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Chapter 1139: The Final Moment
One minute later…
By the factory building's pond, a group of people in black clothes still squatted silently.
From the earphone, Rum's mechanical voice suddenly sounded, "How's the situation?"
"There's still no movement," Gin said coldly, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he stared at the water surface. "Those three fellows have been hiding. We have clear shots of two of their faces, but the last one… even if we find a corpse nearby later, we can't confirm if it's him. What's more, if they died in the explosion, even identifying the bodies will be difficult. It's better to confirm this opportunity. We'll wait five more minutes. If there's still no movement after five minutes, it means they're really dead!"
They had prepared for so long, pursued them, and spent so much time; they weren't short of five minutes.
Chi Feichei glanced at Gin, then looked away.
That FBI agent who hadn't followed Akai Shuichi and Jodie, and had been preparing in the factory building…
The person should have been sitting in the back seat of the TV broadcast van before, then been preparing in the factory area, not participating in Akai Shuichi and Jodie's activities, and then hiding behind the cement platform. Chi Feichei hadn't seen who it was, only guessing it was probably Andre Camel.
It seemed Gin intended to confirm a complete kill. No matter whether it was the Silver Bullet or not, he didn't want to let anyone escape…
Below, in the sewage water, Jodie heard Gin's words and almost couldn't help but charge up to fight.
They could only hold out for five minutes at most. Should they just fight those bastards!
Akai Shuichi estimated the remaining amount of oxygen and held Jodie back.
There were only three of them; they didn't have the advantage against the Organization's large number of people.
They could still hold out for about five minutes with the oxygen. It was better to remain calm and wait. Wait another four minutes, and surface when the oxygen supply was running low.
By then, after waiting for a while, the Organization's people, finding no movement in the water, would subconsciously think they might be dead and relax their vigilance. That would make it easier for them to fight.
"Time's running out," the mechanical voice said on the communication channel. "These FBI agents illegally immigrated; they won't contact the Japanese Police. But there was a little accident. Adrian got involved. Adrian's entry procedures are legal, and he's a diplomat. He claimed that someone attacked his friend, Armstrong, and contacted the Japanese Police. Now, the Japanese Police in the vicinity of Ichikawa City and Edogawa District are preparing to set up roadblocks to seal off that area…"
Amuro Toru noticed Gin's expression, then quickly turned to look at Chi Feichei's disguised face.
Both of their faces were quite grim.
He had heard that Adrian liked to meddle in other people's business, but he hadn't expected him to draw so much aggro, actually contacting the Japanese Police to block the roads, clearly intending not only to provide support but also to wipe them out.
According to the original plan, waiting another five minutes would be fine. They could avoid the FBI agents and evacuate in time. But if Adrian contacted the Police to block the roads, they should leave immediately, before the roads were blocked…
It was a bit of a regret. Perhaps the Police's movement was too big, and Rum had detected the news and notified them in advance. Otherwise, the Organization's people would have been counter-surrounded by the Japanese Police.
But this wasn't unexpected. If the intelligence wasn't always fast and accurate, the Organization wouldn't be so difficult to deal with.
Chi Feichei looked at the murky water surface of the water storage pool, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Vodka saw Gin also turn to leave, was stunned, and was about to speak, but Gin stopped him with a cold gaze. Understanding Gin's intention, he lowered his voice, "Don't make a sound, let's go."
Gin: …
…Never mind.
Amuro Toru didn't say anything either, and quietly withdrew.
Was the Advisor suspecting that Akai Shuichi wasn't dead?
Because if Akai Shuichi was hiding underwater, listening to them say things like 'retreat,' he might surface to check the situation and shoot them in the back.
Although this possibility was small, Akai Shuichi would also worry about whether they were bluffing. But this indicated that the Advisor and Gin had really decided to retreat as soon as possible and didn't want to be distracted by paying attention to their rear or leaving people here to guard.
Perhaps they even had another idea—
To see if Akai Shuichi would mistakenly think that the people outside hadn't retreated yet and suffocate himself to death in the sewage water?
Outside, a car stopped at the entrance, and two men in black clothes were carrying down jerrycans.
Amuro Toru knew this was Rum's arrangement to eliminate their traces. Without looking, he raised his hand to lower his hat brim slightly and whispered, "Raki, you don't suspect that guy is still alive, do you?"
