No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

According to the bomb disposal expert, the bombs were crudely made, and most of the materials used could be bought online. The rest could be collected from ordinary chemical plants.

If only one bomb had detonated, the consequences wouldn't have been serious, but this time there were five people strapped with bombs.

"Officer Sasae, I'm entrusting the prisoner's identity information to you."

"Oh—okay then, I'll take these people back first, and then I'll send you the interrogation results."

Both of them knew that the Metropolitan Police Department was actually quite ineffective at handling cases that truly required strategic thinking. So Amuro Tooru took on the role of the bad guy and brought the criminals back to the police department, which was tantamount to slapping the Metropolitan Police Department in the face again.

Kitahara Maki then went back to his office to enjoy the air conditioning, leaving the thankless task of appeasing the public to Takagi.

"Brother Kitahara! Are you alright? I heard even the police have come."

Inspector Megure returned with his men and asked the question right away. Kitahara Masaki immediately realized that the plan to capture the sniper was probably doomed.

As expected, Inspector Megure continued:

"The sniper we were trying to catch was too heavily armed; two officers sustained minor injuries, but he still managed to escape."

"Really? Then what about the sniper's face?"

"Ah—I see now. I'll issue an arrest warrant right now."

The firepower was too strong, which allowed him to escape. Kitahara Masaki wasn't too surprised after hearing the result. After all, this was the Metropolitan Police Department, and the laws of detective fiction stipulated their upper limit, but didn't specify their lower limit.

"Brother Kitahara, what's next?"

"Find out who organized this protest and get a list from the organizers. Also, the sniper only fired shots but didn't hurt anyone. It's obvious he knew there was a 'suicide truck' mixed in, so he was afraid the bomb would detonate prematurely... Inspector Megure, Tokyo is under martial law right now, isn't that right?"

"That's right, we will definitely catch that sniper."

At that moment, the people from the Information Department walked in. They found the sniper's file, and seeing their grim faces, Kitahara Masaki realized that this sniper was probably no ordinary person.

"Hiroaki Hashitani, 34 years old, former Self-Defense Force officer. He has excellent shooting skills and radical online remarks. Preliminary analysis of his text message records suggests that Hiroaki Hashitani has connections with the Noguchi-gumi."

This is a serious matter; that rabble has actually found so many 'friends'.

Chapter 56 We became friends after a fight, so I want you to remember this.

"How's it going, Officer Sasao? Have you found anything?"

"The identities of all the criminals have been confirmed, as have the sniper's. All of these people have connections to the Noguchi-gumi. That's right, the Noguchi-gumi that you scared away in Toriya Town."

"Their actions don't seem like revenge against me personally; they're more like a declaration of war, an attempt to incite a large-scale war. So the key question is, what is their relationship with the Noguchi-gumi? Judging from their actions, most of those people wearing bomb backpacks aren't doing this because of religious beliefs or hatred of the police."

"Yes, these five people are all people who owe a lot of money to the Noguchi Group and basically have no way out. After they were brought into the interrogation room, they all confessed. They were all notified by text message to go to the protest group of the Metropolitan Police Department. If they did not press the detonation button as required, their families would be arrested to pay off their debts."

Kitahara Masaki pondered for a moment, then said:

"Such a crude approach does indeed resemble the work of a gangster, but..."

"Such retaliatory actions are utterly pointless and will only provoke the Metropolitan Police Department to devote all its efforts to hunting them down."

“That’s right, but regardless of whether the Noguchi-gumi is the mastermind, we need to find them before we can understand the truth.”

After exchanging information, Amuro Tooru hung up the phone. This incident was indeed a major event, and needless to say, he would definitely investigate it thoroughly.

The next thing that happened was that the top brass of the Metropolitan Police Department held a press conference, released some basic information, and then boasted that they would definitely catch these arrogant gangsters. It seemed that they had forgotten the fact that the Fourth Investigation Division, which was responsible for investigating gangsters, had long been infiltrated like a sieve.

Sure enough, after making those harsh words, the Superintendent General of Police found Kitahara Masaki, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "It's all up to you now."

Thus, the task of tracking down the Noguchi Group became Kitahara Masaki's long-term mission.

To be honest, finding these rats hiding everywhere wasn't Kitahara Masaki's forte, so he put the Noguchi-gumi's information on the organization's internal network and handed it over to some lower-level members to do.

"Hey, Kitahara, you've been in contact with the Public Security Bureau, haven't you? Do you have any new intelligence from them?"

Kitahara Masaki shook his head at Inspector Megure. At this stage, all that could be confirmed was that these outcasts were connected to the Noguchi-gumi. As for their call records and bank transfer records, no useful clues could be found. The bombs were also sent to their homes anonymously, and the instructions were given using disposable mobile phones whose origins could not be traced.

