Cocktail Bar.
When he came again, nothing had changed here.
The bartender was still the same as before, and the only two customers at the bar were still dressed in black.
"Good evening, gentlemen."
Hayashi Yoshiki walked to the bar and sat down next to Gin.
The bartender slid over a drink menu.
As Hayashi Yoshiki picked it up to look, Gin's cold voice spoke: "Did you clean up well?"
"Are you talking about that dump truck?"
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled tranquilly.
Behind his silver-rimmed glasses, he narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly pleased, and continued to reply in his clear voice: "That was just a simple accident. Nothing has anything to do with me. Please give me a Mojito."
"Hmph."
Gin scoffed coldly.
Hayashi Yoshiki's words were very clear; he left no loopholes.
Furthermore, he seemed quite pleased with his "accidental" crime...
Indeed, it was a most exquisite way to kill.
Even if surveillance footage were watched over and over, no artificial traces could be found. If the incident hadn't happened right under Gin's eyes, along with that countdown, he wouldn't have considered it a premeditated murder.
However, although it was very interesting and he couldn't see how it was done, Gin was too lazy to think further.
After all, this method of killing had too many limitations.
It not only depended on the location and time, but the target's reaction might also lead to different outcomes.
"Speaking of which."
The bartender served a sparkling, clear cocktail with mint leaves and lime slices embedded in it. Hayashi Yoshiki took it, twirling the straw as he said:
"It seems there was a car accident on the way here."
"People nowadays drive so carelessly."
Vodka chuckled "heh," sounding a little gleeful.
Just then, the phone in Gin's pocket suddenly rang. He picked it up without even looking at the caller ID: "It's me."
The next second, Gin's calm expression darkened, then he asked coldly: "What's going on?"
Vodka put down his drink and turned to look at Gin.
He didn't know what was said on the other end, but the aura Gin exuded grew even colder, and then he directly hung up the phone.
"What's wrong, Aniki?"
Vodka immediately asked.
However, Gin didn't respond. Instead, he angled his eyes, looking coldly at Hayashi Yoshiki: "You have guts."
"What happened?"
"The Organization member sent to watch you is dead, died in a very familiar-feeling accident."
Oh, this?
Hearing Gin's words, Vodka's face was filled with astonishment. He wanted to bang on the table but saw that Gin's tone was still relatively calm.
"People living in this world can never predict whether death or accident will come first."
Hayashi Yoshiki still had that faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "Don't make such a terrifying expression; it was an accident."
Gin continued to stare at him with those terrifying eyes.
After a moment,
"You're not allowed to lay a hand on Organization members without my permission. If I find out there's a next time..." His tone exuded a blade-like malevolence, "You'd better be careful."
Hayashi Yoshiki merely smiled.
Gin gradually withdrew his killing intent and instead took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
Silence fell for a moment.
Sensing the inexplicable stagnation in the atmosphere, Vodka's movements involuntarily became much lighter. He hardly dared to pick up his drink glass now.
A moment later, Hayashi Yoshiki got up and walked towards the restroom.
Vodka watched him leave the bar until he was out of sight, then asked Gin: "Aniki?"
"Check your computer."
"Oh..."
Vodka wasn't just a simple driver; in fact, his IT skills were quite good. He occasionally brought his portable computer when on missions.
The computer opened, and Vodka quickly found the recently sent video in his email.
It was a surveillance view from a highway.
In the not-very-clear, noisy video, a car suddenly lost control while driving on the road, skidding and violently swaying, then sharply veering and hitting the guardrail on the left side of the road, coming to a stop.
After a brief pause, the person in the driver's seat pushed open the car door and got out, looking slightly unsteady on their feet but seemingly unharmed.
But then came the other person in the passenger seat—Kusuda Rikumichi, the Organization member sent by Gin to watch Hayashi Yoshiki. Because the left side of the car had hit the guardrail, the door couldn't be opened, and he was struggling to climb out from the right passenger door. But just then, a heavy steel coil on a passing semi-trailer suddenly rolled off, directly crushing the damaged car.
The Organization member who got out of the car first luckily escaped, but Kusuda Rikumichi, who had specifically been assigned to watch Hayashi Yoshiki, found it difficult to escape from the car due to his injuries and was flattened along with the vehicle by the rolling large steel coil.
"..."
After watching the video, Vodka broke out in a cold sweat.
He was someone who often sat in the passenger seat.
"This... this should really just be an accident, right?"
"How could it be?"
Gin scoffed.
These two accidents reeked of the same scent. He understood now: that guy... liked to unleash his true killing intent just when people were about to relax.
But how was it done?
Unlike Kishio Hironobu, who stood still, Kusuda Rikumichi and the other person were in a constantly moving vehicle, and it just so happened that only Kusuda Rikumichi died in the accident...
Gin realized he might have to re-evaluate Hayashi Yoshiki's capabilities.
"..."
A moment later, Hayashi Yoshiki returned to his seat.
As he passed behind Vodka, Vodka's body involuntarily tensed. Under his sunglasses, he stared straight ahead at his empty glass.
Gin handed over a cell phone.
"This phone is yours. There's an address in it. If you have nothing to do, go there for training."
"May I ask about the training content?"
"Shooting, combat, counter-surveillance, whatever you want to learn."
"Sounds interesting."
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled.
He flipped through the phone, seeing "Gin" as a contact name, thinking that this was an upgrade from one-way communication.
"Your ability is very interesting."
Gin pressed his cigarette butt into the ashtray to extinguish it. "Make good use of it for the Organization. Based on your performance, I'll apply for a codename for you with the Boss."
"Also, there are no eyes watching you now."
"But what happened to Kusuda Rikumichi, it cannot happen again!"
Towards the end, Gin's tone was full of warning.
"So his name was Kusuda Rikumichi..."
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled, not directly responding.
He didn't linger. After finishing his drink, he got up and left.
Gin and Vodka didn't stay long either; they were rushing off to make a deal.
Arriving at the base of Daikoku Building, standing in front of his beloved car, Gin suddenly called out to Vodka: "Check the car first."
"Ah, okay."
Vodka thought it was a good suggestion.
After a thorough check, nothing unusual was found.
Vodka wiped his forehead: "Aniki, do you want me to drive?"
"You take the passenger seat."
"...Okay."