Ever since Shuichi Akai's identity was exposed, Akemi Miyano's situation within the Black Organization became precarious.
For the Black Organization, an Akemi Miyano with ties to a spy and an unknown identity naturally became a discarded pawn.
The Black Organization designed a plan for Akemi Miyano to act as an undercover agent; after obtaining one billion yen, she and Shiho Miyano would be allowed to leave the Black Organization.
But all of this was ultimately a deception...
"Sherry, you should eat something." The silver-haired, black-clad girl stood at the door of the confinement room, looking at the handcuffed Shiho Miyano, a trace of pity in her eyes.
Her family had lived for slaughter for generations, and her birth, too, was predestined from the start. She was meant to become one of the world's top assassins, so her parents could be said to have no emotional foundation, and she had met her siblings only a few times.
Such a person, naturally, could not comprehend the impact Akemi Miyano's death had on Shiho Miyano.
Although she couldn't empathize, she could tell from Shiho's state.
It must have been extremely painful.
Because she had never seen such an expression on this person's face before. It was a despair that bordered on destruction.
A few years ago, she joined the Black Organization. Her job was to eliminate external threats for the Black Organization, and thus her hands were stained with countless blood.
Ordinarily, she was assigned by the Black Organization to stay by Shiho Miyano's side, acting as a bodyguard. As a qualified assassin, one must always remain calm and not harbor any superfluous emotions. Yet, the appearance of this young scientist made her experience a different kind of joy in life.
From then on, she had always stayed by the young girl's side.
According to Gin, she was both a bodyguard and a personal assistant, but most importantly, a monitor.
The young girl was researching the Black Organization's most important invention, a drug named Silver Bullet. Its effect was immeasurable for the Black Organization, and as the main researcher, Shiho Miyano was an existence that absolutely needed to be monitored.
But all of this began to crumble with Akemi Miyano's death.
Upon learning of her sister's death, Shiho Miyano began to resist the Black Organization, although they both knew that this tiny act of rebellion was not taken seriously by the Black Organization.
So, she was locked up.
And the one responsible for monitoring and guarding her was still Aiba Yu.
She hadn't eaten for days. Although they weren't exactly friends, their relationship was that of a potential monitor and monitored.
Yet, there were always those dull bickering moments.
Whenever she heard the young girl's cold, emotionless tone complaining about her, Aiba Yu always felt that the world actually had a little bit of fun, a little bit of warmth.
And now, even that sliver of warmth had vanished. The person who was originally cold on the outside but warm on the inside seemed to want her thoughts and blood to solidify.
Aiba Yu could smell it; it was the scent of death...
"...Live well, this is what Akemi hoped for."
"...You saw it, didn't you?" After a long while, Shiho Miyano finally spoke in a voice that was almost icy, "You don't understand at all, you just don't get it!"
The young girl shrieked hysterically. She hung her head, and then, tear after tear fell to the ground.
"You wouldn't understand... my feelings..."
Faced with the young girl's tears, Aiba Yu froze in place. She parted her lips, but then bit down hard on her teeth.
—Yes, she simply didn't understand.
One cannot stop a person who is determined to die. She had killed too many people and had long grown indifferent to death. Anyone could pull the trigger without batting an eyelid. Of course, that included herself.
Her first lesson in assassin school was to not fear death and to be prepared to die at any moment.
Even now, she could firmly and unhesitatingly end her own life. But facing the young girl before her, she felt a trace of reluctance.
She didn't want her to die.
At that moment, a feeling she had never experienced before arose within Aiba.
It was a fear of death.
—
Sherry disappeared, vanishing into thin air from the completely sealed laboratory.
It was Gin who discovered it. By the time Aiba Yu received the news and rushed there, the young girl who had been confined in the laboratory was completely gone, as if she had never been there.
No one knew how Sherry had escaped from this laboratory.
Gin immediately pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Aiba Yu, his eagle-like eyes under the brim of his hat staring intently at her: "Only you could have let Sherry go."
Aiba Yu frowned, "But I was on your outsourced mission all day yesterday; I didn't return to the laboratory."
At this, Vodka also said, "Brother, I was with Famas all day yesterday. I can confirm it wasn't her who let Sherry go."
Hearing Vodka say this, Gin hesitated for a moment, then holstered his gun. He stared at the handcuffs cuffed to the pipe and snorted, "Sherry, you will never escape my grasp."
Shiho Miyano had escaped.
Aiba Yu was relieved to see the current situation, rather than a cold corpse.
But even as she felt relieved, she also felt as if something was missing from her heart. Sherry's escape undoubtedly clarified the current situation.
It was best if they never met again; once they met, Sherry would die.
And, it was very likely she would die by her own hands... A trace of loneliness flickered in Aiba Yu's eyes. Suddenly, she remembered something, and her gaze slowly focused, falling on the developed APTX4869.
"1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6..."
How was one missing?!
An incredible thought surfaced in Aiba Yu's mind. The handcuffs were intact, and an adult female, if handcuffed, could absolutely not escape without tools. Even if she did escape, the laboratory was sealed on all sides, with no hidden passages, and the door was locked and had never been opened.
If not for the main door, the only exit connecting to the outside world... She looked at the garbage chute, but it was impossible for an adult to squeeze through its size.
Could it be?!
Her keen observation skills made her turn her gaze back to the poison named Silver Bullet.
Just then, someone suddenly patted her shoulder from behind, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to see Vodka.
"Famas, clean up the things in the research lab. There's an assassination you need to carry out this afternoon. Brother wants you to prepare beforehand."
Aiba Yu collected the scattered documents in the laboratory, sneering, "What? He trusts me now?"
"I thought he'd just shoot me without question, like he killed Akemi Miyano."
"You know, Brother is always cautious. But I still remind you, don't mention the Miyano sisters in front of him recently."
"Got it, got it." She waved her hand, dismissing Vodka. Only after she was completely alone did she put down the materials in her hand, climb onto the table, and secretly take one pill from a box of medicine.
To be cautious, she picked up an empty capsule, filled it with undeveloped powder, and carefully reinserted it into the box at the correct angle.
She put the pill into her pocket, then turned to open the safe in the room, which contained information about people who had taken the Silver Bullet drug.
She had never had access to these before, and naturally, she didn't know the safe's password. However, these weren't difficult for her; she opened the safe in no time.
She took out the drug administration records. After each person's name, the words "Deceased" were written.
Until her gaze fell upon a name: "Shinichi Kudo."
She remembered, it seemed not long ago, she had visited the Kudo Residence to confirm his death... The follow-up report was written by Sherry, confirming Shinichi Kudo's death.
She then found the descriptive file about Shinichi Kudo among numerous documents, learning that this Shinichi Kudo was a high school Detective who, after witnessing the Black Organization's transaction, was knocked out by Gin and forced to ingest APTX4869.
That day, when they went to the Kudo Residence for confirmation, Aiba Yu, as a supervisor, naturally went along.
The reason this name left an impression on her was because Sherry was different that day. It was an emotion she couldn't describe, but could sense through smell.
She was elated; it was a joy she had never witnessed before.