Shinichi Nakamura's method was actually very simple.

He decided to use Zhongshan Tetsu's parents to deceive him into making an appearance, after all, his willingness to beat up his superior to raise money for his mother's medical treatment showed he was a person of filial piety.

That very night, a local news station in Hokkaido reported a sudden accident: a house fire on the 19th block of Asahikawa Noyama, where an elderly couple was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment and were not yet out of danger.

Except for the residents near the scene of the fire, many viewers did not take much notice of this news, but one person suddenly stood up from in front of the TV.

It was Zhongshan Tetsu; the house that was reported as on fire was his home, and the elderly couple rushed to the hospital were none other than his own parents.

"Brother Zhongshan."

The other three people in the room also looked at him: Miyamoto Ryou, Uesugi Shinryu, and Hashimoto Yunhai. They also recognized that the fire was at Zhongshan Tetsu's home.

"I need to return to Asahikawa overnight." Zhongshan Tetsu said, his heart hanging high and his face grave.

He was wracked with guilt, thinking if he had been home, perhaps the fire would not have happened. If his parents were harmed because of it, he would never forgive himself.

The other three exchanged glances, feeling a bit uneasy about their pillar of strength leaving at such a crucial time but understanding Zhongshan Tetsu's feelings. Miyamoto Ryou said, "Go with a clear mind. We still have one day before the deal anyway."

Indeed, the bomb incident was orchestrated by the four of them.

They were infuriated that Kato Gen had withheld their share of the spoils and then kicked them out of the police station. They were the ones who had done all the groundwork, yet all the money ended up in the pockets of their superiors, who even withheld the part that rightly belonged to them, and on top of that, they were dismissed.

This series of blows compounded their resentment, including towards Aoyama Xiu Xin, who had received the largest share. Motivated by the desire to make some money, they thus committed the current crime.

"I'll try to get back by tomorrow," said Zhongshan Tetsu, taking a deep breath and looking at the three men. "Don't worry. We didn't leave any clues, so the police won't be able to trace anything back to us for a while. It's definitely safe for me to appear right now; nothing will happen."

They were, after all, police officers with certain counter-surveillance abilities, so whether it was purchasing materials to make the bomb or placing it, they did it covertly to ensure no one or any surveillance caught their real faces, which is why he believed the police could not trace anything to them.

"Brother Zhongshan, let me go back with you," offered Uesugi Shinryu, standing up. "Maybe there's something I can help with."

"No need." Zhongshan Tetsu shook his head and said with dry lips, "I'm just going to check on my parents' safety. You're not a doctor; there's no use in you going with me. Stay in Sapporo."

"Alright!" Uesugi Shinryu nodded and sat down.

Zhongshan Tetsu left immediately, driving a second-hand car bought specifically for this occasion and rushing to Asahikawa overnight. He left in such a hurry that he didn't even think to bring a gun, not expecting any trouble.

The roads were empty at night, and driving fast, Zhongshan Tetsu arrived at the hospital mentioned in the news in less than two hours.

He got out of the car and hurried straight for the main building of the hospital.

However, he was completely unaware that from this moment on, he had entered the surveillance range of the headquarter police.

Considering that the four of them were from Asahikawa Police Station, Aoyama Xiu Xin had sent people from the headquarters directly without notifying the Asahikawa Police.

Detective Nakamura personally led the team.

"Unit One calling the section chief, target spotted. The target has entered the main building, alone." A police officer on the lookout at the outermost part of the hospital reported through the communicator.

Listening to the voice coming through the communicator, a jolt went through detector Shinichi Nakamura who was seated in the hospital's surveillance room; he stood up swiftly and walked briskly to the monitor screens.

He saw Zhongshan Tetsu taking the elevator upstairs.

"All units, attention," Detective Nakamura grabbed the communicator and commanded. "Zhongshan Tetsu is on the elevator going up to the target floor. He will arrive shortly. There's only him in the elevator. Once he gets out, grab him."

