Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister

Police Headquarters Journalist Conference Venue.

"Click!" "Click!"

The crisp sound of camera shutters was incessant.

Wearing a full police uniform, with a police cap on his head, Xiu Xin stood on the podium with a stern face, exuding authority. With both hands on the edge of the podium and facing the flashing lights, he spoke loudly, "We are holding this press conference tonight to announce to the nation that the investigation of the Prime Minister's assassination attempt has concluded, and the mastermind has been identified."

His words sparked a thousand waves.

"They investigated it so quickly?"

"As expected of Director Aoyama! Even the toughest cases are nothing in his hands."

"Who is the mastermind? Director Aoyama, who would be so bold as to assassinate the Prime Minister?"

The noise of discussions continued to resound in the venue.

"The mastermind is not a single person, but a group of people!" Xiu Xin said sternly and forcefully, "It was a political group led by Member of Parliament Hatanaka Zizi and Ozawa Ichiro, a total of twenty-one people conspired and planned yesterday's assassination attempt."

"Senator Tono Takashi, one of the perpetrators, has confessed everything. The chaos at the National Assembly Hall was deliberately created by them, aiming to distract the Prime Minister and have him leave the assembly early, giving the gunman a chance to shoot. Fortunately, fate protected Japan, and the gunman's two shots missed, allowing the Prime Minister to escape unharmed."

Wow!

Upon hearing this, the crowd was even more astonished.

Several Members of Parliament plotted to assassinate the Prime Minister.

This is news capable of shocking the world.

"Political assassination! Baka! We actually let such parasites become Members of Parliament!"

"These bastards, just because of differing political views, they do such things, is this still the modern society?"

"Director Aoyama, do you have any evidence for these claims? Have the involved parties confessed?"

"Such coincidences inevitably lead to suspicions of deliberate revenge. To be convincing, please, Director Aoyama, provide concrete evidence!"

Although most of the journalists present already believed Xiu Xin's words, some still raised doubts.

"Of course, there is evidence!" Xiu Xin replied firmly, shaking a few documents on the podium, "We found Tono Takashi's fingerprints on the weapon used by the gunman, and a handgun of the same model was found in his home. He has already admitted that he provided the weapon to the gunman on the orders of Hatanaka Zizi."

"Here is his fingerprint comparison report, along with the confessions of several Members of Parliament involved in the case, including him. Although a few suspects are still stubborn and refuse to confess, the identification by these people already proves their suspicion, and we will certainly find evidence to bring them to justice!"

"Furthermore, Ichiro Ozawa, one of the main culprits, has already fled. The police have issued a nationwide wanted notice for him. Here, I urge all Japanese citizens to actively report any clues related to this person. Once verified, we will definitely offer a reward."

Seeing Xiu Xin holding a stack of documents with a confident expression, no one doubted the authenticity of his statements anymore. If these people weren't involved, why would so many confess? And if Ichiro Ozawa wasn't guilty, why would he escape?

At the same time, at a certain tycoon's residence in Tokyo, a pot-bellied, greasy middle-aged man bowed before Ichiro Ozawa, "Sir, most of the journalists have arrived, but due to the press conference at the Police Headquarters, the turnout is quite low."

"Thank you." Frowning, Ichiro Ozawa exhaled, pursed his lips, stood up, patted the middle-aged man's shoulder, and then headed towards the villa's exit.

Upon stepping outside, he discovered that the number of journalists was even less than he expected, barely reaching 20.

But it was enough. The media behind these journalists could spread his words across the country.

He comforted himself with this thought.

"It's Mr. Ozawa!"

"Why is Mr. Ozawa here?"

Asai Ayumi, a long active figure in Japanese politics, was well-known. The reporters who arrived recognized him instantly, feeling a mix of surprise and suspicion, realizing that this press conference might hold unexpected surprises.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Ichiro Ozawa. Please keep quiet and listen to me first; I have something very important to say," Ichiro Ozawa said, with a composed face.

The noise at the scene immediately began to subside, and everyone eagerly focused their attention on Ichiro Ozawa.

Ichiro Ozawa swallowed to moisten his throat, which had become dry due to lack of water, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Just now, including Hatanaka Zizi and Tono Takashi, several Members of Parliament were arrested by the Police Headquarters on charges of attempting to murder the Prime Minister and overthrow the national government. I, too, was on the arrest list, but I escaped timely after getting the information, otherwise, I would have already been captured by the police headquarters."

Boom! The courtyard erupted instantly.

Even the fat businessman behind Ozawa Ichiro widened his eyes, staring at him in disbelief.

"Mr. Ozawa, what do you mean by this?"

"Is it true that they are suspected of attempting to assassinate the Prime Minister?"

"Mr. Ozawa, may I ask..."

All the reporters went wild. They never expected that attending a press conference held by a businessman as a courtesy would yield such explosive news.

Each of them pushed forward eagerly to ask questions, thrusting one black and thick microphone after another toward Ozawa.

