Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 499 - 433: Knocking on the Widow’s Door at Night, The Investigation Team Under Immense Pressure

Chapter 499: Chapter 433: Knocking on the Widow’s Door at Night, The Investigation Team Under Immense Pressure

After a night of busyness, it was already three in the morning.

The sister-in-law had gone to Tokyo, so Aoyama Xiu Xin simply couldn’t bother going home and went straight to the Qingshui residence to spend the night.

After all, with a long night ahead, how could one fall asleep without a woman’s company? Surely no one can sleep soundly without embracing a woman? That would be some truly great sleep quality!

"Knock Knock Knock!" After getting there, Aoyama Xiu Xin asked Jin Yucheng to wait in the car and personally knocked on the door of the widower at night.

When the person who opened the door saw it was Aoyama Xiu Xin he hurriedly bowed respectfully and fearfully, "Chief of Police Qing Mountain."

"Show me to Mrs. Qingshui’s bedroom," Aoyama Xiu Xin stated bluntly, playing the unabashed card.

His bodyguard naturally knew all about the state of his marital relationship and immediately responded, "Sure! I’ll take you there now."

As he said this, he exchanged a glance with his colleague.

Another bodyguard rushed off ahead.

Aoyama Xiu Xin guessed that he must be going to inform Qingshui Yasuko or Qingshui Yi and didn’t interfere.

Although it was already late, Qingshui Yi had not yet gone to bed; how could he at his age? He was offering up his troubles in front of his father’s portrait.

"Father, I’ve only now come to appreciate the difficulties you once faced. I’ve been feeling very lost lately..."

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps behind him, and his voice halted abruptly. He turned his head, frowning with displeasure at the bodyguard who burst in: "What’s going on?"

"Chief Aoyama is here, and he... he wants to go to madam’s room," the bodyguard stammered from the doorway after bowing low, speaking hesitantly.

After all, this was hardly a matter to be proud of.

Though he had accepted this fact, hearing that Aoyama Xiu Xin had come to find his mother so late at night, a flash of irritation crossed Qingshui Yi’s brow and he cursed through clenched teeth, "Idiot!"

Then he stood up with a somber face and walked outside.

But by the time he faced Aoyama Xiu Xin, his sullen expression had been replaced by courteous, even amiable, smiles, "Chief Aoyama."

Experience is the teacher of fools, but some lessons come with just one occurrence.

In just a few days’ time, he had grown quite noticeably.

"Aren’t you resting so late, Qingshui-kun?" Aoyama Xiu Xin gave a slight nod of acknowledgement toward the person who was technically his stepson and then without waiting for a response, he asserted, "Never mind that, Qingshui-kun, would you please show me to your mother’s room?"

Qingshui Yi’s expression stiffened, wishing he could slap himself twice for showing up. "Sure! This way, please." Suppressing humiliation and anger, Qingshui Yi turned and led the way with a raised hand.

Although he knew the other party did it on purpose, he had no choice but to endure it and even accept it cheerfully. As long as he wasn’t reduced to helping with any more menial tasks, he could bear it a little longer.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, hands clasped behind his back, followed behind Qingshui Yi at a leisurely pace and casually remarked, "I hope you don’t find it offensive, having to show me the way."

"Of course not!" Qingshui Yi denied, immediately feigning an obsequious look, "My father has passed away, and my mother is still young. She has the right to make her own decisions. As her son, I support all her choices. Moreover, Chief Aoyama is a man worth entrusting. It’s an honor for my mother and also for me. With my mother in your care, I’m at ease."

"Well, that’s good. A relationship without family blessings is not enduring," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a smile, nodding, "Your mother and I are thankful for you."

"I’m also very thankful to you for letting me take over my father’s business, and for providing my mother with comfort when she was freshly grieving my father’s death," Qingshui Yi nearly gagged on his own words, quickening his pace subconsciously.

He sighed quietly to himself, feeling nauseated just from uttering a few words, while his mother not only had to flatter this bastard verbally but had to please him physically as well. The thought was unbearably painful.

