Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister

In Shinjuku District, North Shinjuku Second District, a street in front of an arcade had been cordoned off by police tape.

Local police from the neighborhood station were maintaining order.

Before 1994 in Japan, the grassroots police institutions in cities were called neighborhood stations, and only later were they renamed as police boxes.

Inside the police cordon, a body lay in a pool of blood.

Several plainclothes officers were investigating the scene and collecting evidence, while a young man, skinny and in his early twenties with bloodstains on his shirt, was handcuffed to the door of a patrol car.

Amidst the piercing wail of sirens, a police vehicle bearing the Shinjuku Police Station insignia screeched to a halt at the edge of the crowd, and Aoyama Xiu Xin emerged with three subordinates from the vehicle, heading towards the throng.

"Police, excuse me, please make way."

Nakamura and Jing Shang cleared a path ahead, lifting the police tape to allow Aoyama Xiu Xin to pass first.

A plainclothes officer conducting the on-site investigation walked over to Aoyama Xiu Xin, saluted, and said, "I'm from the Second Mobile Investigative Squad, Captain Dubian Zhihe of Unit 204."

The Second Mobile Investigative Squad, officially named the Police Headquarters' Second Mobile Investigative Squad, was primarily responsible for routine patrols in the western part of the Capital City, local support, and on-site investigations.

The Japan Police divides its work in great detail. Unless there is a request from relevant departments, the mobile investigative units focus only on scene investigation. They transfer their findings to those in charge of the case once they arrive, without delving deeper into the entire case.

"Captain Dubian, good to meet you," greeted Aoyama Xiu Xin with a salute before asking, "I'm Deputy Chief Aoyama, Gunpowder Deputy Director from the Shinjuku Police Station's Organized Crime Countermeasures Division. Thank you for your efforts. What's the situation?"

"So you are Aoyama Criminal, I've long admired your name," Dubian Zhihe said with utter respect, expressing his admiration before delving into the matter, "After a preliminary on-site investigation, the victim was identified as Noguchi Noboru. According to the arcade owner, he was a member of the Violent Gang, the Noguchi Group. Cause of death was a stabbing through the heart with a fruit knife; he was struck seven times and died on the scene."

Hearing the words "Noguchi Group," Aoyama Xiu Xin instinctively raised his eyebrows. Lately, he kept hearing about this violent gang—they were too active in Shinjuku.

Noticing the change in Aoyama's expression, Dubian Zhihe paused, then continued when he saw that Aoyama did not speak, pointing at the young man handcuffed to the car door, "The perpetrator is that guy, Takazawa Akiyoshi, an employee of this arcade. The motive for the murder is unknown, but he was obviously under the influence of drugs before committing the act, so we notified you."

Aoyama Xiu Xin followed the direction of his pointing, seeing Takazawa Akiyoshi with a vacant gaze, a pale face spasming occasionally and drooling, like an idiot.

"He was high and didn't run after killing the man; the arcade owner called 110," added Dubian Zhihe.

Right, Japan's emergency number is also 110.

Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded, withdrawing his gaze from Takazawa Akiyoshi and thanking Dubian Zhihe, "Thank you very much, then please leave this area to us."

"Sure," responded Dubian Zhihe with a slight bow, then turned to his three subordinates, "Alright, hand over the evidence and everything to the colleagues from Shinjuku Police Station, we're pulling out."

For many young people dreaming of becoming police officers, being assigned to the mobile investigation unit is a nightmare because they never get the opportunity to be deeply involved in solving cases. They could only skim the surface, an agonizing prospect indeed.

"Nakamura," called Aoyama Xiu Xin.

Nakamura, with his temples grayed despite being just over forty, quickly stepped forward to ask, "Deputy Director, any instructions?"

"Join the neighborhood station officers and send the body for an autopsy," commanded Aoyama Xiu Xin, and then he turned to Jing Shang and Xingzi, "Jing Shang, take statements from the arcade owner and customers. Xingzi, bring the suspect with me back to the station. Let's divide and conquer."

"Yes, sir!" the three responded in unison.

...

By the time they returned to the police station's interrogation room, Takazawa Akiyoshi had sobered up. Realizing he was handcuffed to the interrogation chair, his face turned deathly pale, and his body shook uncontrollably.

"It seems even after your high, you weren't completely unaware; you remember killing someone," Aoyama Xiu Xin remarked casually, noticing the change in his demeanor.

Takazawa Akiyoshi pursed his lips, saying nothing.

Aoyama Xiu Xin crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably in his chair, "Let's hear it, why kill Chongtian Hong? Be honest now that you're here."

