Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Seeing Vodka's dejected look, Chu Ming chuckled and added, "Let's bring someone from the outer perimeter who can fly a helicopter over. Vodka can come with us this time."

Gin watched as Vodka looked up in surprise, stealing glances at him, hoping for his approval. Gin felt a bit of a headache, but he didn't object.

Vermouth leaned back on the sofa, looking at Gin, a strange smile suddenly appearing on her lips. She tilted her head and whispered to Lafitte beside her, "Look, after spending so much time with that little bastard, Gin seems to have become a bit more human. The organization would be half as fun without him."

Lafitte's gaze swept across the faces of everyone present, then he glanced at Vermouth, as if to confirm something. He leaned back, close to Vermouth's ear, and whispered in an almost whispered voice, "So you're helping him win me over?"

Lafitte's eyes were filled with sarcasm. They were all old foxes, and playing the ghost story was no fun. At their age, what was the point of trying to win people over? Did human touch even matter in an organization?

Granbury is already the heir, and it hasn't been that long, yet he's already starting to complain about the status quo?

Power, ah, it really is the most corrupting force on the human heart.

Vermouth glanced at Lafitte, his usually indifferent face now showing a hint of irritation. His fingers were fidgeting with his neatly styled long hair, as if trying to conceal his restless heart.

She adjusted her position slightly to make herself more comfortable, and looked at the slightly anxious Lafitte. A slight smile appeared on her lips, as if she were in a good mood. She closed her eyes, lost in thought.

Chu Ming's body had been enhanced multiple times, so even the faintest sound could not escape his ears. Therefore, he also heard the exchange between Lafitte and Vermouth, and his suspicious gaze swept over the two of them.

Both Vermouth and Lafitte seem a bit off.

Why did Vermouth suddenly help him win over Lafitte? And it seems she knows Lafitte's sore spots perfectly; a single sentence from her can make him lose his composure.

Back to Lafitte, his reaction was really strange.

Faced with attempts to win someone over, one should either readily agree or fiercely oppose it. How could one become so emotionally anxious?

Chapter 533 Three Fools Sitting in a Row

Keeping all his thoughts to himself, Chu Ming didn't show anything on his face.

Although I'm very curious, now is clearly not the time to explore this further; I'll investigate it in more detail later.

Gin's long, slender fingers pressed against the armrest, tapping it lightly every now and then. After a long while, he finally spoke: "What is the exact time for the airship's takeoff?"

"The exact time from Tokyo to Osaka is still unclear, but there will definitely be an announcement in the newspaper by tomorrow morning at the latest." Chu Ming closed the program on the screen. "That old man from the Suzuki family always likes to take the Phantom Thief Kid seriously. With the world's largest airship and that expensive gem, this is very likely another challenge he will pose to the Phantom Thief Kid. And he always publishes his challenges in the newspaper. We'll find out tomorrow."

"We have to wait until tomorrow?" Vermouth suddenly spoke up, gesturing to the several disguised people around her. "If you had said you wanted to do it tomorrow, why would I be disguised now? Wouldn't I have to fix it up again tomorrow morning?"

Vodka and Chianti, who had already paid, stared wide-eyed at him, fearing that Chu Ming would take advantage of their misfortune and extort them again the next morning.

Receiving their glances, Chu Ming deeply condemned their distrust of his character: "What are you looking at me for! Do you think I'm the kind of person you're thinking of?"

After Chu Ming said that, Vodka and Chianti both looked a little embarrassed.

Chu Ming continued, "My after-sales service is very cheap! Only 100,000 is enough!"

Vermouth's lips twitched. Sure enough, Granbury was the best at making money.

"..."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that? I've already given you a 100% discount, and you're still not being considerate?" Chu Ming said incredulously. "A face that originally costs a million, even if you tear your face apart out of boredom tonight, I won't pay a single extra penny!"

"Well, thank you so much." Chianti's lips twitched. "I'm not sleeping tonight, I'm going to stay up all night so my million-dollar face doesn't get wrinkled from sleeping."

"..." Chu Ming was also speechless. He was just joking. If disguise was really that fragile, then he would have wasted all his time learning it.

However, he wouldn't remind them; he wanted to see if there really were any fools who wouldn't sleep tonight.

It just so happens that this safe house is a semi-public safe house that Lafitte uses for his medical consultations, and it's not considered his private safe house, so the group rested there that night.

However, Chianti and the others didn't sleep that night. After all, when Chu Ming woke up early the next morning, he saw her and Vodka sitting on the sofa playing cards, with Cohen, who had dark circles under his eyes and kept yawning...

