Chapter 295: Victory? Failure!
Chapter 298: Victory? Failure!

I've been running around a lot these past two days, and I'm a bit burned out. So I'll update one post first, sorry everyone, I'll update the rest when I'm better, current record (51/22)

After leaving the safe house, I found a room on the top floor of the hotel that could see the front of the hotel and lived there. After setting up the sniper rifle, I went to take a shower. I said I was going to the rooftop to keep watch, but in fact I just didn't want to stay in the same room with Vermouth and the others. Unlike these adults, I, a child, am not dangerous to the outside world at all. As long as I don't show my murderous intentions, it will be difficult to expose my professional identity as a killer. And the so-called sentry is also dispensable. The FBI headquarters building has just been beaten back to the Stone Age. It will take a long time to restore communication. And if you want to get support from other police officers and mobilize cameras to monitor the whereabouts of the car, it will not be done in a short time. What's more, it's the escape route of the gold medal. Even if Vodka can't think of it, Gin and Vermouth will definitely be able to think of it. So, in this room, I just need to pretend. The FBI will definitely not be able to find our hiding place in such a short time. Moreover, if there is an insider, they will definitely search the known safe houses on the US base as soon as possible. This will give us more time. In addition, the relocation plan has not yet informed the members who went out to do the mission. In other words, the insider provided intelligence to the FBI. The organization knew that there was an insider among the more than ten people, but they didn't know who it was. The insider didn't know that he had been discovered at this time. So both parties were in such an ambiguous and embarrassing situation. We can also successfully escape when the FBI hesitates. After this operation, the insider will realize that he has been discovered, but the organization still sends him and more than a dozen people out. Then he will know that his identity has not been thoroughly identified. Whether to save his life and evacuate, or to continue to be undercover in a dangerous situation, all depends on his thoughts. But with Akai Shuichi's temperament, he should continue to lurk, right? Although I, the unknown little butterfly, appeared, I should not have affected him at present. In fact, I am also wondering, if there is no me, the original organization should have experienced this, then who and who came to infiltrate the FBI headquarters at that time, and how did they successfully complete the mission? I don't know. But this is not within my scope of deep thinking.

After taking a shower, I lay on the bed and called Shizuka and Shiho. It was almost night when I came to the window, put on my coat, and watched with night vision goggles. Of course, this was just for show. Because soon, Calvados should come up to take my shift.

About forty minutes later, at two in the morning, Calvados knocked on my door.

"I'll take over." After opening the door, Calvados said indifferently. "You can go down and rest."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you." I nodded to Calvados. "I left some dry food and canned food on the windowsill for you. Take whatever you want. It doesn't look like there's any danger."

"Yeah." Calvados didn't say much, just responded and went to the window. Facing this cold remark, I could only shrug and smile.

After leaving the top floor, I returned to the safe house. I found that Vermouth and Gin had already fallen asleep, and Vodka was performing the chicken kowtowing in front of the surveillance camera. Looking at the state of these three people, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. If I pulled out a gun at this time... Ahem... Hmm... I think Conan's world will be more exciting because of these few shots of mine. Thinking about it carefully... It seems that this is an idea that can be solved once and for all.

————The scent of orchids, the scent of lavender, the scent of home & the wings of angels, the wings of demons, the wings of guardians————

The three of them were asleep, so there seemed no point in me staying awake. I found a sofa in the living room, covered myself with clothes and went to sleep. When I woke up again, it was Vodka who woke me up. I thought we were leaving, but when he woke me up, I saw Gin and Vermouth staring at the TV in front of them. Their expressions were also very solemn. Judging from their appearance, something must have happened.

"Sister Bei, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Watch TV." Vermouth didn't say much, just asked me to watch TV. When I turned my eyes to the TV, I found that the content on it was exactly the FBI hacking incident yesterday.

