Chapter 67 Zhu Fu is not Cinderella
Although they now have one less task to accumulate energy, this also suggests that the future of Zero's identity being exposed has likely been avoided.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, even if there are signs of safety, we cannot let our guard down and must still carry out all the things we have planned.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: How do you plan to get Kono Aoto access classified information?]
Judging from that phone call from Tottori, he must be under a lot of pressure right now. If I could have other trump cards up my sleeve, I think he would find it hard to refuse.
[Anti-fraud expert #214: What if he doesn't take the bait? After all, he still thinks he can control you and Lai.]
The blame for the leaked intelligence about the park operation would fall on him, since he hadn't had a moment's peace during that period. Besides, he wasn't a favored member, and no one would bother to investigate the fate of a low-ranking member who had just made a mistake.
[Anti-fraud expert #198: Got it, use Black Guest to hook him.]
After quickly settling things off with Kono Aoto, he checked the time. It was lunchtime, so he decided to contact Hagiwara and ask about what happened back then.
The anti-fraud officer helped dial the number, and Kenji Hagiwara's lively voice came through: "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
...Hmm, it feels weird to hear Hagiwara speaking to me in honorifics.
Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his voice and said, "Officer Hagiwara, I would like to know about the bomber coercion case that happened in the villa area back then."
Kenji Hagiwara paused, seemingly shifting his position. The background noise grew even quieter, and his voice softened as he spoke: "Sir, what made you suddenly ask about this?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu had already prepared an excuse, saying, "We've tracked down the people involved in this case."
Kenji Hagiwara readily recalled, "After receiving the call, we split into two groups. I was responsible for the one in the Asai villa area. As is customary, after clearing the area, I thought it would be safer to disarm the bomb on the spot, so I prepared to defuse it. During the process, the bomb triggered a second delay, but I had already started finishing up by then. Fortunately, it was the double-V structure that I was familiar with, which allowed me to defuse it in the last two seconds."
"Back to the second?" Morabushi Kagemitsu grasped the key point.
Kenji Hagiwara's voice carried a subtle hint of relief: "Yeah, thankfully he didn't succeed. But afterwards, Jinpei still made me take his punch to the face..."
That's because you didn't wear a bomb suit back then. Although those things are not very effective, that's no excuse for not protecting yourself. You should take good care of yourself, Hagiwara.
Zhu Fujingguang let out a "heh".
Kenji Hagiwara chuckled dryly a few times.
"Thank you, Officer Hagiwara. I'll contact you again when I have time." After understanding the details, Morofushi Kagemitsu prepared to end the call.
Kenji Hagiwara responded, "Yes, sir, remember to come find the police if you have any problems~"
[Anti-Fraud King No. 19: The saved report didn't mention the bomb's return time. Could there be something going on?]
Very likely.
Because of Matsuda's complaint, he later reviewed the files, which only mentioned that the prisoner had threatened the police station, and that the situation was only calmed down after negotiation experts arrived. He never expected there to be such a twist in the story.
Both experience and intuition told him that this might be a hidden event that fate would present.
[Anti-fraud expert #66: Let's go to the police academy as soon as possible then. We'll just take a quick look at the classified vault and then head back.]
Okay, "take a look".
All the Buddhas were calm and peaceful.
Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen.
That's what Morofushi Kagemitsu thought to himself at night.
He stood outside the police academy wall, having changed into his uniform, his face unremarkable, looking like a police academy student who had sneaked back in the middle of the night.
He took a few steps back, took a short running start, and easily hung on the wall. The muscle memory he developed from his time at the police academy, which allowed him to easily overcome this obstacle.
However, just as he was about to land, a shout from the anti-fraud expert almost made him lose his footing. The sound was so loud that it seemed to stir up a large ripple in the surrounding air.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: Oh no! There's someone under that big tree at the two o'clock position!]
Don't be alarmed, they haven't noticed me yet.
He suppressed his slight dizziness and subconsciously looked around, simultaneously searching for cover to conceal himself. Although all he saw was a bunch of pink bubbles, guided by the images in his mind and the anti-fraud system, he managed to hide successfully.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: Wait, why are those two fighting over there?]
What, is it strange for police academy students to be fighting and joking around? He remembered that Matsuda and Zero were a typical example of people who became friends after a fight.
[Anti-fraud expert #19: ...You can't use the experiences of the five of you to judge others, can you?]
[Anti-fraud expert #148: These two guys seem to have a lot of energy. Judging from the signs around them, they've been fighting for a while now, and it's still too early to tell who's winning.]
Alright, enough with the commotion, let's hurry and find the archives.
That's strange. Is he too nervous? Why is his heart beating so fast?
[Anti-fraud expert #205: Let me check the surveillance footage... Hmm? The time isn't right!]
[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: Let me see... something's not right... Wait! Did we just time travel?!]
Sure enough! My perception just now wasn't an illusion!
[Anti-fraud expert #198: This is bad, those two fighting guys really are Matsuda and Zero. #205, quickly activate protection mode, let's try to hold out a little longer.]
