The summer vacation Jhin and Irisu Makina had planned was only halfway through when it was shattered by a breaking news report on television.
"Daughter of the Irisu family caught in an explosion, current status unknown…"
Plop. The cake fell from the fork that was about to enter Irisu Makina's small, cherry-like mouth, splattering cream all over the floor.
She stared at the television with a dazed look. Snapping back to her senses, she put down the cake and ran back to her bedroom, ignoring Jhin's calls.
Irisu Makina gazed at a number on her phone that hadn't been dialed in many years, her expression resolute as she pressed the call button.
"Hello… it's me…"
…
"That damn little brat!" Irisu Kiyoika slammed the phone down in a rage. She never imagined that Irisu Makina had used that damn eidetic memory of hers to memorize, word for word, the documents related to the massive embezzlement case back then.
She had gone to great lengths to hire robbers to kill her ex-husband, thinking the Irisu family would be safe from then on. She never expected a ticking time bomb was still hidden away.
Venting her anger, she swept everything off her desk. Irisu Kiyoika sat back in her chair, gnashing her teeth as she pondered how to deal with that little brat, Irisu Makina. Suddenly, she remembered the condition Irisu Makina had proposed and a hideous smile spread across her face.
"You want to save your sister's life, don't you? As it happens, that child is in need of a suitable organ transplant. Why don't you trade your own life for hers?"
Irisu Kiyoika immediately made a call. "Hello? I want you to go to that… Mihama Academy, and bring Irisu Makina back to me. Didn't you have people stationed inside?"
"What? You can't contact them? Useless trash! Send someone quickly. It's best if you bring her back alive, but if you can't, crippling her and leaving her with a single breath is fine too. All I want are her organs; the person doesn't matter."
Irisu Kiyoika hung up, pleased with her clever plan to kill two birds with one stone. Once Irisu Makina was dead, the factions within the family who still supported her would scatter like monkeys when a tree falls. That way, there would be no more disgusting voices of opposition, and the Irisu family would reach new heights under her leadership.
A daughter, what a useful tool. Maybe I should find a good-looking man later and have another one as a spare?
…
"Irisu Kiyoika has issued a kidnapping mission against Irisu Makina to the organization. Are you sure you want to defy a direct order?" Julia reminded Jhin in a serious tone.
"I don't think I need to answer that. You already know, don't you?"
"I understand."
Although Jhin was famous within Interpol, it didn't mean the local branch in Japan knew of him, let alone that his records had been falsified for the transfer. Therefore, as punishment for defying the organization's orders, Jhin was also designated as one of the mission's targets, with instructions for immediate termination.
"Papa…" Irisu Makina's youthful face was filled with worry as she tightly gripped Jhin's right hand.
"Makina, don't worry. Tonight, everything will be over. That's my promise to you."
Jhin soothed the anxious Irisu Makina. Seeing her brow still furrowed with worry that she had brought trouble upon him, he simply placed a hand on the back of her head and leaned in close, using her favorite method of intimate contact to let her know he had everything handled.
The warmth of his breath brushed against Irisu Makina's face, dispelling the chill that had filled her heart.
Jhin took her around Mihama Academy and began setting up various small traps, showing her the safe routes to avoid them. Irisu Makina listened with intense focus, relying on her photographic memory to retrace the correct path once they were done.
If Jhin were alone in the academy, there would be no need for these traps. Unfortunately, Irisu Makina was also there, and since he couldn't be in two places at once to protect her, this was his only option.
Jhin solemnly placed a handgun in Irisu Makina's hands. "Makina, remember this: unless you have absolutely no other way out, do not use this gun. I don't want you to stain your hands with blood. That's not why I taught you how to shoot."
"Mm, I will absolutely obey what you say, Papa."
"Of course, if the enemy is threatening your life, then don't hesitate. Remember the method I taught you?"
"Of course I remember, two to the body, one to the head!" Irisu Makina's ruby-like eyes shone with admiration for Jhin. Just as he had promised, he would protect her, even if it meant making an enemy of the world.
She had overheard his earlier call with Julia.
"Very good. You're my good girl, after all. Now go change into the body armor in my room, and then hide well."
Irisu Makina nodded obediently and left.
Jhin received an anonymous text message on his phone. The content was simple, just a single number.
"14"
"14 people are coming? It seems there are quite a few people in the organization who've been bought by the Irisu family. Time to play with them."
The orange-red sun gradually sank below the horizon. The vast campus of Mihama Academy would light up with street lamps at night, like a lone sanctuary in the endless darkness.
However, Jhin had intentionally cut the power today. In the pitch-black, silent campus, anyone walking inside would inevitably recall all sorts of school rumors, the most classic of which was that the school was built on a mass grave.
Unfortunately, tonight's visitors were not the type to be afraid of ghosts. They split into two-man teams and spread out, conducting a grid search of the school for their targets—Irisu Makina and Jhin.
