The Tokyo Police Journey Begins with the Ability to See Evil Thoughts

The following day, inside the police station.

"Inspector Kamiya, there's a dispute case here. Do you have time to come with me?"

After hanging up the phone, Takeuchi Takayuki looked at Kamiya Gen with a worried expression and asked.

It's almost time to get off work. Tomorrow is his day off, and if he has a case to handle, he won't have time to go home early to be with his family.

But this case was assigned to him by his superiors, and he couldn't refuse it. He could only hope to find someone to help him share the burden.

After asking this question, Takeuchi Takayuki didn't really have any hope.

After all, he knew Kamiya Gen very well; under normal circumstances, the other party would leave right on time.

Let alone civil disputes that happen close to the end of the workday, even serious criminal cases, as long as they're not urgent, he'll postpone them whenever possible, showing no interest in working overtime whatsoever.

Several times before, he had tried to ask Kamiya Gen for help, but was always shut down by the other party's words, "I'm off work, we can talk about it tomorrow."

Unexpectedly, Kamiya Gen merely raised his eyelids, didn't ask any questions about the details of the case, and casually agreed: "Okay, let's go."

Takeuchi Takayuki froze, staring at him in disbelief. "Huh? You...you agreed?"

"Otherwise what?"

Kamiya Gen had already gotten up, picked up his coat from the back of his chair, and casually gathered the documents on the table. His movements were swift and efficient. "Didn't you say it was almost time to get off work? If we dawdle any longer, we'll be caught in rush hour traffic and waste even more time."

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll get the documents right away!"

Takeuchi Takayuki then came to his senses, and overjoyedly pulled out the case file, but he wondered to himself, "Did the sun rise in the west today? The person who usually couldn't wait to leave half an hour early has actually willingly taken on this thankless task, and so readily at that."

Little did he know that Kamiya Gen was harboring a great deal of unease.

From the moment he entered the police station in the morning, Muheyou hadn't given him the slightest bit of a friendly look.

If you bump into someone in the hallway, they will simply walk around you without even looking at you.

He deliberately leaned over to explain what happened yesterday, but the other person shut him down with a simple, "I have to go to a meeting, I don't have time."

Even during the short meeting in the criminal investigation department just now, when the two of them sat across a table, she had a cold face the whole time, and the low pressure of her aura that kept strangers at bay was so strong that even her colleagues next to her noticed something was wrong.

Sitting in the office for even a second longer makes you feel uncomfortable from the chill.

Rather than staying in the police station and seeing her sour face without even getting a chance to explain, it's better to follow Takeuchi around on cases and avoid seeing her and getting annoyed.

"Thank you so much!"

Takayuki Takeuchi followed behind him, carrying the documents, his face full of gratitude. "In a few days, I'll treat you to a couple of drinks at an izakaya. Order whatever you like!"

Kamiya Gen waved his hand and replied listlessly, "We'll see. Let's get this case sorted out first."

He could guess that Takeuchi was probably busy leaving, and in the end he would be the only one handling the case.

But it doesn't matter anyway, I don't have any extra plans for today, and I'll be bored back at the hotel anyway.

……

"The case involves a factory. Apparently, an employee had an accident, and the family came to the factory to cause trouble. However, their demands were too high, and the boss said he needed to consider it. The family members became extremely agitated, and even the dispatchers couldn't control them..."

"Are Ohno and the others there too?" Kamiya Gen asked, leaning against the passenger seat and looking at the scenery along the roadside.

"That guy doesn't seem to be here; it was the young men from the foreign tribes who went."

"Why isn't he here? Instead, we were transferred over there. Are you going home later?"

Having been exposed by Kamiya Gen, Takeuchi Takayuki was not embarrassed. He chuckled and said, "It has to be you. Otherwise, no one else would have thought of it so quickly. Indeed, I have some things to do at home. I was planning to leave after dropping you off at the scene."

Kamiya Gen nodded: "It's alright, you can go back on Shiquan Road in a bit. I'll drive there. The direction of that factory seems to be the opposite of yours."

Takayuki Takeuchi was somewhat moved. If it weren't for the significant age difference between them, he would have even considered becoming sworn brothers with Gen Kamiya on the spot.

Where can you find such an easy-going colleague?

That young girl, Inspector Muhe, is so immature! Why is she always arguing?!

It's obvious that Inspector Kamiya wouldn't make a mistake.

Takeuchi Takayuki secretly decided that he would never be a fence-sitter again. Whenever Kamiya Gen and Kiha Yuzu quarreled, he had to stand on the man's side.

"Want a smoke?" he asked, offering a cigarette.

