Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 116 - 112: Common Secret, Clues of the Crime

Chapter 116: Chapter 112: Common Secret, Clues of the Crime

The car window was half open as they sped along, the world outside resembling a flowing scroll painting, with the cool night breeze carrying in the scent of various street foods.

Neitian Youji was pressed against the car door, seemingly admiring the night view, but her eyes were actually stealing glances at Aoyama Xiu Xin’s expression from time to time.

She was extremely nervous and flustered.

"Do you know what you’re doing?" Aoyama Xiu Xin, staring at the road ahead with an expressionless face, asked.

Neitian Youji’s panic increased, her breathing quickened, and her chest heaved as she forced herself to stay calm and changed the subject, "Brother Xiu Xin, you’ve changed to a new car."

Aoyama Xiu Xin stepped on the brake and looked at her.

The sense of oppression was overwhelming.

"I..." Neitian Youji bowed her head and said weakly, "I just thought it was fun to see Brother Xiu Xin flustered, plus I was a bit... a bit curious, I’m so sorry! Really sorry!"

She blushed and repeatedly bowed her head in apology.

"Please increase the intensity," Aoyama Xiu Xin said.

"Hey! I’ll never dare again... Huh?" Neitian Youji was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized what he meant, abruptly raised her head, widened her eyes in disbelief, and stared at him.

I didn’t expect it, I didn’t think that I was the only type who could do this kind of thing, I didn’t expect that you, Brother Xiu Xin, with your bold eyebrows and big eyes, would be this kind of person!

Aoyama Xiu Xin’s hand, holding the steering wheel, tapped like playing the piano and glanced at her with a justified tone, "Why are you staring at me like that? Do you think I’m some lecher? I’m doing this for your sake. At your age, it’s normal to be curious about these things. If you can’t satisfy your curiosity with me, you’ll seek it with others, and what if you meet some unscrupulous bad person? I’m just considering your well-being, willing to put myself at a disadvantage."

He was almost moved by his own argument, unconnected to Neitian Youji personally, but able to sacrifice himself for her—good people like him were rare.

"Brother Xiu Xin... you clearly enjoy it too, right?" Neitian Youji certainly didn’t believe Aoyama Xiu Xin’s nonsense. Sensing that he wasn’t really angry and seemed to enjoy being flirted with, she grew bolder, her eyes shining with excitement and curiosity.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, expressionless, replied, "Somewhat."

"Hmph! Liar, definitely, you clearly had a strong reaction," Neitian Youji grew bolder and more excited, her face flushed and her breathing became heavier, she bit her red lips and asked, "Many of my colleagues and friends have already done it, is it really that comfortable? Brother Xiu Xin, is it?"

Since World War II, the sexual attitudes of Japanese women have increasingly liberalized. During the economic boom of the past decade, it had peaked, and now, with the economy declining, the risqué industry was flourishing more and more.

After all, Japan is known globally for its risqué industry. With the distorted cultural influence over time, it’s rare to find people who still hold onto their chastity.

Aoyama Xiu Xin quietly looked at Neitian Youji.

Neitian Youji’s face was pink and her eyes misty, eager to try and believing that if he made the first move, she would definitely go along with it to widen her perspectives.

"Brother Xiu Xin," Neitian Youji called him sweetly, leaning her body towards him.

However, Aoyama Xiu Xin pushed her away.

Neitian Youji looked at him blankly.

"I said, don’t see me as one of those sleazy and shameless lechers. I have my principles," Aoyama Xiu Xin declared righteously.

In reality, he was afraid of the River Crab Divine Beast.

Because Youji was still five months shy of eighteen.

Although this was in Japan, the River Crab Divine Beast ruled over all realms of transmigrants, so rules had to be followed not just in Japan, but even in other worlds!

Otherwise, he would definitely be mercilessly suppressed.

Neitian Youji was stunned, her mind foggy, and ultimately she could only attribute it to Brother Xiu Xin’s male instincts wanting to touch her, but his noble character wouldn’t allow it. Indeed, he was a true gentleman.

Thinking of this, she became even more excited.

Because that’s what made it interesting.

Tempting the noble and principled Brother Xiu Xin to degrade, to cast off his shackles step by step, was a truly intriguing thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Aoyama Xiu Xin, seeing her eyes glowing with excitement, curiously asked.

"Nothing much." Neitian Youji giggled, shook her head, flipped her short hair away from her ears, and leaned against the door instead, removing her shoes and placing both feet on Aoyama Xiu Xin’s legs, "They are quite sore, could you rub them for me?"

"No, I need to drive." Aoyama Xiu Xin restarted the car, moved his legs, and shook off her feet.

"We’re here." Twenty minutes later, Aoyama Xiu Xin stopped the car outside Neitian Youji’s rented apartment.

"Thank you, Brother Xiu Xin, good night, drive safely." Neitian Youji leaned over and kissed Aoyama Xiu Xin on the cheek before getting out of the car, laughing and asking as she closed the door, "Brother Xiu Xin, was it comfortable?"

She and Aoyama Xiu Xin had grown closer, after all, they now unofficially shared a little secret.

"Incomparable," Aoyama Xiu Xin wiped the saliva off his face, making a reserved comment.

Neitian Youji, not understanding the idiom and seeing that Aoyama Xiu Xin had no intention of explaining, pouted, slung her bag over her shoulder, and bounced away.

"Typical of the Japanese...really twisted!"

Watching her cheerful figure, Aoyama Xiu Xin sincerely exclaimed, followed by his lips curling up crazily.

"But... I like it."

Several days passed quickly, and before one knew it, it was June 23, a Tuesday.

