Chapter 90
The case that had been waiting for days was finally solved, and the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division was filled with joy. A colleague patted Matsuda Jinpei on the shoulder and said, "Let's go drink together after get off work. I know a store that serves great ice beer!"
Another colleague caught the key words, pulled his head out of the thick file, and pretended to threaten: "Matsuda, you kid, you escaped from the previous dinner party, don't make excuses this time!"
"I've never made excuses before, it was because I really had something to do."
The black-haired curly-haired police officer took out a pen from the pen holder, waved his hand, and walked towards the filing room without looking back. "Go ahead, and send me the bill when you come back. I'll take it as my participation."
The office was silent for a few seconds, then burst into cheers.
"Great, Officer Matsuda is so generous!"
"The man who pays the bill is the most handsome! I want to marry you, Mr. Matsuda!"
"Come on, line up at the back."
The door of the archive room was closed, blocking out the lively atmosphere.
The cell phone in Jinpei Matsuda's pocket vibrated twice, but he was not in a hurry to check it. Instead, he entered a password on the computer first.
The page quickly jumped, and a strange face that was captured from the surveillance footage and restored through technology suddenly appeared.
Matsuda Jinpei's eyes dimmed, and then he lowered his head and opened his cell phone.
There were two unread text messages. One was from Kenji Hagiwara, who asked in advance that he would not have to work overtime today and asked if he wanted to go to karaoke in the evening. The other was from Kou Date, who said that he and his girlfriend were coming to a nearby restaurant tonight and wanted to meet and chat.
Is there any party today?
Matsuda Jinpei thought about it and checked it out. The result told him that today was just an ordinary Friday. The only thing that was somewhat related to the excitement was the Christmas activities that started a month in advance. He deleted a few advertisements and his inbox, which he usually cleaned out on time, was soon empty.
The finger slid down, and suddenly stayed on the screen for a long time, covering one of the lines.
——From an unknown number, five days ago, 23:04.
——"Yeah, it's okay."
He pressed the button for too long and a deletion prompt popped up automatically. Matsuda quickly let go and turned off the phone.
He sat in silence on his desk chair for two minutes before he started replying to text messages.
"TO Hagi: I have something to do. Please sing the playlist for two people."
"TO squad leader: I'm not tactless enough to disturb a couple's date. Just have fun."
He put his phone into silent mode, and when he looked up, his eyes were fixed on the man's face on the screen. His hawk-like pupils were pitch black.
Matsuda Jinpei was not making excuses to his colleagues and friends. He was indeed busy. He had been secretly investigating the case three years ago, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Perhaps it was a case that no one knew about or cared about except him.
He never gave up on interrogating intelligence from the bomber, but due to the other party's severe PTSD, all he got was sporadic information and a blurry portrait.
In the criminal portrait, the criminal is a tall and thin mixed-race male with brown hair and brown eyes. His name is Saeki, and he is about 30 years old. He appears with a fishing box on his back. He is very skilled in operating casino games and is a gambling veteran.
Hair can be dyed, eye color can be changed with contact lenses, and the fish box probably contains an unassembled sniper rifle.
There was no relevant record in the police's criminal database, and it was not even certain whether the man was in Japan. The only clue they had was the criminal's connection to the casino.
Only three years had passed under such poor conditions.
This person accidentally appeared in the video recording of the casino fight. It is not known whether he was confident or careless. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Jinpei Matsuda did not go to him directly.
After secretly investigating for a month, he discovered that every Wednesday and Friday, starting at 8 p.m., the street lights in front of the casino would go out due to "poor contact", like some kind of signal.
Then, three or four people will come in, and before long, these three or four people will come out at the same time, but someone must have been replaced in the meantime.
The answer will be revealed tonight when the street lights go out.
Jinpei Matsuda took one last look at the man's face on the screen, then stood up and deleted all the data.
--
Night, casino.
The ceiling was replaced by a large piece of stained glass, which stretched out to the night sky outside the window. The light and shadows were brilliant and colorful, while the light inside was just the right dimness.
The huge room was divided into several intersecting spaces by pillars, and nearly half of them were occupied. In addition to the roulette table, there were also billiards and game machines, and there was also a free wine room outside the partitions for guests to use.
"Excuse me, sir, you need an invitation to enter here."
When Matsuda Jinpei was stopped by the waiter, his expression remained unchanged and he casually took out a gold-stamped card from his pocket.
The waiter took it and examined it carefully for a long time, then bent down, said "Excuse me", and led the person inside.
Jinpei Matsuda was not interested in the casino. He looked around casually but did not find anyone with a similar body shape to the stand-in downstairs.
Not here, or is he somewhere else?
He used the redeemed chips to play two rounds of the simplest slot machines, then took a leisurely look at the billiard and poker machines around him, turned around and walked towards the bathroom to see if there was anyone in disguise inside.
The aisle was designed to be very narrow. Someone was walking out of the bathroom opposite. Matsuda Jinpei frowned and turned his body to let the person go out first.
