·43｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·43
The meeting between Raikawa and [unclear - possibly referring to a specific person or organization].
In the office on the left side of the corridor on the top floor of the police station, locked metal cabinets lined the wall, containing highly confidential files that were of great importance to the police station.
Mr. Lai Chuan did not turn on the lights, but only opened the curtains a crack. Sunlight streamed straight into the room through the crack, forming a parallel beam of light that fell directly on Rei Furuya's face, illuminating half of his features.
Mr. Raikawa sat behind his desk, hidden in the darkness. Rei Furuya could only make out Mr. Raikawa's silhouette and the crimson cigarette dart flickering between his fingertips.
Exposing every detail of the target's expressions to the light of day while remaining hidden in the shadows is a common interrogation technique used by superiors when dealing with subordinates who are skilled in intelligence gathering and interrogation.
But Mr. Raikawa first chatted with Rei Furuya about his daily work, then slowly took a sip of tea from the teacup on the table before getting to the point.
"Are you investigating my daughter?"
Rei Furuya subtly tightened the muscles in his fingers, his face remaining calm: "I'm just doing my job."
Mr. Raikawa didn't speak; he simply stared intently at Rei Furuya. Even so, he exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure, making it hard to breathe.
Rei Furuya knew that lying to Mr. Ryokawa was not a wise move.
Firstly, the other party was a senior member of the police department who had joined the force earlier than him. Judging from his position, Mr. Lai Chuan must have also entered the police academy as a professional.
Secondly, the other party was his superior. They were also people whose true identities had been erased, silently guarding the boundary between light and darkness. He should report the truth to his superior.
Rei Furuya answered without looking away, "Ms. Raikawa appeared near a bar associated with the organization. I simply checked everyone I thought might be a suspect. As you know, Commander Raikawa, as an undercover agent, I have to be careful."
Mr. Raikawa neither confirmed nor denied it, but instead posed an unrelated question: "Who is Kurosawa Jin?"
Furuya Rei didn't dare blink. He knew that Mr. Raikawa must have obtained the complete information—about who he had searched for on the Ministry of Public Security's search software.
"He's from the organization, codename Gin."
How did you know?
Furuya Rei calmed his breathing and looked intently at the man in the darkness: "Morofushi Kagemitsu, he found out from over there, but since we don't know if it's true or not, I'm the one who's going to retrieve the information."
Rei Furuya knew he should tell the truth, but after only a very brief moment of hesitation, he chose to protect the impulsive witch from another world.
Mr. Lai Chuan didn't speak again. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers resting on the back of his forehead. The silence was so intense that the air seemed to be compressed to its limit, and a bead of sweat quietly rolled down Rei Furuya's back.
The second hand ticked round and round before Mr. Lai Chuan finally spoke slowly: "Lai Chuan Huang Quan, I would like to meet this lady. You can act as my liaison; the time and place are up to you."
Falling Valley Zero:! ! !
Mr. Lai Chuan said coldly, "Alright, get out."
"……yes."
After Furuya Rei left the room, Mr. Raikawa turned around and drew back the curtains behind him.
Golden sunlight streamed through the one-way mirror, illuminating the entire room. Mr. Raikawa lifted the photo frame that had been turned upside down on the table since Rei Furuya entered the room, and carefully wiped it with a soft handkerchief he pulled from the drawer.
In the photo, Mr. Lai Chuan, whose black hair has only just begun to sprout a few strands of white, carries his beloved only daughter on his shoulders. His ex-wife, who has long been divorced from him, is holding his arm, smiling happily.
Even Mr. Raikawa had to admit that Rei Furuya was an extremely talented newcomer.
They are calm and collected in the face of adversity, capable of managing the overall situation, and possess outstanding personal abilities. Such people, given the experience and refinement over time, will undoubtedly become extremely powerful.
When Mr. Raikawa learned that Rei Furuya had investigated his daughter, his first thought was of the security system in his home that had malfunctioned.
A few days ago, the security system at Mr. Lai Chuan's villa malfunctioned, resulting in a large number of blurry and missing images. However, equipment can malfunction at any time, and after inspecting the system, Mr. Lai Chuan accepted the possibility that the security system was experiencing a natural malfunction.
The initial casual conversation with Rei Furuya serves two purposes: firstly, it lowers Rei's guard, and secondly, it allows the reporter to roughly determine where he has been these past few days by inquiring about his recent work progress.
