The Silver-haired youth nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, looking casual and leisurely. This mission was quite difficult; not only did it take him three months to complete, but it also consumed a great deal of his energy and physical strength, leaving him truly exhausted.
Of course, once this Mission is completed, his status can rise even further.
That kind of complete dark history from three years ago must never happen again (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Gin did not dwell on the topic. He watched Shiratori Midori quietly for a moment, then raised an eyebrow amidst the girl's increasingly bewildered gaze. "I heard you've been acting a bit 'unusual' lately."
Shiratori Midori's expression stiffened.
He understood, of course, what Gin meant by "abnormal."
..
Back then, they had decided to choose to Destroy the Black Organization, but this Mission also carried immense risks; the danger and difficulty involved were beyond what they could handle at that time.
In the end, their decision was to first do the Black Organization's work while using self-preservation as a prerequisite to collect intelligence regarding the organization, waiting for the "plot" to begin before seeking an opportunity to act.
It was obvious that these two were unwilling to step up themselves; instead, they chose to watch the protagonist take the lead, secretly pulling their punches or offering a helping hand if possible.
It could be said that they don't actually need to do anything right now; they only need to lie in wait in the shadows.
After all, they would only be able to maximize the advantage of having 'spoilers' once the timeline reached the start of the plot.
While this method is slow, it is also an effective way to reduce one's own danger.
Of course, this is not without its drawbacks; the most obvious disadvantage is that doing so is equivalent to handing the initiative over to others.
Moreover, even though three years have passed, it has been nearly ten years since the plot was supposed to begin. The wait is far too long—not only would it be equivalent to handing the initiative to others, but who knows what might happen during those ten years?
Normally, Gin would never be the type to sit around and wait for death.
It was just that.. (1)
..
The Silver-haired youth did not continue reminiscing, but instead turned his attention back to his companion.
Shiratori Midori's recent behavior was indeed unusual.
At first, Gin did not notice.
The Brown-haired girl had received the codename 'Sherry' half a year ago, over the past six months, she had gradually adapted to her life as an executive, no longer being Gin's partner.
Although Shiratori Midori was highly capable, he was still not on the same level as Gin.
Gin's promotion speed over these years has been very fast.
There are few cadres in the Black Organization who have risen through the ranks as quickly as he has. At only twenty-two years old—an age where one could be called a young adult, yet still barely considered a youth—his status is already above that of most cadres.
The completion of this mission basically means that he will soon become a member of the Black Organization's upper echelon—although he is not yet a core member or a confidant, given his age and seniority, such a situation is extremely rare within the Black Organization.
As early as a year and a half ago, the two had already split up, each undertaking missions of different levels.
Even so, the relationship between the two of them remained excellent.
This was not only because he and Shiratori Midori shared a secret (System), but also because of the bond between the two of them.
But the two were simply not on the same level, with their respective missions to attend to, their time spent together had decreased significantly compared to before, even though they still met from time to time.
Not to mention, the brown-haired girl had been hiding it from him very well..
Therefore, it was only now that Gin discovered his companion's "abnormality."
This "abnormality" was not a change in her personality or her way of doing things, but rather referred to her behavior.
Her behavior—considering her status as an officer of the Black Organization, it was somewhat unusual.
Fortunately, this "abnormality" didn't quite cross the line, otherwise..
The Silver-haired youth let out a sigh and issued a warning, his tone cold yet carrying a trace of imperceptible concern: "Don't do anything unnecessary."
Shiratori Midori fell silent for a moment, then nodded dejectedly, saying, "I know.. I've been a bit impatient lately."
After all, three years had passed and nothing had been done, so it was only natural to feel a bit impatient.
Gin frowned. He lowered his hands and shoved his left hand into his jacket pocket, reminding him, "You don't need to do anything at all."
Considering Shiratori Midori's family background, Gin could probably guess why she couldn't settle his mind and wait, but—
With my current rank, even if I can't make you my subordinate, making you my deputy would definitely be no problem." Gin slightly raised his green eyes. "In a couple of days, I'll go to Rum to request your transfer to my unit. Make sure you adjust your mindset in the meantime.
The Black Organization has never been a kind place.
Being soft-hearted, impatient, improper in speech or action, dissatisfied with the Black Organization's missions or the Black Organization itself, or having tendencies to leave the Black Organization—if one possesses any of these flaws while in the Black Organization, they will not live long.
It makes sense; he couldn't settle his mind to wait.
He couldn't just watch Shiratori Midori meet with disaster.. He should first transfer his to his side and keep an eye on his for the time being.
If anything happened, he could at least cover for her a little.
Gin thought.
..
The application process went relatively smoothly, the results came out not long after.
However, it was somewhat unexpected that the new position assigned to Shiratori Midori was neither as Gin's subordinate nor his deputy; strictly speaking, it should be something between a subordinate and a deputy.
However, it was understandable; in the eyes of the Black Organization's top brass, Gin had already proven her capabilities, whereas although Sherry appeared to be highly capable, her future potential remained uncertain.
Considering her current rank, being under Gin's command would be somewhat beneath Sherry—after all, she is a newly promoted officer who is considered highly valued. However, if she were to serve as her deputy, given Gin's rate of promotion, he would likely ascend to the upper echelon within two years, making Sherry's current rank a bit too low for a deputy position.
