Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 66 Headlines
Fushimi Shika had a sense of déjà vu of watching the richest tomato. When Yamaguchi Takashi was spitting in front of Minamoto Tamako, the famous scene automatically started playing in his mind: "I originally planned to get along with you as an ordinary person, but in return I got alienation. I won't pretend anymore. I am a billionaire and I'm going to show my cards!"

He could even imagine how Yamaguchi Takashi would be slapped in the face. When Minamoto Tamako transformed herself from a weak and vulnerable patrolman into the daughter of a wealthy family, and slapped Yamaguchi Takashi in the face with a 10,000-yuan bill with Fukuzawa Yukichi's portrait printed on it, she whispered the classic line: "But I still like your rebellious look at the beginning"...

Today, the financial income of local police stations in Japan mainly depends on government grants, bond issuance and social donations. As for the distribution of national taxes, it can only be regarded as a pie in the sky.

Government funding keeps them from starving to death, bond issuance is a political achievement by their superiors, and only social donations from the chaebols can make money for these police officers. To be honest, the chaebols are the financial sponsors, and as long as they are willing to donate a few thousand or hundreds of millions of yen to the police station, the chief will have to politely support them.

However, as expected, the scene that Fushimi Shika expected in his mind did not happen - Gen Tamako was still apologizing humbly and begging the other party to open a case for investigation.

Seeing that Yamaguchi Takashi was getting more and more outrageous and even hinting at some workplace unspoken rules, Fushimi Shika couldn't stand it anymore. He thought about using some tricks, such as taking away the guy's police gun...

At this moment, a police officer rushed in and shouted, "Here comes the news hound!" Everyone immediately changed color, put out their cigarettes, jumped up from their chairs, and started to quickly clean up the ashtrays, cans and instant noodle buckets, and sorted the messy files into categories. Yamaguchi Takashi even stood on the desk to wipe the dirty ceiling fan.

In just five minutes, the Criminal Investigation Division office was transformed from a geek club to an elite law firm. The sound of high heels clacking outside the door came closer and closer, and the police officers were tidying up their appearance and spraying hair wax and deodorant non-stop.

Yamaguchi Takashi was tying his tie in a hurry, and waved his hand to drive Fushimi Shika and Minako away, asking them to get out. The latter looked puzzled and asked Fushimi Shika what "news hound" meant.

Seeing this situation, Fushimi Shika knew that there was something big going on. He ignored Yamaguchi Takashi's attempts to drive him away and whispered something to Gen Tamako.

The ecological environment of the Japanese press is quite distorted, and the root cause is the traditional journalist club system. Journalists need to be recommended or apply by their media units, and become members after being approved by the club, in order to get first-hand news in the political or police circles.

For example, the Tokyo Police Department has its own press club, and has set up interview points at the Prime Minister's residence, government agencies, police stations, etc., so that they can get first-hand news at any time. To put it nicely, it is to play a supervisory role in the media, but to put it bluntly, it is monopolistic and xenophobic.

In order to control public opinion, the Metropolitan Police Department often employs a group of journalists from the press club. Whenever something goes wrong, the journalists are asked to calm people down. Over time, grassroots police officers inevitably get upset and give the journalists the nickname "news hounds."

As for the so-called media supervision, it is pure double-edged sword. Aren't we all spending taxpayers' money together? The criminal reporter's office is the most high-end, the copy machine is the latest model, and even the coffee in the coffee machine is unlimited... Where does the money come from? Everyone knows the answer, but they just keep it to themselves and don't expose it.

People still have awe for the media these days, and think it is an honor to be in newspapers or on TV. In order to defraud funds, the Criminal News Club created a column for interviewing police officers.

In addition to collecting explosive news such as celebrities breaking the law, congressmen embezzling, and gangsters killing people, they will occasionally give the police officers handling the case a little sweetness and mention the police officers' achievements as much as possible outside the scope of confidentiality, which can also add a little luster to their resumes.

After hearing this, Yuan Yuzi's filter for the detectives was shattered. No wonder the public always scolded the detectives as lazy people. She used to speak up for the hard-working detectives, but now it seems that the public has sharp eyes.

How can we rest!
She was about to argue with Yamaguchi Takashi when the footsteps suddenly stopped, the office door was pushed open, and a woman in a gray OL skirt walked in.

Everyone's eyes subconsciously fell on her chest, not looking at the press card, but at the tight shirt buttons and the exaggerated curve of the tag rope. Yazaki Momo adjusted her frameless glasses. She was used to the strange looks of men. After looking around, she actually found two "acquaintances" in the office - the handsome young man did not look at her chest, but at the top of her head.

...Is there anything on my head?

Momo Yazaki looked up subconsciously, only to see the ceiling fan squeaking.

The police officers came to their senses and watched Yamaguchi Takashi approach them to talk. Like a peddler, he kept selling the recently solved cases to the new criminal news reporter, such as the Kobon River murder case, the Akiyama Town gang fight case, the Laughing Man theft case... to see which cases could be used as material for the reporter to write a report and publicize it.

"Hmm, they all seem pretty average," Yazaki Momo wrote down a line of case names on a notepad without much interest. "Anything else?"

During these eight months, with her own efforts and a little capital, she was promoted from a third-rate local newspaper in Hokkaido to a mainstream media newspaper in Tokyo, and obtained the qualification certificate of the Press Club.

She is still an intern and can only pick up scraps of news that her predecessors don't want. As long as she gets a headline during the internship, she can be hired at any time; if not, she can only endure for six months before signing a contract. The salary of an intern is very meager, and she is now working at a loss.

But how could it be so easy to find a headline? The last time she was able to get a permanent position, it was entirely by luck. How could such a bloody punishment case always fall on her head...

"I have!"

Yuan Yuzi suddenly raised her hand and said.

The police officers on the scene were shocked, thinking she was going to cause trouble. Yamaguchi Takashi smiled awkwardly and apologized to the reporter, claiming that he had neglected to manage his subordinates. He turned around and changed his face, sullenly driving the two away: "Get out, get out, don't make trouble here——"

Momo Yazaki signaled to Takashi Yamaguchi to be silent. She first glanced at Fushimi Shika, and then asked Gen Tamako softly if there was any case worth reporting.

Gen Yuzi seized the opportunity and told her everything about the ghost in the apartment. The more Yazaki Momo listened, the brighter her eyes became. She shook the pen in her hand non-stop, and in a blink of an eye, she had filled four or five pages.

A fleeting bizarre ghost shadow, a horror legend in the apartment building, a suppressed genius patrolman, a crazy woman who risked her life to protect her children... If this case could be solved successfully, it would definitely be headline news!

"This is clearly a missing persons case."

Momo Yazaki glanced at Takashi Yamaguchi, her glasses reflecting a cold light: "May I ask why Mr. Yamaguchi does not agree to file a case? I don't know much about the law, but protecting citizens is the duty of the criminal police, right? Mr. Yamaguchi wants to provide materials, right? I will follow up on this incident and I hope you can give me your advice."

(End of this chapter)