Chapter 1004

PS：September 1st is busy, so here's a double-length 5100-word chapter. This book has only one final serial case left before completion—thanks for your support! Tenshi bows in gratitude here, OrR!

One Park Yoo-chun fell, and countless Uesugis rose up.

Cough, cough—of course it doesn't exist.

In fact, with the deepening of streaming media and internet big data push mechanisms, most celebrities now find it hard to achieve the explosive fame they once did in the TV era or early internet era, where just one breakout song or role could make them go viral.

Nowadays, everyone focuses on private-domain traffic and precision targeting, making it extremely difficult for any celebrity to boost their recognition to a global level or beyond.

Take football, the world's number one sport: early on, batch after batch of world-class stars emerged—Pelé first, then Beckenbauer and Cruyff, followed by Maradona, then Zidane, Ronaldo, and Kaká. Yet today's world-class stars are still those who rose to fame over a decade ago—C罗 and Messi—both now aging, one clinging on at Juventus, the other partying in Paris, with no clear successor in sight.

Basketball needs no further explanation: from start to finish, it has produced only one world-class star, and you all know who he is.

Park Yoo-chun has fallen, and there's simply no star capable of taking over. The Hallyu wave is heavily affected, and in Japan, even Johnny's associates are complaining that JR now consists entirely of a bunch of misfits and oddballs.

Since Asō Kōta's case naturally drew all external attention to him—and as a member of the Asō family who did nothing wrong—the family naturally rallied to protect him fully, allowing Uesugi Muneyuki to disengage gracefully from the public opinion storm.

On the first Monday of May, the corridors of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building at Sakuradamon were filled with the unique scent of late spring and early summer.

A new fiscal year has begun.

Minami Ojou-sama came to work today, wearing a loose, deep gray maternity dress, over which she had a thin cardigan, and her feet were now in a pair of soft-soled flat leather shoes.

By now, Minami's abdominal protrusion was quite obvious; sitting for long made her uncomfortable, so her steps were slow and leisurely, hands on hips, radiating immense energy!

Minami Ojou-sama stayed in the Special Mission Division office for about forty minutes, signed a few documents, briefed Okada Masayoshi on a few points regarding Park Yoo-chun's subsequent plea bargain, then rose to prepare to head home.

Off to nurture the fetus!

As she was leaving, she glanced at Asō Kōta and saw him flipping through the Japanese Police Law and Police Conduct Guidelines, constantly pondering how to comply—or how to use compliance as a cover for non-compliance—and couldn't help but chuckle.

Special Mission Division, Asō kid!

Having said that, Minami Ojou-sama left the office with her hands still on her hips.

Horses still run, dances still go on—I am Minami, I am proud! Pregnant, I have the Civil Servant Law protecting me: not only is my salary secure, but my position and duties are preserved until I return!

To be honest, without these guarantees, I wouldn't even consider having kids—hmph~

The role of section chief in the Special Mission Division has fallen to Okada Masayoshi.

This guy's nameplate in front of him has already changed from Special Mission Division Supervisor to Acting Section Chief.

"Park Yoo-chun's case has today formally entered the plea bargain phase. His lawyer has already submitted a written confession; during probation, he will regularly report to the prosecutors' office, and the fine has already been paid. Subsequent matters will be handled by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office—we here—

"

Okada Masayoshi half-smiled as he closed the file: "————No new cases for now—today's a good day. The new hire orientation is at 10 a. m.; anyone want to go join the fun?

"

Date Nagamune was organizing the reports on his desk, not looking up: "Metropolitan Police Department new hire orientations happen every year—what's so special about them?

"

"There'll be lots of beautiful women! Especially the non-career-track clerical female officers!" Igarashi joked: "Many of them took the exam several times before finally making it in!"

"No way—I've got Akane-chan." Date Nagamune shook his head fiercely, wearing the look of a devoted husband: "I only like Akane-chan!"

"Alright, then what about you? Maeda, you don't have a girlfriend, do you?" Okada Masayoshi looked toward Maeda Toshihide.

Maeda Toshihide was curled up in his chair, scrolling on his phone, mouth twisted into a line: "Not going. They call it an orientation, but it's really just standing in a line listening to various leaders give speeches, then shouting slogans in unison like 'Serving the people's trust as police!' 'Serving the nation!'—boring as hell."

