Chapter 123 Iron Tree Blossoms
The Nagano Botanical Exhibition opened grandly on May 1st.
"The grass and trees know that spring will soon be gone, and all kinds of red and purple flowers vie for beauty. This year's plant exhibition is much more lively than in previous years!" Gao Ming stood under a magnolia tree, admiring it and sighing silently.
"You're actually admiring the flowers here?" Gansuke couldn't help but complain from the side.
"With such beautiful scenery, it would be a real shame not to appreciate it properly."
However, Gansuke clearly had no interest in admiring the flowers. He calmly whispered, "Watch out, Shiotsuki has appeared."
Gao Ming nodded knowingly and strolled leisurely and calmly toward Shiozuki Yoko.
"Hello, Shiozuki, I am Morofushi Takaaki from Nagano Headquarters." Takaaki greeted him politely.
“Hello, Morofushi-kun.” Shiozuki turned around and smiled as he replied, “I’ve heard from Manager Kuroda that you’ve been mentioned. Your performance at the Winter Olympics was quite remarkable.”
Yan Yue is 52 years old this year, which is not young considering her age and experience. However, given that she does not have a formal police academy background, her slow promotion is understandable: unlike her colleagues who graduated from police academy, Yan Yue majored in botany.
"You won the award, but actually I didn't achieve anything, and in the end I didn't catch Phantom Thief Kid."
"That show-off thief keeps challenging the authority of the police. Once we catch him, we'll definitely teach him a lesson!" Yan Yue sighed heavily, her brow furrowed with worry. "Alas! The world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be."
"You're overthinking it. Although there are one or two minor figures causing trouble everywhere, overall things are still quite peaceful."
"I think this must be because the people of Nagano are so kind and honest. Tokyo has been quite unsettled lately!"
"Oh? What happened?"
"Moryu, haven't you heard? What happened when the Superintendent General of Police went to inspect the police academy? Those students are getting more and more lawless!"
"I've heard about this." Gao Ming smiled and thought to himself that many years ago, Jing Guang was also a lawless member, adding a significant chapter to the history of police academy misconduct.
"Not only that, yesterday Inspector Hashiba of the Public Security Bureau was attacked by thugs. To openly attack a police officer is simply outrageous!" Shiozuki said through gritted teeth.
"Is Inspector Hashiba alright?" Komei asked with concern.
"I heard he's still in the hospital. I was planning to visit him, but he's still unconscious."
"Who on earth is so audacious?"
"I don't know, the Ministry of Public Security is still investigating." Shiozuki changed the subject and asked, "Morofushi, are you also from Nagano?"
"Yes."
"It's truly gratifying to have a pillar like you in the Metropolitan Police Department. Over the years, I've increasingly felt that morale is low and the team is becoming harder and harder to manage. Seeing you gives me some hope again." Shiogetsu praised Komei highly.
"I'm just an ordinary criminal investigator. My colleagues are all excellent," Gao Ming said modestly. He had thought that Shiozuki was trying to win him over, but the other party unexpectedly asked, "Zhu Fu, are you married?"
"Huh? Not yet."
"Then you'd better think about your life's most important matter."
Gao Ming maintained his composure and replied, "Thank you for your concern, but I have no plans to get married yet."
"What? Are you planning to never get married?"
"My work and life are very fulfilling now."
"Yes, yes, police officers are busy with their work, so it's not easy to find a partner! But if you keep putting it off, the older you get, the harder it will be to find a suitable partner."
"If it's true love, age won't be a problem."
"Age may not be that important when it comes to love. But it's very important when it comes to having children. Don't you want children?"
This was the first time in Gao Ming's more than ten years as a police officer that he had been pressured to get married. Although inwardly he was both amused and exasperated, his expression remained calm: "As you can see, I don't have that much time or energy..."
Yan Yue nodded in understanding: "I understand. But it's such a pity that such excellent genes as yours aren't passed on to the next generation. You know, I used to study botany. Take this tree in front of us, for example. It's extremely rare; there are only a handful in the whole world. If they can't reproduce and survive, extinction is the only path awaiting this species. Although humans don't have this worry right now, our country's birth rate is already very low. If we let it continue like this, the consequences will be very serious."
Gao Ming observed the seemingly ordinary tree in front of him. Its pinnate compound leaves and unremarkable flowers paled in comparison to other swaying, beautiful flowering trees. Curious, he asked, "I thought this was an iron tree?"
Yan Yue shook her head, smiling without saying a word. Of course, she wouldn't tell Gao Ming that this tree was more precious than any other plant in the exhibition: it was a Bennett's Cycad, which had become extinct in the Cretaceous period.
Gao Ming changed the subject and asked, "I've heard that you don't seem to have any children either."
Yan Yue said wistfully, "Yes, I haven't been very lucky... but you're different. You're still young and have many opportunities."
