Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"Mr. Yamanaka, please get in the car!" The voice was gentle, with a mature and soothing tone. "They won't chase after us."

She was so confident, she must have made arrangements beforehand.

Xiuming thanked him, walked around the back of the car, and the rear door of the car slowly slid open.

After the car door is closed, the space is really spacious, like a sofa booth in a karaoke room. There is a wooden square table in the middle with a strawberry fruit plate on it. On one side facing the front of the car is a partition that separates it from the driver's cab. The other three sides of the square table are red leather sofa seats.

Yoshiko Funakawa sat on the right side of the square table, directly behind the driver's seat, her face still covered by a black veil, her eyes looking quite calm.

She was dressed in a black kimono, with her hands folded and placed flat on her lap, sitting upright, with her thick hair piled on top of her head; she was clearly a lady.

Xiuming sat down across the square table from her, but as soon as he sat down, the roar from the police siren suddenly changed: "All forces, attack! Catch them! Don't let a single member of the 'Eastern Continent Society' escape!"

There were no police at the other end of the street, which seemed to be an escape route, but now police sirens were also heard.

What's going on? Hideaki was taken aback and immediately looked at Funakawa Yoshiko with a puzzled expression.

Funakawa Yoshiko's calm gaze suddenly froze, yet she seemed to maintain her composure as she turned to look at the driver's seat. Through the transparent partition, she spoke softly to the bearded man, "Turn around, go quickly."

The bearded man was very capable; he accelerated and made a U-turn in one smooth and quick motion.

Outside the car window, police could be seen in the shadows of the alley. Some of the faster-running henchmen seemed to have just entered the alley when they were apprehended by the police.

The corners of Funakawa Yoshiko's peach-blossom eyes twitched.

At the street exit ahead, two police cars were blocking the intersection head-on, with an officer lying behind each car, one of whom was shouting through a megaphone: "Stop! You have been arrested, please stop immediately!"

"Go for it." As Funakawa Yoshiko spoke in a seemingly calm tone, she had already fastened the seatbelt beside her. Then she added, "Mr. Yamanaka, you should fasten your seatbelt."

The car suddenly accelerated.

Xiuming immediately grabbed the seatbelt, and just as he fastened it around his waist, the car jolted, followed by a crash and a screeching sound.

The car didn't crash into it, but a police car was swerved ninety degrees by the impact, and the black bulletproof car came to a stop between the two vehicles.

“Ms. Funakawa, if we are arrested, please tell the police that I was kidnapped by you, okay?” Hideaki stared at Funakawa Yoshiko with an expressionless face, and continued, “I am a law-abiding citizen, I pay taxes according to the law, and I do legitimate business.”

Funakawa Yoshiko clenched her fists on her lap and, without responding to Hideaki, said, "Keep crashing."

While Xiuming was still speaking, the car had already shifted into reverse and started to reverse, as if he wanted to stomp the accelerator to pieces. The sofa inside the car seemed to vibrate along with the roaring engine.

Police officers outside the car window, holding riot shields and brandishing small pistols, shouted, "Stop! Stop! Don't resist!"

Another police car came speeding by with its siren blaring, and with a screeching sound of brakes, it came to a steady stop at the gap that had been created by the crash.

“Now you’re in deep trouble,” Xiuming said, spreading his hands. “You have to say you kidnapped me, otherwise even if I let you go, my dozen or so armed brothers will never let you off the hook.”

"you shut up!"

Funakawa Yoshiko's eyes widened, and anxiety finally surfaced in them. She then raised her voice and said, "Back up, go to the other side!"

There was only one police car coming from the other side. Could we just scrape past it?

The bearded man seemed to have become a robot, making another perfect U-turn. However, because he had the accelerator floored, this time he swung around, and the strawberry platter on the wooden table slid into Funakawa Yoshiko's arms. Luckily, she was wearing a seatbelt.

She seemed completely unaware that a strawberry had flown into her collar.

Hideaki estimated that he would be fine if Funakawa Yoshiko cooperated and said that he had been kidnapped.

Is his/her background clean?

Upon closer reflection, I realized that I currently have billions of yen in loans from banks, as well as connections at securities firms who should be willing to lend me a hand. Furthermore, my current company and supermarket business require a massive influx of employees—a thousand, ten thousand!

Cars roared, but thankfully there were no loiterers on the street. The police team across the street had already dispersed because they were arresting people in the alley. The police car, which seemed to know the traffic rules, stopped on the left side of the road.

It looks like this car can squeeze through.

