13: Chapter 13 The Black Organization's Probing

The night in Tokyo was like a piece of heavy black velvet, enveloping the entire Beika Town.

Inside the "Black Crow Bar" located on the edge of the city, the lighting was dim, and the air was thick with a mixture of alcohol, tobacco, and cheap perfume.

At the bar counter, several men in black suits spoke in low voices, their eyes alertly scanning everyone who entered—

This was a peripheral stronghold of the Black Organization, specifically responsible for passing messages and handling some "dirty work."

Gin sat in the corner booth, an untouched glass of whiskey placed before him.

The cigarette at his fingertips burned to its end, scorching his finger, yet he seemed completely oblivious.

The neon lights outside occasionally flickered across his face, reflecting those temperatureless pupils—like a venomous snake lying in wait in the dark night, ready for a fatal strike at any moment.

"Big Brother, I found it!"

Vodka pushed open the bar door in a hurry, rushing to the booth with a chill about him, clutching a document tightly in his hand, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

Gin lifted his eyelids slightly, his voice without a single ripple:

"Speak."

"Our people found out that an hour before we went to the apartment to catch Miyano Akemi, someone picked her up ahead of time."

Vodka gasped for breath as he handed over the document,

"It was done by a man named Lin Long!"

"He's the boss of the 'Lins Information Consulting Office,' which has gained some fame in the business circles recently."

"His background is mysterious; no one knows what he used to do, but his methods are formidable. A while ago, he helped that woman from the Seba Conglomerate stabilize the situation, and even Yamamoto fell at his hands."

Gin took the document and opened it unhurriedly.

Lin Long's photo was attached—wearing a suit with a calm expression, looking no different from an ordinary businessman. But Gin's gaze lingered on the photo for a long time, especially on Lin Long's eyes, which appeared gentle but were actually bottomless.

"Lins Information Consulting Office..."

Gin repeated the name in a low voice, his lips curling into a cold arc,

"Interesting."

Gin tossed the document onto the table, picked up the whiskey, and drained it in one gulp.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, yet it could not suppress the killing intent in his heart.

"It seems the Organization has truly declined."

Gin's voice was soft, yet it carried a spine-chilling coldness,

"Even some random nobody who popped out of nowhere dares to meddle in the Organization's business and snatch its people."

Vodka shrank his neck to the side, not daring to respond.

He knew that Gin was very angry right now, and people who made Gin angry usually didn't live long.

Gin slammed the empty glass onto the table with a heavy thud. The chatter in the bar vanished instantly, and everyone's gaze focused on this corner before they quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Get the peripheral members moving."

Gin's voice was as cold as ice,

"Go meet this Lin Long and have some 'fun' with him."

He paused, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes:

"Remember, bring Miyano Akemi back to me. If she's alive, I want to see her; if she's dead... I want to see her corpse."

The last few words seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a thick scent of blood.

Vodka shuddered and nodded hastily:

"Understood, Big Brother! I'll go arrange it right away!"

After saying that, he grabbed the document and practically fled out of the bar.

Gin relit a cigarette, casting his gaze toward the pitch-black night sky outside the window.

Lin Long... no matter who you are, if you dare to block the Organization's path, you must pay the price.

...

At eleven o'clock at night, Lin Long's villa fell into silence.

Only the streetlights in the courtyard emitted a dim yellow glow, illuminating the neatly trimmed bushes.

Lin Long lay on the bed, seemingly fast asleep with steady breathing.

But his consciousness was exceptionally clear. Through the vision of the Shadow Guards, he monitored every movement around the villa.

Ever since Gin's Porsche appeared nearby, he knew the other party wouldn't let things go.

[Warning! Detected a large number of unknown heat sources approaching, approximately 500 meters from the villa, quantity about 50 people, carrying weapons!]

As the system's prompt sounded in his mind, the Shadow Guards transmitted real-time images.

In the images, seven or eight black sedans without license plates were parked in the shadows of the street corner.

The car doors opened, and a group of men wearing night combat suits and black masks stepped out.

They briskly checked the handguns in their hands, with daggers and crowbars tucked into their waists. Their eyes were fierce—clearly well-trained outlaws.

The lead man made a gesture, and the crowd immediately split into several teams, fanning out to surround the villa.

Their footsteps were light as they tried to avoid the streetlights, clearly intending to launch a sneak attack under the cover of night.

"50 people? And they brought guns?"

Lin Long slowly opened his eyes, which held no trace of surprise, only a hint of cold mockery. "

Gin certainly thinks highly of me."

He sat up from the bed without turning on the light; the room remained pitch black.

"Shadow One, report the situation."

[Shadow One: 15 people found outside the west wall, carrying demolition tools, suspected to be preparing to scale the wall.]

