Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 74 - 70: Aoyama Xiu Xin: Look at you, always in a rush.

Chapter 74: Chapter 70: Aoyama Xiu Xin: Look at you, always in a rush.

Seeing Aoyama Xiu Xin pick up the phone, Yoshikai Youzai took the initiative to follow him and headed to the elevator first.

"Mr. Dubian, what’s happened?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked as he walked out without waiting for a response. He added, "I have work to deal with here. How about we talk in detail when we meet?"

He hadn’t expected Dubian Xiuze to come to him so quickly—it seemed that the one billion yen in financial bonds he had just sent was going to come back soon!

Money certainly circulated.

"Mr. Aoyama, can’t we meet now?" Dubian Xiuze sounded slightly urgent, his breathing a bit rapid.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, composed, said, "Mr. Dubian, I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t panic. Just give me an address, and I’ll come over after I’m done at the scene."

He felt that Dubian was simply panicking, but the situation was not urgent enough to require an immediate meeting.

Otherwise, Dubian would have come to see him by now.

"But Mr. Aoyama..."

"Look at you, getting anxious again." Aoyama Xiu Xin interrupted him, speaking seriously, "Calm down, Mr. Dubian. Is it really that serious?"

"..." Dubian Xiuze fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, calming down a bit and said with a slightly embarrassed tone, "Sorry, Mr. Aoyama. It’s my first time dealing with this kind of situation; I lost my composure. I’ll be waiting in the office. Please come as soon as you’re finished."

"Alright!" Aoyama Xiu Xin hung up the phone and quickened his pace towards the elevator, where Yoshikai Youzai had already been standing and held the door open for him.

Aoyama Xiu Xin glanced at him before entering the elevator.

Yoshikai Youzai retracted his hand and followed closely behind.

"What’s your relationship with the president of Yakai Electronics Corporation?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked indifferently.

He felt that the two looked somewhat alike.

Yoshikai Youzai bowed deeply, then answered with utmost respect, "He is indeed my father. Thank you, Police Chief, for your assistance in saving the lifetime work of my father. From now on, Youzai will follow your lead without question!"

Aoyama Xiu Xin suddenly understood. No wonder he could sense a closer affinity from this man as compared to other subordinates he was meeting for the first time.

But he merely nodded without saying much more.

Yoshikai Youzai was ready to answer questions from Aoyama Xiu Xin about the department, but the latter did not mention it, so he remained quiet.

The elevator descended slowly in their silence.

In the Homicide Division’s office, as Aoyama Xiu Xin departed, the cloud that hung over everyone’s heads finally dissipated, and they subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Takizawa, are you okay?" Takizawa Mapu walked over to Jin Cheng Heiji and asked with concern.

Everyone looked over, but this time, unlike before, they just watched without gathering around to show concern.

They had all realized that Aoyama Xiu Xin was a dominant and assertive boss, someone who would not tolerate any dissent. Even if they didn’t like him internally, they couldn’t afford to offend him outwardly.

Thus, they could stand with Jin Cheng Heiji in spirit, silently supporting his challenge to Aoyama Xiu Xin’s authority, but they wouldn’t get close to him openly.

Jin Cheng Heiji had also noticed this subtle change and was even more annoyed, but he could only curse inwardly, "A bunch of weathercocks!"

While he was irritated with these old colleagues, just like how the colleagues couldn’t show their irritation with Aoyama Xiu Xin, he at least had to appear to understand them.

Because he needed their support.

"Thanks for your concern, Mr. Mapu. I’m not so easily knocked down." Jin Cheng Heiji managed to pull together a smile, looked around meaningfully, and said, "Police Chief Aoyama is quite overbearing, isn’t he? In the future, gentlemen, you’ll have to be very careful working under him, or the outcome might not be pleasant."

The reason for his current disheveled state was simply that he had misjudged the situation based on Aoyama Xiu Xin’s age, but it was a lesson learned.

