Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 33 - 32: Strike First, the Yoshinaga Family’s Unexpected Discovery (Requesting Monthly Pass! Requesting Follow-up Reads!)

Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Strike First, the Yoshinaga Family’s Unexpected Discovery (Requesting Monthly Pass! Requesting Follow-up Reads!)

"Nozaki Masao just confessed," Asai Ayumi said as soon as Aoyama Xiu Xin arrived at the station that morning, calling him into the office to inform him of the news.

"Hmm, I expected as much. Has he seen a lawyer yet?" Aoyama Xiu Xin’s reaction was very calm.

Asai Ayumi tilted her head and stared at the subordinate who had supported her boldly the night before, furrowing her brows slightly. "So, is that why you didn’t continue the interrogation last night?"

"Yesterday at the arrest scene, I saw Nozaki Masao make a call for help." Aoyama Xiu Xin picked up Asai Ayumi’s coffee and drank from it, ignoring her look of disdain, and continued, "His involvement in the drug trade is undeniable, no one can save him from that. But to avoid implicating himself, his backers will definitely negotiate with us on his behalf, coercing him to admit to his crimes and take the fall so that the case ends with him and doesn’t expand further."

It was even likely that Nozaki Masao’s call for help wasn’t a real plea to be saved, but a means to negotiate better benefits from his backers in exchange for his confession.

"It’s always like this," Asai Ayumi said, clenching her fists in frustration and gritting her teeth. "Are we doomed to always beat the dogs, without ever being able to touch their masters? When one dog dies, the master just gets another one to continue his dirty work. It’s infuriating!"

She felt powerless despite her anger.

"The reason we can only beat the dogs is because you don’t have enough power in your hands," Aoyama Xiu Xin put down the coffee cup, leaned forward on the desk, and looked into Asai Ayumi’s eyes. "When the Police Headquarters is under your control, then you can beat both the dogs and their masters."

Of course, such a notion was false. Even if Asai Ayumi became the chief of Police Headquarters, by then she would have become one of "those people."

Otherwise, she could never climb that high, and even if she did, holding her position for long would be unlikely.

"There will be a day for that," Asai Ayumi said, her mood intense, taking a deep breath and speaking with resolve.

Aoyama Xiu Xin couldn’t agree or disagree and glanced at his watch, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

He had to go and bring the good news to Mrs. Yanahara as well.

"Oh, there’s one more thing," Asai Ayumi picked up a document from her desk and handed it to him. "Last night’s explosion was caused by a homemade bomb, and the technicians found fragments of a remote control device at the scene after investigating."

Aoyama Xiu Xin suddenly realized, no wonder the explosion’s impact was so small, killing only four people in the car—it was a homemade bomb. He skimmed the report and said, "The control range of these homemade remote bombs isn’t very wide, there must have been a fifth person at the scene."

"Correct," Asai Ayumi nodded solemnly. "The identities of the four dead are still unknown, but the fact that each was armed shows they were all dangerous criminals, and that mysterious fifth person dared to set off the bomb right under the police’s nose, indicating that he is extremely vicious. We must find him."

"I’ll take a team back to that section of the highway where it happened last night," Aoyama Xiu Xin said immediately.

Asai Ayumi nodded, "Be careful."

"Hi!" Aoyama Xiu Xin bowed and then left.

At the same time, the new head of the Criminal Affairs Section, Takahashi Tomoyuki, took up his post, with Asai Youki personally taking him to the Criminal Affairs Section, giving him full respect.

After a brief welcome ceremony, Takahashi Tomoyuki had his staff bring the information on the members of the Criminal Affairs Section to his office and then sent everyone else to work.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in." Takahashi Tomoyuki, looking at the personnel file in his hands, said without lifting his head.

"Sir, you’re busy," Fujimoto Ryosuke said as he entered with coffee, closing the door behind him and approaching with a flattering smile. "It must be hard working so diligently just after starting, please have some coffee."

"Your name is Fuji..." Takahashi Tomoyuki remembered seeing the man’s profile just now but couldn’t recall his name.

"Fujimoto Ryosuke," Fujimoto Ryosuke said, setting down the coffee and introducing himself respectfully. "Section Chief, I’m Fujimoto Ryosuke, Deputy Director of the Robbery Investigation Section."

