About half a month passed, and Hirayama Jiro seemed to have vanished into thin air, never to be seen again.
Fujiwara Company kept raising the reward amount, until it reached 200,000 yen, which was a huge sum of money at that time, but still they got nothing.
At the Tsuchihara Agency, the door to an office was pushed open, and Kitaoka Ryoko walked in with a grim expression, followed by Iwai Nosuke and Yoshimoto Ichiro.
It turns out that in the past month, Kagesa Hiroki's actions have become increasingly drastic. Now, all the key positions in the Tsuchihara Agency have been replaced. If Kitaoka Ryoko hadn't been Tsuchihara Keiji's student, she probably would have been replaced as well.
Rumors are circulating that the reason Kagesa Hiroki dared to so openly replace Tsuchihara Keiji's former subordinates is that he is confident he can secure his position, and Tsuchihara Keiji is likely to be transferred away from Shanghai.
Kitaoka Ryoko's days at the Tsuchihara Agency were also difficult. Everyone knew that once Kagesa Hiroki secured his position as the agency's director, Kitaoka Ryoko would likely be ousted and, like Tsuchihara Keiji, leave Shanghai and return to the North China Special Higher Police.
Yoshimoto Ichiro said with great concern, "Team leader, Kagesa Hiroki is being aggressive and reckless, and we haven't heard anything from the agency chief. If this continues, our situation will become increasingly difficult!"
Iwai nosuke also looked at Kitaoka Ryoko without saying a word. He had not been following Kitaoka Ryoko for long, and there were many things he could not say, but he was also very worried about the current situation.
Kitaoka Ryoko pursed her lips slightly, feeling anxious. Seeing that Kagesa Hiroki was gradually taking control of the Tsuchihara Agency, she was just as anxious. However, she was of low rank and position, and any action she took would be futile.
It seems I must speed up the work and negotiate with Fujiwara Tomohito as soon as possible to get his help, otherwise I will be kicked out before my teacher returns.
“We still need to be careful during this time, and not let others find fault with us. Once the teacher comes back, everything will be fine.” Kitaoka Ryoko encouraged her two subordinates. “You still need to keep an eye on Hirayama Jiro. We might need him. I also need to go out and take care of some things.”
Kitaoka Ryoko now has a new idea about Hirayama Jiro. If the negotiations with Fujiwara Tomohito this time are not satisfactory and Fujiwara Tomohito is not controlled, then she will release Hirayama Jiro and take action against Fujiwara Tomohito or Kagesa Hiroki to muddy the waters of Shanghai. Of course, this is a risky move that she has to take as a last resort. She will not use it until the very last step.
Kitaoka Ryoko has lost her composure and is desperate to reverse the decline, but she doesn't know how much of a chance she has.
Iwai no Nakajiro and Yoshimoto Ichiro nodded in agreement and left the office.
After watching them leave, Kitaoka Ryoko hurried back to her residence, took out a set of men's clothes, and quickly changed into them. She always disguised herself as a young man when she entered the French Concession to meet with her subordinates.
Kitaoka Ryoko was tall, much taller than the average Japanese woman, and quite skilled in disguise. When dressed as an ordinary man, she was almost indistinguishable from a real man, except for her delicate features.
Following Kitaoka Ryoko's orders, Iwai no Suke and Yoshimoto Ichiro returned to the safe house where Hirayama Jiro was being housed, a place known only to Kitaoka Ryoko's people.
Several trusted subordinates were also assigned to guard Hirayama Jiro, but Kitaoka Ryoko treated Hirayama Jiro quite well, taking good care of him in every way except for not allowing him to go out without permission.
Iwai nosuke entered the room and saw Hirayama Jiro, who had been detained there for many days, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window.
Hearing someone enter, Hirayama Jiro turned around and saw it was Iwai Nosuke. He ignored him and turned back to look out the window.
Seeing that Hirayama Jiro was not acting strangely, Iwai nosuke had no interest in talking to him. He looked down at the newspaper on the table, picked it up, and his expression changed as he read the contents.
It turned out to be a wanted poster for Hirayama Jiro. At that moment, Hirayama Jiro's voice came: "The Fujiwara Company has raised the bounty on me again. It's 200,000 yen now. Haha, I never thought my life was worth so much. 200,000 yen, tsk tsk, that's enough to buy all the land in our village back home!"
It seems that the newspaper was brought back to the safe house by the guards by accident. For the past few days, the Fujiwara Company has been putting the bounty on Hirayama Jiro on the front page. The Japanese have given an order that any newspaper with even a little influence must publish this bounty, so it is not surprising that Hirayama Jiro saw this bounty.
“Hirayama-kun, don’t overthink it. Just be patient for a few more days, and our investigation will be over. That’s when you can put your skills to use,” Iwai Nosuke said with a smile.
He carefully put the newspaper away, and later he would explain to the guards that although there was no strict restriction, they should try to keep Hirayama Jiro from seeing outside news, so as not to agitate him and cause him to have inappropriate thoughts.
But when Iwai Nosuke held the newspaper in his hand and his gaze swept over the wanted notice on it again, a ripple of emotion couldn't help but rise in his heart.
Two hundred thousand yen! That amount of money would be enough for Iwai nosuke to work hard for the rest of his life, but now all he needs to do is turn around and hand the young man beside him over to the Fujiwara Company, and all of this will be within his grasp.
However, he immediately dismissed the idea as soon as it crossed his mind; he still dared not easily betray Kitaoka Ryoko and the forces behind her.
Hirayama Jiro then asked, "Is your investigation really useful? Can it really bring down Fujiwara Tomohito? He's a top-tier figure of power. If you ask me, just let me out and give me a spear, and everything will be fine."
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