Chapter 91
A certain executive of the Sumiyoshi Group was frantically making phone calls and checking emails in an izakaya run by their group.
Someone had actually stolen 100 million yen from their group, and they still hadn't caught the person... This wasn't about the amount of money—this was about face!
Therefore, all available Sumiyoshi Group personnel had been sent to the streets to find that woman called Aoike.
As an executive, he also had to constantly monitor news from various places, watching for where Aoike might appear and arranging personnel to monitor places she might show up.
Usually, this kind of izakaya was quiet during the day and only got noisy at night. But today, to find a nearby place for meetings, he'd directly commandeered this izakaya. He and his subordinates were all here either making phone calls, discussing, cursing, or talking to themselves—never a moment's peace anyway.
Over ten men crammed into the small izakaya, making as much noise as thousands of ducks.
He was already very irritated. Having finally finished a phone call and gotten some good news, he wanted some quiet, but could still hear the chattering commotion behind him. People in the underworld all had bad tempers—otherwise they couldn't intimidate others. Even though he knew these people were also working for the mission, his emotions gradually boiled over and were about to explode.
Ah ah ah, so noisy!!!
At that instant, the izakaya suddenly went from extremely noisy to extremely quiet.
The Sumiyoshi Group executive almost thought he'd accidentally shouted his thoughts aloud.
Sigh, although he was indeed annoyed by the noise, he couldn't lose his temper at his subordinates. They were also working hard to find someone...
He was about to explain when he turned around, only to find everyone was frozen like stone statues, staring blankly toward the entrance.
He saw that person too.
Though a "closed" sign hung at the entrance, an unknown person had entered uninvited.
Black coat, dark blue short hair—the moment that person walked into the izakaya, it was as if an abyss had absorbed all light and sound, leaving only him. Though dressed entirely in dark colors, he was inexplicably dazzling and eye-catching.
Like a dead moon, alone illuminating a silent, desolate world.
He approached with leisurely steps, then stopped beside the only executive present. His right hand in real leather gloves pressed against the table, upper body leaning slightly forward. His pigeon-blood ruby-like red eyes looked down, their gaze falling on others with an oddly heavy weight.
A cold, seemingly casual tone, as if just asking offhandedly, sounded:
"Have you found her?"
"Found... found..." The Sumiyoshi Group executive stuttered, almost spilling everything before the sound of a new email notification suddenly rang, calling back part of his rationality.
It was only part because his first reaction to hearing this sound was annoyance at being interrupted while talking to this important person, worried about leaving a bad impression.
After a few seconds, he suddenly realized he didn't know the other party at all—they might not even be from their organization!
Logic told him he should stand up straight and not be intimidated, but emotionally he thought: This person is obviously a big shot! For someone like him, supposedly an executive but really just middle management getting grief from both sides, not knowing this person was quite normal, right? If he spoke too aggressively and offended someone, what then!
Seeing the "closed" sign outside yet walking straight in to find him meant they knew about their gathering here—they must be one of their own!
But he really had never seen them, never even heard of them. No matter what, he had to ask who they were...
Just as this Sumiyoshi Group executive's rationality struggled weakly, that strangely oppressive stranger frowned.
"Silence means no progress? I'm very disappointed in you."
That bit of rationality was instantly drowned by panic.
Seeing this important person frown, he felt his heart might stop. Many brutal punishments for incompetence flashed through his mind.
How could he disappoint this important person so much on their first meeting!
"No no no, there is some progress! The guys below said they found some blood traces and are splitting up to confirm which direction she went. We might have news soon! We're guessing she might try to flee abroad. With her injuries she can't get far. The brothers are already positioned at bus stops heading to the airport!"
"Mm." That important person responded coolly. "Not bad."
The Sumiyoshi Group executive immediately breathed a sigh of relief. His nerves weren't so tense, and his earlier self-frightening imagination also dissipated—he'd almost forgotten this was the modern era. Their Sumiyoshi Group was even registered with the government as a legal organization. They wouldn't kill chickens to warn monkeys like in the last century...
With rationality returning a little, the Sumiyoshi Group executive felt he still needed to ask about the other party's identity. After all, if he didn't ask, his subordinates wouldn't dare speak up, so it had to be him.
The Sumiyoshi Group executive used all the vocabulary power of his middle school education, combined with terms learned from TV dramas, wishing Japanese wasn't just capable of honorific sentences but that every word could be honorific, so he could express his respect. He asked respectfully and carefully:
"I'm terribly sorry, please forgive this lowly person. I am of humble status and haven't had the qualifications to meet you before. May I ask who you are..."
The hand wrapped in black leather gloves suddenly tapped the table once. The Sumiyoshi Group executive's ability to read the room suddenly maxed out. He instantly fell silent, anxiously reflecting on whether he'd used the wrong words.