[shadow two: 20 people gathered at the east iron gate, installing explosive devices.]

[shadow three: 10 people in the north woods, holding rifles, suspected to be responsible for cover and sniping.]

[Shadow Four: South side...]

The Shadow Guards' reports were orderly, clearly presenting the enemy's deployment in Lin Long's mind.

"It seems they've spent a lot of resources."

Lin Long sneered,

"Unfortunately, they chose the wrong opponent."

He walked to the window, opened a small gap, and watched the dark shadows approaching like ghosts outside. His tone was calm yet carried an unquestionable killing intent:

"Shadow Guards, hear my command: all units deploy."

[All Shadow Guards received!]

"West side Shadow Guards, use anesthetic gas. After they are down, break their wrists and throw them outside the wall."

"East side Shadow Guards, destroy the explosive devices before they detonate. Kill them all, leave no survivors."

"North side Shadow Sharpshooters, take out their rifles, then eliminate everyone. Stay hidden and do not expose your positions."

"South side..."

Lin Long paused,

"Leave one alive, break both his legs, and bring him to the living room."

[By your command!]

As the orders were issued, the Shadow Guards and Shadow Sharpshooters hidden in the shadows around the villa instantly sprang into action.

They were like ghosts merging into the darkness, approaching their targets silently without making a single unnecessary sound.

Outside the west wall, a dozen men in black were preparing to cut the wire mesh with hydraulic pliers.

Suddenly, a "hissing" sound came from inside the wall, and a pungent gas began to spread.

"What is this?!"

Someone exclaimed, but just as he tried to cover his nose and mouth, he felt dizzy and his body went limp, falling to the ground.

In just over ten seconds, all 15 people on the west side were knocked out by the anesthetic gas.

The Shadow Guards stepped out from the shadows, expressionlessly breaking everyone's wrists, then dragging them like dead dogs to toss them into the alley outside the wall—

The intense pain of fractured wrists was enough to wake them from their stupor, yet they would be unable to pose any further threat to the villa.

At the east iron gate, several men in black were carefully installing bombs.

Just as they were about to press the detonator, several dark figures appeared behind them like ghosts.

"Who's there?!"

Before they could turn around, sharp shadow daggers had already slit their throats.

Blood sprayed out, staining the ground red. The Shadow Guards' movements were clean and efficient. In just one minute, all 20 people on the east side lay in pools of blood, without even having time to scream. The explosive devices were casually crushed by the Shadow Guards, parts scattering everywhere.

In the north woods, several men in black responsible for cover were holding rifles, aiming at the villa's windows.

Suddenly, two dark blue energy arrows pierced through the air, accurately striking the barrels of the rifles in their hands.

"Crack!"

The rifles were instantly snapped. Before they could react, more arrows flew in, piercing their hearts.

The Shadow Sharpshooters were hidden in the shadows of the tree canopy, the sound of the bowstrings' vibration masked by the rustling of leaves, perfectly concealing their positions.

The battle on the south side was the most "restrained."

The Shadow Guards did not immediately go for the kill, instead using the terrain and their speed to take down the men in black one by one.

They avoided vital points, only using daggers to slash arms or legs to incapacitate the opponents.

Finally, only one man in black, shivering with fear, was picked up by a Shadow Guard and dragged toward the villa like a small chick.

The entire process took barely ten minutes.

Fifty well-trained peripheral members of the Black Organization were either incapacitated or killed, with only one person brought alive to the villa's living room.

Only one wall lamp was on in the living room, and the light was dim. Lin Long sat on the sofa, fiddling with a dagger condensed from shadows. The cold glint of the dagger reflected on his face, making him look exceptionally sinister.

The surviving man in black was thrown onto the floor, his legs twisted at bizarre angles, clearly broken.

His hood was removed, revealing a face full of terror, and he made "wuwu" sounds—his jaw had been dislocated by a Shadow Guard, leaving him unable to speak.

"Do you know why I spared your life?"

Lin Long's voice echoed in the silent living room, carrying a spine-chilling calmness.

The man in black shook his head frantically, tears and snot covering his face, his eyes filled with pleading.

Lin Long stood up, walked to him, and used the dagger to tilt his chin up, his tone icy:

"Did you bring a phone?"

The man in black nodded subconsciously.

"Very good! Now you can call your boss."

Lin Long retracted the dagger and said flatly as he sat on a chair.

Beep, beep, beep...

The call was connected quickly, and a Shadow Guard held the phone in front of Lin Long.

"What's wrong? Is the operation going smoothly?"

Vodka's coarse, loud voice rang out over the phone.

"Smoothly? Are you joking, friend?"

