This prediction proved accurate, because as soon as they knocked on the door of the Matsumoto manager's house, they found that someone had already gotten there and was staring at them with an unfriendly expression.
They were none other than Inspector Megure and his group from the Third Division of the First Investigation Section, who were old subordinates of Manager Matsumoto and old friends of detectives like Yoruichi Toyama.
"Inspector Akechi is a rare guest indeed!"
The first to speak was Miwako Sato. Although she had a smile on her face, the sarcasm in her tone was almost overflowing.
Shiratori and Takagi pulled her from behind, one on each side.
Like Akechi, Manager Matsumoto completely ignored the hostility of these people, got up from the sofa, and personally greeted the guests.
Yoruichi Toyama looked around at the commotion and found it both frustrating and somewhat amusing.
Do you want to make your factionalism any more obvious?
Furthermore, as officers of the First Investigative Division, Akechi and Matsumoto were close friends.
Why would he suddenly come to visit? Was it because he had nothing better to do and wanted to hear the old master who had just solved a case recount his experiences?
As expected, after greeting Akechi, Manager Matsumoto turned to his subordinates in the three departments.
"You can go back now."
Although the group looked reluctant, they still got up and took their leave as instructed.
But as he reached the door, Sato finally couldn't hold back any longer and turned around, shouting, "Manager Matsumoto, please reconsider your resignation!"
"Resign?"
This was something Yoruichi Toyama hadn't expected. He and Akemi exchanged a glance, then simultaneously turned to Manager Matsumoto.
At the same time, Matsumoto's management simply replied, "My mind is made up."
Are you going to interfere with my decision?
A moment of silence fell over everyone.
"Alright!" Inspector Megure, as the leader of the group, said to smooth things over, "Supervisor Matsumoto certainly has his reasons."
"Having worked hard all my life, what's wrong with wanting to retire early?"
This should have been said before Yoruichi Toyama and the others arrived, because that group was clearly not convinced.
Instead, after glancing sideways at Akechi next to Matsumoto, he started a new round of whispering.
"But...everyone says that Manager Matsumoto is the candidate for the next section chief..."
"Yes, that's what I heard too..."
"In our department, only experienced seniors are promoted, which is completely different from the young elites favored by other departments..."
"I don't want that kind of bad influence to spread to the school!"
"..."
Taking advantage of Inspector Megure's size, the group hid in the back and each said something, giving a live demonstration of gossip.
It wasn't until Manager Matsumoto abruptly interrupted them with a shout of "Shut up!"
But he didn't seem to have figured out how to explain it either.
The subordinates' discontent stemmed, of course, from the very wisdom right before their eyes.
The resignation of Matsumoto, a leading candidate for the next section chief, has led many to believe that it was a cover-up.
This is to make way for the elite professionals.
But since they didn't name names, Matsumoto felt that reprimanding them for speaking disrespectfully to Akechi at this point would only confirm the matter.
Manager Matsumoto, who only knows how to handle cases and is not good at dealing with interpersonal relationships, is in a bit of an awkward situation.
Yoruichi Toyama chuckled softly.
"Officers, please take care," he said directly.
Instead of giving face to those who were dragging their feet on the case, they showed some respect to those who had the leisure to scheme and plot.
Akemi, who had expected him to give her another beating, was just as pleased and gracefully walked over to open the door.
"Then we won't deliver it!"
Now I remember, these two are in cahoots with that Mingzhi!
From Inspector Megure down, everyone in the Third Division had that phrase written on their faces.
But under the dual cues of the manager Matsumoto and Inspector Megure, they had no choice but to slink out of the gate one by one.
As if seeing off guests, Mingmei smiled and nodded to them, and slammed the door shut as the last person stepped out of the door.
A series of hushed curses immediately came from outside the door.
But the people inside looked at each other, their expressions showing no anger, only helplessness.
“Those guys are so rude!” said Manager Matsumoto, rising to give a slight bow to Akechi.
"I apologize on their behalf to wise managers."
Mingzhi also stood up to return the greeting, smiling and saying, "It's nothing."
“Mr. Matsumoto, you don’t need to be so polite,” Yoruichi Toyama said. “This guy must have been scolded a lot since he was a child.”
"After all, he has an annoying face."
This not-so-funny joke, however, successfully put Matsumoto, the manager, at ease.
This also gave Yoruichi Toyama and Akemi the opportunity to ask him why he resigned.
Manager Matsumoto gave a wry smile.
"An officer who was kidnapped and imprisoned by a criminal organization for several days, and was only released because he was no longer of any use, probably has no face left to stay in the First Investigation Division, right?"
A thought stirred in the heart of Yoruichi.
So, Manager Matsumoto already knows about the brewery.
He also knew that someone was impersonating him to lead the investigation.
Moreover, the case was solved smoothly.
For Matsumoto, a detective who had spent his entire life in the police force, this was an utter disgrace.
However, Mingzhi simply smiled.
"If that's the case, then I think I should resign along with Mr. Matsumoto."
"When it comes to being embarrassing, I'm second to none."
"After all, she was kidnapped by criminals and stabbed..."
While Matsumoto was still somewhat confused, Yoruichi Toyama already knew what he was referring to.
That was during the time when Gao Yuan was active as the "Puppet Master of Hell".
Because he discovered Gao Yuan's whereabouts, Mingzhi chased him to Hong Kong, only to be lured into a trap and nearly die.
It's certainly not a commendable experience, but compared to Matsumoto's management, it seems somewhat forgivable.
The Matsumoto management officer shared the same idea.
"Don't try to comfort me anymore..." he said, shaking his head and sighing.
“If I were attacked by criminals during the course of an investigation, I wouldn’t feel ashamed at all.”
"The wounds we sustain while chasing criminals are our badges of honor as criminal investigators."
"I have that kind of thing too."
As he spoke, he touched the scar on his face, and seemed quite proud of it.
"But this time it's not like that."
"I was knocked unconscious and kidnapped without knowing anything... You could say I was innocent, but I really am innocent." Manager Matsumoto sneered.
"But I'm not an ordinary citizen! I'm the superintendent of the First Investigative Division!"
"If I can't even protect myself, how can we police officers talk about protecting the safety of the public!"
"This is not just a personal disgrace, but a disgrace to the First Investigative Division and to the police force!"
"If I don't resign and shamelessly stay in this position, or... as they said, I actually became the head of the First Investigation Division..."
"What kind of cowards are we police officers?!"
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