"This is slander! It's persecution!" Ozawa Ichiro shouted, eyes glaring with emotion: "This is Yanchuan Shilang utilizing the investigation into his attempted assassination as an excuse to eliminate dissidents for dictatorship! The police are his running dogs, and I even seriously suspect that yesterday's assassination incident was entirely orchestrated by him! The purpose is to round up all those who oppose him."

"The police didn't catch me tonight, they may issue a wanted notice against me, falsely accusing me of fleeing from guilt, but I want to say that the innocent are innocent, and the guilty are guilty. I am willing to confront the police on TV to prove my innocence! If the Police Headquarters really have evidence of our alleged assassination of the Prime Minister, then let's have an open confrontation in front of the entire nation!"

"Citizens! Fellow countrymen! Yanchuan Shilang is acting against the tide, attempting to destroy democracy and restore dictatorship. The people arrested tonight are innocent, heroes who dare to oppose him. Should we just watch helplessly as they are persecuted and remain indifferent?"

Ozawa Ichiro, breathing heavily, continued to denounce Yanchuan Shilang's arrogance, urging the public to organize and march on the streets to pressure the police to release those arrested tonight.

He then began answering the reporters' questions.

At the Police Headquarters press conference site, Aoyama Xiu Xin was still confidently speaking when Haruno Takayoshi suddenly walked onto the stage with a serious expression. He leaned close to Aoyama Xiu Xin's ear and whispered: "Just received news that Ozawa Ichiro, under the cover of a businessman, held a small press conference at his home, and it's over now. I've already arranged for people to monitor the businessman's residence, confirmed that Ozawa is still there. Should we proceed with the arrest?"

Aoyama Xiu Xin raised an eyebrow; it was not surprising that he couldn't prevent Ozawa Ichiro from spreading the news.

"Please wait a moment, everyone; I have urgent business to attend to." Aoyama Xiu Xin bowed to the audience and turned to walk off the stage, leaving Director of Criminal Affairs Department Nakamura Shinichi to immediately take over the scene.

Don't ask why it wasn't the Deputy Director at the Police Headquarters, because Deputy Director Asai Ayumi is still on maternity leave.

After leaving the press conference site, Aoyama Xiu Xin asked, "What did he say at the press conference?"

"He claimed they were wronged, that Prime Minister Yanchuan deliberately persecuted them, and proposed to have a confrontation with us, the police, on a TV broadcast. He said if we didn't dare, it would show a guilty conscience and called for public demonstrations demanding the release of Hatanaka Zizi and others," Haruno Takayoshi briefly summarized.

"A confrontation on TV?" Aoyama Xiu Xin sneered dismissively, thinking this wasn't a reality show. He said, "Arrest him immediately."

Not accepting a confrontation and opting for an immediate arrest, although it might face some public scrutiny, Aoyama Xiu Xin believed it wouldn't matter since he was considered a detective who had never wrongly accused anyone in the eyes of the public.

"Yes!" Haruno Takayoshi bowed and left.

Aoyama Xiu Xin returned to the stage, replacing Nakamura Shinichi. He adjusted the microphone and calmly said, "Just received news, Ozawa Ichiro has been located and is about to be captured! This person dared to hold a press conference to openly slander the Prime Minister, attempting to provoke the public to oppose the police and protect himself, which is utterly insane!"

"I urge all citizens to remain calm and rational after seeing Ozawa Ichiro's nonsense tomorrow. Trust the police, trust me, Aoyama Xiu Xin, and don't become tools of conspirators like the pitiful Sakurai Koji! More evidence of these people's crimes will be released subsequently."

At the same time, in the businessman's home, Ozawa Ichiro already anticipated that the police would soon find out about his presence there, necessitating self-protection.

He instructed the businessman to urgently gather employees and idlers in society to congregate at the villa. If the police attempted to arrest him, these "good citizens" should surround the police.

After all, there were still reporters staking out outside, and he didn't believe Aoyama Xiu Xin would dare violently confront these helpless citizens "voluntarily" protecting him in front of reporters.

If it got out like that, it would further solidify his allegations against Yanchuan Shilang, potentially stirring public outrage, making the situation more favorable for them.

Japan is ultimately a society governed by law, unless Yanchuan Shilang dares to send troops into the city, as long as sufficient public outcry is generated, he would have to compromise and release them.

The businessman had already realized that he was caught up in a complex political struggle, but having been greatly favored by Ozawa Ichiro, he had no choice but to support him despite the difficulty.

The sudden gathering of a large crowd naturally drew the attention of the police monitoring near the villa.

This was immediately reported to the Police Headquarters.

Upon learning this, Aoyama Xiu Xin instantly guessed Ozawa Ichiro's plan, laughing coldly. It was a gamble on his hesitation to act, but unfortunately, Ozawa Ichiro had lost that gamble.

"Send reinforcements immediately; disperse those daring to obstruct law enforcement with force. Destroy the memory cards of recording devices and cameras belonging to on-site reporters, and record their identities and affiliations."

"Yes!"