In short, the only clues they have now are their testimonies, and all of them point to the Noguchi Group. This puts Kitahara Masaki in a difficult position; a more thorough investigation of the Noguchi Group's whereabouts would inevitably implicate the Fourth Investigation Section, which had already been purged.

So Kitahara Masaki frowned, realizing things weren't so simple, and silently retreated behind the crowd. He then delegated the handover of documents and the questioning of corrupt officers in the Fourth Investigation Division to his subordinates, and quietly slipped away.

"Old Qin, have you watched TV? The Metropolitan Police Department was almost blown up. Do you have any leads?"

"Heh, does a famous police officer need other people's information? It seems the mastermind behind this is quite skilled."

When Gin changed the subject, Kitahara Masaki knew that the old man probably didn't have any information about this matter. But that was normal. Small groups like the Noguchi-gumi numbered in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, in Japan. They could basically continue their underground activities by changing their names, just like shell companies.

There's actually another clue, but Kitahara Masaki doesn't want to investigate it: the sniper's weapon. Even if he's a former Self-Defense Force officer, he couldn't possibly have obtained weaponry of that caliber. So it's quite clear that the firearms he used in this case were purchased from the gray market.

"Old Qin, where can I buy a gun in Tokyo?"

"If you want to start with the criminals' firearms, several bars in Tokyo sell firearms, but you basically need a recommendation from someone you know to be eligible."

"It doesn't matter, we became friends after a fight."

After getting the address, Kitahara Masaki went to one of the bars that very night. Even from the outside, it was clear the bar was doing brisk business, with strangely dressed ghosts and monsters constantly coming and going. The bar's name was 'Speaklow,' but unfortunately, it would soon be speaking loud.

What would you like to order?

"Just give me a bottle of beer."

After disguising himself, Kitahara Masaki initially intended to use his police identity to question the bar, but then he thought that Inspector Kitahara would definitely not be able to get anything out of him, and by the time the search warrant was issued, those trading points in Tokyo would probably have disappeared.

So it's much more convenient to wear the Napoleon persona when doing bad things. Murder and arson were all done by that madman named Napoleon, what does it have to do with me, Kitahara Masaki?

"Bartender, I have a question for you."

"What is it, guest?"

"Have you ever helped the owner here sell guns?"

When Kitahara Masaki asked the question so directly, the bartender froze on the spot, and then Kitahara Masaki smashed the bottle in his hand, almost spilling tofu pudding all over the floor.

Kitahara Masaki's actions startled everyone around the bar, who screamed and scattered. The security guards standing against the wall immediately ran over. Judging from the shape of their jackets, these guards were not carrying any firearms, but rather batons bought online. It seems that these underground brothels that have been operating in Tokyo for so long are very well hidden.

However, it doesn't matter. If the boss who can answer Kitahara Masaki's questions is here today, then the matter can naturally be resolved. After all, Kitahara Masaki just wants to find the source of the sniper's gun in order to find clues about the Noguchi Group.

Security guards who had only received combat training were no match for Kitahara Masaki. These guards were likely unaware of anything, so Kitahara Masaki simply knocked them unconscious.

As expected... this playful probing couldn't trick the bar's real owner at all. Although their transactions would be discussed inside the bar, the delivery location would not be there.

But what about the accountants? What about the bookkeepers?

He kicked open the office door, only to find it empty.

Looking at the surveillance cameras installed on the ceiling of the office, Kitahara Masaki waved to him.

It can only be said that this group of gun buyers was extremely cautious; the huge bar didn't even have a single useful clue.

Kitahara Masaki had been listening to the Metropolitan Police Department's channel and discovered that several of the customers who had escaped from there had already called the police. Kitahara Masaki, who had originally intended to set fire to his underground wine cellar, quickly left.

As he left, he pretended not to notice the surveillance cameras and filmed a video of his entire face right in front of them.

Let's move on to the next game.

Chapter 57: A water gun would be enough to scare them.

"Live from the scene. Behind me is the Cowdock bar, which was burned down by a middle-aged man. Like other bars that were attacked, the security personnel here were completely powerless against the attacker's fists."

"The Metropolitan Police Department was attacked first, and now it's Tokyo's bars' turn. Criminals are becoming increasingly rampant, and the direction of the expansion of police powers law may change again."

"Perhaps both of these incidents are major, but I noticed something: neither incident resulted in any fatalities. The most seriously injured person was a bartender who, according to our interview with him, was hit on the head with a beer bottle. Unlike the attempted bombing of the Metropolitan Police Department, these bar attacks were clearly much less dangerous than the bombings."

“I heard from a friend in the Metropolitan Police Department that the department was able to successfully catch those people carrying bombs entirely thanks to Inspector Kitahara. When everyone in the Metropolitan Police Department thought it was just an out-of-control protest, only Inspector Kitahara sensed the danger.”

