Chapter 420

Those who can rise to the rank of Superintendent General, aside from the "Kantei puppet" dispatched from above, are none of them easy to deal with.

Uesugi Muneyuki understands Watanabe's father and daughter's worries; no matter who comes forward as this whistleblower, they will directly offend the entire chain of interests, up and down, front and back—outside is an entire falsification industry chain, inside the headquarters is a large group of vested interests; even if the General Affairs Department Head truly doesn't know, many mid- and lower-level officials under him absolutely cannot escape.

Kashiwagi Misa has no choice; she is the Chief of the Equipment Management Department.

However, Uesugi Muneyuki cannot be the one to come forward as this whistleblower.

But if I don't come, who else will do it?

Watanabe Eiji gave an answer.

Chief of Section 3, Search Division One, Kashiwagi Jin.

Upon hearing this answer, Uesugi Muneyuki and Watanabe Minami exchanged a glance, thinking, Exactly!

Having Kashiwagi Jin do it is most suitable—first, he is Kashiwagi Misa's husband; second, although this is a thankless task, Kashiwagi Jin absolutely wants to do it; no, according to his personality, he will volunteer eagerly!

Moreover, letting others take the blame, Uesugi Muneyuki would feel some reluctance, but only with Kashiwagi Jin doing it does Uesugi Muneyuki feel no psychological pressure at all.

In times of national peril, seek capable generals! In chaotic eras, remember loyal ministers!

When the West Enchanted Tower year after year sees TI end in defeat and sinking into the sand, only then do people recall that hero who once represented the last glory of the West Enchanted server, dueling "God" ana, "Shi Yi C," and "Rain God" duck-head meat battle to the fifth game, the Asian Games champion, the desolate brother ame!

Uesugi Muneyuki has indeed wiped Kashiwagi Jin's backside too many times; not only that, but Watanabe Eiji was also forced to wipe Kashiwagi Jin's backside more than once—for example, Nishikawa Souchou clearly expressed dissatisfaction, and in the end, Watanabe Eiji privately apologized before barely settling the matter.

Indeed, Watanabe Eiji calmly said offhand: "Don't worry about any psychological burden—we've protected him several times just for this moment? Raising troops for a thousand days, using them for a moment—otherwise, his presumed guilt in the night shift assault incident at the Medical and Dental University, where he handcuffed you, would be enough for me to exile him to Shikoku, plus that matter with Nishikawa Souchou—weren't you there that day too, Muneyuki?"

"Yes, I remember." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Come to think of it, what was Nishikawa Souchou's name again?"

"Nishikawa Takakyo." Watanabe Minami said with a giggle: "When I was little, he even held me."

"Huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki blinked in confusion.

Nishikawa Takakyo?

"Well, Muneyuki, you don't need to remember these now—because as you are now, you have no qualification in any situation to call his name." Watanabe Eiji continued leaning back tactically, the Superintendent General's expression extremely stern: "In short, this matter must absolutely not be known to the Prosecutors Office, absolutely not! Muneyuki, our actions must be swift, and in the end, we will definitely need Public Security's help."

"Public Security... is that so?" Uesugi Muneyuki, upon hearing that name, instinctively felt some resistance.

Last time, with the son of a National Diet Member, Suruga Ryohei, it was Public Security who took over, leaving him with very unpleasant memories.

"Muneyuki, the armed force and authority our Criminal Division possesses are very limited; to settle this completely before the Prosecutors Office intervenes, we must demand Public Security handle it, and only Public Security Police have the authority to search and arrest without evidence." Watanabe Eiji smiled: "Does it feel a bit uncomfortable? But this is officialdom—there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. In the Suruga Ryohei case, our Criminal Division and the Prosecutors Office grew closer, but in this case, those who can unite tightly with us, jointly defending our police organization's interests, are still Public Security."

"The Prosecutors Office would love to dismantle our police organization, send Father off to JRA, and only have him appear yearly to give a speech when Uma Musume airs." Minami Ojou-sama nodded, her expression also serious, and she proactively took hold of Uesugi Muneyuki's left hand: "For now, just bear with it, Muneyuki."

"Well, it's already late—today has been truly exhausting. You rest in the headquarters, lay out your futons, take a break. Muneyuki, you and Minami discuss what exactly should be done; tomorrow morning, before Kashiwagi Misa comes to work, we'll discuss again." Watanabe Eiji spoke softly, waving his hand.

Minami first took out a futon from the room, laid it for her father, then left with Uesugi Muneyuki from the Superintendent General's Office, returned to the Special Mission Unit, and seeing Uesugi Muneyuki's somewhat gloomy expression, she smiled with narrowed eyes, suddenly sprinted up to him, dropped to both knees: "Welcome back, dear—would you like to eat first, bathe first, or...?"

"Can you cook in the Metropolitan Police Department?!" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed helplessly.

"No, but we can go to the nearby 24-hour 711 convenience store to buy something to eat." Minami, still wearing her police uniform skirt, stockings, and high heels, rolled her eyes: "There's a bathhouse in the headquarters where you can wash up; as for laying out the futon, this time I'll indulge you—let's rest together in your office."

Indeed, upon hearing Minami say that, Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes lit up instantly.

Minami was actively compensating him.

But can your small frame withstand my tossing and turning?

The two discussed and decided to first go to the nearby convenience store to buy something to eat.

