"I agreed to meet the Family Head out of respect for you, but Chief Kujo seems not to require such respect or care about my opinion. So I have nothing more to say; if we're not going, then so be it."

Upon hearing this, Kujo Yui was speechless.

She truly had no leverage in this matter. Trying to gain benefits while unwilling to part with her daughter—since when does such an ideal situation exist? Fushimi Roku wasn't foolish; without bait, he wouldn't bite.

Kujo Yui took a deep breath, finally compromising: "Alright, I'll have Tamako return now. You appease her, lift her spirits a bit, and then take her back to Hokkaido... I'll inform the Family Head, and he will meet with you personally at the time."

This was the third time she had used her daughter. However, strictly speaking, it wasn't really using her since it was a consensual matter.

If Minamoto Tamako didn't want to take Fushimi Roku to meet the Family Head, there was nothing Kujo Yui could say that would make a difference.

"Alright," Fushimi Roku rolled over, "What time will she be back?"

"Once you hand over the transfer phone, I'll have her back immediately. Anyway, there's nothing left for her to do next." Kujo Yui didn't want her daughter going to the bomb disposal site again.

"Ah, you're too late. I've already given the transfer phone to the Inakawa Association." Fushimi Roku reminded her: "Moreover, without my handwriting analysis and testimony, just a transfer phone alone won't suffice as evidence in court."

"Counterterrorism doesn't require evidence," Kujo Yui said. "Of course, if you're willing to cooperate, that would be for the best."

"Then go ask the Inakawa Association for it. Once Minamoto Tamako returns, I'll inform them to pass the phone to you."

Fushimi Roku hadn't sold the transfer phone to Sazaki Gen, but only entrusted him to hand off the phone to the 'buyer,' and in passing, asked Sazaki Gen to help find Uesugi Shion—which came with a fee. Sazaki Gen offered a friendly discount because of the information.

At worst, he would make up the discount himself.

As for the Inakawa Association's plan to legitimize themselves, Fushimi Roku didn't care.

The history of black organizations is quite bloody and cruel. Trying to legitimize and erase the sins of the past isn't that easy. If Sazaki Gen could manage it, then that was his skill, and Fushimi Roku didn't plan on helping in that regard.

Kujo Yui agreed, unwilling to waste even a second, immediately hanging up the phone and calling her daughter into the office.

Minamoto Tamako hadn't slept the entire night but was still full of energy, mainly because she had slept for over ten hours the day before. Now she could outlast anyone, still eager to pursue the terrorists.

As soon as she entered the office, she smelled a strong scent of second-hand smoke. The air had turned greyish-white. If her mom kept smoking, she might end up with lung cancer in two years.

"Mom, stop smoking; it's bad for your health," Minamoto Tamako said.

"Adopt the role," Kujo Yui sat in her office chair, casually extinguishing the cigarette butt.

"Yes, director," Minamoto Tamako stood at attention.

Kujo Yui crossed her fingers, organized her thoughts internally, and said, "I'm sorry we didn't bring Jun back."

Minamoto Tamako's expression darkened a bit. She clenched her little fists. "It's alright. Everyone did their best. Jun won't hold anything against us from above."

Her voice had a tinge of choking. "If there's blame, it should fall on me. I promised him I'd rescue him and kept telling him to hold on…"

Kujo Yui didn't really have any feelings about Jun's death. In her view, it was just a dog, losing a pet akin to having a beloved toy broken—no essential difference... After all, during her birth era, most people weren't in the habit of keeping pets.

But seeing her daughter so upset pained her heart, too.

"Alright," Kujo Yui said, "I'll handle it here; you go take a rest. After this case is over, come back and resume."

"But..."

"No buts," Kujo Yui's tone turned firm, "You're involved in the case, and it's your dog; you should be assisting with the investigation, which means avoiding the case."

Minamoto Tamako couldn't argue back. She hung her head, silently refusing to give in, stubbornly standing there, unmoving.

Kujo Yui knew her daughter's temperament, softened her tone, and continued, "You need to trust me and our colleagues at the Police Department; we won't let that person go."

Only then did Minamoto Tamako nod. "Actually, I have a suspect in mind; it might be Uesugi..."

"Enough," Kujo Yui interrupted, "Save it for the record session; you know the rules—no subjective speculation, just facts. The Police Department isn't filled with idiots. Whatever you think of, we can think of too."

Minamoto Tamako made an 'uh' sound and left the office dejectedly.

Following Kujo Yui's instructions, the officer took Minamoto Tamako to make a statement.

Minamoto Tamako spoke freely, disregarding the warning not to make subjective speculations. She voiced all her thoughts, including but not limited to 'Uesugi Shion orchestrated the Cat Island incident,' 'she has a history of terrorist behavior,' 'mental health evaluations possibly falsified,' 'temporarily harbored someone to detox a boyfriend,' 'still harbors the notion of investigating the Cat Island incident,' 'boyfriend seems aware of it'...

She said a lot, so much that her mouth was dry. When she looked closely, it seemed the officer hadn't taken any notes. She couldn't help asking, "I said so much; did you record it all?"

The officer hadn't written a single word but still nodded and said, "I've got it all down, word for word."

Only then did Minamoto Tamako feel at ease and left the interrogation room.

Under the guise of making tea, she sneaked back into the investigation department, intending to observe the public security officers analyze the case. However, she was spotted by Chief Kikuchi and could only leave, fully giving up.

As Minamoto Tamako stepped out of the Police Department's gate, the sunlight hitting her face stung her eyes. Only then did she remember that she hadn't seen Fushimi-kun's shadow the whole time, nor did she receive his call.

Her phone had run out of battery; after all, she'd been on the phone for so long, and it hadn't been charged for over ten hours, having automatically shut down already.

Minamoto Tamako had assumed Fushimi-kun would come to the Police Department himself to provide clues, enabling them to meet directly and work together, so she hadn't thought much about charging her phone.

Moreover, if Fushimi-kun had anything urgent, he could have easily paged Senior Watanabe or called the police station's desk phone to pass a message through a colleague.

What had Fushimi-kun been doing all night without making contact?

Still cleaning up dog poop at home, perhaps?

Minamoto Tamako felt something was amiss. She suspected Fushimi-kun was hiding something, even wondering if he knew about something but didn't report it. She hastily took out her piggy wallet, pried out a black rectangular battery, and swapped it into her pink flip phone.

Back in these days, phone batteries were external; you could remove them, charge them separately, and prepare several spare batteries.

Minamoto Tamako pressed and held the power button, waited for half a minute for the screen to light up, and soon a slew of text and call alerts appeared.

She scrolled through them one by one, meticulously reading as she walked:

Liu: "Have you eaten?"

Liu: "What time are you coming back?"

Liu: "I've prepared dinner."

Liu: "The food's cold."

Liu: "Why aren't you answering the phone?"

Liu: "It's fine now, Shun told me."

Liu: "Let's talk tomorrow."

Liu: "I'm going to sleep first."

——(You have 6 missed calls)

Minamoto Tamako felt a peculiar dark pleasure. Seeing how much Fushimi-kun cared, sending her eight messages without a reply made her a bit smug.

In the early days of having her cellphone, when she sent Fushimi-kun texts at work, he would often respond indifferently. Now the tables had turned, and it was finally her turn to feel triumphant!

...No, that's not the point.

Minamoto Tamako shook her head, casting aside her chaotic thoughts, and pressed the callback button, intending to clarify with Fushimi-kun.

What exactly is going on?

Now that Jun is dead, could something have happened to Sakurako too?

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