Tokyo people don't talk about Wude

Chapter 336 333. One Step Away

"Well, I called Xiangzi half an hour ago, but she didn't answer." Mrs. Qingchuan said on the other end of the phone, but her tone was not too worried:
"I called her two more times, but she didn't answer, so I just left her alone."

"Then do you know where Miss Xiangzi went?" Officer Takagi asked.

"She must have gone to a party with friends or went shopping. She often goes out to play without saying anything. I'm not sure." Madam Qingchuan sighed slightly and smiled helplessly:

"Sometimes she drinks or has a lot of fun, so she won't answer our calls. But she's very good at protecting herself, so I'm not too worried. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Takagi."

According to Officer Takagi's preliminary investigation, after graduating from university, Qingchuan Xiangzi had been working a sinecure arranged for her by her family. She would go out and have fun whenever she had free time. She was an out-and-out playboy.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with what Mrs. Qingchuan said, and it is no wonder that she would not worry about such a trivial matter as not being able to contact her daughter. Perhaps she thought that her daughter was having fun outside with her friends again, so she did not answer the phone.

"I want to confirm one thing, Ms. Qingchuan." Officer Gao Mu changed the subject and asked, "When Ms. Xiangzi was in high school, she once bullied a classmate and forced him to jump off the building, right?"

"You've overstepped your authority in this matter, Mr. Takagi." Mrs. Qingchuan seemed a little annoyed and was obviously unwilling to mention this matter.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Qingchuan, I didn't mean anything else. It's just necessary for the investigation." Officer Gao Mu immediately clarified his attitude: "If what I said is true, then Miss Xiangzi is likely to have been targeted by the [Bully Butcher]!"

"The Bully Butcher. That's the one my husband mentioned to me." Mrs. Qingchuan was quite surprised.

"It seems that Mr. Qingchuan has already told you." Officer Takagi nodded.

"No wonder my husband specifically reminded Xiangzi to be careful recently, but it's a pity that Xiangzi ignored it." Mrs. Qingchuan looked anxious, and her tone was much more hurried:
"Thank you for your reminder, Mr. Takagi. Although Xiangzi often doesn't answer the phone when he's outside, it's definitely not a good sign that Xiangzi is out of touch right now."

"Do you know where she usually goes?" Officer Gao Mu asked, "Because this case is of vital importance to me, and I don't want any new victims to appear. If possible, I am willing to help you find Miss Xiangzi."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Takagi." Mrs. Qingchuan recalled and said:

"Actually, I don't know exactly where Xiangzi went, but I remember that Xiangzi often went to the store on Saint Angel Street in Kamurocho. You can go there to find him."

Then, she added, "By the way, I will send servants to look for other places. If there is any news, I will contact you as soon as possible."

"Then I'll leave it to you. We will do our best to search." Officer Takagi expressed his gratitude politely and then ended the call.

After hanging up the phone, Jiuzhou Cheng and Xi Shenjian came over together.

Officer Takagi had just turned on the speakerphone, so both of them could hear the call.

"What a troublesome lady." Xi Shenjian scratched his neck helplessly: "Losing contact at this time is not a good sign, let's go find her quickly."

"Saint Angel Street in Kamurocho." Kyushu Makoto thought. As a long-term resident of Kamurocho, he knew very well what that place was:
"I remember there were a lot of male escort clubs there, so it's not an exaggeration to call it Shinjuku's No. 1 Male Arrangement Street."

"It just so happens that I have a gigolo friend who works on that street." Xi Shenjian patted the back of the front seat and urged Officer Gao Mu: "Drive quickly, don't delay."

"I'm a police officer, but the detective ordered me to be a driver." Officer Takagi complained softly and started the car engine obediently.

Officer Takagi stepped on the accelerator the whole time and arrived at Kamurocho in a hurry.

Night has fallen, and this joyous city that never sleeps is still brightly lit. Drinkers and brokers are bustling around enjoying the hustle and bustle, but there are only three people who don't fit in.

"Excuse me, have you seen this woman?"

"Hello, police, have any of you seen this person?"

"Hey, bro, has this girl in the photo ever been to your store?"

Time was running out, so the three of them divided San Angel Street into three sections, with each person responsible for searching a different section of the road.

As for the search method, it is naturally the "visit investigation" most commonly used, primitive and inefficient method by the Wano Country police, asking door to door.

Wano Country rarely installs surveillance cameras in public places. Although it is said to protect public privacy, it also makes it difficult for the police who investigate the case. The police in Wano Country are criticized for their poor efficiency, but sometimes it is not entirely their own fault.

