The manhunt in four words sounds simple.

But in practice, it's very difficult and time-consuming.

After all, Sapporo City is not small, with a large population, and it takes time to conduct a door-to-door carpet search.

And as a native of Sapporo, Mitsuo Mutou was familiar with the terrain, and he could use it to play cat and mouse with the police. After all, he had no plans to run, but that did not mean he would just sit and wait to be caught.

Anyway, there were no discoveries that night.

By the next morning, the front pages of all the major newspapers were dominated by the sudden appearance of the killer Mitsuo Mutou, causing a huge sensation nationwide.

"This is a devil! How could he be so heartless and murder so many innocent people!"

"No matter why he turned to crime, he deserves to die, and the police must not let him go!"

"He is a madman, disregarding life, such a person must be brought to the dock!"

His attitude of killing as casually as drinking water and without restraint was even more chilling to the core than the fact that he had killed eighteen people in two days.

After all, you have no grudges against him, and while you are walking on the road, he might suddenly come up and shoot you.

Even Laden would be afraid of such a madman.

Therefore, many Sapporo citizens drove away after seeing the news, to avoid bad luck and running into him.

Such a significant case naturally also caught the attention of the Police Headquarters, which stated it would urge the Hokkaido Police to solve the case as soon as possible and provide the necessary support.

In the corridors of the Police Headquarters, Habamoto Youko, clad in her police uniform, hurried along holding a newspaper.

"Tap-tap-tap,"

The sharp sound of her high heels striking the floor could be heard, and the weighty, rounded conscience swayed gently with her steps, buoyant like a water balloon, barely restrained by her clothing.

Without a police cap, her ear-length bob cut gave her a spirited look, with long, slim legs wrapped in black pants that outlined her plump, moon-like curves, which swayed slightly with her steps, dazzling onlookers.

Every person she passed could not resist glancing at her; that was an inherent respect for beauty.

She barely caught her breath before knocking on the door to the Director of Life Safety Bureau's office.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in."

Habamoto Youko burst in, one foot inside the door, and couldn't wait to blurt out, "Auntie, did you see today's newspaper? Sapporo..."

"I already know," interrupted Zhongshan Junmei from behind the desk, with her graying hair sighing slowly, "And because of this, the Chief of Police just asked me to take office in Sapporo tomorrow, oversee the whole situation, and capture Mitsuo Mutou as soon as possible."

"Isn't this putting pressure on you?" Habamoto Youko immediately became anxious, stepping forward quickly, her hands supporting her on the desk as she spoke indignantly, "This case was never your concern, and it's not your fault if it can't be solved in the end, but if you take this position now, you will be the responsible person from now on."

"It is pressure, but it's also an opportunity." Facing her anxiety and worry, Zhongshan Junmei was calm, speaking unhurriedly, "If I catch Fujimoto Jiichiro upon arriving in Sapporo, this will only help me establish authority locally and create a favorable situation. Moreover, Fujimoto Jiichiro clearly has no intention to flee, so he's not difficult to catch if we invest the time. This is a great opportunity to establish a reputation."

The weak only see the risks in this situation, but the strong see the gains and face difficulties head-on.

She was filled with anticipation for her new role in Hokkaido.

This might be her last chance to vie for the position of Police Director General—if she doesn't make it, this could be as far as she goes in her career.

So, she was determined to make a significant achievement.

Even without achievements, she must create them!

"So ka~ I see, Auntie is really far-sighted. I was short-sighted," Habamoto Youko realized with an enlightened expression, bowing deeply in admiration.

Zhongshan Junmei appreciated the worship from her future daughter-in-law, smiling, "So Youko, go prepare. We fly directly to Sapporo first thing tomorrow morning, to challenge Heisei's No.1 Detective."

"Yes!" Habamoto Youko was equally looking forward to it.

At the same moment, in Sapporo, at the Police Department headquarters.

"Still no news?"

In the office, Aoyama Xiu Xin, who had almost stayed up all night, looked at Nakamura Shinichi across from him and asked.

"There isn't," replied Nakamura Shinichi, his eyes red from also having stayed up all night, but then he perked up, adding, "However, the search area is getting smaller and smaller. As long as we guard strictly and don't give him any chance to escape, we'll be able to force him into the open soon."

"He has no intention of fleeing, but certainly won't surrender without a fight, I'm afraid he plans to go out with a bang!" Aoyama Xiu Xin mused to himself.

Then he shifted the topic, "By the way, because of this case, Minister Zhongshan will be taking her position in Sapporo tomorrow, ahead of schedule. She will definitely bring some of her confidants with her. We must solve this case ourselves!"

Although to the outside world, it may seem irrelevant whether Minister Zhongshan or Aoyama Xiu Xin solves the case, internally it's a different story.

If Mitsuo Mutou is captured by Minister Zhongshan in the end, it will affect the morale of Aoyama Xiu Xin's local faction and boost Minister Zhongshan's prestige and morale. This would be detrimental to Aoyama Xiu Xin's plan to overshadow her.

"I understand!" Nakamura Shinichi nodded gravely and raised an eyebrow, "There aren't any vacancies at Headquarters, right? How will the people she brings be accommodated?"

The spots at Headquarters were all taken by Aoyama Xiu Xin.

"She's the Chief; it's not hard for her to place a few people. Just transfer those currently in positions to other precincts where there are vacancies, and insert her own people," Aoyama Xiu Xin sighed.

Names are, after all, very important.

