I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 687 Mary: Is it possible that he was also a victim? (2 updates)
After Mary obtained the information she wanted from her deputy, she did not keep her promise to immediately eliminate the other party, but instead injected him with a truth serum.

She stared expressionlessly at her deputy, who was slumped on the ground, delirious from the truth serum, muttering to himself. From his fragmented yet mutually corroborating words, she extracted all the necessary information—the superior's orders, the code name of the operation, the personnel involved, and the deeper political calculations behind it.

After obtaining the information she wanted, she gave the other party a swift and decisive end.

Mary calmly picked up a prepared syringe, precisely located the carotid artery, and injected a lethal dose of medication.
The deputy's body convulsed violently a few times, then went completely limp and motionless, finally falling into a deathly silence.

Shiraishi E, who had been leaning against the door frame watching from the sidelines, looked on with great interest at Mary's series of extremely calm actions.

He dragged over a large suitcase that had been prepared beforehand, and while deftly starting to clean up the scene, he asked with a casual, curious tone, "Judging from your work, it's so clean and efficient, like it's nothing new to you. Do you do this kind of thing often?"

Mary didn't stop what she was doing. She picked up the prepared cleaning solution and rag and began to meticulously wipe the places where fingerprints or bloodstains might be left. Her voice was calm and even, as if she were stating a trivial daily matter that had nothing to do with her: "I've been doing this for more than forty years. I can't remember exactly how many. Probably... more than a hundred. That's about two a year on average."

Shiraishi E, who was stuffing the corpse into the suitcase, paused for a moment and looked up in surprise: "Do you need to personally clean up so many traitors within MI6?" The proportion sounded a bit horrifying.

Mary continued working, calmly correcting him: "It's not that MI6 has many traitors, but rather that intelligence agencies in all countries are essentially breeding grounds for traitors. The places where the sun doesn't shine are where parasites thrive."

She paused, then added, "Of course, that also includes foreign traitors we actively recruited; we deal with those as well."

Shiraishi seemed interested in the topic. He zipped up his suitcase and asked, "Why? Logically, the vetting process at such an institution should be very strict."

Mary paused for a few seconds, as if organizing her thoughts or recalling something. She straightened up, looked at the cold cement floor, and slowly said, "Because being a secret agent requires extremely strong faith to persevere in a profession... but unfortunately, not everyone can consistently resist those ever-present temptations."

"When faith collapses, or when there is no faith to begin with, betrayal becomes the natural choice."

"I don't understand." Shiraishi E stated bluntly: "Be more specific, what kind of temptation? Money? Power? Sex?"

Mary took a deep breath, intending to be blunt, and said, "Actually, the salary of a secret agent isn't high, only slightly higher than that of a regular civil servant..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shiraishi E interrupted her incredulously, her tone exaggerated: "Seriously? Are you kidding me? You're doing a job where you risk your life, and you only get paid a little more than a civil servant sitting in an office? Are you guys just doing this purely out of love?"

“So you have to have faith to be a secret agent!” Mary emphasized, her tone becoming more forceful, but then a hint of helplessness crept in: “Moreover, the nature of a secret agent’s work is very special.”

"Their long-term targets are often the wealthy and powerful, the extravagant and lavish figures at the top of society. Watching these people indulge in a life of luxury and extravagance every day, frequenting top-tier venues and spending money that ordinary people could not earn in several lifetimes... many agents will experience a huge sense of disillusionment."

She continued wiping the floor, her voice low: "They will start to wonder what they are risking their lives to protect? Is it the lives of these parasites? Why do they live in such dire straits despite giving everything? Once this thought takes root, coupled with the timely contact and enticement from external forces... other thoughts will naturally follow."

After hearing this, Shiraishi E's face showed an extremely speechless expression.

Good heavens, they want the horse to run like crazy, but they won't feed it grass? No wonder so many agents choose to defect!
Secret agents are human too, not gods who live on dew. Everyone has material needs.
If I were to get married and have children, with elderly parents to support and young children to raise, my salary as a civil servant would barely cover rent, utilities, and children's tuition in places like Tokyo, London, Paris, and New York.

