Tokyo: I'm really not a killer

"Oh! Spalashi!"

Yuan Zhensheng clapped his hands, his face a mix of sincerity and sarcasm: "I didn't expect Inspector Shinomiya to have such a rich imagination. It's a real shame he's not writing mystery novels."

"Shut up, you trash!" Shinomiya Rin clenched her fists, finding this guy utterly annoying.

"Ah, the Imperial Inspector Shinomiya is truly remarkable. It seems there's no need for a nobody like me to take over... I'll head back now." Hara Masaki stood up, picked up the barley tea on the table, and made as if to leave.

"Stop! That's what I drank!" Shinomiya Rin shouted.

"It sounds even more delicious now," Hara Masaki said with a smile.

"You pervert!!" Shinomiya Rin grabbed a cushion and threw it at him.

Yuan Zhensheng anticipated this and slipped out of the reception room, slamming a cushion against the door with a thud.

He stood behind the door, his smile gradually fading. He went straight back to the bathroom, poured barley tea into the toilet, and turned on the tap to rinse the glass to avoid detecting any traces of sleeping pills.

Tsk, who wants to drink Shinomiya Rin's saliva?

As a professional assassin, one must not only make thorough preparations beforehand but also clean up any traces afterward. Even if it means being branded as a pervert, one must never arouse suspicion.

After cleaning up, Hara Masaki planned to slip away. Anyway, Shinomiya Rin was very stubborn, and with a little provocation, she would pout and refuse to switch shifts and stand guard alone.

They're still too young and haven't experienced the harsh realities of the workplace.

As soon as Hara Masaki opened the toilet door, he heard Shinomiya Rin's exclamation from next door. Immediately afterward, the police radio on his waist crackled to life: "Emergency! Emergency! Port 118 reports: A gun incident has occurred at 2-23 Akasaka Minamicho!"

Was he discovered so quickly? He thought he could procrastinate for another night.

Yuan Zhensheng answered the walkie-talkie and replied weakly, "Port 117 received... You need to open the window to report to the command post. The indoor signal is bad; only I can receive it."

"Come and help us right now!!" Rin Shinomiya's shout came through the door.

The person was already dead. Yuan Zhensheng didn't understand why she was in such a hurry. He staggered into the Japanese-style room, then feigned a surprised expression: "What happened?"

Shinomiya Rin squatted beside the corpse, her expression serious: "The target I was protecting is dead."

"I'm not blind, I can see." Yuan Zhensheng didn't forget to kick her while she was down: "I'm asking how she died? Weren't you on duty earlier?"

Rin Shinomiya's face turned as red as a tomato, her back drenched in sweat. She said guiltily, "What do you know! The killer was a professional; I didn't hear a single gunshot..."

"Were you sleeping too soundly?"

"Uh-Ugh!" Shinomiya Rin finally revealed the reason for her anxiety: "The blood hasn't clotted yet, which means she hasn't been dead for long... Did you encounter any suspicious people on your way here?"

"No." There was no need for Yuan Zhensheng to lie; misleading the police with false clues would only expose his own flaws.

Shinomiya Rin immediately drew her sidearm, gripping it with both hands: "Quick, check the doors and windows! The killer might still be inside the villa!"

"...Okay." Hara Masaki complied with a straight face.

As a professional assassin, he underwent rigorous training and would never laugh, no matter how funny it was... even if he had to act like a fool with his partner.

He frowned, drew his sidearm, and carefully covered Shinomiya Rin as they meticulously searched the villa for the criminals, while simultaneously calling for reinforcements from the Koban.

The study, bedroom, toilet, dressing room... Shinomiya Rin searched each room one by one, checking the window latches. There were no signs of forced entry, and the front and back doors were locked from the inside, further confirming her suspicions.

—The killer hasn't left yet!

This was Rin Shinomiya's first time carrying out an arrest mission, and she was incredibly nervous. She hugged the wall as she walked through the corridor, her sidearm held high the whole time, and the ahoge (cowlick) on her head swayed from side to side.

"How about we wait for reinforcements to arrive before taking action?" Yuan Zhen was afraid that she would die from stress.

"Baka! As a police officer, how can I back down in the face of danger?!" Shinomiya Rin stammered.