A policeman in his forties, who looked like an officer, was standing at the front of the car, talking into a walkie-talkie.

With the accelerator floored, the car sped off.

The police officer turned around, seemingly still puzzled. His expression changed, and he tumbled out of the street in a disheveled state.

With a screeching sound, it knocked off a rearview mirror and sped past.

The road ahead is completely clear, with no pedestrians. Have the police cleared the way?

Police sirens wailed from behind, and the loudspeaker on the roof of the car yelled, "Stop! Stop! Don't try to escape, you can't get away, you can't get away..."

"Go to the hospital's underground parking lot." Funakawa Yoshiko exhaled, her stiff body relaxing on the sofa. When she looked down, her face stiffened, but she casually pulled out the strawberries and put the fruit plate in the storage drawer under the sofa.

“Ms. Funakawa, didn’t you say they wouldn’t chase after us?” Hideaki said in a questioning tone, and then, without waiting for her response, continued, “Anyway, there’s no way we can escape. You have to say we kidnapped you.”

“If you hadn’t fired so indiscriminately,” Funakawa Yoshiko seemed to grit her teeth, “don’t worry, as long as you get out, everything will be fine.”

It seems the gunshots angered the police station.

If we had given prior notice a few years ago, perhaps they would have turned a blind eye, but at this stage, it's impossible to suppress the issue, and no one dares to take responsibility.

After all, the government's top officials have already been meeting to prepare for a crackdown. In less than twenty days, the government will officially introduce the "Anti-Organized Crime Law," casting a shadow over the already sunset industry once again.

"Find a secluded spot and put me down! Send me your grievances with the 'Mountain Alliance' and how to resolve them to my email! We'll talk about it later."

Funakawa Yoshiko's eyebrows twitched slightly, and then she took out Hideaki's business card from her pocket. The business card prominently displayed "4.5 million yen registered capital".

Her slender fingers were rubbing the 4.5 million yen, as if she were deep in thought.

After about three to five minutes, Funakawa Yoshiko suddenly asked, "What impression does Mr. Yamanaka have of Fukai Ichiro?"

Chapter 151 You're really being presumptuous.

The severely damaged bulletproof car sped through a traffic light, then the sirens following behind suddenly stopped, the car slowed down, and drove steadily toward the hospital that Funakawa Yoshiko had mentioned.

Hideaki only secretly filmed Ichiro Fukai's criminal transaction scene at Yokohama Port, owned by the Sugita family, together with Yoko Ezaki.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, of medium build and height, with a slicked-back hairstyle and wrinkles on his face.

As for the rest, it was all relayed by Ezaki, so I didn't have any direct impression of it, since we hadn't even spoken to each other.

“I’m a legitimate businessman, and I have nothing to do with him,” Xiuming continued. “If you want to get revenge on him, go ahead.”

“Hehe…” Funakawa Yoshiko chuckled meaningfully, then said, “Although Mr. Yamanaka has nothing to do with him, Fukai Ichiro cares a lot about you!”

Funakawa Yoshiko assumed that Hideaki and Ezaki Yoko had such close business dealings, and that Fukai Ichiro was a high-ranking member of the "Yamagaigumi," so they must be very familiar with each other. However, she was surprised to find that they had never even met.

Xiuming was taken aback and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Yoshiko Funaka continued, "He said that Mr. Yamanaka seduced the head of the Ezaki group, intending to 'hold the emperor hostage to command the princes' and control the entire 'Yamagai Group'."

“Oh…he’s also a fan of the Three Kingdoms…” Hideaki casually started a conversation, then asked, “Is Ms. Funakawa close to Fukai Ichiro?”

Gangs and organized crime are things we'd avoid like the plague, let alone control. We wouldn't even take them for free; times have changed… These are sunset industries with no future, so explaining it to her is pointless… she's not part of the Yamaguchi Group…

“We only made contact yesterday,” Funakawa Yoshiko said, her slender fingers rubbing Hideaki’s expensive business card between her fingertips. She then stared at Hideaki thoughtfully and continued, “Isn’t Mr. Yamanaka a chain of supermarkets? How come he’s in a software technology company?”

When she first received Hideaki's business card, she was indeed shocked by the "4.5 million yen" registered capital on it. Did he have that much spare money?

After all, you can start a company with just one yen.

She immediately called to verify the authenticity of the business card and received a positive response.

To her surprise, Hideaki did not own any of the chain supermarkets that Fukai Ichiro had mentioned.

Didn't Yoko Ezaki go overseas to make purchases? That's completely different from game development companies.

