·91｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·91
The curtain is about to rise on Mr. Guang's relief efforts.
On the LCD screen, Nichiuri TV was displaying the latest news. Raikawa Yomi had already finished a whole plate of chocolate chip cookies; she had originally planned to run away after eating her snacks, but the manager had just given her a task that she had to complete before she could leave.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan glanced at Mr. Lai Chuan and cleared his throat: "Dad, besides work and changing majors, there's another thing I need your help with."
"What's up."
“There’s an officer named Wataru Kubo in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau. You might need to send someone to monitor him personally, and at the same time, send someone to monitor and protect his family.”
Upon hearing this, Mr. Lai Chuan put down his hot tea and quickly returned to his focused work mode: "The reason?"
"Two months later, Wataru Kubo was found hanged in his home, and the remains of his wife and daughter were not discovered until six months later."
Mr. Lai Chuan's face darkened: "The administrator told you?"
Mr. Lai Chuan is currently unaware that the "administrator" is him in the future.
"right."
Mr. Lai Chuan lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment: "Understood, I will arrange manpower when I return to the police station later."
"Huh?" The sky outside the window, which had been dyed red by the setting sun, had faded into a dim black. Lai Chuan Huang Quan glanced at the time. "It's already this late, Dad, are you still going back to work?"
Mr. Lai rubbed his temples and sighed wearily, "Criminals don't rest just because the sun goes down."
Upon hearing this, Lai Chuan Huang Quan touched his nose, feeling a little ashamed: "Is it because I mentioned sending someone to protect you that you're working overtime at this hour, Dad?"
"Don't overthink it. I was planning to go back to the police station tonight anyway." Mr. Lai Chuan picked up his suit jacket and shook it vigorously twice. "Are you sleeping at home tonight, or are you going to see that brat again?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan pouted and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "What a brat, Dad, you're really not cute."
But Mr. Raikawa simply snorted and left, putting on his coat. To him, both Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda were just little rascals eyeing his precious daughter. Especially Kenji Hagiwara; the thought of Yomi Raikawa sending him a gift filled Mr. Raikawa with rage.
Despite his anger, Mr. Lai Chuan contacted his subordinates as soon as he returned to his office: "Send someone to keep an eye on Kubo Wataru, and arrange for two more people to protect his wife and daughter. Be careful not to get discovered."
Rei Furuya's direct superior, who was also Mr. Raikawa's subordinate, looked bewildered and uneasy when he received the call: "Mr. Raikawa, are you suspecting Wataru Kubo...? I know him. He's a long-time employee of the Ministry of Public Security and has always been loyal."
Mr. Lai Chuan tapped his fingers incessantly on the armrest of his chair, his brow furrowed: "No, I suspect that someone might harm his wife and daughters and use that to blackmail them. I don't know much about the Ministry of Public Security, but assuming someone is using his wife and daughters' lives to set a trap, are you sure he can still be 100% loyal?"
For example… ‘Send me the documents I need within one hour, or I’ll cut off one of your daughter’s fingers.’ In that situation, are you sure he’d still stand firm?”
Upon hearing this, the person on the other end hesitated: "This..."
Mr. Lai Chuan suddenly remembered his little girl at home who always clung to his arm and acted spoiled. If Lai Chuan Huang Quan were kidnapped and threatened with torture and abuse, constantly sending him videos of abuse, could he really sit still and remain silent?
Mr. Lai Chuan himself did not know.
He might be able to keep quiet, but what if the abuse intensifies? If they pull out Huang Quan's teeth one by one, gouge out her beautiful, star-like eyes, can he still hold on and not break down?
Thinking about it that way, it might actually be safer for Yomi Lai to stay with Kenji Hagiwara.
Mr. Lai Chuan sighed and instructed the person on the other end of the phone: "That's all for now. Make the arrangements quickly and then report back to me."
"yes!"
...
After devouring two full plates of bear-shaped cookies, Lai Chuan Huang Quan didn't linger. She washed her hands, placed the soft mattress from the second-floor bedroom on top of her head, and went out.
