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

"Hello! The star duo of the Criminal Division, you two are having a great time together! That's great! That's great!"

"Since you're from Tokyo, please don't speak with a Kansai accent."

Shiraizumi responded coldly, disapproving of the pretentious Kansai accent. Speaking of Kansai accents, Ikenami Shizuka's was the purest; his half-baked version was only embarrassing.

"Excuse me, may I ask what the Six Societies leader can do for you?"

Ryoko's voice had the same tone as dry ice.

The "Six Society," staffed entirely by prominent newspaper journalists, is located on the ninth floor of the Metropolitan Police Department building. Its spacious office space, spanning 200 square meters—four to five times the size of a school classroom—also includes a gymnasium and a Japanese-style mahjong room. Residents of this floor pay no rent, with electricity, telephone, and water bills covered by the Metropolitan Police Department.

In addition, there are three female staff members who usually make tea for the reporters of "Six Society", deliver food orders, help call taxis, clean the office, and are responsible for all miscellaneous tasks.

It is the Metropolitan Police Department that pays their salaries, which means that the "Six Societies" press corps can borrow the Metropolitan Police Department's offices for free and even employ its staff.

The Metropolitan Police Department's courteous treatment of the "Six Society" is intended to win over prominent newspapers. However, given the 100 million yen annual free service the department provides to the "Six Society," they naturally cannot tolerate negative reporting from their reporters, a fact the "Six Society" tacitly acknowledges. Consequently, they collaborate with the Metropolitan Police Department, sharing numerous secrets and using their monopoly on information to reinforce their privileged status. In their free Japanese-style rooms, they enjoy beer from the complimentary refrigerator and play mahjong for fun. The Metropolitan Police Department even proactively provides information that benefits both themselves and others, a position truly enviable. Consequently, readily available information is published unfiltered, making it difficult to avoid false reports that incriminate innocent individuals.

Before I knew it, reporter Uesugi started walking side by side with the two of them. It looked as if Ryoko was leading me on the left and Uesugi on the right. Uesugi was quite interested in Ryoko, and it was obvious that he was more interested in her than he should be.

"Don't call me Captain. I'm still a greenhorn. In police terms, I'm just one of those good-for-nothings who gets punished with red-line notices every now and then."

"Oh, really? If you don't know how to write it, the inspector next to me can teach you. He's an administrative officer, and his main job is to handle various official documents."

The so-called "red line" refers primarily to a confession letter, so called because of the red lines printed on the paper. It is a type of report and falls within Bai Quanyi's review scope. However, Bai Quanyi never seriously reviews it and always approves it directly.

"Mr. Uesugi, may I ask what you are doing here at this hour?"

"Because I like Ginza, I don't need to tell the police everything about my walks here, but people like you might have to report it to your superiors."

"Bai Quanyi's boss is me, and I'm already the head of the department."

Ryoko spat in a disdainful tone.

Uesugi kept talking, looking as if he would die if he closed his mouth. He stubbornly pressed the two for information. His desire to know about the Queen Hotel murder case was a natural reaction for a reporter, but the truth was not so simple.

"Ms. Ryoko, don't be so cold. At least reveal something."

"You want to know about the murderer?"

"of course."

"As long as the police and the media work together, they can fabricate a criminal. Based on past and present examples, the most common type is someone who doesn't socialize well with their neighbors, speaks without thinking, has strange habits, and is disconnected from the community. I suggest you look for someone like this as a scapegoat."

"Oh, you're giving me a headache when you say that."

Uesugi gave a dry laugh.

"We have always trusted the police investigation and have always reported directly upon receiving information. It is unacceptable to casually suspect others. Or do you really think this is a better approach?"

Bai Quanyi remained silent, his eyes fixed on the street lamp beside him, because he noticed a strange phenomenon.

There is an object on the streetlight.

Uesugi sensed something was amiss and followed Baiquanyi's gaze, looking over in confusion. He froze for a moment, then uttered in a shrill voice, "Strange! Why would someone build a statue on a streetlight for no apparent reason? What on earth is that?"

"Do you want to know?"

Ryoko's tone was sinister like a witch.

"That's the murderer who dumped the body in the atrium of the Queen's Hotel yesterday."

"What……"

Uesugi exclaimed with a cheesy look of surprise, "So that statue is a fake?"

"It could also be a gargoyle--" Baiquan Yi said.

