Chapter 1
Matsuda Jinpei burst into the Metropolitan Police Department, heading straight for the interrogation room.
The voices telling him not to run, and the voices helping to explain on his behalf, were all left behind by Matsuda Jinpei.
The closer he got to the interrogation room, the more fiercely the fire in his heart burned.
One second ago, his childhood friend was laughing on the phone, agreeing to meet at their usual spot after finishing defusing the bomb and getting off work. The next second, the countdown that had stopped restarted, and all he could hear through the phone was his childhood friend urgently shouting for others to evacuate before the bomb was about to explode.
No matter how much he tried to calm himself down, the fact remained that even now, after returning to the Metropolitan Police Department, Matsuda Jinpei's heart rate still hadn't returned to normal, and he didn't even have the mood to talk to anyone.
He just wanted to quickly find that bomber and interrogate him—perhaps only that way could he find an outlet for his violent emotions.
He'd heard that the person had already been caught and brought back for questioning. Calculating the time, if he rushed to the interrogation room now, he should still be able to see that bastard.
Turning a corner, he happened to see a police officer coming out of an interrogation room.
Matsuda Jinpei stopped him: "Is the person from today's Asai Villa District apartment case inside?"
That police officer showed a wary and subtle expression: "Yes, but—"
Before he could finish speaking, Matsuda Jinpei pushed past him and burst through the door.
It was winter, the weather was cold. The young man remaining in the interrogation room was wearing a small-collar double-breasted black coat in military style, with a tied belt cinching his waist, his posture upright like an unsheathed sword—austere, solemn, dignified, and composed.
When Matsuda Jinpei entered, the young man was wrapping a red scarf around his neck. His hair, immersed in shadow, was nearly jet black, but the parts touched by light revealed it was actually the color of blue-black ink, reflecting a metallic sheen like the buckles on shoulder straps.
Hearing the commotion, that person looked up casually, his slightly long hair brushed to both sides, revealing a pair of dark red eyes like dried blood, casting over a cold, indifferent glance.
Though the interrogation room was brightly lit, the moment he saw this person, the surrounding colors seemed to suddenly fade away, leaving only him as the most vivid and striking stroke.
His features were sharp and severe, his keen aura almost painful to behold.
Matsuda Jinpei's breathing stopped for an instant.
The young man's gaze didn't contain the dissatisfaction, hatred, or fear that Matsuda Jinpei had imagined a caught criminal should have toward police, but was very calm, yet strangely made one feel as if thorns were pricking their back, unable to sit still. This feeling was simply like—
—That person was a loaded gun, his very existence a silent threat.
To be honest, this didn't quite match the criminal image Matsuda Jinpei had speculated, and even the degree of obvious dangerousness exceeded his imagination.
Moreover, Matsuda Jinpei felt something wasn't quite right. Looking carefully, he noticed the other party wasn't wearing handcuffs.
Connecting this to some past cases, a thought instantly flashed through his mind: Could this be some big shot's kid, and higher-ups want to protect him?
"You—"
Matsuda Jinpei's face darkened, but just as he was about to say something, he was suddenly pushed aside by someone from the doorway.
The person who had been behind Matsuda Jinpei all along, helping to explain why he was running around the Metropolitan Police Department with a murderous expression, enthusiastically picked up the conversation.
"—you're the person who discovered the bomber and stopped the countdown at the last moment, right? Thank you so much, otherwise I would have died in the line of duty today!"
Matsuda Jinpei: "............Huh?"
Hearing the unexpected words from his childhood friend Hagiwara Kenji, who had barely escaped death, Matsuda Jinpei was stunned for a moment, then finally reacted.
Oh right, if there were no handcuffs, aside from the possibility of backdoor dealings, it was more likely because the other party wasn't a criminal!
What was wrong with him just now? How did his train of thought jump straight to backdoor dealings?
Was he influenced by this person's dangerous aura and intimidated by the eerie atmosphere, causing his thinking to go astray?
Or had he really been so angry that he became stupid, his brain not working anymore?
