Chapter 71 Takeda Ryosuke One Year Ago [VIP]

"Knock knock knock..."

Cheng knocked on the office door with a heavy heart, and Date Hang calmly said, "Come in."

Cheng You pursed her lips, pushed open the door, and walked in.

"You're here." Date Hang's voice remained calm, though it might have contained other emotions, but Cheng had no time to guess and didn't dare to look up.

Cheng You's actions were indeed reckless. If he had discussed it with Ida Kou beforehand, he would have at least mentioned it beforehand, even if Ida Kou disagreed. The current situation is indeed not good.

Suddenly, Date Hang stood up and approached Cheng You, patting him on the shoulder: "This is Hirata Yan, whom I told you about. He is brave and righteous, and his only flaw is that he likes to act alone."

"Huh?" Cheng was taken aback. This tone didn't sound like a reprimand at all. Looking up, he saw that besides Ida Hang, there were two middle-aged men in suits sitting in the boss's chair in the office.

Cheng You didn't recognize the people in front of him, and he looked at Date Hang with a puzzled expression. Date Hang smiled and explained, "This car accident has attracted the attention of the higher-ups at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. The two people in front of you are the secretary of the head of the Beika Town Metropolitan Police Department and the secretary of the head of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. They heard about you from the victims' families, admired your wisdom and courage, and couldn't help but come to see you."

Hearing this, Cheng You didn't relax. Instead, he became suspicious of the true purpose of the two secretaries' visit. Cheng You only knew two things: first, the victim's family was nowhere to be found, and why hadn't they sent him a message; second, the victim's family had said they were acting on Cheng You's orders, but why did they say this, and what kind of threats had they received?

Cheng looked at the two secretaries in front of him with scrutiny and doubt.

One of the men in a suit seemed to have guessed Cheng You's thoughts. He quickly got up and walked over to try to shake Cheng You's hand, but Cheng You ignored him and avoided his outstretched hand.

However, the secretary was not angry and still smiled at Cheng You: "Mr. Hirata, please don't misunderstand. The victims' families were not forced to confess by us. We just had someone change the legal rules regarding accidental car accidents. The victims' families saw our sincerity and, in their tears of joy, revealed that there was someone behind the scenes. We said we would praise the person behind the scenes, and that's why they mentioned you."

So that's how it is...

Cheng You's tense nerves finally relaxed. He should have said so earlier, otherwise he would have been on tenterhooks. Moreover, the two men in suits in front of him didn't look like good people. In any case, now that they were involved, it was impossible to end this matter simply.

This matter would definitely alarm the Metropolitan Police Department, and Cheng Youben was prepared to speak with the department's officers, but not with these two people, nor with this particular format. Moreover, the person who came was actually the director's secretary, which made Cheng You realize the Metropolitan Police Department cared about him—though the type of care was hard to pinpoint.

It could also be suspicion.

As Cheng You pondered, he built another defensive tower in his mind.

Regardless, Cheng You still needed to be careful when interacting with the two secretaries in front of him, to prevent them from having any other ulterior motives.

Cheng You doesn't seem to have anything worth scheming against, but what's most important to her right now is freedom, and contacting Ida Hang and Natalie.

“I don’t need any praise. After all, I’m a victim of a car accident, and I naturally don’t want criminals to get away with it. Besides, the case that Mr. Ida and I handled last time involved a perpetrator who deliberately faked drunk driving to reduce his sentence. This kind of thing can’t happen again, so improving the law is urgent.” Cheng Youyou said logically, and he really didn’t want to be too high-profile right now.

Since Cheng Youdu had said that, the two secretaries didn't know what to say. They just smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's not a grand praise. We'll just write your name in our Metropolitan Police Department's files so that you can be remembered as an example."

"I see...that works too." Cheng nodded. This wouldn't cause him any loss; it was just a pseudonym.

The group chatted about other matters for a while before parting ways. Date Hang led Cheng You to see the two secretaries off, and only after watching their figures disappear into the distance did Cheng You feel relieved.

After the two secretaries left, Date Hang picked up a toothpick again. He patted Cheng You on the shoulder and laughed, "Not bad, Hirata. I couldn't praise you directly with those two old folks around."

Finally, they were alone together again, and Cheng's tone softened considerably: "I'm sorry, Senior Date, I really don't know how to tell you about this."

"It's alright. You're the kind of person who gets things done quietly," Ida Wataru said with a smile. "After spending so much time together, I've noticed that you prefer to act alone and never rely on anyone around you."

"..." Cheng You shrugged helplessly and remained silent, waiting for the other party to say the next sentence.

"It might be due to your past living environment. I know you want to protect your friends, so you don't want to share the dangers of your actions with them. Ultimately, it's because you've closed the door to your heart, not opening it to anyone. Perhaps your closest friends would be willing to pry open that tightly closed door, but you'll still force it shut." Ida Kou looked at the starlight in the night sky, with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

“But I feel that there are some things I can handle on my own, like this one,” Cheng said. He does prefer to act alone and doesn’t want to put the pressure of dangerous situations on his friends.

“Yes, you did a great job. So what were you thinking on your way here after receiving the call, before you opened the door?” Date Wataru asked.