From this sentence, it can be understood that Uesugi is completely unaware of the truth. As if mocking his ignorance, the black shadow on the street lamp spread its wings and made a terrifying sound. The next moment, the black shadow glided down from a great height.

A black shadow passed over the heads of passers-by, and a man in an Italian casual suit was hit in the face by the flapping wings. He fell backward, and blood immediately splattered on the clothes of the young female companion he was traveling with.

The other man reflexively reached out his hand to try to grab the black shadow, but suddenly saw his wrist bent at an unnatural angle. Then he let out a scream of pain, because the black shadow stretched out his foot and kicked the man's wrist, and his toes had huge hooked claws.

"Get down quickly!"

Someone shouted, and several people immediately dropped to the ground, while others froze in place for a moment. A dark shadow swirled past, and two people immediately crouched on the ground, their faces covered. Blood flowed from between their fingers.

"How dare you act so recklessly in front of me..."

Ryoko opened her handbag and prepared to take out her COLT 32 caliber.

"and many more!"

Shiraizumi Mashi raised his hand to stop Ryoko from firing. If he fired in the crowd, not only would he face media criticism, but he'd also be given an excuse by the higher-ups to arrest and punish him. This wasn't like the US; Japan was a country where even firing warning shots was a fuss. And if Uesugi were to embellish the report...

Ryoko used to work for Interpol and returned to Japan, still bringing her old habits with her.

Ryoko's apology

Ginza at night suddenly fell into a vortex of panic.

Although a space was vacated on the sidewalk after the crowd ran away, people did not flee. Instead, they could not hide their curiosity and started to watch the show.

Some young people even made a V-sign for victory with their hands, glancing left and right, presumably trying to locate the cameras. They knew they might be the next victim, but they completely lacked the imagination to do so.

"They probably thought it was just a movie location shoot, so it shouldn't be a big deal to take advantage of the situation and add fuel to the fire," Ryoko said with a relaxed look.

"No, please try to be as restrained as possible." Baiquan Yi reminded him that he could not predict what Ryoko would do?

The winged figure perched on the streetlight remained motionless, its wings flapping continuously. Its featherless wings resembled those of a bat or pterodactyl, seemingly simply bone covered in leather. While its weight was unknown, it was certain they were strong and sturdy, having carried a person aloft only yesterday.

The winged man's eyes glowed red, and the flapping of his wings became louder and louder.

The next moment, the winged man swooped down and pounced towards Baiquan Yi and Ryoko.

Shiraizumi thrust his umbrella forward, pressing a button on the handle. Instantly, the umbrella opened, forming a hemispherical shield in front of him. The winged man, having lost his target, screamed in anger and rapidly climbed to a higher altitude.

The crowd was clamoring and making sounds of surprise, and some even clapped and wanted to take photos.

The wingman lost his target and chose reporter Uesugi as his target.

Next…

"Go away!"

This sound was overlapped with a scream. At the same time that Ryoko kicked away the Uesugi reporter who was squatting on the ground with his head in his hands, the winged man suddenly appeared in front of Shiraizumi Masaru.

Bai Quanyi kicked Yiren's head mercilessly. Yiren was kicked away and struggled painfully in the air.

"Don't be careless, there are still many!" said Ryoko.

"Sure enough, there's more than one..."

In the darkness, many winged people appeared.

The only visible eyes on the winged man's face were red eyes, his nose had no bridge and only nostrils were visible, and his mouth and lips were not visible, only a crack.

Two winged men stood on top of the street lamp, their three eyes staring at Shiraizumi Masaru and Ryoko.

Ryoko opened her arms, her movements like an opera singer.

"Oh, really! If only we had anti-tank missiles or anti-tank rocket launchers, we could just fire five or six shots and it would be over!"

"Please don't be alarmist. Do you really want to launch anti-tank rockets in the middle of downtown Ginza?"

"I'm just assuming. Please don't be like Yukiko and lecture me seriously every time I say something, okay?"

"There's so much truth in what you said."

Shiraizumi believed that every word Ryoko said was serious.

"Look, those two monsters heard it too."

Two winged men leaped into the sky, drew a parabola in the sea of ​​neon lights and street lamps, and then spread their wings and flew away. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared. It seemed that they were leaving in the direction of Mita in the west.

The crowd erupted in an uproar, their voices filled with more disappointment than relief. They probably still believed they were filming a location shoot. Meanwhile, Shirazumi noticed a suspicious figure in the crowd.

