Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

The passenger seat of the Rolls-Royce was empty, with only a driver in the front seat.

The driver was probably in his early twenties, with a sturdy build, a pair of noticeable droopy eyes, light-colored dreadlocks tied back into a bun, and two earrings in his left ear.

He saw Rum's expression in the back seat through the rearview mirror and asked directly, "You seem to be in a good mood. Did you receive any good news?"

Rum was already used to this confidant's chatterbox, and didn't think the other party was deliberately asking questions, so he replied casually: "Bourbon has already met with the FBI."

Upon hearing this code name, the driver's expression froze, and then quickly collapsed.

[Approach him carefully and don't arouse his suspicion. ——Rum]

After Rum sent the email, he looked up and saw that his driver, Binga, still had a sour face.

If an ordinary subordinate showed his joy like this, his boss might be unhappy about it, but Rum was not so petty. On the contrary, he preferred people who could not hide their emotions, and thought they were easier to understand and control.

It's not the case that you can climb up quickly just by being capable. Those in higher positions do like subordinates who are capable and efficient, but at the same time they will also be wary of and suspicious of them.

This is why the simple-minded Binga can become Rum's confidant and can be contacted directly, while the more capable Bourbon can only be contacted by email or phone.

"He's not like you, Binga."

Rum took the cigar out of his mouth and said soothingly, "You are very capable, but sometimes you are too impetuous. You are more suitable to be a threatening thug, rather than an intelligence officer who gets information quietly."

"..."

Binga, who was criticized for being impetuous by his most impatient boss in the organization, fell silent.

Rum noticed that his expression was not right - this subordinate had no idea how to control his facial expressions - and sighed in his heart.

...Moreover, even as a thug, you can't beat Bourbon, let alone go head-on with that elite FBI agent who came from the hostage rescue team and has excellent physical fitness...

Out of consideration for his confidant and not wanting to see the other party get killed, Rum did not say the truth and looked out the window again.

A high-rise tower apartment building near the bay flashed by, followed by a group of low buildings.

Seeing that Rum didn't say anything, Binga naturally kept silent too.

He can't remain calm like gin or bourbon, but he is not a fool and knows when to shut up.

In Binga's tactful silence, Rum thought about Bourbon's mission, and then thought of Goldwasser who was far away in the United States. His originally calm face gradually darkened.

He and Goldwasser had been fighting for more than a decade and had serious personality conflicts.

He is impatient and wants to achieve something immediately, while Goldwasser is completely the opposite. In order to achieve his goals, he can plan quietly for months or even years.

Originally, there was only one disgusting guy who liked to stab people in the back, but ten years ago, Goldwasser's child, a second-generation member code-named "Aniset", appeared out of nowhere.

Because they fought fiercely, the gentleman allowed Goldwasser to keep the identity of his child confidential, resulting in Rum, the second-in-command, only knowing the other party's code name, but not his name, gender, or age.

However, although he had never met the other party, he learned some information indirectly from members who had been on business trips to the United States and Vermouth.

Anicet was born prematurely and has congenital defects. Due to his physical limitations, he prefers to stay behind the scenes and has a good relationship with Gin.

Unlike Goldwasser who likes to use threats and inducements to others with things they cannot refuse, Aniset is better at instigating and stirring up other people's negative emotions to achieve his own goals.

Even if there are no conflicts, they will be created, causing the two parties who could originally cooperate to become jealous of each other, and making the original enemies fight to the death - and he will just wait to reap the benefits from their corpses.

"..."

Rum felt his temple throbbing a few times.

He didn't know why he suddenly thought of Aniseite. They had no contact in the past ten years. Because of his special status, even if the other party came to Japan, he had no right to transfer him.

Rum took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.

Ever since he was sent back to Japan because of his failure in the Haneda Hiroshi case, he has been looking forward to returning to the United States.

I hope this time, Bourbon can bring him good news...

----

The third floor of Minato Middle School.

The three of them stood at the door of the staff lounge.

Toru Amuro, who had just left the room, listened to the Dean of Academic Affairs introducing himself, and his eyes were always on the third person present, Aoyagi Akimichi.

He is not afraid of attracting the other person's attention, and it is normal for him to observe the other person when introducing each other.

There is no trace of Asian in his appearance. His ancestry may be only one-quarter Japanese, or even less.

He is about 2 cm taller than me, and judging by his physique, he must have undergone rigorous training... After all, he is an active member of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, so he must be strong in both physical fitness and martial arts.

It is impossible to be sure whether he is carrying any weapons at the moment, but seeing that he is wearing long pants in such hot weather, and seeing that most American agents are arrogant and like to mess around with Japan as if it were their own country, it is estimated that he is carrying some weapons.

——Toru Amuro, who appears as a home economics teacher, is thinking about things that are completely inconsistent with his identity.

In addition to being a home economics teacher at a Minato junior high school, Toru Amuro has two other identities.

One is the public security police officer Furuya Rei, and the other is a member of a transnational criminal organization codenamed Bourbon.

He came this time because Bourbon received a mission.

Pisco, whose real name is Kenzo Masuyama, is also a member of this huge organization as the chairman of the automobile group and is currently working hard to develop overseas business.

