Chapter 332: Chapter 330 Chitose Becomes the Most Hated Version of Herself_1
Noon, the sky was overcast.
In the Chiyoda District, at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Morimoto Chiyoda sat in the Police Director’s chair and spun around a few times. After taking the position of Police Director, she hadn’t set up the task force’s office at Hisamatsu Apartment. The reason was simple: while the police department’s gimmick of promoting her had managed to make netizens forget about Ponte, the newly appointed Police Director, it had also turned her into a celebrity. Emily’s plan only worked for covering up inconspicuous people. If a Police Director continued to work at Hisamatsu Apartment, even a fool would realize secrets were hidden there. Morimoto Chiyoda didn’t want to deceive herself; she openly moved the task force’s office to the Police Director’s office inside the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
The office was divided into a working area and a reception area, spacious enough to accommodate all of Iwaki Kususuke’s equipment. She didn’t have to worry about impacting the daily business of the Metropolitan Police Department. The Police Director was essentially a figurehead, or rather, a mascot. As long as she was in her position to stamp documents, other people naturally took care of the rest. Besides, she was only the highest-ranking officer in terms of police rank; above her, and next door at the National Police Agency, there was a Commissioner. That person was the true authority, standing at the pinnacle of all police officers.
"Ah, after not wearing a uniform for a while, suddenly putting one back on makes me nostalgic for the days I wore plain clothes." Iwaki Kususuke tugged at his shirt collar, fighting the urge to unbutton it completely. This feeling of constriction was nowhere near as comfortable as wearing plain clothes.
Morimoto Chiyoda stopped spinning, steadied herself, and fixed her gaze on Iwaki Kususuke, who was sitting on the sofa. "Stop complaining. If we’re staying in the Metropolitan Police Department, not wearing a uniform would make us stick out. Even here, our work must remain confidential and not draw unnecessary attention."
"You say that, but your sudden promotion to Police Director is so fantastical, it’s downright magical," Iwaki Kususuke said, taking a sip from the glass of orange juice in front of him. He still couldn’t get used to the situation. His former colleague had suddenly become his superior. As someone within the system, Iwaki Kususuke understood how incredible this was, just like the first time he learned that Superpower Users existed in the world.
"Exactly, the people above us are definitely crazy," Ito Otome interjected. Her attire had also changed from a white lab coat to a police inspector’s uniform. Her long black hair was tied in a single ponytail behind her, revealing a pair of ears that invited a playful touch; her earlobes were round and full—the kind that, according to physiognomy, signified a woman blessed with good fortune.
Morimoto Chiyoda glanced at her and drawled, "Inspector Ito, I must warn you not to question the decisions from above. The fact that they chose me as Police Director rather than you already proves the gap between us. Why didn’t the title of ’Beauty Police Director’ fall to you?" She crossed her arms and smiled. "Please reflect on that."
Upon hearing this, Ito Otome’s face strained, and she murmured softly, "I believe you understand what it means to be liked by flies, no need for me to spell it out."
"Some people can’t get the grapes they want, so they say the grapes are sour," Morimoto Chiyoda retorted, spreading her hands mockingly.
Listening to the quarrel between the two women, Iwaki Kususuke wished he could turn invisible. At times like this, he particularly missed Emily; if she were here, she could have halted their bickering. Now, he could only hope that Okayama Buji, Miyaji Yosuke, and Kitanotake would hurry back with lunch.
「...」
KNOCK, KNOCK.
The door to the Police Director’s office was knocked.
"They’re back. I’ll get the door," Iwaki Kususuke quickly got up, walked briskly to the door, and turned the handle. Outside stood an unfamiliar man in a suit.
"Hello, I am Matsumoto Daisuke from the National Police Agency." The man introduced himself briefly, stepped into the office, and bowed to Morimoto Chiyoda at her desk. "Officer Nakamura has sent orders, instructing Police Director Morimoto to inform her subordinates. Tomorrow morning at eight, there will be a blood test for everyone in the Metropolitan Police Department. Remember to come on an empty stomach."
"A blood test?" Morimoto Chiyoda raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why such a sudden decision?"
"I’m not sure either; it’s an order from above," Matsumoto Daisuke answered calmly.
Morimoto Chiyoda realized she wouldn’t get any more information from him and waved him off. "I understand, you can go now."
"Yes, ma’am." Matsumoto Daisuke turned and left.
Iwaki Kususuke closed the office door and grumbled, "Is this a joke? They could have informed us with a single phone call but sent someone over instead."
"You have to understand those old folks; they can’t keep up with the young or the changing times. It’s simply unavoidable," Morimoto Chiyoda said while typing a message to Jack, inquiring about the blood test. The Metropolitan Police Department was suddenly holding a blood test on a non-checkup day. And it was free! She truly feared the higher-ups were conducting some experiment; they shouldn’t think that just because many people were involved, it would be inconsequential. When the top gets ruthless, they really don’t see those below as people.
Iwaki Kususuke snorted. "I wish they would understand young people a bit better. What era is this to still be using fax machines? I’m embarrassed to tell others online that Japan is a developed country."
