In the end, what Shirou had been worried about still happened.
The four from Penguin Logistics got completely drunk, leaving him no choice but to contact Yith at this hour to help find someone who could drive.
Who could blame him for not having a license?
Seriously… he clearly heard from Yith before that they usually would not get this drunk outside.
Had they started indulging too much in alcohol?
That was not good. If they turned into alcoholics, they would only get poorer.
Their already not-so-full wallets would become even emptier.
While grumbling internally, Shirou did not dare move at all.
After all, Exusiai, Texas, Croissant, and Sora were all already quite drunk.
Do not be fooled by how impressive he looked when lecturing the three from Rhodes Island earlier. When it came to the four from Penguin Logistics, he had no such ability.
As for why he did not dare move…
Aside from the "little cat" lying on his right leg, there was a black Lupo on his left leg, and behind him a golden Lupo and the "fluorescent light" leaning against him.
If there had been any space left, the "croissant" would probably have joined in too. Actually, that "croissant" had already collapsed onto the "fluorescent light's" lap.
"You are quite popular, huh?"
Watching Shirou finish his call with lifeless eyes, Blaze said with a grin.
No wonder he reacted that way earlier. He was experienced, after all.
While she did not have as many people as Shirou piled onto her side, she at least had Amiya leaning against her to rest.
If Rosmontis were here too, her life would be complete.
Unfortunately, she had been too busy drinking earlier to seize that chance.
"Do not just stand there making sarcastic remarks…"
At this moment, Shirou felt his whole body stiffen. After all, not being able to move his legs or his back was no easy matter.
Not to mention they had just gone through an intense battle today…
So could Yith hurry up and come save him?
"Heh, heh. Ace, Scout! Time to act!"
Since her right hand was pinned, Blaze raised her left hand and pointed at Shirou, calling for her teammates.
"?"
A question mark practically appeared above Shirou's head.
Then he realized what the three were planning.
Ace and Scout had already taken out their phones and started snapping pictures.
What kind of Exusiai behavior was this?
"It is Penguin Logistics, right? We will send the photos over later, so make sure to accept them!"
Blaze even added that, clearing up Shirou's confusion.
This was no longer just Exusiai-level mischief. This had reached Sarkaz levels.
Was Rhodes Island always this wild?
Oh right, Scout was a Sarkaz so never mind.
"Smile?"
Even though he felt it was a bit mean, Ace found it quite amusing.
There was nothing wrong with relaxing a bit off duty, and Shirou's current state was definitely worth recording.
Perhaps years later, looking back on it would make for a good memory.
"I cannot smile. Stop messing around… and you lot too."
Faced with such an unreasonable request, Shirou replied with dead fish eyes.
At the same time, he shot a look toward the members of Blacksteel Worldwide nearby.
Franka's troublemaking expression had already given her away.
At this moment, Shirou deeply regretted agreeing to this dinner gathering.
This awkward situation only came to an end when Yith finally arrived with a vehicle.
This was already the umpteenth time Shirou had sincerely felt grateful to Yith .
He had deliberately driven a larger vehicle. Besides taking Penguin Logistics, it could also give the Rhodes Island group a ride.
Although it would be a bit cramped.
The four who were completely drunk were placed in the front seats and buckled in. Shirou even adjusted Croissant's head toward the window so her horns would not poke Exusiai.
Amiya and Rosmontis sat across from them. Although still a bit drowsy, they were awake.
They just had to endure the strong smell of alcohol.
After settling everyone, Shirou looked toward the seven adults seated in the back.
"It is a bit cramped. Sorry about that."
Looking at the somewhat cramped back seats, especially with Ace and Scout squeezed tightly into the corner, Shirou could not help but feel a little apologetic.
Though it was not really something he could control.
"It is fine. Being able to give us a ride is already enough, and honestly this is still more comfortable than during missions."
Liskarm replied from the side while curling her legs inward.
This was already much better than normal operations. At the very least, Penguin Logistics' vehicle was quite spacious.
After all, it was a cargo vehicle, so being large was only natural, right?