"This isn't called retreating in the face of battle; it's called a tactical retreat. Rather than outsmarting the prisoners, we should guard the gate, wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then trap them like turtles in a jar."

Yuan Zhensheng doesn't want to act anymore; his facial muscles are too tired.

"Don't you watch TV dramas? Only an idiot cop in a crime drama would do something like that!"

Having learned from this negative example, Shinomiya Rin immediately relaxed and argued, "Relaxing now is giving the prisoner a chance to escape. What if the prisoner escapes through the window?"

"What does it have to do with me? It's not like I'm the one watching and I'm sleeping," Yuan Zhensheng said.

Shinomiya Rin was speechless for a moment, gritting her teeth in anger, yet unable to refute him.

She said defiantly, "Fine, leave if you want! I can catch the criminal all by myself! Don't regret it if you don't get any credit when the case is closed and awards are given!"

After saying that, she glanced at Yuan Zhensheng, but to her surprise, he turned and left without falling for her trick.

hateful!!

Shinomiya Rin was a little scared by herself, so she followed behind Hara Masaki, secretly hoping that Hara Masaki would change his mind.

"Why are you following me?" Yuan Zhensheng asked, turning around.

"Stop arguing! It's just on the way! We haven't even searched the entrance yet!" Shinomiya Rin was telling the truth; she did indeed intend to search the entrance.

Yuan Zhensheng simply said "Oh," without taking it seriously.

The two walked to the entrance hall one after the other. Next to it was a servant's room, which was usually the bedroom for maids, butlers or guards.

Yuan Zhensheng noticed a figure through the crack in the door from four or five meters away. He guessed it was the butler who had been awakened by the noise of their search and was hiding behind the door, secretly observing.

To avoid trouble, he pretended not to see anything and walked straight ahead.

The door was suddenly flung open, and a figure rushed out wielding a weapon, yelling; in the blink of an eye, Shinomiya Rin shouted "Watch out!" and lunged forward, trying to push her partner away...

However, Hara Masaki had anticipated this, and he took a step back, causing Shinomiya Rin to miss her target.

With a loud thud, the frying pan struck Shinomiya Rin on the forehead. Her vision blurred, but she still tried to fight the thug, waving her arms at the air and stumbling to the ground with her Emperor-like steps.

"Police, don't move!" Yuan Zhensheng immediately drew his gun, his movements professional and efficient.

The piercing sound of police sirens blared outside, and red and blue lights illuminated the street. The criminal investigation team arrived late, only to find patrol officers at gunpoint in a standoff, and a female patrol officer lying on the ground, presumably killed in action.

"Don't move!" The detective drew his gun even faster, without even announcing his identity.

The butler was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly raised his hands and spoke rapidly to defend himself—he thought a thief had broken into the villa, so he stayed in the barbarian's room to launch a sneak attack.

The misunderstanding has been temporarily cleared up.

The detectives handcuffed the butler, the forensic team came in to take pictures, and the paramedics helped Shinomiya Rin up and checked her injuries. Fortunately, she was not seriously hurt, except for a bump on her forehead.

Hara Masaki squatted beside the stretcher, watching Shinomiya Rin get her bandaged. She was in so much pain that she was wincing, but insisted on not going to the hospital and instead went with the criminal investigation team to examine the scene.

The medical staff stopped trying to persuade him and went into the Japanese-style room with the forensic team to collect the body.

After everyone left the entrance hall, Yuan Zhensheng remained silent for a moment before asking, "What were you thinking just now?"

"What are you thinking?" Shinomiya Rin craned her neck to peek at the criminal investigation team taking statements.

"What if the attacker had a knife? Are you so stupid that you're not afraid of dying?" Yuan Zhensheng didn't like owing favors because favors were harder to repay than debts, so he was in a very bad mood.

"Huh? What kind of attitude is that!" Shinomiya Rin was very unhappy.

"Our relationship isn't that good, is it?" Yuan Zhensheng pressed.

Rin Shinomiya reluctantly muttered, "No matter how much I hate them, we're still partners."

There was actually something else she was too embarrassed to say.

—A partner is someone you can entrust your life to.