PDLP Chapter 111: Rookie and Veteran
Chapter 111: Rookie and Veteran
The FBI Chicago branch building in the United States.
Judy Stelline slammed James Blake's desk, shaking with anger, and yelled, "What's going on? Why did all the FBI agents in Tokyo lose contact at the same time? Show him...what happened to them?"
James Blake sat in his office chair, his arms folded across his chest, a stern look on his face. The usually kind and gentle executive had completely vanished, replaced by a forbidding apathy. His piercing gaze, a silent warning, made the air around them seem frozen.
"You..." Judy opened her mouth angrily, but was completely suppressed by Blake's cold silence. Her voice echoed in the empty office, but received no response.
Andre Carmel, standing behind her, reached out and gently grasped her arm, gesturing for her to calm down. Judy turned and glared at Andre, seeming ready to retort, but when he shook his head slightly, her anger subsided slightly. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and angrily turned to the sofa, sitting down heavily. The cushions seemed to hold her resentment and powerlessness.
Andre stood aside, silent. James remained unmoved, his eyes darkening, as if he too was waiting for something. The entire office fell into an oppressive silence, a tense atmosphere thick in the air, as if worse news were imminent.
Judy stared at James, with questions, anxiety and anger intertwined in her heart. She wanted an answer, even if the answer would make her extremely desperate.
Silence weighed heavily on the office, as if time had frozen. Andrei sat at his desk, his heart hammering like a hammer, pushing closer to collapse with every passing second. The air around him felt almost thick, even breathing a burden. Light from outside streamed in through the blinds, casting dappled shadows, yet he felt trapped in endless darkness.
At that moment, a knock on the door suddenly sounded, like a bolt of lightning shattering the silence. Andrei, as if granted amnesty, stood up without hesitation, walked quickly to the door, and almost eagerly opened it. The agent standing outside handed him a stack of documents. Andrei took the documents, barely glanced at them, and immediately closed the door.
The atmosphere in the office seemed to shift slightly with the arrival of the document. Judy's eyes fixed on the document in James's hand, a flicker of longing in them. She knew it held the answers she needed most. Her heartbeat quickened, and her fingers lightly gripped the armrest of the sofa, awaiting the next bit of information.
James wasted no time. He quickly unfolded the document, his eyes darting over the words. Gradually, his brow furrowed, his expression shifting from concentration to anxiety. Finally, his body seemed to lose all strength, as if crushed by the immense pressure. In that moment, James seemed to have aged a dozen years. His shoulders slumped, his eyes lost their luster, filled with confusion and exhaustion.
He flung the documents feebly onto the table and stared up at the ceiling, his gaze empty, as if searching for something but finding nothing. The silence of the office enveloped the room once again. Only the stack of documents lay quietly on the table, seemingly carrying a message of devastating news.
"What the hell is going on?!" Judy's voice was filled with anxiety and uneasiness. She stared at James, the hope she couldn't hide in her eyes quickly turning into anxiety. She had been waiting for good news, news that would break the heavy atmosphere before her.
However, seeing James's pale face and empty eyes, an ominous premonition suddenly surged in her heart, like a cold current climbing from the soles of her feet to her heart. She could almost feel the breath of despair eroding her nerves bit by bit.
But Judy still forced herself to hold on to the last glimmer of hope, picked up the documents on the table, and opened them with trembling fingertips. Every page she turned seemed like an irreversible door of fate, revealing to her an unspeakable cruel reality.
She lowered her head, and lines of text quickly came into view. At first, she managed to maintain her composure, but gradually, her vision began to blur and her mind went blank. Suddenly, as if she had lost her balance, the document in her hand slipped from her fingers and fell heavily to the ground with a soft "clatter".
Judy didn't bother picking up the documents. She slumped to the ground, her legs unable to support her, as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, soaking her skirt. She looked down at the documents scattered on the ground. The pieces of information seemed to spread out like an endless sorrow between them.
One of the cards fell at Andre's feet. He subconsciously glanced down and saw a line of cold words written on it: "Akai Shuichi, who led the expedition to Tokyo, and his team members are all confirmed dead!"
At that moment, the air seemed to freeze. The moment Andrei saw the contents of the document, his face gradually turned pale, his pupils trembling. He seemed to have lost all his strength and fell to the sofa, muttering, "Impossible... This can't be true..."
---
As night fell, a group of four, fresh from a banquet, trudged back to Chen Shuo's villa. Standing before the door, the air seemed frozen, their gazes intertwined silently, none of them daring enough to reach out and open it. Mao Lilan, Suzuki Sonoko, and Haibara Ai exchanged glances, each filled with a heavy sense of unease and anxiety.
They had strongly requested to participate in this mission, but they failed. They had set out with great confidence, but ultimately failed to complete the task assigned by Chen Shuo.
Suzuki Sonoko, who was known for her innocent and adventurous nature, felt a weight she had never felt before. She glanced at Huibara Ai and Mao Lilan, and saw the guilt and uneasiness on their faces. The same silence made her even more unbearable.
