Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

After listening calmly, Ping Shenglong finished his cigarette, stubbed it out, put it in his pocket, and looked up at Minister Iwaki seriously.

“Minister, we only make special exceptions for certain hardliners when there is evidence pointing to them, in order to buy time.”

"But there is currently no evidence pointing to that teacher named Ikeda Rui; all we have is the parent's side of the story. This isn't rape; you can't just rely on a word—"

"Pyeongseong Dragon!"

Iwaki interrupted him, his tone turning serious. He suddenly realized that this usually sensible subordinate had changed inexplicably today.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what the specific changes were.

"Have you been eating too much Kang Sheng? Are you mentally confused and starting to get delirious?" Pan Cheng said heavily.

Ping Shenglong remained unmoved, his expression still blank: "Perhaps, but Minister, I stand by my judgment, and..."

Ding ding ding.

The internal phone on the desktop rang. Iwaki stopped Heisei Ryu from speaking, glanced at the caller ID, coughed twice, and answered the phone.

"Good afternoon, Director. Is there any instruction?"

".Um."

His grip on the microphone tightened suddenly, and he turned to look at Ping Shenglong in disbelief, his eyes wide as if he were looking at a stranger.

"I understand. I will pay attention. Yes, thank you, Director."

Minister Iwaki silently hung up the phone, the shock in his eyes slowly fading, replaced by a surge of anger.

Flames of extreme rage.

Boom!

With lightning speed, he grabbed the ashtray on the table and smashed it hard on Ping Shenglong's head.

With a muffled thud, Ping Shenglong took the blow with his skull.

Blood gushed out instantly.

But Iwaki showed no regret or pity, and continued to stare intently at Pyeongseo Ryu.

"Why do this?"

“Because I have my reasons for doing this, Minister. Please allow me to continue.” Ping Shenglong, with blood staining half his face, suppressed his dizziness and nausea, and looked directly at Minister Iwaki. “I stand by my judgment and have submitted the report to the Superintendent General of Police.”

This is why Minister Iwaki is angry!

The fact that his trusted confidant, whom he had personally promoted, was now resorting to reporting to higher authorities without his consent completely enraged Iwaki.

"What right do you have to talk about perseverance! If you were this persistent, you wouldn't have become a section chief in the first place, and I wouldn't have promoted you! Do you really think you can become a section chief just by solving a few cases?! Then why didn't I use the Tianjin AI as the section chief of the First Investigation Division!"

"Ping Shenglong, you have disappointed me greatly. Now, you are suspended. Get out! Get out of the Criminal Investigation Department!! Get out of the Metropolitan Police Department!!"

Iwaki was panting heavily, his face flushed with anger and blood. One hand gripped the blood-stained ashtray tightly, while the other pointed to the door, rising and falling with his heavy breathing.

As if he had expected this, Ping Shenglong took out a police handbook from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Then he slowly stood up, walked unsteadily to the door, opened it, and left.

Outside the office, people watched in shock as Ping Shenglong emerged from the detective minister's office covered in blood, and several acquaintances rushed over to help him up.

"Quick! Hold on to this for a moment, I'll go get the car and bring it to the door!"

"Make way, clear the path, don't block the way!"

"Go to the elevator entrance in the underground parking lot, don't go through the main entrance!"

No one asked how this happened, or rather, just as they were about to ask, they wisely kept quiet after remembering that Pyeongsung had come out of the minister's office.

Just as the effects of the medication wore off, Ping Shenglong felt the drowsiness that had accumulated over the past few days begin to overwhelm him, and his body slowly lost its support.

"Section Chief Ping?!"

"Quick, put him on my back!"

"Tsk, concussion, minor fracture, open wound. That's enough for minor injuries, right? Can't you prosecute? Is the bullying in your criminal investigation department this severe? Your position isn't exactly low, it feels like you're worse off than an ordinary company employee."

The next night.

Inside the hospital, Kurosaki Chimei was there to accompany him.

Ping Shenglong, who had been unconscious for a day and a night, had just woken up half an hour ago. He was currently wearing bandages and receiving an IV drip, staring at the empty ceiling.

"Hey, I've only been a consultant for a few days. Does this count as automatic resignation and mean I won't get paid?"

"No, you still hold your consultant status. You've just suspended me from my position, but haven't fired me yet." Ping Shenglong's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Kurosaki suddenly perked up and sat up from the stretcher: "So what you're saying is that I can get paid without going to work?"

"almost."

"Bingo! So this is the job I've always dreamed of—being a consultant. No wonder so many people become consultants after they retire."

Kurosaki went back to sleep comfortably.

"But I still can't understand it. Your actions make no sense at all. Reporting to a higher level without authorization? What were you thinking? Don't you know that this is the thing these official departments hate the most?"

"Moreover, the content of your report, which bypassed your superiors, was the truth. I can almost understand how the minister who hit you felt at that time."

"Thank goodness he still had some sense and didn't draw his gun. You're not planning to take the bullet head-on, are you?"

Kurosaki shook his head and sighed.

"It's only because I firmly believe in the existence of ghost stories, otherwise—"

Ping Shenglong suddenly spoke up: "Do you really think you know me well?"

Upon hearing this, Kurosaki opened his mouth, then fell silent again.

He initially wanted to say it was alright, but upon closer reflection, he suddenly realized that during their time together, Ping Shenglong hadn't really shown much of his personality in front of him; he was mostly calm, serious, and focused on his work.

The only time I saw him show any emotional fluctuation was in Muto's secret room, when we were fighting and retracing the scene to make deductions.

He laughed from the bottom of his heart at that moment.

Yes, Kurosaki finally came to his senses. It seemed that the only side of Heisei Ryu he knew was the one that he was willing to show.

