SCIAW: Chapter 437/438

Chapter 437: Longevity

In a busy family restaurant, two people sat in a corner ordering food. The area around them was quiet, as if no one was paying them any extra attention.

"First, tell me why you're targeting that robber."

Miwako didn't believe Ren was the type to just go after a random criminal.

"The reason is simple. Her fate caught my interest, and disrupting that fate is both interesting and useful to me."

Ren laid out his two reasons plainly.

After hearing them, Miwako nodded slightly, a look of approval crossing her face.

"Well, those reasons sound reasonable enough."

She already knew Ren wasn't someone who caused trouble without a good reason. His previous actions had shown that calling on him in a pinch was always the best choice.

Since his reason wasn't some half-hearted excuse, Miwako understood this wasn't something he would have hidden from her anyway.

"So, it's her? You're not just interested because she's a woman?"

Her tone was clearly teasing, making Ren sigh.

"I'm interested in her because of her identity and the secrets she carries, as well as the reasons she resorted to robbing a bank."

"There's something hidden there."

Miwako's curiosity was piqued.

"I like hearing stories. So, explain briefly."

Seeing her treat it as just a story, Ren had no real complaints. Who would have thought she'd get this lively once they became familiar?

"It's about a secret organization."

"…Wait. Let me check first."

The mention of a secret organization immediately set off Miwako's instincts. She asked cautiously,

"Is it the same as ours?"

"No. It's a common, secular criminal organization involved in pharmaceuticals, money-making, assassinations, and similar activities. It's fundamentally different from us. Their ultimate goal is basically what we'd consider a standard setup for the future."

"I see."

Miwako nodded slightly. From his description, it was similar to an international terrorist group—special in some ways, but not a supernatural organization.

Even so, one thing still puzzled her.

"Why would a group involved in money-making and assassinations also get into pharmaceuticals?"

"Because that assassination group has a very specific goal."

Miwako leaned in slightly. She was curious about the aim of such an organization.

"They want a longer life."

"…Huh?"

"They just want to live longer. Compared to that, everything else is insignificant in the face of time."

An organization chasing immortality… No wonder an assassination group would get involved in pharmaceuticals.

Normally, such a thing would sound ridiculous. How could people in the mundane world think seriously about immortality?

But considering she was now a believer with extraordinary powers, Miwako had no grounds to dismiss the idea. Her current experiences were far more outlandish than the group's goal.

Then she suddenly realized something.

"Their ultimate goal is our standard? You mean our organization also has the concept of immortality?"

Ren gave her a look of surprise.

"Did you think Extraordinary people were only extraordinary in terms of abilities? As we advance along this path, immortality is inevitable. I thought you would have realized that from the start."

Miwako covered her face with one hand.

"I never thought about it."

She had never had such fantasies. Her imagination simply didn't run that way.

"Greater power brings a longer life, and a longer life brings an unaging face. Immortality is part of the standard for the Extraordinary."

"An unaging face…"

It had to be said, that idea was tempting for Miwako.

Seeing the faint anticipation on her face, Ren rested his chin in both hands and smiled.

"Looking forward to it?"

"No, not at all."

Actually, she was.

Miwako was still a woman, and as she grew older, she became more conscious of her appearance.

In the past, her work as a police officer had made her strong and left little room for such thoughts.

But when faced with the idea of never aging, she couldn't help caring.

Suppressing that anticipation, she steered the conversation back.

"So, this is a dangerous organization seeking immortality? Their assassinations and money-making are all just ways to gather resources for that goal?"

She quickly pieced the logic together.

"That's right. Longevity research is extremely costly in any era, especially when the outcome is uncertain. You have to cast a wide net."

Ren continued,

"The activities that make quick money are mostly shady. Legitimate industries can't earn that much fast. And longevity research requires talent from many fields, so their reach extends everywhere. To avoid being targeted too soon, they also infiltrate government agencies in different countries."

"This group is looking for trouble."

Just hearing this made Miwako feel they were on the fast track to destruction.

National agencies weren't easy to infiltrate, and targeting them recklessly was foolish.

"Can they even keep existing doing things like this?"

Ren nodded, then added something that shocked her even more.

"Because most official organizations in the world are also curious about their true purpose. Many have already infiltrated the group and drawn their own conclusions."

"This organization's goal is big enough that they may even offend state agencies. It's that curiosity that's kept them alive so long. Countries want answers, so they keep watching instead of destroying them outright."