The man seemed to be looking for something in his pocket as he walked, his cap covering his face. There was no wall lamp in the hallway, only the dim light from the casino, and he could vaguely tell that it was not the person he was looking for.
Matsuda Jinpei rolled up his sleeves and glanced at the time on his watch. It was exactly a quarter past nine.
Suddenly, his arm was grabbed by a strong force. Matsuda Jinpei was startled and subconsciously tried to counterattack the person who passed by him, but the other person called out his name in a low voice first, "Matsuda, why are you here?"
"You..." Looking into those sharp gray-purple eyes, Matsuda Jinpei was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked, "Shouldn't I be asking you?"
This was the second time he had met Furuya Rei in a place that was not suitable for a meeting.
Unable to explain for a while, Furuya Rei paused and quickly explained his purpose: "I'm on a mission. Listen, Matsuda, the person I'm dealing with is a killer who betrayed the organization. It's going to be dangerous here."
He originally wanted Matsuda Jinpei to leave first, but before he could finish, the black-haired young man interrupted him: "I am arresting people just like you."
"Besides me, no one in the Metropolitan Police Department knows about this place."
Fūya Rei's eyes widened, and he immediately realized that his classmate, who was both skilled and courageous, was catching the suspect alone.
He frowned in disapproval, but then he thought that his behavior of coming alone to deal with the traitor might be just as bad as the other party's, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
The atmosphere was tense for a few seconds, and then someone staggered over from the other side of the corridor. Seeing the two of them blocking the middle of the bathroom aisle without moving, he muttered a few words, then turned and left.
Realizing that staying any longer might arouse the target's suspicion, Furuya Rei took a half step back and said, "Be careful."
"I'm telling you this, too. Don't get yourself killed accidentally."
Matsuda Jinpei untied his watch and put it in his heart pocket.
Fūya Rei curled the corners of his mouth, raised his hand to press down the brim of his cap, and quickly left the corridor.
This unexpected meeting gave both of them a vague premonition, so when they met again half an hour later in a remote alley near the building where the casino was located, they were more like "as expected" than shocked.
The man in black clothes and hood was very alert, and the half of his face that was exposed matched the photo provided by Gin. He seemed to have discovered that someone was following him, and he only appeared in the casino for less than 20 minutes before leaving in a hurry with the remaining gambling money.
Furiya Rei followed closely behind. There were roadside signs on the road that could hide his figure, but the alley the man chose was long and winding, and the surroundings were bare, so he had to expose himself if he wanted to avoid losing him.
Furutani Rei had no choice but to take a step forward. At this moment, the man caught a glimpse of him with his peripheral vision and ran away.
If there hadn't been a person suddenly standing at the end of the alley, he would have probably escaped this time.
The man was blocked by someone who appeared out of nowhere. He didn't expect to be attacked from both sides. He pulled out the hidden gun on his body, showing his fierce appearance. He shouted threateningly in a hoarse voice: "If you don't want to die, get out of here!"
The black-haired young man at the end of the alley calmly stepped aside, but when the man rushed over thinking that nothing was wrong, he suddenly snatched the gun from the man's hand and kicked him on the knee.
The man stumbled two steps, spat, and looked more vicious. With a flick of his wrist, the cold dagger slid down his sleeve and fell into his palm. He pushed his legs hard on the ground, and the tip of the knife chopped straight at Matsuda Jinpei's face!
The next second after he raised his hand to block it, the blade cut through the opponent's knuckles, but the black-haired young man seemed to feel no pain. He suddenly twisted the opponent's arm and smashed his abdomen with his other fist at the same time.
With a dull "bang", the man's most vulnerable head and abdomen were hit at the same time. Before he could cry out in pain, his pupils suddenly dilated and his body fell down uncontrollably.
Behind him, Furuya Rei kept his gun raised and bent down to check. In the dim light, the blond young man looked gloomy and indifferent.
After confirming that the target was completely knocked unconscious and couldn't hear their conversation, Furuya Rei slowly exhaled and looked at Matsuda: "Are you going to take him back to the police station?"
Matsuda Jinpei simply stopped the bleeding, his lips were straightened, as if he was suppressing something: "I have something private to ask him, this person cannot be sent to the Metropolitan Police Department. What is your mission?"
"Traitors are dealt with on the spot," Furuya Rei replied, "In special circumstances, they can also be taken back to the interrogation room."
But this person obviously didn't have much remaining value. If he was taken back, he would probably be shot dead by Gin, the most hated traitor, before he could even start the trial. Furuya Rei was silent for a while, then asked, "What do you want to ask?"
The black-haired police officer looked a little unhappy, with his brows furrowed deeply. He was still very calm in the casino just now, but the fight with the man seemed to have broken his restraint, and the emotions surging in his black pupils almost solidified.
Furiya Ling had never seen him with such an expression before, and he had a bad feeling in his heart, and his tone became serious: "Matsuda!"
Matsuda Jinpei glanced at him and said in an unexpectedly calm voice: "Yeah, you don't know yet."
"Have you heard about the explosion at the Nishikawa Pharmaceutical Factory in this city three years ago in May?"