Chapter 25, Chapter 24: Warning, warning, warning. ...
Zero, I'm back from my escapades! (crossed out)
"...Zhu Fu?"
In an atmosphere that defies easy comprehension, Ita Wataru was the first to speak out.
"Are we on a mission?" The squad leader slapped the back of his head, looked at the tense-faced Furuya Rei, and then at Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had an unfamiliar face, and tentatively asked, "Is that a jammer in your hand? Can I speak freely now?"
Please forgive a detective who has never seen these things before. He can be very knowledgeable about encyclopedias of murder weapons and murder diagrams, but he is not very clear about these kinds of gadgets that are popular in the undercover business.
“Yes, I’ve replaced the surveillance cameras, and the doctors and nurses are changing shifts. It’s safe here now.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at his silent childhood friend. After that moment of emotional outburst, the friend’s lips flattened, and his expression became indifferent and calm.
The grayish eyes in the shadows concealed all the strangeness from before, and looked at him with doubt and wariness, as if he had accidentally bumped into a strange stranger on the street and was forcibly dragged into telling him stories that had nothing to do with him.
The white knuckles on the lunchbox betrayed the turmoil in his heart, but the disguise was still perfect, at least to outsiders it was flawless.
Date Wataru and Matsuda Jinpei exchanged a glance. The curly-haired officer zipped up his lip and lay down next to the sleeping Hagiwara Kenji, quietly watching the two acting masters go over the script.
So Date Wataru also remained silent, leaving the conversation entirely to the two of them.
“I didn’t know anything about your surroundings before, but now that we’ve met unexpectedly, it might actually be a good time, so I made a decision on the spur of the moment.”
Morobuchi Kagemitsu blinked his blue-gray eyes, but did not press his childhood friend further. He simply tossed the signal jammer in his hand to the other party from a distance.
"It's been so long, I'm not sure if the code is still the same."
He watched as Rei Furuya finished examining the device, casually placed the box on the table beside him, and looked into those grey eyes, smiling as he said, "But you'll probably think it's a stolen password."
“So I changed it.” He pondered for a moment and then recited a long string of numbers.
The numbers were grouped in sets of three or four, arranged in a jumbled pattern with no discernible rule. But as the numbers were announced, Furuya Rei's hands began to tremble slightly, almost uncontrollably.
Matsuda Jinpei propped his head up on one side, and among the numbers being called out, he heard a few familiar strings of numbers. He thoughtfully reached out and poked Hagiwara Kenji's forehead, watching the other man move his head in response to the touch without realizing it.
Well, hagi, the two people you've been talking about are right in front of you now.
After confirming that his childhood friend was alright, the curly-haired police officer, relieved, curled the corners of his mouth and poked the helpless childhood friend a couple more times, thinking mischievously.
I will absolutely not recount today's events to you.
If you don't want to miss out on more, wake up now!
This is a very long string of numbers. If it were an officially prescribed code, it would not be like this. Matsuda Jinpei is certain that this should be the initial code set between Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei, and it may not have been changed twice.
At the same time, this is also a code that records the timeline and event timeline, because Matsuda Jinpei heard the dormitory room numbers of the five people in the same period inside. The five people's dormitories were either on different floors or not next to each other, which made the code seem even more irregular.
After finishing reciting the last few sets of numbers, Morobushi Kagemitsu thought for a moment and then added two more sets of four-digit numbers.
Once you have a clear idea, decoding becomes much easier.
After a moment's thought, Matsuda Jinpei realized that it was probably a date from last year or several years ago, which, when combined with today's date, became the end of this long string of numbers.
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Morofushi Kagemitsu said with a smile to Furuya Rei, whose face was frozen in a daze, “Adding these two sets of numbers would better prove that it’s me, wouldn’t it?”
1207 — He thought he had to flee to the underworld, leaving Zero alone in the darkness of yesterday.
1107 — and today, after nearly a year of wandering and struggling following his death, he was finally able to reunite with Yili.
It was indeed a beautiful day. The bright sunlight streamed generously into the room, which still smelled of burn ointment, and darted across the white walls, the plain white bedding, the police badge of Date Kou, and Matsuda Jinpei's sunglasses.
Finally, the light shone into Morofushi Kagemitsu's blue-gray eyes, and into Furuya Rei's pale gray eyes, creating a shimmering sea.
His pale golden bangs swayed slightly as he looked up at the young man walking towards him. As he raised his head, his gray eyes gradually turned purplish-gray with the light.
His eyes were filled with astonishment, doubt, and disbelief as he stared intently at the newcomer. For a moment, he dared not breathe, or even blink, for fear that the newcomer was merely a fleeting mirage.
Morofushi Kagemitsu stepped forward, raised his hand and tightly grasped his childhood friend's shoulder, gently repeating again, "I'm sorry, Zero, for leaving you there all alone."
"I didn't die, I'm back."
Rei Furuya slowly exhaled, closed his eyes as his heartbeat grew louder, then quickly opened them again, only to find that the person in front of him had not disappeared.
