Chapter 136: Making a Grand Entrance: Aixinjueluo Xiuxin Was Forged by the Times

Metropolitan Police Department, Conference Room.

The long and tedious "Inaugural Meeting of the Kanagawa Prefecture Gunfight Special Investigation Headquarters" finally came to an end. Kunio Kunihira stood up, bowed, and said, "I hope you will overcome all difficulties and solve the case as soon as possible. I'm counting on you all!"

"Understood!" Everyone stood up and replied in unison.

Kunio Kunihira raised his head. "Dismiss—"

"Ring-a-ling! Ring-a-ling!"

A telephone ring interrupted him.

Everyone followed the sound and looked at Aya Asai.

"I'm sorry." Aya Asai instinctively reached to hang up.

Kunio Kunihira smiled when he saw this and said amiably, "Answer it. What if it's something important? Besides, the meeting just concluded."

"Understood!" Aya Asai replied, then answered the call. "Moshi-moshi, this is Aya Asai."

"Are you still in a meeting?" Aoyama Hideki asked.

Aya Asai gave a low reply, "Yes."

By this time, the others had already started walking out.

However, because Aya Asai was on the phone, they all showed good manners and made no noise.

"Put it on speaker," Aoyama Hideki said.

He wanted to put on a grand show.

Although he knew this might risk offending the other members of the Special Investigation Headquarters, he didn't care.

He was definitely going to show off this time!

Not even Jesus could stop him.

Though puzzled, Aya Asai complied.

Next, everyone in the conference room heard Aoyama Hideki's resonant report: "Reporting to the Superintendent! The mastermind of last night's Kanagawa Prefecture gunfight has been apprehended by the First Murder Investigation Section of the First Investigation Division!"

In an instant, everyone stopped in their tracks, whipped their heads around, and stared at Aya Asai in disbelief.

Then they exchanged glances, making sure they hadn't misheard when they saw the shocked expressions on each other's faces.

Aya Asai's heart was also churning with stormy waves, but she forced her expression to steady and said calmly, "Details."

"One accomplice killed, one mastermind and two accomplices captured, zero casualties," Aoyama Hideki said.

Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.

We just finished a meeting analyzing how difficult this case was to investigate and how hard the criminals were to catch, and yet you've somehow managed to catch them all at the same time over there.

What are we supposed to do now?

The expressions of several people turned extremely colorful.

Initially glad that Aoyama Hideki hadn't joined the Special Investigation Headquarters to steal their credit, they now realized he had monopolized all the glory.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

A slow, deliberate round of applause rang out.

Everyone looked toward the source and saw Kunio Kunihira taking the lead in applauding, prompting the others to follow suit.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Thunderous applause echoed through the conference room.

"Good! Good! Excellent!" Kunio Kunihira said with an encouraging smile, speaking loudly. "Inspector Aoyama, you really gave us a big surprise. You truly live up to the title of Detective Genius. Hurry and bring the suspects back."

"Understood!" Aoyama Hideki hung up the phone.

The others all looked at Kunio Kunihira. Now that Aoyama Hideki had solved the case, their own position seemed rather awkward. Should they all just go home now?

Kunio Kunihira said with a chuckle, "Inspector Aoyama moves so fast; he not only caught the suspects off guard, but he caught us off guard too. It almost makes this Special Investigation Headquarters look like a joke."

Aya Asai furrowed her delicate brows. Kunio Kunihira sounded like he was joking, but he was actually stoking resentment against Aoyama Hideki.

After all, being too competent was also a crime!

"Since the mastermind has been arrested, this Special Investigation Headquarters no longer needs to exist. Disband on the spot, and everyone return to your respective departments."

Kunio Kunihira dropped those words and strode away.

As soon as he stepped outside, his expression darkened.

While the others felt the humiliation of being reduced to supporting players, he was the most humiliated of all.

He hadn't let Aoyama Hideki join the Special Investigation Headquarters precisely to prevent him from sharing the credit, but he hadn't expected Aoyama Hideki to solve the case entirely on his own, landing a heavy slap across his face.

