Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

"I'm so sorry, the coffee is free."

"Of course, we can't let guests who have come all the way to this remote area go home disappointed."

"You're right. Speaking of this remote area, I remember that during World War II, the Japanese army secretly conducted human experiments in underground laboratories. After their defeat, they dumped the bodies into Tokyo Bay. Later, the land was reclaimed and reclaimed to create new land. Therefore, some people believe that the Bayshore Sub-Center has been cursed from the beginning."

0...0

"Do you believe it?"

Ryoko's reaction was indifferent. The manager, as if being poured cold water, smiled bitterly and gestured in the air with his right hand.

"It's just a rumor among the citizens. Even if the Japanese army really did do something like this, it would have been on a small scale at best. What I'm more concerned about is..."

At this point, the manager's tongue suddenly stopped. A tall, middle-aged gentleman passed by. After a three-second silence, the manager whispered, "That's Mr. Takaichi, the chairman of the Bayshore Development Corporation, which manages this skyscraper. I've heard he's not only shrewd and capable, but also has a deep understanding of feng shui, the symbol of Eastern wisdom. That's why the building was built according to its principles..."

"Really boring."

Ryoko scoffed at the so-called "symbol of Eastern wisdom."

"If feng shui were true, there wouldn't have been so many changes of dynasties since ancient times. While it has more theoretical basis than blood type or astrology, it's ultimately just a topic for after-dinner conversation."

"Yes, you are absolutely right."

The manager's hand caressed the thinning hair on his head, while Shiraizumi Masu pondered Takaichi. He had served as Tokyo's vice-governor for quite a while, but rumors circulated that he had manipulated the governor, elected solely on popularity and completely clueless about government affairs, to drag the Tokyo Metropolitan Government into a swamp of corruption... No, that wasn't a rumor, it was fact. He later embezzled 500 yen worth of event funds, shifted the blame onto the governor, and then resigned. This incident also implicated Odagiri Toshiaki, forcing him to be transferred out of Tokyo.

After a period of time, Gao Shi unexpectedly became the owner of this skyscraper. It is really like all crows in the world are black and dead.

Ordinary people are just numbers

Walking out of the restaurant, "Next..." The moment Ryoko opened her red lips, the air and the ground suddenly vibrated, and the rumbling sound shook the eardrums, stomach and soles of shoes at the same time. Ryoko and I looked at each other, then looked down at the entrance hall of the stairwell and rushed to the handrail of the corridor on the second floor.

"The chandelier fell down!"

The onlooker's description of the entire situation was quite accurate. An ornate chandelier weighing nearly a ton had fallen from the stairwell to the floor, scattering shards of glass and twisted metal, sending dust flying everywhere. If that were all, it would have been a simple accident. The problem was that between the chandelier and the floor, human figures were intertwined. Several figures, in shirtsleeves, stretched from beneath the chandelier, and high-heeled feet extended to the floor, motionless.

Wearing high-heeled sandals, Ryoko ran to the scene of the fallen chandelier at an astonishing speed and ordered the people standing still around her, "Call an ambulance!" Then she shouted to me, "Shiraizumi Masaru, come over here!"

"Yes, what is it, Inspector?"

"Can you pull out the injured person trapped under the chandelier?"

"I think I can..."

Then, Ryoko watched Shiraizumi Masu walk towards the chandelier.

"Wait—you're planning on doing this alone, without help?"

"Yes, I am enough alone."

Then, in front of everyone's stunned eyes, Bai Quanyi lifted the chandelier by himself and rescued the person who was hit from under the chandelier.

Although they were rescued, they were just corpses.

"Haiquan Yi, are you Popeye?" Ryoko asked.

"I'm stronger than Popeye." Bai Quanyi smiled.

Ryoko was speechless, but now was not the time to dwell on such things. Her top priority was to find the culprit that caused such a terrible accident.

In the center of the hall stood a marble pedestal, two meters wide, four meters long, and two meters high, but nothing was on it.

A large bronze lion statue fell from its pedestal, trapping four or five men and women between the statue and the floor. A small red and black pool spread across the floor, revealing human hands and feet beneath the giant lion's body. This scene was just like the one in the entrance hall five minutes ago.

The situation was quite similar. Ryoko approached the lion's mouth with the crisp sound of her high heels.

"Who on earth is capable of moving such a heavy bronze statue?"

