48 Chapter 44: The Most Dangerous Man on Earth

"This sounds like a fairy tale. How did you manage to convince us that this guy is as real as you claim?"

Lina expected this reaction. "I don't need to convince you, Admiral. As you're all experiencing the same things I am," she said, scanning the group.

Angelina Kudou Shields, or Lina, is a 20-year-old detective working for the CIA.

They call her a genius because she took down the biggest drug dealers in the world, saving America from their illegal activities. And now she's the only one who has caught the attention of the U.S. President for uncovering the mystery behind their losses.

She finds herself being questioned by executives at the White House.

"What do you mean by that? You're suggesting we missed something? Do you have the audacity to tell us that?" an executive pressed, his face contorted in anger.

"Well, as you can see I am a free person. The thing is, I have to say we only have one lead. Do you remember this name?" The projector displayed a name as she asked.

"Hmm..." An old man hummed as his face turned angry, and BANG! he smacked the table. "How dare you show this name in front of me! Are you mocking us?"

"No, how could I? The person is the one who killed my father in the Iraq War, Admiral," Lina said emotionlessly, silencing him. "What I'm trying to say is, the man you hated the most, the G.O.B., is the same person I encountered in Mexico City."

"So, his real name is Pablo Escobar? The mastermind behind the organization you destroyed? If I recall correctly, he should have died in the explosion in Mexico City Square."

"Sadly, from my investigation, I'm not convinced he's really the Lord of Drugs or that he's dead, as I've always claimed. Regardless of why people never believed me that he's still alive, I've connected the dots."

Lina said as the projector changed again.

"The God of Battlefields in the Iraq War and Pablo Escobar, the Lord of Drugs in Mexico City. It's actually the same person."

Murmurs spread, and Lina continued.

"Capitol Hill... the death of the Speaker, and recently, Luxemburg... the death of the First Prince. This person's identity is none other than 'Baba Yaga,' the legend in the underworld. But he's also part of a dangerous organization called Ruska Bratva, who gave him a codename; 001. And you know well what kind of people the Numbers are."

The room fell silent at this information, but Lina could sense the anger because of how much they hated 001.

"This is a serious matter, Mr. President."

"If what Miss Shields says is true, then he could be anywhere, including among us. What if he decides to pursue something more interesting?"

The President widened his eyes, "The N-word."

"Yes, sir. Nuclear launch codes."

After a heated discussion, the President concluded: take him down.

"Detective, thank you for your remarkable job. Thanks to your investigation, we have more insight into this organization and our number one enemy. I'll bring this topic to our allies in NATO about how dangerous this man could be and the organization behind him. America won't stand still until we get our revenge."

"Thank you, sir," Lina smiled as she gained the President's full support. "Mr. President, we should find this man since he might be planning something dangerous."

---

"What a bunch of troublesome old folks," Lina mumbled under her breath as she slumped onto the sofa, her vibrant blue eyes reflecting both weariness and determination. The formal meeting had just concluded, and she took a moment to secure her long, blonde hair into two wavy tresses, held in place by ribbons.

The gravity of the situation had finally sunk in for everyone present—this man and the organization backing him were no joke. Lina couldn't shake the memories of the cruelty she witnessed in Mexico City, orchestrated by a man known as Pablo, or more ominously, 001.

Leaning back, she let out a heavy sigh. The savagery she had witnessed, the heartless murders of innocent children in front of her eyes, haunted her. It had taken time, but she had learned that this man, 001, was also responsible for her father's death in Iraq. Now, with a burning desire for revenge, she vowed to find him.

"Lina..."

Sylvie, her long-time assistant, approached, placing a cup of coffee on the table. Lina looked up, her carefree gaze meeting Sylvie's.

"What is it, Sylvie?"

Sylvie sighed, glancing around their apartment. "You know what? I've been your assistant for years, and... Could you please take care of your things?"

Lina chuckled, "I don't think this place is that dirty."

"Of course, genius! Because I'm the one who cleans it up." Sylvie retorted, throwing Lina's panties at her.

"How rude! Well, you're right," Lina giggled. "But this is sexy, isn't it? Anyway, how do we find this man now?" She gestured towards the cluttered wall, covered in clues connected by threads.

