The place where Hiroki Sawada had been taken was a small, hidden factory—
one that produced illegal drugs.
"The intelligence team also reported that all of their venues in Tokyo have been cleared out."
Vodka, who had just arrived, looked at the corpses scattered across the entrance and couldn't help but mutter.
Gunfire rang out intermittently from within the factory.
High above, Chianti and Korn had climbed to the roof of a nearby building. They set up their sniper rifles and activated thermal scopes, silently harvesting the enemy one by one.
"But judging by their positioning, their firepower is lacking."
From the headset:
"Aside from the killers targeting your bounty on the roads, I almost pity the ones who gathered here."
"Then let's charge in already!"
Tequila barked in his Kansai-accented voice.
He was also a wanted man on the assassin platform, and it was a miracle he'd made it here after being shot at so many times. Luckily, the Organization's newly developed bulletproof vests had done their job.
Gin said nothing. With eyes full of killing intent, he grabbed a submachine gun and strode straight into the factory, stepping over the corpses without hesitation.
It was a pharmaceutical plant—
now in utter chaos.
The dead included both members of the Winery and the Zoo.
Gin and Vodka moved quickly through the well-lit corridor.
As they passed a door, Gin heard faint breathing on the other side. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and opened fire.
RATATATATA!
A burst of bullets tore through the door, shredding the ambusher's chest into a bloody mess before he even hit the floor.
Gin didn't spare him a second glance.
"Keep moving."
"Position tracking hasn't been interrupted," came Rum's voice through the headset.
"...Is there an ambush up ahead? Bombs?" Vodka muttered nervously.
Gin remained silent.
Even if they knew it was a trap, they couldn't retreat.
Hiroki Sawada was far too valuable.
Even putting Noah's Ark aside, his talent as a programmer was something the Organization could not afford to lose. If a hostile group had indeed taken him, it would be catastrophic.
Far away, atop Tokyo Tower—
Hayashi Yoshiki watched the scene unfold on his laptop, expression calm.
This operation was rushed.
From the moment he acquired intel on the Zoo and the assassin network, he had less than a day to plan everything. Though the Zoo's influence in Tokyo had been nearly wiped out, he simply didn't have time to mobilize enough forces to compete with Gin's team.
And yet, if he truly wanted to kill Gin today, there had been many chances.
Far too many.
Now, for instance—
A pre-planted bomb would do the trick.
Hayashi glanced at Vodka's position beside Gin on the monitor and remembered that earlier bomb… the one that had left Ran and himself dangling on the edge of death.
He began typing.
"This is your last chance, Noah's Ark."
Just as he sent the message, another line appeared on the screen in reply:
[Don't even think about using Hiroki and me.]
There was a response.
Hayashi's eyes narrowed, intrigued.
Meanwhile, Gin and Vodka had just stepped through the final door.
They were now in the heart of the factory—a lab of sorts.
"He's really here?"
Vodka's voice held disbelief as he saw Hiroki Sawada through a glass wall.
But Gin wasn't looking at the boy—his eyes were fixed on the short, chubby man standing outside the glass. Without hesitation, Gin raised his gun and aimed.
The man smirked.
"Still so arrogant, even at death's door?"
"I'm not the only one dying today," he sneered.
"The moment you stepped into this room, the bomb's countdown began. In three minutes… everyone here dies."
Gin's eyes narrowed sharply.
He could tell—the bastard wasn't lying.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The bullet pierced the man's skull. Blood sprayed as his body crumpled.
"What do we do now, Aniki?!" Vodka shouted.
BOOM!!!
An explosion in the distance shook the floor beneath them.
Before they could react, another explosion rocked the building. Dust rained down from the ceiling. The lab trembled ominously.
Behind the shattered glass wall, Hiroki Sawada stood motionless, numb.
He didn't understand what was happening anymore.
From the moment he'd been kidnapped, all he'd seen was people dying.
He regretted it.
He shouldn't have created Noah's Ark.
Gin's face was grim.
He couldn't believe the lengths these maniacs had gone to. Just because their assassins failed to kill him, they'd rather blow everything up—including Hiroki and Noah's Ark—than let the Organization win?
Pathetic.
Utterly pathetic.
He raised his gun to break the glass—
—but then froze.
Hiroki was already holding a familiar red-and-white capsule.
He swallowed it without hesitation.
APTX4869!?
CRACK!
Gin shot the glass and rushed forward, grabbing Hiroki.
He had definitely taken it.
"That man said it's a poison… one that ends life painlessly. If I die, Noah's Ark dies with me. People like you… won't be able to use it again."
The drug acted fast.
Hiroki's vision was already fading. A searing heat surged through his veins.
As he writhed in pain, Gin tossed him aside coldly.
There was no saving him now.
"Aniki! What do we do?!" Vodka shouted as he ran in.
"Less than three minutes. Escape's impossible."
Gin looked around at the lab—
cold, mechanical, suffocating.
Another explosion echoed through the walls.
The factory was falling apart.
He had expected a trap. But not like this. Not from this kind of deranged enemy.
He clenched his teeth.
Then, Cointreau's voice came through Gin's headset, calm and deliberate:
"If you're really going to die, Gin…
How about recommending me to take your place?"