Chapter 151

Rum immediately called Usakata Saiki, wanting to resolve the matter quickly and not let it drag on for longer, but the call was disconnected shortly after he dialed.

Rum: "…………"

Oh no, things seem to have gotten really bad. It seems like Usoya Saiki has a lot of issues with him!

I wonder how Usaku Saiki will retaliate against him... That's the key point, I don't know!

Rum, who was already mostly irritable, felt even more uneasy. He silently counted to ten and dialed again.

If we still can't get through this time, let Amuro Tooru try calling to see if it's just targeting him.

Rum's suspicion level skyrocketed.

Fortunately, the call connected this time.

"Who is it? Why are you calling back and forth? Isn't it annoying?" Bo Yezhai said impatiently.

Rum breathed a sigh of relief: "It's me."

Who are you?

"...I'm Rum, didn't you write down my number?"

"Hmm? Oh, Rum." Usoppei Saiki casually skipped over the second question. "What do you want?"

Rum: "..."

I clearly called him, did he simply forget to remember or just delete me as if I weren't important...? Surely not! He's the organization's second-in-command!!! Am I supposed to have to ask someone else for his contact information every time I need to reach him?!

And what's with the pretense! Didn't I just complain to Amuro Tooru about him not paying me?! Now he's asking me why I came to his door? How can this guy be so hypocritical!

Regardless of his inner grumbling, Rum's emotional intelligence was decent enough when it came to people he could avoid offending—he'd rather offend Gin than Usui. As long as there was no evidence of his betrayal and the Boss was on his side, Gin wouldn't touch him no matter how much he offended him. But if he offended Usui, he might never have a peaceful day again. Look at how Vodka and Gin... even the Boss, were tormented last year!

Rum felt a pang of guilt at the thought, making no mention of forgetting about Usui, and pretending that everything was done out of respect for Usui's special treatment: "Well, didn't you go and help Amuro Tooru before? That mission is over now, and I should pay you, but I don't know your bank account number."

Actually, it's possible to find out if you want to, since salaries are paid regularly and the bank account numbers are registered with the finance department. But he needs to find a way to do it.

Bo Yezhaiji, abandoning his usual arrogance, said very politely and humbly, "Not at all, I didn't help much, no need to give me anything."

Rum was alarmed; this was definitely sarcasm! If he agreed, it would be the end of the world!

"How can that be? I heard Amuro Tooru praise you, saying that you've helped him a lot. As an executive, you're still willing to do such trivial things. In any case, I want to thank you for your support of my work."

As someone from the intelligence team, he was naturally aware of Bo Yezaki's hobby of insisting that he was an ordinary person. Rum himself also enjoyed cosplay and tried out various professions. He could rattle off these kinds of workplace slang terms as a corporate slave without hesitation, showing his skill.

If you threw Rum into any group of working-class people now, he wouldn't stand out!

Bo Yezaki was still being polite: "Oh, we're just colleagues, it was nothing, no need to thank me."

You're still pretending!

After two more rounds of back-and-forth between Rum and Bo Yezaki, Rum finally managed to hand over the money.

Bo Yezaki said reluctantly, "Sigh, why are you so stubborn? But since that's the case, I'll reluctantly accept it."

"……Um."

Rum felt inexplicably tired; it was the first time he had ever found it so difficult to give money to someone.

But thinking about what Vodka had complained about before, Rum felt that what he had done was nothing... Boss had been having some issues with him lately, so he couldn't let Usaku Saiki say anything out of line.

Seeing that Usakabe Saiki was probably satisfied, Rum politely took his leave, hanging up only after Usakabe Saiki had finished the call.

Since he started contacting Usaku Saiki, his good days have become intermittent.

When will the smuggling routes in the Middle East finally break free from the influence of arugula and operate independently?!

It's been almost two years! A bunch of useless idiots!

Usoppei teased Rum, causing Rum a lot of dissatisfaction, but he went out in a very happy mood.

The system summarized for him: "Rum gave him quite a lot of suspicion points."

Usoppei retorted: "As expected, everyone in the intelligence team is corrupt! Who knows what they're thinking! Unlike me, I'm guileless and sincere to everyone."

System: [...Since you're so sincere, why don't you write the report first?]

【……well. 】

system:【……】

What does this sigh mean?

Many of the detectives in the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division who were in charge of the "Strawberry Night" case had worked overtime until this late. They would take a short nap at their seats as a break, and it had reached the point where "there is no get off work if there is no off-duty time." Everyone's sense of time had become somewhat blurred.

So when Kenji Hagiwara finished what he was doing, he looked up at the time and was stunned. He asked the person next to him, "Hasn't Fukami arrived yet?"

The person he called over was so exhausted from staying up all night that his eyes were glazed over: "I didn't see him... he shouldn't have come..."

Kenji Hagiwara also felt that if Shinryu Kagawa came, he should at least greet him, but it was almost noon now, and the normal working hours had passed. It would be a bit much if he didn't come soon, right?

Just as he was thinking this, Kenji Hagiwara saw Inspector Megure, whose face was now dark and sallow, enter.

Compared to the detectives who could still find time to rest, Inspector Megure had truly stayed up all night, dealing with cases and holding meetings with his superiors. Thankfully, Superintendent Kitami committed suicide early in the morning, saving Inspector Megure a lot of trouble.

At that moment, Inspector Megure, sporting huge dark circles under his eyes, walked up to Kenji Hagiwara and said in a weak voice, "Take a look at how to write this report."