"Put that aside." Sylvie handed her a top-secret document. "Director Balance has assigned us side jobs."

"Wh-What!?" Lina exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Didn't I tell her I'm busy hunting this man?"

"The director said you can refuse, but she at least wants to hear your suggestion if you know someone you trust and who's capable of the job."

Lina sighed, glancing at the paper. "A potential global pandemic? This is serious. Maybe it's part of 001 big plan or Ruska Bratva." She read the document intently before breaking into a bright smile.

"Uh, why are you smiling like that, Lina? It's creepy, considering you're reading something, not something funny."

"Hahaha!" Lina laughed. "I'll take the job, as I know just the person we need. Dammit, he's tough to track down. But..."

She opened a video of a silver-haired man pulling a cowboy on her phone before closing the app and staring at a selfie she had taken with the same person, set as her wallpaper.

---

The world started taking this guy seriously, considering how much of a game-changer he was, capable of shaking things up and plunging them into crisis. The man himself, knee-deep in a serious situation, stared at the last two cards in his hand. He glanced away, only to find his daughter holding her last card.

Now, mind you, this dangerous man was currently engrossed in a game of UNO with his daughter Ruby, who couldn't catch a wink of sleep. Minoru was happily skipping a virtual board meeting that he could've attended, but you know how wealthy he was.

"Dad, hurry up!" Ruby urged, eager for her fifth win.

"Hold a sec'. Cause, I'm aiming for my first victory."

Ruby giggled, "Hehe~ Well, I'm the second best after Anya when it comes to this card game, you know?"

Minoru smirked, "I guess, considering you're my daughter."

"Then prove it," Ruby challenged him, eyes gleaming with the confidence of a card game maestro.

Well, no doubt about it. Sometimes, he questioned his luck, but in games like these, he never doubted himself. After all, he always got banned when he visited Vegas or Monaco.

So, he looked at his hand. 'I've got a wild card and a wild draw four. Looking at Ruby's obvious face, she doesn't have a good card to counter me if I use the wild draw four.'

But, he wanted to keep her confident, so he played the fool.

Minoru casually placed his card down and declared, "UNO..."

Ruby lit up at the sight of the wild card, "Which color will you choose?"

"Hmm..." Minoru pretended to ponder while sneakily peeking at her expression.

"If I choose red..." When he said it, Ruby looked panicked, "Well, I hate red..." Her eyes brightened again.

"I guess yellow might be..." Ruby's eyes looked like she was about to cry, "I think blue..." When he said it, Ruby's face seemed to say, 'Yes! Pick that one! Pick that one!'

"I choose blue..." Minoru said as Ruby slammed her last card down like a champion.

"Yes~! Yes~! It's my fifth win!" She exclaimed, doing a victory dance.

Minoru clapped for her triumph as he gathered the cards again. At that moment, someone opened Minoru's study room door and stood stunned at the sight.

"You're playing cards without me?" Ai pouted.

"Mama! Mama!" Ruby ran over and hugged her, "I won against him for the fifth time and got bored since Dad never wins, huhu..." She said proudly.

"There, there..." Ai patted her head, "My daughter is a genius, right? Hm... This has gotta be something that runs in the family."

"As the winner, what do you want, Ruby? A dinosaur? Done. Big rabbit doll? Just say it," Minoru offered, already prepared for the impossible.

Ai once again thought he was dead serious.

"I think..." Ruby thought hard, "Can we all sleep together tonight?" She said while playing with her fingers.

Minoru smiled, finding it cute and simple.

"That's a good idea!" But Ai came to her senses, knowing that Minoru never slept with anyone, not even with her, except for making out. When she woke up the next morning, she never saw him by her side, well aware of how wild he can be in bed as she always passed out.

Anyhow, she remembered how serious he was about no one entering his room without permission. Odd as it may be, Ai wouldn't force him, even if she wanted to get to know him better.

"Sure, let's go..."

Ai didn't expect him to agree, considering it was just a normal family sleepover. But she was happy with it.

"Let's go! Hurry up! Hehe..." Ruby excitedly rushed to her room, leaving Ai and Minoru behind.

"Still up?" Minoru asked, glancing up from his desk as he shut down his device.

