Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 521 - 450: Colleagues Destroying Each Other, This Farce Must End (Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 521: Chapter 450: Colleagues Destroying Each Other, This Farce Must End (Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)

Regarding the chaotic situation in Hokkaido,

Tokyo also found itself in a difficult position.

Yanchuan Shilang could guess that this was definitely the result of a local backlash, which indicated that the area had become absolutely corrupt. If the investigation team were to be recalled now, it would only further embolden their arrogance.

So, he wanted to wait a bit longer. Hirano Hidekazu was the general he had personally appointed, and he wanted to give the other party a chance.

If he were to return in such a disheartened state now, Hirano Hidekazu’s political career could essentially be considered over.

Moreover, since he was the one leading the initiative, Hirano Hidekazu’s failure would naturally be counted against him.

Even if only partial results were achieved, Hirano Hidekazu could still be regarded as a meritorious official, which would also serve as a warning to the local corrupt officials.

Three days, that was the time Yanchuan Shilang had given himself, and also the time he had given Hirano Hidekazu. If after three days he still couldn’t produce any sort of countermeasure,

then he would have no choice but to sacrifice him in order to placate public anger and official resentment.

Stability at the grassroots level was paramount!

In this incident, Aoyama Xiu Xin’s performance surprised him a bit. According to feedback from Hirano Hidekazu, Aoyama Xiu Xin had been cooperating and assisting the investigation team all along, which resulted in his exclusion from the local core circle. Precisely because of this, he hadn’t been able to receive any inside information and warn the investigation team in advance about the incident.

Hirano Hidekazu also mentioned that Aoyama Xiu Xin constantly had the words "Honorable Godfather" on his lips. His support for the investigation team was wholly out of filial piety to his godfather.

Aoyama Xiu Xin had been so helpful, so naturally, Hirano Hidekazu would speak highly of him to Yanchuan Shilang.

Yanchuan Shilang had initially thought that, given Aoyama Xiu Xin’s character, he would choose to protect his own interests first and only offer limited help to the investigation team. Unexpectedly, that wasn’t the case.

It seemed that the last incident involving the concealed account books had made him realize his mistake, and he became clearly aware that his forever reliable backbone was indeed the one he chose to follow, so he was attempting to make amends by all possible means. Regardless of the motive, Yanchuan Shilang liked this attitude of Aoyama Xiu Xin very much.

This godson was indeed worthy of vigorous cultivation.

...

In the evening, the crowd outside the headquarters of the investigation team had decreased significantly, but there were still two to three hundred people spending the night onsite. Only a minority of these were civilians who stayed voluntarily, while the rest were arranged by the police.

Their main purpose was to prevent the investigation team from leaving the premises.

They sat in the cold wind, receiving cotton blankets and warm food brought by kind-hearted people.

The distribution of blankets attracted even more impoverished people to come and sit in silent protest, so as the night drew on, the number of people at the hotel entrance did not decrease but instead increased.

At the Hokkaido Governor’s Office, people also sat in silent protest at the city hall entrance, demanding that the government provide justice for the three innocent civilians who had died at the investigation team’s door.

Of course, this was a spectacle orchestrated by local officials themselves.

The purpose was to show Tokyo how the investigation team had caused troubles that severely affected the local work.

In a dimly-lit rental room, two young men wearing sweaters had gloomy expressions, Jing Shang and Ishishou, having just finished a phone call with Hirano Hidekazu.

In the call, Hirano Hidekazu had stated that they were now the only resources the investigation team could utilize, instructing them to relay outside information to him as soon as possible.

Clearly, Hirano Hidekazu still wanted to struggle a bit longer using these two pawns, to see if he could reverse the situation, unwilling to concede defeat just yet.

But Jing Shang and Ishishou were not optimistic, and as mere pawns, they didn’t really have a say in the overall strategy. They could only choose to obey and act accordingly.

As the night deepened, they went to sleep carrying their worries.

