Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

The final result was naturally familiar to James.

The photos of the three people were quickly and clearly marked and displayed side by side on the screen.

"Incredible...it's absolutely incredible!"

James stared at the figures on the screen, their figures confirmed to have shrunk. Even though he was somewhat prepared, his eyes still gleamed with astonishment and greed. "Rejuvenation... APTX-4869... This is simply a miracle!"

Curaçao's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Despite having expected it, seeing the system so accurately reveal this most crucial secret still deeply shocked her.

This system truly possesses the power to overturn the world.

"Test complete, system accuracy confirmed."

Curaçao quickly composed herself, reporting in a completely emotionless voice, while her fingers moved swiftly to execute the next step—the one Rum truly cared about most.

"Now, begin executing the final command: search for the target—Karasuma Renya."

Chapter 103: The Confrontation Between James and Judy, and the Current Situation of Karasuma Renya

"Now, begin executing the final command: search for the target—Karasuma Renya."

The three photos on the central screen have demonstrated the power of the cross-age tracking system.

There's no need for further review.

Just as Curaçao was about to press the Enter key to initiate the search for Karasuma Renya, the voice of an uninvited guest suddenly rang out in the quiet control room.

"James Black, raise your hands and slowly turn around!"

The suppressed, furious voice made James Black stiffen.

He slowly raised his hands and turned around as instructed.

When he saw Judy Starling standing not far away, her hands gripping her sidearms tightly, the muzzle pointed steadily at his head, his face showed astonishment and confusion.

"Judy?"

He looked at the agent, whom he had practically watched grow up, with a bewildered expression, his brows furrowing slightly, but his voice lacked any tension: "What do you mean by this? What are you doing?"

"That's the question I should be asking you."

Holding her gun, Judy slowly approached him, her face icy: "What are you doing, James Black?"

"..."

James opened his mouth, then, ignoring the gun, pushed up his glasses and said, "I'm just carrying out a mission, Judy... what's wrong with you? Why are you pointing a gun at me?"

"On a mission?" Judy retorted with a cold laugh.

"Yes."

James had, of course, considered the possibility of being caught in the middle of the night, so he nodded frankly and said, “As you can see, we are using this opportunity to obtain more intelligence about the core members of that organization. This is an operation that has been reported to headquarters and has been authorized. Coordinator Shimizu is also here; she can vouch for this.”

He gestured to Curaçao, who was sitting at the control panel.

Curaçao nodded slightly in agreement, her eyes cold.

"Gather intelligence?"

Judy's gun didn't budge an inch. She sneered and glanced at Naomi Algent, who lay motionless on the ground. "So, what's wrong with Miss Naomi?"

“You’re being too impulsive, Judy. This is for Naomi’s sake… The more information and actions we know, the more dangerous it becomes for her. Letting her stay away for now is to protect her.”

"To protect her?!"

Judy's voice suddenly rose, her suppressed anger erupting like a volcano, "Do you still think I'm a fool?! James Black!"

"..."

"You think what you did was really flawless? No. People have warned me before that I can't trust you."

James' pupils contracted slightly, but he still tried to remain calm:

"Who is it? Who is sowing discord? Judy, don't be fooled by outsiders."

Seeing his attempt to extract information, Judy's hand holding the gun trembled slightly. She calmly recounted, "Back during the Rena Mizunashi incident, the director of Beika Hospital... his true identity was someone from that organization, wasn't it?"

"you--"

"Don't try to deny it. I saw his information on a list of spies from the Black Organization."

Judy gave James no room to defend himself. "The deceased Ethan Hodgson, I was the one who sorted through his belongings. While I was sorting through them, I found his private diary, which clearly stated his suspicions about you after being reminded by Show!"

“I’ve always wanted to believe in you, James.”

"You are our superior, and it was you who led me into the FBI..."

"So even with so many moments that raised doubts, I still held onto the hope that maybe Xiu's idea was wrong, or maybe it was just some kind of coincidence..."

"But this time, from the moment we rescued Ms. Naomi, every step the FBI took seemed to be laid bare before the organization! Agents were killed one after another, Carmel was arrested... The enemy's actions were so perfect it was despairing! Is this really just a coincidence?!"

"Even the whereabouts of Ms. Naomi was something you inexplicably received from the beginning, which led to us being summoned to take action!"

"And your goal from the very beginning has been to have the opportunity to use this system, right?"

This is something Judy suddenly realized just now.

Rescuing Naomi Algent, sacrificing so many agents, and then arriving at this place... all of this ultimately leads to only one result: the cross-age tracking system—that's all James Black wants!

"Stop trying to deny it. Does that mean Shinichi Kudo on the screen is also a Black Organization executive that headquarters ordered us to find?"

James opened his mouth.

He looked at Judy's flushed face, which she forced to appear indifferent through gritted teeth. His composure finally crumbled, peeling away little by little to reveal the deep-seated gloom and the embarrassment of being exposed.

He was speechless.

After a while,

"So what do you want to do, Judy?"

James finally spoke up, and his voice was surprisingly calm.