"We've been guarding by the pond for almost three minutes," Vodka looked back. "It would take them about half a minute to swim over from there. Holding their breath for so long, even if they didn't die in the explosion and fire, they would have died in the water long ago!"
Amuro Toru also pondered, "If they had oxygen supply equipment, they could have escaped by swimming underwater in the river channel…"
Presenting the facts, explaining the principles.
The possibility of Akai Shuichi still being alive after three minutes without surfacing was indeed small.
Chi Feichei walked towards the street corner, without looking back, using a hoarse voice, "Nothing. It's just that The Boss wants to confirm that Akai Shuichi is really dead."
His body's oxygen storage could allow him to hold his breath and move for about two hours, and he also carried a small oxygen tank, just in case.
Even if these people didn't carry small oxygen tanks when they went out on adventures, the FBI was first trapped in the river channel, considering that this place was close to the riverbank, and then they contacted something like an air pump, so they should have thought about preparing some oxygen supply.
Anyway, he felt that Akai Shuichi wouldn't die so easily. But tonight was almost over. It was time to wrap things up reasonably. If they kept probing, he was worried that Akai Shuichi would really die.
…
Five minutes later, flames erupted in the deserted factory area.
Below the sewage pool in the factory building, Jodie looked at the firelight reflected in the murky sewage above, and looked questioningly at Akai Shuichi.
Akai Shuichi waited for a moment before surfacing, tentatively showing his head.
Jodie and Andre Camel also surfaced.
The Organization's people had indeed withdrawn…
Akai Shuichi estimated the time and felt that their support was coming soon. Seeing that the fire hadn't completely burned to the inside yet, he said in a low voice, "Let's go. Let's find a way to get out of here!"
If the fire burned up in a while, they might be buried by the collapsed pillars, or they might suffocate in the fire scene. Even if there were traps outside, they had to retreat.
Fortunately, they were all soaked, and they could still rush out from where the fire hadn't spread yet…
The FBI support didn't arrive too late. A group of people drove over based on the location of the fire tornado they had seen on the road before. But when they arrived, the fire had already burned up, and they could only watch the big fire with regret.
"What are those expressions on your faces?" Jodie walked out from behind the wall, smiling tiredly and teasing.
Okay, teammates arrived. They could finally truly relax.
"Let's go," Akai Shuichi also felt that tonight was exhausting enough. Hearing the sound of the fire truck, he looked back at the big fire. "The previous explosion and fire should have alarmed the Fire Department and the Japanese Police. They'll be here soon…"
As for the traces left by the Organization's people, they shouldn't even think about it.
…
The Fire Department and the Japanese Police arrived at the same time, and soon, the media, hearing the commotion, also arrived.
From fire extinguishing to investigation, the reporters from Nichimuru TV Station reported the entire process diligently. Even after dawn, they were still filming the charred remains and the mess.
Ten o'clock in the morning, Beika Town Apartment.
Chi Feichei got up and went to the living room, finding Feimo, Feichi, and Xiao Mei watching the report silently in front of the television. He glanced at the factory area scene on the television and went to the washroom to wash up. "Did the Police find any bodies?"
"No!" Feimo responded, extending a claw to press the remote control, canceling the mute that had been turned on earlier to avoid disturbing Chi Feichei's rest. "The people should be alive, right?"
The female Host's voice immediately came out, "...Fortunately, no casualties have been found so far. The cause of the fire is still under investigation…"
Xiao Mei didn't listen any further. Following to the washroom entrance, she said softly, "Master, breakfast is ready."
"Thank you." Chi Feichei lowered his head to squeeze toothpaste onto his toothbrush.
Since it was ready, he had no reason to refuse.
Last night, they had circled a long way before returning to Tokyo separately. It was almost dawn when he got home, and he really wanted to take a break.
While Chi Feichei was having breakfast, Feimo was already eating the lunch prepared by Xiao Mei.
Feichi didn't need to eat every day, and he and Xiao Mei, who didn't need to eat at all, huddled in front of the computer, checking how many preview news articles there were for the "Umbrella New Mobile Phone Launch."
Feimo pecked at an apple, glanced over, and couldn't help but chirp, "Those Japanese financial groups want to block Umbrella's new mobile phone. It's simply a pie in the sky!"
Chi Feichei didn't even bother to look. After finishing breakfast, he got up to pack up the empty plates. "The idiom is used well."
Compared to the previous life's Apple, their Umbrella had a network ecosystem for promotion, and the Shinchi Group didn't lack offline sales points and partner sales points. The phone would enter the market more easily.