"Roger that! Received."

The news report was fake; there had been a fire, but it was just an empty house burning. Zhongshan Tetsu's parents weren't injured at all; at this very moment, they were at a hotel with police officers pretending to be Zhongshan Tetsu's colleagues, having a chat.

Everything was going as planned. Zhongshan Tetsu, who had a sense of filial duty, had rushed to the hospital impatiently after seeing the news, not knowing he was already being watched.

"Ding~"

The elevator stopped, and the doors slowly opened. Zhongshan Tetsu, frantic with worry, leaped out two stairs at a time.

As soon as he stepped out, the police hidden in the blind spots on both sides of the elevator pounced on him like wolves, pinning him to the ground and holding him down hard, "Don't move! Police!"

"Ah!" Caught completely off guard, Zhongshan Tetsu felt his arms were about to break and quickly realized it was a trap; filled with shock, anger, and regret, he screamed hysterically, "Let go of me! Let go of me!"

After all, few men enjoy getting trapped.

"Good!" Detective Shinichi Nakamura in the surveillance room praised the scene, laughed, and stepped out the door, leading a group of people with a fierce air straight to Zhongshan Tetsu's side.

"Detective Nakamura!"

The police responsible for the arrest saluted one by one.

Zhongshan Tetsu was still restrained on the ground, only his hands had been handcuffed behind his back. He glared fiercely at Nakamura Shinichi as he lay there, "What gives you the right to arrest me!"

"What right?" Nakamura Shinichi snorted coldly, stepped forward, and brutally stomped on his head, enunciating each word, "For the reason that you cold-heartedly blew up so many people and extorted Minister Aoyama, is that enough?"

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, what evidence do you have that I did the bombing!" Being stepped on the face, Zhongshan Tetsu felt profound humiliation, veins bulging on his neck, his eyes bloodshot.

Nakamura Shinichi moved his foot away and crouched down, gripping Zhongshan Tetsu's collar, and said in a chilling voice, "You were a cop who interrogated suspects too. Do you really think being stubborn will be of any use once you're in the interrogation room? Ridiculous!"

As his words ended, he let go of him, stood up, and waved a big hand, "Take him to the station for interrogation immediately."

Now that the person had been caught, it was time to let the Asahikawa Police know and get involved in the follow-up investigation of the case.

"Hey!" Two cops holding down Zhongshan Tetsu responded, yanked him up roughly, and said, "Let's go!"

"To think you'd deceive me using my family, despicable! Shamelessly vile! I won't accept this! I won't accept this!" Zhongshan Tetsu was being pushed forward, twisting his body and yelling furiously at Nakamura Shinichi behind him, so agitated that spit flew from his mouth.

Nakamura Shinichi smiled contemptuously and stepped forward, saying, "Feel bitter about being deceived? Then, I could make your wish come true. I could turn that lie into reality, make your parents really end up burned and in the hospital. Would that make you happy?"

Zhongshan Tetsu fell silent suddenly.

Nakamura Shinichi waved his hand to signal them to take him away.

Fifteen minutes later, at the entrance of the Asahikawa Police Station, the Chief, alongside the Director of Criminal Affairs Department Kato Gen, quickly stepped forward to greet Nakamura Shinichi. From a distance, they said, "Detective Nakamura, gracing us with your presence in Asahikawa to handle a case and not informing us in advance, we could've offered modest assistance at the station."

As a confidant of Aoyama Xiu Xin, Nakamura Shinichi was highly regarded at any police station in Hokkaido.

"Your Excellency the Chief, your station's help has already been quite generous. Without you, this case wouldn't have been solvable," Nakamura Shinichi quipped, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Unaware of the facts, the Chief looked perplexed at the Director of Criminal Affairs Department Kato Gen and asked, "Detective Nakamura, what do you mean by that?"

