Chapter 90
Ibuki Ai from Mobile Investigation Unit Group 404, who was responsible for driving today, leaned against the steering wheel and looked at Samukawa Shinryu talking on the phone by a vending machine not far away, saying with a smile:
"Samukawa-kun seems to be in a good mood today."
Officer Shima sat in the passenger seat beside him—ever since being reported as a suspicious person, he'd stopped letting Samukawa Shinryu sit in the front passenger seat and made him sit in the back compartment instead.
Hearing Ibuki Ai's words, Officer Shima looked up: "...How can you tell he's in a good mood?"
Isn't his expression still blank as always? Even with his former Criminal Investigation Division One elite-level observation skills, he couldn't see anything.
Ibuki Ai: "Intuition."
Officer Shima: "............"
Using the break during patrol to finish calling Morofushi Hiromitsu and Akai Shuichi, Usuha Izuki returned to the car: "Continue patrolling next?"
Before Officer Shima could respond, new information came through the radio.
[Metropolitan Police calling all stations... Report received... A shooting and attempted murder has occurred...]
A shooting case had actually occurred—this was very serious. Immediately, a communication came through calling for Mobile Search Unit 404 to assist in the investigation.
Officer Shima, who had looked half-asleep before, instantly perked up: "Alright everyone, time to get to work!"
Unfortunately, this case involved major complications and the perpetrator was on the run, so it couldn't be resolved quickly.
The location Mobile Search 404 was responsible for investigating was a pharmacy. The victim had openly treated his gunshot wound there without hiding it. Even though he saw the surveillance cameras, he didn't care—it seemed he'd burned his bridges and no longer cared about anything.
They took the surveillance footage back and quickly investigated the victim's identity.
Aoike Toko had a criminal record from two years ago involving organized crime—she'd worked as a waitress at an illegal gambling establishment in Ikebukuro worth 1 billion yen. Even some government officials were on the customer list, making big news at the time.
However, Miss Aoike herself was in some ways also a victim. She'd originally been brought there as a customer by an acquaintance, got carried away after winning a few rounds, and ended up not only losing money but going into debt. She had to work at the gambling establishment to pay it off, then got arrested along with everyone else. However, she received a suspended sentence of one year, which is why she could come out to work so quickly now.
This time, she seemed to have gotten involved in another organized crime case, which led to the shooting. Therefore, Division Four, which handled violent gang-related matters, took over the subsequent work. Theoretically, the Mobile Investigation Unit could withdraw and return to patrol status.
But Captain Kikyo kept everyone for a meeting.
She briefly introduced Miss Aoike's criminal record and background, then began discussing that gambling establishment case: "At the time, they only caught scapegoats. The mastermind behind it had the codename 'Koudori'... Appearance unknown, identity unknown. Supposedly a middle-aged businessman."
After a pause, Captain Kikyo said: "Speaking of which, I have to thank Samukawa-kun."
Usuha Izuki, who'd been staring at the surveillance video in a daze, snapped back to attention: "Hm?"
"Didn't you send Kokonoe-kun an address the day before yesterday, saying the person he was looking for was there?" Captain Kikyo said. "We caught that kid and also busted a drug dealing den... Their investor was 'Koudori'."
Usuha Izuki: "...What a coincidence."
"Indeed a coincidence. Who would have thought that kid would go to such a dangerous place? Good thing we discovered it early..." Captain Kikyo sighed. "Actually, the mastermind providing 'Ring Candy' was also there at the time, but for some reason, he was taken away by Public Security, saying they'd been watching him for a long time..."
Usuha Izuki: "............"
Public Security...
He couldn't help thinking of Amuro Toru he'd seen under that office building at the time... No wait, at this time, he should be called Japanese Public Security's Furuya Rei.
What had Furuya Rei said then? The organization had him investigate a frequently collaborating hacker to recruit them?
So when he emailed Kokonoe Yoto telling the Young Master to hurry and arrest someone, Furuya Rei called Public Security colleagues to "recruit" them?
...He hadn't felt anything was wrong at the time, but thinking back on that scene now felt really bizarre.
Two organization members chatting on the surface while both actually scheming to get police colleagues to quickly come arrest people...
No wonder Furuya Rei had inexplicably given him a wave of suspicion values then—he'd become suspicious of his purpose for being there, right? But then it stopped... Damn it! He shouldn't have gone to the nearby supermarket to shop. He should have made Furuya Rei unable to figure out what he was doing there!
Furuya Rei was really something. In terms of introducing talent to the organization, he only had Scotland shoot people, but Furuya Rei directly packaged people off to Public Security! Too arrogant!
System: [I think you're more arrogant...]
Usuha Izuki: [Don't argue with me about this. More importantly, I think Furuya Rei took advantage of me.]
System: [Huh?]
[Think about it! Furuya Rei took Rum's mission, then the person just disappeared—wouldn't that make him look somewhat suspicious? He doesn't have a codename yet and is in a crucial period where he needs to perform well and can't make mistakes.]