Morimoto Chiyoda nonchalantly replied, "Don’t worry, hasn’t the German Bundestag also stated that fax machines should be phased out in the future? That document was still communicated by fax. Japan isn’t the only country stuck with stubborn old people."
Iwaki Kususuke paused, suddenly feeling a lot more at peace.
At this moment, another knock came at the door. Iwaki Kususuke opened it to find the three task force members carrying boxed lunches.
"I saw someone from the National Police Agency here earlier. Did the Commissioner give any orders?" Okayama Buji asked.
Iwaki Kususuke shook his head. "Nothing serious, just informing us about a blood draw for a physical examination tomorrow."
Okayama Buji looked surprised. He knew the government was meticulous about procedure, and the annual physical had just ended. Logically, another physical shouldn’t have been scheduled. "Why is there suddenly another physical?"
"The answer involves an experiment." Morimoto Chiyoda had already received a reply from Jack. Sometimes, the CIA knew more about Japan’s policies than Japanese officials did. "The higher-ups want to draw blood to provide samples for the Clone Soldier experiment, and they’re not sparing anyone, living or dead."
"Clone experiment?!" A look of shock passed over Okayama Buji’s face; he hadn’t expected the higher-ups to actually consider trying something like this. Yet, on second thought, it seemed logical. As long as it wasn’t exposed to the public, it wouldn’t violate ethics or provoke public concern.
"We won’t be doing the blood draw physical tomorrow; let the others at the Metropolitan Police Department do it." Morimoto Chiyoda didn’t want more clone humans created, but she also couldn’t stop the plan. The higher-ups had specifically launched the Takamagahara project to deal with Dio, and creating bio-warriors was just one part of it.
Okayama Buji sighed heavily. "Yes..." Sometimes, he truly didn’t want to learn about things that couldn’t be changed; it only filled him with a sense of helplessness and made him long for Dio’s power. Perhaps only by being that powerful could he change the current situation.
Morimoto Chiyoda stood up. "Alright, let’s address our hunger first. This afternoon, we still need to continue researching what the fourteen cryptic phrases are."
"The fourteen cryptic phrases, huh." Miyaji Yosuke couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile. The closer they got to what Dio called the way to ascend to Paradise, the more the workload increased. The God Detective’s work had ended, and he thought he could take a breath, but the five conditions brought an unimaginable amount of work. Just the fourteen cryptic phrases alone were enough to make one want to tear their hair out. Specific religious vocabulary or certain passages, pieced together to form fourteen cryptic phrases, might grant magical powers. This had the task force constantly clipping sentences from classics and piecing them together, a task even more despairing than the God Detective’s. At least the God Detective had a target; keep feeding it cases, and answers would come. But deciphering the fourteen cryptic phrases required people to think and piece them together.
And this was just one condition. Things like the time to relinquish abilities or finding specific locations also required time and thought. Only the souls of the greatly wicked didn’t need to be handled. Current technology couldn’t detect the existence of souls, let alone collect them. Miyaji Yosuke felt like a donkey that desperately needed to stop and catch its breath.
「...」
"Last night, two more Yakuza Organizations were wiped out."
"We don’t need to worry about things like that." Morimoto Chiyoda then picked up some meat and popped it into her mouth. Even after becoming Police Director, her lunch standard hadn’t changed—still four dishes and a soup.
A look of hesitation passed over Okayama Buji’s face. "Is Emily really unwilling to come back?"
"It can’t be helped; the decision from upstairs deeply hurt her. She has decided to just be a detective from now on and not involve herself in Dio’s affairs anymore," Morimoto Chiyoda lied emotionlessly. She didn’t distrust the members of the task force, but she worried Dio might be watching from the shadows and didn’t want to increase the risk of Emily being harmed. Concerning Emily going undercover near Dio, only she and Jack knew. Not even John was aware. He only knew that Jack had planted an informant close to Dio and, through that informant, had learned the five conditions to ascend to Paradise. Those five conditions were classified as top secret by the CIA, accessible only to the President and the Director of CIA Headquarters.
"No choice, since she’s Russian," Iwaki Kususuke lamented, his face full of resignation. To the people upstairs, Russians weren’t trustworthy, even though Russia continuously tried to join the West and gain their recognition. But the United States wouldn’t allow such a vast entity to join the Western bloc, as it would impact U.S. leadership over the West.
Miyaji Yosuke suggested, "Should we increase the task force’s manpower? Relying only on the current team is tiring."
Morimoto Chiyoda looked up. "I’ve mentioned this to the higher-ups, and we’re in the process of selecting new members. It’s just that there are no good candidates; the resumes being submitted are too exaggerated. I suspect some padding."
"We’ll know by assessing them in person," Miyaji Yosuke said, hoping someone could share the heavy workload. Morimoto, as a leader, was too good at slacking off. He even missed Ditch sometimes; at least that man worked hard.
"Fine." Morimoto Chiyoda gave a sheepish smile, sensing Miyaji Yosuke’s gaze was particularly mournful. It seemed she had become the kind of supervisor others groused about after hours.