Chapter 364: Chapter 364

Jack never imagined he could reach the heavens in a single leap; the position of CIA Headquarter Director seemed utterly unattainable to him.

Before him, there were many competitors. One of them was his immediate superior, Director John.

Jack wanted Director John to rise so he could take over as the Bureau Chief of the Japan Branch. Being a Bureau Chief might not seem like much, but to reach that position was to hold great power, overseeing all CIA operatives in Japan. Jack usually didn't think about these things, but when an opportunity presented itself, he naturally aspired to become the Bureau Chief. But he was aware his intellect wasn't cut out for the higher-stake games, so he sought advice from Morimoto Chiyoda, hoping for a good strategy to move up the ladder.

The other end of the phone fell silent.

Morimoto Chiyoda understood perfectly. Everything Jack had said before was undoubtedly laying the groundwork for this particular question. Such behavior wasn't bad; compared to those leaders who only made empty promises, Jack at least put the pie in people's mouths, letting them have their fill. Workers don't ask for much; they just hope their superiors won't make empty promises. Having Jack take over Director John's position would be good for both the special project team and her. It was certainly better than parachuting in a completely unfamiliar leader.

"If you want to become the Director at this time, you naturally need to distinguish yourself with achievements. You could try asking your informants if they have any new intelligence to provide to you."

Morimoto Chiyoda didn't outright express her thoughts. Instead, she adopted a subtle strategy, suggesting he get Emily to fabricate false intelligence. This would allow him to become the Director first, and then he could find ways to verify or eliminate that false intelligence. These words couldn't be clearly discussed over the phone. Morimoto Chiyoda didn't want to leave any evidence behind, lest she get dragged down if things were exposed.

"I see, that makes sense," Jack said thoughtfully.

Morimoto Chiyoda felt a bit tired and stretched with a yawn. "Let's just leave it at that. I'm hanging up now."

Jack hung up the phone, grabbed his square-shaped glass, and shook it, letting the ice cubes clink against the sides. His eyes shifted from hesitation to determination. He tilted back his head and took a big gulp. To advance further, he had to present diluted accomplishments.

「Shinjuku, Kabukicho Ichi-chome.」

The sign of the Big Fat Sheep Bar was neither noticeable nor dazzling, lying in the shadows of buildings, refusing the dusk. The lone sign stood before the staircase leading to the basement. Jack, wearing a light blue suit, strode into the alley, heading straight for the seemingly quiet bar.

He went down the stairs, made a turn midway, and then arrived at a door.

Jack twisted open the wooden door.

Inside the bar, a soft tune played, not intense, like a summer mountain stream, subtly delightful to the ears. The shelves behind the bar were lined with various liquors bearing English names, along with some Japanese shochu and Chinese baijiu. The entire basement wasn't very spacious but was exquisitely decorated, aiming for a high-end, elegant style—an upgraded izakaya, so to speak.

There were no waiters. The bar was run by the bartender, who was also the owner.

Jack approached the bar, sat on a high stool, and said with a smile, "A whiskey on the rocks, please."

Katerina, wearing an ill-fitting bartender's uniform, made one wonder if she would rip her clothes apart the next second and transform into a roaring King Kong. She poured a whiskey on the rocks and placed it on the bar.

There was plenty of space behind the bar. Emily lay on a lounger like a retired old lady, holding a newspaper.

Upon hearing the sound, Emily folded the newspaper, looked up, and said, "Jack, what are you doing here?"

"The CIA Director has been kidnapped by the KGB, and The White House wants to elect a new Director."

Before he could finish, Emily rolled her eyes and said, "You're not thinking about the Director's position, are you? Don't dream such unrealistic dreams."

Facing her sharp comment, Jack wore a bitter smile, aware that she was still angry about him not contacting her earlier. But he'd had no choice. At that time, Director John had repeatedly emphasized not to offend the heir of the Morgans Group.

He could only pretend not to hear the sharpness in Emily's words and continued, "I dare not covet the position at the headquarter, but the Bureau Chief's spot is within reach. As long as I can provide some critical intelligence at this time, allowing Director John to rise, he will promote me."

"What critical intelligence?"

"That depends on your deductions." Jack looked expectant.

Emily rolled up the newspaper. She had previously formulated a rigorous contact plan, even preparing secret codes. Yet Dio hadn't shown up for a long time, and the fact that he included Phoenix Academy Kochou on his list of friends forced Emily to accept a sad reality: she was just one of Dio's many friends. Dio didn't have the leisure to keep an eye on her twenty-four hours a day. All he had to do was prevent the CIA and the special project team from contacting her at specific times.