Usuha Izuki analyzed: [Now because Kokonoe Yoto was originally going to catch that fugitive, it escalated to drug enforcement, and during drug enforcement they caught that hacker. These weren't things he as an organization member could control, so he appears blameless.]
[Uh... He could have thought of other methods without you. After all, Japanese Public Security is quite skilled at fabricating charges for illegal arrests. It's just...]
[But this time the ladder I provided to Kokonoe Yoto, they did use it, right?]
System: [......]
Usuha Izuki said with heartfelt pain: [He didn't even say thank you!]
[What do you want him to thank you for...]
[When I'm free I'll personally ask him for it.]
The system hypocritically lit a candle for Furuya Rei, then looked forward to the suspicion values.
Usuha Izuki continued listening to Captain Kikyo's explanation and briefing about the case.
"'Koudori' is also an investor in the Tatsui Group. Although Division Four says it's internal strife within the Sumiyoshi Group, it's too early to make such assertions... Anyway, this is also my personal request. I hope everyone can ignore Division Four's side and continue investigating to confirm whether there are traces of 'Koudori' behind this."
Ibuki Ai was puzzled: "Investor?"
"Right. The Tatsui Group used to be very poor, but with 'Koudori's' investment, they suddenly became wealthy and used this to expand their influence..."
Usuha Izuki secretly complained: [I roughly understand now. According to intelligence from Furuya Rei's side, this 'Koudori' might be an organization member using organization money to invest in and buy off small organizations for handling matters that don't require the organization's direct involvement, as well as making money. Then the hacker collaborated with 'Koudori', who thought the hacker was useful and recommended him to the organization. Rum also found him useful but didn't trust outsourcing, so he had Furuya Rei recruit him, but Furuya Rei sent him directly to Public Security... Rum should go work as a talent recruitment coordinator for Public Security.]
[Unfortunately, that hacker either won't cooperate or doesn't know anything. Otherwise after two days, he should have revealed 'Koudori's' intelligence by now.]
[True. Seems the organization actually does quite well with confidentiality. Too bad they have me.]
System: [......]
Usuha Izuki absent-mindedly watched the surveillance footage playing on repeat again, somewhat distracted until Officer Shima called him and he snapped back to attention.
"Let's go. What are you looking at?"
"Looking at the surveillance footage." Ibuki Ai said. "I was also quite interested in the surveillance earlier. 100 million yen in cash in a suitcase is really impressive... But did you see that look she gave the camera? It seemed like provocation, right?"
Usuha Izuki pondered: "I'm more concerned about her blood loss, bullet wound location, and wound treatment method... In about five more hours, she'll definitely die from massive blood loss. If we or the people chasing her don't find her before then, after she dies someone will open her suitcase. When they discover the large amount of cash, it could cause social unrest. Especially if the Sumiyoshi Group chasing her arrives at that time—they'll definitely fire warning shots, and if there's an accidental discharge... We can reserve tomorrow's headlines."
Everyone: "............"
Don't say such ominous things!!! Why is your focus always on what kind of chaos might ensue next?! Does thinking about these things make you happy?!
Captain Kikyo said with a twitching mouth: "We don't need to look that far ahead yet. Let's first consider how to find Miss Aoike as quickly as possible... Please, everyone."
"Then I request to act alone." Usuha Izuki said. "I want to go to the Sumiyoshi Group to gather some information. Having police with me wouldn't be convenient."
Everyone fell silent again: "............"
Officer Shima: "...You're also police. Don't unconsciously exclude yourself, okay? For gathering information, just have Squad Leader ask Division Four contacts. You don't need to go, right?"
Division Four, the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division, specialized in handling yakuza matters. To obtain intelligence sources, they would deliberately recruit fierce-looking detectives to send undercover to organizations requiring close monitoring—though most of these "undercover" operations just meant registering with these XX Groups as low-level lackeys to know general movements.
Completely different from the dangerous infiltration investigations Public Security conducted with the goal of destroying organizations.
"With all due respect."
The dark-haired, red-eyed young man said coolly: "The intelligence Division Four members obtain might not be as fast as mine, nor as much."
Everyone: "............"
What's going on? Although Division Four has been undercover longer and this guy might only go for a few hours, somehow they felt like this guy could really do it...
Ibuki Ai couldn't help asking: "Speaking of which, you're actually more suited for Division Four. It feels like if we sent you undercover, you'd quickly rise to the top..."
Captain Kikyo moved her lips, somewhat hesitant to speak.
Sometimes being too suitable actually becomes unsuitable! Higher-ups would worry about letting the tiger return to the mountain!
Then the news would be: Metropolitan Police undercover actually becomes XX Group boss—what made him abandon the Metropolitan Police for XX Group? Followed by conspiracy theories and smearing of police.
Samukawa Shinryu said casually: "I also think I'm very suitable. This is a good chance to try."
Everyone: "............"
At this moment, Officer Shima couldn't help recalling Samukawa Shinryu's answer during the Police Academy interview.
When you say you're very suitable, do you mean you're suitable for going undercover, or suitable for going criminal?!
Please clarify!!!