NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 38
Matsuo covered Kurayama’s mouth just in time to stop him from shouting. He then dragged his junior to a secluded corner and scolded him in a low voice, “How did you even become a cop with such poor surveillance and anti-surveillance awareness?”
Unable to hold back, Kurayama freed himself from Matsuo’s grip and retorted, “What gives you the right to talk? You’ve been here for years and haven’t even been promoted to chief inspector!”
Matsuo, uninterested in arguing, poked Kurayama’s forehead and scolded, “Idiot, don’t get yourself into trouble, got it?”
“What trouble? I’m just visiting the kid to see how he’s doing. Is that so serious?” Kurayama, rubbing his sore spot, frowned.
“You’re still so naïve! How many times have I told you not to meddle in the affairs of those above us?” Matsuo warned, “Intelligence gathering and internal surveillance are managed by the Public Security Police, and riot control is the responsibility of the armed forces. We just need to make an appearance. Why bother yourself with all this nonsense?”
“I’m just visiting him in my personal capacity, not in uniform…”
Before Kurayama could finish, Matsuo interrupted him rudely.
“Idiot! He’s a key target of the authorities; there could be intelligence agents disguised as doctors and nurses lurking around.”
“Why can that short-haired girl visit him then?” Kurayama, unconvinced, still looked around warily.
Matsuo signaled for silence and whispered, “This isn’t the place to talk, let’s go back.”
2.
Back at the public servants’ apartment, Matsuo led Kurayama to his own room, closed the door, and drew the curtains.
“Hold on, senior, I’m not gay! I have no interest in middle-aged men!” Kurayama hastily clarified.
“As if I’m interested in you…”
Matsuo glared at him and signaled him to be quiet, then scribbled on a piece of paper, “Let’s — Talk — With — Pen.”
Kurayama was puzzled.
What’s with the sudden secrecy? The town’s monitoring equipment has been out since the night of July 31st. The new ones were just installed and sabotaged, so what’s there to fear?
Matsuo, ignoring his confusion, wrote:
“The town’s buzzing with rumors that the boy, Suzu Genji, coveted the Kamiya family’s fiancée and was severely punished. Recently, many people, agitated by the inner ring massacre, have been causing trouble in North Yaba. So, the Chirakushi Shrine threw out the half-dead guy as a warning, which only fueled more public anger.”
“So they gathered outside Chirakushi Town to throw stones and set fires?”
“Yes, but it’s all strange. Have you noticed, the shrine being so high-profile?”
“What do you mean? Haven’t they always been like that?”
“When have you ever seen them kidnap, torture, or kill someone? All those ‘ghost hideouts’ and ‘divine punishments’ are just rumors. And that supposedly bloodthirsty Kamiya has never appeared; he might not even exist. But this time, they openly threw out the injured man.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s very strange. Also, the town always says the police station bows to the Kamiya family. Do you believe that? We work at the station; when did we start cozying up to the shrine’s forces? The Kamiyas and their representatives never dealt with us.”
Matsuo paused his writing and continued:
“The station refuses to handle missing cases because the authorities don’t allow it, not because we’re scared or trying to appease the Kamiya family. We’re just a few people; what can we do, let alone make deals? Ask if the Kamiyas even care about us!”
“Do you mean the authorities are the ones dealing with the Kamiyas?”
“Who knows? But I have a guess: The authorities want to shift the focus of conflict to the police and the Kamiya family. This way, people will see the Kamiyas as utterly evil, and the police as incompetent.”
Reading this, Kurayama was impressed and said, “Senior, I always thought you were incompetent, but…”
Matsuo quickly covered his mouth and explained on paper, “I was sent to Yejima for backing the wrong team. I was a passionate cop before. If you meddle in their business, you’ll end up like me, stuck and unable to get promoted.”
“Why not resign?” Kurayama wrote his confusion.
“I have buddies who died here. Since I have no family, I might as well stay and guard their graves,” Matsuo wrote with a heavy sigh.
“You really are passionate, senior! But why are you so harsh with reporters?”
“Don’t get involved with each other; it
‘s better for everyone. Someone’s watching us, you understand. Maybe they’re behind those disappearances.”
“Then, is the inner ring incident also their doing?”
“Can’t say. Don’t spread this around, or next time we might be sent to ‘explore’ the inner ring woods like those bio-soldiers who never returned. My buddies ended up like that.”
After reading, Kurayama gasped and asked, “Scary… By the way, isn’t the girl visiting the injured afraid of being targeted?”
“She’s from the Godslayers organization. She’s likely here to recruit new members, especially since Genji Suzu offended the Kamiya family and fell out with his crush. Haven’t you noticed the Public Security Police usually turn a blind eye to the Godslayers? They monitor but generally don’t interfere unless there’s a major issue. They’re as good at playing dumb as us.”
After letting his junior read the last part, Matsuo burned all the pen-talk records.
【Note: The Public Security Police in Japan, a division of the National Police Agency, mainly handles cases threatening the national system, including foreign governments, international terrorist organizations, extreme left-wing groups, the Korean General Association, Japanese Communist Party, Socialist Association, student movements, citizen movements, new religious groups, right-wing groups, etc. They may arrest lawbreakers if illegal activities are detected. Their surveillance also includes their colleagues, mainstream political parties, central ministries, the Self-Defense Forces, and major media.】