Aoyama Xiu Xin did not bask in self-praise, speaking with restrained pride, "It is to be expected. After all, as national police officers, we should serve the people, penetrate deeply into the civil society, understand their actual needs, and satisfactorily address them. That’s how we earn the taxes they pay."

This time Qingshui Yi was really nauseated by his smugness.

"Chief Aoyama, we’ve arrived." Stopping at a doorway, Qingshui Yi stepped forward to knock, "Mother, Chief Aoyama is here and wishes to see you."

"He’s not an outsider; no need for such formality," said Aoyama Xiu Xin, an insider to Mrs. Qingshui Yasuko’s household, and pushed the door open to enter directly, "Mrs. Qingshui."

Looking at Aoyama Xiu Xin’s swaggering departure,

Qingshui Yi clenched and then unclenched his fist, eventually letting out a sigh and closing the door quietly behind him.

At the moment her son knocked and spoke, Qingshui Yasuko had already awoken and was preparing to get dressed. But before she could, Aoyama Xiu Xin had barged in, and she hastily covered her body with the blanket, her expression a mix of shame and fury.

"Chief Aoyama, why didn’t you knock? I haven’t even given you permission to come in! How embarrassing!"

Even when expressing her displeasure, she could only do so in a coquettish tone, feigning annoyance pitifully. How sad.

When you’re weak, even your resistance seems laughable and pitiable in the eyes of your enemy.

"Okay, I’ll knock then," agreed Aoyama Xiu Xin, nodding before moving closer. To her shrieks, he yanked away the blanket and leaned over to knock on her flat stomach twice, "Mrs. Qingshui, may I come in?"

Wearing nothing but a thin, silken slip of a nightdress, her hair a mess, one strap slipping off her shoulder to reveal more than intended, Qingshui Yasuko shrank back, both ashamed and helpless, and could only invite the fox into the henhouse: "Please, come in."

And faced with such an invitation from a beauty, Aoyama Xiu Xin naturally did not refuse and immediately pounced to display his expertise.

The bed creaked and squeaked.

As the press conference concluded, the night seemed to have returned to tranquility, but in fact, it was far from the case.

The investigation team had actually secretly entered Sapporo a few days earlier to establish a foothold and preliminarily gather information, providing convenience for the full investigation team to move in.

The authorities were serious this time about getting to the bottom of Hokkaido’s situation, so the six core members of the investigation team were all capable and bold.

They were not the mediocre type.

The head of the investigation team, Hirano Hidekazu, and Deputy Director Gu Tian Chong knew that they would be under strict local surveillance as soon as they entered Sapporo, so they arranged for two lower-level team members to scout ahead.

The two were there to assist one another as well as to monitor each other. They had arrived in Sapporo three days earlier and chose to stay at a hotel directly opposite the police headquarters.

Therefore, they were fully aware of police movements, whether it was deployment or withdrawal, and followed up with a news conference. They deliberately found a reporter who attended the conference to learn about the reason behind the police news conference.

They then reported back to Hirano Hidekazu at the earliest opportunity.

...

At this time, Hirano Hidekazu was also awake, drinking with Gu Tian Chong. Information that had trickled down from the two subordinates who had gone to Sapporo during the last couple of days made them acutely aware that their trip to Sapporo the next day would not be easy, and might even put their lives in danger.

After all, corrupt officials and bureaucrats could become cornered rats ready to jump over the wall, and even an Imperial Commissioner could be killed if pushed too far.

They understood the corrupt. Sometimes these people were as timid as mice, but at other times they were recklessly bold.

"The situation doesn’t look good, does it? According to what the two reported, the local police have a strong collective consciousness and defensive psyche. What kind of behavior could cause such a strong mentality? It’s not a few bad apples; it’s a whole bunch!" said the forty-something Hirano Hidekazu, in the prime of life, with a helpless expression.

He wasn’t lamenting the grassroots corruption and embezzlement.

After all, he wasn’t clean himself.

What he sighed over was the increased difficulty of his work. Achieving results was not as easy as he had thought.