The miracle the world had bestowed upon him was thus returned to his embrace—Morofushi Kagemitsu was still standing there.
“...hiro.”
This ordinary hospital room, which could barely be described as soundproof, suddenly became impregnable. Rei Furuya, who had always strictly adhered to his persona, suddenly shed the disguise of Tooru Amuro and reverted to the police academy honor student that Jinpei Matsuda and Wataru Date were more familiar with.
All the sharpness, stubbornness, and dazzling passion hidden beneath Amuro Tooru's gentle exterior surged forth in an instant. The blond, dark-skinned man smiled genuinely, without uttering any pretentious words, simply following his heart and opening his arms wide to his childhood friend.
Two people who had been separated for nearly a year embraced in the hospital room, patting each other's backs with all their might, like two gorillas expressing their feelings in the simplest way.
"Okay—hurry up and give me the sandwich, waiter."
Matsuda Jinpei tolerated them for three minutes before interrupting the heartwarming scene before him. The curly-haired police officer sat in his chair with his arms crossed and looked at the two who had turned around. As always, he targeted Furuya Rei and said, "Why are you only now recognizing Mr. Jing? Didn't I tell you a week ago?"
"Huh? You mean I should act based on your baseless intuition?" Furuya Rei sneered, crossing his arms as he looked at the arrogant Matsuda Jinpei, and said, "Do you know how difficult it is to investigate someone, especially someone who is good at erasing traces?"
"Perhaps it's harder than defusing a bomb in three minutes," Matsuda Jinpei said with feigned modesty. "The blond-haired master has really grown in these three years."
The purplish-gray eyes and the jet-black eyes stared at each other, one at a higher elevation, while crackling sparks of electricity began to collide violently above the two hospital beds.
"Alright, alright, I can tell that you two haven't changed at all in three years." Date Wataru laughed heartily, walked over and bumped fists with Furuya Rei, teasing the two guys who had arranged to fight in private not long after the start of the semester: "But unfortunately, fighting is not allowed in the woods below the hospital."
"Class monitor, congratulations on your transfer to Tokyo." Furuya Rei naturally knew that this was just a joke between friends to liven things up, and quickly put this little thing behind him, sincerely offering the class monitor this belated blessing, "Now you and Miss Natalie don't have to live apart anymore."
"Well, that's true." When talking about his girlfriend, Ida Wataru's tough face couldn't help but soften. This long-term relationship, which started in their student days, is finally slowly reaching its culmination, and they still have a long way to go together.
"But let's not talk about that." Date Wataru glanced at Matsuda Jinpei, who was nudging Hagiwara Kenji with disdain, and skipped over this topic that was bound to upset the four single guys present. He then moved on to the matter at hand. "From what you guys are saying, Furuya, you thought Morofushi was dead before?"
"After you graduated, you stopped replying to our messages. Matsuda, Hagiwara, and I all guessed that you had probably joined the Public Security Bureau to carry out undercover activities."
"But it seems you're all undercover agents within the same organization?" Date Wataru said, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Who on earth would place two police officers with such closely related identities into the same organization?
Putting aside the fact that this would be a huge test for two people who already know each other to act like complete strangers in a pack of wolves, it would also be a huge waste of manpower.
“I was also taken aback when I met Zero.” Standing next to Rei Furuya, Morofushi Kagemitsu raised his eyebrows in a helpless smile and said, “To be honest, even the Public Security Bureau has different departments, and their information sharing is obviously not as efficient as we expected.”
This is why, when a police undercover agent belonging to the Metropolitan Police Department was nervously participating in the Black Organization's first competency test, he faced off directly against a police undercover agent from the Metropolitan Police Department who walked in with a similarly cold expression.
If everyone hadn't arrived right on time, Morofushi Kagemitsu would have stopped abruptly just as Rai, who was also there to take the test, walked up behind him, promptly reminding the man whose mind had been momentarily blank. This allowed him to successfully mask his shock at seeing his childhood friend as wariness of the people inside the room.
“I haven’t been in contact with Zero for a year. The reason is probably... I’m practically dead in a social sense now.” Morofushi Kagemitsu carefully chose his words, answering Date Wataru’s question but not going into further detail.
The man with the strange dog-like eyes focused his gaze on the two injured men lying on the bed. Without wasting the precious time for this security meeting, he got straight to the point: "The undercover work is too dangerous. I shouldn't have involved you."
"Of course, I don't intend to tell you anything deeper, as that would only put you in danger." Morofushi Kagemitsu's face turned serious, and his voice was gentle yet unyielding as he informed his two unsuspecting colleagues. He then gestured for Matsuda Jinpei, who was about to speak with a frown, to stop.
"But after today, I think you need to know some basic things." He exchanged a glance with Rei Furuya, shook his head slightly at his childhood friend to indicate that they could discuss the details later, and then spoke to the two who had also become serious.
"Because you need to be aware of the dangers around you, pay attention to her, be careful of her, and don't easily give her your trust."