"Yosh! I'll take this super soft mattress home!" Lai Chuan Huang Quan hummed a tune, skipping and hopping along the way, overjoyed. Last time, after being transformed into a dog and taken home by Mr. Lai Chuan, Lai Chuan Huang Quan fell in love with this mattress, which she used as a trampoline. But after learning about the price and how to buy it, Lai Chuan Huang Quan decided to just take it from her dad's house; after all, it was in her bedroom, so it was practically hers anyway.
I wonder if Mr. Lai Chuan will look furious at the empty bed when he gets back, panting heavily as he tries to calm himself down while cursing his little girl in his heart for being a traitor.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan had originally planned to take a taxi, but it was Saturday and raining, so she waited a long time without being able to book a ride. Her second-year graduate student and Zhen Ping were currently helping out at the Ministry of Public Security and couldn't pick her up. With no other option, Lai Chuan Huang Quan used tape to stick plastic to the mattress as a makeshift rain shelter, carrying the mattress high up on her back all the way home.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan, so happy that her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, skipped and jumped, completely unaware that she had brushed past Gin when she was carrying the expensive custom-made mattress home.
A black Porsche 356A was parked on the side of the road. Gin leaned lazily against the passenger seat, casually lighting a cigar. He had barely slept these past few days in his investigation and to make amends, and faint dark circles had formed under his eyes.
Recent events have left Gin in a terrible mood. He still hasn't been able to find out who stole the mechanical software design that the organization had gone to so much trouble to acquire, only vaguely knowing that it was a woman. Afterwards, Gin suspected Yomi again, and he even interrogated Scotland. But Gin himself found it ridiculous; how could a woman like Yomi, who had neither muscles nor courage, possibly be someone who could make him stumble?
As Gin was pondering this, he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a short girl carrying a bed board as she approached. When he saw the woman's face clearly, Gin had an incredulous expression on his face.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan held the mattress high, using the small hairpin on her head to prop it up on her head as she walked away. As she passed the Porsche 356A, Gin could even faintly hear her humming an off-key tune through the glass window.
After Yomi Laichuan walked away, Gin slowly closed his eyes, his feelings complicated.
"What's wrong, brother? Is there something wrong with that woman?"
"Hmph, you idiot."
Gin didn't answer directly, but instead gave a cold laugh and cursed at Vodka.
Gin found it laughable that he had actually doubted this woman. She didn't seem very bright at all; how could she possibly have been sent to deal with the organization? Gin would bet that woman wasn't even as smart as Vodka.
How dare such a stupid woman threaten him?
Ha, how ridiculous.
But little did Gin know that the woman who would cause him and Vodka to both stumble was the seemingly dim-witted woman who had just swaggered past him carrying a mattress. Not only could Yomi Rikawa humiliate Gin, she had also given his real name and photograph to Rei Furuya more than three years ago.
The central system of the Administration Bureau did not provide much intelligence about the organization, after all, Yomi Yorikawa's main task was to rescue Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, not to fight against the Black Organization.
The administrator does know quite a bit of inside information.
During his lifetime, as one of the top-ranking figures in the overall command of the fight against the Black Organization, he participated in the planning of several major key aspects.
However, he was unable to offer much help to Yomi Yorikawa.
There are three reasons.
First, Mr. Lai Chuan only knows the general direction and important time points of the police's deployment against the black-clad organization.
For example, how was the arrest plan against Gin orchestrated in a certain year and month laid out, and what was the outcome; that the real forces behind the Black Organization were the Karasuma Group and the aging Karasuma Renya; and what evidence they possessed that could definitively prove the Black Organization's innocence. He knew nothing about many trivial details. For instance, how the undercover agents in the Ministry of Public Security discovered clues and followed them to find possible evidence; and what unexpected dangers occurred on the battlefield during the final battle with the Black Organization.
Just like the boss of a large company, he can know how the company is planned and operated, and which company signed a big deal this year, but he can't know how many times the salesperson talked to the partner before the deal was successful, or how many plans the marketing department secretly developed before finalizing the result.
As the person in charge of the overall operation, Mr. Raikawa couldn't possibly be aware of every little detail. Moreover, besides the Black Organization, he also had to oversee other sectors—Japan has more than just this one potential threat to the nation and its people. At least the person who killed the first Phantom Thief Kid belonged to another faction.