The answer given by Rei Furuya matched the answers given by other police officers who were responsible for cooperating with Rei Furuya's work, proving that he had indeed not broken into the Raikawa family's house.
But to think that this would dispel Mr. Raikawa's doubts would be to underestimate him.
Mr. Lai Chuan used reverse reasoning to directly retrieve information on all women named "Lai Chuan Huang Quan" from the archives, quickly identifying another Lai Chuan Huang Quan.
After integrating the information at hand and making some deductions, Mr. Raikawa immediately realized that Furuya Rei must know Raikawa Yomi, and that they were likely to have a close relationship.
but……
This is really too strange.
Whether it's the face of that Yomi Lai Chuan, or her relationship with the Metropolitan Police Department's SWAT team.
Mr. Lai Chuan pressed the power button on his laptop with his phone, opened the information about the ace of the mobile squad sent by his subordinate, frowned, and fell into deep thought again.
Mr. Raikawa had heard of the two ace rookies of the mobile unit before, but he had never seen them before, not even a picture of them.
Even so, the moment Mr. Raikawa opened the photos of the two snipers from his subordinates, he immediately realized one thing clearly—he had seen the young faces of these two snipers in the distant, almost blurry past.
Outside the imposing police headquarters building, Furuya Rei drove away and headed straight for the apartment where Yomi Raikawa was staying. He sat down on the sofa with his head down, full of apology, and said, "I'm sorry, my boss... he wants to see you."
"Huh?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan was stuffing bear-shaped cookies into her mouth when she heard this and froze.
Rei Furuya turned his head away, avoiding Yomi's gaze: "I also want to protect you, but he's older and more experienced than me, I..."
He took a deep breath and finally uttered only one sentence: "I'm sorry."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan stuffed two more biscuits into his mouth: "Why does he want to see me?"
Rei Furuya told the truth: "The 'Yomi Yomi' you want to investigate is his daughter. But don't worry, I didn't say anything I shouldn't have."
“Hmm,” Raikawa Yomi had already finished a whole bag of bear-shaped cookies and was now holding a bottle of yogurt, slurping it loudly. “But Mr. Furuya, I’m a little surprised that you would be willing to protect me.”
Rei Furuya slumped back on the sofa, letting out a long sigh. "If this had happened a few days ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd do this. But since Matsuda and the others want me to believe you..."
He forced a smile and said, "Besides, you also bear the mission of saving my important contemporaries. Although we know the cause and time of their deaths, who knows if the butterfly effect will lead to even greater despair?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan casually replied, "I thought it was because we're friends."
Rei Furuya paused for a moment before replying, "Well, you could say we became friends after a fight."
Although it was entirely one-sided that Furuya Rei was beaten up by Yomi Raikawa, he had never been beaten like this when he first befriended Matsuda Jinpei.
Thinking of this, Furuya Rei glanced subtly at the woman who had caused him such a humiliation: "What do you plan to do about my boss's situation?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, and then accepted: "Tomorrow afternoon, you can choose the location."
"OK, leave it to me."
The appointed day arrived quickly. Lai Chuan Huang Quan repeatedly tidied her appearance in front of the mirror before nervously getting into Hagiwara Kenji's car—Furuya Rei couldn't personally drive her there.
Before getting off the bus, Kenji Hagiwara ruffled Yomi Raikawa's hair and asked, "Did you put on the listening device?"
“Yes, I’ve got it all,” Lai Chuan Huang Quan said, rubbing her fingers on the hem of her skirt. “But is this really a good thing? You’re the ones who are eavesdropping on my conversation with a high-ranking police official.”
Kenji Hagiwara smiled, raised a finger to his lips, and winked at Yomi Laichuan, tossing a little star at her: "I'm just worried you'll get bullied, so remember to keep it a secret for us."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan pouted and entered the agreed restaurant, turning back every few steps.
Inside the completely enclosed private room, Mr. Lai Chuan was already seated. He hadn't ordered any food, only a pot of expensive oolong tea imported from China.
As the door was pulled open, Mr. Raikawa turned to look at Raikawa Yomi standing in the doorway: "Please have a seat."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan was initially so nervous that her heart was practically leaping out of her throat, but the moment she opened the door, she suppressed all the agitation in her heart and put on a calm and composed demeanor. Lai Chuan Huang Quan smiled, gave the man a slight bow, and then gracefully sat down opposite him.
