"APTX4869?"
Shiho suddenly raised her head and looked at Toru.
The meaning in her eyes was clear, you're still claiming you're not from the Organization?
Only members of the Organization could possess this drug, and only those with code names had the qualifications to use it.
According to Shiho's understanding of the drug usage records, the one who used APTX4869 the most was Gin, followed by Vermouth.
Now, seeing this highly classified poison in Toru's hands, it was like hearing someone say, "I don't know martial arts," right after pulling off a triple backflip.
Toru looked at Shiho, whose pupils had shrunk and whose face was filled with shock. He sat in the chair and said, "I picked up this drug yesterday at the research institute where you were."
Shiho's expression became grave. She remembered the Apache attack helicopter she saw the day before, raining gunfire on the institute as she was escaping.
She swallowed. "You were the one piloting that helicopter and bombing the institute yesterday?"
"That's right."
Toru admitted without hesitation.
Shiho cursed him inwardly. Another lunatic, just like Gin. She tried to stay calm and asked, "You bombed the research institute just for APTX4869?"
At this point, she was sure Toru wasn't from the Black Organization, but he was definitely from some other powerful one.
"Yeah, it was for APTX4869... and for you."
Toru pointed at the red and white capsule, then pointed at Shiho.
Her voice turned dry and hoarse. "Why me?"
Toru couldn't help laughing. He glanced at Shiho's petite body and smiled. "Isn't your current condition explanation enough?"
"Kudo Shinichi, the high school student those idiotic tabloids call the Holmes of the Reiwa era, disappeared not long ago."
"He used to pop up on TV and in newspapers constantly, but he's been missing from the public eye for a while. Some say he disappeared. Some say he left the country."
"But Sherry, you should know better than anyone, he didn't disappear. Just like you, he shrank into a child."
Shiho's face turned pale. She silently cursed Gin for being so incompetent he actually let Kudo Shinichi escape.
She had a strong suspicion that the reason Toru and the Organization backing him were able to track her down was because they discovered Kudo Shinichi's secret.
Even as the one who created the drug, Shiho had only recently discovered that bizarre side effect.
"Who... are you?!"
She knew she was already in a desperate situation. Now that she'd fallen into Toru's hands, she had no way to escape.
After surviving a suicide attempt once, she didn't have the courage to try again.
Once you fail at taking your own life, the courage to do it a second time becomes nearly impossible to summon.
"The head of the CIA's Japan branch. Japanese name: Fujiwara Toru. My English name is Adam Spencer."
Toru didn't hide his identity. He needed Shiho to work with him, so there was no point keeping it a secret.
"Central Intelligence Agency...?"
Upon hearing the name of this American agency, Shiho's face showed a flash of joy.
Although she had always lived under the Black Organization's shadow and knew the CIA wasn't exactly clean, engaging in terrorism and all sorts of underhanded acts, they were still a state agency.
No matter how ruthless the CIA was, it was still better than a transnational criminal group like the Black Organization.
Especially since the CIA was already targeting the Organization, Shiho couldn't help but feel hopeful. Maybe the Organization was finally about to collapse.
No matter how strong it was, it couldn't go toe-to-toe with the CIA.
Seeing that hopeful expression on her small face, Toru shook his head helplessly. "You're too naive. Don't romanticize it."
"Fine. Let me be the one to break the illusion. The current CIA Director is cooperating with the Organization you were a part of."
That one sentence nearly made Shiho faint again.
She had just escaped the wolf's den, only to fall into a tiger's mouth.
Toru picked up a capsule and shook it in front of her. "This thing actually shrinks people's bodies."
"Sherry, someone as smart as you must realize how valuable that is. All the people in this world with power and billions in wealth will go crazy for this."
"To gain immortality, to stand above the rest forever, to enjoy the beauty and power of wealth, they'll stop at nothing to get it."
"Throughout history, how many kings and emperors have gone mad chasing immortality?"
Shiho bit her lip lightly. "This drug doesn't grant immortality."
"Oh? Why not?"
"After I found out about Kudo Shinichi's shrinking, I did detailed research. I discovered that although the body shrinks, the mitochondria, our cellular energy generators don't revert."
"In other words, this drug only makes the body smaller. It doesn't reverse aging. The lost years are not recovered. The mechanism that causes shrinking is still unknown, and the probability is extremely low."
"And it has a major side effect. The shrunken body can't grow naturally. APTX4869 is still a poison."
Toru nodded thoughtfully. So, the drug only reduces body size, but it doesn't extend lifespan.
Especially with the inability to grow back naturally, that was a huge downside. No wonder Shiho was working on an antidote.
If it only shrank the body, one could wait to grow up again. But now, there was no going back.
"But these issues won't stop anyone. Whether it's lifespan or the mechanism, those who know this drug exists will believe that its creator—you—can fix them."
"They'll hunt you down and force you to continue your research. You won't have a choice, Sherry. Do you realize you've opened Pandora's box?"
