Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 544 Press Conference Inside the Apartment

For journalists, firsthand news reporting is their lifeline, and trending topics are a reflection of their ability. Frontline reporters are willing to risk their lives to uncover newsworthy content; what does pride matter?
So when Minamoto no Tamako opened the door, the people behind her desperately pushed their way forward. Those in front knew that entering a private residence without permission was trespassing, so they braced themselves against the doorframe to block those behind them, and also to prevent their colleagues from giving them an interview...

Chaos erupted at the entrance, alarming even the apartment manager. Unfortunately, he couldn't squeeze in and could only stand outside shouting to prevent outsiders from making noise.

Unfortunately, the reporters ignored her completely, and regardless of whether Yuan Yuzi answered or not, they swarmed inside.

Having exhausted all other options, Yuan Yuzi simply let them in and assigned each of them a seat. Those who had nowhere to sit simply sat cross-legged on the floor; as long as they could get inside, that was fine.

The house suddenly turned into a press conference venue. Yuan Yuzi stood by the coffee table, still wearing her bear pajamas, her ahoge (cowlick) on her head swaying back and forth, pressing her hands down to soothe everyone, saying, "Stop arguing, one at a time! One at a time!"

The reporters ignored everyone else and asked questions simultaneously, their voices mingling and making it impossible to hear each other. They were told to come one at a time, but everyone wanted to be the first.

Yuan Yuzi had no choice but to advise, "No one can be interviewed like this! Calm down and line up one by one!"

All the reporters raised their hands, clamoring to be first in line. After all, whoever asks a hot topic first gets to report on it; first come, first served. Those who ask later might not even get a chance.

As Minamoto Tamako was pondering whether to assign numbers to everyone, she noticed Hira Sakura standing in the back corner of the living room, holding up a cardboard sign with a line of text written on it:

"Calling out names to ask questions"

Gen Tamako suddenly realized what she meant and changed her tune, saying, "From now on, whoever I call on will ask a question! Otherwise, you can just keep wasting each other's time like this!"

The reporters argued for a while longer, but seeing that Yuan Yuzi had no intention of answering questions, they looked at each other and gradually quieted down, waiting for Yuan Yuzi to ask her questions.

Yuan Yuzi was very satisfied with this. She looked around and chose the female reporter who looked the most honest: "You ask first."

The female reporter was short, slightly overweight, and had an ordinary appearance. She wore glasses shaped like beer bottles. When she got the first chance to speak, she didn't show any gratitude or excitement. Instead, she pushed up her glasses and asked sharply, "Do you have any connections in the Metropolitan Police Department? How did you become a detective?"

Yuan Yuzi was taken aback, finding the question strange. What did she mean by "how did you become a detective?" Of course, she became a detective step by step through exams and assessments!

Just as she was about to open her mouth to explain, Hira Sakurako, at the very back, raised the sign again, which still had a line of instructions written on it:
"Don't answer the trap questions; just state the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's evaluation criteria."

Minamoto no Tamako didn't see the trap in those words, but she trusted Hiraoko more; surely Hiraoko wouldn't harm her? She answered according to the hint:
"The Metropolitan Police Department's non-professional group accepts applicants with a high school diploma, but they must start as patrol officers and pass an internal promotion exam to become criminal investigators."

"The men's 1500-meter race must be completed within 6 minutes and 30 seconds, and the women's 1000-meter race must be completed within 5 minutes and 30 seconds. The races include obstacle courses and simulate complex environments such as wall climbing and net crawling, mimicking the real-world requirements of suspect pursuit."

"In addition, there are judo and karate assessments, requiring at least a first-dan level, which assess offensive and defensive skills as well as body coordination."

"Criminal police candidates must pass a 'shooting qualification test,' demonstrating proficiency in using a revolver and achieving an 80% hit rate at a distance of 25 meters..."

“I initially graduated from the Hokkaido Police Academy, but was transferred to Tokyo due to a shortage of personnel under the Anti-Organized Crime Act. I worked as a patrol officer in Sugamo Koban for a year, passed the ‘promotion exam,’ which is open to university graduates after one year of work, and eventually became a detective.”

"above."

After Yuan Yuzi finished speaking, she nodded to the reporter.

The female reporter persisted, asking, "But you haven't explained whether there's nepotism within the Metropolitan Police Department. As far as I know, it takes more than 10 years for a non-professional officer to be promoted to inspector. How did you get promoted to detective?"