"Deputy Director, here is the information on the female journalist you asked me to check," Aoyama Xiu Xin had just arrived at the office in the morning when Fujimoto Ryosuke handed him an envelope.

"Alright, thank you," Aoyama Xiu Xin took the envelope and casually offered him a cigarette from the desk.

Fujimoto Ryosuke bowed slightly in thanks. After Aoyama Xiu Xin put a cigarette in his own mouth, Fujimoto bent down to light it for him before turning back to his seat.

With a sigh, Aoyama Xiu Xin expelled a puff of smoke and opened the envelope, pulling out the documents to start reading.

Matsubara Zizhi, 25 years old, graduated from a very ordinary university, but with excellent grades. She got into Asahi News as a journalist through her own efforts.

Her goal was to become a reporter who tracked and reported on politicians, but since she had no connections or background, she could only work as a sports journalist.

Moreover, as a sports journalist, she was lowly paid and lived frugally because she refused to trade her dignity for resources.

However, just a week ago, 20 million yen had suddenly appeared in one of her bank accounts.

"Hmph!" Aoyama Xiu Xin scoffed and put down the documents.

No wonder, despite driving a rundown car and having only a few thousand yen in her wallet, she boldly asked for 100,000 yen without bargaining. It turned out she had suddenly struck it rich.

Yet those who suddenly become rich tend to forget their newfound wealth when unexpectedly faced with a critical situation and could still bargain if they remembered.

But Matsubara Zizhi did not, perhaps her intent was precisely to find another chance to contact him.

Even if he had only asked for a few thousand yen at that time, she would probably find an excuse to claim she didn’t have enough to exchange contact information, right?

Though there was no evidence, Aoyama Xiu Xin was almost certain this woman intentionally approached him, though he wasn’t sure if someone else arranged it or if she had her own schemes.

That was something Aoyama Xiu Xin couldn’t figure out.

Nor did he have the mood or time to waste trying to understand it.

He directly picked up his mobile phone, stepped out of the office, and called Yamakawa Ichiro, saying, "There’s a female journalist named Matsubara Zizhi at Asahi News Sports Channel, I want to meet her tonight at Yongxin Slaughterhouse."

What exactly Matsubara Zizhi was up to would be clear under threat and severe torture.

He didn’t believe her resolve was stronger than Harayama Heiji’s.

Even if it were just a coincidence, he could simply compensate her afterwards.

He didn’t want to waste time and energy playing games with her to slowly uncover her intentions.

Nakamura Shinichi just happened to run into Aoyama Xiu Xin, who had finished his call and was heading back to his office. In the hallway, he reported, "Deputy Director, I’ve compiled all the relevant clues about the murder case of Ayase Mihiko last week."

"Leave it on my desk," Aoyama Xiu Xin said.

Nakamura Shinichi responded, "Yes, sir!"

Aoyama Xiu Xin returned to his desk and waited about ten minutes when Nakamura Shinichi walked over with a stack of documents, explaining them one by one to Aoyama Xiu Xin.

"Deputy Director, here is the list of people Ayase Mihiko had contact with in the month before her death."

"Is that all? And the frequency of the meetings is not that high," Aoyama Xiu Xin took it and frowned.

Nakamura Shinichi explained, "Her colleagues say she was very independent and looked down on other colleagues, rarely interacting with them. There are rumors that she was a mistress of a high-ranking executive at the Agricultural and Forestry Bank and was eventually going to be transferred there, which is why she disdained mingling with her colleagues."

Ayase Mihiko had worked at Agricultural and Forestry Facilities Co., Ltd, a subsidiary under the Agricultural and Forestry Bank.

"Any findings on that high-ranking lover?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked, putting down the file.

Nakamura Shinichi shook his head, "No, we got her mobile and home phone numbers from her colleagues and checked the communication records with the telecom company. There’s nothing in six months of records indicating any calls from anyone in the management of the Agricultural and Forestry Bank."

"Then it seems to be just rumors," Aoyama Xiu Xin shook his head and asked, "Who did she contact the most? Who was her last phone call with before she died? Did you find that out?"

"The one she contacted the most was her direct supervisor, a woman. We’ve questioned her, and it was all work-related. The last call was with a colleague, also for work-related reasons," Nakamura Shinichi respectfully reported.

Aoyama Xiu Xin exhaled sharply and looked at him sideways, "And you call this finding clues?"

Clearly, there wasn’t a single useful clue!

"Deputy Director, please look at this," Nakamura Shinichi took out several photos. They showed a middle-aged man with long hair and a blond young man. "These were taken by a surveillance camera outside a diner near the victim’s home. I bought two pairs of shoes identical to those they were wearing to compare, and found the shoe prints at the crime scene substantially matching each set."

"Also, based on our surveillance of the Noda gang these past few days, they suddenly have money after being released from custody, spending lavishly and indulging in pleasures. I suspect they are the murderers, breaking and entering plus murder; otherwise, none of this adds up."

He had immediately focused on these two.

Because he remembered they had previously been arrested by Aoyama Xiu Xin and knew both had criminal records and appeared near the scene, making them prime suspects, so he looked them up.

Unexpectedly, there was indeed an unexpected finding,

"They just got out and can’t stay idle. Are they complaining that one month of detention was too short, insisting on spending a lifetime inside? Just arrest them," Aoyama Xiu Xin said.

Although the shoe prints alone couldn’t be used as evidence, based on this, they could first arrest and bring them in for questioning. Additional evidence would surely surface.

Nakamura Shinichi immediately bowed and responded, "Yes, sir!"