At eleven in the morning, Shinjuku Police Station.
Aoyama Xiu Xin stood with his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the table as he watched a surveillance video from Paradise Karaoke from three days earlier.
The quality of surveillance footage these days was quite blurry and it didn't capture sound, making it extremely strainful on the eyes to watch.
Beside him, full of enthusiasm, Asai Ayumi shared her discoveries, "Mr. Aoyama, look. Yamamoto Hiroshi indeed entered a private room, and shortly after he left, someone else came out from it—it must be the friend he spoke of."
"Roughly ten minutes later, Yamamoto Hiroshi hurriedly came back. He even spoke with the manager. I asked the manager, and the manager said Yamamoto claimed he had lost something very important. The manager arranged for people to help him search, but they ultimately found nothing—all consistent with what Yamamoto said."
Asai Ayumi's eyes sparkled brighter, her tone becoming more excited. "But! Yamamoto said the karaoke place was crowded at the time, but the surveillance shows there weren't many customers that day. The manager also said business is quiet during the day; it only gets busy at night."
"Could it just be that he wanted to lessen the blame for losing his gun, so he lied about the karaoke place being crowded and chaotic?" Aoyama Xiu Xin suggested, his voice light.
"No!" Asai Ayumi looked at him, her lips slowly curling into a smile. "While that may be a possibility, as you said Mr. Aoyama, after losing his gun, he should have been distraught and panicked, but instead he managed to tidy up his house and keep everything so neat. Putting these together, it's certain his lie about the karaoke place being crowded was on purpose to conceal something more important."
"It seems you're not as stupid as I thought," said Aoyama Xiu Xin with a chuckle, then he turned off the video nonchalantly.
Asai Ayumi immediately felt a wave of irritation, puffing out her chest defensively as she retorted, "I passed the national civil service exam on my first try, okay? I'm not stupid at all, just inexperienced."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded in a placating manner before giving a summary of the information obtained from the Yanahara family, concluding, "Now, the ones we can confirm are under suspicion are the Noguchi Group and Yamamoto Hiroshi."
"Yamamoto Hiroshi? You suspect he staged the whole thing and killed Yeharadong himself?" Asai Ayumi gasped, staring at Aoyama Xiu Xin in disbelief. She only thought that Yamamoto was hiding something, not that he might be the killer. "As you said, Mrs. Yanahara said Yanahara Dong did not know Yamamoto. If they had no interaction, why would Yamamoto go to such lengths to stage this act and kill Yanahara Dong?"
Without waiting for Aoyama Xiu Xin to respond, she continued, "I tend to think the Noguchi Group is more suspicious. After all, they have a motive for murder, and it's not uncommon for violent gangs to kill for profit."
"And why did Yanahara Dong go to the vicinity of West Hushan High School late at night by himself? That was certainly not on his way home; he must have been lured there by someone, and the Noguchi Group, being his business partners, could've done that."
Even though the Act on Prevention of Unlawful Activities by Violent Gang Members had just been implemented at the beginning of the year, causing some restraint, the very essence of a Violent Gang is that they are adept and accustomed to using violence.
So committing a crime in spite of this was still not out of the question.
"Mrs. Yanahara did not confirm that Yanahara Dong and Yamamoto had no interaction. She simply said she wasn't sure," Aoyama Xiu Xin's words trailed off, then after a moment's contemplation, he said, "With that in mind, let's use the process of elimination. Start by checking Yamamoto Hiroshi. At the very least, we need to determine what exactly he's hiding. It will also help solve the case."
"Right!" Asai Ayumi acknowledged, then realized his implication and muttered in protest, "Even though I'm supposed to be the superior."
Aoyama Xiu Xin ignored her grumbling.
In the afternoon, Fujimoto Ryosuke returned, and Asai Ayumi called a meeting of everyone involved in the shooting case.
"Vice Director Fujimoto, did you find anything today?" Asai Ayumi's gaze turned towards Fujimoto Ryosuke.
Fujimoto Ryosuke's expression was rather gloomy as he shook his head and said in a grave tone, "It was too late that day; there were no eyewitnesses in that area. We're planning to expand the scope of our inquiries tomorrow and check the surveillance from several other streets."
"We have a lead on this side with Aoyama Criminal," Asai Ayumi signaled him to sit, then looked to Aoyama Xiu Xin, "Aoyama Criminal, you tell them."
Fujimoto Ryosuke instinctively turned to Aoyama Xiu Xin.
"Right." Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up, surveyed the room, and began to speak slowly.
