Chapter 516

Gin was greatly shocked, even more so than when he discovered that Boss was spoiling Potts without any limits.

After all, Gin understands the usefulness of Potts, and making appropriate concessions would help increase Potts's identification with the organization...

But this level of concession is no longer appropriate! In a legitimate company, Potts is now doing the work of a successor or second-in-command! It's practically a handover of connections!

What's even harder to accept than being demoted is that your arch-rival got promoted without doing anything.

The thought that Potts might become his boss sent chills down Gin's spine.

Fortunately, they are not a legitimate company. If they really wanted to protect Potts, the real protection would be to keep Potts out of the public eye like the Boss. Perhaps the Boss has other ideas.

Gin managed to comfort himself, preventing his Dao heart from collapsing.

Having gained a lot of suspicion towards Gin, Usaku Saiki's attention was no longer on that.

Visiting an organization's elders definitely requires prior preparation, such as contacting and making appointments... Usakabe Saiki was too lazy to do these things and planned to have Ireland do them when he returned to Japan.

What? Ireland doesn't know how? Then let him learn! We can't exactly make him learn it, can we?

Even when given important responsibilities, Usoba Saiki still shirks his duties with a clear conscience, and remains in the same state as before, lying around most of the time, and going out for meals when friends invite him.

On this same day, Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda invited him to have dinner together.

"This shop was discovered by Jinpei," Kenji Hagiwara said as he parked the car. "They say the sake is pretty good, and the snacks to go with it are also nice. I remember that Fukami-ryu doesn't drink strong liquor, but he can drink a bit of rice wine, right? The homemade rice wine here is really... What are you looking at?"

Kenji Hagiwara noticed out of the corner of his eye that Shinryu Kazukawa was staring at him, and he immediately became alert.

Having known each other for so many years, it's no secret to Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji that Shinryu Samakawa likes to act cool.

His silence was actually because he was too lazy to talk to people. He had a strong sense of pressure and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He might just be spacing out. But when he suddenly became focused, it was more noteworthy. Something must have happened somewhere. Han Chuan Shenliu was watching the show.

So when Kenji Hagiwara suddenly asked that question, Jinpei Matsuda became alert and followed Shinryu Hagiwara's gaze: "What, someone killed someone in the parking lot?"

"...I just saw a familiar car."

Han Chuan Shenliu's tone sounded somewhat speechless: "You guys are too nervous."

"I have a feeling that you're actually quite pleased with how tense we are," Matsuda Jinpei retorted. "Don't you enjoy being doubted? What kind of twisted sense of humor is this..."

Kenji Hagiwara coughed: "Whose car is this that looks familiar?"

"An acquaintance of the Mobile Investigation Team."

Because when Kanakawa Shinryu was interning at the police academy, he was assigned to the Mobile Investigation Unit and unexpectedly got along quite well with the people in the unit. The practice of writing apologies for others started in the Mobile Investigation Unit... So even after Kanakawa Shinryu went to the First Investigation Division and even left the Metropolitan Police Department, they kept in touch.

Sometimes, when the Mobile Investigation Unit encounters a situation they don't want to immediately hand over to the First Investigation Division, they will try to ask Kanagawa Shinryu for help. When Kanagawa Shinryu can't get a taxi, he will randomly grab a passing Mobile Investigation Unit patrol car to give him a ride or help him get a taxi.

That's why Hanchuan Shenliu recognized the car as someone he knew at a glance.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't think that wherever the Mobile Investigation Unit's car appeared, there would be a case. He figured they might just be there for a meal, so he entered the restaurant normally, only to find an acquaintance helping a drunkard.

The acquaintances were naturally his teammates from the internship period of Shinryu Hagiwara, and not only Shinryu Hagiwara, but also Kenji Hagiwara.

Because of their many doubts about Shinryu Kagawa, the person in charge of Shinryu Kagawa in the Mobile Investigation Team managed to get the contact information of Kenji Hagiwara, who was an assistant instructor. Then, through exchanging information about the messes Shinryu Kagawa had caused, they inexplicably became close.

"It's you guys..." Officer Shima looked relieved. "Kankawa-kun, come and help me out, this guy is being disobedient."