"Send word: hold a press conference."

Though he felt deeply aggrieved, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. From the perspective of the police force, Aoyama Hideki's performance was beneficial to the collective image.

Although Kunio Kunihira harbored resentment toward Aoyama Hideki because of his son's affair, he wasn't so petty as to lose his sense of proportion. If his suppression were too obvious, it would only make him look petty and devoid of vision.

After all, as the Superintendent-General of the Metropolitan Police Department, he needed to project a fair, just, and glorious image for others to see; otherwise, it would be difficult to command public respect.

"Wrap up!" Aoyama Hideki ordered on the other end.

The officers escorted Yamamoto and the two others away, while the bearded man's corpse was left for the local police box to collect.

Walking out of the living room, Aoyama Hideki casually pulled out a cigarette.

Asano Hirofumi rushed forward, knocked the cigarette out of his hand, pointed at the bearded man's corpse, and roared in fury, "Shinichi Nakamura used his firearm in violation of regulations and committed intentional homicide, yet you're covering for him? The guns in our hands are meant to maintain order, not to trample on human lives! Even if he was guilty, he should have faced trial through legal channels and received the death penalty, not been shot dead on the spot!"

What had just happened was simply too vile in his eyes. He could no longer bear it and didn't even want to maintain a polite facade.

In an instant, everyone stopped and glared at Asano Hirofumi with hostile, disgusted gazes.

After all, in this era, supervisory methods were incomplete, and police officers who strictly followed procedures at all times practically did not exist. Besides, what was wrong with killing a vicious criminal?

If they followed procedures strictly by the book every step of the way, those criminals would teach them a lesson in a matter of minutes.

Most of them were empiricists; they enforced the law based on the accumulated years of experience passed down by their seniors.

Legal texts? Who cared about that stuff!

Compared to a self-righteous and inflexible superior like Asano Hirofumi, they naturally preferred a superior like Aoyama Hideki, who would protect his subordinates, making it much safer to follow him.

Even Yamamoto, who had been arrested, looked at Asano Hirofumi with an expression of watching a joke. He hadn't expected there to be such an upright and law-abiding police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department.

"Who saw it?" Aoyama Hideki calmly met Asano Hirofumi's gaze and asked lightly.

Without waiting for an answer, he looked at the other officers and asked with a smile, "Did you see anything?"

"No!" everyone answered in unison.

Asano Hirofumi trembled with anger, lunged at Yamamoto, grabbed him by the collar, and yelled, "You saw it! You saw your subordinate get shot and killed by police in violation of regulations! Are you willing to step forward and testify?"

"I didn't see anything," Yamamoto replied flatly.

Even if he managed to escape the death penalty, he was destined never to leave prison for the rest of his life. If he ran his mouth, Aoyama Hideki had plenty of ways to retaliate against him. He certainly didn't want to be beaten up by small groups every three days and large groups every five days inside prison.

In their line of work, they essentially risked their necks for money, getting killed either by rivals or by the police. Therefore, while he felt some sorrow over the bearded man's death, it wasn't entirely unacceptable to him.

"Bastard!" Asano Hirofumi hadn't expected even Yamamoto to refuse to testify. Enraged, he grabbed the collars of the other two men. "And you? What about you?"

The two men also remained silent, uttering not a word.

Feeling the cold gazes surrounding him, Asano Hirofumi was filled with sorrow and anger. Clearly, I am the one in the right!

"Deputy Director Asano, instead of plotting against your colleagues, you'd be better off thinking about how to catch more criminals," Aoyama Hideki said. Then, he bent down, picked up the cigarette that had been knocked to the ground, and walked out of the courtyard.

That was simply how this era was. After transmigrating, Aoyama Hideki had integrated seamlessly into it and thrived by utilizing the existing surface-level rules.

Asano Hirofumi, on the other hand, wanted to fight the entire era single-handedly—that was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot, only to be crushed to death by the wheels. He could choose not to board the vehicle, but he couldn't stand in front of it and prevent others from riding either.