"Oh, so it’s Deputy Director Fujimoto," Takahashi Tomoyuki nodded, realizing who he was. He then took a sip of the coffee and said, "I understand that Deputy Director Fujimoto was previously part of the Firearms Section. It seems you were transferred here not long ago, how are you adjusting to the Criminal Affairs Section?"

"Adjusting well, adjusting well," Fujimoto Ryosuke responded.

Takahashi Tomoyuki set down his coffee, his demeanor casual as he asked, "I’ve heard quite a bit about the detective Aoyama Xiu Xin before coming to Shinjuku Police Station. Since Deputy Director Fujimoto used to work with Detective Aoyama, you must know him quite well."

Fujimoto Ryosuke’s expression suddenly changed.

"What, is there a story between Deputy Director Fujimoto and Deputy Chief Aoyama?" Takahashi Tomoyuki smiled.

Fujimoto Ryosuke lowered his head and after a moment of silence, he said, "Not to make a joke, sir, I was transferred to the Criminal Affairs Section to make room for him. Moreover, it’s known around the station that I, like a frog desiring swan meat, pursued Chief Asai, but she was blunt with me yet looked at Deputy Chief Aoyama differently, so..."

He seemed reluctant to continue.

"I see," Takahashi Tomoyuki’s eyes sparkled; being a newcomer to Shinjuku Police Station and still quite in the dark, he needed loyalists to handle Aoyama Xiu Xin—the issue just presented itself like a pillow for a napper.

Fujimoto Ryosuke held animosity towards Aoyama Xiu Xin and was now actively trying to curry favor with himself, showing his ambition. Could there be a better pawn?

Suddenly, Takahashi Tomoyuki grew warmer and more approachable, comforting him in a gentle tone, "Deputy Director Fujimoto doesn’t need to be upset. What man lacks a wife? How about this, we’ll have a couple of drinks tonight, and you can fill me in on the specifics of Shinjuku Police Station."

He wasn’t here at Shinjuku Police Station to be the part of the Criminal Affairs Section; he just wanted to deal with Aoyama Xiu Xin quickly and return to Police Headquarters—the sooner, the better. It would be difficult to return once his position at the Police Headquarters was firmly taken by someone else.

"Hi! An invitation from the section chief is a great honor!" Fujimoto Ryosuke immediately became excited, nodding repeatedly. "Rest assured, chief, I’ll be utterly forthcoming."

"Ha ha ha ha, good, get back to work now."

"Hi!"

Takahashi Tomoyuki watched Fujimoto Ryosuke leave, pondered for a moment, then called the robbery investigation section chief into his office, asking, "I hear there’s some unpleasantness between Deputy Director Fujimoto and Deputy Chief Aoyama from the Firearms Section?"

Of course, he wouldn’t rely solely on Fujimoto’s words.

"Hi!" The robbery investigation section chief didn’t understand why the new chief was interested in this gossip but still answered honestly, "It’s not just unpleasant; they are like oil and water. Everyone at the station knows that."

.........

On the other side, Aoyama Xiu Xin led seven members of the firearms division back to the highway section where the explosion had occurred the previous night.

"Focus your search on the wild fields on both sides of the road. Look carefully and report to me immediately if you find anything."

Aoyama Xiu Xin instructed the group after getting out of the car.

"Yes!" the seven people bowed and dispersed.

Aoyama Xiu Xin stood in place smoking. After all, wasn’t the benefit of being a leader the ability to command others to work? Otherwise, what was the point of getting promoted?

Moreover, as a leader, it was important to give subordinates opportunities to prove themselves. If a leader did everything personally, how would anyone else achieve any merit?

"Dingling~ Dingling~"

At that moment, his car phone rang.

Aoyama put out his cigarette and took out his phone.

"Moshi moshi."

"This is Fujimoto Ryosuke. Mr. Xiu Xin, the plan is going smoothly. I hadn’t even invited him for a drink yet, and Takahashi Tomoyuki has already asked me out."

"Excellent," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a smile, leaning against the car in the cold wind, "I await your good news."