Matsuda Jinpei asked in confusion, "The Mobile Investigation Unit deals with drunkards? Isn't that the patrol officers' job?"

“This isn’t your average drunkard,” Officer Shimo sighed. “This is someone who’s broken away from the underworld.”

"Escape from the underworld" refers to someone who has broken free from the criminal world.

Although organized crime is legal in Japan and is registered with the Metropolitan Police Department, Japan clearly does not intend to completely turn a blind eye. In recent years, the "Organized Crime Exclusion Ordinance" was introduced, prohibiting these people involved with organized crime from engaging in legitimate work. Legitimate companies are also prohibited from doing business with organized crime. Even if a clinic is found to be performing surgery on people involved with organized crime, people on the street will hold banners to protest and demand that the doctor performing the surgery leave.

As these regulations continue to be implemented, many gangsters in Japan are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. Many of the lower-level members want to leave and become legitimate people, but the organization may not release them because as long as they remain members, they have to pay money every month, and fewer members mean less money.

It's not easy to get out of the criminal underworld, and it's even harder to find a job afterward.

"This guy recently left the underworld and found a job, but he was recognized and has been harassed by his former comrades as a traitor... He used to work as a receptionist at a hotel, but a group of Nine Rascals members came and made a scene, scaring away normal customers. Of course, the manager didn't want him to continue working there."

Officer Shimo explained, "Then he came to drown his sorrows in alcohol, but because he was drunk and spouting slang, he was discovered and someone called the police... I was relatively close by..."

Kenji Hagiwara helped Officer Shima drag the drunkard outside the store to avoid affecting business.

Officer Shima's partner, Ibuki Ai, also chimed in with a sigh: "He finally became a decent person, and then this happened... I'm so worried that he'll have nowhere to go and will go back to his old ways."

Han Chuan Shenliu suddenly asked, "Did he leave the underworld on his own, or did he go through the Metropolitan Police Department?"

"Of course it's the Metropolitan Police Department! Otherwise, how would we know so much!" Ibuki Ai asked疑惑地, "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

“I’ve heard some rumors.” Han Chuan Shenliu pointed to the watch on the drunkard’s wrist. “Check if there are any hidden cameras on it.”

Although it was actually a question, everyone else, based on their understanding of Hanukawa Shinryu, treated it as a conclusion.

"What?!"

A group of people nearby were shocked and rushed over to see what was happening.

With his view blocked, Matsuda Jinpei started pushing the other people's faces away: "I'm a professional, let me handle this!"

Ibuki Ai: "...Aren't you a bomb disposal expert?"

In short, after Matsuda Jinpei's examination, they did indeed find a pinhole camera on it.

Kenji Hagiwara was confused: "Fukaru, what have you heard? Is it related to that hotline for getting rid of triads at the Metropolitan Police Department?"

After all, the Japanese government still wants to actively reduce the number of gangsters, so the Metropolitan Police Department set up an office to assist gangsters in leaving the organization. Kenji Hagiwara, who also works at the Metropolitan Police Department, was of course aware of this.

But he works in the First Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department, while the Office for the De-gangsters is in the Third Division of the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department; they're not even on the same floor...

He had never heard of any strange rumors!

Han Chuan Shenliu calmly said, "Because someone once consulted me and said that the people at the blacklist removal hotline are unreliable. On the surface, they seem to be helping him, but in reality, they are secretly trying to get him a job and then fire him, giving him hope first, then disappointment and even despair..."

Others: "…………"

Wait a minute, isn't this a bit too much?! Even Shinryu Hanchuan wouldn't do something like this!

At least on the surface, Hanchuan Shenliu always has a plausible reason, but this looks like a personal vendetta!

"Because he was a rare person whose mental state collapsed to the point of almost committing suicide in front of me, he left a deep impression on me."

Kenji Hagiwara couldn't stand it anymore: "What's going on? Are we just going to let these people run wild? It's already difficult enough to make the decision to leave the yakuza, let alone return to a normal life. Isn't this just making things harder for them, or even preventing them from becoming better?"

