indispensable.
They suffer because of Emotion, they do all sorts of irrational things because of Emotion and still find it sweet, they burst forth with all kinds of incredible power because of Emotion, they hesitate because of Emotion, they possess weaknesses because of Emotion.
Gin knows Emotion—long ago, he learned to use the emotions of others to achieve his Target, through coercion and inducement, so much more.
But he did not understand Emotion.
And for many people, Emotion is really important.
Even the people around him felt that way.
In the silent depths of the night, Vermouth teased him with a smile, his ice-blue eyes—as vast as the blue sea and clear sky—glinting with a half-smile, where seven parts of the emotion were fake, yet three parts were true.
After all, they had shared many years of friendship.
On the night of the attack on Kudo Shinichi, Heine sat with him on the Ferris wheel; resting his chin on his hand and tilting his head, he observed Gin, his blue eyes filled with intoxication, as he said in a casual, almost crazed manner, "You are such a troublesome man, it's a good thing I never fell in love with you."
But within that silence, a Message was clearly revealed.
He had not fallen in love, but it wasn't as if he hadn't felt an attraction before.
Gin knew he was not drunk; he hadn't even had a single drop of alcohol.
Borse silently accepted everything he assigned; a single word of praise from him could make this Child happy for a long time. The Child's eyes were an inorganic darkness, but they would always reveal a hint of light the moment he saw him.
The child looked up at him and said, "Gentleman, I will complete the Mission," his tone filled with certainty—he had been this way ever since the gentleman first brought the child to his side.
He patted the child's head.
..
Their emotions were all restrained, carefully avoiding any lines that shouldn't be crossed; perhaps those dwelling in the darkness all understand each other well enough, ensuring they neither hurt themselves nor cause embarrassment to their colleagues.
But.. there were a few people who were different.
The former Shiratori Midori.
The later Akai Shuichi.
Amuro Tooru before his eyes.
..
Perhaps it was because they were not purely dark, or perhaps.. it was because, in this regard, they were more decisive than many others?
Gin gave a light chuckle.
Since when did he start using decisive.. rather than foolish, to describe these things?
Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of Guilt surged within him.
Was he not also using them?
Whether it was arranging Akai Shuichi to go to Nana, using "his own secret" to guide that FBI elite to act according to his plan, or bringing Amuro Tooru to meet Miyano Akemi..
He did not tell Amuro Tooru about Shiratori Midori's existence, Miyano Akemi did not either.
Whether out of Guilt or out of his fondness for Miyano Elena, Amuro Tooru would, to varying degrees, keep an eye on Miyano Akemi.
—In this way, it was equivalent to providing an invisible layer of insurance for every 'person' in the Villa.
I am not acting out of kindness; it just so happens that the outcome is a win-win.
So.. Really doesn't need to thank me.
He thought so, but in the end, he never said it aloud.
Because Gin knew that they might not be unaware.
-----------------------
Author's Note: I saw a very familiar Little Angel in the comments section again, love you~
..
Thanks to Helian Fenglan's three mines, love you, mwah!
Thanks for the.. Gu Xing's mines, love you mwah!
Thanks to Rio's landmine, love you mwah~
Thanks to The Last Journey for the landmine, love you mwah~
Thanks to Mo Ming Qi Miao's Landmine, love you mwah~
Thanks to the landmine from Grapefruit-flavored You Nini, love you mwah~
Thanks to 460600022 for the landmine, love you mwah~
Chapter 155: Chapter 139 It was a breakup SMS
After personally facilitating the meeting between Amuro Tooru and Miyano Akemi, Gin began making preparations for what was to come.
The first step, naturally, was to find the research materials in Shiratori Midori's possession.
The research materials were once divided into four parts. Aside from the one held by the Black Organization, he has already obtained the one that Mrs. Aida took among the remaining three.
Shiratori Midori must also have a copy; judging by the riddles she has set several times, she herself must have realized this as well.
So, where would she hide those research materials?
It must be a place that she believes Gin would know, but members of the Black Organization might not necessarily guess.
Gin thought of his experience at the Silver Bonny Bar; he had not ordered any drinks, yet the Bar Staff proactively gave him a 'Snow Country'.
A thin lemon slice was perched on the rim of the glass, with a cherry floating in the transparent liquid below, adorned with a mint leaf; the pale yellow and fresh green hues served as delicate accents against the clear liquid and the colorless glass.
Shiratori had clearly given enough hints.
Whether it be Snow Country or Lemon.
After all that wandering around, he still had to make a trip to that original Bar.
Lemon Bar.
The bustling crowd, the clamor beneath the colorful lights, the fragments of youth; the kaleidoscopic neon lights reflected in the youth's gemstone-like, shimmering eyes.
She once prepared a cocktail there as a birthday Gift for her Friend.
Under the gaze of the crowd, the Girl took the glass.
Many years later, that bar finally became the key to solving the mystery.
When he drank that glass of Snow Country two years ago, he had already guessed that everything must be related to Brandy; after a trip to Russia, he became even more certain of his deduction.
She had chosen to remain inactive back then, but now, the time has nearly come.
Let's start with the first step.