Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 134 - 130: Aoyama Xiu Xin: I am righteous, righteous!

Chapter 134: Chapter 130: Aoyama Xiu Xin: I am righteous, righteous!

Aoyama Xiu Xin’s determination to shield Nakamura Shinichi was almost visibly written on his face. Faced with questioning, Asano Hirofumi glared at him angrily, but quickly averted his gaze and bowed his head, bending at the waist as he said, "Subordinate dare not!"

"Dare not? So you do have an opinion?" Aoyama Xiu Xin smiled with insincerity, slamming the report emphatically onto the desk and berating loudly, "Get out! This report doesn’t need your signature anymore, I’ll sign it!"

"Police Chief Aoyama, I think that we should..." Asano Hirofumi tried to argue his case, attempting to persuade the other party.

But Aoyama Xiu Xin, who had brokered a deal with Kikumura about the dermatitis trade, was totally unreasonable, only caring about superior authority, and pointed towards the door saying, "I don’t care what you think, I care what I think! Out, now! Immediately! Without delay!"

Do I not know if what I’m doing is right or wrong?

Do I need you to teach me?

Does it matter if it’s right or wrong?

The key is how it benefits me.

"Understood!" Asano Hirofumi didn’t bother to hide his displeasure, bowing once before turning to leave.

After exiting the door, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his chest heaving violently, his breaths growing fast and labored.

I absolutely cannot tolerate such a foul atmosphere.

Police in Japan shouldn’t be like this!

Asano Hirofumi initially wanted to seek out Police Chief Hattori to explain the situation, but recalling the attitude of the Police Headquarters leaders and Aoyama Xiu Xin, and fearing that Police Chief Hattori was the same kind of person, he now deeply distrusted his superiors.

So he decided to investigate secretly on his own, even though the case had already been closed. He wanted to uncover the truth, bring the real culprit to justice, restore innocence to the unjustly accused, and rid the Police Headquarters of corrupt officers.

Aoyama Xiu Xin guessed Asano Hirofumi wouldn’t let things go, so as soon as he left, Aoyama Xiu Xin immediately called Nakamura Shinichi, "Asano Hirofumi doesn’t approve of your case report and is bound to investigate privately. Tell the brothers in the department to ignore him; anyone who helps him is going against me."

A single person, unable to command their subordinates.

I’d like to see how long you can investigate.

"Understood!" Nakamura Shinichi immediately responded.

As an ordinary officer, Nakamura Shinichi had a closer relationship with the other officers than Aoyama Xiu Xin, making him the most suitable person to spread the word.

After hanging up, Aoyama Xiu Xin next called Kimura Yakuo with a warning, "Mr. Kimura, the Ayase Mihiko case will soon conclude its investigation process, but my deputy, Asano Hirofumi, is a stubborn and inflexible man. He might covertly investigate you, so be careful. Of course, he can’t command anyone, and I will try to load him with many other cases so he won’t have time to bother you."

Burdening Asano Hirofumi with many cases and criticizing him for the lack of progress would mean he wouldn’t have time to focus on Kimura Yakuo.

Hiss, why do I feel like a villain?

No! I am the protagonist, I do this to swiftly rise to a higher position, to benefit more citizens of Japan!

Anyone who tries to stop me is hindering national progress, hindering the people’s pursuit of a happy life.

For such traitors, a heavy hand must be used.

"Yoshi! Thanks for the heads up, Mr. Aoyama. If I’m upright, I’m not afraid of crooked shadows. As long as that Officer Asano doesn’t interfere with my work and life, it’s fine," Kimura Yakuo said, even though he had made a deal with Aoyama Xiu Xin over the Ayase Mihiko case, he never admitted to murder.

Aoyama Xiu Xin replied, "Understood!"

"As for the reward I promised Mr. Aoyama, I’ll have my secretary deliver it to you; how would you like to receive it?" Kimura Yakuo also brought up this matter.

For matters of money, secrecy is preferable.