“I’m not a police inspector yet, just an active-duty detective. Position and rank are two different things.” Yuan Yuzi could inexplicably feel that she was being targeted, but she didn’t know where this feeling came from.

The female reporter bombarded her with questions: "Is there workplace discrimination within the Metropolitan Police Department? Why is there a gender imbalance in the Metropolitan Police Department? Why are all the serving detectives male, with virtually no women? Is it because women are excluded from the Metropolitan Police Department's performance evaluations?"

Yuan Yuzi waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, everyone is very nice and works very hard. It's probably because girls aren't interested in this line of work that fewer people signed up..."

Hira Sakurako raised the board again: "Change of personnel, that's enough."

When Yuan Yuzi saw the prompt, her eyes lit up. Before the female reporter could ask any questions, she quickly said, "Okay, I've already answered a lot of your questions. In order not to waste other people's time, I'm going to call on the next person now."

The female reporter wanted to ask another question, but the other reporters around her turned around at the same time, glaring at her with murderous eyes and whispering warnings not to break the rules. She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her hand.

Yuan Yuzi felt that the female reporter would be difficult to deal with. She looked around and noticed a male reporter with his hair combed back. He looked like an elite and probably wouldn't make things difficult for her, so she called on him and asked, "Sir, is there anything you would like to ask?"

The elite man opened his notebook, gestured for the photographer to follow, and then began his opening remarks: "Inspector Yuan probably knows we're here about the Sakai murder case. Now I'd like to ask you about..."

"Huh?" Gen Tamako was taken aback again, her ahoge (cowlick) bobbing, and she asked with wide eyes, "Aren't you here to interview me?"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, she came to a very reasonable conclusion—that she had become famous, that she was finally going to become a famous detective and police inspector, and that she had gained attention from all sectors of society right after being promoted to a regular position, making her a supernova detective. Which police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department could receive such an honor?
As for why she became famous, there are too many reasons. Yuan Yuzi felt that she had solved quite a few cases so far, but the reason why they hadn't attracted much attention before was mainly because she was just a junior patrol officer. Now that she was a detective, she should at least bring up her past cases, right?

Unfortunately, after the elite man explained, Minamoto no Tamako realized that this group of people hadn't come for those major cases at all; they had come for the ordinary, unremarkable case of Sakai Mutsuko murdering her husband.

What's there to say?

Yuan Yuzi couldn't understand why, even if she solved the case, it wouldn't demonstrate her abilities!

Could it be true, as Section Chief Kinoshita said, that what appears to be an ordinary case actually hides a deeper secret, requiring utmost attention and careful attention...?

Before Minamoto no Tamako could think it over, the elite man began his formal questioning. His questions were relatively normal, at least related to the Sakai Mutsuko murder case, unlike the female reporter who asked completely unrelated questions.

"Detective Minamoto, what is your opinion on Mutsuko Sakai's long-term experience of domestic violence? Was this factor considered in sentencing?" Minamoto Tamako wanted to answer, but seeing Hira Sakurako frantically scribbling behind her, as if writing something important, she held back and stammered, "Uh... well... I mean... that..."

After a moment, Hira Sakurako finally held up the signboard: "It's outside the scope of the investigation, but it should be recorded truthfully in the case closure report. Recommending the sentence and considering the sentence are the work of the prosecutor and the judge."

Following Fushimi Shika's example, Minamoto Yuko mimicked Fushimi Shika's furtive glances at people's heads, her eyes darting back and forth as she read with a serious expression: "This is outside my scope of investigation, but I have recorded it truthfully in the case report. Recommending and considering sentencing is the job of prosecutors and judges."

"Is that so..." The elite man was slightly surprised. He didn't expect that Yuan Yuzi, who seemed silly, would give such a thorough answer, leaving no room for criticism.

Taking advantage of the fact that Yuan Yuzi hadn't called on anyone else, he asked again, "Do you personally think the judge's decision was reasonable?"

Genji Tamako actually thought it was reasonable. The two were facing off with knives, and Kuroda Kotaro made the first move. As the weaker party, there was nothing wrong with him retaliating. This same principle applies to the elderly, children, or even frail men.

Since the police have no evidence to refute her testimony, her testimony is of course valid; this is a very simple presumption of innocence.

