Chapter 65, Chapter 64: The Last Bento Box

Life is truly a mix of love and hate.

The pain is unbearable, like being boiled in a pan; my heart is in turmoil, like being tossed in Mapo Tofu; a complete failure of the Three Delicacies.

Authentic Chinese breakfast is completely different from Japanese breakfast.

Compared to miso soup, rice balls, or bread sandwiches, which can also be served for lunch or dinner, the limited-time pairing of soy milk with steamed buns, fried dumplings, or fried dough sticks gives the start of the day a more distinctive Chinese symbol.

After finishing the red bean bun in her hand, Elle opened her mouth wide and took a big bite of the long-awaited fresh meat bun. As the delicious meat filling and the aroma of the dough burst in her mouth, she couldn't help but sniff.

Great, it's not a thick-skinned, sweet meat bun.

Although she thought Japanese meat buns were quite delicious, the sweet and savory filling still made people pause for a moment after taking the first bite, and then hesitate slightly before taking the second bite.

I really wanted to eat fried dumplings and wontons, but after finishing two steamed buns and a bowl of soy milk, I was already feeling a bit full, so I picked up two small steamed buns and ate them slowly, starting to chat amidst the rich aroma of the soup.

"Anke, how are the others?"

Upon hearing this, the short-haired girl who was pouring tea for the person next to her put the teapot back on the glass plate on the table and said, "There's basically no change. A few people who were in charge of the training camp affairs have been transferred, and quite a few people have distanced themselves from us."

“Snobbish.” Anke snorted, her light brown eyes narrowing slightly. “But we haven’t paid attention to these people either. Apart from the few who were transferred to distant places, I’ve already compiled statistics on the movements of the others.”

“You never designate accompanying members when you go on missions, so Rum just completely disrupted the logistics management. A few people were assigned to Gin’s action team, and the rest were all transferred to the new permanent city.”

As he spoke, Jianan handed a paper document to the girl opposite him. Furuya Rei glanced at the thin document, which had only two pages, and noticed that one of the pages was a blank cover.

Elf flipped directly to the second page, glanced at the densely packed text compressed file, then took out his seven-colored card and placed it in front of him, calmly scanning it from top to bottom once more.

After reading it, the card was put away, and the document was pushed to Furuya Rei who was standing next to him.

The blond man stared at the document with the font size shrunk to the extreme, silently took out his phone, took pictures of each of the three sections, and then zoomed in to read the personnel transfer records on it.

"How much do you know about what happened the day Rag defected?" The black-haired girl placed her hands on the table, looking at the two members who had the most secret contact with her and Rag, and who were also former members of the organization stationed in Nagano Prefecture.

When this matter was mentioned, both of their expressions darkened simultaneously.

“Someone informed on us,” Anke and Jianan said simultaneously. “Lord Rag was forced to defect, and the purge began before the arrest warrant was issued.”

Rei Furuya placed his phone face down on the table and looked at the two junior members in front of him. He could see a resemblance to the transparent eyes of Curaçao in those two pairs of light brown eyes that were the same color.

“Three days before the training camp was bombed, Lord Rag received orders to go out on a mission, and that same night, he issued a defection warrant,” Anke said in a deep voice. “That day, most of Rum’s men were transferred to Tokyo or surrounding cities.”

Rei Furuya recalled that date and realized he was on a mission abroad at the time. He guessed that because he was far away, he was excluded from the plan.

"They said it was a defection, but they didn't give any specific information about how to arrest you. I guess they were afraid that undercover agents would take advantage of the situation, so only high-ranking codenamed members knew the details." She clenched her fist tightly on her lap. "By the time we heard the next news, it would be that the training camp had been bombed and that you had defected."

Just like Curaçao said, he was probably besieged by the higher-ups. Elle poked at the xiaolongbao in the bowl with her chopsticks, and the thin skin was easily broken, revealing the soup-filled inside.

She listened quietly.

“After that, Rum’s men were restricted and rarely left the city,” Jianan continued. “They were only loosened up a bit recently. People stationed near Nagano went to check the training camp ruins, but there were hardly any traces left.”

“We’ve been on high alert again lately because of Curaçao’s defection,” he sighed. “Ann and I know more, and we were planning to go to Matsushiro.”