Having already experienced time travel, Morofushi Kagemitsu naturally realized he needed to complete what he needed to do in this new timeline as quickly as possible. Currently, the only information he knew about related to undercover work was the police academy's archives; perhaps he could uncover the truth in this new timeline.
[Anti-fraud expert #205: Avoid them and head directly towards the archives. We should move as little as possible; just get to the vicinity of the archives.]
He took a step and started walking, counting his heartbeats as he silently and quickly moved in the direction indicated by the anti-fraud navigation. Soon he arrived in that vicinity.
[Anti-fraud expert #198: No need to go any further, just stay with this tree, and move a little further to the left.]
He had just moved to a new spot when he heard the warning for the 26th.
[Anti-Fraud Agent #26: Report! Someone's coming from the 8 o'clock direction!]
[Anti-fraud expert #148: Oh no, it's Hagiwara-kun!]
Hagiwara? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?
His heart tightened.
[Anti-fraud expert #11: Traveling through time and space will affect our speed. Buy some more time so he doesn't recognize you.]
clear.
Just as Morofushi Kagemitsu was mentally preparing himself, he looked up and met Hagiwara Kenji's gaze.
All I can say is that it's a good thing I have a strange face now, otherwise it would be hard to explain myself in this timeline the next day.
Kenji Hagiwara didn't expect to run into a new classmate here in the middle of the night. He blinked and then made a "shh" gesture.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu nodded in agreement, but did not speak.
This time, the anti-fraud expert traveled through time with him, so the special effects bubbles in front of them were still open. At this moment, Kenji Hagiwara was bathed in pink bubbles, and with his heart beating faster and faster due to the time-space load, he felt that this scene was strange.
[Anti-fraud King No. 19: I can turn off the special effects now. Do you want to see what Hagiwara-kun's original fate was going to be like? Just focus your attention on him.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu silently agreed. Perhaps it was fate that he met Hagiwara here.
The pink bubbles disappeared from his sight, and he focused his attention on Hagiwara, as images of the future began to merge into his consciousness.
Calls, replies, explosions, and that heart-wrenching cry of "Hagiwara!"...
Kenji Hagiwara's life withered before his eyes, just like that rose.
"Classmate, classmate?"
The familiar voice rang out again, and he looked at Schrödinger's Kenji Hagiwara in a daze.
You seem very sad. Are you alright?
Realizing his emotions were showing, Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly composed himself and shook his head slightly. He closed his eyes, revealing his true exhaustion, and the emotionally astute Hagiwara Kenji wisely refrained from disturbing him.
[Anti-fraud expert #205: Found it. Six years ago in this timeline, a man named Takei Hisashi fits our criteria. In our timeline, despite his ordinary background, his rank was significantly higher than his contemporaries, even surpassing many seniors with powerful connections.]
[Anti-Fraud Guru 66: He was the one who initially suppressed media coverage, and he was also the one who applied for the negotiation expert. However, a communication error occurred, resulting in the prisoner pressing the detonation button once. To prevent any flaws in the operation from affecting him, he had the records altered.]
I see……
At the time, Takei Hisashi hadn't been promoted yet, and to make his annual report look better, he forbade the matter from being widely reported. Unexpectedly, this delayed the investigation of the prisoner for a while. It's likely that Hagiwara was also given some instructions, which is why he rarely mentioned the matter.
[Anti-fraud expert #214: Looking at it this way, Takei Hisashi's death affected the fate of many people, after all, none of those who went to the villa area back then survived.]
Having sorted out the facts, Morofushi Hiromitsu reopened his eyes and found that Hagiwara Kenji was already leaning against the other side of the tree.
Recalling their past conversation, Morofushi Kagemitsu began to feel uneasy and asked, "Classmate, have you ever handled a double-V structure bomb?"
"...Double V structure, is that the code name you gave to the bomb structure?" Kenji Hagiwara didn't expect this unfamiliar classmate to take the initiative to talk to him, and replied, "Are you also interested in bombs?"
...Oh, I forgot they like to name their own complex bombs.
[Anti-fraud expert #148: Luckily, I saved the structure diagram. Explain the key points based on the diagram.]
[Anti-fraud expert #198: You'd better hurry, your health indicators have already fallen below the safe threshold.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu was very patient and explained the structure without changing his expression, which quickly aroused Hagiwara Kenji's interest.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: Alright, let's hurry up and leave! Save your energy for climbing over that other wall!]
Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't try to put on a brave face. He ignored his friend's endless questions and refused the offer to take him to the infirmary. He simply followed the route planned by the anti-fraud expert and left without looking back.
"...Classmate? Classmate!"
Kenji Hagiwara ran a few steps faster, but found he couldn't keep up with the person's pace at all. He wanted to call out the name, but realized he hadn't even asked the classmate's name yet! He could only call out "classmate" twice in vain.
At this moment, the clock struck 12, and this mysterious colleague disappeared like Cinderella.
Unfortunately, he wasn't a prince, and Cinderella didn't have a glass slipper...
Huh? What's that?
With his keen observation skills, he spotted something lying on a cherry blossom petal not far away.
That was a peace charm.
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Author's Note: Anti-Fraud King No. 19: Okay, this scene is perfect for writing a fairy tale AU...
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