Just like him, even though he actually controlled the police force of Hokkaido and secured the real power of the Minister, if he wanted to transfer, promote, or dismiss someone, he still had to report to Yamashita Kogoro, or to Tokyo.

Nakamura Shinichi's expression changed, "What if she starts by targeting important departments as soon as she arrives?"

His main fear was being transferred away from Police Headquarters.

He had just been appointed the acting Deputy Director of the Criminal Department.

"Don't worry, she won't start offending people without understanding the situation and before standing on solid ground," Aoyama Xiu Xin didn't have this concern and continued, "Moreover, the higher the rank, the fewer vacancies there are in each police station, and there might not even be any vacancies. So she can't make transfers as she pleases, which means you don't have to worry about your Superintendent level."

To come in and aggressively place one's own people in key positions, transferring out the current staff, would be an unwise move that would only invite resentment from the ranks below.

"Whew!" Nakamura Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief.

He then bowed and turned to leave.

But merely moments later, he returned.

"What's up?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked, surprised.

Holding a document envelope in both hands, Nakamura Shinichi said, "It's mailed from Tokyo for you. I happened to bump into it at the elevator, so I brought it in for you."

Aoyama Xiu Xin opened it and saw it contained detailed information about Zhongshan Junmei. He immediately knew it was sent by Asai Ayumi, "Okay, you can go now."

"Yes!" Nakamura Shinichi left once more.

Aoyama Xiu Xin began to review the contents.

Zhongshan Junmei was a figure of mixed reputation, for her personal life was not restrained in her youth. She had climbed the beds of several superiors, yet at the same time, she was truly skilled, frequently on the front lines, and solved many major cases.

With no background connections, she had managed to climb to her current position in the male-dominated Police Headquarters by relying on her own ability and using her beauty as a weapon.

Undoubtedly, she was a person with a clear goal, strong action, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve her ends.

But she had basically peaked; after all, at her age, she was no longer able to win favors with her appearance, and without a strong enough background, plus being female, it was impossible for her to advance further to become Chief of Police or Director of Police Headquarters.

Her husband had passed away, and her son Zhongshan Taka was a businessman who frequently traveled between America and Japan, mainly involved in import and export trade, with a considerable income. Zhongshan Junmei's secretary and Taka's fiancée was Habamoto Youko.

"She's quite beautiful," Aoyama Xiu Xin sincerely commented upon seeing the photo of Habamoto Youko.

Habamoto Youko's profile was also included. Her parents were ordinary police officers, now retired, and because they had her at an older age, they cherished her greatly.

This fostered her optimistic and cheerful character, and she had always aspired to frontline work. But since she had a clerical background and never had frontline experience, later, she was noticed by Zhongshan Junmei and transferred to be her secretary, where she had barely faced any grievances at work.

She was a woman who had been very lucky from birth.

And had been well-protected.

Being beautiful really seemed to be favored by the gods.

After finishing the materials, Aoyama Xiu Xin had a more three-dimensional image of Zhongshan Junmei in his mind. He picked up the phone to call Yamashita Kogoro, "Yamashita Deputy Minister, we can't spare extra police force right now, is it okay to just arrange someone to welcome Minister Zhongshan at the airport tomorrow?"

Since he had decided to marginalize the other party, he needed to show his own strength to the people below at every opportunity.

And incidentally, provide Zhongshan Junmei with an unforgettable welcome ceremony, as a gift to congratulate her on her new position.

"Okay," Yamashita Kogoro knew Aoyama Xiu Xin intended to cow Zhongshan Junmei. After all, even if they were busy, it was the rank-and-file officers who were busy. They, the higher-ups, didn't have to go to the front lines for searches, so how could it be possible that they didn't have time to go to the airport for a welcome ceremony?

Yet he agreed because, as Aoyama Xiu Xin said, they did indeed enjoy working as partners.

As long as he cooperated well on his end, Aoyama Xiu Xin never interfered in his affairs and also showed great respect for him.

Furthermore, if Yamashita Junmei took control, who knows what kind of seismic upheaval the Hokkaido Police system would undergo? Maintaining the status quo was actually quite good.

Attempting to make changes wouldn't alter the fact that the Hokkaido Police system was rotten to the core. It would only lead to continuous strife, non-performance of duties, and expose these issues to the citizens, thus damaging the police's reputation.

To put it simply, he had completely given up.

But he still underestimated Aoyama Xiu Xin. Aoyama Xiu Xin wasn't just out to embarrass Zhongshan Junmei.

He was planning to hit her with a hammer blow!

...........

Just as Aoyama Xiu Xin had predicted.

Mitsuo Mutou indeed planned to make a big move.

For over twenty years, he worked diligently and lived quietly, unnoticed by anyone. However, with the commitment of a homicide, all the newspapers and televisions in the nation now reported about him, which gave him a very warped sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Wasn't this also a sort of success and fame?

Since he was destined to die anyway.

Why not go out with a bang?

For instance, make sure all of Japan would remember him forever!

So he planned to assassinate the Mayor of Sapporo City, Miyashita Hidekatsu. He had just learned of Miyashita Hidekatsu's schedule on the news; the Mayor was going to visit injured citizens at the hospital tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Mitsuo Mutou prepared to stake out the location. He knew that at this time, Miyashita Hidekatsu would definitely be surrounded by a large retinue of staff and police protection, but even if he would be arrested immediately after killing the Mayor, it would be worth it.

If captured, he could still shout that he did it out of discontent with society and hatred for bureaucrats. Perhaps he would then be regarded by some as a freedom fighter with a spirit of resistance.

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