Chapter 857: , I don't know if we are mad or foolish!

Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, Eighth Floor, Special Mission Division.

Minami leaned against the back of her chair, eyes closed. The lunch break was short, so she didn't go to the cafeteria or the tea room; she simply sat at her workstation, allowing the nerves that had been taut all morning to relax a little.

Too many things had happened recently—the Night Come Hui case had just been wrapped up, Yaegaki Tetsuya's matter wasn't fully resolved yet, and the Public Security Police were still arguing with the Special Mission Division over there.

It feels so quiet.

The Red Goldfinch has been wiped out, and Honda Atsuhito is now in prison.

The Sakikawa Restoration Army has been defeated and fled; their leader, "Sakamoto Ryoma," remains unseen, and they have effectively ceased operations.

Kashiwagi Jin, who always likes to stir up trouble, has recently been busy tracking down a missing girl case in western Tokyo.

Uesugi Muneyuki has gone out on business, saying there's an event at the University of Tokyo.

There aren't any thugs on the streets either.

Perhaps all major cases in Japan have already been solved by our Special Mission Division?

Ah, I might just fall asleep like this and not wake up————

Minami kicked off her high heels, revealing a pair of delicate, tender gray-silk-clad feet resting on the desk, her hands clasped behind her head as she leaned back on her Section Chief's throne, eyes closed, savoring this rare moment of peace.

There's still over an hour until work starts—let me nap a bit~

At that moment, the phone rang: "Even though I'm wearing a Western dress, my heart remains————"

Minami didn't open her eyes; she fumbled to pick up the phone and held it to her ear.

"Muneyuki? What's wrong?"

"Minami, it's me. Listen to me. A former Self-Defense Forces terrorist organization plans to attack the U. S. Secretary of State's motorcade this afternoon. The location is the Tama River Bridge. The time is within the next one or two hours!"

"?" Minami opened her eyes. She didn't speak immediately, nor did she sit up straight, because her brain was processing every word Uesugi Muneyuki had said at maximum speed.

"Ah? Muneyuki, are you serious?" Minami Ojou-sama said, somewhat dazed.

"Yokohama Dehua Street! Cao Liangming's fellow townsman overheard those two former Self-Defense Forces members chatting at the entrance. They mentioned the 'Secretary of State' 'bridge' 'afternoon.' I checked—today the U. S. Secretary of State is in Yokosuka, and his return route to Tokyo must pass over the Tama River Bridge. I'm now rushing to the scene, but I might be too late. You need to dispatch immediately—right now—right away."

"Hurry up!!!"

Minami Ojou-sama was still a bit dazed.

"Who is Cao Liangming? Is he Korean? From Cao State?"

"Former Self-Defense Forces? Date Wa and Maeda? Maeda doesn't seem like a former Self-Defense Forces member..."

However, although Minami Ojou-sama didn't fully understand, her reaction speed was extremely fast—she immediately sprang up from her chair.

The chair slid backward and struck the filing cabinet behind her.

"Paratrooper Unit One! Uesugi Omitaidokoro Honorable Lady of the Inner Palace Minami, ready!"

Someone in the office turned to look at her—Okada Masayoshi was drinking coffee at his workstation opposite, Kai Toru was flipping through a newspaper on the windowsill, and Kanjou Wataru had just walked in from the door, holding a document.

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

Minami looked at them; her voice wasn't loud, but each word struck the air like a nail.

"Okada, contact the Kanagawa Prefectural Police—Tama River Bridge, U. S. Secretary of State Mizu may be attacked by explosion on the bridge. Time unknown, possibly within ten or so minutes. Kai, contact the Police Agency Security Bureau, demand immediate notification to reroute or cancel the motorcade. Kanjou, summon all Special Mission Division personnel—assemble within one minute!"

"I'll go find Ozawa."

Okada Masayoshi's coffee cup hovered in midair for a moment, then was set back on the desk.

His expression didn't change, but his fingers were already dialing; Kai Toru jumped down from the windowsill, phone clamped between ear and shoulder, walking out while speaking into the microphone.

Kanjou Wataru's document fell to the floor, he didn't pick it up, turned and rushed out of the office.

Ozawa Sumiko's office is at the other end of the Special Mission Division; when Minami came out, she was already standing behind her desk, her coat half-on, one sleeve still dangling in the air—she had clearly just hung up the phone: "You got the call? I was just about to come find you!"

