Meanwhile, the police station in the French Concession of Shanghai was also in complete chaos.
French consul Alphonse was accompanying a Japanese officer to the morgue to claim the bodies of Masaki Hase and his two attendants.
Japanese officer Kyohei Asakawa's face was ashen as he stared at the three corpses before him, each riddled with bullets. He recognized all three men; they were his colleagues, including Masaki Hase.
After confirming the bodies, Asakawa Kyohei turned to Alphonse and said coldly, "These three are officers of our Japanese military. They died in your concession area. You have to give us an explanation and hand over the murderer, or you will bear all the consequences!"
Alphonse was also looking very annoyed. This had happened out of nowhere, and he was completely baffled. Right now, the Japanese were at the height of their arrogance, and the Western powers, emboldened by their great victory, had no choice but to back down for the time being. None of the concessions wanted to get entangled with them.
"Mr. Asakawa, we had an agreement that your officials must report in advance when entering our various concessions so that we can take appropriate protective measures."
Your people entered the concession without any prior notice. We only discovered they were your people when the incident occurred, and that's when we notified you.
"As you all know, the vast majority of people in the concession are Chinese, and the animosity between you has a long history. If you enter on your own, we cannot guarantee what might happen!" Alphonse said, spreading his hands in a rather helpless manner.
Asakawa Kyohei glared and said sternly, "You're just shirking responsibility. We want to hold you accountable and you must hand over the murderer within a specified period. Otherwise, we'll find him ourselves, and then we can't guarantee the safety of your concession."
Asakawa Kyohei's words were extremely forceful, practically a blatant threat, which made Alphonse very uncomfortable. He retorted, not to be outdone, "Mr. Asakawa, of course we will investigate these murderers, but not because your officials were shot, but because the safety of our concession residents was threatened. As for your dissatisfaction, please go through diplomatic channels and negotiate with His Excellency the Consul General. Now, please retrieve the bodies of your personnel."
After saying that, he asked Detective Lei Daming of the police station behind him, "Have you examined the body yet?"
Lei Daming quickly nodded and said, "Mr. Alphonse, the body has been examined, and they can take it now."
Alphonse turned to Kyohei Asakawa and gestured, but didn't say a word, clearly having run out of patience to waste time with him.
Kyohei Asakawa was also helpless; his mission was only to claim the bodies, and he wasn't qualified enough to actually negotiate with the French consulate.
He glared hatefully at the Chinese agents beside him, then waved for several Japanese soldiers behind him to come forward and carry the body. A short while later, the group hurriedly left.
The detectives in the police station watched them leave with cold eyes. Lei Daming stepped forward and said to Alphonse, "Mr. Alphonse, the Japanese are too arrogant in our French Concession. What does it matter to us if they die?"
At this point, he leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice to ask, "Are you really going to investigate? Or are you just going to stall?"
Alphonse touched the bridge of his nose, quite hesitant. The Japanese had tried to extend their influence into various concessions many times, and they had always found it difficult to stop them. Now that someone was going to teach the Japanese a lesson and make them suffer in the French Concession, he was happy to see it happen.
However, as he had said before, he couldn't pretend not to see such a big shooting incident in the French Concession. He asked in a low voice, "Go and investigate whether it was done by your Green Gang. How did it become such a big deal? Since Mr. Yue left, the security in the French Concession has been getting worse and worse. You are Detective Hua, so you need to do these things well, suppress the matter, and not keep causing me trouble."
Lei Daming's face fell. He was a disciple of the Tong generation in the Green Gang and had great power and connections within the gang. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become a detective.
The Green Gang is currently undergoing a major reshuffle. Since Boss Yue left, all the big shots have been using various methods to compete for the position of the top leader, and the security situation has naturally deteriorated a lot. But to make such a big move is really not the behavior of the Green Gang.
At the very least, the targets of the attack are wrong. When the Green Gang fights, the targets are naturally members of the Green Gang. But the dead and wounded are Japanese and merchants in the concession. This is clearly not right!
Besides, he had also examined the shooting scene, and it was clearly not the style of a gang. This must have been the work of a gangster, which would make the case very difficult to investigate.
Hearing Alphonse's words, he had no choice but to nod and agree, "Okay, I'll look into it right away and make sure to cover it up. I won't trouble you!"
Alphonse knew that maintaining order in the French Concession depended on these local bullies. He didn't want to say anything more, so he waved and turned to leave.
Watching Alphonse leave, Radar Ming didn't dare to delay. Alphonse's meaning was clear: the murderer still needed to be investigated, but it should be done discreetly and not go too far.
He knew this case was definitely not ordinary, and he needed to be prepared. He quickly left the police station, drove his own car, and soon arrived at the residence of his mentor, Chen Ting.
Upon entering Chen's mansion, the gang members at the entrance saw that it was Lei Daming and quickly made way for him. Lei Daming went straight to the study, knocked on the door, and entered.
Chen Ting was a senior figure in the Green Gang with considerable power and influence. He was also a strong supporter of Lei Daming. Lei Daming was able to become a detective chief thanks to Chen Ting's strong support, so Lei Daming would report to him immediately if anything happened.
Looking up and seeing Lei Daming enter, Chen Ting smiled and asked, "Is it about Fu Yaozu being shot today? I heard the Japanese were involved?"
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