Okay, there really are idiots, and three of them at that.

Chu Ming ignored them and went straight out to a nearby newsstand to buy a newspaper. The front page featured a red Siamese cat making provocative remarks online, claiming that they had indeed stolen the virus and would launch an operation within seven days. However, the article did not specify where they would use the virus or what the specific operation would be.

Chu Ming flipped through a few pages. The next page was about the back-and-forth between Suzuki Jirokichi and Kaito Kid. First, Suzuki Jirokichi publicly stated that he was preparing for another challenge. The next page was about Kaito Kid issuing a notice that he would accept the invitation and arrive on time.

Looking at this challenge that was pushed to the second page, and then at the red Siamese cat's challenge declaration on the front page, Suzuki's old Wang Feng must be very angry, after all, he values ​​the front page so much...

As soon as he entered the room after taking the newspaper home, Chianti and Vodka's eyes were fixed on Chu Ming. Chianti asked eagerly, "When are we going to make our move? Is there any news in the newspaper?"

Chu Ming flicked the newspaper, a smile appearing on his face: "The news released by Red Siamese Cat says the operation will take place within seven days. The Suzuki family patriarch's airship will take off the day after tomorrow. Congratulations, you've stayed up all night for nothing. Are you planning to stay up until the morning after tomorrow? Then I hope you don't fall asleep standing up while doing the mission."

"...The day after tomorrow?!?" Chianti's face twisted in anger as she threw the cards on the table and turned to leave.

"Chianti, where are you going?" Vodka asked, looking at the cards that had landed on him and then at Chianti, who was already heading into the basement.

"Go to sleep!" Chianti muttered under his breath. "We got ripped off by Granbury. We wasted an extra 100,000 dollars and had to stay up all night for nothing."

Although Cohen didn't say anything, he acted as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly throwing down the cards and going down to rest.

Vodka was left sitting alone in front of the living room, stunned for a moment, then resignedly cleaned up the mess before going to sleep, comforting himself.

Forget it, I'll just skip buying one less figurine, and I'll make back the 100,000.

When Gin came up from his morning exercise in the basement, all that was left in the living room was Chu Ming, who was slumped on the sofa, half asleep, with a newspaper covering his face.

Gin stepped forward, took the newspaper, and flipped through it. He confirmed that there were still two days before the mission, so he planned to take Vodka to do two small missions first. However, after looking around, he couldn't find his little brother anywhere.

Chu Ming woke up when Gin removed the newspaper from his face. He half-opened his eyes, glanced at Gin's disguise, and found that a night's sleep hadn't affected it at all. He thought to himself, "I knew it, his skills aren't so bad that he could ruin a disguise in one night..."

"Afu went to sleep. He played cards with Chianti and the others all night. They just finished and all three of them went to rest." Chu Ming made no mention of the trouble caused by his casual remark about 100,000 yesterday.

Gin's brow furrowed slowly: "What about Vermouth and Lafitte?"

"They both sneaked away last night, I don't know where they went." Chu Ming heard some noises in the middle of the night. "But Vermouth messaged me saying they'll be back when it's time to take action."

Thinking of this, Chu Ming leaned closer to Gin with interest: "Do you know anything about the connection between Vermouth and Lafitte? It seems like there's some story between them that I don't know about~"

Gin indifferently pushed away Chu Ming's head that was leaning in: "It has nothing to do with you."

Chu Ming turned his head to avoid Gin's hand, and continued to inch closer: "Big brother~ just tell me~ I'm so curious!"

Gin frowned as he looked at Chu Ming, who was sticking to him like a leech: "Vodka, rest. You come with me on a mission."

"Sure, of course, no problem! Big Brother's business is my business!" Chu Ming agreed quickly, eager to hear the gossip. "Then tell me about it on the way, Big Brother!"

"No need to explain, it's just these few tasks." Gin deliberately misinterpreted Chu Ming's meaning and forwarded the task details to Chu Ming.

???

"I'm not talking about the mission!" Chu Ming stopped in his tracks, refusing to follow Gin out. "I'm talking about what happened between Lafitte and Vermouth! I want to hear it, I want to hear it! I'm not leaving until Big Brother tells me!!!"

"...Get up, stop rolling around on the ground." Gin looked at Chu Ming, who was rolling around on the ground without any regard for his image, and felt his blood pressure rise. "I'll tell you on the way."

"Yay, big brother, let's go!" Chu Ming sprang up from the ground with a somersault, grabbed Gin, and ran outside.