Of course, Funakawa Yoshiko wasn't particularly curious about this matter; she was just asking as a matter of routine.

What she cared more about was how much spare money Xiuming had.

She was pessimistic about Ichiro Fukai's suggestion and cooperation. After all, that old man was a traitor, and people in this line of work despise such people the most. Who knows if he might stab her in the back again? He has so many guns...

“The supermarket chain is under my wife’s name,” Hideaki replied casually. “After all, you can’t put too much in one basket!”

Since Funakawa Yoshiko has made contact with Fukai Ichiro, it must have been Fukai Ichiro who told her.

I already suspected that Ichiro Fukai was dishonest, and now I'm even more certain.

Should we take advantage of Yoko Ezaki and Kitaro's trip to sea with their trusted subordinates to raid their base?

"What?" Funakawa Yoshiko's eyelashes snapped open, and she frowned and tilted her head in a hesitant manner, asking, "You...? Your wife?"

Is there a problem?

"Could it be that what Fukai Ichiro said... about you and Team Leader Ezaki... was a lie?"

"I have no interest in explaining myself to rumors and slander; facts speak louder than words."

As Hideaki spoke, he casually picked up a few strawberries that Funakawa Yoshiko had placed on the square table, popped one into his mouth, and then said, "Ms. Funakawa, would you mind telling me what kind of business dealings you have with Fukai Ichiro?"

“I’m sorry, that’s a trade secret,” Funakawa Yoshiko’s eyes narrowed slightly. As she spoke, she took a tray from under the sofa, gathered all the strawberries that had been on the table into the plate, and placed them in the sofa base. Then she sat back down on the sofa, her ears slightly red. She added, “However, I have a secret. How much can Mr. Yamanaka offer? I guarantee it will be relevant to you.”

Funakawa Yoshiko's eyes were filled with confidence and certainty.

"Could it be that Fukai Ichiro is planning to assassinate me?" Hideaki rested his elbows on the table and looked into Funakawa Yoshiko's eyes. "Or is it to assassinate Ezaki Yoko?"

Funakawa Yoshiko didn't answer, her eyes darting around before she closed them.

“It seems to be true,” Xiuming sat back on the sofa, holding her business card in his hand, and continued, “Although you didn’t say it, you gave me a hint: how much money do you need? I will repay you with an interest rate 1% lower than the market rate.”

Funakawa Yoshiko suddenly opened her eyes, blinked twice, and said, "But Fukai Ichiro promised that after it's done, their 'Yamagai-gumi' will withdraw from Shinjuku Ward, and then three pachinko parlors, two bathhouses, one adult cinema, two love hotels, and one adult dance hall will all be under our ownership, all for free."

Hideaki silently estimated that if all assets were valued at a medium level, the total value of the assets plus one year's net profit would be only a few billion yen.

It's equivalent to half a day's income I'm making in the stock market now... In a few days, it won't even be a fraction of that.

Moreover, in reality, the total value is estimated to be less than one billion yen. When there is a crackdown, it may even be confiscated and fined, making it difficult to liquidate.

"Here's 1 billion yen in cash." Hideaki raised his index finger and continued, "The interest rate is 2 percentage points lower than the market rate. Also, please help me resolve Fukai Ichiro's problem. Just nod, and I'll transfer 500 million yen as a deposit right now."

For companies with ties to organized crime, it is extremely difficult to obtain financing through normal channels, especially bank loans, which are practically impossible.

Funakawa Yoshiko's loan shark company probably has a lot of bad debts from the loans it has issued, and maybe it has a lot of real estate in its hands... maybe it can also buy some at low prices?

This afternoon, 1.6 billion yen arrived, but I haven't had a chance to reinvest it in the stock market yet.

As for Fukai Ichiro, since he had already hired someone to deal with him, turning the tables on him wouldn't be considered murder, but rather self-defense.

Besides, he's a guy who sells weapons and organs... I'd rather deal with him myself.

"Hiccup~" Funakawa Yoshiko's eyes widened, and she hiccuped. Then she quickly looked down and tossed a gold bank card onto the square table. She then rested her left hand on her flushed forehead, pretending to think, and said in a trembling voice, "If you transfer 900 million yen to this card immediately, I will help you solve your problem tonight. He is upstairs right now."

As Hideaki suspected, Funakawa Yoshiko's financial credit company indeed had too many bad debts.

Actually, a deficit in the books isn't a big deal, since that's how it is for everyone.

But that won't work for her. The position of managing director wasn't obtained through legitimate means. Her only powerful backer, the old chairman, is hospitalized and looks like he won't live much longer.