"..." What am I thinking? Cheng You paused for a few seconds. Was he worried that others would think he was using Date Hang? Cheng You didn't care about other people's opinions, but he cared about Date Hang's thoughts. What would Date Hang think? Date Hang wouldn't believe these rumors, would he?

When Ida Hang saw Cheng You's unfocused gaze, he understood. He said, "Look, you care about me, you need me, but you don't want to tell me things. Are you so worried about my abilities? Or rather, do you still not completely trust me?"

"I trust you 100%." ​​Cheng blurted out when the other party raised doubts.

"Hahahaha," Date Wataru suddenly burst into hearty laughter, "Since you say you trust me, why worry about me?"

Hearing his laughter, Cheng You couldn't help but laugh too.

"That's right, that's more like it. You're not walking this path alone, you have me and many of your friends with you."

Cheng You's heart began to soften. Since they lived in the same neighborhood, the two went back together, chatting and laughing.

As Cheng You passed through a square, he suddenly heard the voice of a familiar person. For a moment, he even thought he had misheard.

[Oh no... Boss has disappeared without a trace, and now... I don't even know if I have a chance to survive... the organization Boss left me...]

Cheng frowned; it was Takeda Ryosuke's voice.

Based on this timeline, Sakura no Blade Pavilion should be gradually declining by now. It seems Takeda Ryosuke encountered people from the research institute and was being targeted.

Cheng thought for a moment, then told Ida Hang that he was a little hungry and was going to the convenience store to buy a rice ball, and asked him to go ahead.

Date Wataru: "Alright, I need to hurry home to be with Natalie too. I'm working too late tonight. Goodbye, Hirata."

After saying goodbye to Date Hang, Cheng You followed the increasingly weak voice and walked over. After only a few steps, deep into the alley next to the park, he smelled a faint smell of blood mixed with the smell of alcohol. It seems that Takeda Ryosuke has always been very meticulous.

The two smells mixed together. Under normal circumstances, one could only detect a faint smell of alcohol, but Cheng had keen senses and easily smelled the blood hidden within.

Following the scent, Cheng You stopped about 100 meters away from Takeda Ryosuke. He knew that if he went any further, Takeda Ryosuke would definitely find him and might fight back, which would worsen his wounds.

This was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Takeda Ryosuke, who was already seriously injured, and he didn't even keep a certain distance from him.

"Hey, you up ahead, are you alright?" Cheng You leaned against the wall casually, his tone relaxed, as if he were about to have a conversation with the other person.

When Takeda Ryosuke heard the voice, he was startled. The casual tone of the voice immediately made him feel a sense of crisis. He looked around but did not see anyone.

The enemy is in the shadows, he thought.

After much deliberation, he still did not answer Cheng You's question.

Cheng You wasn't angry. He leaned lazily against the wall, chatting leisurely with the injured man: "Do you want me to take you to the hospital? Oh no, you probably don't want to go to the hospital. Are you being chased by an enemy? That's how it is in our line of work..."

Takeda Ryosuke remained silent.

Cheng sighed helplessly, "You didn't die, did you? Why aren't you answering me? I came all the way here to find you?"

"Don't come any closer." Takeda Ryosuke blurted out before he could react, and immediately regretted it. His voice would reveal his location, and the other party would find him soon. However, he was seriously injured and could hardly move.

[Am I really going to fall here?]

"Hahahaha," Cheng You couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I know who you are and who your enemy is. I can go and buy you medical supplies and then help you hold off your enemy so you can get treatment and leave here quickly."

After a long silence, Takeda Ryosuke finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you being so kind?"

“Of course,” Cheng You said, “If you feel guilty, you can do me a favor, which would be a fair exchange.”

"A deal? Since you know my identity, and the identity of my enemy, you should know that there is no good end to dealing with people like us." Takeda Ryosuke's voice grew weaker and weaker.

Cheng You couldn't wait any longer. He was here to rescue people, not to chat: "I know who you are. What kind of good person do you think I am? Who cares about the outcome?" After saying that, he carefully observed his surroundings. "There's not anyone around here right now. Don't wander around. Give me five minutes. I'm going to buy medical supplies."

After listening, Takeda Ryosuke replied with a rare "Mm".

Cheng had run all the way to buy medical supplies, but when he rushed back, the smell of blood was even stronger, and he could even hear other people's footsteps.

Oh no...

This is Ryosuke Takeda's heartfelt sentiment.

The researchers are catching up? You can't die, Takeda Ryosuke! From now on, you'll be the most loyal member of my organization.

Cheng Youfei quickly walked into the alley, trying to keep his footsteps down, following the sparse sounds made by the people from the research institute.

However, Cheng You still had a question in his mind: without his intervention, how could Takeda Ryosuke, who was so badly injured, be unable to leave this place?

The researchers are now on their way. Takeda Ryosuke is most likely in grave danger; he's definitely going to die this time.

How did Takeda Ryosuke survive without his own existence?

Or were there other people present?

Or perhaps, Takeda Ryosuke has already been turned? But he is unwilling to admit his betrayal, so he can only keep brainwashing himself?

He deceived himself with his true feelings and his thoughts.

Cheng frowned.

He might be overthinking it.