Under Rum's order, Pisco was interested in getting along with FBI officials to find out if there were any FBI undercover agents in the organization. Not long ago, one of them told Pisco that the FBI had sent someone to Japan to investigate something and asked him to help prepare their identities. Pisco agreed on the surface and then told Rum.

Rum got this first-hand information through Pisco, and immediately asked Bourbon to investigate.

"Amuro-kun, this is Aoyagi Akiko-kun from the United States. He is the music teacher of the International Department."

Amuro Toru nodded slightly. He had already memorized the information that Rum gave him.

Aoyagi Akimitsu is not just an FBI agent. His identity is very troublesome. His uncle is one of the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court and has a good relationship with the current commander of the Yokosuka base, Mark Spencer.

Even the impatient Rum specifically reminded that unless it was absolutely necessary, force should never be used to avoid attracting investigation from higher-ups.

This task is troublesome, but Toru Amuro does not reject it.

A person from a foreign intelligence department came to Japan to be a teacher for no apparent reason. Even if there was no organizational mission, as a public security policeman, he should try to contact the other party and find out the real purpose of his coming here.

"Hello, I'm Aoyagi Binguang."

While Toru Amuro was thinking, Aoyagi Akiko was the first to reach out his hand. The information showed that he was left-handed, and the hand he was holding out was indeed his left hand.

Toru Amuro saw the hand stretched out in front of him, turned his gaze, and looked into those eyes again.

At that moment, perhaps because he was facing away from the sun, Aoyagi Binguang's light-colored eyes appeared a darker and gloomy brown.

——Just like a wolf, with a sharp edge that makes the hair on the back stand on end.

But in less than a second, after Aoyagi Akimitsu took a few steps forward to facilitate the handshake, the threatening and oppressive feeling disappeared, and everything seemed like an illusion.

Amuro smiled and stretched out his left hand as if nothing had happened.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Toru Amuro, nice to meet you."

The two men shook hands gently, and Toru Amuro quickly let go, feeling the calluses on his hands from practicing shooting.

Chapter 39 How to contact the protagonist

"School is finally over."

"I wonder if the store still has fried noodles and bread?"

"Hurry up and get to the playground. If we don't go now, the minister will punish us by making us run laps again..."

"Let's go get some ramen later. I told my family I won't be going home for dinner tonight."

As the bell rang for the last class, Minato Middle School became lively again.

Most elementary and middle schools in Japan usually finish school at around 3:00 p.m. Those who have club activities go to participate in them, while those who don’t go home in groups of three or two.

The International Department is on the fifth floor. Although the teaching styles are different, the school hours are the same. When Aoyagi Binguang left the office, he saw several students from the next class walking out of the classroom with their school bags.

"Teacher Aoyagi."

One of the white girls with light blonde hair and gray eyes also saw Aoyagi Binkou and greeted him in Russian.

Aoyagi Akimitsu walked towards them and glanced into the classroom. Most of the students in this class were foreign students, and they communicated in English or Russian on a daily basis.

He didn't see what he was looking for, so he asked, "Have you seen the rabbit?"

"That black pet rabbit?" The gray-eyed girl smiled. "I just saw Labruncheva holding it. She's going to participate in the track and field club activities this afternoon. She might be at the gymnasium now."

"Thank you."

Aoyagi Akimitsu expressed his gratitude, said goodbye to them, and went to the gymnasium on the left side of the teaching building.

……

In the blink of an eye, school has already started for two weeks.

A teacher's job is much easier than that of the FBI or the organization. As a teacher of non-cultural subjects, Aoyagi Akimichi has a high degree of freedom in teaching. He can teach students to play the recorder or sing according to the textbook, or he can show music movies.

Outside of class time, he mostly stayed in the office, packed his lunch and never went to the cafeteria with his colleagues. He also never attended any evening parties.

The Japanese workplace emphasizes socializing, and it is easy to be excluded if you fail to attend gatherings many times, but Aoyagi Akimitsu doesn't care.

He knew very well that if he followed the rules here, the demands would only increase. If he did things according to his own wishes from the beginning, they would take the initiative to find excuses to explain for him - the identity of a foreigner was sometimes really useful.

He lived the life of an ordinary teacher step by step, but the life of the rabbit who traveled with him was much more exciting.

Aoyagi Binkou quickly arrived near the locker room on the first floor of the gymnasium. He took a shortcut and arrived one step earlier than the girl who took the rabbit away.

He heard laughter from afar. Several girls were walking towards him, talking and laughing. The Russian girl in the lead was holding a black rabbit in her arms.

Seeing the faint red color between the black rabbit fur and the constantly shaking ears, Aoyagi Binguang felt a little helpless.

Sometimes when he was teaching, he would bring the rabbit to the classroom, and many students would come to watch out of curiosity about the rabbit.

Rabbit lives up to his ID "Lust". He avoids boys who want to hug him, as if their hands are covered with germs. But when it comes to girls, especially pretty ones with good figures, he enjoys their touch and hugs.

It's just that he has lustful intentions, but...

As the girls got closer and closer to the women's locker room, Rabbit realized where he was going, his body gradually stiffened and his ears stopped shaking.

When he was still a few steps away from the door, he began to struggle hard.

After watching this scene, Aoyagi Akiko silently added the second half of the sentence:

But he didn't have the guts to do that.

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