Ryoko's mumbling was cut off by a strange sound: a nervous, unrhythmic scream. A thin man in a brightly colored suit, probably made in Italy, knelt on the ground, scratching his hair.

Ryoko called out to him.

"Are you an eyewitness? Can you describe the details?"

However, the young man just screamed wildly, perhaps because his friend was trapped under the bronze lion, causing him to panic. Most people would show some sympathy, but Ryoko stared at the young man with an impatient look.

Then, he suddenly swung his right hand and slapped the young man, sending him flying. The young man somersaulted about three meters behind him and fell to the ground, motionless.

The young man was bleeding from his nose and wailing, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just wanted you to calm down a bit."

"I can't stay calm anymore! I'm going to find a lawyer to sue you."

Bai Quanyi quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, explaining, "She and I are both criminal police officers. She's just worried that you might have a mental breakdown, so she resorted to this desperate measure..."

"That shouldn't be the case." The young man felt aggrieved.

Then, Bai Quanyi asked about the identity of the young man who had just been slapped by her and was sitting on the ground.

"This guest is attending a social event for the son of a high-ranking financial official and a female celebrity idol. All attendees, both male and female, have been strictly screened."

"Who is the secretary?"

"It's Mr. Sayama."

Mr. Sayama is the managing director of one of Japan's leading advertising agencies, and is responsible for political party election posters and brochures.

"I remember that several people from that advertising agency were arrested because of their involvement in a marijuana case," said Bai Quanyi.

"That's right, that minister's prodigal son also works there. When he was arrested for marijuana, he said everyone in his company had a marijuana habit."

Ryoko laughed sarcastically.

"In short, this incident must be thoroughly investigated. Is the external contact number disconnected?"

"no way."

"Where's the cell phone?"

"I can't get through at all. The signal inside the museum is blocked."

"Really? That's terrible. It looks like someone planned this on purpose..."

After reaching an extremely unreasonable conclusion, Ryoko shifted her gaze to the outside of the glass window.

"Looks like the only option is to use the public phone outside."

"The nearest pay phone is 800 meters away."

"Thanks a lot."

Ryoko smiled as she looked at Baiquanyi. Baiquanyi had no choice but to walk towards the entrance and exit hall. After only five or six steps, the night view outside the window suddenly disappeared.

Baiquanyi turned around and looked at Ryoko, and he knew that the situation was not good.

All the rolling doors were pulled down, blocking the night view. Just as Ryoko and Shiraizumi Mashi rushed to the front door, the thick hard glass wall - this partition wall made of special hard aluminum alloy had already been lowered, and people entering and leaving the hall exchanged panicked glances.

"We're locked up!"

Someone shouted in a screaming voice.

At this time, Ooka's publishing anniversary party had just ended, and a group of participants rushed out, more than half of whom were people related to the political circle. Their expressions did not look like they had just attended a pleasant party, but rather as if they were exhausted after completing a task.

The crowd flowed from the party venue to the corridor and finally gathered in the entrance hall.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Why can't you go out?"

"I have to go back to the company at nine o'clock."

"Hey, who's in charge? Call the person in charge over here."

Voices of complaints and anxiety quickly rang out all around, and those who witnessed the accidents with the chandelier and the bronze lion statue also expressed fear and dissatisfaction.

People gathered in front of a large screen in the lobby, which was broadcasting news from a local TV station. It was the turn of a pretentious middle-aged news anchor to speak.

"We've received the latest news: an unusual incident has occurred at the Seaside City Plaza in the Kaigan Sub-Center. Not only the Bayshore Police Department, but also the Metropolitan Police Department has urgently dispatched personnel. Details are still unclear, but our reporters are en route to the Seaside City Plaza. We'll keep you updated on the latest news... Let's take a look at the commercial first."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the media had finally reported their current situation.

“Why are you still broadcasting commercials now?”

"Would you like to watch the state-run channel instead?"

"To make matters worse, they're still leisurely broadcasting a program introducing traditional Japanese music..."

After waiting for a long time for the commercial to end, the news anchor appeared again with a serious expression.

"According to reports, a rally of Japanese politicians was held tonight at the Seaside City Plaza, with several members of the ruling party in attendance. If this was a terrorist act of hostage-taking, it would be unprecedented in Japanese political history."

There was an uproar at the scene because most people didn't know about this.