"TMD, I was a forest police officer in Aomori Prefecture, you're getting the Tokyo special cost-of-living allowance at Sakuradamon—both are serving the public, just different divisions. This kind of talk only fools newcomers." Maeda Toshihide complained.

Nango Yui pushed up her glasses and said slowly: "I heard the Public Relations Division brought in over a dozen new hires this year, all female officers from local exams. Some even transferred from Kagoshima—Kagoshima beauties, you know! Like Miyawaki Sakura, that cute, two-dimensional-style beauty!"

Maeda Toshihide's ear twitched.

Cute two-dimensional-style beauty?

Do I have the same dual strong claim to cuteness as Anna Komnene of the Byzantine Empire, who simultaneously held claims to both the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem?

Nango Yui added: "Besides, Saito Asuka is also in that batch. She transferred from the Special Mission Division."

Maeda Toshihide had already shoved his phone into his pocket and stood up: "————I suddenly feel I should go check it out. After all, they're colleagues. It wouldn't be proper to not greet new coworkers.

"

His steps were noticeably faster than usual, and as he walked toward the door, he didn't forget to glance back and raise an eyebrow at the crowd: "When I get back, I'll tell you all what level they're at."

After he walked out, the crowd exchanged glances. Date Nagamune finally lifted his head, stared at the still-slightly-trembling door, fell silent for a moment, then said: "Just now he said 'colleague'—was he referring to Saito Asuka? Or those dozen-odd new hires?

"

Asō Kōta's face half-emerged from behind the forensic medicine textbook, voice muffled: "————I think he meant those dozen-odd new hires."

Nango Yui pushed up her glasses: "Did you see them?"

"I saw them." Asō Kōta said muffled: "They don't compare to Park Chŏ-rong—appearance-wise."

Upon saying that, the Special Mission Division fell into complete silence.

This kid's hopeless—maybe we should still reverence the emperor and repudiate treason, Sakuradamon Restoration style!

Date, Igarashi, Okada, and others all thought the same.

How can we possibly handle cases properly when we're stuck together with such a rare oddball from the Asō family?

Meanwhile, Yamada Nanase, silently lurking in the corner, buried her head, trying to stay hidden in the shadows, yet couldn't help but leak a sinister smile, frantically scribbling in a little notebook.

The daily life of the Special Mission Division is just too exciting, isn't it!

The onboarding training room of the General Affairs Department, Public Relations Division, Metropolitan Police Department, is on the second floor, east side—a classroom of about sixty square meters.

——————

The south-facing windows were open, and May sunlight slanted in from outside, casting patches of light and shadow on the wooden floor.

Dark desks and chairs were neatly arranged; the front held a whiteboard, with a projector and speaker's platform beside it.

About twenty newly hired clerical female officers sat in the classroom, most aged between twenty and twenty-eight, wearing the standard-issue dark blue uniform skirts distributed by the Metropolitan Police Department to new female police officers.

The skirt hem fell at knee level, paired with standard thick-wool commuting flesh-colored pantyhose; the upper body wore a fitted suit jacket, inner layer a white shirt, with a narrow dark blue tie at the collar.

Meanwhile, the girl seated by the window in the third row stood out noticeably among the sea of uniformed figures.

Saito Asuka wore the same dark blue uniform skirt, but her uniform seemed to have been carefully tailored to her: the jacket's shoulder line sat perfectly on her shoulders, the waist-cutting made her already slender waist appear even more delicate and fine, and the skirt hem fell straight down at mid-thigh.

She wore a pair of black velvet silk stockings on her legs, the thickness just right between "not see-through" and "fully transparent"; in sunlight, one could see the slight sheen on the stocking surface and the texture of her pale skin showing through. On her feet were a pair of black medium-heel low-cut leather shoes, the uppers simple with no extra decoration, the heel about five centimeters high—not too tall, both complying with the Metropolitan Police Department's dress code and making her posture appear upright and neat.

Asuka's hair glowed with a chestnut sheen in the sunlight, her face still that round, baby-fat visage, but compared to a few years ago, there was now a layer of settled calm in her brows and eyes, the kind that comes only from having seen much of the world.

When she sat there, she did not sit rigidly straight like other newcomers, but instead leaned slightly to the side, one hand propped on the desk surface, her head tilted as she listened to the person beside her speak.