Japanese operators wanted to block and suppress it? They were already defeated before they even started.
"Of course, we will leave them behind, suppress them, and completely seize all the markets!" Feimo flapped its wings. "The future is ours!"
Feimo's energetic declaration was ignored. Chi Feichei didn't want to respond and shout along. Feichi couldn't understand what Feimo was chirping about, while Xiao Mei was eyeing the empty plate in Chi Feichei's hand.
"Master, let me clean up."
Seeing Xiao Mei take the plate, Chi Feichei didn't insist on washing the dishes himself. He went out to the living room and sat down, using his consciousness to draw an eye socket and the Holy Spirit Gate pattern in the position of his left eye. He didn't choose to communicate with other creatures, but observed the space he saw with his left eye.
The dark night sky, the black circular platform.
The platform was divided into seven fan-shaped sections, and the projections of Feichi, Feimo, Joshua, and other creatures were still separate.
In front of the projections, the patterns representing the Seven Deadly Sins were originally too dim to see clearly. But the last time he contacted Joshua, he felt that the patterns seemed a bit brighter than before.
This time, looking closely, it was indeed not an illusion. They were brighter than before, but the change was very subtle and not very obvious.
Moreover, this time, he found that there was a little white spot in the middle of the black ground of the platform. The entire platform looked like a black pie with a single white sesame seed dropped in the middle.
What did this mean?
Charging?
Feichi came out from the kitchen and swam to the front of the sofa. "Master, Master, do you have any plans for today? Do you want to play games or go out?"
Seeing that he couldn't see anything for the time being, Chi Feichei closed his left eye. "Toshiya invited us to a gathering tonight."
After the first reincarnation ended, the rules of the Three-No Golden Finger might have changed.
For example, they might need to wait until the Seven Deadly Sins patterns lit up again and the platform turned from black to white before the next change occurred.
Whether this was the case or not, he wasn't sure yet. He could only pay more attention to the changes in the platform in the future.
But if it was like this, it would be a good thing. The changes in the platform would be like a "charging progress display." When the change was about to come, he could also find a secluded place to hide in advance, so he wouldn't always have to worry about turning into a monster in front of others.
End of Chapter
One minute later…
By the factory building's pond, a group of people in black clothes still squatted silently.
From the earphone, Rum's mechanical voice suddenly sounded, "How's the situation?"
"There's still no movement," Gin said coldly, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he stared at the water surface. "Those three fellows have been hiding. We have clear shots of two of their faces, but the last one… even if we find a corpse nearby later, we can't confirm if it's him. What's more, if they died in the explosion, even identifying the bodies will be difficult. It's better to confirm this opportunity. We'll wait five more minutes. If there's still no movement after five minutes, it means they're really dead!"
They had prepared for so long, pursued them, and spent so much time; they weren't short of five minutes.
Chi Feichei glanced at Gin, then looked away.
That FBI agent who hadn't followed Akai Shuichi and Jodie, and had been preparing in the factory building…
The person should have been sitting in the back seat of the TV broadcast van before, then been preparing in the factory area, not participating in Akai Shuichi and Jodie's activities, and then hiding behind the cement platform. Chi Feichei hadn't seen who it was, only guessing it was probably Andre Camel.
It seemed Gin intended to confirm a complete kill. No matter whether it was the Silver Bullet or not, he didn't want to let anyone escape…
Below, in the sewage water, Jodie heard Gin's words and almost couldn't help but charge up to fight.
They could only hold out for five minutes at most. Should they just fight those bastards!
Akai Shuichi estimated the remaining amount of oxygen and held Jodie back.
There were only three of them; they didn't have the advantage against the Organization's large number of people.
They could still hold out for about five minutes with the oxygen. It was better to remain calm and wait. Wait another four minutes, and surface when the oxygen supply was running low.
By then, after waiting for a while, the Organization's people, finding no movement in the water, would subconsciously think they might be dead and relax their vigilance. That would make it easier for them to fight.
"Time's running out," the mechanical voice said on the communication channel. "These FBI agents illegally immigrated; they won't contact the Japanese Police. But there was a little accident. Adrian got involved. Adrian's entry procedures are legal, and he's a diplomat. He claimed that someone attacked his friend, Armstrong, and contacted the Japanese Police. Now, the Japanese Police in the vicinity of Ichikawa City and Edogawa District are preparing to set up roadblocks to seal off that area…"
Amuro Toru noticed Gin's expression, then quickly turned to look at Chi Feichei's disguised face.