Kenji Hagiwara: "...? Was it you and Shiratori who wrote the report? Shouldn't the rest be left for Fuka-nari to arrive?"

“He can’t come for the time being.” Inspector Megure coughed twice. “He called and said that the police in his jurisdiction wanted to see him and that he needed to ask for leave. He’s probably been involved in another strange case and is helping to solve it… Don’t you know him well? Come and see how to write this.”

Hagihara Kenji: "………………"

Seriously, officer?! This is allowed?!

However, as Shinryu Sakkawa's partner and friend, Kenji Hagiwara still took the initiative to do it himself.

Of course, when he encountered something he didn't know how to write, he would call Han Chuan Shenliu without hesitation, partly to ask how to write it, and partly to find out what case he had gotten into.

"Well, the garbage collectors found the clothes I was wearing yesterday and thought there was a murder case, so they called the police. The misunderstanding has been cleared up, and I'm on my way to the Metropolitan Police Department."

Kenji Hagiwara: "...You just threw it away?"

He suspected that Xiao Shenliu might have deliberately planned this to continue being lazy and not writing reports.

"Bloodstains are difficult to wash off."

Kenji Hagiwara thought for a moment and remembered that Shinryu Hanakawa had received a thank-you gift from a friend of Kujo Seijin last month, as well as a thank-you gift from the boss of Hawaii. He was indeed not short of money now, and if he didn't want the trouble, he could just throw it away.

Anyway, if you sort your trash and find that your clothes are still wearable when you get to the recycling station, and you can donate them even if you can't sell them after processing, it's not a waste.

So Kenji Hagiwara started asking questions about reports he didn't know how to write.

Just as they were finishing their questioning, a detective from another case team who was passing by suddenly stopped next to Kenji Hagiwara and whispered, "Were you on the phone with Kankawa-kun?"

Hagihara Kenji nodded inexplicably.

The other party gave a hesitant and shy smile: "Um, this case I'm handling is a bit tricky. Could you please ask Han Chuan-kun for his opinion? I have to go to a meeting soon..."

Although the groups are actually in competition with each other, who wouldn't be envious of the speed at which the "Strawberry Night" case progressed yesterday?

The team leader sent him to sound out the situation, hoping that Hanchuan Shenliu could have some colleague affection.

Kenji Hagiwara: "...Let me ask."

Usaku Saiki was bored on the Shinkansen, so he thought it would be nice to have someone to chat with. He listened to the case and offered some suggestions.

Kenji Hagiwara was revising the report, while his colleagues were just saying "uh-huh" and "oh-huh," clearly understanding the situation.

After a while, a colleague suddenly exclaimed in a very exaggerated tone, "Oh, is that so? I see. If they still don't believe it after seeing the certificate, you can have them call us and ask us to be our witnesses."

"...???" Kenji Hagiwara looked up abruptly. "What's wrong?"

His colleague looked embarrassed: "When we were discussing the crime methods, someone on the Shinkansen called the police, saying they suspected him of being that 'crime consultant Moriarty' who hasn't been caught yet... Wasn't it all over the TV and newspapers before? They remembered it and thought they'd run into the real deal..."

Hagihara Kenji: "…………"

Inspector Megure came to check on the progress of the report and was speechless when he heard about it. How come Shinryu Samikawa keeps running into all sorts of bizarre things along the way!

“…Forget it, tell him not to come.” Inspector Megure sighed. “Things are a bit chaotic up there right now, and they probably can’t take care of Kankawa. Anyway, the report is already written, and I’ll handle it if anything happens. Let him stay home and rest; I don’t think he should go out today.”

How can it be that police officers have such a hard time getting to work? I've never heard of such a thing!

If this happens too often, he'll be in a difficult position, especially considering Han Chuan's personality...

He was a little worried that the other party might not be able to stay in the First Investigation Division for long.

Thinking of this, Inspector Megure casually asked, "How long do you think Kanekawa can stay with us?"

Shiratori Ninzaburo, who was passing by, chimed in, "A month shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Inspector Megure: "...Isn't that too short? I think it should be at least six months, right?"

Kenji Hagiwara thought for a moment: "Maybe more than a year? If he doesn't have to work overtime, I think he should still really like the First Investigative Division. Shall we make a bet?"

Shiratori's partner reflexively cried out, "Don't fight!!!"

"...?" Kenji Hagiwara asked, puzzled. "Why are you so excited?"

Shiratori Renzaburo sneered, "He still owes Kankawa a bet that hasn't been fulfilled yet."

"What?"

"...Eating shit upside down."

Hagihara Kenji: "…………"

No, what kind of person would gamble with this?

His partner tentatively asked, "Hagiwara, you and Kankawa are quite close, right? This bet..."

"Well, he might not want it, but you can't pretend to forget; he holds grudges." Kenji Hagiwara sighed. "But the 'eating shit upside down' thing... I don't think he'd want to see it either. Perhaps you could talk to him and ask him to give you a few written apologies instead—"

A colleague who had just consulted with Hanchuan Shenliu immediately said, "Isn't this unfair competition? Hanchuan's compensation for helping was also a form of self-criticism. If you take on the entire job at once, what will we do in the future? Hanchuan might resign after a short time!"

Inspector Megure, who witnessed the entire incident: "…………"

This investigation department seems to have become toxic... Since when did you have to fight for the chance to write someone's apology?! And you guys are saying this right in front of me, your boss?!

Han Chuan! Look what you've done!!!

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Han Chuan left for work, and several hours later he was getting further and further away from the Metropolitan Police Department... It felt like it could be used as a joke within the Metropolitan Police Department.