Matsushiro Town. Upon hearing this name, Furuya Rei's eyes flickered slightly. It was an old town with a long history located in southern Nagano Prefecture, and also a natural basin surrounded by mountains.

Is the old site of the organization's training camp there? Furuya Rei typed keywords such as "mountain forest" and "fire" into his phone and quickly found several articles reporting on the "Xiangshan Explosion Case in Yamano Prefecture," which were published exactly a year ago.

Is this the place? He turned off his phone screen and heard a soft, crisp sound beside him. Alju placed his chopsticks across the bowl and said, "It's alright, I'll go to Elephant Mountain."

Without further ado, Furuya Rei started searching for train tickets from Kyoto to Nagano and made arrangements for the rest of the trip.

“Compile the more specific details into a document and send it to Bourbon’s email.” She concluded the first topic and began coordinating the cooperation between the two parties. “You can add each other’s contact information; don’t worry about data security.”

"But we still need to be careful." Elju watched the three exchange emails and contact information, then popped a small steamed bun into his mouth and chewed slowly, saying, "When we meet, the code words will remain the same. Safety first."

"Is the code still the same as today's?" Furuya Rei asked.

“Of course it won’t be that monotonous, babeng.” The black-haired, black-eyed girl smiled, swinging her legs on the chair. “Our code isn’t some rote memorization of gibberish, that’s unoriginal.”

The next train to Nagano departs around noon, allowing them to stay for a while, which is perfect for providing targeted training for their new partners.

"For example, how much does a shirt cost? Which company has the best excavation technology? When giving gifts, you should only give —?" Al propped his face up on the table and rattled off a bunch of fill-in-the-blank questions that seemed to only have the first half of each sentence, before finally revealing a smile.

"For example, please read 'The vast horizon is my love' correctly."

Jiang Guling:...?

Is it just my imagination? It feels like you're burning your tongue a little when you say that code.

…

At this moment, in a grove of trees in a park in Tokyo

Morofushi Kagemitsu and Date Wataru, who had taken leave, stood side by side in front of a large tree, while Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei stood opposite them.

This position is quite common, because Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda always stand together, just as Kagemitsu Morofushi and Rei Furuya would naturally walk side by side in the queue.

What? You're asking who Ida Kou is standing with?

We regret to inform you that, as a long-term romantic partner who started her love story early on, the class monitor is no longer on the path of childhood friends.

But this did not stop him from opening his broad arms and embracing his four colleagues, who had different personalities but shared the same ideals, closely together, like a cherry blossom composed of five petals.

As the class monitor during his time at the police academy, the kind-hearted yet sharp-witted Ida Wataru has cleaned up many messes for his classmates. When the hot-blooded young police academy students get together, it's inevitable that they'll have a few arguments, and quite a few of them will escalate to physical contact.

Of course, this also includes a certain blonde and a certain curly-haired guy who arranged to fight in the middle of the night not long after the start of the semester. Ita Wataru can be said to have been half involved and half forced to participate, watching the relationship between the two troublemakers undergo a qualitative change from rivals to best friends.

To be honest, he thought that from then on, there would be no more intense conflicts among the five of them.

Kenji Hagiwara possesses exceptionally high emotional and intellectual intelligence, and his social circle extends far beyond the reach of the Metropolitan Police Department. Rather than engaging in conflict with others, he excels at gently nipping potential conflicts in the bud before they erupt.

Morofushi Kagemitsu is also a gentle person. Those who are not familiar with him will feel his distant yet tolerant and gentle nature, while those who are close to him will see the depth beneath the calm surface and he will revert to his obedient self.

But clearly, as he was working tirelessly overtime in the investigation department, new problems arose.

"Hey you guys, what happened here?"

Looking at the two people, each with their arms crossed and leaning against a large tree, at least twenty meters apart, Date Kou rubbed his forehead helplessly. "How old are you? Why are you still fighting?"

The heads that were originally turned to the sides turned back, revealing two handsome faces, each with 'bruises'. After seeing the defiant expression on the other's face, they turned back at the same time.

"cut."

"Hey, hey." Date Wataru, who was called out by Morofushi Kagemitsu, was already a little confused. Now, looking at his two classmates who had suddenly fallen out overnight, he asked with a headache, "You two, talk this out."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu blinked, his gaze sweeping over the two men, both of whom were filled with anger.