Since it was very late, although the 711 convenience store near the Metropolitan Police Department operates 24 hours, bento boxes and such hadn't arrived yet; Uesugi Muneyuki casually grabbed an ice cup, squeezed and shook it hard, then bought a bucket of Kangshifu iced black tea to match the ice cup, took a pack of cheese crumbs, paired it with a bowl of standard Three Nourishments cheese turkey bucket instant noodles, finally ordered a small pack of kimchi, and added two skewers of soy-glazed grilled chicken.

Such eating habits in South Korea have a specific term: MARK set meal.

"The last supper of the Korean chaebols, belonging to them." While eating instant noodles, Uesugi Muneyuki smiled at Minami, who was nibbling small bites of a salmon sandwich like a hamster: "You see me eating like this—doesn't it look like I'm a Korean?"

"Wasn't instant noodles invented by us Japanese? How did the scene become Korean cuisine?" Minami Ojou-sama had a "#" pop up above her head: "Come to think of it, Koreans really do love instant noodles."

South Koreans consume about 100 bags of instant noodles per person per year, ranking first worldwide; in South Korea, instant noodles are generally called "ramen," not merely seen as a convenience food but also as something proper enough to entertain guests.

That said, South Korean instant noodles are indeed delicious—rich in flavor, chewy noodles; although eating them daily gets tiresome, occasionally having one feels absolutely great.

In the convenience store's television, the famous South Korean star IU was singing "Good Day"; in the cold weather of late February, Uesugi Muneyuki and Minami sat in the convenience store, the steam and aroma of the instant noodles before them mingling with the pitch-black Tokyo sky outside, reflected in dazzling colors—it also had its own charm.

"Ah, if I could marry IU, even if it meant living in Roppongi Hills and driving a Maybach, I'd gladly do it!" Uesugi Muneyuki muttered casually.

The Korean entertainment industry differs from the Japanese one: Japan's domestic market is already large enough to support many people, so as long as one does well domestically, one can make money, with most having no intention to develop overseas markets; Korean entertainment is the opposite—its market is very small, plus hundreds of new artists debut each year, so if there's any domestic success, one must fully go overseas to make money.

"Hajiki Yuki! You bastard! Still eating and taking, huh?" Minami Ojou-sama, hearing her fiancé say that, rolled her eyes: "With me, isn't that enough?"

"Enough, enough, buy enough once!" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

The two ate a few bites hastily, barely filling their stomachs.

"About Misa-sister, what do you plan to do?" Minami Ojou-sama brought up the main point: "Be very careful, Muneyuki—first, don't let Misa-sister produce a report, otherwise it would mean the headquarters already knows about this, and time cannot be dragged too long; since Father said that, considering we'll eventually need Public Security to act, we have at most 48 hours!"

"I already have an idea." Uesugi Muneyuki thought.

Ihaveaplan！

Aprettyplan！

Now there are only two problems: first, how to make Kashiwagi Misa act convincingly enough, with no flaws?

Second, how to use this small Equipment Management Department head, Kashiwagi Misa, to leverage the entire interests chain, and finally still protect her safety?

Uesugi Muneyuki and Minami discussed for a good while, slowly finalizing the details.

When the two returned to the Special Mission Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, took a shower, and prepared to rest, it was already 2:45 a. m.

Minami changed into a cute Disney bear pajamas, had just laid out the bed, when she felt a pair of large hands slip behind her body, encircle her waist: "Minami-chan~"

Minami's face instantly turned pale, her body stiffened; she gave an awkward laugh: "Um, Muneyuki, tomorrow we still have things to do—how about we...?"

"No problem, soon." Uesugi Muneyuki smirked: "I don't know you yet? At most, not over 15 minutes for Minami-chan?"

Minami felt herself being lifted by the waist, the esteemed Special Mission Unit Management Officer once again being overthrown from below!

Darn it! For secrecy, I had Eirina go rest, mouth tooth!

In times of national peril, seek capable generals! In chaotic eras, remember loyal ministers!

Eirina saved my mouth tooth!

……………………

About six hours later, in the early morning, the Chief of the Equipment Management Department, Kashiwagi Misa, arrived punctually at Sakuradamon, preparing to start work.

The Clerical Affairs Section is good in that regard—there aren't many promotion prospects, but it's also genuinely not too taxing. Kashiwagi Misa has grown accustomed to this workload intensity, and ever since her relationship with her husband turned strange, she no longer holds any hope for advancement. Simply being able to carry out her duties steadily as an Assistant Police Inspector would be like burning high incense.

But she had only just entered this department not long ago when a phone call arrived right on time.

"Mòsī Mòsī, this is the Equipment Management Department……eh?!!" Upon hearing that familiar voice on the other end of the line, Kashiwagi Misa subconsciously clamped her legs together and pressed her hands against her lower abdomen.

Damn it……now it's gotten to the point where just hearing his voice makes her……

Yeah……it's already been that long since she last saw him……her body's recent numbness, itchiness, and faint ache have gradually resurfaced……

The Ice Mountain Beauty's wife felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks upon hearing that Uesugi Muneyuki had business with her; she couldn't tell whether she felt secretly pleased or relieved, but simply replied that she understood and would come over immediately.

That guy said he wanted to give her a surprise!

The rosy hue on Kashiwagi Misa's cheeks could hardly be contained, and her stride had become noticeably lighter and quicker; on one hand she feared what Uesugi Muneyuki might want to do again, on the other she secretly delighted that he still remembered her.

What kind of surprise could it be?

Looking forward to it!

(Chapter End)