Damn, when higher-ups said they should recruit more educated people, he'd thought they were looking down on them. Now he felt that if it was for communicating with this important person, having everyone be more educated really wasn't wrong. The uneducated would be like him, not even daring to speak for fear of accidentally offending someone.
In the silence caused by that tap, that important person spoke deliberately:
"It's normal you haven't seen me, because someone is very dissatisfied with your progress, so they sent me to take a look. Otherwise, I wouldn't come at all."
The Sumiyoshi Group executive was immediately filled with shame: "I'm terribly sorry! For troubling you, sir!!!"
Not only himself, but his subordinates who'd been talking confidently not long ago also hung their heads in shame, not daring to say a word in protest.
Just then, the Sumiyoshi Group executive's phone suddenly rang—this time someone was calling directly.
The Sumiyoshi Group executive instinctively looked at the person beside him, wanting to ask their opinion, but saw them very naturally take his phone and press answer.
"Found her! Aoike Toko got on a bus at XXX station! License plate Shinagawa 200! Someone's already following! The cops are investigating too—send a few more people just in case!"
The Sumiyoshi Group executive answered hesitantly: "Got it, I'll send people to pursue right away."
The call ended. The dark-haired, red-eyed young man straightened up and calmly ordered: "Let's go. I'm coming too."
"Yes!"
The Sumiyoshi Group executive was inexplicably excited: "I'll drive! Please, this way!"
Saying this, he bowed while walking toward the entrance, watching the other person's expression the whole way as he led them to where he'd parked.
Two burly men happened to be nearby, staring in amazement: "Brother Ikawa, who is this..."
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask!" Executive Ikawa made a shooing gesture, then turned to show an ingratiating smile to the person behind him. "Please, this way please."
The men: "............"
The two watched Executive Ikawa drive away, unable to calm down for a long time.
Who was that just now?! They'd been undercover in the Sumiyoshi Group for years—how had they never heard of someone like that?!
That guy—you could tell at a glance he was naturally suited for this work, someone who could lead the Sumiyoshi Group to glory!
Was he new? Or the boss's relative? Had they not known before because he was studying abroad, learning advanced criminal techniques and just returned?
Tokyo's yakuza power distribution might undergo major changes soon! They had to report to the Metropolitan Police immediately!!!
Meanwhile, Kokonoe Yoto and Squad Leader Jinma also stared at the direction that car had driven away, falling into long silence.
They'd just finished asking for information from colleagues undercover in the Sumiyoshi Group with the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division. They'd returned to their car and hadn't even turned the key when they saw Samukawa Shinryu being respectfully invited into a car by a Sumiyoshi Group executive. For them, knowing Samukawa Shinryu was actually police, this scene was even more shocking than for those two undercover agents.
Squad Leader Jinma spoke first: "...Anyway, let's follow first. You email Samukawa-kun and ask what information he got."
Never mind what was going on with the other side or why they treated Samukawa Shinryu that way—work came first!
Kokonoe Yoto glanced at the two undercover colleagues through the car window and said hesitantly: "Should we explain to them? They seem to have some misunderstanding..."
"No time!" Squad Leader Jinma stepped on the gas. "We'll explain later! Hurry up and send that email!"
Kokonoe Yoto: "Yes."
Soon, Kokonoe Yoto received Samukawa Shinryu's reply.
He gave a license plate number, informed them of the destination, and noted that there were Sumiyoshi Group people on board.
Since it was sent to the group, not only Kokonoe Yoto's team but also Officer Shima and Ibuki Ai's team got the message and quickly changed their driving route to converge with that airport bus route.
"Wow, Samukawa-kun actually did it for real. He really got information—such high efficiency! How did he do it?" Ibuki Ai marveled.
Officer Shima frowned: "How he did it doesn't matter. The trouble is there are actually Sumiyoshi Group people on the bus, probably armed. Originally we could just notify the driver to find an excuse to pull over, but now if they deviate from the normal route, that Sumiyoshi Group member might notice and directly take passengers hostage."
In cramped spaces like bus compartments, once shots were fired, bullet trajectories became uncontrollable—too easy to accidentally injure people.
Then it would be innocent citizens caught in yakuza firefights while the Metropolitan Police stood helpless, giving reporters plenty to write about.
As everyone gave chase, finally spotting the target vehicle, Captain Kikyo suddenly cut into the radio.
"The bus driver will exit the highway at the next intersection. Remember to follow and try to prevent the situation from escalating."
"Won't that alert them?!"
"...No, because this is Samukawa-kun having the Sumiyoshi Group executive notify the person on the bus to directly threaten the driver with a gun to stop... Don't know why they're all so cooperative with Samukawa-kun. Anyway, let's hope the driver stays calm and doesn't get so scared he crashes..."
Everyone on the communication channel: "............"
—Samukawa Shinryu! Do you remember you're a police officer?!