He now understood why traitors were so prevalent.

In the face of survival pressures, empty talk about faith is simply too pale.

Moreover, Western intelligence agencies have always been involved in all sorts of bad things.

What kind of faith do you expect from them?
If everyone is poor and resources are scarce, then it's not so bad.

The problem is, in a society that is materially abundant, they have fallen to the point where even survival is a problem. Who still talks about ideals and beliefs?

Indeed, when it comes to being inhumane, Westerners have far more experience.

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After leaving the basement, Shiraishi E and Mary returned to the bright and warm living room one after the other. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and a faint fragrance of black tea, which contrasted sharply with the previous smell of blood, almost making them feel dazed.

Akemi was standing behind the counter in the open kitchen when she heard footsteps. She looked up with a gentle smile on her face, but did not ask what had happened in the basement.

She expertly wiped the glass pot in her hands and asked softly, "You're back. Would you like something to drink? Coffee or tea? I just brewed some fresh coffee and a pot of Darjeeling."

"Coffee, thank you," Shiraishi E replied casually, lazily tossing herself into a large single sofa.

Mary ordered a cup of black tea.

Her gaze swept quickly and professionally around the living room.

The spacious interior, the comfortable and expensive furniture, the tasteful decorative paintings on the walls, and the seemingly casually placed but actually valuable electronic devices... all of this indicates that the residents are not "hiding" in the ordinary sense.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone carrying a hint of surprise and inquiry: "Your place... is quite big. You seem to be living a comfortable life... I thought you were hiding and living a very frugal and unstable life."

Akemi was pouring hot water into the coffee pot when she heard this. She turned around with a grateful smile on her face and looked gently at Shiraishi E, who was sprawled on the sofa: "It's all thanks to E. If he hadn't arranged everything, we wouldn't be able to live so comfortably."

She gently swirled the filter cup to fully saturate the coffee grounds, and continued, "Although for safety reasons we can't go out like ordinary people... to be honest, Ai and I are both people who like to stay at home, reading, doing research, watching movies... it's not a problem not to go out, in fact, we feel quite at ease."

Mary followed Akemi's gaze and glanced at Shiraishi E, only to see the boy resting with his eyes closed, looking as if it were none of his business.

She did not comment further, but the initial scrutiny and doubt in her eyes seemed to have faded slightly.

She took the perfectly brewed, fragrant cup of black tea from Mingmei's hand, the warmth of the porcelain cup seeping through her fingertips. She politely said, "Thank you."

She took a sip of tea, chatted with Akemi for a while, and then asked, "Where are Elena and Ai? I haven't seen them."

“They’ve gone to the lab to prepare,” Akemi explained as she handed the freshly made coffee to Shiraishi E. “After all, we need to calibrate a lot of instruments beforehand to conduct a detailed examination and data analysis for you.”

Upon hearing this, Mary said, "Then I'll go take a look." Seeing this, Mingmei quickly and gently dissuaded her, "Auntie, the preparation work in the laboratory is very complicated. If we go over now, we might disturb them instead."

She paused for a moment, then offered a more considerate suggestion, “How about I take you to the guest room for a hot bath to relax? You’ve been on edge the whole time, and a bath can effectively relieve stress, which will be beneficial for your subsequent physical examinations and experiments, making the data more accurate.”

Mary hesitated for a moment, then realized that Mingmei's words made sense, and she did indeed feel physically and mentally exhausted.

She nodded and picked up her teacup again: "Alright... perfect timing, I also have some questions I'd like to ask you privately."

As she spoke, she nodded slightly to Shiraishi E on the sofa, "Excuse me for a moment."

Shiraishi E didn't even open her eyes, she just waved her hand casually.

Mingmei smiled and said to Mary, "Auntie, please come with me."

She led Mary through the living room and down the hallway to the bedroom area, intending to take her to the guest room to wash up and rest, while also anticipating an inevitable and detailed inquiry from an elder that was about to begin.

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Steam rose and filled the spacious bathroom, accompanied by a soothing aromatherapy scent.