Kimura Yakuo wouldn’t show up in person, and naturally, Aoyama Xiu Xin wouldn’t either, "I’ll have Detective Nakamura collect it. Remember his phone number; when the time comes, just have your secretary contact him for the handover."

Unless it’s a very large sum of money, like hundreds of billions sufficient for major endeavors, a few billion is not of great use to him; after all, he already has enough money to satisfy his living expenses.

He wasn’t interested in Kimura Yakuo’s reward.

He was very interested in the bank funds in his hands.

Once the ATM expansion is complete nationwide, there would be an endless stream of borrowers, but repayments would take time. To grow and strengthen, there must be sufficient cash flow for lending, and banks just happen to have a lot of cash.

"Okay," Kimura Yakuo hung up the phone.

Aoyama Xiu Xin then immediately called Nakamura Shinichi to remind him to keep his phone lines open recently.

"Ding-a-ling-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling-a-ling~"

Just as he hung up, his phone rang again.

Always so busy.

"Moshi moshi, this is Aoyama Xiu Xin."

"Police Chief Aoyama, sorry to disturb you. This is Chairman Chen Taizhi from the Fulong Chamber of Commerce. This morning, a few reckless subordinates of mine caused you trouble; I hope to set up a table for drinks to apologize, and I ask for a chance to do so."

A robust Chinese voice came from the phone.

"Yoshi! Chairman Chen’s invitation is sincere; I must show my respect. How about we meet again at Yang Ji Restaurant?" Aoyama Xiu Xin said leisurely.

"Okay, Police Chief Aoyama is straightforward. Then tonight at nine-thirty, Yang Ji Restaurant. I look forward to your arrival!"

"Understood! Don’t miss it." Aoyama Xiu Xin finished speaking and hung up the phone, his eyes revealing contemplation.

Meanwhile, at the Fulong Gang headquarters, Chen Taizhi, a gang leader in his forties in the prime of life, looked at several of his brothers and said, "Damn it, this little Japanese speaks Mandarin pretty well, even lighter on the accent than me."

He even doubted who was really Japanese.

"It seems that Police Chief Aoyama has a deep understanding of Chinese culture and a fondness for the Chinese people," said a thirty-something young man with a slick side-part in his hair, clad in a black suit, looking every bit the part. "Negotiations tonight should be smooth sailing then; just put on enough of a show."

He was Zhao Qinghong, the second in command of the Fulong Gang.

Chen Taizhi, rubbing his buzz-cut, frowned and cursed, "Damn it, the thought of grovelling to those little Japanese bastards tonight really pisses me off."

The whole point of forming a gang was to avoid being bullied by the Japanese, yet now they found themselves not oppressed by Japanese gangs, but by Japanese officials.

It was only the early 90s, and the Fulong Gang wasn’t as strong as it would become later, still limited to the phase of showing off and fighting fiercely, without the connections and influence in officialdom.

"Boss, Aoyama Xiu Xin is a rising star in the Japanese police force. He couldn’t be so conspicuous without a powerful backer," Zhao Qinghong quickly advised Chen Taizhi to endure, for the sake of the big picture and for the sake of the brothers, "If he bears a grudge against us, he wouldn’t need to do anything else – he could just have our undocumented brothers forcefully deported, and that would greatly diminish our strength."

"Yeah, Boss, if our brothers get deported, those native gangs we’ve crossed will surely seek revenge. The great situation we’ve finally managed to create could collapse overnight!"

"Hmph! Now that you’re wearing gold and silver, you’ve started to fear this and that. When we were working dirty jobs with lives not worth a dime, we weren’t afraid of anything. It must be because you’ve got money now, eh!"

"Old Liu, what you’re saying isn’t right. Are we afraid of dying? I’m worried that just when the brothers have started to settle down and haven’t made money for a few years, they’ll be deported!"

Other leaders expressed their views one after another. Some supported Zhao Qinghong, while others opposed, each one speaking more vehemently, the air getting more charged with tension.