"Bring the person over," Nakamura Shinichi ordered.

The Chief and Kato Gen looked behind him.

Upon seeing Zhongshan Tetsu being led out of the car, Kato Gen's face changed, and he blurted out, "Zhongshan Tetsu?"

Zhongshan Tetsu snorted and stared back with rage.

"This… Detective Nakamura, what exactly is going on? This man used to be a chief in our Criminal Department. He was dismissed for misconduct. Could it be that he's committed a crime?" the Chief asked Nakamura Shinichi, utterly baffled.

Nakamura Shinichi spoke indifferently, "He and three other subordinates who were dismissed are the suspects in the Sapporo jewelry store bombing incident from a few days ago."

"What!" the Chief and Kato Gen exclaimed in unison, disbelieving. Mitsuo Xuan was the first to react, berating Zhongshan Tetsu, "Idiot! I never imagined you could do something like this! Are you worthy of having been a cop? You've disgraced our Asahikawa Police Station. It's good that we got rid of a scum like you early, otherwise, as your former superior, I'd be so ashamed right now that I'd be writing my resignation letter!"

"Hypocrite," Zhongshan Tetsu said with a mocking look.

"Preposterous! Absolutely preposterous!" the Chief, with a pale face of anger, pointed at Zhongshan Tetsu and said with heartfelt anguish, "Although you were dismissed, you were once a law enforcement officer. Couldn't you do something legitimate instead of committing a crime? Do you have to be our enemy if you can't be our ally? What foolishness!"

"Enough! Your Excellency the Chief, please arrange an interrogation room for me now," Nakamura Shinichi cut off the two's self-righteous accusations.

The Chief immediately turned to Kato Gen, spoke with a full voice, "Mr. Kato, please arrange it."

"Yes!" Kato Gen replied and looked at Nakamura Shinichi, "Please follow me, Detective Nakamura."

Nakamura Shinichi, with a grave expression, nodded and followed him inside, asking casually, "Section Chief Kato, Zhongshan Tetsu was once your subordinate, you must know him quite well. Why don't you tell me about him? It will help with my later interrogation."

"Sigh! To tell the truth, besides work, we did not have much contact, and our relationship wasn't good," Kato Gen shook his head and self-mockingly added, "But he is quite proud. I was even beaten up by him, and that was why he got dismissed."

"Why I beat you, are you not clear on that, bastard?" Zhongshan Tetsu couldn't help but retort.

Kato Gen's face changed, and with unease, he confided to Nakamura Shinichi, "Please don't take his words seriously, Detective Nakamura. He bears a grudge against me and now that he's desperate, he might seize an opportunity for revenge and say some things to frame me."

"Rest assured, Section Chief Kato, I'm not easily deceived," Nakamura Shinichi said with a half-smile.

Kato Gen nodded nervously, "Yes!"

Eventually, they stopped in front of an interrogation room. Watching Nakamura Shinichi take Zhongshan Tetsu inside, Kato Gen stood on the spot, looking uneasy. He turned and hurried off to find the Chief, "Chief, I'm worried Zhongshan Tetsu, out of resentment, will talk nonsense. If it reaches Minister Aoyama's ears, it might be detrimental to us."

Diverting the subordinates' bonuses was not something that he did alone. He was merely acting on behalf of others, while the Chief was the one taking the lion's share.

"How would such a wise person as Minister Aoyama take the word of a criminal at face value?" the Asahikawa Chief retorted calmly, then assured without worry, "Besides, what we skimmed wasn't their legitimate income; it was unclean, hidden revenue. And we didn't take it all; we left them thirty percent. Minister Aoyama won't make a big issue out of such a trivial matter. Do you think we're the only police station in Hokkaido doing this? Are they going to prosecute us for embezzling embezzled funds?"

He did not believe Aoyama Xiu Xin would make a fuss over it.

"I am reassured by your words," Kato Gen exhaled, return a smile, and bowed.

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