Chapter 103 Invitation

103

Dazai Osamu, on whom the Joint Major Crimes Unit had placed high hopes, successfully brought Nakajima Atsushi to the unit's headquarters. The members of the Major Crimes Unit were quite pleased with this and highly praised Nakajima Atsushi's proactive cooperation.

What impressed Atsushi Nakajima the most was Asimov's words: "If they can cooperate voluntarily, that would be best. I no longer want to deal with any complaints about police brutality."

What's even more impressive is the simultaneous expression of agreement on Balzac's and Zhou Shuren's faces after Asimov finished speaking...

Atsushi Nakajima... Atsushi Nakajima refused to think about the deeper meaning of this statement.

In short, it sounds like the opposition is ineffective.

It must be said that this single meeting with the Joint Major Crimes Unit left a very deep impression on Atsushi Nakajima, causing him to deeply doubt his own choice...

After all, this group of people doesn't seem very reliable.

A conflicted man, Atsushi Nakajima was pulled away by Osamu Dazai. Although he had serious doubts about the reliability of the Joint Major Crimes Unit, Atsushi ultimately decided to cooperate with the plan.

Dazai Osamu seemed to want to say something, but then left because he realized there were other things to discuss.

Seeing Atsushi Nakajima obediently cooperating, Hemingway was deeply moved.

"It's good to have such dedicated partners. You know, if you bring someone here by force, it'll be hard to escape if there's any emergency."

Behind Hemingway, Asimov and Xu Zhimo, who happened to be passing by, all nodded in deep agreement.

There are quite a few things to complain about in various ways, so let's ignore their chat content for now.

Balzac remained as reliable as ever. After watching Nakajima Atsushi leave his sight, he turned to Holmes and began to continue discussing the specifics of the bait plan.

"Is the 'invitation' you mentioned before ready?"

Holmes smiled: "Of course, you can absolutely trust my efficiency when it comes to such interesting things."

“Yes, but I might trust you a little more if you weren’t so unmotivated and obsessed with ‘dramatic endings.’” Balzac’s face was taut, his tone completely flat: “Do you know how much work your hobbies add to the ASA’s workload?”

“I think those cases are tolerable compared to the cases I’ve solved, and the evidence is that I’m still an external consultant for ASA.”

Holmes was not intimidated by Balzac; instead, he shrugged indifferently and refocused his attention on the plan.

Where has the invitation been sent now?

“It has already been accidentally leaked to the intelligence dealers.” Hemingway scratched his head impatiently, turning his already messy white hair into a complete tangled mess: “Why go through all this trouble when you’re sure the other side can see the problem? Why not just hand it over to them directly?”

“Hmm…” Holmes hesitated for a moment, then decisively said, “No, that would be too boring.”

Feasibility: Yes;

In terms of convenience, it is definitely much better than the current complicated method;

But that would be too boring, so Holmes refused.

Hemingway, who had expected to hear a long, rambling monologue: "..."

Hemingway's expression gradually shifted from initial bewilderment upon hearing this unexpected revelation to a distorted one. Had Asimov not restrained Hemingway, sensing the danger, it's hard to say whether Hemingway could have resisted the urge to rush forward and punch Holmes.

Hemingway, who was being held down by Asimov, glared at Balzac and said: "Aren't you guys going to do anything about this guy?"

Balzac, expressionless: You'll get used to it; it'll always be like this.

—A dividing line where Hemingway expressed his amazement at ASA's patience—

In the territory of a local Yokohama intelligence dealer, Romain Rolland, whose face had been transformed into an unremarkable Japanese-American, tapped the table listlessly, waiting for the intelligence dealer across from him to hand over the compiled documents.

Those who make a living selling trivial information on the street or in pubs might only use a low, husky voice to deliver their intelligence. But real, "legitimate" intelligence dealers actually prefer to print these things out.

For them, the content of a piece of intelligence is trivial and complicated, and it is very likely that it will not be sold to the same person. Therefore, relying entirely on their own narration is a rather inefficient approach.

However, "legitimate" intelligence dealers also have the habit of carrying fire sources with them, and some even choose more flammable paper to destroy intelligence more quickly.

This makes it more advantageous for intelligence dealers, whether it's a surprise attack by the authorities or a case of those who buy intelligence trying to double-cross them.

Romain Rolland maintained his deliberate tapping motion on the table and glanced at the intelligence dealer opposite him.

Romain Rolland's prized infiltration skills are really useless against these minor characters; most of them operate independently, with at most having a few subordinates.

Even if Romain Rolland was incredibly talented, he couldn't possibly infiltrate an organization with only one person...

While intelligence gathering is an option, it's too fragmented and would waste unnecessary effort and time. Furthermore, sustainable development must also be considered.

After all, there are only a handful of intelligence providers in Yokohama, and they are a non-renewable resource.

The information broker finally handed Romain Rolland a prepared document, and Romain Rolland tossed him a bag of banknotes without even blinking.

As long as we ignore the large expenses such as the maintenance of the Nautilus, the UN really doesn't lack this level of "small money".

Anyway, you can just pry anything off the trench and sell it to recoup your costs.

Having picked up the intelligence, Romain Rolland, trusting in these people's reputation—or at least pretending to trust it enough—politely bid them farewell. Then, at the first corner, he vanished without a trace, leaving behind a bewildered businessman.

Four blocks from the transaction location, Romain Rolland strolled leisurely out of the alleyway.

It's always better to be cautious when you're out and about.

With plenty of time to spare, Romain Rolland decided to take a look at the intelligence report ahead of time.

The intelligence report had nothing to do with the thicket; it was only a few pages long, and just by looking at it, you could tell that nothing interesting had happened in the past few days.

As Romain Rolland casually flipped through the pages, his gaze was suddenly drawn to one particular page, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Breaking news regarding the transfer of "Human Tiger" to the Special Abilities Department.

No, isn't this... a bit too obvious?