Chapter 176 Tomorrow's Bloom

This long-abandoned factory is hidden at the foot of the mountain, and the back is mostly blocked by the towering forest. The walls, which were once blackened by the dust produced by the explosion and the fire, are exposed under the sky without any shelter. The occasional rain makes the black outer wall look mottled, and it looks older than before.

The sky, which was still clear in the morning, suddenly became gloomy in the afternoon, and the sunlight was completely blocked by the heavy clouds, making the whole city turn into a dark and cold tone. The wind blew, rolling up the humid air with the smell of earth and dust.

Several factories and tall smoke exhaust pipes stood on a large flat ground surrounded by wire mesh and circles of barbed wire. Half of the inside collapsed in the previous explosion and turned into a pile of building waste.

There were traces of the gate being opened. Several unusual off-road vehicles were parked in a more hidden place inside. In addition, there were some special marks on the remaining shoe prints near the gate. Takeda Daiji, who arrived quickly after receiving the news, was completely sure that this was the location.

"Sousuke." The man circled the gate before retreating to a higher position near the factory and nodded to the man who had already come out of the car.

As the first group of people to arrive, before Matsuda Jinpei and others arrived after receiving the news, Amuro Toru and Date Kou had already explored most of the situation outside the factory.

"Officer Takeda," Suemitsu Sosuke responded. Since the two had not seen each other for several years, he should have said "long time no see" before greeting them, but recently this sentence has been used too often. In addition to these old police officers who had taught him, even his colleagues who he used to see almost every day can be said to have not seen for a long time after he has been recuperating for several months. He has said this sentence too many times and doesn't want to say it anymore.

He raised his head slightly, looked at the senior who had given him the captain special training class, and said in a straight-to-the-point, "I have sent you the situation of the factory."

"Yes, I just saw it." Takeda Daiji's eyes stayed on the other's lifeless face for a moment, and then moved his eyes away and replied in a low voice.

The last time he saw Suemitsu Sosuke was several years ago. At that time, Takeda Daiji, who had worked in the General Affairs Office for more than ten years, was asked to give a captain special training to a special police officer who had just graduated from the police academy for more than three years. He refused for several days and was ready to run away when he was "driven" to the training ground. He just felt that it was nonsense to let a young man who had only graduated for a few years to lead the SAT second team.

When Takeda Daiji was finally dragged into the training ground, it was more than half an hour later than the scheduled time. The man inside was still standing straight. After hearing the movement, he just raised his head slightly and looked towards the door. The training uniform completely outlined the man's straight back. The dark red eyes under the black hair were brighter than before in the bright lights in the training ground, and the refracted color could burn people.

Now, these eyes that once made him dispel all his worries with just one look have completely dimmed. They can still refract light, but the light has been affected by the things deposited inside and turned into a dull color.

Takeda Daiji felt uncomfortable at the first glance, and the image of Kasugawa Shugo in the video flashed through his mind again. He could only turn his head away and focus all his attention on the detailed factory information on the phone.

"He should be in that factory building." The man narrowed his eyes and searched around, and finally determined the location. The factory building he was talking about had collapsed in half in the previous incident, but the other half was still standing stubbornly. The collapse did not reveal more "convenient passages" for people to enter and exit at will. Instead, the only door was completely pressed down and sealed, turning it into an airtight iron barrel. "...How did those guys get in?"

Matsuda Jinpei looked in the direction of his sight, and soon found a passage at the rooftop. The explosion and collapse also caused an exhaust pipe to break in half from the upper half, and it fell on a relatively intact building not far away, becoming the only passage connecting the two rooftops.

He sneered at the mercenaries who went to such great lengths to get the people into the barrel through the roof.

"You lead the team to explore the route first. After confirming it's safe, have the third team follow the route into Factory 03 and go through the roof. There are mercenaries inside. Leave a team behind to intercept them when they pass the roof." Takeda Daiji quickly planned the rescue route and talked to the rescue team that came with them through the intercom. At the same time, he opened the trunk and found the equipment that he had not put on just now, ready to go in with the third team.

This action had nothing to do with the two policemen who were pulled from the explosive/ordnance disposal team to help and the first person to discover the factory. If they joined in rashly, it would disrupt the original rhythm of the General Affairs Office. They could only slow down and try to suppress the uneasy anxiety.