Chapter 534 Lafitte's Past

On the way, Chu Ming eagerly drove for Gin, but Gin sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed the whole way, not saying a word.

Chu Ming couldn't hold back any longer and slammed on the brakes. The speeding car suddenly stopped. Chu Ming had prepared in advance and steadied himself. Gin, on the other hand, was knocked forward by Chu Ming's unexpected kick. He quickly braced himself with his waist, scanned the surroundings with his sharp eyes, and after finding no danger, turned his gaze to Chu Ming.

Chu Ming turned his face away, refusing to look at Gin, and mumbled something that Gin couldn't understand at all; it was obviously not something nice.

"..." If looks could kill, Chu Ming would have been dead seven or eight times over by now.

Gin remained silent for a long while. Chu Ming turned his face back, observed Gin's expression, and asked, "Are you angry?"

"drive."

Chu Ming leaned back in his chair, his expression darkening. "I'm not even angry yet, but you've been silent the whole way, like a log. You didn't share any gossip, just leaned back and slept. Did I drive you for nothing? Did you really think I was your chauffeur?"

Given his current status, having him drive for Gin would be considered an act of humility and respect!

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it,” Gin said after thinking for a while, “but there’s nothing to say.”

???

Chu Ming was completely confused. He looked at Gin and gestured for him to elaborate.

Gin took out a cigarette, then thought about it and was about to put it back, but Chu Ming eagerly took the cigarette butt off and handed it to Gin, then rolled down the car window: "Big brother, you smoke it, don't worry about me."

Gin didn't refuse any longer. He took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a hazy cloud of smoke: "I told you before, Lafitte was Rob Rex, the world-famous neurosurgeon back then."

Chu Ming acted as a good listener, responding occasionally with "Mhm".

"The Rex family was a famous British pharmaceutical family in the last century, but there was serious infighting within the family. When Lafitt joined the organization, he was on the verge of death and volunteered to become a test subject for the BOSS."

Gin spoke at a steady pace, but his words were rather bland. Even the most sensational news seemed to lose its flavor when it came from his mouth. But there was nothing he could do; after all, Gin was the only one around him who knew these gossips, so he had to make do.

However, this statement only barely explains why Lafitte dislikes infighting, but Gin didn't mention the story between her and Vermouth at all.

"So what exactly is going on between him and Vermouth? I think there's some kind of story between them..."

Gin frowned: "What story?"

"Isn't this a question I'm asking you?" Chu Ming was speechless. How could the question be turned around and thrown back at him?

The story is unpleasant, and the storyteller himself doesn't even know some of the things about himself. Tsk, this gossip isn't sweet, and it's not enjoyable to read.

Chu Ming's gaze returned to Gin. He'd finished eating the bad gossip; maybe he should just leave Gin here...

Gin suddenly spoke up again: "Although the Resc family was famous back then, it was just a facade because of a lack of talent. Internally, it was already running into financial difficulties. So the patriarch of that generation decided to cut off useless branches. Although Lafitte belonged to a branch, he showed medical talent at a young age. With him around, their branch naturally didn't need to be cut off."

Based on his years of experience with melodramatic soap operas, Chu Ming ran his hand across his neck and guessed, "Could it be that the patriarch is jealous of his talent and afraid that his next generation will not be as good as him, so he had someone kill him—?"

“No, it was his ‘friend’.” Gin’s voice was laced with obvious sarcasm. “Laffitte was famous worldwide for his neurosurgery back then, and he made a lot of connections through that. At the time, the head of the Resc family was old, and his two sons were vying for power. Both of them were trying to win over Laffitte. Although Laffitte had grown up with the youngest son of the head of the family and had a deep friendship with him, he knew that his ‘friend’ was no match for his treacherous and ruthless brother, so he advised him to give up.”

"The eldest son heard about this from somewhere. He felt that Lafitte was closer to his younger brother. Although he advised his brother to give up, he didn't seem to be on his side. In a power struggle, anyone who isn't on your side is naturally an enemy. Since you can't have him, you might as well destroy him. He invited Lafitte to a meeting and then spread the word that Lafitte had already sided with him."

"When the younger brother heard the news, he believed it without any doubt. In his view, Lafitte's advice to surrender to his brother was already a betrayal, and this news only further confirmed his idea."

So when Lafitte returned, his brother sent men to ambush him on the roadside. They smashed his fingers with stones, made him faint from the pain, then splashed water on him to wake him up, and severed his tendons in his hands and feet. Finally, they hypocritically claimed that although Lafitte had sided with his brother, they spared his life out of consideration for their childhood friendship.