Sunlight filtered through the classroom windows, cutting alternating bands of light and shadow across the corridor. Kanjuro leaned quietly against the wall, his gaze seemingly falling on the playground outside. His posture was relaxed, as if he truly were just an ordinary student patiently waiting for a friend. However, from the corner of his eye, he kept every move of Jodie Starling under observation, like the most precise radar.
Jodie stood by the water dispenser at the other end of the corridor, her back to Kanjuro, seemingly organizing the remaining homework papers in her hands. The cheerful smile on her face had long since vanished, replaced by a professional, focused coldness. Her body leaned slightly, using her frame for cover and the corridor noise as a shield, as her left hand reached extremely covertly into the inner pocket of her teacher's blazer, her fingertips tapping quickly and silently on a specialized encrypted communicator.
Her heart was beating slightly faster than usual, but her breathing was perfectly controlled. Fragments of an encrypted briefing from the CIA Far East Bureau's highest alert level flashed through her mind:
"Confirmed death of Renya Karasuma... power shift within the Black Organization..."
"Identity of the new leader is extremely dangerous, codename unknown. Characteristics: Male, Asian face, suspected of possessing unconventional abilities or resources..."
"Rules of Engagement: Avoid direct conflict, prioritize intelligence gathering, report after confirming identity, wait for support instructions..."
"Warning: Target is extremely dangerous and may possess high counter-surveillance awareness..."
And this Sobu High School boy before her calling himself "Kanjuro"... that face, which was excessively handsome and made her heart throb inexplicably; that strange, steady temperament hidden beneath a youthful exterior that didn't match his age; and the fact that he appeared at Teitan High School specifically looking for Ran Mouri right after the organization's upheaval... All the coincidences pieced together to ring the highest level of alarm bells in her strictly trained agent's intuition.
He might be that Kanjuro! The new leader who overturned the organization!
The thought made her spine go cold, but it also ignited a massive flame of mixed fear and professional excitement. If it really was him, this was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! A chance to get close to, or perhaps even... control this newly ascended Dark Emperor! Of course, the risk was also immeasurably high.
She quickly and calmly sent a preset emergency code and brief coordinate information (a preset safe meeting point near Teitan High School) via the encrypted channel to the CIA Rapid Response Team lurking in Tokyo on standby, attaching the highest priority tag. She didn't directly request a forced capture—that would be too risky and unrealistic, especially on a school campus. Her instruction was: immediately assemble secretly around Teitan High School, establish peripheral surveillance and a blockade, and wait for her further signal. At the same time, she requested an immediate check of the name "Kanjuro" in the Sobu High School and related databases (though she suspected this would yield no results).
Having done all this, she set the communicator to silent vibration mode, took a deep breath, put that cheerful and enthusiastic smile back on her face, and turned to walk toward Kanjuro.
"Kanjuro-kun, tired of waiting?" Jodie approached, her tone light. "It seems the math teacher is running over; looks like it'll be a while longer. Standing in the corridor is quite boring, so why don't we..." She blinked, giving a "teacher's taking you somewhere good" look. "There's a nice cafe across from the school. How about I buy you a drink? We can wait and chat there, and incidentally... I'd also like to learn more about Ran's friends at other schools."
Her proposal was perfectly reasonable, showing a teacher's concern while also leading Kanjuro away from the relatively open school environment to a more controllable location—the cafe—which would be more convenient for her team to monitor and provide backup. Furthermore, the excuse of "learning more" would allow her to conduct deeper testing and observation in a relatively relaxed environment.
Hearing this, Kanjuro turned his head to look at Jodie. His gaze was calm, as if he could see through her carefully maintained smile to the surging waves in her heart and the secret communication she had just completed. But he didn't expose anything, only returning a clean, refreshing smile with a hint of gratitude.
"Sure, that would be a lot of trouble for you, Teacher Jodie." He agreed readily, as if he knew nothing of the potential trap he was about to step into.
The two walked down the stairs one after the other, through the bustling campus, and out the gates of Teitan High School. The afternoon sun shone warmly on the street, filled with the atmosphere of daily life. Jodie continued to talk and laugh along the way, pointing out surrounding shops as if she were truly playing the host. But her senses were heightened to the limit; the corner of her eye constantly scanned street corners, vehicles, and pedestrians, confirming if her people were in position and staying alert for any possible anomalies.
Kanjuro appeared relaxed and at ease, occasionally responding to Jodie's topics and looking curiously at the street scenes, perfectly playing the part of a slightly flattered student from a neighboring school being treated by a teacher.
Soon, they arrived at the warmly decorated cafe across from the school, which didn't have many customers. Jodie was clearly a regular here; she greeted the owner familiarly and chose a booth that was by the window but angled away from the street—allowing her to observe the outside without being directly exposed to the view from the street.
