Chapter 35 Toothache is terrible - FBI.

【Safety. 】

Upon receiving the reply text message from his undercover investigator, James nearly crushed his phone.

Fearing that Shuichi Akai had been exposed, he immediately sent a brief message to the other party to be careful, and then quickly contacted the Japanese police to inquire about the person named Ryusei Kitagawa.

Before the Japanese police could send any news, they received a text message from Shuichi Akai.

[We had some interaction during the mission, and it's speculated that the other party is one of the heads of the Japanese police investigation organization.]

Damn it...

Now that things have been said, what else is there to misunderstand? The FBI agent, whose temper was already not exactly mild, almost blurted out a curse.

They were tricked by their "friendly forces".

...

Upon receiving the message that he might be exposed, Shuichi Akai almost threw his phone away and pulled his knitted hat off his head.

Before the pair of green eyes could even conceal their surprise and doubt, the boss sent a second, more specific message.

Kitagawa Ryusei.

The name is familiar.

He held back for a moment, then smoked the remaining half of his cigarette in one go, managing to calm himself down.

"Wow." Smoke billowed from the FBI's top investigator's nose and mouth as he spoke.

When did the Japanese police encounter such a troublesome person?

Upon receiving his boss's final message to remain inactive, Hideaki Akai extinguished a cigarette in the ashtray and removed his phone battery.

Now that things have come to this, any complaints are futile resistance due to inferior skills.

Shuichi Akai can only think about it from another angle:

They were so perceptive and decisive... If they had circled around this policeman a few more times, could they have arrested Bourbon?

He doesn't mind helping.

...

Besides the FBI, Kitagawa Ryusei was also at the center of the storm.

As the instigator, he seemed much more relaxed and cheerful than the FBI agents who had their identities exposed in the dead of winter.

The criminal investigation officer didn't say much about his use of "thuggish" methods, and almost couldn't suppress his smirk when the FBI subtly expressed their dissatisfaction, let alone the Public Security Zero Team, which was already known for its ruthless methods.

Unilateral access to FBI information gives them a significant advantage, both in carrying out their work and in potential future collaborations.

So even when the Criminal Investigation Bureau remained silent when the Zero Group asked them why they had access to Daisuke Moroboshi's personal information, it didn't make Yuya Kazami frown even slightly.

—We need to tell Furuya and Mr. Amuro this news as soon as possible.

He planned the next steps with a stern face.

Kitagawa Ryusei clearly thought so too.

But he seems to have encountered some difficulties.

He wasn't sure if Rei's contacts at that level would have access to the message.

However, intelligence is definitely one of the key factors that can determine the fate of an undercover operation. If a whole squad is an undercover agent, the sooner you know, the better.

Unlike Kazami Yuya, who had established contact channels, Kitagawa Ruki only realized at this point that finding Furuya Rei was not easy.

Inspector Kitagawa, who had just calmly and easily scammed a senior FBI agent, now stood at the crossroads, feeling slightly bewildered.

In reality, he had no idea how to find people.

At the villa and the hospital, it was Rei Furuya who took the initiative to follow him; the coffee shop that Kenji mentioned? As an active-duty police officer, he couldn't deliberately go out of his way to find it, not knowing if someone was watching Rei Furuya…

Haha, they're really successful as a couple.

Even though she knew there was nothing she could do, Kitagawa Ryusei still couldn't help but feel a little angry inside.

The "minor resentment" in his heart was manifested externally as a low-pressure atmosphere surrounding the young man, dark and gloomy.

Coupled with his menacing black trench coat attire, passersby would never guess that the person in front of them is a police officer.

They instinctively avoided the young man, fearing they might get caught up in some kind of fight.

So much so that when Morofushi Kagemitsu crossed the street, he almost thought there was half a colleague standing there, and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Ryusei?" When he saw who it was, he dropped his perfectly angled "despondent" expression and asked with surprise, "What are you doing standing here?"

I never expected to run into Morofushi Kagemitsu, which was a pleasant surprise.

When Kitagawa Ryusei turned around, he had already composed himself, showing no emotion whatsoever. He went straight to the point: "I have something to say. Is now a convenient time?"

Half an hour later, the three bottles of whiskey returned to the safe house one after another, and none of them were in very good mental condition.

Bourbon was the first to return and had been deep in thought in the living room for quite a while.

I looked up at the sky and saw the color of the sun: orange-red.

I pinched myself a moment later to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

But it's still hard to believe, isn't it...?

When he received Kazami Yuya's message, his face looked like he had been forced to swallow a hundred flies—the kind that didn't even go down properly, leaving his brain and mouth feeling nauseous and buzzing.

Rye was also an undercover agent, and to make matters worse, he was an FBI agent.

Not only could a small team not even scrape together a single bottle of real liquor, but it seems that annoying people remain unpleasant regardless of one's stance...

On the phone, Kazami Yuya had clearly only recently learned of the news, his tone still wavering:

"In fact, this information was discovered by the head of the special investigation team, and currently only we and Chief Administrator Kuroda know about it, apart from them and the Criminal Investigation Bureau administrator."

No one expected that the team that was initially just there to handle the criminal cases of Group Zero would actually learn about the organization before they did.

But what surprised Kazami Yuya even more was that Inspector Kitagawa had recently been willing to work overtime voluntarily.

Kazami Yuya was not unaware of the dissatisfaction of the Special Investigation Team members; he simply hadn't paid attention to anything outside of work.

"Ryu, Kitagawa-kun?" Furuya Rei asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Kazami Yu didn’t think much about how Mr. Furuya knew the other person’s name. After all, Mr. Furuya was omniscient.

"The FBI has been informed and has requested to discuss cooperation with us," he added.

