"Hey, why aren't you going out on the police mission?"
Miwako Sato slapped the desk in displeasure and glared at the newcomer sitting in front of her. Jinpei Matsuda was wearing black sunglasses, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and flipping through the newspaper with complete nonchalance.
"It's just some suspicious old man. Why should I go when you guys can handle it yourselves? Besides, I'm sitting right here waiting for a fax."
"I heard the headquarters gets that thing on the sixth of every month, don't they?"
Hearing this, Sato remained unimpressed, thinking it was just a prank and nothing to fuss over. "Starting three months ago, headquarters has received a fax every month with a capital Arabic numeral on it. But we've investigated so many times and come up with nothing. If that's not a prank, what is?"
"Three months ago it was 3, two months ago it was 2, and a month ago it was 1. If you ask me, this must be some bomber counting down. He wants to make a move, and it's definitely going to be today."
Miwako Sato couldn't figure out why he was so certain. In truth, Kenji Hagiwara had caught wind of it and wanted to settle the score, feeling he had lost face and needed to redeem himself. To let Hagiwara recuperate in peace, Jinpei Matsuda had no choice but to come himself, and incidentally settle accounts with the guy who planted the bomb.
"Officer, another weird fax came in this month, but there's no number on it—just a warning."
Nizaburo Shiratori looked hesitant as he read the newly received fax aloud, word for word.
[We are a group of Knights of the Round Table. All you foolish and cunning police officers better watch out. At noon today, at 14:00, we will use our comrade's head as the celebratory fireworks.]
[If you've got what it takes, come and stop us. We will leave seat number 72 empty and await your grand arrival.]
Juzo Megure couldn't figure out what the fax meant. Upon hearing it, Jinpei Matsuda hoisted his black tool bag onto his shoulder and walked out. A round table with 72 chairs could only mean the giant Ferris wheel at Beido Mall, the largest one in Japan.
This time, he was determined to kick that bastard who hurt Hagiwara straight into the precinct to crush rocks. But before that, he had to buy the traditional Chinese medicine Hagiwara needed.
There was only one pharmacy nearby that sold Chinese herbs. Few people ever bought them, but they were cheap and of good quality. It had reportedly opened just a few months ago, and since the owner was often busy and away, only a single clerk was left to tend the shop.
If you wanted to buy medicine, you could send a message a day ahead, and the clerk would send you a specific serial number. On the day of, you could just come straight to the shop with the number and pick up the medicine without waiting.
The moment he stepped through the door, however, he ran into trouble, and Jinpei Matsuda couldn't help sneezing. The clerk he bumped into apologized profusely; she hadn't expected to mess up on her very first day when she was only supposed to be there to clean.
Jinpei Matsuda brushed the ash off his clothes. It wasn't the smell of the cigarettes he usually smoked; instead, it carried the not-unpleasant, delicate fragrance of medicinal herbs. Still, he couldn't help asking, "What is this?"
"Ah... this is the ash from herbal cigarettes. Some patients with poor health smoke a bit of it, but you shouldn't inhale too much."
Hearing that it was a medicinal cigarette, Jinpei Matsuda lost interest in asking further. Brewing medicine for Hagiwara every day was already driving him nuts, and the smell was truly overpowering. Thinking about how he still had to deal with a certain guy shortly after, he didn't pursue the matter and simply took his medicine and left.
"I must admit my miscalculation—I failed to anticipate that your personalities would be so lazy."
The speaker was none other than the heterochromatic doctor who had resigned from the hospital. Geng Jing frowned in extreme displeasure as he looked at the police officers before him.
"Um... I'm really sorry, but right now we simply can't spare any personnel."
"I didn't say I wouldn't help. It's just that my child is at the hospital, and you dragged me away without a word. At least let me pick up my child first."
Geng Jing turned a deaf ear to the officer's explanation. All he wanted to know right now was the situation of the little white fox he had left behind at the hospital.
Even though he and Guangbai had a minor disagreement yesterday, Geng Jing hadn't minded at all, and today he had gently placed the little fellow into its pet carrier just like always.
While waiting during Guangbai's checkup, a stranger had walked up to him and muttered an apology, and then two more men appeared behind him, abducting him directly into a deserted corridor where he vanished without a trace.
A rare hint of surprise flickered in the depths of Geng Jing's indifferent heterochromatic eyes, but it was mostly laced with intrigued amusement. Unlike the stern, cold faces of the men, the corners of his eyes curved in a languid smile.
"Mr. Geng Jing, we have an urgent matter today, which is why we asked you here."
Once they revealed themselves as Public Security police officers, Geng Jing's interest faded. He lazily raised his gaze, looking somewhat distracted as they spoke.
"With such a grand fanfare, I thought you were hired to take my life..."
Geng Jing's expression darkened as he lowered his gaze, leaning indolently against the back of the chair in silence. With one hand propping up his chin and the other clutching his chest, his complexion grew noticeably paler.
"Mr. Geng Jing, what's wrong with you?"
A stifling tightness gripped his chest, making it hard to breathe, and a bitter taste welled up in his throat as if his airflow was being choked off. Geng Jing tightly gripped his chest, his knuckles turning white from the force.
"I need to get out. Somewhere open, preferably."
The cramped, crowded space held at least four or five people, severely depleting the oxygen levels and making it impossible for Geng Jing, who was struggling to breathe, to cope.
Leaving the tiny room did improve Geng Jing's condition slightly, but not by much, so the Public Security police had no choice but to bring him an oxygen machine to use.
