Gin was silent for a moment.
…Can "talent" be used in a professional setting? Is this some weird new method of dodging diagnosis?
Still, it was inevitable. After all, the guy was a psychiatrist. In therapy, it's normal to ask a bunch of probing psychological questions. And somewhere along the line, he must've accidentally stepped on one of Ouzo's many emotional landmines.
And since Ouzo tends to want to kill any random passerby he bumps into, a doctor who both challenged him and tried to dig up his secrets... yeah, that was basically begging to get murdered.
Honestly, the fact that things only escalated to a shootout in the middle of the street? That was Ouzo showing restraint.
Vodka recalled the incident and felt a twinge of envy.
"The psychiatrist really had it good. Didn't get killed, even got promoted to murderer."
Gin sneered, lighting a cigarette. Smoke curled upward as he said,
"For someone like Ouzo, death isn't the ultimate punishment.
"Doctors have high social status. They're usually pretty meticulous and prideful. But imagine this: a guy thinks he's written the perfect murder script, one where he gets to slap the police in the face and disappear into the sunset after the kill... and then, boom—seconds later, one of his own patients kicks him all over the street and hands him over to the cops he just mocked. Gets dragged off in cuffs like a common thug.
"That kind of psychological damage? Now that's the kind of revenge Ouzo prefers."
Vodka, caught up in Gin's vivid description, started picturing Ouzo pretending to play along with therapy—nodding, listening, being a model patient—and slowly, subtly manipulating the poor guy into becoming a killer.
Somehow... the scene felt oddly familiar.
Swap out the people and the setting, and Vodka's brain unhelpfully conjured another version: Ouzo pretending to obey orders, completing missions... and then...
…Wait a minute.
Vodka slammed the brakes on his imagination. If he kept going like this, he'd spiral into full-blown persecutory delusions. He needed to cool it.
Honestly, if you thought about it rationally, Ouzo's methods weren't that invincible. In fact, he had a ton of limitations to work around.
Plus, both he and Brother Gin already knew Ouzo's true nature. That alone gave them a massive advantage. No way this yinbi could shake them.
Next to him, Gin noticed Vodka's subtle wave of panic.
But he underestimated just how far Vodka's imagination had run off. Gin simply assumed the guy was unsettled by the psychiatrist story.
He didn't think much of it.
At the moment, there was a more pressing issue to resolve: they needed someone skilled—and not easily manipulated by Ouzo—to replace the psychiatrist.
Obviously, this person couldn't come from outside the Organization.
Back in the day, Jiangxia was just a fringe member—no access to any real secrets. Finding a shrink back then? Easy.
But things were different now.
As he thought about it, a candidate gradually came to mind.
Rumor had it Vermouth was heading to Japan for vacation soon.
Vermouth had plenty of medical experience and a lot of weird, miscellaneous knowledge. Even if she couldn't help directly, she'd probably be able to recommend someone who could.
Gin mulled it over, then sent a message to the Boss first.
After all, Vermouth was one of the boss's "family" connections, and Ouzo was a rising star in the Organization. Plus, therapy would likely be a long-term thing. It wasn't exactly a major matter, but it wasn't something to act on without a heads-up, either.
The Boss responded quickly: no objections. Told him to go ahead and ask Vermouth.
So Gin contacted her.
Vermouth listened to the brief summary and seemed intrigued.
But—
With her cheek pressed to the smooth receiver on her shoulder, her fingers tapped rhythmically on a keyboard.
"I still need some time to wrap things up," she said. "It'll be a while before I can come over.
"But since your 'golden boy' is already showing obvious signs of cracking, I'd recommend checking on him ASAP. Assess his current state."
Gin blinked. "Assessment?"
"Yeah," Vermouth said with a low chuckle. "Sometimes, the time it takes for a mentally unstable person to go from walking corpse to actual corpse… is just one second.
"If he's already falling apart, by the time I get there, you might be asking me to perform spiritual rites at the crematorium.
"So it's best to monitor him first. If he's showing major warning signs, you can ship him to me immediately.
"Or, if that's too much hassle, lock him down somewhere for protective custody. Either way, don't let him run wild."
Assessment, huh…
Gin glanced at his jam-packed schedule.
His hand, halfway to pulling out a pen, hesitated.
…But something about leaving this sort of thing to someone else didn't sit right.
And with Ouzo's current state of mind, there was a decent chance the "someone else" might just disappear. That kind of wasteful loss of manpower was best avoided.
With that, Gin made his decision.
He said into the receiver,
"About that 'assessment'—give me the full details."
…
Jiangxia, meanwhile, had no idea what was going on in the minds of the real alcoholics.
After wrapping up his police statement, he went home, ready to start scoping out his next target.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 16/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*