Shiho smiled bitterly. "I didn't expect the drug I developed to have this kind of effect."
Toru said suddenly, "But you still have a chance to temporarily shut Pandora's box and make up for it."
"I was ordered to seize the drug and its data from that lab."
"But I'm confident the higher-ups at the CIA still don't know the true effects of the drug. They only received intel that your Organization was working on some kind of anti-aging medicine."
"Your lab's written report said it was researching anti-aging compounds."
"Now the data's in my hands. I'm going to submit it today. If you don't want to become a target for intelligence agencies across the world, if you want to shut this box, then you need to help me."
Toru pulled out a hard drive. "...I need you to remove the core experiment data and formulas related to APTX4869, and leave only irrelevant research results. That way, I can brush this whole thing under the rug."
This drug was extremely valuable to Toru. With the sample and all R&D files, Shiho could perfect it entirely.
Whether he used it to achieve immortality, or traded it for massive leverage, it had to remain under his control.
So he needed to make the report look harmless.
"Can I trust you?"
Shiho was terrified of death after her failed suicide attempt.
But if she truly unleashed this drug upon the world, causing disaster, she'd rather die again than witness that future.
Not because she was naturally kind, but because she still had a basic human conscience.
In truth, this was her way of atoning.
When she thought about the long list of people who had died because of APTX4869, she felt haunted by guilt. She couldn't sleep at night, fearing that their souls would come for her.
Shiho didn't believe in God, but she hoped that by doing some good, her parents and sister wouldn't suffer in hell because of her sins.
Toru looked at her small, pale face and smiled. "You don't have a choice but to trust me."
"Why are you doing this? Why cover up something your superiors asked for?"
Shiho was confused.
"Why? I guess I'm just too kind-hearted. I can't stand seeing something like this fall into the CIA's hands and throw the world into chaos."
"It's hard to believe a CIA agent would say something like that."
Shiho sneered.
When someone has nothing left to lose, their true personality shines through.
Even knowing her life was in Toru's hands, she didn't hold back her sarcasm.
Toru smiled. "Don't be so stereotypical. Can't there be good people in the CIA? Like you, Sherry."
"You've done a lot of bad things for that Organization, but now you're trying to make amends. You're showing your kindness."
"In that way, we're the same. We're alike."
Toru's words made Shiho fall silent.
Seeing her expression soften, he pressed on. "Sometimes, death is just a form of escape."
"Sherry, your parents' deaths were suspicious. Your sister's death was also tied to that Organization. Sure, you could choose death again, but... don't you want revenge?"
Toru's words were like a key turning in the lock, and Shiho's face changed. She quickly asked, "Do you know how my parents died?"
Her sister's death was obviously caused by the Organization. But her parents... there were still too many unanswered questions.
They were researchers for the Organization, yet they died so easily? It never sat right with her.
She believed that Toru, as a CIA officer, might have access to that kind of intel.
"Sorry. The CIA doesn't have any records on your parents. They weren't important enough to us."
Toru shook his head.
If the CIA had known the true purpose of the drug her parents were working on, they'd have flagged them as key figures.
But they didn't. To the CIA, researchers from the Organization weren't worth allocating resources to investigate.
"But as long as you're still alive, everything will come to light someday. You'll find the truth."
"And only if you live, can you take revenge."
Toru was giving her hope. A reason to keep going.
Shiho said bitterly, "Revenge against the Organization? Do you even understand how terrifying they are? How deep their roots go?"
Toru replied, "No matter how terrifying they are, are they scarier than the CIA?"
Shiho had no comeback for that.
Compared to an American intelligence agency like the CIA, the Black Organization was indeed lacking.
The CIA had orchestrated who-knows-how-many coups. Its agents were everywhere across the world.
Even in so-called American allies like Europe, the CIA had fingers in everything, ready to cause trouble at any time.
A tight-fisted criminal group doing assassinations couldn't compare.
"Sherry, if I'm on your side, you have a chance to get your revenge."
Shiho stared at him, still unsure what this mysterious man really wanted.
But his words... had made her heart stir again.
"...Fine. I'll trust you for now. I don't have anyone else to trust anyway."
She smiled bitterly and dragged her fever-weakened body out of bed.
Her legs shook. Her face was pale, and she was gasping from the effort, but she still stretched out her hand toward him.
"Give me the hard drive. And a computer."
As she spoke, she finally realized her state.
She wasn't wearing anything. Her feet looked like she'd just walked back from the wilderness. Her calves were smeared with dried mud.
Toru said, "You had a high fever yesterday, so I couldn't bathe you. Bear with it for now."
For a girl, being this dirty was incredibly uncomfortable. Especially one like Shiho, who may not have had freedom, but lived a privileged life.
She crossed her legs, covered her chest with one hand, and blushed. "That's not the issue. Get me some clothes first."
(To be continued.)