"Who are you? Where are my people? What did you do to them?" Vodka's voice immediately turned low and grim.

"Heh, don't you guys know who I am?"

"I'm making this call just to tell you, Black Organization, that we're starting from right here."

"As for Miyano Akemi—if you want to touch her, or anyone from my Lins Office, you'd better weigh your own worth first."

After saying that, Lin Long didn't care about Vodka's reaction on the other end and directly hung up the phone.

Lin Long crouched down, the tip of the dagger lightly grazing the man's cheek, leaving a bloody trail:

"Shadow Guards, dispose of everyone!"

"Throw all the corpses into the sea for land reclamation! Consider it their small contribution to this country."

"Oh, right, clean the room thoroughly too."

Lin Long finished and walked straight out of the room.

Crack... Squelch...

A series of hair-raising sounds followed as the remaining unconscious and captured prisoners were all executed by the Shadow Guards.

Silence returned to the living room, leaving only the faint scent of blood in the air.

Lin Long walked to the window and looked at the peaceful courtyard outside, as if that bloody raid had never happened.

[Detected a large influx of malice black qi, current value: 12,750 → 18,900 points.]

The numbers on the system panel rose rapidly, getting closer and closer to unlocking the Shadow Binder.

"Gin, we're starting from right here."

Lin Long said in a low voice, a dangerous light flashing in his eyes.

This decisive counterattack was meant to let Gin, and the entire Black Organization, know that he, Lin Long, was not a soft target they could provoke at will.

Miyano Akemi had been startled awake. She stood at the top of the stairs on the second floor, her face pale as she looked at everything in the living room, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

Although she hadn't witnessed the battle process with her own eyes, seeing the floor of the living room littered with corpses made her understand what had happened.

"Scared?"

Lin Long turned around and saw her.

Miyano Akemi nodded, then shook her head, her voice tearful:

"I'm sorry! Mr. Lin Long! It's me... I've involved you in this..."

"It has nothing to do with you."

Lin Long walked up the stairs and handed her a glass of warm water,

"This is a grudge between them and me. Even without you, they would have come knocking sooner or later."

He didn't want Miyano Akemi to carry too much psychological burden.

Miyano Akemi took the water glass, her fingers ice-cold:

"Will they... come again?"

"They might."

Lin Long didn't hide it,

"But as long as I'm here, I won't let them hurt you."

Lin Long's tone was very calm, yet it carried a reassuring power.

To be honest, he really wasn't afraid of the Black Organization; he just didn't want to have a major showdown too early. However, that didn't mean he would turn a blind eye to their provocations.

"Counterattack! I must counterattack!"

"It's only polite to return the favor. It seems the mission to rescue Miyano Shiho needs to start ahead of schedule."

Lin Long thought silently to himself.

Miyano Akemi looked into Lin Long's eyes; there was no fear, only determination and confidence.

She took a deep breath and nodded:

"Thank you, Mr. Lin Long."

"Go back to sleep. There are Shadow Guards watching over this place; it's very safe."

Lin Long patted her shoulder.

Watching Miyano Akemi return to her room, Lin Long's gaze turned cold again.

He walked into the courtyard where the Shadow Guards were cleaning up the battlefield. The bloodstains and corpses on the ground were being disposed of cleanly, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Shadow Five, hurry and find the location of the lab where Miyano Shiho is being held. While you're at it, see if you can follow the trail to find more of the Black Organization's strongholds."

"We need to launch a beautiful counterattack against the Black Organization."

[Shadow Five received.]

"Shadow Sharpshooters, heighten your vigilance, especially for the sky and distant high-rise buildings, to prevent them from sending snipers."

[Shadow Sharpshooter received.]

Lin Long looked up at the pitch-black night sky. The moon was obscured by dark clouds, leaving only a few stars twinkling.

This contest with the Black Organization had only just begun.

Gin, I'm waiting for your next move.

And I will make you understand how heavy the price for provoking me is.

The villa fell into silence once more, but the killing intent permeating the air did not dissipate for a long time.

Meanwhile, on the other side,

Vodka listened to the hang-up tone on his phone, his face stiff as he looked at his big brother, Gin.

"B... Big Brother, he hung up."

In the bar, Gin listened to the hang-up tone and Lin Long's arrogant provocation from just now.

He crushed the cigarette in his hand fiercely into the ashtray, his gaze as cold as a Siberian wind.

"Interesting... truly interesting..."

He murmured in a low voice, yet his lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile,

"Lin Long, you've successfully piqued my interest."

"Vodka."

"Big Brother, I'm here."

"Send out the word. Have Chianti and Korn get ready."

Gin's voice carried an undisguised killing intent,

"It seems we have to take the field personally."