However, he hadn’t completely lost. At the very least, he was sure that now the other colleagues also didn’t like Aoyama Xiu Xin.

On Aoyama Xiu Xin’s first day at work, he had already positioned himself against all his colleagues.

A group of colleagues dissatisfied with Aoyama Xiu Xin, coupled with the support of their supervisor, Police Chief Hattori, Jin Cheng Heiji felt he still had the confidence to continue the struggle!

Aoyama Xiu Xin didn’t know or care about the reactions in the office after he left; he and Yoshikai Youzai rushed to the crime scene as quickly as possible.

The apartment building was surrounded by police cars, and police tape marked the scene, with uniformed officers maintaining order.

"Police Headquarters’ Homicide Division."

"The Homicide Division."

Yoshikai Youzai, leading with his credentials, made way for Aoyama Xiu Xin, allowing him unimpeded passage.

The room where the crime occurred was also cordoned off.

And two officers stood on duty at the door.

After saluting, they handed Aoyama Xiu Xin a pair of shoe covers and gloves and then lifted the police tape for him.

Aoyama Xiu Xin and Yoshikai Youzai donned shoe covers and gloves before bending down to crawl under the police tape, finding several plainclothes forensic investigators conducting an on-site investigation inside the room.

Moreover, Aoyama Xiu Xin realized they were acquaintances.

It was the 204 forensic investigation team they had an encounter with at the previous murder scene of Noguchi Noboru.

"Aoyama Criminal, we meet again," said Captain Dubian Zhihe of the 204 team, who turned around and saw Aoyama Xiu Xin with a look of surprise and a smile, greeting him with a bow.

"It is quite a coincidence to see Captain Dubian arriving at the scene first again," Aoyama Xiu Xin bowed back while surveying the crime scene and asked, "What’s the situation?"

The living room was fairly tidy, but there were bloodstains on the floor.

And the stains were drag marks, trailing from near the entrance all the way to a bedroom.

"Aoyama Criminal, please follow me," Dubian Zhihe led Aoyama Xiu Xin into the bedroom, where a female corpse wearing a nightgown lay on the floor, her neck savagely slashed, her head nearly severed. Her pale lips were parted slightly, her eyes wide open, and a large pool of blood had soaked the surrounding area, emitting a pungent odor.

Seeing the woman’s ghastly death, Aoyama Xiu Xin couldn’t help but frown in disgust. The murderer almost chopped off her head—what kind of grudge did they hold?

Suddenly, his expression changed subtly—wasn’t this the woman who had stayed overnight with Dubian Xiuze the night before last?

Aoyama Xiu Xin couldn’t clearly recall the woman’s face anymore.

But he did remember her chest.

That time, Dubian Xiuze had stripped her naked in the private room, and he remembered there was a notably large mole on her breast, which was also present on the corpse.

Damn, could it be that the matter Dubian Xiuze urgently called him about was related to this case?

Aoyama Xiu Xin’s expression became even more solemn.

Dubian Zhihe, unaware of the change in Aoyama Xiu Xin’s demeanor, began to introduce their findings, "Based on the insurance cards found in the room, we know the victim is named Mikami Yasuko, 20 years old, from Yamanashi Prefecture. She sustained multiple wounds, with the fatal injury to her neck. Time of death exceeds 24 hours, the kitchen knife is missing, leading us to surmise that she was killed with it and the murderer took the murder weapon from the scene."

Japan does not have identity cards, so people commonly rely on their national health insurance card or driver’s license for identification.

"The entire neck was nearly completely severed, and the cuts are irregular, which suggests it’s the killer’s first murder and they lack experience in this area. Additionally, murdering with a kitchen knife indicates an impulsive crime. Based on the bloodstains, it looks like the victim attempted to escape but was forcibly dragged into the bedroom by the murderer, perhaps to better soundproof the murder?"