"Shirou, are you not coming back here to squeeze in with us? Sitting alone in the front must be boring."
A certain mischievous Vulpo was fully embracing her playful side as she lightly laughed and asked Shirou, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"I will pass. There is no more room back there anyway, so I will not squeeze in with you all."
Thinking about how packed the back already was, Shirou rejected Franka's suggestion without hesitation.
Besides, they would be getting off soon anyway, so moving to the back would serve no purpose.
"We are dropping them off at the Rhodes Island office, right?"
From the driver's seat, Yith asked.
That was precisely why he had brought this vehicle over.
And regarding Rhodes Island, that pharmaceutical company… the boss had been somewhat interested in them.
From the current impression, they might become worthwhile partners in the future.
So showing a little goodwill in advance was not a bad thing. It would help future cooperation, after all.
The streets of Lungmen late at night had almost no traffic, and even pedestrians were scarce.
As a result, the vehicle quickly reached its destination, finally freeing the cramped passengers in the back.
"See you in a few days. Please make sure to get proper rest, Shirou."
After getting some sleep earlier, Amiya looked much more energetic as she bid farewell to Shirou in the passenger seat.
"Yeah. You all should rest too, Amiya."
Faced with her farewell, Shirou simply waved his hand in response.
He was tired as well, so he did not say much more.
Mainly because he could not think of anything else to say.
"Alright, let us head back. Later I will have to trouble you with carrying the four people in the back up to the dorms."
After Shirou finished saying goodbye and closed the window, Yith spoke to him again.
"Hmm… Yith , during today's operation, you did not hack into the Lungmen Guard Bureau systems to gather information, right?"
During the return trip, Shirou deliberately started a conversation with Yith to keep himself from falling asleep.
"Definitely not."
Yith answered immediately.
He absolutely had not hacked in today. After all, the Lungmen Guard Bureau was still in the middle of interrogations. If he wanted information, he could always hack in later.
There was no need to explain that part to Shirou. At least for now, he truly had not hacked in yet, so technically there was no problem.
"Is that so? Yith , do you think my intelligence gathering methods were too crude, and that is why they noticed something suspicious and set up so many drones and explosives?"
After hearing the answer, Shirou did not dwell on it too much.
Yith moved through the Guard Bureau's systems as casually as entering his own home anyway, so Shirou was not particularly concerned.
This was mainly just an attempt to start a conversation.
He had been wondering whether the enemy had discovered him because his intelligence gathering methods had been too clumsy.
If that was the case… then he would bear responsibility for making the operation far more difficult.
"It was crude, yes. But do not think about it too narrowly. When it comes to dealing with the Infected, the Guard Bureau itself is not exactly united."
Instead of directly saying it was Shirou's fault, Yith pointed out the problems within the Guard Bureau itself.
There was no point overthinking what had already happened. No amount of reflection would change the past.
At most, it only meant they could do better next time.
But Shirou was clearly blaming himself right now, so naturally Yith was not going to place all the blame on him.
For an amateur, Shirou had actually done quite well.
The channels he used to gather information were all people he personally knew and trusted.
Expecting more than that would mean going down the route of speaking in riddles, using indirect wording to obtain information and then converting it into something understandable.
But with Shirou's straightforward personality…
Yith honestly felt there was a higher chance of him learning to street race, fight, and cause chaos around Lungmen with the Penguin Logistics crew instead.
"The Guard Bureau itself…?"
Hearing Yith 's explanation, Shirou found it a bit hard to accept.
"There is nothing impossible about it. As long as the benefits are sufficient, people can even turn black into white. So do not think of the Guard Bureau as being that righteous, especially regarding the Infected."
"You only interact with Chen, Hoshiguma, Swire, and the people under them, so naturally your impression of the Guard Bureau is fairly positive."
"Even though Mr. Wei Yenwu deliberately filters people carefully, there will always be some who become corrupted. Which is why…"
"Shirou, do not place too much trust in anyone besides yourself. Otherwise, one day you might be pushed into the abyss by people whose values have already been corrupted."
