The criminals weren't after money.

They were after lives!

Upon hearing the details from Mrs. Miyashita, Aoyama Xiu Xin concluded as much in his mind.

Because if it were just for money, simply milking the already captured Miyashita Ritsuki dry would have been enough to provide for generations of their descendants, so why take the risk of also kidnapping Miyashita Naoyuki and Miyashita Ryouko?

After deducing that the criminals intended to kill Miyashita Hidekatsu's children, Aoyama Xiu Xin became even more convinced that the mastermind behind the kidnapping and the shooting were one and the same.

"Boss, this guy's awake," Jin Yucheng shouted loudly, interrupting Aoyama Xiu Xin's contemplation.

Turning around, he glanced at the buck-toothed young man who had woken up lying on the ground and said, "Bring him inside."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped ahead towards the house.

Miyashita Ryouko and Miyashita Naoyuki followed closely behind.

On the other hand, Mrs. Miyashita, the hostess, hesitated for a moment before hastily following them inside.

Moments later, Jin Yucheng dragged the buck-toothed youth by the collar and tossed him down in front of Aoyama Xiu Xin.

"Idiot! Damn it!" Miyashita Naoyuki rushed forward and kicked the young man several times, causing his nose to bleed profusely, all the while gritting his teeth and repeatedly saying, "Tie me up! Tie me up! Tie me up!"

"You stand guard outside. If any cops come, tell them I'm inside and no one's allowed in without my orders," Aoyama Xiu Xin casually tossed his ID to Jin Yucheng, giving the order in a calm tone.

Having caught the ID, Jin Yucheng bowed and left, gently closing the door behind him.

Miyashita Naoyuki stopped, not because he had vented enough, but because he was too exhausted and sat down hard on the sofa, breathing heavily and with beads of sweat the size of beans forming on his forehead.

And the buck-toothed youth was no longer buck-toothed; several kicks from Miyashita Naoyuki had taken care of that, leaving his mouth full of blood.

Looking down at the buck-toothed youth, Aoyama Xiu Xin got straight to the point, "The purpose of your kidnapping wasn't money, or at least not primarily for money, but rather to take the lives of the three Miyashita siblings, Ritsuki, Naoyuki, and Ryouko. Am I right?"

"Ah!" Mrs. Miyashita exclaimed in shock, her face turning three shades paler as she stared nervously at the buck-toothed youth.

Both Miyashita Naoyuki and Miyashita Ryouko were greatly startled as well.

Struggling to lift his head, the buck-toothed youth gave Aoyama Xiu Xin a bloody smile and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He didn't deny it.

"Ah!" Mrs. Miyashita, as if struck by thunder, nearly fainted, her legs giving out, and she collapsed onto the ground, wailing, "Husband! My husband!"

"Big sister, calm down. Maybe brother's not dead yet," Miyashita Ryouko, no longer concerned with her resentment towards her sister-in-law for deceiving her into danger, hurried over to embrace her, continuously comforting her.

Miyashita Naoyuki's mind was a bit of a mess, but he couldn't suppress a feeling of joy, because if Miyashita Ritsuki were dead, he would be the only son of his father!

Even as an illegitimate child, his father would divert the resources originally intended for Miyashita Ritsuki towards him, and his life from then on would be completely different.

After all, he had no real affection for Miyashita Ritsuki, even bearing resentment, because every time he saw him, he could feel the other's disdain and contempt.

No one likes to feel so inferior.

Aoyama Xiu Xin looked at the buck-toothed youth and said with a half-smile, "You seem to have a tough bone."

"Not that tough, but not something any dog can chew on," the buck-toothed youth retorted, though his speech was muffled.

His words were tough, but deep in his eyes, he couldn't help but show a trace of fear, especially after just witnessing Aoyama Xiu Xin punch one of his companions to death.

The impact was too strong for him.