Gao Ming didn't quite understand what "bad luck" meant. According to Shiozuki's file, she should be unmarried and childless, but he didn't want to pry. So he asked again, "Are you here in Nagano to visit relatives this time?"
"No, I just wanted to visit. I'll be going back to Tokyo soon."
"I see. Have a safe journey."
"Thank you, and I wish you find true love soon," Yan Yue said with a smile. "Zhu Fu, if you don't plan to get married, you can also donate sperm. That would benefit many families!"
"Um... thank you, I'll consider it."
The next day, Gao Ming went to the Nagano Prefecture sperm bank center. He felt that Shiozuki's concern for his marriage, especially regarding having children, and her enthusiastic recommendation for him to donate sperm, must have some hidden reason.
To Gao Ming's surprise, he ran into an acquaintance at the gate! Although the person was disguised, Gao Ming still recognized him.
"Mr. Amuro, what a coincidence."
The golden retriever was also stunned when it saw the other person; it was truly an extremely awkward situation!
"Help! Why did I run into Jing's brother in a place like this?!"
Needless to say, all the adult men who come here have only one common purpose—to donate sperm. Amuro couldn't understand why Gao Ming was here, and for some reason, he felt a little embarrassed: what did Gao Ming think of him being here?
"Rei Furuya, wake up! Donating sperm is an honorable thing, there's nothing to be ashamed of!"
"Sperm donation can expand the country's sperm bank, bring hope to infertile families, and increase the overall fertility rate."
"Yes, that's right! Donating sperm is for this country!"
At this thought, the golden retriever, who was initially a little shy, instantly became incredibly energetic. Its eyes shone brightly, and it exuded a majestic air, just like a police dog on a mission.
"Good morning, Officer Morobushi!" Amuro greeted Komei with a booming voice, his demeanor and aura as if he were being inspected by a superior.
Gao Ming was stunned, thinking to himself: Zong Zhi, a handsome and dashing young man, raises his cup and rolls his eyes at the blue sky, as elegant as a jade tree standing in the wind. He truly deserves to be Jing Guang's close friend; he is indeed extraordinary!
He nodded knowingly and calmly stepped into the sperm bank center.
Amuro followed behind, maintaining a proper social distance, and strode in with firm, confident steps. He felt a little smug: "Kei, you never get a chance to meet your brother like this, do you?"
"Are you two here to donate sperm?" a staff member greeted them warmly.
Gao Ming showed his police ID and said, "I'm here to investigate some things."
The staff member looked somewhat bewildered: "Oh, okay, please wait a moment, I'll go find the director." Turning to Amuro, she asked, "Sir, are you here to donate sperm?"
Of course, Amuro wasn't there to donate sperm; if he wanted to, he would have to go to a sperm bank in Tokyo.
He came here to resolve a question that had troubled him greatly: What exactly did Pisco investigate in Nagano that led to his death?
Amuro noted that Piske's investigation mainly focused on institutions such as hospitals and nurseries, and this sperm bank was also within the scope of the investigation.
"Pisco seemed to be looking for someone's birth record."
Jing Ling and the others unanimously agreed that someone who could warrant such a painstaking search from an organization veteran like Pisk must be extraordinary. Perhaps this was the reason Pisk was killed, or even that this person might have a direct connection to Osiris, which explained his heightened sensitivity.
Now, we've reached a point where we have no choice but to act.
Zero believed that this matter must be thoroughly investigated before he could confidently send Jing Guang deep into the tiger's den to confront Osiris.
However, Amuro didn't ask directly, but instead asked a roundabout question: "I want to know who my father is?"
Driven by some inexplicable intuition, Amuro felt that Pisco was looking for him. If that were true, he could even feel a sliver of comfort: his father hadn't had any relationship with anyone in the organization. It was just that those people had used his father's sperm.
The staff member looked embarrassed: "I'm sorry, sir. Our donor information is confidential and we cannot disclose it."
"I suspect I've met a sibling from the same father, and I want to confirm it."
"You can get a paternity test done. Of course, we can check here too, but we won't tell you the biological father's information, we'll only say yes or no."
What if the other person has already passed away?
"Do you know the name?"
"I don't know, I only have photos," Amuro lied without batting an eye.
Taking the opportunity, Gao Ming said, "Actually, I came here to investigate a woman who bought sperm from here, but the fertilization failed or the baby died young?" Shiotsuki Yoko joined the Metropolitan Police Department 25 years ago. If she had a child, it must have been before that.
"I'd better go ask the director!"
After some questioning, Gao Ming and An Shi learned that the sperm bank center had undergone a database system upgrade more than 20 years ago. Although the data records from before that time were still preserved, they were not connected to the new system, resulting in extremely low retrieval efficiency. However, that was exactly the data they were looking for.
After searching through a vast and disorganized collection of data to no avail, Amuro impulsively typed out the name "Sharon Vineyard".
The results of the fuzzy matching surprised him: one record showed "Absinthe Vineyard".
Absinthe?!
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