Over an hour after they turned off the lights, four sneaky figures arrived at their door. After fiddling with the lock for a while, they managed to open it and stealthily stepped inside, pulling out gleaming short knives.

It was a perfect night for murder, with a pitch-black sky and howling wind.

They were assassins arranged by Fujimoto Takayoshi.

Having secured their exact names, by the afternoon the addresses of the two men were tracked down.

The four assassins arranged by Fujimoto Takayoshi were all highly trained tactical officers, with strong psychological resilience and outstanding combat skills.

After entering the house, the leader made several hand signals commonly used for mission execution, and the other three, receiving the orders, divided into pairs and approached a bedroom each.

Their movements were agile, and their coordination was impeccable.

Reaching the bedroom door, one person with a knife hid by the wall, while another gently pressed the doorknob down, pushing the door open just a crack to ensure it could open. Then, both groups acted simultaneously, violently kicking open the doors and rushing in.

"Bang!"

"Who are you... ah!"

Jing Shang and Ishishou were startled awake and barely had time to reach under their pillows for their guns before someone leapt onto the bed, pinning them down and stabbing a short knife into their necks.

A soft thrust!

The blade pierced the flesh completely, leaving only the hilt exposed, as the warm, blood-red liquid slowly oozed from where the blade met the handle, soaking the fabric.

Pinned to the bed with their necks pierced, Jing Shang and Ishishou’s eyes widened as they stared at the figure on top of them. From the techniques and demeanor, they recognized that their assailants were their own colleagues, filling them with indescribable grief.

"I’m sorry." The person straddling Jing Shang reached out to cover his eyes while pulling a dagger from Jing Shang’s throat and stabbing wildly into his body.

Xiu Xin received the same treatment at the hands of another assailant.

Struck multiple times and with their throats slashed open, both men died on the spot, their blood staining the bedsheets and duvet red.

The four intruders ransacked the place before fleeing, staging the scene to resemble a home invasion and murder.

The strong, pungent smell of blood aroused the suspicions of a neighbor who was coming home from the night shift, prompting them to call the police.

The next day, the early morning news broadcasted the crime.

"Early yesterday morning, a man returning home from his night shift in the eastern district smelled a strong stench of blood near his neighbor’s door and called the police. Local station officers responded swiftly to the scene and upon breaking into the house, discovered two male bodies lying in pools of blood. There were disorganized footprints all over the place and signs of searching through the cabinets. The victims’ wallets and expensive mobile phones were all missing. It was preliminarily concluded to be a case of robbery and murder. The police remind all citizens to be vigilant as public safety has recently deteriorated..."

"Clang!" Hirano Hidekazu, who was having breakfast, dropped his chopsticks to the floor upon seeing the victims’ photos in the news, forgetting to swallow the food in his mouth as he stared blankly at the television screen, his lips starting to tremble.

Irritated and normally disinterested in such criminal cases, Gu Tian Chong couldn’t help but look along Hirano Koji’s line of sight out of curiosity, only to also freeze in place.

"Damn it!" Hirano Koji once again threw his utensils down in anger, trembling all over as tears uncontrollably streamed down his face, his complexion reddening as he cursed, "These heartless bastards!"

He didn’t believe it was a coincidence, it had to be the work of the local bureaucratic clique, a show of intimidation.

It was also a way of cutting off his means of contact with the outside world.

The other members of the investigation team, not knowing the whole story, looked at each other in confusion at Hirano Koji’s sudden outburst.

"Mr. Hino, calm down, let me help you back to your room to rest," Gu Tian Chong took a deep breath to suppress his grief and anger, reaching out to help Hirano Koji.

Hirano Koji, like a walking corpse, was helped back to his room by Gu Tian Chong, crying and swearing the whole way.

Now calmer, he suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Gu Tian, we’ve been cornered, do you think we still have a chance?"

"This..." Gu Tian Chong’s expression stiffened; unwilling to speak discouragingly, he chose silence.