"Two lattes, thank you," Jodie said to the waiter, then gestured for Kanjuro to sit.
Soothing jazz music flowed through the cafe, and the aroma of coffee filled the air. Outside, pedestrians and vehicles came and went on the street, seemingly peaceful.
Jodie picked up the water glass brought by the waiter and took a sip, using it to adjust her breathing and rhythm. She took off her glasses and wiped them gently (an action that slightly altered her facial features and was also a habitual small gesture when she was nervous), then put them back on and looked at Kanjuro. Her smile remained, but the inquisitive look in her blue eyes was no longer completely hidden.
"Kanjuro-kun," she began, her tone a bit more casually intimate than it had been at school. "How did you and Ran meet? I don't think I've heard her mention having such a close friend at Sobu High School before." The question seemed like small talk, but it went straight to the heart of the matter—verifying the authenticity of Kanjuro's relationship with Ran Mouri and trying to find a breakthrough in his background.
Kanjuro picked up his water glass, his fingertips gently stroking the cool glass surface, a perfectly timed look of reminiscence appearing on his face. "Actually, we met during a joint cross-school cultural festival. Classmate Ran was performing karate on stage, and it was very impressive. I happened to be a volunteer responsible for backstage coordination, and that's how we met. Later, we found we got along quite well, so we gradually became friends." His explanation was seamless; Teitan and Sobu indeed had similar joint activities, the timing matched, and the details were rich, making it difficult to immediately disprove.
"Oh? A cultural festival? That's certainly a great place to make friends," Jodie nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation, but then her tone shifted slightly. "However, Kanjuro-kun, you seem to have... a very special aura, not quite like an ordinary high school student. Is your family environment unique, or do you have some special hobbies or experiences?" Her questions were becoming more intrusive, attempting to outline Kanjuro's profile.
"You flatter me, Teacher," Kanjuro lowered his head slightly, appearing a bit embarrassed. "My family is just an ordinary one. Perhaps... I just like reading various books and thinking a lot." He avoided the main point, gently steering the topic away.
Jodie didn't press him further; she knew that too much would be as bad as too little. She turned to talk about Sobu High School's curriculum and clubs, even asking about Kanjuro's plans for university. The questions seemed scattered, but each one was building a profile of "Kanjuro," observing if his reactions were natural and if his knowledge base matched his age.
Kanjuro responded with ease. His knowledge clearly far exceeded that of an ordinary high school student, but he skillfully kept it within the range of an "outstanding student." Occasionally revealing insights into profound topics (like classical literature or psychology) also fit his "likes reading various books" persona, which actually added to his authenticity.
Time passed minute by minute in their seemingly relaxed chat. Jodie could feel the regular vibration signal from the encrypted communicator under the table, indicating that the peripheral team was in position. She felt a bit more settled, but as she looked at the well-spoken, flawless youth before her, that sense of unease grew stronger and stronger.
He was too perfect. Perfected to the point of being unreal.
Especially his eyes. Occasionally, when he met her gaze, there didn't seem to be a hint of the ignorance, enthusiasm, or nervousness that a youth should have in the depths of those profound eyes. Instead, there was only a heart-chilling, eternal calmness, and even... a trace of faint, condescending pity?
Just as Jodie was considering how to take the next step and whether to throw out some riskier tests (like seemingly casually mentioning vague reports in the recent news about "underground power shifts")—
The screen of Kanjuro's phone on the table suddenly lit up. There was no ringtone, only vibration.
He glanced at the caller ID; it was a number with no name stored. A look of apology appeared on his face. "Excuse me, Teacher Jodie, I need to take a call."
Jodie's heart leaped. At this time? Whose call was it?
Kanjuro picked up the phone, answered it, and put it to his ear. He didn't get up to avoid her; he sat right there, his voice not loud, but enough for the nearby Jodie to clearly hear his flat response:
"Yeah, it's me."
"Cleaned up?"
"Okay, I see."
"The rest of you, evacuate according to plan. The 'guest' has been received, and it's'safe' here."
"That's all."
His few short sentences were delivered without any fluctuation in tone, as if he were confirming the completion of a routine matter. But the content caused the blood in Jodie's entire body to nearly freeze!
"Cleaned up? The remaining people? Evacuate as planned? Guest? Safe?"
Every word was automatically translated into operational terminology in her ears! Who was he commanding? What did he 'clean up'? Where were they evacuating from? Did 'guest'... refer to himself? Safe... for whom?
She suddenly looked out the window, trying to find traces of her own perimeter personnel or any abnormalities. The street still looked normal, but the alarm bells in her heart were already screaming! Could it be... could the CIA's Quick Response Team have been exposed? Or even already... 'cleaned up'? How was that possible?! Their assembly was secret, and their communications were encrypted!