"I have nothing to say to a certain guy who smokes while defusing bombs," Matsuda Jinpei chuckled, closing his eyes to avoid looking at Hagiwara Kenji's movements, and said, "And I have even less to say to someone who doesn't follow orders."

Is this referring to Hagiwara's forced entry into the Ferris wheel? But wasn't it because I was worried about you? Date Wataru waved his hand, ready to take on the role of mediator again, but before he could even begin, Hagiwara Kenji interrupted him.

"Ha, I wouldn't dare talk to an 'expert'." The man with medium-length hair had deep purple, droopy eyes that curved like crescent moons, but when he opened them slightly, there was no hint of a smile. "Besides, even if we did it all over again, I would still get on the Ferris wheel before you."

“I told you I don’t need it.” Matsuda Jinpei emphasized each syllable, taking several large strides forward and grabbing Hagiwara Kenji by the collar. His burning black eyes reflected in deep purple pupils. “You dared to die for me without my consent, Hagiwara Kenji? Did you even ask for my permission?”

"What?" Date Wataru paused in his steps to break up the fight, staring blankly at his childhood friends who had started fighting in front of him. He subconsciously turned to look at the fourth person present, trying to seek help.

Then he noticed that Morofushi Kagemitsu was standing still, with a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked at the two guys who had obviously reviewed something last night but failed to reach a consensus.

It seemed he already knew. He received a questioning look from Date Wataru and stepped over.

So, that leaves only the class monitor.

“Jinpei.” Kenji Hagiwara grasped the wrist that was gripping his collar, and instead of showing his furious childhood friend, he gave a lighthearted smile and said, “I’ve asked the gods, and the outcome is nothing more than ‘half success, half loss.’”

Perhaps Matsuda Jinpei will survive, while half of the survivors will be Hagiwara Kenji, or perhaps the success rate is only 50%, but that won't affect his decision.

“With a steadfast heart,” he recited the fortune slip he had drawn in Osaka that day, looking at his vibrant childhood friend before him, “you will surely be safe and sound.”

"How could Kenji-chan possibly let the scene from my dream repeat itself?" Hagiwara Kenji winked at Matsuda Jinpei's gaze, feeling the wrist in his hand tremble with anger. "I am willing to apologize for everything that happened before, Jinpei-chan."

“But it will never be for this time, I assure you.” He released his grip on her wrist, opened his palms in a gesture of surrender, and said firmly, “One more time, no change.”

"Damn it." Matsuda Jinpei loosened his grip on the collar, clenched his fist, and swung it at him, but Date Wataru stepped forward to stop him, while Morofushi Kagemitsu pulled Hagiwara Kenji apart, and the two of them worked together to separate them back to the original distance.

The four of them returned to their original positions, and Date Wataru still couldn't figure out why the two had suddenly started fighting.

"What is all this nonsense?" He looked at his two colleagues who were talking about something incomprehensible, then turned to Morofushi Kagemitsu and decided to start with a different question: "Kagemitsu, what did you call me out for today?"

"Yes, the main thing I wanted to talk to today was you, class monitor." Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded, then looked at the duo of the Explosive Virginity Group who were having a fight, "Coincidentally, Hagiwara and Matsuda also have some issues they want to discuss with me."

"Well, it's about Kiri-chan," Kenji Hagiwara said. "It's not a question of whether to get involved or not anymore, Morofushi-kun."

"Why did she know Hagi would have an accident on November 7th?" Matsuda Jinpei looked over as well and asked bluntly, "And why did she know I would 'die' on the Ferris wheel?"

"Her?" Ida asked in confusion. "What do you mean by dead or alive? You're all fine."

“No explanation needed. By the way, I also had a dream.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji and smiled. “In the dream, I also died.”

"Xiaotong told me yesterday that the next one is the class monitor."

The three men's eyes immediately focused on Date Hang, and their expressions turned serious.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Date Wataru: "..."

Who's going to do something right and explain what happened?

-----------------------

Author's Note: Jiang Gu: What kind of codes are these??

…

After a brief period of friendship, Hagi Yuanyuan and Song Tiantian...

Let's start reviewing what happened before and after.

Once the debriefing is done, things will go wrong.

But the good news is that none of them have passed away.

…

The vast horizon is my love (read aloud with clear pronunciation)

Mwah