"There’s no chance left, no chance at all. We’re now suspected of corruption and murder, and we can’t even step outside. How can we talk about chances?" Hirano Koji let out a bitter, desperate laugh, his face filled with hopelessness. "I knew this mission would be tough, but I never imagined it would be this tough, not even being able to withstand their initial counterattack."

"We’re so few, and they include everyone in Hokkaido. Mr. Hino, you’ve already done well, and it wouldn’t be any different if someone else were in charge," Gu Tian Chong consoled him.

Hirano Koji, filled with reluctance, punched the armrest of the chair fiercely, grinding his teeth, "But I can’t stand to bow to them, I just can’t! I can’t... cough..."

Too agitated, he began to cough violently, as if about to cough up his lungs.

"Mr. Hino! Mr. Hino, calm down!" Gu Tian Chong hurried over to gently pat his chest.

Hirano Koji finally calmed down, waving his hand to indicate he was alright, leaning back and taking deep breaths, "But if we don’t bow down, things here will only get messier, and once Tokyo can’t bear the pressure, they will surely throw us under the bus to appease the public anger."

"These fools! Their understanding deserves their suffering! Right to be exploited by these corrupt officials!" Gu Tian Chong said angrily.

Hirano Koji shook his head, "You can’t say that; the information the people see is deliberately released by them. Without enough channels of information to judge the true nature of events, it’s inevitable to be taken advantage of by schemers; they’re innocent too."

It wasn’t that the people were too stupid, but the bureaucrats were too bad.

"Alas!" Gu Tian Chong sighed unwillingly. "But we can’t just sit around waiting to be sacrificed, can we? What did we even do wrong?"

Hirano Koji remained silent; he wasn’t willing to be sacrificed, but nor was he willing to bow his head in admission of defeat.

It happened too quickly; they were used to taking the initiative, but the situation had turned dire in an instant because of the stupidity of Miyake Jiro being bought off.

Even a screw, if it is in a critical position, once it comes loose, can lead to the collapse of the whole machine.

Their conversation was overheard and reported back to Fujimoto Takayoshi by the surveillance tech team, which greatly pleased him.

He immediately called Aoyama Xiu Xin over, played the recording for him, and laughed triumphantly, "Our Hirano Koji seems ready to admit defeat but can’t swallow his pride. In that case, let’s give him a way out. It’s time for Mr. Aoyama to step in."

The time had come, Hirano Koji had already been beaten black and blue; with force having been demonstrated by the investigation group, now it was time for diplomacy.

"Minister, rest assured, let me put an end to all this. This farce has gone on long enough; it’s time to finish it," Aoyama Xiu Xin said calmly with full confidence, appearing to have everything under control.

Fujimoto Takayoshi patted him on the shoulder, "If we get through this, Mr. Aoyama, you will have played an invaluable role. I will await your triumphant return at the Ministry, and then we will report the good news to the Governor together."

"Thank you for your promotion and care, Minister. I will not let you down!" Aoyama Xiu Xin bowed deeply, then stood erect, turned, and left.

Fujimoto Takayoshi watched Aoyama Xiu Xin’s departing figure with a smile, feeling that bringing Aoyama Xiu Xin to Hokkaido was a valuable acquisition; with him, the future would be like having wings on a tiger.

And he completely trusted Aoyama Xiu Xin, not fearing any threat to his own position in the future.

Because Aoyama Xiu Xin’s stage was in Tokyo, not in Hokkaido, and by the time he returned to Hokkaido as Minister, Fujimoto would be retired.

So he didn’t mind introducing him to Heng Lu Guangnan because he was cultivating a promising friend, not a formidable opponent.

But what he couldn’t foresee, no matter what, was the rebellious streak in Aoyama Xiu Xin; besides women, he naturally disliked anyone above him and had been contemplating seizing his Minister’s power ever since before coming to Hokkaido.

So what he was nurturing, was not a friend.

But the enemy of his future.