Hagiwara Kenji naturally noticed Matsuda Jinpei's misunderstanding and patted his back with a smile: "That's why I told you not to be in such a hurry, let people finish talking. This person came to give a statement as someone assisting with the case."
Matsuda Jinpei clenched his fists: "If he's someone assisting with the case, why bring him here to give a statement?! Weren't the criminal investigation people just complaining yesterday that there have been too many incidents recently and the interrogation rooms are in short supply?!"
There's such a large general consultation area on the first floor of the Metropolitan Police Department—couldn't they find a single normal room for someone to give a statement?! And it's not like there are still questions about the case, why bring someone into an interrogation room with one-way glass?!
The one receiving this questioning was precisely the police officer who hadn't been able to finish saying "but" at the door earlier.
This police officer's expression was very awkward, somewhat difficult to speak: "Well, there were various kinds of misunderstandings involved..."
Because he and the person who brought the other party over saw this person at first glance and decided he was a dangerous criminal, so without asking much, they directly sent him to the interrogation room.
It was only later that they discovered it was a misunderstanding, but by then the other party was too lazy to change locations, so they just went along with it... Explaining it this way would definitely result in a scolding.
Matsuda Jinpei roughly understood what "various kinds of misunderstandings" meant, because he had just had a similar misunderstanding.
Speaking of which, it was strange—clearly the other party didn't look fierce at all. Looking carefully, one would find that the other party actually had refined features and looked much younger than the first impression suggested. It was just that his aura was too overwhelming, making people overlook his appearance at first glance and only retain the impression of a strong sense of danger.
This feeling of meeting someone for the first time, where the person hadn't done or said anything, and he even already knew it was a misunderstanding, yet still felt like the other party was plotting some crime and his hands were itching to arrest him—this was Matsuda Jinpei's first time encountering such a thing.
Calm down. If he prejudged the other party as a criminal based solely on intuition without any evidence, wouldn't he be just like those garbage police who wrongly arrested his father?
"...I was rude earlier. I'm Matsuda Jinpei. Thank you for your assistance." Matsuda Jinpei said with a frown.
Seeing that Matsuda Jinpei's apologetic expression wasn't quite right, Hagiwara Kenji helplessly tried to smooth things over: "Sorry, Jinpei—Matsuda has only been a police officer for a month, he's still immature in various ways."
The police officer taking the statement unconsciously held his breath, carefully waiting for the person involved to speak.
The person who hadn't spoken all along finally said calmly: "There's no need for that. He didn't do anything requiring an apology."
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
...That seemed right. Matsuda Jinpei's potentially offensive words never had a chance to come out of his mouth before being interrupted by Hagiwara Kenji.
It's just that facing this person, everyone's nerves were inexplicably tense, and the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like a storm was coming. They couldn't help but worry about what unpleasant consequences might occur if the other party got angry. In reality, the person was very magnanimous and didn't take it to heart at all.
Hagiwara Kenji relaxed: "How considerate—in any case, I and the people in my squad are all very grateful for your help. Without you, I would definitely be dead, and my teammates would probably be half dead or injured too. We'll remember this debt of gratitude. I'm Hagiwara Kenji. If there's ever a need in the future, please give your beneficiary a chance to repay you~"
"Samukawa Shinryu, that's my name."
That person said indifferently: "It's nothing worth calling a debt of gratitude. You're the ones who have always been protecting and helping the people. I just did what I could... and I'm also planning to become a police officer in the future."
Everyone simultaneously turned into bean-eyed: "...Eh?!"
"Are you kidding?!!"
A roar suddenly erupted. If it weren't for the emotions being too intense, some people would have mistaken it for their own inner voice accidentally spoken aloud.
Following the sound, several police officers discovered that behind Samukawa Shinryu, a passing criminal being escorted was shouting at them with a vicious expression.
"If someone like you can become a police officer, Japan is doomed! Hey! Can't you police see it? This guy is definitely a criminal! Why don't you arrest him?! Are you blind?! He absolutely has a lot of blood on his hands!!!"