Kamiya Gen took it, thought for a moment but didn't light it, and put it back in the cigarette case: "Never mind, I've already borrowed it, it's not good to smoke it myself."

"If you're feeling down, have a cigarette. I'll have one with you." Takeuchi Takayuki lit a cigarette for himself and handed one to him.

"Okay..." Kamiya Gen hesitated for a moment, then took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and immediately started coughing.

"What? I've never seen anyone cough after quitting smoking and then starting again."

"Never mind, never mind." Kamiya Gen extinguished his cigarette.

He never expected that whether or not one coughs from cigarettes would be related to their physical condition; he thought he wouldn't have a reaction.

Uchi Takayuki watched him stub out his cigarette and couldn't help but laugh: "Looks like you've really quit. I knew I shouldn't have tried to persuade you."

He stepped on the gas to avoid the evening rush hour traffic and continued, "This case is complicated. An employee was accidentally killed in the workshop, and the family is demanding 30 million yen in compensation. The factory is only willing to offer 20 million yen, so the two sides broke down in negotiations. The family then brought people to block the gate and even stopped the production line."

"This amount of money... is indeed quite a lot."

Kamiya Gen nodded and said that he had handled many similar cases, and basically 20 million was the maximum, and many factories would not even give that much.

As the car turned into the suburban industrial area, the shops along the street gradually turned into rows of factories, and there were more trucks on the road.

Within minutes, a crowd gathered at the factory gate came into view, along with police cars parked on the roadside. Several young officers were helplessly trying to restrain the agitated family members, and the scene was chaotic.

"We've arrived. This is the precision parts processing factory in front of us."

Takeuchi Takayuki parked the car steadily on the side of the road, pulled the handbrake, and sighed, "It was originally a civil dispute, but it's gotten this far. If we don't handle it properly, we'll be held accountable by our superiors."

"You can go back now, I'll take care of it."

Since he had already chosen to help, Kamiya Gen decided to go all the way and said, "I'll take the chariot back in a bit."

Takeuchi Takayuki's eyes lit up instantly, his grip on the steering wheel tightened, and his face was full of gratitude: "Then I should go back first? I'll get nagged again if it gets any later."

As he spoke, he pulled out a case file from the passenger-side glove compartment and handed it to Kamiya Gen. "All the information is here. The factory manager and the employee involved in the accident are all clearly written down. If there's anything you can't handle on-site, just call me anytime. I can help you coordinate even if I'm at home."

"Don't worry, it's just a civil dispute, nothing serious will happen."

Kamiya Gen took the case file, flipped through a couple of pages, got out of the car, and then bent down to wave to Takeuchi inside the car, "Let's hurry up and leave, it'll be stuck in traffic during rush hour."

"Thanks, Kamiya-kun! I'll definitely treat you to a good drink later!"

Takeuchi Takayuki thanked him again, immediately turned the steering wheel, made a U-turn, and quickly merged into the traffic, heading towards the city center.

Kamiya Gen watched the taillights disappear at the intersection before turning his gaze back to the chaotic factory gate.

Cries and arguments mingled together as family members blocked the gate, refusing to let anyone pass. Factory security guards and managers stood by helplessly, while several young police officers on duty were sweating profusely, unable to calm the agitated crowd.

He took a deep breath, stuffed the case file into his coat pocket, and walked towards the crowd.

……

"Inspector Kamiya, please be well. Why is it you here, not Takeuchi...?"

Seeing that a patrol officer was greeting him, Kamiya Gen waved his hand and said, "He has some urgent business to attend to, I'll handle it."

The lead patrolman quickly stepped forward, saluted, and reported in a low voice:

"We're really sorry to trouble you. We've been here for almost an hour, but we couldn't persuade him at all. The deceased was named Kazuki Ueda, 21 years old. He was an employee who joined last year. Yesterday, while operating a milling machine during the night shift, he violated operating procedures and got caught in the machine. He died on the spot."

Kamiya Gen frowned, glancing at the woman collapsed in tears in front of the gate: "Are they relatives of the deceased?"

"It was the deceased's older sister, Keiko Ueda, who brought several relatives with her. She insisted that the factory's safety management was inadequate and demanded 30 million yen in compensation. Otherwise, she would block the gate and even rushed into the workshop this morning to shut down two production lines."

The inspector looked distressed. "We tried to persuade her for a long time, but she was too emotional and wouldn't listen at all."

"And what about the factory side? Who's present?"

"Factory manager Akihiro Sakaguchi, personnel manager Toshiaki Toda, and factory manager's secretary Kyoko Morishita are all in the office building, hiding in their offices and not showing themselves."