Judy's gun remained firmly pointed at him, her voice icy with anger: "I will expose you, James. I will report everything you've done to headquarters! You will face the harshest judgment for your betrayal!"

Upon hearing this, James chuckled softly.

There was a complex emotion in his laughter, and as he looked at Judy, a hint of relief flickered in his eyes:

“Judy…you are an excellent FBI agent, but I think I have taught you to be too upright and too naive.”

"...Of course I'd love to shoot you right now!"

Judy glared at him angrily, but looking at his relieved face, she felt the trigger was too heavy. "Letting you die now would be too easy for you!"

“So…” James’s relief vanished instantly, “You probably won’t just shoot me in the head now.”

"Varied--"

Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly lunged forward without warning!

Instead of lunging at Judy, he tried to sidestep the line of fire and find cover.

Judy's pupils contracted sharply, and her finger on the trigger tightened instinctively—

boom!

Gunshots rang out in the empty control room!

The bullet didn't hit his head, but because of James's dodge, it pierced deep into his left shoulder blade, causing blood to gush from between his fingers.

However, almost at the same instant the gunshot rang out, another figure moved as well.

Curaçao, who had been sitting to the side since the beginning, had already assessed the situation the moment James suddenly erupted.

She rose quickly, her movements so fast they left only a blur, and in the blink of an eye after Judy fired her gun, she closed in on her.

Judy tried to react quickly, but Curaçao was too fast. A sharp chop to the wrist holding the gun struck Judy precisely. The pain made her fingers loosen, and the gun flew out of her hand.

Immediately afterward, Curaçao's elbow slammed into Judy's chest like a hammer, catching her breath. Then, she was slammed to the ground by a tremendous force, followed by a cold knee pressing firmly against her back, pinning her arms behind her back and completely subduing her!

Her movements were incredibly swift.

Seeing this, James clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face pale with pain.

He walked step by step to Judy, who was being held firmly to the ground, looked down at her, and spoke with a hint of mockery and regret:

"See... I told you, you were too naive. You should have just shot me in the head."

Judy struggled to lift her head, her cheek scraping against the cold floor. She glared at James, her eyes burning with rage and contempt, and sneered, "Ha...you think you've won?"

James looked into her stubborn and unyielding eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then that complex emotion reappeared on his face.

“Judy…”

His voice lowered, "To be honest, I have feelings for you and for many agents. Especially you, you're like my student... my child. If I could, I wouldn't want us to come to this."

"Shut up!"

Judy interrupted him angrily, struggling to shout, "Tell me! Why did you do this?! How much did that organization give you?! To make you betray so many comrades who trusted you?!"

"benefit?"

James muttered the word as if he had heard something ridiculous, then shook his head.

"It's not for money, nor for power... it's all for myself."

He paused, his gaze falling on Judy's young and vibrant face, filled with a fear and greed that were beyond her comprehension at her age:

"You, in the prime of your youth with a bright future ahead of you, would never understand... Judy."

"When you reach my age, you will clearly feel that your physical strength and energy are declining at a terrible rate... your memory is no longer reliable, and your body begins to be entangled in various chronic diseases... you will increasingly realize that time is the only truly precious thing in this world that cannot be retained."

His words echoed in the silent control room.

James looked up at the three cases of de-aging—Shinichi Kudo, Shiho Miyano, and Mary Sera—still displayed on the main screen, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity:

"As a former FBI agent, I was also full of enthusiasm."

"But as I get older and my physical functions decline, I can only take a backseat now and do some scheduling and driving work... You can't understand this feeling right now, Judy."

"I just... want more time."

His deep voice echoed in the empty control room.

Judy's expression gradually changed.

Then she gritted her teeth and said:

"You...you're a madman—!"

James slowly shook his head, his face pale from the gunshot wound in his shoulder, but his eyes were unusually bright: "I don't need to seek your approval, Judy."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Besides, I already said you're too naive. Even if you successfully expose me, do you think the higher-ups will put me on trial?"

"..."

He forced a mocking smile: "You see, the rejuvenation brought about by that organization's power is real! It's enough to drive any powerful person in the world crazy. At that time, I only need to throw out this bait to prove that I have the ability to obtain this 'more time'... I will not only not be punished, but will also gain more power than before!"

“Those rulers who fear time and crave immortality will flock to me like flies drawn to honey.”

"The position of head of the FBI's Japan bureau? That's too insignificant."

Judy gritted her teeth; the horrific scene James described chilled her to the bone, and she found herself unable to refute it.

Faced with temptations that defy common sense, so-called justice and order may indeed be extremely vulnerable.

"As for now."

James looked at Judy's silent and angry face, his tone turning cold again, "I did tell you part of what I said. The ultimate purpose of activating this system is indeed to find the Black Organization's executives—but the one hidden at the very top."

“But that’s none of your business, Judy.”

After James finished speaking, he gestured to Curaçao.

Curaçao immediately took the high-voltage stun gun from his waist without the slightest hesitation.

Sizzle... sizzle sizzle—!

The flashing arc of electricity gave Judy no time to react, striking her directly on the side of her neck.

"Ughhhhh!"