Kanjuro had already hung up the phone and casually placed it back on the table, as if he had just received a delivery notification. He looked at Jodie, whose face was pale and whose smile had stiffened; his expression remained gentle.
"Sorry, Jodie-sensei, just a small family matter." He paused, picked up the steaming latte the waiter had just delivered, blew on it gently, and then looked up. Those deep eyes stared directly at Jodie, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint, indecipherable arc.
"The coffee is very fragrant. Thank you for the treat, sensei," he said softly, then took a slow sip.
That calm gaze, that composed posture, those brief, suggestive words on the phone... like a cold key, they completely unlocked the most terrifying conjecture in Jodie's heart.
He wasn't the prey.
He was the true hunter.
And he knew. He might have known her identity, her intentions, and her arrangements from the very beginning.
This wasn't a chance encounter or a probe at all.
This was... a performance of luring the prey into a trap.
The sunlight outside was still bright, and the music in the cafe was still soothing, but Jodie Starling felt a bone-chilling coldness surge from the soles of her feet through her entire body, nearly freezing her soul. Her fingers gripping the coffee cup tightened involuntarily, her knuckles turning white.
The chess game seemed to have reached a desperate edge she couldn't comprehend just as it began. Kanjuro's words, "The coffee is very fragrant," still carried a lingering warmth as they circled softly in Jodie's ears, yet they felt like an ice pick piercing through her last barrier of hope. The coffee cup in her hand no longer felt warm; there was only the icy tremor originating from the depths of her soul transmitted through her fingertips.
Those eyes of his... were too calm. So calm they were like the eye of a storm—at the center was a suffocating silence, while the surroundings brewed a vortex capable of tearing everything apart. And that phone call—"cleaned up," "evacuate as planned"... No! Impossible!
Professional instinct and remaining logic screamed. She had to confirm! She had to know what was happening outside!
She stood up abruptly, her movements somewhat stiff from excessive tension. She managed to squeeze out a smile, but her voice carried an unmistakable tremor: "S-Sorry, Kanjuro-kun, I just remembered there's some urgent business to handle at the office... Y-You sit for a while..."
She almost stumbled as she turned and rushed toward the cafe entrance. She needed to see the situation on the street with her own eyes, needed to confirm her teammates, needed... needed a piece of evidence to refute the crazily growing vine of "despair" in her heart.
Kanjuro didn't stop her, didn't even look up; he just continued to slowly stroke the warm wall of the coffee cup with his fingertips. The arc at the corner of his mouth deepened slightly, as if he were admiring a play about to reach its climax.
Jodie pushed open the glass door of the cafe, and the afternoon sun and the daily bustle of the street rushed toward her. However, this ordinary scene took on a bizarre filter in her currently hyper-alert eyes.
Everything looked "normal." Students walked by in small groups, housewives pushed shopping carts, and vehicles flowed continuously. But... it was too normal. Deliberately normal. Those "ordinary people" who should have been in predetermined positions in specific poses—"colleagues" disguised as sanitation workers, street vendors, or even just "accidentally" parked nearby in cars—were gone. In their place were other seemingly ordinary faces that made her agent instincts scream.
The man in a leather jacket leaning against a motorcycle at the street corner had eyes that were too sharp; when they swept over her, there was no surprise, only a cold evaluation.
The office lady "reading a book" in front of the bookstore window across the street had a stiff rhythm to her page-turning, and her body posture held a tension as if she were ready to strike.
Even the delivery van not far away that hadn't moved had window tinting that was unreasonably dark... No gunshots, no fighting, no bloodstains. But she knew her people... were gone. In broad daylight, on this seemingly peaceful street, they had been wiped away like dust by a more professional, colder, and more silent force. This was the meaning of "cleaned up" in Kanjuro's phone call.
"How could this be..." Jodie muttered to herself, her body shaking uncontrollably. She had deployed one of the CIA's most elite Quick Response Teams in Tokyo—experienced, well-equipped, and highly stealthy. How could they be eliminated so thoroughly and cleanly in such a short time? Without even a sign of warning or resistance?
Unless... the opponent's power and intelligence were so overwhelming they were completely beyond imagination. Unless, from the moment she sent the assembly signal, or even earlier, they had already fallen into a net meticulously woven by the opponent, with no way to escape.
Immense fear and a sense of defeat flooded her like a tsunami. She hadn't just failed the mission; she might have exposed the entire CIA undercover network in Tokyo, and even... delivered herself to the mouth of this demon!
Just then, the door of the convenience store across the street opened. Two men in black trench coats with cold, hard temperaments walked out. Even across a distance and a bustling crowd, Jodie instantly recognized them—Gin and Vodka! The most fearsome executioners in the Black Organization!
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