"The Kanagawa Prefectral Police have already been notified—SAT's First Echelon is ready to deploy, the Public Security Police's mobile unit is setting out from Yokohama and will reach both ends of the bridge in twenty minutes. The problem is, we don't know when they'll detonate, what method they'll use, or how many ordinary vehicles are currently on the bridge."

As Ozawa Sumiko finished speaking, Minami was already looking at the map on her phone screen.

The Tama River Bridge was marked in red, with blue circles indicating several Kanagawa Prefectural Police stations and SAT

deployment points.

The nearest station is about a twenty-minute drive from the bridge.

Twenty minutes.

The motorcade has been en route from Yokosuka for nearly thirty minutes already.

She mentally calculated the vehicle's speed and distance.

She grabbed the car keys from the desk, turned, and ran out: "Eirina, hurry up!"

"Oh? Oh————oh oh." Eirina stared blankly for a while, still not grasping what had happened, but undoubtedly sensing a major event, she immediately grabbed her coat and instinctively fell into step beside Minami: "Where's Muneyuki?"

"It's Muneyuki, it's Muneyuki!" Minami instinctively glanced at her watch!

Oh no! We might be too late!

We still need to notify Father first!

Meanwhile, Sakuradamon, Metropolitan Police Department, Commissioner's Office.

Watanabe Eiji leaned back in his chair, eyes closed.

So many things have happened recently, and I'm about to assume the seat of Police Agency Commissioner.

It feels so quiet.

Red, destroyed.

Sakikawa, fallen.

Jin, busy.

Snow, away on investigation.

Peace throughout the land, rivers clear and seas calm.

Perhaps all major cases in Japan have already been solved by our Metropolitan Police Department?

Ah, I might just fall asleep like this and not wake up————

At this moment, Watanabe Eiji's desk phone rang.

The Superintendent General's heart skipped a beat.

A call at this time? It must be, good news, right?

Should be?

He took a deep breath, reached out and grabbed the phone: "Mò sī mò sī?"

One minute later, the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building was completely blown up.

It was the kind of explosion where everyone sprang up from their workstations at the same time, rushed to their posts, and shouted into their walkie-talkies and phones, the corridor filled with running footsteps, dozens of people running simultaneously, the sound of shoe soles hitting the floor dense like drumbeats, from the first floor to the twentieth, cycling endlessly, never stopping.

Ozawa Sumiko was already standing in the Public Security Police's operations command room, facing a huge electronic screen displaying a real-time map of the Tama River Bridge and surrounding area.

The red mark showed the current position of the Secretary of State's motorcade—having already passed the Black Hub, now moving north along National Route 357.

The blue mark was the Kanagawa Prefectural Police SAT First Echelon—just now assembled from the Kawasaki garrison.

The green mark was the reinforcement unit dispatched by the Metropolitan Police Department—just now exited Sakuradamon.

The three colored dots on the screen moved toward the same direction at different speeds. She pressed her finger to the earpiece and shouted into the microphone: "Tell the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, don't wait, don't assemble, send as many as you can, now.

The motorcade will be on the bridge in less than ten minutes!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was screaming, issuing orders to the person beside it, confirming positions at the scene. All the voices overlapped, blending into a sea-wave-like noise where no specific content could be discerned.

As Minami burst out of the Metropolitan Police Department's main gate, Eirina had already driven the car to the bottom of the stairs. She flung open the car door and climbed in; the door wasn't even fully closed before Eirina had already pressed the accelerator.

The tires emitted a sharp screech on the road, and the vehicle lurched forward.

"Reina-chan, fastest speed, turn on the emergency lights!"

"I'm already going as fast as I can. Any faster and we'll crash."

Minami didn't respond. She lowered her head to look at the slowly moving red dot on her phone screen; the Tama River Bridge appeared on the screen as a thin gray line, spanning the water surface of the Tama River.

The red dot drew ever closer to that gray line, ever closer, the distance numbers on the screen jumping rapidly.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Eirina gripped the steering wheel with both hands, eyes fixed on the road ahead, her peripheral vision scanning the side rearview mirrors, she ran two red lights in succession, weaving through traffic at the intersection like a snake, left and right, as honking sounds rose and fell behind her.