In short, a series of follow-up matters will have to wait for Rei Furuya to return to the police station to handle them when he has time. But right now, his mind is filled with two thoughts: "The person I hate has become an FBI agent, but I still hate him" and "Ryusei is amazing, I really want to go find him."

So much so that he didn't even react when Morofushi Kagemitsu returned.

But it's alright, Inspector Morofushi doesn't seem to be able to concentrate very well either.

The two childhood friends, both stunned by the same news and unaware that the other already knew, exchanged a complicated look and said in unison, "Do you have time—"

"Bang!"

A loud bang erupted at the door, and a long-haired man with a blank expression walked in.

Shuichi Akai held the knitted hat on his head in his hand. His bangs, which usually seemed to be carefully styled, were now casually combed back, making the surrounding atmosphere seem much stranger than usual.

Although the other person still had the same face as usual, ready to set up a gun and go on a mission at any time, the other two, who had "ulterior motives," felt that they could glean something from his expression.

Shuichi Akai didn't look at the people in the living room and walked back to his room without glancing at them.

Bourbon, who usually would make sarcastic remarks, was unusually quiet today.

Once the person was out of sight, the bedroom door clicked shut. The two people in the living room withdrew their gazes from the room, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously understood something in each other's eyes.

FBI.

That's terrible.

Finally, Rei Furuya burst out laughing, which was rather unkind of him.

The FBI agent, who had retreated to his room to isolate himself, probably had no interest in going out to find food. The two childhood friends, who were equally wicked in some ways, hit it off and went out to find a place to exchange information.

They even left the safe house for Shuichi Akai to secretly wipe away his tears.

How thoughtful.

*

Matsuda Jinpei is on patrol duty.

Wearing sunglasses and carrying a baton, he didn't look like a righteous policeman, but rather a gang leader collecting protection money.

Even the setting sun reflected off the surface of his sunglasses, giving off an intimidating aura.

Kenji Hagiwara was originally with him, but that guy had made plans to go to the hospital for a check-up with Ruki Kitagawa, so he took leave and slipped away.

Without the unruly childhood friends to balance his intimidating aura, the curly-haired officer was glanced at several times by his colleagues on patrol as he walked down the street.

The only saving grace was that they encountered Date Wataru on the patrol route.

The other person had just finished a case and had a toothpick in his mouth when he saw Matsuda Jinpei and his familiar sunglasses and waved enthusiastically.

"Jinpei! When are you getting off work?" Date Wataru took a few steps forward, put his arm around his friend's shoulder, and planned to walk around with him for a bit.

Matsuda Jinpei raised his sunglasses high on his forehead, glanced at the sky, and said, "Let's wait for the shift change."

Tokyo has never been a very safe place, especially in Beikacho, where even 24-hour police patrols can't keep up with the chaos that can be seen everywhere on the streets.

These police officers, who are required to take shifts, come from various fields, striving to ensure that professionals can step in and resolve any incidents, whether it be robbery, murder, car accident, or explosion, as soon as possible.

If a day passes peacefully without any accidents, that day will be designated as a "Great Peace Day" by the entire Metropolitan Police Department, and the work group chat will be filled with prayers and well wishes.

It's so festive!

As dusk fell on the streets, an ominous red glow was faintly visible; the setting of the sun is often accompanied by the inescapable darkness.

With seven hours left until the end of the day, all the patrolling police officers were on tenterhooks.

Turning a corner, Matsuda Jinpei reached out and took the rice ball that Date Wataru had run to buy, quickly peeled it open and started eating.

"By the way, class monitor, when do you plan to end your long-distance relationship? Are you planning to go find Miss Natalie in the future, or will she come to find you?" he asked.

"It depends on what she thinks. I'll follow her wherever Natalie wants to stay and teach." When talking about his girlfriend, the nearly two-meter-tall Date Wataru still had a youthful smile.

Even though his mouth was full of tender rice grains, Matsuda Jinpei still made a face as if he had hit his teeth, regretting that he shouldn't have brought up the topic.

...Even a rice ball can't shut your mouth.

The curly-haired police officer lowered his sunglasses, his face expressionless.

Before he could change the subject, a dark shadow flashed in his peripheral vision. The curly-haired police officer looked up sharply, his gaze landing precisely on a room in a building across the street.

"Squad leader, don't you feel like something's not right?"

Following his gaze, Ida Wataru did not notice anything unusual.

But Matsuda Jinpei's intuition was second only to the murder weapon left at the crime scene in their minds. He made a decision almost without thinking: "Go up and take a look."

The two rushed to the building as quickly as possible.

This is just an ordinary apartment building. It's located next to the road, so it's a bit noisy. The sanitation isn't very good either, with bulging garbage bags tied in knots placed in many stairwells and by the doors.

"It should be this floor!"

Matsuda Jinpei climbed four floors in one go without batting an eye.

He determined the direction the window was facing and pointed to one of the doors.

Date Hang tentatively knocked twice.

The door wasn't closed tightly; it obediently opened a crack as he moved.

It was like an invitation to people outside.

"Ugh!"

The sounds of a woman struggling could be heard coming from inside the house.

The two policemen's eyes narrowed, and they reached for their batons at their waists, simultaneously bumping into each other.

They stood back to back, one on each side, tacitly separating to deal with any potential crises.

"Don't move! Police!"

The room was in a mess, the windows were wide open, and the wind kept blowing in, rustling the pages of the books on the table.

There were no criminals as imagined.

The blonde woman, bound and gagged, had tears in her eyes.

Her terrified gaze met the two men's, then she looked away in another direction, her hands struggling desperately behind her back.

"Ugh!!"

To make a sound, you must first escape.

Matsuda Jinpei suddenly turned his head.

A huge and complex bomb device was placed between the desk and the wardrobe in the room.

A red and a blue liquid rippled inside the glass tube.