If I had to give an analogy, it would be the first thin layer of ice on the frozen lake.

The real undercurrents, the buried reefs, and even the sunlight distorted by the ice crystals are all lurking in the deeper, dark blue.

"So, Hira-san, is this the 'gambler' you mentioned to me before?" Kurosaki seemed to understand.

Ping Shenglong did not answer the question directly, but just stared at the ceiling.

"What I want is something I can't get through normal means. This position is the highest I can reach in my life. For the rest of my life, I can only look at the towering cliffs ahead helplessly."

"Unless the mountain collapses by itself to create a path."

"A path that no one has ever walked before."

We're almost there! I'll finish writing the perfect ending and rewards in the next day or two, and then I'll start causing trouble!

Chapter 85: Uninvited Guests

Yoyogi Station in the game.

Kosuke Iwasaki used "Fish-Eye Gift" to freeze most of the demon soldiers in place.

However, due to the angle, a few remaining skeleton soldiers were not caught and continued to relentlessly pursue him, forcing him to dodge everywhere.

"You can't run away!"

Finally, the rotting officer struggled to recover from the freeze-frame, slowly pulled out his teeth, stuffed them into the barrel of his gun, and raised his pistol at Iwasaki Kosuke, who was about to board the train and was still dodging the ghost soldiers.

boom!

"Humph!"

Iwasaki's body stiffened, and he fell backward onto the tracks. A clattering tram came rushing towards him, shattering the game screen abruptly. The darkness of death surged in from all sides, plunging his vision into complete darkness.

"Hoo-ho hoo-ho."

Bed.

Iwasaki suddenly opened his eyes, gasped for breath for a while, and slowly calmed down, feeling the sweat sliding down his forehead and the wet pillow.

"Is it dawn yet?"

He saw outside the window that a sliver of dawn was seeping across the horizon, blurring the boundary between day and night.

Iwasaki's mood and breathing gradually calmed down.

"What happened to me?"

His gaze was somewhat unfocused as he analyzed himself, realizing that his state just now had been somewhat abnormal.

He could have dodged that shot by observing the opponent's raised hand, and he did notice it beforehand.

But for a moment he seemed to lose focus, his movements slowed down, and he was hit.

Actually, it wasn't just recently; for the past two days, he'd had a sense of unease churning in his mind, making it difficult for him to fully concentrate on the game.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Iwasaki, you're up so early today?"

The early-rising caregiver, Goto, carefully opened the door and saw Iwasaki staring blankly out the window with his eyes wide open.

"morning."

Iwasaki gave a brief reply.

Goto, who had only intended to come and check on Iwasaki, decided to start her daily morning care routine since Iwasaki was already awake.

Measure body temperature, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels; check bony prominences for signs of pressure sores; check the color of urine in the urine bag. Yes, although there are diapers, as a paralyzed patient, urination must rely on a urine bag; the diapers are only to prevent reflexive defecation problems. Then, give the patient a warm bath and wash.

This is only a small part of the work.

However, such professional care comes at a high price, and only with enough money can one be assured that there will be no abuse of the elderly or neglect of patients.

This is a dignified sanatorium—that's what the advertisement says, although in reality it's only mid-range; the high-end ones are simply unaffordable for Iwasaki.

"Mr. Iwasaki, are you still having nightmares frequently lately?"

After cleaning Iwasaki and changing the wet sheets and pillowcases, Goto finally couldn't help but ask cautiously.

After saying that, worried that Iwasaki would misunderstand, she quickly and awkwardly added another sentence.

"Um, I didn't mean to complain about the workload, I just wanted to ask Mr. Iwasaki if you really don't need Dr. Miyazaki to come for a follow-up examination."

Iwasaki didn't really have a reasonable explanation. Even if it were a more assertive caregiver, he wouldn't have been able to stop them from calling a doctor, because that's their job.

Goto, the caregiver, certainly has professional ethics, but he also respects the wishes of others.

Unless there is a visible health problem.

However, it seems that Iwasaki only sweats a lot while sleeping and looks slightly tired. In addition, he had a period of mental illness in the past, so she felt it was better to respect Iwasaki's wishes.

If I get a complaint because of this, it could affect my work.

Iwasaki paused for a few seconds: "It's just that I dreamed about that car accident again recently, but I can solve it, except that I'll have to trouble Ms. Goto to change the sheets every day."

"No trouble at all!" Goto quickly waved his hand. "This is my job. Since you think it's okay, Mr. Iwasaki, please take good care of yourself. If you feel unwell, please tell me immediately!"

"I will, thank you."

After Goto spoke, he was visibly much more relaxed, and even his movements became much lighter.

Just when Iwasaki thought it was just another ordinary day, in the afternoon, a staff member came to inform him that Iwasaki's relatives were coming to visit.

"Ah, is it Ms. Iwasaki?" Goto asked expectantly, but then belatedly realized, "Wait a minute, Ms. Goto has a pass; she should be able to come in directly."

"This... the registered surname is indeed Iwasaki, but he's a man." The staff member shook his head and looked at Iwasaki Kosuke. "Iwasaki-san, would you like to see him? His full name is Iwasaki Toshitaka. He claims to be your cousin."

Kosuke Iwasaki's eyes narrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly.

This name seems to belong to someone from a faction that was hostile to their parents' faction.

It's strange how they ended up here. They should be nominally from the same family, but in reality, they hate each other so much that they would never speak to each other again.

He had a slight premonition of something bad, but he tried his best to remain calm: "Please, bring him in."

"Okay, please wait a moment, Iwasaki-san."

After the staff confirmed, they went down to take the people away.

Goto, the caregiver, keenly sensed that Iwasaki's mood was a bit off. Wisely, she didn't say anything and began to carefully tidy up Iwasaki's appearance, shaving his beard.