"Everyone thinks they're tough until they experience real pain," Aoyama Xiu Xin shook his head, stood up from the sofa, and picked up a toothpick box from the table. He crouched down in front of the buck-toothed youth, grabbed his right hand, and swiftly and ruthlessly stabbed a toothpick straight into the nail bed of his thumb.

Pssht!

"Ahhhhhh!"

The moment the toothpick pierced into the nail bed, the buck-toothed youth's muscles tensed, he threw his head back, and screamed a ghastly scream. Veins bulged on his forehead, his features twisted in agony, and his body shook uncontrollably as sweat poured down like rain.

His right thumb's nail was pried open by the toothpick, the entire finger stained red with blood.

Mrs. Miyashita and Miyashita Ryouko were so frightened that they instinctively shuddered and held each other tightly.

Miyashita Naoyuki also felt his scalp tingle and reflexively hid his hands behind his back, as if he could feel a similar pain in his own thumb.

"Does it hurt?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked softly.

The buck-toothed youth, with a fierce look, stared at Aoyama Xiu Xin as if he wanted to rip him apart, breathing heavily. He neither begged for mercy nor cursed Aoyama Xiu Xin, because he was in too much pain to speak.

But from his eyes, it was clear he didn't want to beg for mercy.

"I haven't personally interrogated a suspect for a long time. You're lucky," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a smile as he exerted force on his hand, slowly prying open the buck-toothed youth's nail bed, "Let's see if your nail comes off first or your mouth opens."

...

Mrs. Miyashita and Miyashita Ryouko had already closed their eyes, and although Miyashita Naoyuki also felt physically uncomfortable, he forced himself to watch despite the discomfort.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The buck-toothed youth was in agony, his complexion as pale as paper, and finally, unable to endure, he shouted, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

"Clearly, you're not as tough as you thought," Aoyama Xiu Xin withdrew the toothpick.

The buck-toothed youth screamed again in pain.

Playing with the half of the toothpick stained red with blood, Aoyama Xiu Xin said, "Answer my earlier question."

"Yes... yes, we want their lives," the buck-toothed youth honestly replied.

He didn't want to betray Miyazaki Ting, who he had faced life-and-death situations with, but he really couldn't stand the heart-wrenching pain, which was even more excruciating than getting shot or stabbed.

Upon receiving a definite answer, Mrs. Miyashita felt like her world was collapsing, "Wuuu, husband! Husband wuuu!"

Miyashita Ryouko kept comforting her, but while doing so, she too started to cry, tears falling like rain.

Miyashita Naoyuki also hung his head and sobbed, wiping his tears continuously, finding it harder to suppress than even an AK's recoil.

"Miyashita Ritsuki is dead?" Aoyama Xiu Xin, seeing their condition, asked this question first.

In an instant, Mrs. Miyashita, Miyashita Ryouko, and Miyashita Naoyuki all stared at the bucktoothed young man intensely.

They were all deeply concerned about the answer to this question.

The bucktoothed young man's right hand trembled uncontrollably like Parkinson's as he shook his head and answered in a barely audible whisper, "Not... not yet, we had planned to bury the three of you alive tonight."

"My husband is still alive!" "Big brother is still alive!"

Mrs. Miyashita and Miyashita Ryouko, who had prepared for the worst, were instantly overjoyed upon hearing this.

Miyashita Naoyuki, on the other hand, couldn't hide his disappointment, but he quickly recovered and put on a feigned look of happiness.

"Big brother is fine, that's really great!"

His facade was visibly stiff and forced.

"Was the shooting of Mayor Miyashita also done by you?" Aoyama Xiu Xin continued to ask.

The bucktoothed young man hesitated for a moment but, seeing that the other party was reaching for his hand again, blurted out in terror, "Yes... yes, it was us."

He now would rather confess and be sentenced to death by shooting or hanging than to continue suffering here.

"Not... not Mitsuo Mutou?" Both Miyashita Ryouko and Miyashita Naoyuki expressed confusion.

Aoyama Xiu Xin ignored their bewilderment and persisted with the questioning, "Do you have a grudge against Miyashita Hidekatsu?"