Older and shorter in stature, Gu Tian Chong drained his glass in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "Minister Yanchuan said if we encounter difficulties in our investigation, we can ask for assistance from Chief of Police Aoyama, and we still have that strong backup, so the situation isn’t that bad after all. It’s all up to us."

"Not to expect too much from Aoyama Xiu Xin," Hirano Hidekazu said, shaking his head noncommittally, and took a sip of his drink.

Gu Tian Chong looked puzzled: "Why is that...?"

"I’m not saying he’s been bribed by local corrupt forces, it’s not that quick." Hirano Hidekazu obviously underestimated the speed of double-dealing, and shared his reasoning, "Aoyama Xiu Xin will be working locally for a long time; he can’t afford to deeply offend the local pests over our issues. He might provide some peripheral help at best, so don’t get your hopes up."

"That makes sense," nodded Gu Tian Chong, understanding Aoyama Xiu Xin’s position. "If he helps us, even those local officials who haven’t been caught by us will start to despise and be wary of him, always on guard against being betrayed by him. It would make his future work difficult."

"Ding-ling-ling! Ding-ling-ling!"

An urgent phone ring interrupted their conversation.

"Moshi moshi," Hirano Hidekazu quickly put down his glass and picked up the constantly ringing phone.

"Team Leader Hirano, I’m sorry to disturb your rest so late, but I have something urgent to report. Just now, the Hokkaido Police Headquarters held a news conference announcing that the main perpetrator of the shooting has been caught and has confessed. I expect the news will be known across the country by tomorrow."

"Oh?" Hirano Hidekazu was startled and after a moment of silence, he said, "Tell me more about the specifics."

As he spoke, he switched the phone to speaker mode.

"According to the information released by the local police, the mastermind behind the shooting is named Jing Shang, who is the chairman of the Violent Gang Miyazaki family, and conducted the shooting to fight over territories with other gangs. At the same time, Jing Shang is also the creator of the new drug Ice Drug 23, who was just a chemistry teacher before committing the crime."

Gu Tian Chong’s expression darkened upon hearing this.

"I got it, thank you for your hard work, you should rest early," Hirano Hidekazu hung up the phone, looking at Gu Tian Chong and said, "It seems the news has leaked."

Before this, the Hokkaido Police had not revealed any progress in the shooting incident.

Apparently, the case had been put on the back burner.

Then suddenly tonight, the real perpetrator was caught.

To Hirano Hidekazu, it seemed completely like the local forces, having heard about the investigation team’s plan to uncover the truth behind the shooting, had hastily found someone to take the blame.

After all, the mastermind—a chemistry teacher?

Ridiculous!

Ah, that poor scapegoated chemistry teacher.

"If it hadn’t leaked, that would be truly strange. Just didn’t think they’d be so hasty, so sloppy. We’ll have to change our rationale," Gu Tian Chong shook his head and said.

Since the shooting case had been ’solved,’ naturally the investigation team could not continue in the name of investigating it.

Wouldn’t that amount to bluntly telling the outside world that they do not accept the investigation results of the Hokkaido Police and were expressly looking for trouble? This would surely provoke the resentment and defensiveness of the local police officers.

And then their subsequent work would be even more difficult.

"Wait a second," Hirano Hidekazu suddenly thought of something and grabbed the phone to call back. Once connected, he asked with a grave voice, "Who solved the shooting case?"

"Chief of Police Aoyama Xiu Xin," came the reply from the other end.

Hearing this answer, Hirano Hidekazu and Gu Tian Chong exchanged a look, their expressions growing serious and frowning at the same time.

Now, they weren’t sure if there were any underhanded dealings in the case. After all, the one who solved the case was Aoyama Xiu Xin. If there were none, so be it.

But if there was foul play, it meant that Aoyama Xiu Xin was involved too, which would make their work even more challenging.

After all, that was Aoyama Xiu Xin!

"Let’s wait until we get there tomorrow. Since our original reason no longer applies, let’s find a new one. We’ll go to Sapporo under the pretense of conducting an in-depth investigation and crackdown on new drugs, especially since the creator has been arrested; that doesn’t mean this new drug will completely disappear with him."