"He deserved to die!" Takazawa Akiyoshi said in a low voice.

Aoyama Xiu Xin didn't hear clearly. "What?"

"I said he deserved to die!" Takazawa Akiyoshi suddenly became agitated, struggling to stand up, his body hitting the table with a clatter, the veins in his neck bulging as he roared, "He deserved to die! Deserved to die! It was him who ruined me like this! It was him who destroyed my family!"

"He deserved to die, wuuu, deserved to die..."

As he shouted, his emotions suddenly changed again as he burst into loud sobs, repeatedly banging his head on the table and muttering "He deserved to die" over and over.

"Coincidentally, I also think he deserved to die," Aoyama Xiu Xin suddenly said, agreeing with the other person.

Takazawa Akiyoshi jerked his head up to look at him, his eyes filled with shock and a hint of confusion.

"I think he deserved to die because of his membership in the violent gang," Aoyama Xiu Xin further elaborated, then asked, "And you? Why do you think he deserved to die? There must be a reason."

Takazawa Akiyoshi fell silent for a moment, his face showing a pained expression as he lowered his head and began to explain why.

His parents had died young, and he had grown up depending on his sister, who supported him through school by selling sushi. One time, Noguchi Noboru went to the sushi shop to collect protection money and took a liking to his sister. In order to have her, he drugged her and injected her with addictive drugs.

From then on, his sister became addicted to drugs and fell into Noguchi Noboru's clutches as his toy. She tried to quit several times but never succeeded. Once Noguchi Noboru grew tired of her, he even sent her to a club to earn money for her drug debt by accompanying drinks and receiving customers.

Takazawa Akiyoshi saw his once bright and radiant sister turn into this and was in such pain he longed for death. To successfully help his sister quit the drugs, he secretly used the drugs she had hidden at home, planning to quit with her, to strengthen her resolve.

But he underestimated the power of the drug, a substance that quickly turned gods into ghosts. After becoming addicted, he not only failed to quit, he even wished he could eat it every day, living in a haze, neither human nor ghost.

Seeing her brother become like this, his sister blamed herself, feeling that it was all her fault. Guilt-ridden, she hung herself this morning at home, leaving a suicide note.

Takazawa Akiyoshi, stricken with grief when he returned home and saw his sister's body hanging from the beam, consumed all the drugs in the house to bolster his courage. He then lured Noguchi Noboru to the arcade under the pretense of wanting to buy a large quantity of drugs to discuss details and ultimately killed him with a fruit knife.

"Do you think he deserved to die?" After finishing his story, Takazawa Akiyoshi gave a wretched smile, buried his head on the table, and sobbed, "I should also die, I killed my sister."

"That's utterly despicable!" Xingzi, who was taking notes, had red-rimmed eyes and ground her teeth fiercely as she spoke.

She was short, with a slightly rounded face, a typical Lolita-type beauty, and when she was angry, she looked kind of cute.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, however, didn't show much emotional fluctuation.

"The case is simple and clear, it's vendetta," Aoyama Xiu Xin initially concluded, but then he changed his tone, "However, considering you took a large amount of drugs before committing the crime, if you're willing to change your statement to say you were not aware of your actions, maybe you could get a reduced sentence."

"Why... why would you help me?" Takazawa Akiyoshi lifted his head and asked quietly, pursing his lips.

Aoyama Xiu Xin was noncommittal, "You were just foolish, not bad. The bad one was Noguchi Noboru, and I have no interest in seeking justice for someone who deserved to die. Yeah, that's right, I'm that unprofessional."

"You're only 20 years old, spending a decade or two in prison and then coming out, you still have much you can do. You can use the time inside to quit your drug addiction and start over."

As a transmigrator, he felt no obligation or conviction to uphold the legal justice of Japan. As long as he wasn't caught out, he would handle the case however he wanted.

Xingzi's eyes sparkled with admiration as she looked up at Aoyama Xiu Xin, thinking that although Deputy Chief Aoyama lacked professional ethics, he really was cool!

"Thank you," Takazawa Akiyoshi said, his face streaming with tears.

"Knock, knock, knock." Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Aoyama Xiu Xin called out, "Come in."

"Deputy Director, we've finished taking statements from the arcade owner and several witnesses," Jing Shang said, entering with a stack of documents, he added, "There's also a piece of news, I don't know if it's of any use, but Noguchi Noboru is the younger brother of Noguchi Masao, the head of the Noguchi Group."

Aoyama Xiu Xin's previously casual gaze suddenly changed, and he sat up straighter.