Hagiwara Kenji took a deep breath, took his child a few steps back, and whispered to comfort, "Okay, the location has been found, and the people can be rescued immediately."

Matsuda Jinpei looked at him, wanting him to hear how trembling his voice was when he spoke. Obviously, he was also worried and scared, but he comforted himself, but he opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Hey." Farther away from Takeda Daiji, the person in the passenger seat of a familiar car rolled down the window. Date Kou leaned out and waved to his two friends who had looked extremely unhappy since the morning. Amuro Toru, who was in the driver's seat, also turned around and looked at them.

"Wait for the signing of the confidentiality agreement." Walking a few steps to the side of the car, Hagiwara Kenji made a small joke, but his expression didn't seem like a joke, but rather like he had just been dumped by his girlfriend of more than ten years.

Now there was no one else around, and Okiya Subaru temporarily left the vicinity of the car after taking out the wheelchair from the trunk, leaving a small space for these people. Amuro Toru listened to his friend's words, waved his hands quickly, and said, "You'd better stop talking, your voice is shaking so much that I can't hear you clearly."

Hagiwara Kenji gave him a wry smile.

He has never been a person who has too many negative emotions. This ace police officer is very confident in his ability. Although he was severely punished by Matsuda Jinpei for being overconfident before, he always believed that he could definitely shoulder and complete the mission and his own responsibilities smoothly. Only when facing his friend, or whether it was Kasugawa Shugo or Asuka Kiri... did this ace police officer feel unbearable helplessness.

Many times, this kind of personal inclination and choice will be torn apart by the responsibility and mission that a man must shoulder since he chose this identity. He knows that whether it is himself, Jinpei Matsuda, or Shugo Kasugawa and all his other friends, they will choose the latter without hesitation when encountering such a thing.

On the yacht that was about to be blown up, Kenji Hagiwara chose to rescue the people in the cabin, but only watched his friend who was cut in the throat and whose life and death were unknown. When Asuka Mizuki fell into the sea of ​​fire, he did not even hesitate for a moment, and quickly took the children and girls beside him to escape the fire without having time to chew on the confusion and pain of loss. Now, because he cannot affect their search and rescue work, he can only wait outside the factory where his friends are trapped.

The man tightened his hands hanging by his side again and again, and loosened them again and again. This feeling of powerlessness was slower and more impenetrable than any pain of loss or regret, like a fine net that caught the air.

Hagiwara Kenji took a low breath and put his hand on the shoulder of Matsuda Jinpei, who had been silent all this time.

He knew that his childhood friend probably had the same idea as him, or that he had experienced more than him. The man with half-long hair couldn't say anything that could slightly ease the atmosphere. He could only look at the factory quietly like the man next to him, waiting for the final result.

"Is that Shugo's senior?" In the silence, Amuro Toru broke the silence, with a hint of conversation.

Tsukiyama in the back seat couldn't stop looking at the blond-haired and dark-skinned man. He had a bad premonition in his heart. He hadn't said anything just now, hiding himself slightly in the shadow of the back seat of the car. He felt that judging from the personalities of the two police officers outside, they would probably feel more guilty and uncomfortable if they saw him in this situation. It would be better not to meet them first.

"Yes, his senior." Jinpei Matsuda finally spoke the first words after meeting Toru Amuro. He reached out and took off his semi-permanent sunglasses, and only then did he feel his eyes sour.

The blond-haired, dark-skinned man carefully looked at Takeda Daiji who was not far away. He felt that he looked familiar. He pondered for a moment, then turned his head to look at Date Kou who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat looking towards the factory with a serious expression. He finally understood why he felt familiar, "...looks a bit like the squad leader."

Hagiwara Kenji paused, compared the two of them according to his words, nodded in agreement, and the tremor in his voice finally subsided a lot. "No wonder Shugo likes Takeda-senpai so much, he seems to be able to get close to this type easily?"

"...seems like he always has." Amuro Toru touched his chin, frowned because of his friend's hoarse voice, and threw a bottle of water over.

When they were in the police academy, that guy was the first to get close to Date Kou. After the six of them became friends, Kasugawa Shugo still liked to stick to the squad leader at all times. He would come and stick to him from time to time. Hagiwara Kenji, who often slandered others, even joked that he didn't like the squad leader. As a result, Kasugawa Shugo, who rarely got angry, quickly rejected it and chased him for several blocks.