The inspector sighed. "The factory said the deceased was primarily responsible for operating the equipment improperly and was willing to offer 20 million yen in compensation, including funeral expenses and a pension. However, the family refused to budge. They had negotiated twice, but both negotiations broke down. This morning, they came directly to block the door."

Kamiya Gen then asked, "Has the equipment been checked? Are there any safety hazards?"

"We've taken a quick look, and the safety protection devices on the equipment are intact. The operating procedures are also posted next to the machine. The veteran employees in the workshop also said that Ueda Kazuki finds it troublesome and never wears a protective helmet. The foreman has told him several times, but he doesn't listen."

"Did the factory not speak with the family before calling the police?"

"Manager Toda came out to talk once, but he was scolded by the family members after only a few words. Plant Manager Sakaguchi did not show up at all. We couldn't control the situation, so we reported it to the police station."

Kamiya Gen nodded, having already grasped most of the situation in his mind. He looked up at the noisy crowd and said to the patrolman, "Alright, I understand. Go to the office building and call out Factory Manager Sakaguchi and Manager Toda. I'll talk to them first."

"Uh... it's a bit troublesome to call them down. We might have to take a detour to get them up. Once they come down, the family members will start making a fuss again."

"Alright."

Kamiya Gen nodded in agreement and followed the patrolman's lead, bypassing the family members and entering the factory.

After passing through the noisy production workshop, the inspector led Kamiya Gen through the fire escape at the back of the factory into the office building. They quickly went up to the second floor and stopped in front of the door at the very back with the sign "Factory Manager's Office".

Seeing this, the security guard immediately raised his hand and gently knocked on the door. A flurry of activity came from inside, followed by Sakaguchi Akihiro's hoarse voice:

"Who? The family members are causing trouble again?"

"Manager Sakaguchi, the police officers from the station are here."

There was a brief moment of silence inside the door, then the doorknob was quickly turned, and Kyoko Morishita, dressed in a well-fitting suit and skirt, opened the door.

Her face still bore the traces of anxiety. When she saw the police uniform on Kamiya Gen, she quickly bowed and saluted: "Hello, officer, please come in."

As Kamiya Gen stepped into the office, he was immediately greeted by a strong smell of smoke.

Sakaguchi Akihiro, standing to the side, gave a stiff smile upon seeing Kamiya Gen: "Please sit here."

Kamiya Gen nodded and said, "Open the windows to air it out. It stinks like this; how can we talk?"

"Alright, Mori, go open the window." Sakaguchi Akihiro waved his hand and instructed his secretary to open the window.

A cool breeze blew into the office, and Kamiya Gen finally sat down and began to speak:

"I have a pretty good understanding of the specifics. So you don't agree to the 30 million compensation, right?"

Sakaguchi Akihiro looked troubled, and after sitting down, he poured himself and Kamiya Gen a cup of tea each:

"Officer... It's not that I disagree. To be honest, when faced with this kind of situation, everyone would want to pay to settle it. The main problem is that they initially told us it was 20 million, and after I agreed, they suddenly asked for 30 million. I'm worried that if I keep agreeing, the Ueda family will change their minds again, and if the price keeps going up, we really won't be able to afford it."

"Is that so...?"

Kamiya Gen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at the patrolman beside him. "Why isn't this mentioned in the records?"

"I'm sorry, I only arrived later." The patrolman looked embarrassed and tried to shift the blame.

Kamiya Gen didn't dwell on such matters; he knew the situation of Koban better than anyone else.

Someone who just eats and does nothing... might be okay if Ohno Satoshi were here, but for some reason, that person didn't come.

"So, you actually agree to the 30 million? Shall I go and talk to the family members about it?" Kamiya Gen turned to look at the factory manager.

"You...you can give it a try, but I'm worried they might change their minds again..."

"If you keep changing your mind in front of me, don't blame me for trying to get you charged with extortion."

As he spoke, Kamiya Gen put down his teacup, preparing to resolve the matter quickly.

His words were merely his personal opinion. Legally, it would be difficult to convict the family members, since this is only a civil compensation case.

But Kamiya Gen still had a plan. He had already seen the situation in the factory when he came up, so it wasn't impossible for him to take those family members away from other directions.

It's best not to bother yourself and just collect the money quickly, otherwise no one will end up in a bad situation.

Thinking this, Kamiya Gen prepared to get up.

Unexpectedly, he was stopped by Akihiro Sakaguchi again.

With a pained expression, he earnestly said to Kamiya Gen, "You...you shouldn't be in such a hurry. Don't make a big fuss and convict those people...it's too complicated."

When Kamiya Gen realized the other party's attitude, he was slightly taken aback and sat back down.

With a slight thought, he activated the system and scanned the crowd present.

Then he squinted.

This case... turns out it's not that simple after all...