August 4th, Thursday.
A black Porsche 356A sped toward the outskirts of Tokyo. Sitting in the passenger seat, Gin lit a cigarette and took slow drags, his dark green eyes occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror.
In the back seat, Ritsu's eyes were covered with a black silk strip, completely blocking his vision. Unable to see anything around him, he focused on the map he had constructed in his mind.
'They seemed to be heading toward Shizuoka Prefecture… but where exactly were they taking me?'
Though his expression remained calm, waves stirred within him. He reviewed whether he had done anything out of line recently. Had extending the Miyano sisters' meetings by half an hour each time been discovered?
But that alone didn't seem like something that would provoke Gin. And based on his understanding of Gin, if he truly intended to act against him, he wouldn't go through so much trouble, that wasn't his style.
So he chose to ask directly. Even if he wouldn't get an answer, it was worth trying.
"Gin, it's been over an hour already. Can you tell me where we're going?"
Gin rolled down the window and flicked away his cigarette butt, leaning back lazily in his seat. "That gentleman… has requested to see you."
"??"
Even with his eyes covered, Ritsu was clearly startled.
He had assumed that, given the chance, he might come into contact with the organization's second-in-command, Rum, within these two years. But no matter how he calculated it, he had never expected the organization's true boss to personally request a meeting with him.
Since when had he become this important?
No, there had to be something more to it. Did he hold some kind of value to that gentleman?
"Gin, is there anything I should be careful about when we meet him?"
"Just act as you normally do. There's no need to worry, he's not calling you in to reprimand you."
Even Gin didn't know why that gentleman had summoned Ritsu. Logically speaking, with Ritsu's relatively short tenure in the organization, he didn't yet have the qualifications to meet him.
'What exactly was the boss planning? Could it be related to that person?'
"Get some rest. We still have six hours to go."
"Understood."
They had already been driving for an hour. Within a seven-hour driving radius from Tokyo, there were quite a few possible destinations. Continuing westward like this, there were five likely options.
Hyogo, Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, and Hiroshima Prefectures, all were reachable. Which one would it be?
Even without knowing the destination, Ritsu had already grasped a crucial clue. The boss of the Black Crow organization was in Japan, residing in one of those five prefectures.
After more than seven hours on the road, they finally arrived.
Vodka helped Ritsu out of the car and reminded him, "Careful, Macallan, there's a pond here."
"Left or right?"
"Left."
With his eyes still covered, he couldn't see anything, only faintly sensing a bit of light so they were still outdoors, not yet in any underground facility.
Receiving the kind of treatment reserved for the blind, Ritsu placed his hand lightly on Vodka's forearm and cautiously stepped forward. He heard the rapid clicking of metal buttons, eighteen presses…
'An eighteen-digit passcode? That was quite long.'
The light gradually dimmed, suggesting they had entered an indoor space, though still on the first floor.
"Macallan, we're about to go down some stairs."
"Oh, got it."
Forty steps in total. If each floor had twenty steps, that meant they had skipped the first basement level and gone straight to the second. The structure of this building was rather unusual, there must be other entrances leading to the first basement level.
As he counted his steps, Ritsu reflected that the boss's residence truly was something else. Even his footsteps echoed against the floor, indicating a vast and empty space.
'A subterranean fortress built somewhere remote? A king ruling his own domain… how fitting.'
His steps came to a halt. Noticing that both Vodka and Gin had stopped moving, Ritsu wondered if they had reached their final destination. Then, the black silk strip over his eyes was removed.
After being in darkness, even a faint light felt blinding. He instinctively frowned and narrowed his eyes, only to see a grand door before him, something you'd expect in a European castle. It was intricately carved with crow motifs, and the birds' eyes were inlaid with rubies.
The organization really did spend money in strange places.
Ritsu didn't dare look around too much. Who knew how many cameras were watching in this massive space? Better not act carelessly.
"Vodka, stay outside."
"Yes, Aniki."
Clearly, Vodka didn't have clearance to enter, which only made Ritsu more curious about why that gentleman wanted to see him.
Gin walked to the right side of the door and pressed one of the crow's ruby eyes. Suddenly, a female mechanical voice sounded, it turned out the ruby was an iris scanner.
—"Initiating iris scan. Please align your eyes with the scanner. Thank you."
Polite… for a machine.
Gin stared at the ruby without expression. Clearly, this wasn't his first time here, he moved with practiced ease.
—"Capturing image… successful. Extracting feature points… matching features…"
—"Identity confirmed. Welcome home, Gin."
Compared to fingerprints or palm prints, iris recognition was far more secure and reliable.
The human eye consists of the sclera, iris, and pupil. The iris, located between the sclera and pupil, contains highly detailed patterns and is one of the most unique structures in the human body.
The grand European-style doors slowly opened to both sides. Combining such a historical design with advanced technology… it felt a little strange not having to push them open manually.
"Gin, can I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"If someone without authorization tried the iris scan, what would happen?"
"Drop that thought." Gin frowned slightly. "If you don't have clearance, the mechanism will melt your eyeballs on the spot. Unless you want to become one-eyed, don't even think about trying."
Ritsu pressed his lips together. That was brutal. If the system ever malfunctioned, wouldn't that mean risking blindness?
He was about to voiced his concern when an aged voice echoed through the hall before its owner even appeared.
Low and hoarse, as if squeezed out from a constricted throat. Though it sounded somewhat weak, it carried an unmistakable authority, the aura of someone at the top.
"Gin, don't scare the child…"
"Come closer, Macallan. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."