Sitting around waiting for the enemy to come knock on one’s door was not his style. When opportunity arose, it was essential to strike first and if there wasn’t an opportunity, one had to create it!

"Yes!"

"Deputy Chief, I found something!" Further afield, Jing Shang, who had been bowing his head, suddenly stood up, waving his hands while shouting towards Aoyama Xiu Xin.

"Like this, I’ll hang up first." Upon hearing this, Aoyama Xiu Xin hung up and quickly jogged over.

Jing Shang pointed at several relatively clear footprints in the field, "Deputy Chief, look at these footprints, they must have been made recently; otherwise, they wouldn’t be this clear. There are also signs of the grass being flattened, very suspicious."

"Take prints of these footprints and bring them back for comparison," Aoyama Xiu Xin immediately instructed.

"Yes!"

After searching for about half an hour more with no new findings, Aoyama Xiu Xin announced it was time to regroup. The others returned to the police station, and he took the route towards the Yoshinaga family’s house.

When he last left, he didn’t just take the car keys but also the house keys from the Yoshinaga family, reasoning that this way it wouldn’t trouble Mrs. Yanahara to go back and forth opening the door.

Mrs. Yanahara was moved to tears on the spot.

He took out the keys, opened the courtyard door, then the house door. Aoyama Xiu Xin didn’t see Mrs. Yanahara in the living room, but there was a pile of documents on the coffee table. Just as he thought she wasn’t home, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen.

Aoyama Xiu Xin went to check and saw Mrs. Yanahara half inside the washing machine, her lower half sticking out and her backside pointed upwards, seemingly busy with something.

Don’t ask how he recognized her without seeing her face; most people can identify a person by their buttocks.

Mrs. Yanahara was wearing a tight-fitting white dress that accentuated her curves. As she bent over, her rounded backside appeared fuller, with the hem of her dress riding up slightly, revealing her legs, nearly fully exposed and wrapped in black stockings.

The washing machine still had some allure left, it seems!

Yoshinaga Yiren finally managed to clean up the bits of paper stuck on the inside of the washing machine. Just as she was about to step out, she felt someone embrace her from behind.

"Ah! Who are you! Let go of me now!"

She trembled with fear and shrieked, struggling to get out, but the person behind held her tightly by the waist, making it impossible for her to break free. The continuous shifting of her body backwards appeared more like a provocative retreat.

Aoyama Xiu Xin naturally did not hold back...

Within a short hour, Mrs. Yanahara’s emotions had rollercoastered from panic and fear to relief and embarrassment upon learning that her secret assailant was Aoyama Xiu Xin.

"I came to tell you some good news, Mrs. Yanahara. Nozaki Masao has been arrested, the Noguchi Group is in disarray, and won’t target the Nozawa Financial Corporation again." Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a smile.

"Ah! Really!" Yehua Yiren was instantly distracted and overjoyed, repeatedly expressing her gratitude, "Thank you so much, Mr. Aoyama."

"Ah!" Yehua Yiren realized she was still exposed and blushingly embarrassed, lowered her head, turned around, and ran, "I’m going to change clothes upstairs, Mr. Aoyama, please make yourself at home."

As Aoyama Xiu Xin put on his attire and sat down in the living room, he casually picked up the files on the coffee table to browse through.

He discovered they were customer records from the Nozawa Financial Corporation, divided into three parts: one for customers who had repaid their loans, another for those who hadn’t yet, and the last for those who had defaulted.

Surprisingly, he saw Sato Rich’s name among the good customers. The record showed Sato Rich had borrowed 130 million yen in three installments and had paid off the last loan a week ago, principal and interest included.

These days in Japan, many people relied on borrowing to maintain their financial needs, but with Sato’s status, it wasn’t necessary to resort to such measures. He was not short of illicit gains. Moreover, if he was short of money, it wouldn’t just be a hundred million.

Borrowing such a large amount hinted he might have borrowed from more than just the Nozawa Financial Corporation...

And why such a large amount? Wouldn’t a bank be sufficient unless direct loans from lending companies were necessary?

What was the money for?

And where did the funds to clear the debt so quickly come from?

"Mr. Aoyama..." Just then, Yehua Yiren came down from upstairs dressed in a pink kimono.

"Quiet, I’m thinking."