Secondly, and most importantly, the police currently lack sufficient evidence. At this point in time, many things haven't even happened yet, and the police department doesn't have enough evidence. The police can't arrest people for things that haven't happened; that would cause panic among the public.
To give an inappropriate example, imagine a policeman suddenly rushing out, pointing at someone and saying, "You're going to kill someone in the future, so I'm arresting you and having the prosecutor sentence you to life imprisonment."
This will cause a great deal of shock in society.
Ordinary people will only think that this is a game of capital, a frame-up, a trap, and a fabricated charge.
If the police can arrest someone on the grounds that they "will commit crimes in the future," and the prosecution can sentence someone to ten or eight years in prison on the same grounds, wouldn't we be the next victim?
I've taken a liking to your wife, so I'm accusing you of "committing crimes in the future"; I want to take over your company, so you'll commit crimes in the future; I like your family heirloom... I say you'll commit crimes, so you will. Anyway, it's all in the future, who knows? You have no way to prove you won't commit crimes.
The law only punishes what has already happened.
If the hammer of justice is not restrained, it will only turn into another form of persecution.
Even if the administrator had a god-like perspective, knowing that there was a group of people who committed all sorts of evil deeds and harmed society, he could do nothing until he had solid evidence.
Even if he were willing to tell everything to Yomi Laichuan, who would then relay it to Mr. Laichuan, would the National Police Agency really obey orders and make an arrest without solid evidence simply because Mr. Laichuan is a "high-ranking official"? That's impossible.
If the National Police Agency arrests people arbitrarily based solely on the opinion of a high-ranking official, then it does not deserve to be the righteous institution for which people like Mr. Ryokawa and Rei Furuya have dedicated themselves and worked so hard.
Thirdly, the list held by the administrator only includes key members of the organization. He has no idea about or remember the list of lower- and middle-level members, such as Karasuma Renya, Vermouth, and Gin.
Even if the entire police department were obsessed and willing to make arrests without solid evidence, they could only apprehend a few key figures at most. The key is to catch the ringleader first, but if only the ringleader is caught and the criminals aren't, the group of criminals will still endanger society. If, at that point, another criminal with organizational skills emerges, they could gradually develop into a second Black Organization.
All the administrators can do now is to make the most of the available information to minimize the harm and casualties that have not yet occurred.
Unlike the administrator's anxious state of mind, Yomi Yorikawa only wanted to save those who needed saving, complete the mission properly, and then stay behind. Even her wish to help Morofushi Kagemitsu and Date Wataru was something Yomi Yorikawa added on the spot after learning from the administrator during her third playthrough that they would also die in the line of duty.
When Date Wataru and Morofushi Kagemitsu were added to the relief list, the administrator explicitly told Yomi Raikawa: "Strictly speaking, they are not part of your wish, and you have not paid the price for them. So even if Morofushi Kagemitsu or Date Wataru dies, as long as Matsuda and Hagiwara survive, the Administration will consider the mission complete. You have no chance to start over, understand?"
"I see."
It's cruel, but it's an undeniable fact: for Yomi Yorikawa in the past, Date Wataru and Morofushi Kagemitsu were merely "close friends of important people," nothing more. Yomi Yorikawa's relationship with them back then wasn't even as close as it is now. They were only temporarily added to the relief list because they were important to Hagiwara and Matsuda.
However, now, Raikawa Yomi, carrying the mattress stolen from the Raikawa mansion, happily got into Date Wataru's car, which happened to be passing by.
Wataru Date has received his transfer notice; in a few months, he will be transferred from a local police station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. This also means that the countdown to the deaths of Kagemitsu Morofushi and Jinpei Matsuda is about to begin.
[Author's Note]
I didn't get home until almost 11 PM yesterday, so I'm very sorry I couldn't update. As compensation, I'll be giving out red envelopes in the comments section for this chapter, and the rings will be available at 8 PM on November 2nd.
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I'll be revising the logical inconsistencies in my old article "Color" over the next few days, and I might also include the if-fact statements from that book. I'll continue to update daily here. Regardless of the book, if you have any if-fact statements you'd like to see or any parts you think need correction, please let me know, and I'll fix them all.
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