Seeing that Shirou found it a bit hard to accept that the Lungmen Guard Bureau was harboring traitors, Yith spoke at length.
His goal was to remind Shirou to observe more, think more, and not blindly trust the surface appearance of every person, matter, or thing.
Something that appears good on the surface may not truly be good underneath.
Something that appears evil on the surface may not truly be evil underneath.
It sounded somewhat like meaningless philosophy, but reality was often exactly like that.
"…Pushed into the abyss, huh?"
Hearing Yith 's words, the first thing Shirou thought of was a certain person's end.
Someone who had ended a war and prevented countless more people from being harmed, only to ultimately be sent to the gallows as the supposed mastermind behind the war.
And even until the very end, that person still believed such an outcome was not so bad.
"Exactly. Whether it is the Guard Bureau, Rhodes Island, or even Penguin Logistics, you cannot lower your guard too easily around any of them. Who knows, maybe one day we will turn around and sell you out ourselves."
To emphasize the importance of being wary of others, Yith even used Penguin Logistics as an example.
Although the possibility was extremely small, so small that it was practically impossible.
Still, they really had exchanged Shirou for benefits before, under circumstances where Shirou himself did not mind.
Of course, that was only because Shirou had not objected. If he had firmly refused even once, the boss would have torn up the agreement immediately.
After all, the boss was fiercely protective of his own people. Did anyone really think he constantly took losses because he feared Wei Yenwu?
The real reason was because Wei Yenwu had always provided proper compensation afterward, and Shirou himself had actually enjoyed the arrangement to some extent, so the boss simply went along with this rather strange partnership.
Otherwise, considering the past relationship between Penguin Logistics and the Guard Bureau… forget cooperation, it would already have been fortunate if they were not all arrested on sight.
"Would that not make life exhausting?"
Although Shirou understood the logic behind Yith 's words, he felt that constantly living with such vigilance would be very tiring.
"I am not telling you to stay on guard against everything at all times. Just stop trusting people so unconditionally the way you do now."
Hearing Shirou's complaint, Yith answered calmly.
"…I will pay more attention in the future."
After thinking over Yith 's words, Shirou more or less understood what he was trying to convey.
For now, he would remember it. As for whether he had truly taken it to heart… that could be decided later.
"I hope so."
Looking at Shirou through the rearview mirror, Yith was not entirely sure whether his words had truly reached him.
If they had not, then there was nothing more he could do.
After all, he was not Shirou's babysitter. He could not spend every day worrying about him nonstop.
They were all adults and had to bear the consequences of their own choices.
After that, silence filled the car once more. Aside from Croissant's snoring from the back seat, the vehicle was completely quiet.
Leaning against the passenger seat, Shirou reflected on everything that had happened tonight, along with Yith 's earlier words.
What Yith said was not without reason. Shirou had actually understood such things long ago, but after spending so much time with everyone, he had gradually stopped thinking about them so deeply.
And regarding tonight's events… Shirou felt Yith 's guess was probably correct.
Most of the intelligence he gathered had been handed over to Chen, and Chen in turn had passed it up to her superiors.
That was probably why the enemy had prepared a trap, changed the meeting location, and even arranged a large number of drones and personnel specifically to target them.
And the actual seller never appeared either…
Thinking this far, Shirou slightly opened the window, letting the cool night breeze flow into the vehicle.
The more he thought about it, the less he understood. Waiting for Chen's interrogation results would probably be more practical.
Compared to that, however, what concerned him more was what Amiya had meant when she said she wanted to "talk."
Did his blood have some sort of effect on Oripathy?
Only after parting ways with them did Shirou realize something.
There seemed to be something about Amiya that was drawing him in as well.
The feeling was vague, but somehow he could faintly sense it.
During the operation, he had not had the spare attention to think about it, and afterward he had not paid much mind to it either.
It was only after they separated that the strange sensation disappeared.
The last time he had felt something similar… was probably back on the Ursus snowfields, when facing Alina.
Alina… Amiya…
Both of them seemed to wear gloves.
Was there something special about their hands?
Even after the car reached the dormitory, Shirou still could not figure out the answer.