Morofushi Kagemitsu's gaze fell on Matsuda Jinpei, his voice gentle yet carrying a cold, ruthless air tinged with bloodlust.
The Japanese words for "he," "she," and "it" are all different, and this almost blatant hint immediately drew everyone's attention to the black-haired girl sleeping soundly on the hospital bed. The child was breathing quietly and steadily, and her small, delicate face, having lost its former vitality, seemed to show a hint of fragility.
"Matsuda, the Hagiwara affair is most likely related to Zhuge Liang," Morofushi Kagemitsu continued calmly. "Of course, I'm referring to the positive aspects."
"But please be careful, this child is a ticking time bomb."
"Why?" Matsuda Jinpei propped himself up on the hospital bed and asked his equally direct question to his composed colleague, "Why should I be wary of an elementary school student? Who is she?"
Date Wataru also looked puzzled. He countered with his most irrefutable personal experience: "Morofushi, I have quite a lot of contact with this child on a regular basis. She is not much different from other precocious children."
In his daily cases, he had a lot of contact with Zhuge Tongzhi, who always acted with the Junior Detective League. He also had a lot of conversations with this child who played the role of a 'parent' in the team, just like Conan and Ai Haibara. He asked him some tricky questions from a different perspective than Matsuda Jinpei.
"If she's dangerous and requires the care of us adults, why are you putting her among a bunch of defenseless children?"
"I cannot say more." But Morofushi Kagemitsu shook his head, decisively ending the topic unilaterally.
“I don’t understand, Mr. Jing…” Matsuda Jinpei was about to ask again when he saw Morofushi Kagemitsu shake the signal jammer in his hand. The indicator light on the edge of the box turned into a solid red light. Furuya Rei walked to the door, shook his head at him, and gently turned the deadbolt button.
A few seconds after the door was unlocked, a series of light but rapid knocks sounded on the door, followed by several cheerful children's voices outside: "Hello! We've come to see Zhuge!"
The Junior Detective League has arrived.
Matsuda Jinpei shut his mouth and went back to his original position, watching Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei quickly put on their own personas, gently inviting the three noisy children into the house, taking the various snacks they brought and placing them on the bedside table, their smiles, though different in style, were incredibly sincere.
As Morofushi Kagemitsu watched the children pester Date Wataru with questions about the details of capturing the bomber, he turned to Professor Agasa, who was grinning sheepishly at the door, and asked, "Aren't you coming in, Professor? The ward is quite spacious."
"Ah... haha, I'm a little thirsty, I'll go downstairs and buy a bottle of water first!"
"There are disposable cups in the room, if you don't mind..."
Amidst the polite conversation, Ai Haibara hid behind Professor Agasa's chubby figure, tightly covering her mouth, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Suppressing her almost desperate need for oxygen, she laboriously moved step by step to the side wall, in a blind spot of Midorikawa Hikaru's sight.
There are organized people there.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Boss Jing started talking about danger, staying away, and time bombs, then began to act like a riddle teller.
Making delicious rice balls for breakfast without saying a word.
...
As expected, everyone who watches Ke Tong's videos develops their reasoning skills.
A cute commenter in the comments section revealed the foreshadowing I had planted!
From the moment Zhuge was adopted by the counterfeit liquor company, her identity was destined to be inextricably linked to the liquor factory.
However, the little cutie only guessed part of it correctly (shaking her head).
(But I won't tell you the truth! Detectives! Find the answer yourselves!)
...
Another big announcement is that this book will be available for purchase (VIP)!
Wow, thanks to everyone's support, I've made it to the favorites list! (Tears of joy)
This Sunday it will be a paid subscription.
Then, starting from Chapter 21 (Chapter 20 in the title), it will be a VIP chapter. The previous 20 chapters, totaling 100,000 words, are all free for everyone to read (heart emoji).
When we wake up on Sunday morning, we'll see a three-in-one super fat stamp (yay!).
You'll come, won't you? (shyly)
...
Thank you all for your continued support.
Without you all, I wouldn't have the motivation to write every day.
Mwah
(This is the Nth time I've dragged Xiao Ke and Zhuge out to send everyone a heart emoji.)
Finally, let me recommend my other saplings that are waiting to be planted:
[Marvel/DC Crossover] My Brother Was 1.37 Meters Tall That Year: Original No-CP Female Lead, Damian Clone Who Traveled from the Future to the Past
[Detective] Watson is completely enraged: An adventure story featuring an AI-powered blue whale, Sherlock Holmes, and Watson (Inspiration: Holy crap, Watson is completely enraged)
【Ouran High School Host Club】This World Needs a Host Club: A future human heroine disguises herself as a man and becomes a melancholic male host to provide services online (CP x Kyoya Ootori)
If you enjoy playing a game as much as I do, then you might like this:
[Marvel/DC Crossover] Please accept my candle: It's already 170,000 words, and it's all free! I'm doing this out of love!
[Curse Return] Call my ancestor to beat you up: A little wild idea, because I hate the endings of Wu and Jie, shipping Wuxia.
I hope to see all the cuties on the rest of the trip!
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