Han Chuan Shenliu: "Ah, that person's theory is that when she was a gangster, she caused so much trouble for everyone. If she could easily go back to being an ordinary person, how could ordinary people bear it? They must suffer a lot to be qualified. I think it makes sense, but the way she did it is wrong, and it is not suitable to do it while she is a police officer. It is suitable to do it secretly after resigning."

Others: "…………"

"Don't give them advice! There are hidden cameras here! What if they hear this, think it makes sense, and actually do it!" Matsuda Jinpei complained. "Besides, do you have the right to say things like 'it's not appropriate for a police officer to do this'?"

“I was just crossing the line; she was abusing her power for personal gain.”

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless: "...You're quite reasonable."

"I see……"

The person who was originally completely drunk had somehow sobered up and heard the conversation.

"It was that woman who did it...! She said she'd help me find a job, but she secretly sent yakuza members to sabotage me... That's outrageous! That woman is the yakuza member, isn't she?!"

The man, who looked quite old and seemed to be approaching old age, had tears in his eyes.

"I've already endured so much... She gave me this watch, saying that seeing it would make me realize I'm a decent person now, and I can't act like a yakuza anymore. So even when I was insulted and shoved, I endured it and apologized like a normal receptionist... Turns out it was just a tool she used to monitor whether I was doing a good job or not?! If I commit suicide, will she be satisfied? Will she think I've finally made amends for what happened before? Fine, I'll go die now..."

"Calm down!"

Several police officers rushed forward to persuade him, but Han Chuan Shenliu stood aside, seemingly unconcerned.

“You see, this kind of artificially creating obstacles makes people feel like they might as well continue being a gangster, which is why I said what she did was wrong, there are clearly other ways…”

"Say less," Kenji Hagiwara said, his head throbbing. "I think I need to talk to that person. Not all yakuza members join voluntarily; some are truly forced into it..."

The person who had been shouting about committing suicide stopped struggling: "Let me go, I've calmed down."

Others were skeptical: "Are you really calm?"

“Really,” he said, “but I don’t trust the police anymore.”

Others: "...No, you haven't calmed down yet!!!"

“It’s normal to distrust the police after something like this, so I told her she’d better quit before doing something like this,” said Hanchuan Shenliu, offering a fair opinion. “Do you need any help?”

Kenji Hagiwara looked at Shinryu Kagawa in surprise: "You want to help?"

How rare! They actually offered to help!

He said the troublemakers were from the Nine Rascals Group.

Hanchuan Shenliu looked down at his phone: "I can just make a call..."

The man who had renounced his criminal activities stared blankly at Han Chuan Shenliu, then at the others, before suddenly realizing, "Are you corrupt cops?"

"No way!!!" Matsuda Jinpei broke down. "Why do I always get mistaken for a corrupt cop whenever I'm with Kankawa?! How do I look like a corrupt cop?!"

"Get this done quickly," Hanchuan Shenliu said, seemingly oblivious to everything. "Then we can eat."

Matsuda Jinpei: "It's rare for me to be so eager to help others, but it turns out it's all just for a meal!!!"

Officer Shima reminded them, "After all, this is a matter for the Third Team... Although what she did was not quite right, if you want to get involved, you should discuss it with someone first. I heard that person has a very strong backing and has never been punished for any illegal operations."

Han Chuan Shen sighed, "Having connections is so great. I'm different; I always have to write self-criticisms..."

"Don't you want to think about who's writing these self-criticisms?" Kenji Hagiwara's lips twitched. "Alright, anyway, Jinpei, go order some food and let the restaurant start serving. I'll contact the Metropolitan Police Department to ask about the situation and how to handle this..."

Does Kofumi Ryu have more contact information from the yakuza than from the Metropolitan Police Department on his phone?

At this rate, it's hard to tell which circles he mainly hangs out in...

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Matsuda: I've become a corrupt cop again?

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The "Escape from Blacklist Hotline" is from the Japanese drama series "Escape from Blacklist".

To be honest, what he did went a bit too far... That person later caused someone to lose their welfare benefits, pushing them to the point where they felt hopeless and decided to stop being an ordinary person, trying to get themselves detained by assaulting someone...

They didn't handle the situation well, and they misused public resources for private gain...