Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 36: Getting into Character

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Getting into Character

"Who sent the signal?"

"No idea, did any of you see Fushimi Roku?"

"No, we’ve already checked the sighting location..."

The group discussed for a while and concluded: the squad that fired the flare is likely absent because they’re in pursuit of Fushimi Roku.

Every gathering of people typically has someone with ideas. Somebody suggested that Fushimi hasn’t run far and is likely nearby, so they should disperse and search with this location as the center. If anyone spots him, they should take turns firing flares to continue the chase, and others should quickly run over to reinforce, forming a circle of encirclement.

Everyone agreed, thinking it was a good idea.

Minamoto Tamako, leaning on a wooden stick, listened for a while and couldn’t help but raise her hand, asking, "By the way, why isn’t the squad chasing Fushimi Roku continuing to fire signal flares?"

Seeing all the students give her surprised looks, Hideo and the braids girl felt even more uncomfortable than Minamoto Tamako.

"Maybe they want to hog all the credit." Someone in the crowd said.

Everyone suddenly realized and instinctively glanced at the accompanying instructors. As more students arrived, the instructors gathered together, exchanging information.

"A student fell behind, could something have happened?"

"You have a student who fell behind too? Now I only have one left."

"Setting a trap near the sighting location, isn’t that kid going too far?"

The instructors talked while all gazing at Shirata Masahiro.

He pondered for a while, realizing his mistake. In order to limit Fushimi Roku’s movement speed, he deliberately chose a "sighting location" on a ridge with many rock crevices. He didn’t expect the guy to use grass to make traps...was it for revenge? How childish.

Shirata Masahiro became more determined to extend his graduation.

"Don’t forget, he’s playing the murderer, so naturally, he has to do his job properly. This exam is not just to assess the students’ abilities but also to toughen them," Shirata Masahiro looked around, and everyone felt a chill in their hearts: "Since this is training, the more cunning and vicious the murderer, the better the effect."

An instructor asked, "What if someone gets hurt?"

"They’re future police officers! They’re meant to be on the front line! Getting injured during a suspect chase is part of a policeman’s routine, isn’t it? Without this awareness, they’re not fit to graduate from the police academy!"

Shirata Masahiro’s tone became fierce: "That guy alone can’t stir up much trouble, let him be."

The instructors nodded in agreement.

That’s true. It’s like hide and seek, fifty-two people chasing one person—what could possibly go wrong? Even if a fight broke out, couldn’t a team and an instructor subdue a student?

The students assigned their search directions and dispersed. The instructors stopped chatting and each followed their responsible squad.

Minamoto Tamako had barely rested when she had to use her wooden stick to trek again. As she walked, she said, "I feel like the leader might be in trouble..."

Hideo walked at the front and said without turning back, "You’re overthinking it. If the leader really needed help, he would definitely fire a signal flare for assistance."

"That’s the problem..."

Minamoto Tamako said one sentence and had to take two breaths: "What if the leader’s signal gun was taken? Don’t you find it suspicious that only one flare was seen? If that squad wanted to claim the credit alone, why would they fire a flare?"

Hideo shrugged and said, "Not reporting what they know, seeking credit, and lacking team spirit could all lead to deductions by the instructors, so they fired a single flare just for show."

He said this without much thought, just for the sake of rebuttal. Mainly, he was also a bit tired, too lazy to go back and help the leader.

Besides, with the leader absent, he’s the squad leader, able to command two cute female classmates... Yoshimura Yu, the kind of guy who just orders others around, had better stay stuck in the crevices.

Minamoto Tamako stood in place thinking for a bit. What Hideo said was reasonable, even though she had vaguely heard a scream, which was on her mind.

On careful thought, that reasoning didn’t hold water because Fushimi Roku had no motive to fire a signal flare. Bringing other students there would only add unnecessary risk, with no benefit at all!

Upon realizing this, she quickly caught up with her teammates.

...

A half-hour later.

Fushimi Roku held a map, pushed through the underbrush, and finally saw the wire fence at the foot of the mountain.

The lv1 Tracking Skill was more useful than he thought; those who are good at tracking are also good at hiding traces. He sneaked down the mountain, encountered several squads along the way, and the students didn’t notice him, but the instructors glimpsed his hiding spot in the bushes multiple times, with a wanting-to-speak-but-can’t appearance.

Seeing examinees brush past the answer, the accompanying instructors looked on with disappointment.

"Finally found it."

Fushimi Roku passed through the underbrush, crossed the crumbled cement road, and pushed open the rusty gate.

A car with a number sprayed on it was parked by the mountain road, the transport the students used to arrive.

Wrapping his elbow in his coat, Fushimi Roku smashed the car window. The piercing siren went off, and he calmly reached in to unlock the door.

"Scream all you want; no one will hear you out here."

He muttered, ducked into the driver’s seat, then popped the car hood to find the wires from the battery to the ignition. He bit open the wire casing, struck them together a few times, successfully igniting the car, and quickly turned off the alarm horn.

Hearing the roar of the engine, Fushimi Roku smiled with satisfaction.

Someone once told him that stealing a car was as thrilling as abducting people. He didn’t believe it then, but now he realized the veteran hadn’t lied.

He searched the car for a moment, found a Swiss Army knife, a radio, a pair of handcuffs, and an adult magazine hidden under the driver’s seat cushion.

"Not bad luck."

Fushimi Roku whistled, spun the steering wheel fully, reversed, and headed to the next squad’s starting point. This time he didn’t steal a car but used a knife to puncture the front tire.

In this way, he spent an hour and a half puncturing all the cars’ tires, even those of the buses parked ten kilometers away.

Car tire blowouts on mountain roads are quite dangerous, so Fushimi Roku left a note on each car, considerately writing, "You’ve got a flat tire."

After finishing, he drove directly to the San’in assembly point.

Two instructors were sitting bored in a bus listening to the radio. Their task was to receive students who left the ’test site’ and tally students’ final scores with the accompanying instructors.

Seeing a car approaching, one of the instructors rolled down the bus window to greet and ask what was happening.

Fushimi Roku parked alongside, using the adult magazine to cover his face: "I’ve got something good, want to pass the time together?"

"Eh? Let me see... Wait, who are you?"

One instructor got out to check, but as he asked, Fushimi Roku struck a low blow, dropping him to the ground. The other instructor was about to act when Fushimi Roku suddenly drew a gun and aimed it at him.

The latter raised his hands in surrender, and upon focusing, he realized it was a signal gun—not even loaded.

While he was stunned, Fushimi Roku smashed the gun butt down on his forehead, making him bleed. Pinning him to the ground, the instructor recognized the student and furiously demanded, "Fushimi! How dare you attack an instructor? What are you doing?"

"Who’s Fushimi?"

Fushimi Roku twisted his arm, slapped on the handcuffs, and said, "The exam isn’t over yet; please call me a suspect."