Wait... When he usually goes out to eat with everyone, he will chat with this type of uncle who is in charge of cooking for a few more words. Because of his round eyes like honey, he often coaxes him to eat as a delicacy in the store. Now his senior who has a very good relationship with him is also this type.

Amuro Toru scratched his head for a long time, and felt that his doubts were suddenly solved. He turned to look at Date Kou, and said with complicated eyes, "...... Shugo is not lacking fatherly love, right?" As

soon as this sentence came out, Hagiwara Kenji, who was gulping down water, paused and sprayed the water directly on Matsuda Jinpei.

He didn't have time to soothe the veins on his forehead. He just turned his head to look at Amuro Toru who was talking nonsense. He felt that this sentence was more shocking than what he thought before, "So, Furuya, you still like this type after all these years?" Date Kou was also confused.

He was suddenly told that he had been used as a substitute for fatherly love for so many years. The policeman who was about to start a family subconsciously said, "What?" ', besides being surprised, he also had a wonderful feeling that his wish of being a father to his brother had been easily fulfilled.

This sentence was very absurd when first heard, but several people thought about it along the lines of Toru Amuro, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt it made sense. Finally, Kenji Hagiwara directly patted the car window and whispered, "No wonder... why only the squad leader has this treatment, if Xiao Shugo had said it clearly, I would also sacrifice myself to be a good father!"

"You bastard..." Matsuda Jinpei next to him couldn't help but reveal an extremely speechless expression. The originally turbulent and suppressed emotions in his heart were all yelled away by this shout. He glanced at the next to him, Yujinran, who couldn't wait to take advantage of his friend, and thought about the way Kasugawa Shugo acted coquettishly towards Date Kou in the police academy, and felt a little bit amused.

If you lack something, you can't help but make up for it.

The smile that finally appeared in the eyes of the black curly-haired man quickly faded away.

Perhaps his classmate who looked like a little sun didn't know what his childhood experiences had left him with, and just put all his subconscious demands on similar people.

When he thought of this, the others more or less thought of this, and the atmosphere that had been slightly relaxed became tense again. Hagiwara Kenji was silent for a while, and then said, "When that guy comes out, we will give him five times the fatherly love!"

"...Isn't this still taking advantage?" Date Ko said helplessly. He looked at his friend with half-long hair and actually thought that this idea was feasible.

"I promise to make it up to him, and I'll leave the maternal love to Tsukiyama." Hagiwara Kenji said with emotion, "Now we have both the best. When he comes out, I'll buy a book called '100 Things a Good Father Should Pay Attention to' and study it carefully."

"What the hell are you talking about?" When Toru Amuro heard the word 'maternal love', his face twisted. He wished he could stuff the guy in front of him into the back seat to let him see who was the one who had been silent in the back seat.

"I think Tsukiyama is a good mother." The man with half-long hair didn't receive the signal from his friend who was trying to blink. He was worried about his friend's unknown situation, which made him speak even more incoherently. Hagiwara Kenji winked at his blond-haired and dark-skinned friend, smiled, "After all, she is the gentle type of wife you have liked for so many years."

A faint sound came from the car window.

Tsukiyama Chaoli took a step back because of his words, and wanted to jump out of the window to escape. Who knew that his elbow just hit the window control button, and the back seat window was completely lowered.

Kenji Hagiwara was still wondering why his two friends in the car, Toru Amuro and Kou Date, suddenly had distorted faces because of this joke. Now he turned around and met the eyes of the protagonist through the lowered car window. The

black-haired man twitched his mouth, and his cherry-colored eyes were full of indescribable complex emotions. He looked at Toru Amuro, who was sitting in the driver's seat and wanted to knock the half-long-haired police officer unconscious and bury him in the ground, and then looked at Kenji Hagiwara who was petrified. He could only twitch his mouth and greeted him nonchalantly amid the extremely arrogant laughter of the brain system.

"Mr. Hagiwara."

The honorific "Mr." made the four people present think of something. Their already distorted expressions stiffened for a moment, and they ran towards the other extreme.

In the silence, Matsuda Jinpei put one hand in his trouser pocket and pressed the other hand against the back of his child's head, forcing him to bend down while pressing his head hard against the car window.

"Apologize to me, bastard!"