Back row by the window, that's the big shot bird's spot, huh!

Finally, finally, it's been so many years!

Finally, we've reached this point, Sōsetsu—I've also joined the Metropolitan Police Department!

Asuka's round little face showed a hint of pride as she secretly listened to what everyone was saying.

However, there was no proper business discussion.

It was all about fishing for men.

"————Let me tell you, the marriage rate among male officers in the Metropolitan Police Department is quite high, especially those transferred from the General Affairs Ministry side here. A senior sister who joined two years ago got married to an Assistant Police Inspector last year————"

"Yeah, my cousin married someone from the Metropolitan Police Department's Traffic Division, and now she lives in a big house in Meguro Ward————"

"Do you think our batch has anyone young, promising, and with a decent family background?"

"Yes, there are, sisters! There are! The career-track newcomers in the Metropolitan Police Department—you gotta really grab hold of them! Last batch, one sister asked a career-track handsome guy if he had any cola to drink?" Instantly hooked him by the tooth!"

"Note it down, note it down! This zero-cost fishing technique—you must learn it!"

"Also, be very careful: besides the Metropolitan Police Department, the National Police Agency side has plenty of heavenly officials too! Compared to the Metropolitan Police Department, they have less field work, they're all administrative posts—no need to go to the crime scene!"

"Across from us, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and the Japan Supreme Prosecutor's Office building are right nearby—if we could snag an elite prosecutor————hehehe, then we wouldn't ever have to go to work again~"

"Elite prosecutor—can we actually meet one?"

"Yes, yes—lately, the Special Mission Division has been collaborating a lot with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Unit; with contact comes opportunity!"

"How great! If that really doesn't work out, like Kikuchi Fūma or Yamada Yuki dying in the line of duty would also do! Maybe then I could transfer to the Special Mission Division as an administrative female officer, earn double pay and survivor's compensation—I'm already itching to enjoy all the survivor benefits and survivor's pension the Metropolitan Police Department offers!"

The topic had completely derailed.

When Asuka heard those conversations, the corner of her mouth twitched.

Haven't even snagged one yet, and you're already planning how to split the survivor's pension?

Just then, the front door of the classroom was pushed open.

A young man in a dark gray casual suit, slender build, strode in.

All the administrative female officers in the room instantly sat up straight—a whole flock of warblers and swallows, and in their uniforms and makeup, they made quite a sight.

This person held nothing in hand—no lecture notes, no roster, nothing that looked like what an instructor should carry—just empty hands, his steps light and lively as if heading to the playground to play ball.

He walked to behind the podium, clapped his hands, gestured for everyone to quiet down, then spoke in an unusually lively voice: "Mina-san, pull your chrysanthemum! Welcome to the Metropolitan Police Department! I am today————uh, temporarily called in to give you all an onboarding share. First, let me ask everyone a question—do you know miHoYo?

66

"？？？？？？」The few female officers in the first row stared at each other, dumbfounded.

Some shook their heads, some wore looks of confusion.

"miHoYo, Big Bro Dawei—you haven't heard of it? The one behind《Genshin Impact》《Zenless Zone Zero》《Honkai: Star Rail》《Honkai」

!" Maeda Toshihide said while gesturing: "Open-world, anime art style, gacha system, chairs you can sit on, 3A blockbuster! Like《The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild》?"

The female officers still shook their heads.

"Ah, really, no choice—I'll just give you the first lesson today!" Maeda Toshihide immediately began writing on the whiteboard.

"miHoYo Introduction Lesson One: Genesis Crystals and Ancient Dream China."

"Lesson Two: Small Pity and Big Pity."

"Lesson Three: Orbital and Anti-Orbital Techniques, Ownerless Stardust and Unextinguished Starlight————"

He still wanted to go on, but the door behind him was opened again.

A middle-aged man in a dark police uniform stood at the door, holding a lecture notebook, his expression shifting from confusion to bewilderment, then to a daze caught between "What are you doing?" and "Did I walk into the wrong classroom?"

He was silent for two seconds, then said: "————Who are you?"

Maeda Toshihide turned his head, saw the middle-aged man in instructor uniform at the door, and they locked eyes for about a second.