"Damn! Several famous bars in Tokyo have been vandalized. Is this guy some kind of socially awkward person, which is why he's retaliating against the bars?"

"I don't know if he's socially awkward, but I know he could definitely beat you to death."

"Heh, if you've got the guts, come crawl over here and beat me up!"

Kitahara Masaki watched the chaos unfolding online and suddenly realized that he was one of the instigators, which made him laugh out loud.

Yesterday's actions were indeed a bit too much. The online buzz is almost as big as the Metropolitan Police Department's attempted bombing case. Perhaps it's because it's been too long since I've had a mission like this, a special operations operation where I went deep into enemy territory alone. Unlike last time when I had basically grasped all the information in Toya Town, this time I was like a real detective and police officer, searching for elusive clues.

So that was really going too far, completely disregarding these gun dealers. But they certainly didn't deserve to be taken seriously by Kitahara Masaki.

The security guards of three bars were all knocked down, the cellar of another bar was burned to the ground, and the cash that he kept in the office safe of another bar was donated to the Red Cross donation box.

If ordinary people use alcohol to forget their troubles and celebrate happy occasions, then Kitahara Masaki uses this action—which proves his strength—to soothe his inner turmoil.

Yesterday, during Kitahara Masaki's operation, police cars were basically chasing him, but for someone with espionage and military training like Kitahara Masaki, shaking off the police was incredibly easy. He only needed to spend a small amount of money to have Tokyo's homeless people dress up as him to confuse the police, and he was even using money from those gun dealers.

"Brother Kitahara! Why couldn't I get through to you on the phone yesterday?"

After arriving at the police station, Inspector Megure asked Kitahara Masaki a question.

"I couldn't help it, I was too tired yesterday and went to bed very early, so I unplugged the phone line at home."

Thinking of how Kitahara Masaki had prevented a bombing targeting the Metropolitan Police Department yesterday afternoon, Inspector Megure nodded. He had only asked casually and dared not say anything to Kitahara Masaki, who was nominally his equal but actually held a much higher position.

"Ahem, Brother Kitahara, it's like this, yesterday that Napoleon..."

"That madman who executed the Ross gang in the street?"

"Yes, that's the madman. He destroyed five bars yesterday and didn't finish taking statements from the people inside until the early hours of the morning. You could say the police were completely short-handed. There was just an attempted bombing yesterday afternoon, and then five more such incidents happened in the evening."

Inspector Megure, who had barely slept all night, continued with his panda eyes:

"Fortunately, and perhaps due to some kind of principle among the prisoners, those who were injured last night were all security guards and bartenders from the bar. No customers were injured, and no one died."

"It could be a coincidence if it happened at one bar, but if it happened at five bars, it proves that the criminal was looking for something with a specific purpose, which is why he injured the bar staff and let the customers who had nothing to do with the bar go free."

"Looking for something—ah! I know, our investigators provided relevant information today, saying that these bars are potential gun trading locations in Tokyo. Of course, it's not that the transactions take place inside the bars, but rather that they have powerful backers who can support such transactions, making their bars intermediaries."

As Inspector Megure finished speaking, he pinched the bridge of his nose, took a sip of the herbal tea his wife had brewed for him, and then patted Kitahara Masaki on the shoulder.

“In the past, if gun trafficking occurred, it would definitely be related to gangs. But now, with social welfare, port customs, virtual currencies, and new drugs emerging one after another, all sorts of people committing heinous crimes pretend to be gangsters, and even the real gangsters are living worse lives than them. I, an old cop, really can't keep up with the times. Please, Inspector Kitahara!”

"Leave it to me, Inspector Megure."

Leave it to me, I will make sure those people who bring out guns to trade disappear.

Kitahara Masaki took out his phone and monitored the organization's members in various parts of Tokyo. They quickly uploaded what they had seen, and then the information analysis department summarized and analyzed these events into intelligence. To describe the Black Organization as a spy organization would be the most appropriate term.

The organization now knows that the bar's owner's agent has begun to take action and is preparing to go to a restaurant to discuss the matter.

However, the Metropolitan Police Department doesn't even have a proper intelligence analysis department. The people in the local police stations are basically busy dealing with trivial matters every day, and they simply don't have the energy to collect information about these criminal organizations, so it's even more impossible for them to compile intelligence.

This gap is like that between the Iron Age and the Stone Age, to the point that even within the Metropolitan Police Department, only those at the level of the Superintendent General are aware of the Black Organization's existence. Their subordinates know nothing about it, and even the higher-ups in the Metropolitan Police Department rely on the Public Security Bureau of the National Police Agency for their understanding of the organization.

It's utterly rotten, Metropolitan Police Department. Today, Kitahara Masaki finally understands that the people who can handle large-scale crises are all in the Public Security Bureau. The Metropolitan Police Department should just stick to helping old ladies cross the street.