Both of their faces were quite grim.
He had heard that Adrian liked to meddle in other people's business, but he hadn't expected him to draw so much aggro, actually contacting the Japanese Police to block the roads, clearly intending not only to provide support but also to wipe them out.
According to the original plan, waiting another five minutes would be fine. They could avoid the FBI agents and evacuate in time. But if Adrian contacted the Police to block the roads, they should leave immediately, before the roads were blocked…
It was a bit of a regret. Perhaps the Police's movement was too big, and Rum had detected the news and notified them in advance. Otherwise, the Organization's people would have been counter-surrounded by the Japanese Police.
But this wasn't unexpected. If the intelligence wasn't always fast and accurate, the Organization wouldn't be so difficult to deal with.
Chi Feichei looked at the murky water surface of the water storage pool, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Vodka saw Gin also turn to leave, was stunned, and was about to speak, but Gin stopped him with a cold gaze. Understanding Gin's intention, he lowered his voice, "Don't make a sound, let's go."
Gin: …
…Never mind.
Amuro Toru didn't say anything either, and quietly withdrew.
Was the Advisor suspecting that Akai Shuichi wasn't dead?
Because if Akai Shuichi was hiding underwater, listening to them say things like 'retreat,' he might surface to check the situation and shoot them in the back.
Although this possibility was small, Akai Shuichi would also worry about whether they were bluffing. But this indicated that the Advisor and Gin had really decided to retreat as soon as possible and didn't want to be distracted by paying attention to their rear or leaving people here to guard.
Perhaps they even had another idea—
To see if Akai Shuichi would mistakenly think that the people outside hadn't retreated yet and suffocate himself to death in the sewage water?
Outside, a car stopped at the entrance, and two men in black clothes were carrying down jerrycans.
Amuro Toru knew this was Rum's arrangement to eliminate their traces. Without looking, he raised his hand to lower his hat brim slightly and whispered, "Raki, you don't suspect that guy is still alive, do you?"
"We've been guarding by the pond for almost three minutes," Vodka looked back. "It would take them about half a minute to swim over from there. Holding their breath for so long, even if they didn't die in the explosion and fire, they would have died in the water long ago!"
Amuro Toru also pondered, "If they had oxygen supply equipment, they could have escaped by swimming underwater in the river channel…"
Presenting the facts, explaining the principles.
The possibility of Akai Shuichi still being alive after three minutes without surfacing was indeed small.
Chi Feichei walked towards the street corner, without looking back, using a hoarse voice, "Nothing. It's just that The Boss wants to confirm that Akai Shuichi is really dead."
His body's oxygen storage could allow him to hold his breath and move for about two hours, and he also carried a small oxygen tank, just in case.
Even if these people didn't carry small oxygen tanks when they went out on adventures, the FBI was first trapped in the river channel, considering that this place was close to the riverbank, and then they contacted something like an air pump, so they should have thought about preparing some oxygen supply.
Anyway, he felt that Akai Shuichi wouldn't die so easily. But tonight was almost over. It was time to wrap things up reasonably. If they kept probing, he was worried that Akai Shuichi would really die.
…
Five minutes later, flames erupted in the deserted factory area.
Below the sewage pool in the factory building, Jodie looked at the firelight reflected in the murky sewage above, and looked questioningly at Akai Shuichi.
Akai Shuichi waited for a moment before surfacing, tentatively showing his head.
Jodie and Andre Camel also surfaced.
The Organization's people had indeed withdrawn…
Akai Shuichi estimated the time and felt that their support was coming soon. Seeing that the fire hadn't completely burned to the inside yet, he said in a low voice, "Let's go. Let's find a way to get out of here!"
If the fire burned up in a while, they might be buried by the collapsed pillars, or they might suffocate in the fire scene. Even if there were traps outside, they had to retreat.
Fortunately, they were all soaked, and they could still rush out from where the fire hadn't spread yet…
The FBI support didn't arrive too late. A group of people drove over based on the location of the fire tornado they had seen on the road before. But when they arrived, the fire had already burned up, and they could only watch the big fire with regret.
"What are those expressions on your faces?" Jodie walked out from behind the wall, smiling tiredly and teasing.
Okay, teammates arrived. They could finally truly relax.
