The Chinese Must Be Crazy!

"Mr. Ikeda, something terrible has happened! The Chinese just issued an announcement!"

A voice rang out from beyond the door.

Kurogane Taimei and Hayato Ikeda, who were inside the room, froze.

Then they instinctively exchanged glances, and each saw a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.

They recognized the voice. It belonged to Segawa Takeshi, the current head of the Cabinet Intelligence Research Office. Only someone of Segawa's standing could bypass Hayato Ikeda's assistant and come straight to knock on the door.

But Segawa Takeshi had always been steady by nature and rarely behaved in such a discourteous manner. That was one reason he had been entrusted with the important task of gathering intelligence.

In other words,

whatever had thrown Segawa Takeshi into such disarray was certainly no minor matter.

With that thought,

Kurogane Taimei nodded to Hayato Ikeda, rose from his seat, and walked to the office entrance to open the door.

Just as expected,

Segawa Takeshi himself was standing outside. The moment he saw his trusted subordinate, Kurogane Taimei instinctively furrowed his brow.

"Segawa, what happened? Why are you so flustered?"

Segawa Takeshi was known around the Prime Minister's Office for his obsession with his appearance. He always wore a suit and polished black shoes to work, and before leaving the office he would look in the mirror and make sure every strand of hair was perfectly in place. His coworkers in various departments had teased him for being vain more times than he could count.

But at that moment,

Segawa Takeshi's carefully styled hair was in complete disarray across his forehead, and his suit, immaculate that morning, was covered in wrinkles. There was even dust on the edges. He had probably been in such a hurry on his way over that he'd taken a fall somewhere.