Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 32: The Serial Killer of Great Snow Mountain

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Serial Killer of Great Snow Mountain

"Listen up! The allocation method this year is different from before!"

Instructor Shirata Masahiro stood on the podium, hands behind his back, looking down at Class A cadets, and shouted:

"I know, some cadets have wide connections and have already secured spots with police officers by submitting transfer applications to squeeze out others for allocation!"

"But, as long as I am an instructor, I will never agree with such behavior! The talented should receive the best treatment, while useless incompetents should be left in the dust!"

"So, I have decided to abolish the previous allocation system and replace it with a more open and transparent method!"

Shirata Masahiro took out a chart, with all the understaffed assignments listed, with two blank columns on the right:

"Do you see this chart? The cadet with the highest ranking in the graduation test can choose their assignment first, and the others will choose in order of their test rankings."

"The higher your rank, the more choices you have. You could say you can choose to go wherever you want; lower-ranked cadets will only be able to go to the leftover assignments... Do you understand!!"

The cadets responded in unison.

Fushimi Roku glanced over and saw that Yoshimura Yu, standing outside the line, looked quite displeased.

Shirata Masahiro rolled up the chart and used it as a pointer to direct at the cadets below, sternly saying: "Didn’t I say? Tomorrow’s graduation test will be the most severe test of your lives! Look forward to it!"

"Yes!" the cadets responded in unison.

...

After dismissal, Minamoto Tamako excitedly ran to find Fushimi Roku. The two of them walked across the playground and chatted on the way back to the dormitory.

"Instructor Shirata is really a good guy! This way, as long as our rankings are close, we can choose the same assignment!"

Minamoto Tamako thought that she worked so hard usually, she should at least get an average score, right? Even if she performs at her normal level and surpasses Fushimi by a large margin, she could accommodate him.

Just as she finished speaking, Fushimi Roku poured cold water on her enthusiasm: "Not necessarily."

"Huh? Why?"

"I could slack off in previous exams, but this time, I have to take first place. If you rank in the middle, the other spot will be snatched by someone else." Fushimi Roku’s fighting spirit was ignited, and his eyes were determined, his words forceful.

Why did he come to police academy to suffer? So he could loaf around at an easy police box!

If the work location was assigned by luck, so be it, but since he could choose himself, he must pick a police box close to home, with high rank, few responsibilities, and good pay!

"Oh! As expected of my team member, very motivated!" Minamoto Tamako stood on tiptoe and patted his shoulder to show encouragement.

As expected, Fushimi, who appeared reluctant on the surface, actually wanted to work at the same assignment as her! How could Watson be separated from Sherlock Holmes? Partners should have this centripetal force!

The more Minamoto Tamako thought, the brighter their future seemed. At this rate, they would one day be able to bring to justice the murderer who wrote the bloody words of Heavenly Punishment!

The two chatted for a while and said their goodbyes at the dormitory entrance.

Although there were no classes in the afternoon, both Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako decided to return to the dormitory to review and strive for a good score tomorrow.

As the sun set and night fell, some cadets were working diligently, while others were enjoying a rare holiday. They exchanged graduation scripts on the playground, making promises about the future, as if reliving their youth.

Fushimi Roku finished reviewing the first aid manual and was about to go to bed when someone knocked on the dormitory door.

"It’s me," came the voice of the class leader outside the door: "The instructor wants you to go to the office."

"Now?" Fushimi Roku looked outside the window, where the bright moon hung high.

"Yes, right now," Yoshimura Yu said.

...

The moon rose and set, and in the early morning, the assembly bell rang from the playground.

Minamoto Tamako washed up, put on her uniform, and was full of energy. To ensure stable performance today, she went to bed at eight o’clock the night before. Now, her mind was filled with five words:

"I am ready!"

Before leaving, she patted the rabbit plush by her bedside, softly cheering herself on: "Go, Minamoto Tamako, you can definitely achieve a good score!"

In less than ten minutes, all the cadets assembled. Instructor Shirata conducted the daily inspection from the podium.

"Number reporting!"

"Two absent, one exception!"

"Salute to the on-duty instructor!"

"One absent! Attendance exempted! No other exceptions!"

After everything was done, instead of announcing dismissal, Instructor Shirata had the cadets line up, jog forward, and board a bus in sequence.

The driver started the engine, lightly pressed the accelerator, and the bus drove out of the campus. The cadets looked out the windows, confused, and couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

"Aren’t we supposed to take the graduation exam? Where are we going?"

"It’s strange, why is the driver heading towards the suburbs?"

"Could it be a physical test? Like a long-distance marathon..."

Minamoto Tamako felt just as uneasy; she slightly rose, stretched her neck, and looked around, noticing that Fushimi Roku was not on the bus.

"Stop looking around!" Instructor Shirata scolded.

"Yes!" Minamoto Tamako immediately sat properly and continued, "Instructor, someone isn’t on the bus—"

"I know," Instructor Shirata interrupted, "His test is different from yours."

"Eh?"

Minamoto Tamako thought to herself, what does that mean? Is it because Fushimi Roku missed due to injury, so the difficulty of the graduation exam has increased?

But speaking of which, what exactly is the graduation exam going to test!

Her physical tests had always been at the bottom; if the instructor decided to test physical strength, she would be doomed! Never mind getting a good score, even graduating smoothly would be a prayer!

Fortunately, Instructor Shirata did not leave Minamoto Tamako uneasy for long. In front of all the cadets, he explained the content of the exam on the bus.

All Class A cadets were divided into thirteen groups of four, switching buses halfway to different transportation vehicles to go to the exam location.

The destination was the "Great Snow Mountain," with forest area covering 49% of the whole county, most of which were undeveloped no-man’s lands. Now it was used as a county police training facility for cadet practice exams.

"Listen up, in sparsely populated places like this, the chance of crime occurrences is also not small. The test site has been prepared with victim bodies, and professional arrangement staff have recreated the crime scene 1:1."

"Your task is to search the mountains and forests, find the bodies, deduce the cause of death and identity of the deceased, and catch the killer, reporting at the assembly point in San’in!"

"Each group will have an accompanying instructor, who will score you based on your performance! If you feel unwell or get injured, you can ask the examiner for help or apply to withdraw from the exam at any time. Be forewarned, withdrawing means failing, either extending study or applying for dropout yourself!"

"Does everyone understand!"

At the moment the words finished, the bus stopped.

Minamoto Tamako looked out the window and saw they were in an abandoned parking lot. The cement pavement was cracked and overgrown with weeds, with more than a dozen sedans parked not far away.

Hideo raised his hand and timidly asked, "Um... the killer we need to catch, is it a real murderer?"

"Of course not, the killer is only one person, played by Fushimi as a serial killer."

Instructor Shirata paused and continued: "His task is simple, just not to get caught by you all, and to be the first to escape to the assembly point in San’in."