"Of course, many official organizations already know their purpose. That's why they turn a blind eye to certain actions, waiting to see if they can produce real results."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 438: A Choice

This result left Miwako speechless, her mouth slightly open with nothing to say in response.

A killer organization that had been around for so long, making large-scale moves, and even daring to infiltrate a country directly… She could hardly believe the authorities didn't know its true purpose.

If anything, she suspected that after discovering its goals, many officials were quietly waiting to see if the organization could actually produce tangible results.

"Maybe it's just like you said."

"For such a bold organization to infiltrate a country, I'm sure the government would have investigated it immediately. A killer organization is no match for a state apparatus."

"But if it still exists, then there must be a reason the state allows it to."

Miwako took a deep breath.

"Other than immortality, it's hard to think of another reason."

But that led to another question.

"So if the state knows what they're doing, why not dismantle the group completely and take over the research themselves?"

Ren shook his head.

"Miwako, doing that would mean enormous fiscal spending and would also risk drawing the attention of other countries."

"Besides Japan, think about how many other countries are watching."

"The CIA, the KGB, MI6, Mossad."

"And beyond these intelligence agencies, there are plenty of other foreign powers keeping an eye on things. Do you think any one country can act unilaterally under these circumstances?"

"There are so many intelligence operatives embedded within that assassin organization that many of its core members are actually agents from various nations. With that many undercover operatives involved, almost every country has a stake in it."

"In that situation, which country do you think would suddenly make a move to wipe the organization out?"

Hearing this, Miwako felt her scalp tingle again.

It was hard to imagine such a killer group being such a tangled mess of operatives from different countries.

Thinking back to Ren's earlier explanation, she found herself believing it more and more. It was likely that all the countries with people inside already knew the group's ultimate purpose.

"So all countries actually know about this organization?"

Ren nodded slightly, speaking as if it were obvious.

"It's because every country knows the group's ultimate goal that they're willing to let it keep operating."

"The harder this organization works, the more patient those countries will be in waiting for results."

"Otherwise, why would they tolerate a killer organization that does whatever it wants?"

That made sense.

After thinking carefully, Miwako agreed that the group couldn't possibly ignore state authority. The only real difference lay in the organization's own research into longevity.

By now, she had a general understanding of the group.

"But can they really develop a drug for longevity?"

Ren shook his head slightly.

"So-called longevity is really just about inhibiting the body's cell division cycle, or increasing cell activity and the number of cell divisions."

"So, they can't make a true immortality drug. At best, they can produce something that prolongs life."

Miwako nodded in agreement.

"But even prolonging life is pretty impressive."

"It's not immortality, but being able to extend life would at least prove their research direction is correct."

Ren didn't refute that.

From what he knew, Crow's research direction was indeed correct. Compared to doing nothing, prolonging life was a necessary step toward immortality.

"That's why so many official organizations are keeping an eye on them."

Miwako nodded and then brought the conversation back to the billion-yen robbery.

"So, who was behind that robbery?"

Ren didn't hide it, answering directly.

"The mastermind was the daughter of the developer of the life-extending drug. She planned the robbery because a key member of the organization told her that if she could produce 1 billion yen, her sister would be released."

"The daughter of the developer of the life-extending drug? Then who's the sister she's trying to save?"

"A key member of the organization who inherited the drug research from their parents and continued it."

Miwako's mouth twitched.

"So the promise to release her sister was just to toy with her."

Would they really let go of such a valuable talent? Obviously, it was a scam.

"They were just playing with her. The real reason was that she had ties to the CIA. The core members who orchestrated this made that promise specifically to get rid of her."

"…"

How could someone like that survive in such a cutthroat organization?

Then she remembered the sister's identity and importance to the organization, and she understood.

The only reason the woman was still alive was because the organization wanted to use her as leverage against her sister.

"My goodness, they're using both sisters against each other."

"On one hand, the older sister is used to threaten the younger. On the other, the younger is used to threaten the older."

After hearing this, Miwako finally understood why Ren had targeted the bank robber.

"So, you plan to make her one of the believers?"

"I think a sister who wants to save her sibling will know what choice to make after witnessing a miracle."

"Of course."

After seeing that kind of ability, anyone would know which path to choose.

Miwako didn't believe that an older sister carrying the burden of saving her younger sister would choose wrong.

(To be continued.)