"Our friend had a grudge against Miyashita Hidekatsu, we were just helping out," answered the bucktoothed young man.

Aoyama Xiu Xin tilted his chin, "Go on."

"He's called Miyazaki Ting..." the bucktoothed young man slowly recounted, as a brother who had been through life and death with Miyazaki Ting, it was natural that he would take risks to help him seek revenge and thus Miyazaki Ting wouldn't keep the reasons for his vendetta a secret.

After listening to his story.

Everyone in the room was utterly shocked.

Especially Miyashita Ryouko, whose innocent and young heart was severely impacted, she shook her head in disbelief, "Impossible, my dad isn't that kind of person, you must be falsely accusing him! Impossible, absolutely impossible..."

Her voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared, the glorious image of her father in her heart completely crumbled.

Miyashita Naoyuki, amidst his shock, felt an immense sense of relief; although he and Miyazaki Ting were both illegitimate children, he was fortunate to have a different fate. Thankful for his father's grace of not killing him, he vowed to always obey from now on!

Aoyama Xiu Xin understood, no wonder Miyashita Hidekatsu, despite having evidence, would not allow him to continue the investigation; this was a fear of family disgrace being exposed!

Father and son turned against each other, tsk tsk tsk, a human tragedy.

"Where is Councilman Miyashita now?" Aoyama Xiu Xin, after digesting the bucktoothed young man's words, asked.

Having told everything and already betrayed them, he might as well spill the last beans; the bucktoothed young man honestly admitted, "In a cave on Ancient Pond Mountain, Miyazaki Ting and another accomplice are watching him there."

"Now take us there, that way you might at least die swiftly, and if you're lucky, you might even escape death," Aoyama Xiu Xin said.

The bucktoothed young man nodded his head as if he had lost his soul.

Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up and walked outside, opening the door to see a stretch of police lights outside, police officers with loaded guns had surrounded the entire house completely tight.

"Minister Aoyama, your orders please!" Asahikawa Police Chief quickly walked up to Aoyama Xiu Xin and saluted.

Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded and returned the salute, then solemnly said, "Councilman Miyashita Ritsuki has been kidnapped by criminals. I've captured one of the perpetrators and have persuaded him to lead the way to their hideout. Pass it down the line, all vehicles except the lead car that's guiding us are not permitted to turn on their lights."

"There are a total of two criminals, each carrying a pistol and several bullets; gunfire is very likely to occur, so all action personnel must exercise extreme caution!"

"Yes, sir!" the Asahikawa Police Chief answered.

Aoyama Xiu Xin lowered his voice and said, "Kill all the criminals without leaving any survivors."

Miyashita Hidekatsu didn't want his family's dirty laundry to be aired, naturally, he couldn't let these criminals live to stand trial.

They all had to die during the apprehension.

In the future, as someone privy to the information and as the person who helped Miyashita Hidekatsu cover up the truth and rescued his children, his ties with Miyashita Hidekatsu would surely strengthen.

Given his position, Miyashita Hidekatsu couldn't possibly kill him to silence him, they could only strengthen their relationship.

The Asahikawa Police Chief nodded solemnly.

"I mean all of them, including the one leading the way," Aoyama Xiu Xin emphasized in a low voice.

The Asahikawa Police Chief replied, "Understood."

"Let's set off; I will personally drive and lead the way," commanded Aoyama Xiu Xin with a nod.

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, a convoy of over a dozen police cars moved in a grand yet eerily quiet procession towards Ancient Pond Mountain. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, except for the vehicle driven by Aoyama Xiu Xin leading with low-beam headlights, all cars behind turned off their lights.

In the dark and silent forest, they moved like a giant black serpent stealthily winding its way, ready to strike; the only two lit headlights resembled the serpent's eyes.

Upon arriving near the hideout, Aoyama Xiu Xin ordered everyone to disembark, approach the mountain cave where the criminals were hiding the hostage from different directions on foot, and implement an encirclement.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.