The three agreed to work together to catch the thief the next evening. Not long after, the karate competition officially began.
Lin Xinyi went to watch the matches from the sidelines as planned, and time passed amid one thrilling showdown after another.
Meanwhile,
Late that afternoon, as evening approached, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
Inspector Megure, Investigation Division One's model worker, finally finished a busy day of work.
He was about to head home when—
His superior, Investigation Division One Management Officer Superintendent Matsumoto, suddenly stopped him. "Come with me, Megure. Director Odagiri wants to see you."
"Huh?"
Inspector Megure froze for a moment and immediately realized that something was wrong.
Director Odagiri was Toshio Odagiri, the current director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Department.
The Criminal Investigation Department oversaw the Criminal Affairs General Affairs Division, Investigation Divisions One through Four, the Investigation Support Division, the Forensics Division, the Criminal Science Research Institute, the Investigation Support Analysis Center, and the Mobile Investigation Unit—
As the head of such an enormous department, the Criminal Investigation Department director's status went without saying.
Inspector Megure, meanwhile, was merely the chief of Autopsy Department Three, one of the ten Violent Crimes Investigation Departments under Investigation Division One.
In his usual work, he rarely had the chance to speak directly with Director Odagiri, his ultimate superior.
Now that the Criminal Investigation Department director had suddenly summoned him, it was like an ordinary student being called into the principal's office. It usually meant nothing good.
"Why does Director Odagiri want to see me?"
As he followed Superintendent Matsumoto toward the Criminal Investigation Department director's office, Inspector Megure cautiously asked his familiar colleague.
"You're asking me?"
Kiyonaga Matsumoto's naturally intimidating face became even more terrifying.
"Do you know how much embarrassment you