The twenty-story Daikoku Tower stood over the glittering city like a giant shadow.On its twentieth floor, in a dimly lit cocktail bar filled with soft jazz and cold cigarette smoke, Akemi Miyano sat frozen under the weight of Gin's icy stare.
His piercing eyes locked onto her like the barrel of a gun — sharp, unblinking, merciless.Every hair on her body stood on end.She didn't know why, but every instinct screamed the same thing—He wants me dead.
Even when she lowered her gaze, she could still feel that predatory pressure, crawling across her skin. Her body trembled on its own, and she had to resist the urge to run.
At that moment, Vodka approached, lugging an enormous silver suitcase.He dropped it beside her with a dull thud and said in his low, gruff voice, "Four hundred million yen. Count it."
"…"Akemi stared at the massive suitcase, unsure where to even begin.Count all that by hand? That'd take forever.Maybe next time she should bring a cash counter.Then again, even with one, checking four hundred million yen would still take ages.
Seriously… how did gangsters in the movies count money so fast?
"…No need. With the organization's scale, I doubt they'd skim a measly four hundred million off me," she murmured absently.
Trying the handle, Akemi tugged at the suitcase — it barely budged. It was heavy.And the thought of the two hundred million yen "processing fee" she'd had to pay to exchange those Maple Leaf gold coins through the organization made her stomach twist in pain.
Nearly thirty-five percent in fees. Outrageous.
But she had no choice.Every other channel she tried had been even worse — some demanding half the total.
Akemi sighed quietly and did the math in her head.Her earlier twenty-five million yen, plus this two hundred million — that made about 225 million yen total.That was already a fifth of her ten-billion-yen goal.
She couldn't help but feel a dizzy thrill.
When she'd rashly accepted Gin's deal, she'd regretted it almost immediately. How could she possibly scrape together that kind of money?Even working nonstop for years, she'd never get close.
And yet now, barely a month later, she already had more than two hundred million yen in hand.At this rate… ten billion didn't seem impossible anymore.
Her heart fluttered with cautious excitement — until Vodka's impatient voice shattered it.
"Hey, Miyano Akemi! What's taking you so long? It's been a month already, and you still haven't hit ten billion!"
"I—I'm working as fast as I can!" she protested.
"Hah." Vodka gave a short, scornful laugh. "Took me less than an hour to make two billion off you. You call that fast?"
"…"Akemi had no comeback. He wasn't wrong — she couldn't argue with that.
"You've got one more month!" Vodka barked. "If you can't bring in ten billion by then, the deal's off!"
"One month? That's too short!" she blurted out in panic.
"Fine, then. I'll be generous — one and a half months," he sneered. "That long enough for you, sweetheart?"
"Only half a month more? That's still too short!" she tried to argue, voice trembling.
Vodka threw up his hands, clearly losing patience. "This won't work, that won't work… You know what? Forget it. If you can't handle it, just quit."
"You had your chance — and you blew it!" he snapped. "Maybe you should just crawl back to the organization and stay there where you belong!"
His words hit like slaps. Akemi bit her lip, clenching her fists under the table as she fought to keep calm.
Just then, Gin — silent until now — finally spoke, his cold voice slicing through the tension."I heard you've been stirring up trouble for the Dōzan-kai lately."
She hesitated, not sure why he was suddenly asking that, but nodded. "Yes… though they've been busy with internal fights lately. They've stopped using cash — most of their deals are barter now."
Her shoulders slumped. "So all the time I spent gathering intel on them ended up useless."
Gin swirled the liquor in his glass, his expression unreadable. "Ever heard of Tsukikage Island?"
"Huh? No… never." Akemi shook her head. The name meant nothing to her.
"You've never heard of it?" Vodka cut in, openly sneering. "It's right near Tokyo. There's a family-run cartel operating out there — been smuggling for over twenty years. Their scale's been growing like crazy."
"They move product straight to the local yakuza, and they're cautious as hell. Almost never leave the island." Vodka leaned closer, his grin wide. "If you can wipe them out, forget ten billion yen — you could make ten billion dollars."
Akemi wasn't stupid.She understood immediately — they wanted to use her as a pawn.
She let out a bitter laugh. "You're overestimating me. How could I possibly take down an entire crime syndicate by myself?"
Vodka chuckled darkly. "You're working with that psycho Azuma, right? With him on your side, it'll be easy."
"I only do errands for him," she said quietly. "All this money? I only get a few tens of millions myself."
"Still." Vodka smirked. "That guy's insane. RPGs in broad daylight, raids on the Metropolitan Police Department — nothing scares him. What's one little island?"
He reached into his coat and tossed her a sealed folder. "Here. Intel on the island. Consider it the organization's support."
"…"Akemi hesitated, then took it with both hands. Without another word, she grabbed her suitcase and left.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Vodka snorted."Heh. Boss, you're a genius. Sending that dumb girl to knock out our competition."
He paused, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. "But… you think she can really convince that lunatic to go with her? She's kinda… ditzy. Doesn't seem too reliable."
Gin said nothing, calmly sipping his drink.
Vodka continued anyway. "That island's a pain, though. Packed with their people — not easy to hit. Hope that psycho earns his keep."
Then he smirked again. "But, hey — whether they succeed or not, it's a win for us either way."
Later That Night — Mihua Sakura Hotel
The neon lights of the Mihua Sakura Hotel gleamed in the drizzle.Akemi, dressed neatly in a flight attendant's uniform, pulled a small rolling suitcase down the quiet hallway until she stopped in front of Room 1902.
She pressed the doorbell and said brightly, "Hello, Technician No. 34 reporting for service!"
The strange passphrase still puzzled her. Why bother with codes when you could just check the peephole?
But since her contact was an experienced veteran, Akemi obediently followed instructions.
Click.
The lock disengaged, and the door opened.
Pulling her suitcase behind her, she stepped inside — and met a pair of calm eyes behind a crimson mask.
Unlike Gin's cold, predatory glare, this man's gaze wasn't suffocating. She didn't feel that instinctive fear that made her want to flee.
Ren Kuroda closed the door behind her, leading her to the suite's living area.He gestured for her to sit.
But Akemi didn't sit down. Instead, she immediately offered the suitcase with both hands and bowed deeply."I'm terribly sorry. I could only exchange those gold coins for four hundred million yen."
Her voice carried genuine remorse — she still hated that she'd lost two hundred million to fees.
"It's fine," Ren said easily, flopping down onto the couch. "Money's endless. If you earn less this time, you'll earn more next time."
He stretched out a hand lazily. "Now, the report — let me see it."
To him, the money wasn't the real prize. What mattered was quality of work — and avoiding future headaches caused by incompetent partners.
"Here it is." Akemi quickly pulled a folded paper from her pocket and handed it over with both hands.Her tone was nervous but earnest. "It might not be written very well… please, Mr. Kuroda, I'd appreciate your guidance."