After hearing his words, the meeting room immediately burst into a clamor, as everyone started to whisper and discuss amongst themselves.
"This is an absurd speculation!" Fujimoto Ryosuke couldn't hide his condescension, scoffing with ridicule, "Just on this basis, you suspect your own colleague to be the murderer? Aoyama Criminal's deduction is really hasty. According to Mrs. Yanahara, he never knew Yanahara Dong, so why would he kill him? What's his motive? Fine! Even if this was a premeditated murder, why on earth would he take such a huge risk and use his own gun?"
He paused, his tone sarcastic yet grave, "Aoyama Criminal, I know you are eager to make achievements and return to Police Headquarters, but since you've been demoted for a mistake, just reflect on it properly, work diligently, and avoid always thinking about solving cases for rewards. And don't you dare try and use the innocence of your colleagues as a stepping stone!"
The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat oppressive. Everyone could feel Fujimoto Ryosuke's dissatisfaction with Aoyama Xiu Xin, which was not surprising since Fujimoto Ryosuke had never shown a friendly face to him since his transfer to the Shinjuku Police Station.
"Vice Director Fujimoto!" Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his voice and called out to him, speaking with a solemn expression, "I'm simply speculating based on the clues I have. As for why Yamamoto Hiroshi would kill Yeharadong and insist on using his own gun, isn't that exactly what we need to investigate? If he didn't do it, then through our investigation, we would be clearing his name!"
"Hmph, Vice Director Fujimoto, your overt reaction to my reasonable suspicion makes me wonder if you are an accomplice of the suspect, Yamamoto Hiroshi."
Although talking back to a superior was a major taboo in Japan, today he had even confronted Chief Asai Ayumi; was he supposed to be afraid of a mere Deputy Director like Fujimoto Ryosuke?
"Idiot!" Fujimoto Ryosuke exclaimed in a rage, standing up to rebuke, "You insolent fool..."
"Slam!" Asai Ayumi slammed the table in anger, "Silence, all of you! The clue was discovered by me and Aoyama Criminal together; the speculation was made by us jointly. Vice Director Fujimoto, are you questioning him, or are you questioning me?"
"I wouldn't dare!" Fujimoto Ryosuke quickly lowered his head.
"Hmph!" Asai Ayumi snorted, her icy gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Next, we will conduct a secret investigation on Yamamoto Hiroshi—precisely because he is a colleague, we need to prove his innocence through investigation as soon as possible!"
"Yes sir!" Everyone bowed their heads in unison.
"Meeting adjourned." Asai Ayumi turned and left.
Everyone hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply in farewell.
"Inspector." Fujimoto Ryosuke glanced at Aoyama Xiu Xin ominously before quickly following her out, heading to the office with her while taking out two movie tickets. "Inspector, there's a new movie out; let's watch it together tonight. We need to relax appropriately after work so we can investigate better."
"Sorry..." Asai Ayumi was about to decline.
Just then, the voice of Aoyama Xiu Xin came from behind: "Accept it, I'd really like to go see it."
Asai Ayumi and Fujimoto Ryosuke turned around simultaneously, only to see Aoyama Xiu Xin approaching with a smile.
Facing Aoyama Xiu Xin's gaze, Asai Ayumi certainly didn't want to do so, but she dared not defy him. She could only take the two movie tickets from Fujimoto Ryosuke's hand and bowed politely in thanks, "Thank you for your kind offer, Vice Director Fujimoto."
Fujimoto Ryosuke was in turmoil, baffled.
"Look on the bright side; at least she's willing to accept your gift, isn't she? Even if it's to accompany me, you bought the tickets, so you can feel a bit involved." Aoyama Xiu Xin gave a slight smile to Fujimoto Ryosuke, then left side by side with Asai Ayumi.
The main theme was clear: an eye for an eye, a heart for a heart.
Fujimoto Ryosuke remained standing in place with the motion of offering the movie tickets, his gaze blank as he watched the two of them leave, and then he flew into a rage, his face twisted in fury.
He kicked over a trash can in the hallway.
A loud clang attracted the heads of those in the offices along the hallway who hadn't left yet to peek out.
Fujimoto Ryosuke dejectedly picked up the trash can.
He was almost grinding his molars to dust, why? Why could Aoyama Xiu Xin easily obtain what he himself had yearned for but could never achieve, be it women or career success?
Was it just because he wasn't part of the professional group?
An inherent inferiority complex and the differential treatment he received because of it had already distorted his psyche.