This position allowed for both advancement and retreat, offering room for maneuver—if Sherry performed exceptionally well, she could naturally rise further; if her performance was unsatisfactory, once Gin was promoted to the upper echelon, her rank would simply be that of one of Gin's subordinates.
In the eyes of the others in the Black Organization, the fact that the newly promoted female executive Sherry had been transferred to the command of the highly esteemed and rising young executive Gin had sparked some gossip.
Or rather, gossip.
Generally speaking, a member's subordinates are assigned according to the Black Organization's allocations; unless it is someone they personally value, they would not make a special request.
For one, Sherry's abilities were the strongest among the newly promoted executives, for another, Gin and Sherry had always shared a very good relationship, so submitting the application wouldn't seem out of place.
Whether it would seem out of place is one thing, but whether it would be considered gossipy is another matter entirely.
It was hard to tell if members of the Black Organization simply had nothing to do besides their missions and their public daily lives, to the point of being incredibly bored, but the result was that even though it had been less than half a month since the outcome, Gin had already heard several different versions circulating among his colleagues.
Gin: ……
Sometimes, Gin truly felt that the people in the Black Organization were just bored.
As far as he knew, it wasn't just this recent gossip involving him and Sherry; the people in the Black Organization also loved giving others nicknames.
For example, Miyano Elena was originally a doctor, but she later became a scientist within the Black Organization alongside her husband, Miyano Atsushi. Even though she had a codename, everyone in the Black Organization called her "Hell Angel."
Not to mention the habit of giving people nicknames for no reason, but is it really appropriate to refer to her as Hell Angel? Why is everyone so calm about the fact that the Organization is "Hell"?
And Angel.. To be honest, that person passed away several years ago. Gin has never met her, so.. what's with the name "Angel"?
Are you actually expressing your grievances against the Black Organization while having feelings for her, which is why you gave her the nickname Hell Angel? Or do you feel that being part of the "Hell" Organization is something to be proud of—since the members are demons and it sounds quite cool—but you actually have a problem with him, so you gave his the nickname "Hell Angel" as a way to mock him?
Oh, right, there's also Akai Shuichi's "Silver Bullet."
Gin thought coldly: It was understandable that because of his "formidable strength, he was considered by the Black Organization to be a 'Silver Bullet' who could threaten the very life and death of the organization," but why—why was this nickname first proposed by members of the Black Organization?
Even if others had been the ones to come up with it first, as long as it was recognized by the Black Organization, he could have accepted it!
Do you have to be so discouraging to others and so demoralizing to yourself?!
And besides, why call it "Silver Bullet"?
Do you really understand the meaning of "Silver Bullet"?
If you understand, then how on earth do you all position yourselves as villains so naturally?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Every time Gin saw someone in the Black Organization whose thought processes were completely incomprehensible, he felt mentally exhausted—truly, utterly exhausted..
Fortunately, his partner was reliable.
The girl looked at him with a grin, the upturned corners of his mouth revealing a bright, unmistakable cunning, like a squinting brown fox. "By the way, little Miyano.. Haibara Ai was quite interesting. Do you want to go take a look?"
Gin..
Retracting my previous words, she is also quite unreliable (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Author's Note:
----------------------
(1) This involves some hidden circumstances and Gin's mindset, which will be mentioned later.
(2) From Baidu
(3) The sudden change in tone was because he didn't want to arouse suspicion. Shiratori appeared somewhat casual, yet he was still very meticulous.
Gin felt a sense of frustration; none of these people were reliable at all. Rather than obsessing over the Mission, he would have been better off going to China to eat hotpot.
..
Next, I'll release some younger versions of the plot characters to make a cameo appearance..
Chapter 5 Chapter 5 "Ah—Sherry!"..
Haibara Ai, whose real name is Miyano Shiho, codename Sherry, the inventor of "APTX4869," who later took APTX4869 and defected from the Black Organization, a member of the protagonist's team, possesses a unique "Black Organization Sense Radar."
However, right now, she was just a seven-year-old brat.
However, she was no ordinary child, after all—
I happened to overhear that the Black Organization was planning to send Miyano Atsushi's daughter to the United States," Shiratori Midori said with a beaming smile, his short brown hair swaying gently as he shook his head playfully. "It couldn't be Miyano Akemi, right? So it had to be the other one.
After Gin asked, "Why do you say that?" in speechless frustration, the brown-haired girl provided this explanation.
They were currently at Shiratori Midori's home, so there was no need to worry about their conversation being overheard by others.
The Brown-haired girl skillfully brewed a cup of black tea for Gin. As the steam rose, the clear water in the transparent glass teapot gradually changed color, diffusing through the liquid. As the tea steeped, Shiratori Midori stood up, took a carton of milk from the refrigerator, poured it into a glass, heated it in the microwave.
“Black tea again?”
Out of the ten times she had visited Shiratori Midori's home, she had brewed black tea seven times.
"I don't know how to make coffee.. There's only instant coffee at home, you don't like instant anyway." Answering casually, Shiratori Midori heard the microwave go 'ding.' He opened the microwave to take out the milk, walked over in a few steps, sat on the sofa on the left, asked kindly:
How about some juice or milk instead?