"Enough!" Chen Taizhi, out of patience, barked to silence everyone, glaring as he said, "What’s all this arguing for? Do you need me to make space for you?"

Everyone humbly took their seats once again.

Chen Taizhi’s prestige was quite strong, after all, he was the one who had fought for the gang’s current position.

"Boss, if you really don’t want to face that little Japanese officer, I’d be willing to go in your place," Zhao Qinghong said earnestly, facing Chen Taizhi with a frank expression, "After all, no matter what, you’re our gang’s leader. If tonight’s talks don’t go well, there will be no room left for easing the situation. I’ll go first, I’m not afraid of losing face, and if I can’t make it work, then you can still step in."

"With that being said, I’ll have to trouble you with this task, Qinghong," Chen Taizhi agreed after a moment of contemplation.

He feared that his own temper could not only fail to appease Aoyama Xiu Xin tonight but might further offend him, which wouldn’t bode well for the Fulong Gang.

Having Zhao Qinghong go first to gauge Aoyama Xiu Xiu’s mood wouldn’t be too late for Chen Taizhi to step in if negotiations fell through.

Zhao Qinghong responded with a hearty laugh and a carefree glance around, "Boss, there’s no trouble or hassle, we’re all doing this for the gang and for our compatriots making a living in Japan. I consider it my honor to be able to contribute to this cause!"

.........

Police Headquarters, the homicide division office.

"Mitsuo," Asano Hirofumi called out.

A young officer immediately rose and walked to his desk to bow, "Chief Asano, at your command."

"You keep an eye on Kimura Yakuo and report his movements at any time," Asano Hirofumi ordered while looking at him.

"This..." The young officer named Mitsuo hesitated, revealing a troubled expression before gritting his teeth and bowing, "I apologize, Chief, but without Police Chief Aoyama’s order, I can’t comply. I still have cases to handle."

Asano Hirofumi frowned and stared at his face.

Mitsuo lowered his head, feeling guilty, because Asano had been quite helpful to him during this time, but still, he dared not defy a direct order from Aoyama Xiu Xin.

Otherwise, he would definitely be isolated by all his colleagues.

"Dismissed," Asano Hirofumi sighed.

Although he was annoyed, he knew the real issue lay with Aoyama Xiu Xin; taking it out on Mitsuo was pointless.

"I’m really sorry, Chief," Mitsuo apologized sincerely, bowing deeply before turning to return to his seat, silently bearing the guilt.

Yoshikai Youzai, carrying a stack of case files, walked in and placed them on Asano’s desk, bowing respectfully, "Assistant Director Asano, these are the cases specifically assigned to you by Police Chief Aoyama. He said he has high expectations for you and hopes for rapid progress."

Looking at the tall pile of documents, Asano’s face turned dark, "How many cases are there?"

Judging by the thickness of the files, there were clearly more than one.

"Four," Yoshikai responded, also offering a sympathetic look. It was unwise to antagonize Police Chief Aoyama.

Hearing this, Asano’s face turned an iron shade of blue.

Seeing his distress, Yoshikai quickly bowed and hurried out to avoid becoming a scapegoat.

"Idiot!"

Asano spat the word through clenched teeth.

He could guess what Aoyama Xiu Xin was up to – it was simply intended to drain his energy, leaving him no time to investigate Kimura Yakuo.

If he neglected these cases to focus solely on Kimura, then Aoyama Xiu Xin could easily justify transferring or suspending him.

"But, you vile bastard, think you can subdue me like that? Dream on."

Asano’s rebellious spirit was aroused.

The more Aoyama Xiu Xin behaved this way, the more it indicated that Kimura Yakuo was the culprit. Asano wouldn’t allow a miscarriage of justice to unfold before his eyes, nor would he let a murderer and corrupt cop roam free without punishment.

Asano ignored those cases.

He grabbed his jacket and walked out of the office.

His department might not heed his command, but he could ask for help from a friend – one friend would certainly assist him.

Heading out, he picked up his mobile phone and dialed a number, "Chunzi..."