"Do you Japanese Public Security officers always do things so boldly?"
Geng Jing held the oxygen mask expressionlessly, his voice tinged with fatigue as his black-and-white-mixed eyelashes drooped to conceal the look in his eyes.
The subtext was that the other party acted recklessly. Thinking of the current Japanese police, he was speechless. Even though Geng Jing phrased it very politely, his silence was deafening.
"We really had no choice. We heard of your exceptional medical skills and wanted to ask you to secretly treat our wounded personnel. Of course, this situation is special."
"There is a terrorist attack at the amusement park nearby, and since you happened to be in the area, we thought of bringing you over."
The young man explained. Geng Jing frowned slightly, his eyelids twitching nonstop. "So knowing there's a bomb nearby, your first thought wasn't to evacuate me, but to have me stand guard here?"
Geng Jing's retort plunged the surrounding Public Security officers into sudden silence. Obviously, they were also wondering why they hadn't evacuated civilians first instead of standing right inside the blast zone.
"Mr. Geng Jing, we never said it was a bomb disposal."
Another Public Security officer politely reminded him.
"My eyes just can't take the light; that doesn't mean I'm blind, nor do I have water sloshing around in my head."
That remark practically spelled out that he wasn't blind or stupid. Geng Jing's words were refined—not exactly gentle, but polite enough.
A whole bunch of police officers were standing downstairs; anyone with half a brain seeing those fully armed cops would know they were bomb disposal squad members.
"So can I go pick up my child now?"
The Public Security officer was speechless. So after all that, you were still only worried about that fox back at the hospital? Given Geng Jing's persistence, he could only patiently explain, "I'm sorry, your safety is paramount."
The little white fox, having witnessed his dad being snatched away, was in a state of shock. Guangbai thought to himself that it was one thing to steal fur-children these days, but kidnapping someone's dad was crossing a line. Held back by the medical staff, he could only watch helplessly as Geng Jing was abducted by three or four strangers.
Having just finished his checkup, Guangbai sniffed out Geng Jing's scent and bolted out of the hospital. People bustled back and forth on the street, and anyone seeing a small white fox for the first time found it immensely fascinating.
Guangbai backed away a few steps in fright, when he inadvertently caught sight of a certain man wearing sunglasses in the crowd, and Geng Jing's words echoed in his mind.
"If you run into trouble, go find the police. They'll contact me to come pick you up."
At that thought, the little fox seemed to find courage and made a dash straight toward the man in sunglasses.
"The bomb is on that Ferris wheel. Be careful, Hagiwara is still waiting for you to go back and have a drink."
Juzo Megure instructed carefully, terrified that Matsuda would suddenly do something foolish like Hagiwara did. But thinking about that miserable recuperation vacation, Matsuda probably wouldn't want to experience it himself.
"Got it, just wait for my good news."
Jinpei Matsuda understood the subtext completely. Ever since Hagiwara was forced to stay home to recover, he couldn't eat this or that, and alcohol and cigarettes only existed in his dreams. His days were far more austere and ascetic than a monk's.
However, the moment he stepped into the Ferris wheel cabin, a white, unidentified furry object leaped in behind him, scaring Matsuda so badly he almost dropped his phone.
"Wuwu."
With his sharp reflexes, he successfully caught the unknown creature. The fierce look in his eyes softened instantly upon seeing those round, obsidian eyes, though it quickly morphed into exasperation.
"No wait... whose pet didn't they watch properly?!"
The little white fox looked at him pitifully, holding a small silver tag in its mouth. Even though it was terrified of strangers, it was trying to reach out to him.
"Stand aside and don't move. I'll figure out a way to send you down..."
Matsuda glanced below; the figures of his superiors and colleagues had gradually shrunk into black dots in his field of vision. He looked at the fox in his hands—tossing it down now would be the same as killing the little guy.
Thinking better of it, he simply put the little fox down to comfort it. Anyway, they couldn't get down right now, so he might as well defuse the bomb first.
"Be a good boy, stay put and don't move around. Once I'm done here, I'll send you home, okay?"
"Yoyo!"
As if it understood, the little fox obediently sprawled out on the floor, blinking its innocent, big eyes at him unceasingly. That left Matsuda speechless—there was really no need to be this obedient.
"This officer is truly admirable. I really have to praise your courage. I'll give you a hint as to where an even bigger fireworks display than this is located; three seconds before the explosion, you'll see my clue. Wish you success in advance."
If he defused this bomb, he wouldn't know the exact location of the other one. No wonder that guy wanted to leave the Ferris wheel suspended mid-air.
"Matsuda, what's wrong? What are you talking about? We can investigate bombs! Don't ever joke with your life!"
He knew what Sato wanted to say, but would that bomber really give them time to investigate? He looked at the little fox beside him, which was innocently looking up at him while biting its little tag, waiting to go down and find its owner.
Looking at the bomb with only one minute left, Jinpei Matsuda fell into a rare silence. He didn't really want to die, after all, Hagiwara was still waiting for him at home. Though he didn't know the remaining letters, he wanted to see Hagiwara's disappointed face even less. With that thought, he reached out and snipped the wire, watching the countdown to death freeze on the screen.
Jinpei Matsuda felt it was worth it. He didn't want to waste his life on some piece of scum, especially since there was an innocent little fellow right beside him.
"Don't worry, little guy. You're safe now."
"Wuwu."
Guangbai snuggled into the man's arms, his eyes curved in a smile. Even though the little fox was terrified of strangers, this man gave off a comforting scent—the very same unique fragrance that belonged to Geng Jing.