"Contractor."
Ethereal blue starlight coalesced into a black trench coat, and a double-bladed dagger was gripped tightly in his hand. Jhin stood on the rooftop, spreading his arms to feel the cool midsummer night's breeze, then performed a leap of faith.
This is why you're always supposed to look up.
Jhin flung out his specialized steel wire, wrapping it around the necks of the two assassins below. As the electric current spread, they convulsed and collapsed on the spot.
"12"
Jhin retrieved the grappling line secured at his waist and, as nimble as a leopard, crouched low to begin his hunt in the darkness.
The matte black blade plunged into the enemy's body as smoothly as a red-hot needle piercing a candle, meeting no resistance. Jhin thoughtfully covered the man's mouth and even used an electric current to cauterize the wound, preventing blood from spilling out to water the grass below.
"Ace of Hearts, Six of Diamonds, we've lost contact."
"What's going on? Why can't this group handle a single person? What are they good for?!"
Julia glanced pityingly at the head of the branch office. He was currently drenched in sweat, raging impotently and cursing his subordinates in the command center.
He had actually provoked someone whom even headquarters wouldn't dare to cross lightly. Truly pitiful.
As the red dots on the screen vanished pair by pair, sweat poured down his face. He couldn't understand if the Irisu family had gone insane to have provoked such a tough opponent.
"2"
As another pair of assassins fell, only two enemies remained on campus. The sound of rustling leaves was heard, and a man walked towards Jhin with his hands raised. "Now it's zero."
"Oh?" Jhin tossed the dagger in his hand up and down. "What about the other one?"
"I knocked him out. He's my younger brother. I just couldn't convince him not to take part in this operation."
As the man spoke, he placed something on the ground. Jhin looked closely and saw it was an ID card. Only then did he quell his murderous intent. "You're a good brother. Take him and leave."
"Thank you for your mercy." The man's expression showed he was clearly not ignorant of Jhin's true identity. He dragged the unconscious person away by the leg.
Hey, isn't that your brother? You're scraping his head on the concrete.
Jhin glanced at the unconscious brother. He'd probably have a very sore back of the head when he woke up tomorrow, and might even discover a new bald spot.
Jhin picked up the ID card left on the ground, looked at the information on it, and gazed into the distance.
The night isn't truly over yet… Irisu Kiyoika.
"President, how long are we supposed to maintain this state of high alert?"
"It can't be helped. Who told that group to be such useless trash? I didn't want to make such a big scene either." Irisu Kiyoika looked at the flashing red and blue police lights at the base of the corporate building. For the first time, she felt the night was so long. "You may leave."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The secretary stepped out of the office and was about to press the elevator button when a deliveryman in a blue uniform walked out of the elevator.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Sorry, miss. I told the front desk I was delivering a package, and she just told me to come right up. Wouldn't let me leave it with her." The deliveryman's unsophisticated demeanor made the secretary lower her guard.
"What's in the package?"
"I dunno. I can't just open a customer's package, can I?"
"Give it to me, I'll check it."
"Sure, sure."
The secretary took the package and opened it. Inside was only a slip of paper that read: "Don't make a sound, or you die."
The cold edge of a blade pressed against her neck. Fear made her forget to breathe.
After successfully having the secretary lead him to Irisu Kiyoika's office door, Jhin knocked her unconscious, then pulled an ID card from his pocket identical to the one she wore and swiped it at the door lock.
"Yo, your delivery."
Bang, bang, bang. Three clean shots rang out. Before she died, Irisu Kiyoika was still savoring the red wine in her hand. Jhin had no interest in listening to her spout nonsense about doing it for the family or for the greater good. A person who treated her own daughter as a tool didn't deserve to be called a mother.
And just like that, Irisu Kiyoika died, filled with resentment.
"A male of unknown nationality who killed Miss Irisu Kiyoika, president of the Alice Cloverbale Corporation, attempted to commit suicide afterwards. Although he was rushed to the hospital, he died en route."
Beep. Julia's newly recruited assistant, Kiara, reached out and turned off the car radio. "Boss, what happened with this whole affair afterwards?"
"Irisu Makina's testimony confirmed the facts of embezzlement in the Irisu family's internal ledgers. The organization used this as leverage to seize the vast majority of their assets."
"So does that mean our organization was the sole beneficiary?"
"Perhaps there was an even bigger beneficiary than the organization." An image of Jhin surfaced in Julia's mind.
"Have they lifted the punishment order on [9029]?"
"They lost quite a few people this time by getting too close to the Irisu family, so naturally, they couldn't continue to sanction him."
"To be able to take on the organization single-handedly… as expected of the legendary [9029]." Kiara was also eager to meet this figure with the legendary codename.
He is the strongest of all the [9029]s in history, and perhaps the last.
Julia didn't say this out loud, but the faint suspicions she had about Jhin's motives were slowly becoming reality.
__
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