Eirina paid no heed, pressing the accelerator to the floor.

Minami's phone vibrated. It was Uesugi Muneyuki calling. The moment she answered, she heard background noise of wind and engine roar—he was in the car.

"Where are you?"

"Tama River Bridge, Tama River Bridge." Minami shouted into the phone: "The motorcade will be on the bridge in less than ten minutes!

SAT is still on the road! Nobody is on the road! Nobody can make it in time! What can you do?"

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment.

"I'm heading in that direction. Date is driving. We're still about twenty minutes from the bridge. Tell me, which unit has already reached the bridge vicinity? Even a small advance team of a few people?"

"The Kanagawa Prefectural Police advance team just departed from the Kawasaki garrison; even at their fastest, they'll take fifteen minutes to reach the bridgehead. All other units are still en route—none have arrived at the scene!"

Minami relayed this to Uesugi Muneyuki. The other end of the phone fell silent again.

"I'll go ahead with Date. You guys hurry as much as you can."

"How are you getting there? And what can you do once you arrive?"

The phone call ended.

Southern end of the Tama River Bridge.

A faint vibration came from Furukawa's pocket; he pulled out his phone and glanced at it. The sender was still that blank number. The message only had two words: "Prepare for action."

Furukawa tightened his grip on the phone slightly, then turned off the screen.

"The waters of the Miluo River surge, wild clouds fly beside Mount Wu!"

Unbeknownst to them, everyone in the two large vehicles had begun singing this song.

"The waters of the Miluo River surge, wild clouds fly beside Mount Wu!"

"In this turbid world I stand alone, righteous fury ignites, hot blood surges!"

Furukawa pulled the detonator from his pocket, flicked open the side safety switch, and placed his thumb on the protective cover above the red button.

His lips slightly opened and closed again, as if saying "Sorry" to someone, or "It's fine" to himself.

He knew the cost of this; setting aside others, just these few who launched the attack are absolutely doomed to die with no survival. The U. S. Yokosuka Base is less than an hour's drive from here, and the Japanese Police SAT base guarantees it can reach any point in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area within thirty minutes.

Furukawa knew they would be discovered.

From the very beginning, this plan never considered the option of "not being discovered."

They have no way to escape.

But this is a necessary sacrifice, a helpless choice, a limitation of the era, a pain of development, a great exploration, a winding advance.

Let us begin by spilling our own blood first!

Whether we are mad or foolish, I know not; I only know we press forward!

And this splendid fireworks display, once ignited, will bring rebirth to this nation!

2:11 PM.

Furukawa held the detonator in his palm, his thumb hovering less than a centimeter above the red button.

His earpiece transmitted his teammate's voice—"The target motorcade has passed the final straight stretch of road, less than two kilometers from the bridge approach."

Everyone's gaze swept across the bridge surface to the northern skyline—there was nothing there, only gray-white concrete pavement and guardrails gleaming with silver under the afternoon sun. But his ears heard something.

Once the motorcade is on the bridge, he will ignite smoke at the southern end to signal his northern teammates to initiate simultaneously. Two vehicles will explode at once, the bridge surface will be severed, and the motorcade will stop in the middle. Then they will use automatic weapons from both ends for a second round of shooting. The plan is very simple, simple enough to not go wrong.

Furukawa's thumb pressed down a little further. The protective cover had already sprung open, exposing the button in the air, like a pair of red, small lips waiting to be kissed.

2:12 PM.

A short radio signal came from the northern end.

"Beep~"

The people at the northern end saw the lead vehicle of the convoy.

Furukawa's thumb pressed down. Not on the detonation button, but on the headset's talk key.

"Everyone, prepare. The convoy enters the approach. On the bridge in thirty seconds. Listen for my signal.

, Miura gripped the signal rod tightly. His fingers rubbed back and forth along the grooves on the rod, his palms slick with sweat.

His lips were moving, but this time he wasn't singing the Song of Renewal—he was counting.

Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen—with each number he called out, a teammate confirmed their position at one end of the bridge.

Fourteen, thirteen, twelve—one or two truck hoods had already been opened, someone crouched behind the engine compartment, gripping the backup wire control of the detonator.

Eleven, ten, nine—

Several people were already ready, they took a deep breath.

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