"Did you notice, Quan Yi?"

"Ah."

"There are five of them in total. It's just right for me to vent my anger on them. Huh, huh, huh, you're unlucky."

"...I think it's better not to take action."

"If a sixth one shows up, I'll leave it to you to deal with."

Ryoko took the umbrella from Shiraizumi Masu, and then walked towards one of the suspicious men with a charming smile.

Seeing the target approaching him, the opponent was at a loss, and a moment was enough to launch an attack. Ryoko's umbrella flashed like lightning and pierced the opponent's heart. The opponent's tongue lolled out and he gasped.

He fell to the ground without a sound, and a military dagger fell from his hand.

"My backup parachute is equipped with a high-voltage electric shock gun! If the parachute head hits your eyes, the electric shock will blow your eyeballs off. If you want to die, come on."

It is impossible to verify whether this statement has any scientific basis, but what is certain is that the enemy has begun to waver. In this case, no matter how many people they face, the side that is as stable as a rock can use tactics at will.

Ryoko approached the enemy with a gliding pace, swung her umbrella and started to hit him hard.

"Go back and weigh yourself!"

"Reflect on this carefully!"

"I'll be back in business after plastic surgery!"

As soon as the caustic words left his mouth, one of the enemies collapsed to the ground with a groan of pain. They were indeed a gang, and had undoubtedly committed many atrocities, but this time, falling into Ryoko's hands, they were no different from kindergarten children being punished by their teacher for their disobedience. They struggled even after falling to the ground, and then took another heavy blow before they collapsed completely. In total, five military daggers and awls were scattered on the ground.

In less than a minute, all five men were lying on the ground. Ryoko gently raised her umbrella in response to the applause and cheers of a group of irresponsible people, while walking towards one of the fallen men.

"Tell me, who sent you here?"

The man turned his face away in a sullen manner, but the next moment his expression changed 180 degrees. His facial muscles stiffened in pain, and he let out a roar that sounded like a wail, then curled up his body.

The weight was placed on the high heels, pressing hard between the man's legs.

"If you want to continue your family line in the future, you can wait until the day when cloning technology advances."

Throwing down these words, Ryoko then walked towards the second man, the same question, almost the same reaction in exchange for the same fate. I will not place any sympathy on these people, but when I saw Ryoko was about to walk towards the third person.

"Ryoko, someone's coming."

"Tsk!"

One after another, red light blades flashed across Ryoko's face. The sound of urgent sirens gradually approached, and the police finally arrived at the scene.

The red rotating light illuminated Ryoko and Shiraizumi Masu, who were standing in the falling summer rain, holding an umbrella together.

A police officer came towards him and Bai Quanyi immediately showed his police ID.

"I'm Inspector Shiro from the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Division. Call an ambulance first; someone's injured. Then arrest these people. They're charged with attempted murder, obstruction of public service, and illegal possession of a knife."

"Yes!" A nervous reply followed, and a group of officers picked up several men who had been victims of Ryoko's violence. While they followed their orders, their gazes kept glancing at Ryoko. Those who didn't know Ryoko would likely admire her beauty, while those who knew her would remain silent.

"Pests like that should be caught and tortured, and then thrown directly into the nuclear reactor after they give away clues. I'm afraid if the news leaks out, the Pest Protection Association will nag them again."

"Do you think they'll tell the truth?"

"do not think so."

"Then even torture won't help."

"I don't think so. What I hate most is people like that. They always do illegal things and still insist they're good people. If I hand them over to me, I'll definitely make them pay for it!"

Ryoko tapped the pavement lightly with the heels of her high heels and looked around. "By the way, where's Reporter Uesugi?"

Bai Quanyi asked, "If we don't take the initiative, who knows what kind of report that person will write."

"There's no need to worry about that Uesugi guy. I already have the weaknesses of the Nitto News executives."

"What kind of weakness?"

"There are more than a dozen of them, both public and private. If they were all disclosed at once, it would inevitably cause panic in shareholder meetings and a sudden drop in newspaper circulation by half a million copies."

Looking at Ryoko's evil smile, Baiquanyi was worried about several other things.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Okay, what's the matter?"

"I always feel like the order of things is wrong."

"In what order?"

"First, there was the murder at the Empress Hotel, then there was the interference of a police inspector from the Shiba Provincial Government, and then the West Pacific Petroleum Development Company was involved."

"There's nothing strange about this."