【According to reports, an unknown explosion occurred at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI headquarters in Washington, yesterday, and some people saw armed helicopters flying into the city. The FBI responded that a short circuit occurred during the demolition of the headquarters in Washington yesterday, causing an explosion and destroying some electronic products, but fortunately there were no casualties. The armed helicopters came to help complete the demolition of the building. It is understood that the relevant departments of the FBI issued an announcement to demolish the headquarters and relocate as early as half a year ago, but the implementation of this time was unexpectedly sudden. According to statistics at the time, the Hoover Building was rated by citizens as the ugliest building in Washington. It was a work of the 1960s. In order to ensure the overall stability and safety of the building, the Brutalist designers at the time deliberately used the original form of steel and concrete to show this fortress-like building. Now the building has been demolished suddenly and violently under the secrecy of the agents. It is a great relief. As the next stop of the headquarters... 】

There is no need to listen to the rest of the content. I also understand why Vermouth and the others look so bad.

“With so many people dead, they can still completely block the news?” I scratched my head, speechless.

"The witness protection program." Vermouth explained to me. "This is their usual method. All the families of the deceased FBI agents will join the witness protection program to protect their safety."

"So this time... we are helping them demolish the building?"

"That's not all." Gin's voice was as cold as ice and he looked at me with anger. "We also exposed our ability to possess helicopters and EMPs."

"Gin, this isn't IceWine's fault." Vermouth saw that things were not going well and blocked Gin's gaze from looking at me. "The whole plan was flawless, and no one could have imagined that the FBI would do this."

Yes, this move by the FBI was brilliant. To sum it up, in this mission, the FBI used a trick against us.

From the time the undercover was discovered to the time he was sent out to perform the mission. During this period, the undercover conveyed the information he knew to the headquarters and informed them that the headquarters might be attacked. So the FBI headquarters emptied the entire building, intending to catch the turtle in the jar, but the appearance of EMP and armed helicopters disrupted their plan and let the organization's two gold medals slip away from them. In other words, the FBI set a trap and lost more than 30 elite agents. In the end, they did not catch the target, and their plan failed. But compared to the organization, our action this time did delay their offensive pace and dealt a heavy blow to the FBI, but did they suffer any serious damage? The answer is no. Apart from anything else, just implanting the virus in the network should be futile. If the FBI is really preparing to move the headquarters as said on TV, then the backup data may have been disconnected from here long ago. The virus implantation did not work at all, but instead allowed the enemy to figure out a set of virus programs, which is a loss for the organization. And it's not just the virus. With the exposure of the EMP and the presence of armed helicopters, the organization's strength at the US base is equivalent to the FBI recognizing most of it. It's understandable that Gin got angry about this, but I was a little pissed that he directed his anger at me.

"Brother Gin, I admit that I came up with this plan. I am also responsible for exposing the EMP and the helicopter, but that was based on the feasibility of the plan and the protection of the gold medal. You want to pass the buck now. I'm afraid there is something wrong with that?" I stared at Gin coldly. The atmosphere at this time had cooled to the extreme. As long as Gin made the slightest mistake, I would react immediately.

"Okay, you two!" Vermouth frowned, "This is not anyone's fault, but we were tricked by that traitor. Don't waste time, pack up and retreat first!" Vermouth spoke, Gin snorted and stopped talking, put on his coat and followed Vodka out. We have to take a car to the port first, then leave by boat, and finally take a plane to fly away from this troubled place.

"Bing, don't mind." Seeing Gin leave, Vermouth comforted me. "Gin doesn't like to do useless work, especially when the mission fails. Although we succeeded in delaying the FBI, we failed in terms of the cost."

"Sister Bei, you don't have to comfort me, I understand." I shook my head calmly. "I have a responsibility for this mission, after all, I came up with the plan. Although it can't be considered as bearing the loss, I have made a note of this account with the FBI."

"Well, don't worry about it. We still need to think about this matter carefully. I'll tell you after I report to the boss." Vermouth said. "Leave first. I'll send you to Africa when we get to a safe place."

"Okay." I chose to remain silent about Vermouth's words. This was also a helpless move. In fact, the FBI's relocation of its headquarters is a matter of the 21st century, and it is still 20 years away from now. I didn't expect that because of my appearance and the designation of this plan, the building would be demolished years earlier. This should be the biggest storm that this little butterfly of mine has set off so far. Think about it yourself. If I hadn't appeared, the mission should have been carried out according to the original plan formulated by Gin and others. In that case, perhaps the Hoover Building would not have been damaged. Because of my appearance, EMP and armed helicopters were driven, so the relocation of the headquarters was brought forward. I hope this will not affect Conan's plot, otherwise I will not be able to control the facts, and then I will really lose a lot.