The waiter, summoned by the service bell, respectfully handed over two menus. Lai Chuan Huang Quan half-stood the hard-cover menu and, under the guise of picking out dishes, secretly sized up Mr. Lai Chuan.
Photos can distort a person's features to some extent. Now, face to face with her up close, Lai Chuan Huang Quan felt more and more that her features did indeed look very much like the man in front of her, especially her eyes.
Thinking this through, Yomi Laichuan became even more certain of her theory that she was a copy of the red-haired Yomi.
After the waiter took the menu and left, Mr. Lai Chuan spoke gently: "I'm sorry to have made you come all this way for an old man like me."
Mr. Lai Chuan smiled politely and said, "Not at all."
Despite her composed and calm demeanor, she was actually so nervous that she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan thought the man would interrogate her, and the two engaged in a thrilling battle of wits and a wonderful test of their abilities.
But Mr. Lai Chuan only asked some irrelevant questions from beginning to end, such as which district Lai Chuan Huang Quan lived in; who his parents were; what he studied; and what his hobbies were.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan, with his beady eyes, was taken aback by Mr. Lai Chuan's question.
What's going on here?!
Shouldn't their interaction be a battle of wits between wise men? Why does this feel like an elder asking questions during a holiday?
Is Mr. Lai Chuan going to pat her on the shoulder and tell her to work hard, and then introduce her to a blind date of similar age?
Mr. Raikawa seemed completely unaware of Raikawa Yomi's restraint and embarrassment. He blew away the steam from the rim of his teacup and slowly asked, "Where do you work now?"
"Ah... um... I..."
—Actually, he is an unemployed bum.
But I don't dare to say it out loud. I always have this strange feeling of being lectured by the headmaster, which is very oppressive.
Just as Lai Chuan Huang Quan was so engrossed in her questioning that she wished she could dig a hole and escape, her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She forced an apologetic smile at Mr. Lai Chu, apologized softly, and then took out her phone.
It was a message from Rei Furuya.
— "Be careful, don't let your guard down."
Mr. Lai Chuan took a sip of tea: "A friend?"
"No, it's just spam."
Mr. Lai Chuan gave Lai Chuan Huang Quan a meaningful look and said slowly, "These spam text messages really need to be dealt with properly."
After saying that, he tilted his head back and sipped his tea carefully, not saying another word until the dishes were served.
The cooked curry emitted a fragrant aroma. Mr. Lai Chuan scooped up a large spoonful of curry rice and casually remarked, "Carrots are known as 'little ginseng' because they are rich in nutrients and have many benefits. But nowadays, young people are picky eaters, and many don't like to eat them."
Mr. Lai Chuan put the curry rice into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it before continuing, "Some people like to eat raw food and not cooked food, while others only eat cooked food and not raw food. I like both."
He scooped up a piece of carrot and put it in his mouth, his expression softening as if he were enjoying the taste on his tongue: "Miss Lai Chuan, what do you think of the taste of the carrot? Do you prefer it raw or cooked?"
"Hmm?" Lai Chuan Huang Quan was puzzled by the question. She blinked and thought carefully for a moment. "I don't think I like to eat any of them."
“Is that so?” Mr. Raikawa said calmly. “That’s a real shame, it’s a good thing.”
After saying that, he put another big spoonful of curry rice into his mouth.
Until the end of the meal, Mr. Raikawa only discussed the nutritional value and taste of the vegetables with Yomi Raikawa, without mentioning anything else. This strange yet harmonious scene made it seem as if Mr. Raikawa was not a highly intimidating stranger, but rather a distant relative who had come from afar to have a meal with Yomi Raikawa, a younger relative.
But after parting ways with Lai Chuan Huang Quan, Mr. Lai Chuan opened the car door and sat in the back seat of a black private car, his eyes suddenly darkening.
The car started slowly. Mr. Lai Chuan remained silent for a long time before instructing his subordinate in the front passenger seat: "Find two experienced people to keep a close eye on the movements of the two Lai Chuan Huang Quan."
"Two people?"
"My daughter, and that lady who shares the same name as my daughter. Don't follow them too closely, I just need to know their general movements."
The subordinate looked puzzled, but still agreed without hesitation: "Yes, I'll take care of it right away."
[Author's Note]
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