Mary and Minmei were soaking in the large jacuzzi. The warm water soothed their tense nerves and seemed to soften the barriers caused by their different identities, creating a rare and private atmosphere where they could have a brief chat.

Without Shiraishi E's presence, Mary seemed to have let down her guard against outsiders.

She leaned against the poolside, letting the hot water wash over her shoulders, and casually began a conversation, but her gaze held a subtle scrutiny: "Akami, tell me about that Shiraishi E. What... exactly is his background?"

This is her biggest concern right now.

Mingmei was already prepared, so naturally she wouldn't reveal everything she knew.

She picked up the wooden ladle floating on the water, scooped up some hot water, and gently poured it over her shoulders, her tone natural yet subtly ambiguous: "Hui? He... is incredibly capable. That's my strongest impression. As for his specific identity and background,"

She shook her head slightly, a hint of helpless smile on her face. "Actually, I'm not really sure either. He only said that... he's currently a high school student." She dropped this information and observed Mary's reaction.

As expected, Mary's lips curled into a knowing yet mocking smile upon hearing this.

She clearly didn't believe this explanation at all: "High school student? Humph, that's probably just a carefully chosen disguise."

She paused, her voice lowering slightly, with the analytical tone characteristic of a secret agent: "An ordinary high school student could never possess that kind of skill and decisiveness. That's something honed on the edge of life and death; the school can't provide it."

As Mingmei listened to Mary's calm analysis, she couldn't help but feel a slight tremor in her heart.

Yes, this reason has always been far-fetched, but they have selectively ignored it or chosen to believe this seemingly simple premise.

Mary didn't stop there; her thoughts continued to race forward, posing a bolder hypothesis that seemed to explain all the doubts: "His efforts to rescue you from that massive black-clad organization and his expend so much energy protecting you couldn't be just out of goodwill. I believe he must have another purpose!"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, the steam from the hot water unable to completely conceal the sharp glint in them. She lowered her voice, as if stating a truth that was gradually becoming clear: "Combined with his completely illogical skills... I strongly suspect that he is very likely one of the victims of APTX4869!"

"However, perhaps due to individual differences, or perhaps due to the special circumstances when he took the medication, he did not regress into a child's form like us. Instead, he underwent some kind of... mutation and ultimately remained in the form of a high school student!"

This groundbreaking hypothesis was thrown out like a boulder thrown into calm water, instantly creating a storm in Mingmei's heart!

She suddenly opened her eyes wide, opened her mouth, and instinctively wanted to refute it, to say that it was impossible.

However, when she tried to say it, she found that she couldn't find any strong arguments to refute the conjecture!

On the contrary, this hypothesis is like a key that instantly unlocks many previously inexplicable locks!

How could a high school student possibly fight against an organization single-handedly?

How could they possibly possess such sophisticated and ruthless methods and seemingly inexhaustible resources?
If he was also a victim of drugs, then everything seems to make sense!

His concern for the medication, his protection of the mother and her two daughters, his extraordinary abilities, and the occasional glimpses of depth that belied his age...

All the fragments seemed to fit together perfectly thanks to Mary's bold guess!
Akemi's mind raced through Shiraishi E's past achievements: her precise marksmanship, terrifying skills, familiarity with the organization's modus operandi, and that all-knowing gaze...

If we apply the identity of "a victim who gained extraordinary abilities due to drugs and is eager to unravel the mystery or seek revenge" to all of this, it would be much more reasonable than "a mysterious high school boy"!

At that moment, Mingmei felt as if a light had suddenly been pierced through her eyes, and she suddenly understood!
The heavy fog that had always shrouded Shiraishi E seemed to have been largely dispelled by Mary's reasoning.

Her eyes were filled with shock and admiration as she looked at Mary, murmuring, "Auntie... what you said... makes a lot of sense... I... how come I didn't think of that before..."

Mary smiled smugly and said, "But no matter what, it's true that he saved you and protected you... so this lame excuse doesn't really matter."

She tried hard to recall any famous assassins or secret agents who had suddenly disappeared.

Upon closer reflection, she realized there were quite a few more, too many to count.

Mary had no choice but to abandon this plan.

(End of this chapter)