Anyway, this was Japan. Aoyama Hideki wished all government departments would rot as much as possible, so he felt zero psychological burden; instead, it worked to his advantage for advancement.

The others quickly followed behind, leaving Asano Hirofumi standing alone in place, seemingly dazed.

It wasn't until the sound of engine roars echoed from outside that he snapped out of it. He clenched his fists, his gaze turning resolute once more.

He had seen superiors take bribes and cover for others, but this was the first time he had witnessed a subordinate openly commit murder while the superior remained indifferent. He had a premonition that the higher someone like Aoyama Hideki climbed, the greater the harm he would bring to the country.

After all, Aoyama Hideki possessed both ability and a background supporting him to go further. Right now, he was merely corrupting a single section, but once he became a division chief, wouldn't he corrupt an entire division? When he became the Superintendent-General, he would corrupt the entire Metropolitan Police Department!

He had to stop this guy! Just like the hero in a video game working hard to defeat the evil dragon.

..................

On the way back to the Metropolitan Police Department, Aoyama Hideki briefly interrogated Yamamoto and the other two, learning that the other faction involved in the gunfight had all died that very night.

In other words, once he captured Yamamoto, the Kanagawa Prefecture gunfight case could be considered completely solved.

Aoyama Hideki reported this to Aya Asai.

Aya Asai then relayed it to Kunio Kunihira, asking him to announce it at the upcoming press conference.

When Aoyama Hideki returned to the Metropolitan Police Department, someone was waiting for him at the entrance. "Inspector Aoyama, the Superintendent wants you to go straight to the auditorium to attend the press conference upon your return."

"Understood!" Aoyama Hideki hurried toward the auditorium. As soon as he approached the side door, he heard Kunio Kunihira speaking inside.

"Following the incident, the police received intelligence and reacted swiftly. Through our all-night, sleepless investigation, we successfully apprehended all the suspects in the Kanagawa Prefecture gunfight an hour ago..."

"Special Investigation Headquarters? Heh, that's a great question from the reporter. Actually, that was merely a smoke screen we put out to confuse the suspects! We never intended to set up an investigation headquarters; from beginning to end, I entrusted this case to the First Murder Investigation Section of the First Investigation Division."

"Details of the case? To be honest, I'm not even clear on the capture details yet. Inspector Aoyama has just returned to the headquarters, so let's invite him on stage to tell you all about it."

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Amidst intense applause, Kunio Kunihira stepped down with a bow while Aoyama Hideki walked up onto the stage.

The two made eye contact and passed each other.

"Good morning, members of the press. I am Aoyama Hideki, Inspector of the First Murder Investigation Section of the First Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department." Aoyama Hideki bowed after taking the stage.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Another wave of intense applause broke out, which gradually subsided when Aoyama Hideki raised his head to speak.

Standing straight as a pine, chest puffed out, Aoyama Hideki said in a deep voice, "In fact, the Metropolitan Police Department had already secured vital clues last night. To confuse the suspects, keep them pinned in Tokyo, and buy time for our investigation, Superintendent Kunio proposed the establishment of a Special Investigation Headquarters."

"Meanwhile, our First Murder Investigation Section operated covertly, following the clues until we finally located the suspects' hideout an hour ago. We broke in and carried out the arrests. During the capture, one suspect attempted to resist and was decisively neutralized by our officers."

"Although the Kanagawa Prefecture gunfight was extremely shocking, please rest assured, citizens: all Japanese police officers protect public safety 24 hours a day. Any crime, no matter what, will be solved with the utmost speed!"

With those words, Aoyama Hideki bowed.

Then, amidst the rising applause, he prepared to step down.

"Inspector Aoyama, could you share some updates on the 1990 serial murder case?" At that moment, a young reporter suddenly stood up and asked loudly.

"That's right, Inspector Aoyama, say a few words about it."

"Everyone is very concerned about that case, but you haven't seemed to address it publicly."

"Inspector Aoyama..."

Other reporters chimed in one after another.