"It's hard for me to have any intelligence for you if you don't make things clear," Emily said. Through newspapers, YouTube, TikTok, and a series of videos, she had become convinced that this incident was related to Dio. Moreover, Morimoto Chiyoda hadn't been in touch. Emily was used to being well-informed; without new information, she grew irritable, and her words naturally became sharp.

"Listen to me," Jack implored, then hurriedly explained the whole situation to Emily. As time passed, he had gained more specific information than he had in the afternoon. For instance, the Takamagahara Project planned to allocate one hundred billion US dollars for post-disaster reconstruction, while the remaining two hundred billion would continue to secretly fund the Takamagahara Project. There were also some issues related to changes at the Pentagon Building. These matters were considered indirect consequences of Dio's actions, so the CIA also needed to gather intelligence on them. Or rather, the CIA wanted to gather any intelligence it could. If they didn't, how could they determine if it was unrelated to Dio?

"Bruno is a traitor. He's KGB, a participant in Project Blaze. The plan to capture Chief Keith suggests that information related to Dio might have already been leaked to the KGB. After heated discussions, the decision from above was to continue deceiving our allies. They don't believe the KGB would honor the treaty with MI6 and share that crucial intelligence."

"Imperialist crows are all equally black," Emily commented, then fell into deep thought.

Dio had actually chosen to intervene in this matter, but to what end? Logically, Vincent's actions, whether good or bad, should not have posed a threat to Dio. What could have prompted Dio to take action? Was it because a friend he had chosen was threatened with their life in that war? But Kochou wasn't in Washington D.C. at the time. Or was it that all of this development was actually within Dio's expectations, and he desired to perform some kind of ritual with the souls of those who had died in battle? The U.S. Army and evil... that actually seemed to meet the criteria. Was igniting wars in certain countries, sacrificing a large number of souls, and eventually forming a massive ritualistic pattern on the map Dio's sixth condition for ascending to Paradise? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱

Upon this speculation, Emily's eyes lit up. "You can submit the sixth condition for ascending to Paradise to those above."

"Go on." Jack immediately perked up; anything related to Dio was naturally of utmost importance.

Emily shared her thoughts. Jack fell into contemplation, the matter being too significant. "What if Dio's sixth condition isn't this one?"

"Isn't it quite normal for six conditions to have seven?" Emily answered without batting an eye.

Jack had an epiphany. He drained his whiskey in one gulp and said in a deep voice, "I'll report to the higher-ups right away."

"Wait a moment," Emily called out.

Jack stopped and asked, "Is there something else?"

"You haven't paid the bill. It's five hundred thousand Yen a glass."

"Did you think the Big Fat Sheep Bar got its name for nothing?" Emily answered leisurely. "The meaning behind it is that whoever comes in gets fleeced. Dio is the exception."

Jack had no choice but to pay with his card, then hurriedly left.

The bar was once again enveloped by beautiful melodies.

Emily didn't continue to read the newspaper in her hand. Instead, she unwrapped a lollipop and pondered matters related to Dio. His influence over the world was gradually deepening. However, there hadn't been any new appearances of portals to the Different World recently. Were the Monsters getting weaker? Or was Dio employing some method to reinforce the barrier between worlds? Emily was eager to visit the Different World again, to converse with Griffith. He was the second Angel Envoy she had encountered, aside from Dio. Although meeting him might not impact Dio, such is human nature—always fond of engaging in pointless activities, waiting for a time in the future when those pointless things might become useful.

The Big Fat Sheep Bar was still lacking customers today.

Emily yawned, picked up a packet of chocolate from the table, and unwrapped it. She felt that if she continued to lie around eating chocolate, her slender waist might gain a bit of extra flesh. But this decadent lifestyle was irresistible for Emily, who had nothing else to do.

As she was thinking, the door to the bar opened, making a DING-DONG sound different from the melodies.

Katerina, wiping down empty glasses, looked towards the door.

A familiar figure stepped inside. The newcomer was one meter eighty-five tall, his golden short hair standing up like the spines on a porcupine's back. His leather jacket was unzipped, revealing a hairy chest, and his long pants and army boots made him look quite swaggering as he trod the ground.

"Drunkard." As Katerina uttered the name, her eyes showed a trace of gravity, and she glanced at the blond man and tall woman who followed close behind. Her body tensed like a tiger whose territory had been invaded. She growled, "You are not welcome here. Get out!"

"No need to be so tense. Aren't we all Russians?" the blond man said with a smile. He strode confidently to the bar, sat down with ease, and greeted, "Hello, Miss Emily."

The long-unheard Russian made Emily's mind reel, almost preventing her from understanding what he was saying. It felt like an eternity since she'd last heard Russian.

"Bruno Ante." Having taken off his glasses, he no longer concealed the sharpness in his eyes, exuding confidence.