CHAPTER 730: CHAPTER 597: PRIORITIZE, BOMB SUPERMAN CALLS - PART 2

"Ah!" Asakawa Xia’s face turned pale in an instant.

Yanchuan Xianyou quickly said, "Then why are you waiting to pick us up? Work is important, just drop us off on the roadside and rush over, but definitely don’t let the two of us idlers delay the case."

"Exactly!" Asakawa Xia echoed repeatedly.

"Brother Xianyou, no matter how urgent the case is, it is not more urgent than this moment. Besides, in my heart, nothing is more important than you and sister-in-law. It’s rare for you to come, so I must personally host and take you to the hotel before I head there," Aoyama Xiu Xin said.

Yanchuan Xianyou sighed, shaking his head somewhat helplessly, "You, you, you really leave me at a loss for words. Usually, you can prioritize clearly, but today you are muddled. Let’s not make this a precedent, not a precedent."

Although he said so, he was very satisfied with Aoyama Xiu Xin’s attitude of valuing him.

While feeling pleased, he began to lecture Aoyama Xiu Xin in an elder brother manner, "At any moment, priority should be given to official matters, not to let personal issues impede public duty."

"Okay! Brother Xianyou, you’re right, I admit my mistake," Aoyama Xiu Xin honestly admitted his fault.

Asakawa Xia hurriedly said, "Alright, Xiu Xin is also showing respect to you as an elder brother, so don’t scold him anymore. The case has just happened; it won’t delay anything."

"Enough said, I was just reminding him," said Yanchuan Xianyou, shaking his head, and then he instructed Jin Yucheng, "Please drive faster."

"Okay!" Jin Yucheng suddenly accelerated.

After arriving at the hotel front door, Aoyama Xiu Xin bid farewell to the Yanchuan couple and drove to the crime scene.

"You see, you were having doubts about Xiu Xin before, but he still came to pick you up first despite such a big case, showing great respect for you as an elder brother, right?"

Watching Aoyama Xiu Xin’s car drive away, Asakawa Xia turned to Yanchuan Xianyou and spoke in a reproachful tone.

"He has indeed been more and more obedient over the past half year," Yanchuan Xianyou nodded.

............

When Aoyama Xiu Xin arrived at the scene, it was already packed with people, densely crowded both inside and outside.

"There are too many people, I can’t get through. Call some police officers to escort me," Aoyama Xiu Xin said while in the car, calling Habamoto Youko.

A few minutes later, about a dozen police officers emerged from the crowd and Aoyama Xiu Xin got out of the car and was escorted by them inward.

"It’s Minister Aoyama!"

"Minister Aoyama has arrived!"

"Minister Aoyama, may we ask..."

Upon seeing Aoyama Xiu Xin, the onlookers and journalists immediately got excited. If not for the circle of police officers forming a human wall, the crowd that surged forward might have overwhelmed Mr. Aoyama.

Aoyama Xiu Xin did not respond and, with a solemn expression, crossed the police line to the entrance of the gold shop.

"Minister, the deceased and the injured have been taken away, and the unharmed customers and staff have been brought in for statements," Habamoto Youko approached him, saluting and respectfully reporting.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, with a grim expression, continued walking inside the gold shop, his eyes flicking with a touch of gloom as he looked at the horrific scene, "Has the cause of the explosion been determined?"

If it was man-made, he definitely needed to find the culprit and give him a thorough thrashing—adding trouble on the first day of the year, truly fucking annoying.

Having to work overtime during the festive season was absolutely infuriating.

"It’s preliminarily determined to be man-made. Remnants of a homemade bomb were found at the scene, and the surveillance captured the perpetrator, who entered the gold shop with a carry bag, set it down, and left before the explosion occurred."

Although the explosion damaged the surveillance, the footage captured beforehand was not affected.

"Is the perpetrator’s appearance clear?" Aoyama Xiu Xin stopped and turned back to ask Habamoto Youko.

Habamoto Youko shook her head, "The perpetrator wore a thick cotton jacket, a hat and a mask. The face was unclear; only identified as a male, middle-aged."

It’s common to wear hats and masks for warmth and protection in the cold snowy winter, which doesn’t easily arouse suspicion.

Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded and turned to walk outside.

Outside the gold shop, a group of journalists craned their necks, and upon seeing Aoyama Xiu Xin coming out, they again became restless and tried to push forward, but were loudly reprimanded by the police maintaining order.

"Minister Aoyama, has the cause of the explosion been determined? Is there a possibility it was man-made?"

"Minister Aoyama, may we ask..."

Facing the swelling crowd, Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his hand to signal for quiet, waiting for the noise to subside before he emphatically said, "After preliminary determination, this is a severely malicious man-made bombing incident!"

"Boom!"

Hearing this, the scene immediately exploded.

"Please be assured, citizens. Our police will spare no effort and ensure that the vicious criminal is caught and brought to justice! Trust in the police’s capabilities, trust in my promise! Give me some time to investigate."

"As the New Year approaches and the number of tourists in Hokkaido sharply increases, to prevent similar heinous incidents from occurring, our police will increase patrol duties and strictly check for any risks, safeguarding the trips of tourists and residents." Aoyama Xiu Xin’s words fell, and he bowed deeply.

He maintained the bow for about three seconds before straightening up, his face expressionless as he walked off, followed immediately by the police officers who escorted him.

"Just a few more words, Minister Aoyama!"

"Minister Aoyama, please wait..."

Journalists are always insatiable, wanting to get more news material, but Aoyama Xiu Xin ignored them, looking straight ahead as he got into the car and drove off.

"Ding-ding-ding! Ding-ding-ding!"

Just as the vehicle started, his phone rang.

"Speak."

"Minister Aoyama, did my New Year’s firecrackers sound loud enough?" A deep voice came through the phone.

"Were the bombs your doing?" Aoyama Xiu Xin instantly understood his meaning, sat up straight, his mind whirling, "How do you know my number?"

"Your phone number isn’t exactly a high-level national secret. I have my ways. What’s important is, if you don’t want another explosion to occur, you’ll have to agree to my terms. If similar events happen one after another, it won’t look good for you, the great detective, right? The next explosion could be at a shopping mall, or perhaps a police station, who knows?"

The underlying threat in his words was clear.

"Just to flex your muscles, you’ve killed so many people. Isn’t that inappropriate?" Aoyama Xiu Xin now understood that the gold shop explosion was just an appetizer.

"Hmph! If not like this, how could you really appreciate my sincerity? At least now you won’t think I’m just talking about bombing a mall or a police station."

Aoyama Xiu Xin exhaled, pondering for a moment before saying, "Get to the point, what do you want?"

To think he’d stoop to blackmail.

Fucking hell, a rat licking a cat’s nose is truly courting death!