Chapter 247

"It's already completed."

Chiba and Noboru nodded slightly, lips pressed together.

"After confirmation, all those bodies were ordinary civilians from Tsukikage Island."

"They weren't very noticeable in daily life and rarely interacted with villagers, so no one paid much attention to their disappearance."

This was also within Mōgū Jūzō's speculation.

Anyone capable of such a large-scale attack on a small island like Tsukikage would likely target those who rarely interacted with other villagers.

Only families with little contact with villagers would go unnoticed when they vanished.

"What a group of utterly inhuman drug traffickers."

Even now, Mōgū Jūzō marveled at the drug traffickers' brutality.

"Have the identities of the dead traffickers been confirmed?"

"Um… not all of them yet."

Confirming the identities of the drug traffickers was still very difficult, especially those already killed.

Chiba and Noboru looked troubled.

"Keep pushing forward even if it's not finished."

"We still need to confirm the traffickers' identities—we also need to find out if there are others involved in drug production or use."

But Mōgū Jūzō didn't care.

He knew this was a very lengthy process, something that couldn't be finished in a moment.

"Gather whatever identities we can confirm now; leave the rest to the Narcotics Unit."

"They understand the drug production and trafficking side better than we do—let them help out too."

"Yes!"

Chiba and Noboru immediately agreed.

He finally exhaled—he'd never handled a case this severe in all his years on the job.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

"Chief Mōgū, should we keep Gao Mu on guard duty?"

"Let him keep standing."

Mōgū Jūzō didn't hesitate at all.

He was well aware that Gao Mu's abilities were once on par with Mao Li's.

But comparing Gao Mu to Mao Li… Mao Li was still more suitable.

Mao Li's worst flaw was wild speculation—he often led cases in strange directions—but his investigative skills were far from poor; he was once the hardest-working officer in the Metropolitan Police.

Mao Li lacked strong deductive ability.

But aside from that, his initiative, physical skill, and focus during investigations were top-class.

Moreover, Mao Li was one of the rare expert marksmen—his shooting ability spoke for itself.

Compared to him, Gao Mu looked terribly inadequate.

He constantly messed up during investigations—not only could he not keep his mouth shut, but his initiative was abnormally weak, his focus even worse.

Previously, Mōgū Jūzō thought Gao Mu could gradually learn through field experience.

But given his recent performance, Mōgū Jūzō felt Gao Mu should just stay on guard duty—better not to let him cause more chaos in an already delicate situation.

"This case is huge—the higher-ups are watching closely. We can't let Gao Mu mess it up further."

"If he can't even handle guard duty, I won't be able to protect him this time."

For ordinary cases with minor mishaps, Mōgū Jūzō could still protect him.

But if anything went wrong in a case like this, Mōgū Jūzō absolutely couldn't protect him.

So Mōgū Jūzō preferred to assign Gao Mu to guard duty rather than let him handle any part of the investigation.

"Also, once we return, Chiba, you'll be responsible for overseeing him."

"If Gao Mu still can't adapt to the Investigations Division, I'll speak with Inspector Matsumoto and transfer him back to the Jiaotong Force."

Chiba and Shen let out a low whistle.

But he knew this was Gao Mu's final chance—if he couldn't adapt to the next assignment, his fate would be returning to the Jiaotong Force as a traffic officer with virtually no upward mobility.

Most police officers started out in the Jiaotong Force.

Only those who performed well there had a chance to transfer to other divisions.

For police officers, this was a path to advancement.

But if a police officer transferred from the Jiaotong Force couldn't adapt to another division, he'd be sent right back.

Once sent back, he'd almost certainly spend the rest of his career in the Jiaotong Force with no chance of promotion.

So calling it Gao Mu's last chance wasn't an exaggeration.

"Yes, I'll talk to him right away."

Mōgū Jūzō nodded slightly, then gave Chiba and Noboru a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Talk to Gao Mu properly."

"Help him adapt to the Investigations Division quickly—I really don't want to send a young man with ambition back to retire in traffic duty."

"Tell him not to try showing off in front of Officer Sato."

"Tell him being a police officer means being grounded—don't keep chasing after nonsense."

"If he can't even do his basic job well, what right does he have to think about those things?"

"If he wants to catch Officer Sato's attention, first do his job well—then think about how to make her notice his strengths."

"Given his current performance, I think he has zero chance."

PS: New book launch, seeking data.