Then Maeda Toshihide very naturally stepped back one step, came down from behind the podium, and made a "Please go ahead" gesture toward the middle-aged instructor: "Red Bean Paste Private Mosaic! I walked into the wrong classroom!"

"Eh eh eh eh eh eh?" The new female officers in the room screamed hysterically.

This person isn't an instructor?!?

As he passed the middle-aged instructor, he even patted his shoulder, and in a tone of utter matter-of-factness, added quietly: "Instructor-san! Your classroom atmosphere is too dull. I helped you liven things up—no thanks needed!

66

Then he yielded his position to the room full of newly hired female officers and the middle-aged instructor frozen in place.

The classroom fell silent for a moment, then someone—no one knew who—couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the laughter spread like a lit fuse.

Some new female officers laughed so hard they slumped over the desk, shoulders jerking wildly; others laughed while saying, "Who is he?" "So hilarious!" "Is he even really a police officer?"

The middle-aged instructor still stood at the door, his expression having shifted from dazed to a more complex helplessness.

The Maeda of the Special Mission Division, the Maeda of the Kanazawa family.

The people of the Special Mission Division—we really can't do anything about him.

This department now, in the Metropolitan Police Department, doesn't just walk sideways—it's even got heaven on the line from above!

Seeing the instructor say nothing, Maeda Toshihide grew even more pleased, and shouted at the group of female officers still laughing: "How's that? Sisters? Am I not 'luxurious' enough for you?"

The classroom instantly erupted in another round of laughter.

Some gave him a thumbs-up, some laughed while covering their mouths and waving their hands.

Maeda Toshihide satisfiedly drew back his head, closed the door, then walked toward the elevator with light steps, humming some unknown tune.

Awesome!!!

Simply more awesome than rebuilding the Silk Road Empire in India in Steel Four and seizing most of Eurasia's core!

I'm so handsome!

Saito Asuka glanced sideways, thinking, Good thing, I'll hold it right now! Go to Minami-sister's place!

Maeda's figure disappeared into the sunlight at the end of the hallway.

And behind him, the laughter in the classroom finally gradually subsided.

At that moment, the middle-aged professor Kiyoshi cleared his throat, preparing to officially begin the lecture.

Just then, Togasaki Section Chief of the Public Relations Division arrived—this solidly built, slightly gray-haired middle-aged man pushed the door open and walked in, holding an appointment letter in his hand. He glanced at the young faces in the classroom, his gaze settling on the window-side seat in the third row.

Correct, it's decided—you're the one! Big shot bird!

Section Chief Togasaki walked to the front of the podium, raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Before the official class begins, I have an announcement to make."

He lowered his head to look at the document in his hand, then lifted his head, his gaze accurately and precisely landing on Saito Asuka.

"Starting today, the newly hired Saito Asuka of the Public Relations Division will assume the duties of the pregnant Superintendent Uesugi Minami, becoming the new generation's 'Face of the Metropolitan Police Department.' Her work will include filming the Metropolitan Police Department's annual promotional posters, anti-crime promotional videos, and various external promotional brochures."

"Saito Miss was selected after multiple rounds of screening; I hope everyone will cooperate fully with her work."

The classroom fell silent for two seconds.

Then the girls who had just been made to laugh by Maeda Toshihide burst into another wave of even more enthusiastic reaction, this time mixed with admiration and envy.

After the Sakurada-mon hearing, who in the world does not know you?

Everyone turned their heads to look at Asuka, their eyes conveying: "Wow! She's so amazing!" "New generation Metropolitan Police Department Face mistaken!" "Shoot posters!"

Asuka's lips slightly opened for a moment, then closed again; she arrogantly lifted her chin, gave a small nasal snort, and felt little surprise about this.

Hmph~Indeed, the Metropolitan Police Department also knows I'm adorable, ah!

She sat in her seat, facing the gaze of the entire classroom; her initial pride quickly subsided.

Her expression gradually shifted into a quiet, composed steadiness of earnestly accepting the mission, then she slightly nodded her head toward Section Chief Togasaki's direction, revealing a determined gaze: "————I will strive, with all my effort!

"

The entire room applauded.

Following Kashiwagi Misa and Uesugi Minami, the new generation's Face of the Metropolitan Police Department has been born!

She is the new recruit, beautiful girl police officer of the Public Relations Division—Saito Asuka!

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