"Drawers have been rifled through, and the victim’s wallet is empty, suggesting that this was financially motivated murder; the killer is at least not well-off. Given the absence of signs of struggle in the living room and entrance, it’s possible the murderer was acquainted with the victim."

"There are blood and skin flakes in between the victim’s fingers, likely left by the murderer. I suggest calling in the forensics for evidence collection and sending it to the Scientific Investigation Institute for analysis."

Scientific Investigation Institute is colloquially known, officially the Police Headquarters’ branch for forensic and technical divisions like the forensic medicine section and the chemistry section.

DNA technology has long been employed in case investigations.

But it wasn’t nearly as evolved as it would be decades later.

Moreover, as there was no comprehensive DNA registry of the citizens at the time, even when the results were obtained, they could not be directly matched against any database but would require suspect screening and individual forensic tests.

Take the Huacheng serial murders in South Korea, where millions were DNA tested to find the killer. The actual perpetrator had always been in prison, excluded from the collected samples.

Dubian Zhihe continued, "The apartment houses working professionals. Because the murder occurred during work hours, the neighbors weren’t home. The person who called the police was the victim’s coworker, who came looking after the victim was unreachable for a day. Upon smelling blood inside, she called the authorities. She fainted when she saw the body and has been sent to the hospital. We haven’t had time to check the apartment’s surveillance footage; now that you’re here, you can review it."

"Thank you for your hard work; we’ll take it from here," Aoyama Xiu Xin said while removing his gloves and extending his hand.

Dubian Zhihe also removed his gloves to shake hands with Aoyama Xiu Xin, "This is part of our job after all."

The 204 team departed to continue their patrol.

Forensic investigators often are the first responders at a scene and just as quickly leave, an almost stoic embodiment of ’attending to affairs swiftly, retiring to obscurity.’

"Yoshikai, I’ll leave this to you. Call two more people if it’s too much to handle; I’m stepping out for a bit," said Aoyama Xiu Xin, now in a hurry to meet Dubian Xiuze.

"Yes, sir!" Yoshikai Youzai immediately responded.

Aoyama Xiu Xin left the crime scene, disposing of his gloves and shoe covers into a nearby bin, took a cab downstairs, and headed straight for Akasaka Police Station.

Upon reaching Dubian’s office, he pushed the door open and entered.

"Mr. Aoyama, you came so quickly?" Hearing the voice, Dubian Xiuze looked up in surprise and asked.

Aoyama Xiu Xin closed the door, glanced at Dubian Xiuze, and calmly replied, "You sounded so urgent on the phone, Mr. Dubian; how could I not hurry over? Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"Ah, it’s somewhat embarrassing," Dubian Xiuze sighed with a somewhat sheepish expression, pulled a few photos out of his desk drawer, and walked over handing them to Aoyama Xiu Xin, "Mr. Aoyama, please have a look."

Aoyama Xiu Xin took the photos and saw they depicted Dubian Xiuze completely nude with a woman engaged in sexual acts.

"Mr. Dubian, appearances can be deceiving. I never pegged you for the jealous type," Aoyama Xiu Xin remarked teasingly as he looked up at Dubian Xiuze.

"Idiot! That’s not the point!" Dubian Xiuze, a bit embarrassed, shifted away, avoiding Aoyama Xiu Xin’s gaze before sitting beside him, rubbing his face, and gritting his teeth, "The big-breasted chick from the other night took these secretly and is now blackmailing me. If I don’t pay up, she’ll send the photos to my family and the press."

Aoyama Xiu Xin’s expression changed, and he looked down again at the photos in his hands—wasn’t that woman on the screen the very corpse from the crime scene?

"Exactly, and you also find this situation troublesome, Mr. Aoyama," noticing his expression, Dubian Xiuze sighed, "I’m not worried about giving her money, but about her greed growing insatiable..."

"When did you receive the photos?" Aoyama Xiu Xin interrupted him, asking with a grave face.