"Ai and Ran have both performed their observer duties brilliantly, and Aoki at least injured Akai Shuichi, but I..." Thinking of this, Suzuki Sonoko felt as if she was pricked by a needle in her heart.
In contrast to the three girls' dejection, Pu Siqinglan, standing behind them, couldn't help but smile, a smile that held a touch of relief and amusement. She looked at the three listless, troubled girls before her, and a hint of joy rose in her heart.
Honestly, this mission was inherently difficult, with a near-negligible chance of success. Chen Shuo was already well aware of their capabilities. While their participation was sincere and determined, Chen Shuo had undoubtedly prepared for failure.
This time, Suzuki Sonoko was able to accurately hit Akai Shuichi's chest at that moment, and she herself was surprised. If it weren't for the protection of the bulletproof vest, that shot would probably have ended the mission. Thinking of Sonoko's shot, Pu Siqinglan felt a little envious. What a terrifying talent...
She glanced at the three of them, seeing their hesitant and anxious expressions, chuckled softly, shook her head, and then stepped forward decisively, heading straight for the door.
She gently grasped the door handle, and with a slight "click", the door opened and she walked into the house with a relaxed pace.
Looking at Pu Siqinglan's back, Mao Lilan, Suzuki Sonoko, and Haibara Ai exchanged a glance. After a moment's silence, Mao Lilan took a deep breath, finally gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and pushed open the door. Suzuki Sonoko followed her in. Although the heavy feeling in their hearts still couldn't be relieved, they also knew that it was no use to linger outside and that they had to face it.
---
Inside the living room, the lights were warm and soft, the quiet atmosphere broken only by the occasional sound of polishing. Chen Shuo sat on a simple yet comfortable sofa, his face relaxed, holding his Remington 1875 in his hand, carefully polishing the barrel, seemingly enjoying this peaceful moment.
This is his habit. Every time after using the weapon, he will carefully maintain it, not only to maintain its accuracy, but also out of respect for his beloved gun.
On the single sofa next to him, Pu Siqinglan sat leisurely, legs crossed, a lazy expression on her face. Parts of her sniper rifle were scattered on the coffee table in front of her. She wiped them gently with a cloth, her movements elegant and professional, each one revealing a certain calmness, as if she were playing with toys.
In stark contrast to these two were Ran Maoli, Sonoko Suzuki, and Ai Huihara, who sat on the sofa opposite Chen Shuo. They lowered their heads, avoiding Chen Shuo's gaze, looking a little uneasy, like children who had done something wrong.
Their silence and inner remorse made the atmosphere in the living room seem a bit heavy. They knew they had failed, and they knew they were responsible for it, but no matter what, facing Chen Shuo's calm, insightful eyes, they couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.
After a while, Chen Shuo finally reassembled the Remington. He deftly rotated the gun and performed a handsome gun dance, his movements flowing like water and a touch of elegance. With a flick of the handle, he holstered the gun neatly. Then, with a faint smile, he looked at the three "quails" across from him, his eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and helplessness.
"What are you doing?" Chen Shuo's voice was relaxed, even a hint of teasing. "You've clearly completed the task I assigned you to do very well, so why are you making such expressions? Seeing you like this, I don't know what to say."
He raised one eyebrow slightly, and said in a teasing tone, "But the one next to me..." He glanced at Pu Siqinglan, who was leisurely cleaning her gun, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "You are obviously the only one who didn't complete the goal, why do you look so relaxed?"
Pu Siqinglan's face remained calm as she listened to Chen Shuo's sarcasm. She raised her eyebrows slightly, completely unconcerned with Chen Shuo's teasing tone. She gently put down the gun parts in her hand, leaned back on the sofa, and a playful smile played at the corner of her mouth.
She spoke in a voice that was both lazy and slightly charming: "Boss~~ You clearly know my limits, and I clearly achieved my goal this time." Her tone seemed deliberately teasing, with a hint of provocation: "You didn't think we could succeed in sniping, right? Your requirement from the beginning was to force Akai Shuichi into the venue, right?"
Her words were lighthearted and direct, even tinged with a hint of teasing. Chen Shuo's lips curled up slightly, but he didn't refute her. He just shook his head helplessly, "What a shrewd old man."
In fact, Chen Shuo knew in his heart that they did not have the ability to complete this kind of task. Instead, forcing Akai Shuichi to enter the designated range was their most critical task.
The three frustrated women raised their heads in surprise, their gazes unconsciously fixed on Chen Shuo, as if expecting him to respond. A hint of suspicion flashed in Mao Lilan's eyes, Suzuki Sonoko's lips moved slightly, and Haibara Ai silently observed the conversation between the two, feeling a little uneasy.
They had never expected that Chen Shuo's request at the beginning was not to successfully snipe Shuichi Akai, but to design a more complicated situation - to lure Shuichi Akai into the venue. But why didn't Chen Shuo make it clear at the beginning?