CHAPTER 533: CHAPTER 374: A HASTY BET (PART 2)

Of course, Akimoto Masahiko thought he was doing a good deed. If he just let people go, there would probably be another homeless corpse under the bridge; putting them in detention at least meant they had food, shelter, and care, which was better than mysteriously disappearing outside.

It’s not just the Nakagawara Police Station slacking off; other police stations’ criminal police handle cases the same way. They turn a blind eye, detaining addicts to get rid of this batch of mad lunatics, which has drawn the attention of the Police Department’s higher-ups.

As everyone knows, senior officials in the Police Department are generally removed from the front lines. Somewhere in the middle, a clever little guy emerged, compiled these fake records, claimed there was rampant drug use in Tokyo, and proposed an anti-drug operation.

The higher-ups weren’t necessarily fooled, just saw opportunities for profit, so they went along with it and approved. The Police Department assigned people to form an anti-drug investigation unit, gave a high-ranking official’s child a gilded status, and the newspapers reported daily that their drug-busting results were top-notch; the entire operation was just a farce.

If they could take down the gangs, why use the guise of a drug bust?

If they couldn’t take down the gangs, what was the point of a drug bust?

Now everyone in the Police Department tacitly accepted the situation. The criminal police knew the addicts were fake but couldn’t say it; speaking out would be dereliction of duty. The higher-ups likely knew too, but didn’t expose it, because without this pretense, they couldn’t justify their political achievements.

At this point, no one cared where these lunatics came from anymore.

Minamoto Tamako’s job was to tear off this fig leaf, naturally facing numerous obstacles from top to bottom.

Fushimi Roku knew well not to go against the entire system head-on. He had to separate the specific individuals involved from the departments, otherwise, he would be overwhelmed.

Once he understood the key, he naturally had a solution.

"Actually, it’s like this: one of the suspect’s clients has improper dealings with the suspect. We need to investigate the details..."

Fushimi Roku pulled Akimoto Masahiko into the office to smoke together. Amid the clouds of smoke, he sincerely said, "I know what’s up with that suspect. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought a psychologist."

Akimoto Masahiko flicked the ash, understanding what Fushimi Roku meant, and asked, "What if it works?"

"That’s not so easy," scoffed Fushimi Roku.

"What if?" Akimoto Masahiko eyed him sidelong and asked.

"Alright then, I’ll get a formal member of the investigation unit over to guarantee this suspect can’t be cured," Fushimi Roku, out of patience, extinguished the cigarette butt and said, "This is official business. If you insist on being serious, I’ll have a word with Chief Tō. At worst, I’ll just get a scolding."

Akimoto Masahiko weighed it for a moment, thinking the formal criminal police likely wouldn’t blow the cover, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Things became easier afterward. Fushimi Roku called Watanabe Shun over and had him provide a guarantee; Minamoto Tamako went to fetch people while Doctor Arima and others waited in the interrogation room.

Abe Rokuro looked on with admiration, thinking that Senior Fushimi was indeed more capable. Something even Senior Tamako couldn’t solve, Senior Fushimi sorted it out with ease.

Watanabe Shun had been out drinking all night again and planned to catch up on sleep during the day, but Fushimi Roku’s call dragged him over, leaving him a bit grumpy.

He stood outside the one-way mirror, watching Doctor Arima treat and muttered softly, "Who is this guy? Acting all mystical."

Akimoto Masahiko was also observing. Hearing this, he looked confused, "You don’t know who he is? Isn’t this case under the anti-drug unit?"

Watanabe Shun, thinking he was caught slacking, quickly coughed to cover up and said, "I know, of course I know. I mean... I find this guy annoying."

"Oh!" Akimoto Masahiko nodded with sudden understanding, quite agreeing, "So do I."

Doctor Arima finished the check-up in about half an hour, even faster than Miyazaki Shizuka. After coming out, he adjusted his glasses and claimed that the person was hypnotized and there was nothing to be treated. Finding the person who induced the suggestion would naturally restore clarity.

Akimoto Masahiko couldn’t help but chuckle dryly, asking Fushimi Roku where he found such a character and inquiring, "Does the anti-drug search unit really have such abundant funding? Are you going through reimbursement again..."

Arima Toshio wore a kind smile and interjected, "Officer, don’t you believe in hypnosis?"

"Does counting sheep count as hypnosis?" Akimoto Masahiko asked with a laugh.

"Of course it does," Arima Toshio nodded.

"Ha, can you turn a person into a dog by counting sheep?" Akimoto Masahiko, cigarette in mouth, hands in pockets, showed disdain.

Every tax season, the police department would recruit a batch of ’special hires,’ either recruited by the chief or invited by the superintendent. These people had a common trait: their hiring fees were extraordinarily high, and usually, it was the person in charge of hiring them who reimbursed these costs.

Akimoto Masahiko, seasoned and savvy, knew that so-called ’special hires’ were just there to take kickbacks or balance the accounts. Without exception, they were those in the special line of social work, known as ’private detectives’ or ’crime experts.’

There was no need to show them a good face.

Arima Toshio sensed what Akimoto Masahiko was thinking. He took off the watch on his wrist, smiling as he said, "See this? It’s a Patek Philippe. Your whole year’s salary wouldn’t even buy just the watch face."

Before Akimoto Masahiko could react, he reached out and put the watch into Akimoto Masahiko’s pocket, "Why don’t we make a bet? Bet whether I can hypnotize you within three minutes. If I fail, the watch is yours."

With that, he clapped his hands, like a shrewd merchant, rubbing his palms, and laughed, "How about it? This deal seems fair, right?"

Akimoto Masahiko reached into his pocket with his right hand, looked down, and indeed it was a Patek Philippe. Although he couldn’t tell if it was genuine, he was a bit tempted. Just like Arima Toshio said, even the watch face was worth his year’s salary.

Because it was set with diamonds.

"Alright," Akimoto Masahiko patted his pocket and grinned, "then I wouldn’t be courteous to refuse."

Watanabe Shun was a bit envious and wanted that watch too. He quickly approached to persuade, "Why don’t you reconsider? What if you get hypnotized?"

"Impossible," Akimoto Masahiko confidently replied.

Arima Toshio, taking the opportunity, said, "Since it’s a bet, we should be a bit more rigorous. I’ve already wagered my watch, what about you?"

Akimoto Masahiko had nothing on him of equal value to the watch, but he didn’t want to lose face, and he was extremely confident, so he drew his police gun from his waist, weighed it in his hand, and pushed it in front of Arima Toshio.

"I want this gun," he said.

Seeing this, Minamoto Tamako wanted to stop him. As a criminal police officer, how could he gamble with his service weapon? This was clearly a major dereliction of duty!

Fushimi Roku, eager to watch the drama, quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Do you want to solve the case or not? If you offend Doctor Arima, how can we continue the investigation?"

Minamoto Tamako resisted, making muffled protests and trying to pry off Fushimi Roku’s hand, but he continued, "It’s his freedom to manage his service gun. You can’t be bossy towards colleagues... It’s not too late to report him once he loses the gun."

This made sense; Minamoto Tamako hesitated for a moment and fell silent.

Abe Rokuro stood by, dumbfounded, feeling something was off. Since when did Senior Fushimi speak like this?

Before he could figure it out, the rash bet between Akimoto Masahiko and Arima Toshio was already set. Both wore confident smiles, even shaking hands as a sign of respect.

"Can we start now?" Akimoto Masahiko asked.

"Anytime," Arima Toshio rolled up his sleeves.