"Yeah," Ai replied, leaning against the entrance. "I know you're busy, but can you come to the school for the parent-teacher meeting? Miyako-san is tied up with our new song, and—"

"I'm busy, but family comes first, so don't worry about that. What day?"

"It's two days from now, and it's not about Ruby. It's Aqua."

Walking over to her, Minoru sensed her worry. "Is he harassing someone?"

"What do you mean by harassing?" Ai looked puzzled, and Minoru sighed to himself.

"Well..." Minoru smirked as he kissed her, "They say... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so..." He squeezed her ass hard as she almost screamed, he added, "I'm worried since his old man is quite perverted. And it might be passed down for generations—Ouch!" Ai slapped his butt for good.

"I'm serious, Minoru-kun. I'm worried about him. Please talk to him, father to son. Okay? And wait a second… you say 'quite perverted,' huh? That's a lie, but you're right. Ugh, not good... I'm starting to worry if Aqua will make a lot of women cry." Ai narrowed her eyes at him.

Minoru nodded. "I know. But don't worry. As my son is burdened with glorious purpose."

Ai raised her brow. "And what is that?"

Minoru put on a smug face. "Isn't it obvious? It's repopulating the earth. Maybe he'll get two or three wives at least—Ouch! Not my butt. It's been a long day for me."

"Then stop with these obvious words. Are you asking me if I'm okay with you having two wives, right?"

Minoru looked away from her. "What a nice weather…"

Ai left him behind as she rushed downstairs. "Hey… you mad at me? I'm joking, alright?"

---

Meanwhile, Ruby was preparing four pillows on the bed. "Done."

"Oi, what's going on with four pillows?" Aqua asked, reading his book.

"We're going to sleep together!"

"Oh, that's a first…" Aqua closed his book. "I'm going to brush my teeth first—Huh?" He was shocked when he saw Ai with a teary face.

"Aqua!" She hugged him. "You won't become like your dad, right?"

"Err… I don't know—"

"You won't, right!?"

"Yes, yes!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Ruby approached them, and Ai hugged her as well.

"Sob! Sob!"

When Minoru arrived, Aqua and Ruby stared at him as if saying, 'You piece of trash! What did you do to her?'

"W-Wait, kids… I should clarify first that—"

And BANG! Ruby shut the door hard.

---

"Hehehe…" Ai giggled. "I'm just kidding, alright? But I'm happy with your reactions! Ahahaha! My kids really love me that much, huh? How's my acting?"

After some time, everything was resolved. Currently, they were all leaning against the bed. Ai and Ruby were in the middle, while the guys were on the sides.

"Yeah, somehow I was convinced for a moment," Aqua admitted, acknowledging Ai's improving acting skills.

"Hehe…" Ai smirked. "Okay, how about a bedtime story!?"

Ruby lit up, "Yay, a story!"

With that, the three looked at Minoru.

"Stop giving me that look, since I don't have a good story."

Ai pouted. "Oh c'mon Minoru-kun, try hard."

Minoru hummed. "Roses are red... violets are blue... and we're going to bed. The end. Good night."

"That's a bad story…" Ruby was at a loss for words as she yawned.

"Yeah, but it works, right? Alright, Jarvis, do me a favor and turn off the light…" Minoru said, clapping his hands.

"Eh… who is Jarvis?"

"I'm talking to you, Aqua."

Ai chuckled about how he was messing with Aqua, and with that, they all fell asleep.

After some time...

THUD!

"Hey…" Ai said, still half-asleep. "Stop playing around and sleep." She changed her position, hugging Minoru.

THUD!

"Aqua…?"

"Hmmm? Not me." Aqua said, going back to sleep.

THUD!

"Ruby…? Hm?" Ai woke up, calling her, but when she looked at the kids, they were all on the bed.

THUD!

She flinched as she felt a shiver down her spine. Ai looked at her side, and Minoru was here, then who?

THUUUUD!!!!!!

A loud noise, louder than before, woke all of them.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA! GHOST!"

Minoru sprang out of bed, flicking on the lights, revealing an emptiness that left them puzzled.

"I swear, it wasn't me. I just read a book today, not much," Aqua muttered, a shiver running down his spine.

The unmistakable source was the heap of books tumbling from the shelves secured to the wall before them. However, the mystery lingered—how could this happen when they were certain there was no earthquake?

---

Chapter 45: The Ghost