"Let's go," Akai Shuichi also felt that tonight was exhausting enough. Hearing the sound of the fire truck, he looked back at the big fire. "The previous explosion and fire should have alarmed the Fire Department and the Japanese Police. They'll be here soon…"
As for the traces left by the Organization's people, they shouldn't even think about it.
…
The Fire Department and the Japanese Police arrived at the same time, and soon, the media, hearing the commotion, also arrived.
From fire extinguishing to investigation, the reporters from Nichimuru TV Station reported the entire process diligently. Even after dawn, they were still filming the charred remains and the mess.
Ten o'clock in the morning, Beika Town Apartment.
Chi Feichei got up and went to the living room, finding Feimo, Feichi, and Xiao Mei watching the report silently in front of the television. He glanced at the factory area scene on the television and went to the washroom to wash up. "Did the Police find any bodies?"
"No!" Feimo responded, extending a claw to press the remote control, canceling the mute that had been turned on earlier to avoid disturbing Chi Feichei's rest. "The people should be alive, right?"
The female Host's voice immediately came out, "...Fortunately, no casualties have been found so far. The cause of the fire is still under investigation…"
Xiao Mei didn't listen any further. Following to the washroom entrance, she said softly, "Master, breakfast is ready."
"Thank you." Chi Feichei lowered his head to squeeze toothpaste onto his toothbrush.
Since it was ready, he had no reason to refuse.
Last night, they had circled a long way before returning to Tokyo separately. It was almost dawn when he got home, and he really wanted to take a break.
While Chi Feichei was having breakfast, Feimo was already eating the lunch prepared by Xiao Mei.
Feichi didn't need to eat every day, and he and Xiao Mei, who didn't need to eat at all, huddled in front of the computer, checking how many preview news articles there were for the "Umbrella New Mobile Phone Launch."
Feimo pecked at an apple, glanced over, and couldn't help but chirp, "Those Japanese financial groups want to block Umbrella's new mobile phone. It's simply a pie in the sky!"
Chi Feichei didn't even bother to look. After finishing breakfast, he got up to pack up the empty plates. "The idiom is used well."
Compared to the previous life's Apple, their Umbrella had a network ecosystem for promotion, and the Shinchi Group didn't lack offline sales points and partner sales points. The phone would enter the market more easily.
Japanese operators wanted to block and suppress it? They were already defeated before they even started.
"Of course, we will leave them behind, suppress them, and completely seize all the markets!" Feimo flapped its wings. "The future is ours!"
Feimo's energetic declaration was ignored. Chi Feichei didn't want to respond and shout along. Feichi couldn't understand what Feimo was chirping about, while Xiao Mei was eyeing the empty plate in Chi Feichei's hand.
"Master, let me clean up."
Seeing Xiao Mei take the plate, Chi Feichei didn't insist on washing the dishes himself. He went out to the living room and sat down, using his consciousness to draw an eye socket and the Holy Spirit Gate pattern in the position of his left eye. He didn't choose to communicate with other creatures, but observed the space he saw with his left eye.
The dark night sky, the black circular platform.
The platform was divided into seven fan-shaped sections, and the projections of Feichi, Feimo, Joshua, and other creatures were still separate.
In front of the projections, the patterns representing the Seven Deadly Sins were originally too dim to see clearly. But the last time he contacted Joshua, he felt that the patterns seemed a bit brighter than before.
This time, looking closely, it was indeed not an illusion. They were brighter than before, but the change was very subtle and not very obvious.
Moreover, this time, he found that there was a little white spot in the middle of the black ground of the platform. The entire platform looked like a black pie with a single white sesame seed dropped in the middle.
What did this mean?
Charging?
Feichi came out from the kitchen and swam to the front of the sofa. "Master, Master, do you have any plans for today? Do you want to play games or go out?"
Seeing that he couldn't see anything for the time being, Chi Feichei closed his left eye. "Toshiya invited us to a gathering tonight."
After the first reincarnation ended, the rules of the Three-No Golden Finger might have changed.
For example, they might need to wait until the Seven Deadly Sins patterns lit up again and the platform turned from black to white before the next change occurred.
Whether this was the case or not, he wasn't sure yet. He could only pay more attention to the changes in the platform in the future.
But if it was like this, it would be a good thing. The changes in the platform would be like a "charging progress display." When the change was about to come, he could also find a secluded place to hide in advance, so he wouldn't always have to worry about turning into a monster in front of others.
End of Chapter