"In fact, just five minutes ago, we contacted the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Relations Division about this incident, and the response was: no comment. A minute later, when we tried to follow up, the call went dark. In short, this is definitely a serious case."

After a breath...

"We've received the latest news. According to the National Police Agency's First and Sixth Mobile Units, they've already headed to Wangan Sub-Center. Furthermore, the Second Mobile Unit and the Special Vehicle Unit are about to depart... The situation seems to be escalating."

I could hear a discussion next to me. Two men who looked like they belonged to the police were whispering to each other. Apparently, besides Yakushiji Ryoko, other police officers had been invited.

Shiraizumi Mashi was only familiar with the people in the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division, and was unfamiliar with other departments.

"From the outset, I was against having the Minister attend a party to raise campaign funds for a specific candidate."

"This will definitely be heavily criticized by the media afterwards. I never thought that the news would be known to the TV stations. Are the intelligence management units asleep at the wheel?"

"The second aircraft dispatch means we will take the water route."

Ryoko crossed her arms. "Ninji" is the abbreviation for the Second Mobile Unit, located at the Yokogawa Bridge Headquarters. It is responsible for water patrols and rescue operations, also known as "Kappa Ninji." Before I could answer, the crowd in the corridor on the second floor began to make a noise, which was incomparable to the previous one.

A large number of patrol police cars, armored transport vehicles, fire trucks, cranes, etc. arrived one after another, the spacious lobby was filled with a sea of ​​lights, and sirens resounded through the sky.

“It’s a huge lineup.”

"Of course, all police officers must rescue the ruling party MPs. They don't have 5:50 tonight to take care of other accidents and cases."

"Now we can rest assured, with so many police officers here."

"Finally saved."

The kind-hearted people who trusted in the police's ability cheered frequently. The critic who was thrown out by Ryoko, Ms. Asai Kyoka, and Councillor Fukugami must have been among them. At this time, Ryoko cast her eyes on the big screen and asked me to look carefully.

"Although it looks very impressive, you see, there are no police officers behind them."

Clusters of light continued to pour into the entire Haipu New Area, but the number of patrol cars and armored personnel carriers was not that large. Needless to say, it was clear that they were a group of onlookers who had flocked to the area after learning of a major incident in the Bayside Sub-Center.

Ryoko shrugged. Not many people could perform this simple action, and it was certain that Ryoko was one of them.

"Minister Yakushiji, the criminal has taken 10,000 people hostage in the building. If the theater turns out to be overwhelmed, he'll probably be very excited."

Ryoko showed an excited expression: "I think so too. That was just a small test of the criminal's skills. The exciting show is about to begin!"

Ryoko had no sympathy for the deceased. Perhaps in the upper class of Japan, ordinary people are just numbers.

The prisoner is a bug

The trapped congressmen appeared calm on the surface, but were actually very panicked inside. One congressman who recognized Ryoko's identity wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

.

He asked, "You are the Chief Inspector of Yakushiji Police, right? I didn't expect you to be trapped in the building. Are the police going to force a breakthrough?"

Yakushiji Ryoko replied, "It shouldn't be that simple! The Japanese mobile team has always been cautious and will not take action easily until the last minute."

“How long do you expect it to take?”

"At least there won't be any movement before daybreak."

"Are you kidding? The criminal might take action first!"

"I can't help it. If you insist on asking me for advice, I suggest you pray to God."

"Inspector, please don't make such a silly joke."

The congressman was angered by Yakushiji Ryoko, and Shiraizumi Mashi saw this and laughed secretly.

The reporters on the big screen were still talking non-stop.

"From the glass windows, I can see people inside the building. They're not restrained. I can see if anyone is armed... but it doesn't seem like there's any. From my vantage point, I can't see. But the perpetrator might be hiding somewhere. At this point, we don't know their identity or their motives."

After adjusting his breathing, he continued:

"It's estimated that the number of people imprisoned within the building is as high as 27. It's easy to imagine that the relevant authorities are now receiving a large number of inquiries from family members and relatives regarding their safety. Meanwhile, the mobile team is carefully observing the interior of the building. During this time, the kind-hearted citizens inside must endure the torment of fear... Ah! Two helicopters are flying in, preparing to land on the roof. Should we rescue the government officials first?"

At this moment, an electric current ran through the crowd gathered in front of the big screen.

"The helicopter landed on the roof!"