If the scenario were changed, and Kuroda Kotaro and the old man were facing off with knives, and the old man claimed that Kuroda Kotaro struck first, then his testimony would be valid as long as there is no evidence to prove that he was lying. Similarly, if Kuroda Kotaro and the little boy were facing off with knives, even if the boy was a habitual liar, he would still enjoy the right to be presumed innocent.

Besides, a suspended sentence is already considered a relatively severe punishment.

Japan has its own unique circumstances, where ordinary manslaughter does not involve imprisonment at all. That's right, you don't even need to go to jail; you only need to pay a fine of less than 50 yen.

Mutsuko Sakai was sentenced to three years primarily because of her "knife standoff." She made a plea bargain with the prosecutor, waiving the 50 yen fine in exchange for a three-year suspended sentence, avoiding jail time, which is quite reasonable.

But others don't think so.

Before Yuan Yuzi could speak, and before Ping Yingzi could finish writing on the whiteboard, the female reporter interrupted, saying, "This is completely unreasonable! It was clearly self-defense, so why should he be given a three-year suspended sentence?"

The other male reporters turned around and gestured for her to be quiet.

Unfortunately, the "elite" man was all show and no substance. He appeared cultured on the surface but was actually extremely arrogant and averse to stupidity. He exploded at the slightest provocation: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

That's definitely not how it works. The female reporter seized on the loophole and had the photographer point the lens at the elite man, loudly criticizing him.

The male reporters vehemently retorted, telling her to get out immediately. The female reporter, accompanied by a female photographer, went around taking pictures, claiming that the reporters were openly engaging in malicious competition and exclusion...

The scene instantly descended into chaos. Reporters, highly sensitive to public opinion, stood up to grab the microphone and questioned what nonsense they were spouting.

No amount of soothing from Yuan Yuzi could calm her down; the interview had taken a turn for the worse, and the focus of the debate had shifted to the verdict.

Left with no other option, she had the apartment manager call security guards to kick all the reporters out.

The reporters stopped pursuing the interview and started arguing with each other. The argument attracted the attention of the local police, who persuaded them to disperse with their lingering anger.

The house was finally quiet. Minamoto no Tamako tidied up the room while texting Fushimi Shika. She told him about the interview and expressed her confusion about why everyone was so interested in this case.

Fushimi Shika is busy right now and has no time to check his text messages.

He carries a simple PowerPoint presentation around, trying to fool people. He's either in a meeting or handling paperwork. His phone is always on silent mode, so it won't suddenly ring and interrupt the flow of the meeting.

He didn't go home for three days in a row, nor did he read the newspaper or watch the news. Just like Yuan Yuzi a few days ago, he was completely unaware of how bad public opinion had become.

After returning home, the reporters worked through the night to write their reports.

Both the female reporter and the male reporter who stirred up trouble supported self-defense, claiming they were speaking out, believed the verdict was extremely unreasonable, and negatively labeled those who supported the verdict as reasonable.

Generally speaking, people just glance at these kinds of idiotic remarks and ignore them. Most people aren't idiots; they know that the world isn't black and white.

However, some reporters couldn't swallow this insult and attacked other newspapers from various very serious angles, claiming that those reporters lacked professional ethics and explaining why the verdict was reasonable.

The verbal battle then escalated further...

Yuan Yuzi reads the newspaper every day, and the more she reads the media reports about the constant arguments, the more confused she becomes.

Even she herself was criticized because she was wearing pajamas during the interview, looking nothing like a detective and more like a middle school girl. As a result, the newspaper questioned the Metropolitan Police Department's incompetence in hiring such a mediocre detective, and also implied that the Superintendent General had used his gender to get the position and that his daughter had gotten it through connections...

Amidst the uproar in public opinion and the slump in the national economy, Fushimi Shika quietly profited from the national crisis, selling domestic corporate capital abroad.

The process went surprisingly smoothly; he didn't even have to put in much effort, except for spending a lot of time talking when negotiating the price.

In less than a week, the money arrived in his account, and he and the Inagawa-kai made a net profit of 200 million yen. Afterwards, they split the profits, with Fushimi Shika helping the Inagawa-kai and himself pay taxes to make the money legal and compliant.

Gen Satake laughed so hard his eyes narrowed into slits. He felt that the best decision he had ever made was bringing Shika Fushimi into the Inagawa-kai.

"Let's cooperate more in the future, Mr. Lu."

(End of this chapter)