The police officers guessed this person was probably the real bomber. From the sound of it, he seemed to have some deep grudge against Samukawa Shinryu... but they should be meeting for the first time today, right? Did Samukawa Shinryu do something when arresting him?
Faced with questioning looks from colleagues, the police officer escorting the bomber quickly explained: "Although he claimed his arms and legs were broken when we arrived at the scene, examination showed no signs of fractures..."
Upon hearing this, the bomber became even more agitated, like adding fuel to fire.
"Are you police all idiots?! If it's not a fracture, then it must be dislocation! He just reset them! His technique was particularly skilled—you should listen to me and investigate him, he definitely has problems, maybe he's one of those 'cleaners' from the underworld—"
"So noisy."
Samukawa Shinryu, who had been facing away from the bomber, finally turned to look at him.
His tone was light and casual: "Do you know where this is?"
The bomber, who had just been able to endlessly complain about his dissatisfaction and suspicions, suddenly fell silent when Samukawa Shinryu looked at him, as if his throat had been grabbed.
His body, which hadn't been found to have any problems, now began to ache as if countless steel needles had been pierced into his bone joints.
During the statement period, he had constantly replayed and thought about how he should have fought back at the time, and had finally managed to shake off the psychological shadow. But now, the courage he had mustered by relying on being in the Metropolitan Police Department with police officers right beside him, believing the other party wouldn't dare do anything to him, disappeared like morning dew.
He met those ominous dark red eyes, and his whole body began trembling uncontrollably.
[Do you know where this is?]
What did this mean? Was he threatening him?
Isn't this the Metropolitan Police Department? Why does this guy seem so confident as if he's on his own turf? It almost sounds like 'Do you know whose territory this is'...
Come to think of it, when they arrested him, even though he was rolling on the ground screaming, those police officers turned a deaf ear to his accusations, and even respectfully invited that guy into the police car.
Instead, they were extremely rough with him. Even though he had been tortured so badly, they should have found at least some soft tissue contusions even if there were no fractures, yet the police said they found nothing at all...
He understood everything now!!!
Good! The Metropolitan Police Department is in cahoots with this guy! No wonder they won't arrest someone so obvious!
He'd heard long ago that the Metropolitan Police Department wasn't clean inside. He never thought he'd be so unlucky as to run into related personnel...
He wasn't facing one person, but the entire Metropolitan Police Department! What could he use to shake such a behemoth!?
"Heh... heh heh..."
The bomber laughed bitterly, his entire being seeming to have all energy and spirit drained away, losing all will to resist, and softly collapsed to his knees, muttering.
"As expected... the police are finished... Japan is finished..."
Police officers: "...???"
What happened? Why did Samukawa Shinryu just say one sentence, indicating he should be quiet in the Metropolitan Police Department, and this person suddenly became dejected and came to this conclusion?
The police officers were very confused.
Samukawa Shinryu was very silent.
He glanced at the system notification of [Suspicion Value +1000], and couldn't help but complain to the system in his mind: [Is this also the effect of the 'Black Screen Aura'? I really want to know what he imagined.]
System: [Respected Mr. Usuha Izuki, here I recommend 'Mind Reading' to you. If you want it, I can give you a 20% discount within 24 hours.]
'Samukawa Shinryu'—real name Usuha Izuki, decisively answered in his mind: [Not buying. You only use honorifics with me at times like this, too snobbish.]
System: [Since I'm a snobbish system, I also don't need to help you collect additional intelligence for free...]
Usuha Izuki said leisurely: [How do I vaguely remember that Samukawa was originally supposed to be a Black Organization alias, and I selected all the skills according to standards that would make Gin ecstatic? Why has he become Red side now? Do you have any clues? Oh, and how do I also remember that my system was supposed to be an Undercover System...]
The Suspicion Value System promptly said: [Gin and Vodka are expected to arrive in Fukuoka City tonight. You'd better prepare early.]
Usuha Izuki received an unexpected bonus and became thoughtful.
[I was originally planning to get more familiar with Hagiwara and Matsuda... but since that's the case, let's leave it for next time. I'll go handle the Organization side first.]