Following Vermouth out of the safe house, we got on the new car taken out of the garage and drove to the port. Gin's car was temporarily placed in the organization's garage, and he would take it away naturally after we were out of danger. There was no conversation along the way, because everyone was in a bad mood. Until we arrived at the port and got on the ship to leave here. Sitting in a room, I curled up on a sofa and looked through my phone, chatting with Jingliu through text messages. At the same time, Vermouth also sent a report to the boss, reporting on the mission. Not long after, the feedback from the boss came back.

"The boss said that this mission was a success."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, the EMP was exposed but no corresponding benefits were obtained. This punishment should be blamed on me." As she spoke, Vermouth cast her eyes on me, and my brows knitted tightly at this time. "IceWine, you are half responsible for the exposure of the EMP this time, and the other half falls on my head. Tell me, do you have any way to make up for it?"

Hearing this, I leaned my head back on the armrest of the sofa, stretched out my hand and gently pinched my forehead with a worried look. "Yes, but I don't think I can make up for it right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Vermouth.

"Give me two minutes, I'll collect my thoughts." I sat up and slowly placed my gun on the table.

"It doesn't matter, we still have plenty of time." Seeing my actions, Vermouth raised her eyebrows. She knew that the reason I did this was to tell her that I had no intention of resisting at all.

"Hmm..." I quickly came up with my own words. "Let's talk about this mission first. I was able to bring the EMP into the city without anyone noticing, which proves that I have the ability to do it. If I can bring it in once, I can definitely bring it in a second time."

"Go on." Vermouth seemed to see through what I wanted to say.

"I said I don't have the ability to make up for it right now because I'm too young now. Many things are not convenient for me to do. I need time and more training. This time the mission is halfway done. We have successfully delayed the FBI's investigation of the organization and destroyed their headquarters building. Even if they have made preparations for relocation, it will take a long time to search us again. This time the insider has locked the scope. If he chooses to continue to lurk, he will not take action in a short time. If we let these people return to the organization at different times, we can narrow the scope little by little, especially the two gold medals, so that they can return to the organization in the end. If someone has defected from the organization before, then we can directly determine who the traitor is. If not, then the time for the FBI to act again will be established due to the return of personnel, so that the scope can be further narrowed. Until all members return, but at this time the organization's new base has already taken root and settled, and it will have more spare power to face the FBI again. This is my analysis of this operation. In addition, I hope that the US base can investigate the issue of the insider as soon as possible. And my compensation will start after finding the insider."

"Do you want to get rid of the traitor?" Vermouth asked me.

"No, I plan to follow the clues and destroy the FBI headquarters once again!"

"Heh, you're quite arrogant." Gin sneered at the side.

"In two years at least, five years at most, I will definitely lead my own team to destroy the new FBI headquarters again. This is my way of making up for it. If I succeed, I hope to write off the past. If I fail, I am willing to die to atone for it."

"Bing, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I said that if I can bring EMP into the city once, I can do it a second time. A third time. This is what I rely on! The FBI must be on full alert at this time, and our base in the United States has not yet established a firm foothold. For this reason, I propose the above action plan. I also hope that the boss can approve my compensation method!" At this moment, my seriousness shocked everyone present. They no longer regarded me as a child. Instead, they truly regarded me as a member of an organization.

"...Let me ask." Vermouth frowned slightly, but still sent a message to the boss to report my situation.

About fifteen minutes later, Vermouth's phone rang again. The boss's response was simple.

【Approved IceWine's action, self-designed action code name.】

"It seems that the boss is also optimistic about you." Vermouth's lips curled up slightly. "In this case, the organization will identify the traitor as the basis. If the traitor escapes, it will be limited to five years. Within five years, IceWine must complete this task. When the traitor is found or there is a tendency, the information will be reported to IceWine as soon as possible, and then he will have full authority to handle it. Do you have any objections?" Vermouth said to the other three people.

"I agree." Calvados was the first to express his opinion.

"I'll follow your instructions," Vodka said.

"Just don't mess it up." Gin added coldly.

"It's decided then, Bing, come up with your code name for the operation."

"Isn't the code name of this operation Punishment?" I licked my lips. "Then I'll give him a more ruthless one next time. My code name for this operation is: Heavenly Punishment!"

(End of this chapter)