San Angel Street is very long, running through most of Kamurocho, and there are more than fifty male escort clubs alone.

Moreover, some male escort clubs would regard the three men as gangsters who came to seek revenge or debt collection, or hooligans who wanted to spy on the privacy of customers, so they were quite wary of them, which greatly delayed the progress of the investigation.

An hour later, the three met in the middle of the street to confirm the work status.

"I didn't find it, and the clerk almost called the security guard to arrest me." Jiuzhou Cheng said helplessly. After all, he was an underage high school student, and theoretically he couldn't appear in such a place.

"I don't have any clues here." Xi Shenjian looked at his phone and shook his head: "I even went to look for some of my gigolo friends, but they didn't see her today either."

"I asked, and she is indeed a frequent visitor to this street, but she hasn't been here today." Officer Gao Mu said with a straight face: "It seems that she is not here, and we came to nothing."

"What should we do? Can we only wait for her housekeeper to find her?" Jiuzhou Cheng scratched his head.

"Oh, I have no choice but to wait. I hope I can find her as soon as possible." Xi Shenjian was anxious but helpless.

Just as the three were about to leave, someone called out to Jiuzhou Cheng from behind:

"Hey, Chunchuan brother! Why are you here?!"

Jiuzhou Cheng felt that the voice looked familiar, so he turned around and found that the person calling him was his former colleague at the PR bar.

"Hey, you are Taoi!" Kyushu Makoto recognized this visual gigolo with pink hair and a laser reflective suit.

He was holding a rice ball and a can of soda bought from a convenience store, and it seemed that he was going out to eat during his break.

"I didn't expect to see Chunchuan here. You're not going to be a gigolo again, are you?" The gigolo Tao Jing came over quickly and asked with concern, "If the store manager knew, he would be furious!"

"Don't think too much. I should be considered a part-time detective assistant now." Jiuzhou Cheng understood the other party's concerns and explained: "We are here to look for someone. These two are my colleagues."

Tao Jing looked at the two adults next to him - one looked like a detective, and the other was undoubtedly a policeman - and he felt relieved.

"Detective, Chunchuan is indeed suitable for this kind of job!" Tao Jing flattered him and asked, "Who are you looking for? Can I help?"

"This woman." Jiuzhou Cheng took out his cell phone and showed him the photo.

"Her, I remember her! She came to my friend's store today!" Tao Jing said immediately after seeing the woman's face:

"Do you want me to take you there?" "Hey, hey, really?!" Xi Shenjian became very excited and rushed in front of Tao Jing: "You have really seen her, take us there quickly!"

"Okay, your detective colleague is so anxious. Haha~" Taoi was a little scared by the other party.

Tao Jing brought the two to a public relations bar called [StarDust]. This shop was far away from San Angel Street, almost in the other corner of Kamurocho, no wonder the three of them had no clues after searching for a long time.

According to Tao Jing, Qingchuan Xiangzi originally planned to go to Saint Angel Street to have fun, but was intercepted by a male host from [StarDust] - the other party was a shy newcomer who happened to hit Xiangzi's strike zone.

Many gigolos in [StarDust] were jealous of the new guy who hooked up with a rich lady. One of them was a fake brother that Taojing met at work, so he complained about it to Taojing and sent him a photo of Qingchuan Xiangzi and the new guy cuddling together.

Along the way, Tao Jing also tried to ask the three people why they were looking for Qingchuan Xiangzi, whether it was to investigate the affair or to collect debts. However, this topic was perfunctorily passed by the three people, and Tao Jing did not ask more questions after realizing that the atmosphere was not right.

Soon, the three of them came to the public relations bar and found the guy Tao Jing called "the newcomer".

The gigolo with a childish face was called "Chino". He was drinking and chatting with several female guests, but Qingchuan Xiangzi was no longer by his side.

"Excuse me, this is a police case." In pursuit of efficiency, Officer Takagi walked straight forward and took out his police ID.

The cowherd Zhinai immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes which were bleary from the alcohol. The female guests nearby also timidly moved away to avoid being troubled by the police.

"Police officer? Is there anything wrong with me?" Chino looked like he had drunk a lot of alcohol, but he had a good alcohol tolerance and was able to maintain a normal conversation.

"It's not a problem, I just want to find someone." Officer Takagi showed Chino a photo: "I heard you entertained her today, right?"

"Ms. Xiangzi~" Chino rubbed his eyes, nodded after repeated confirmation, and said: "I entertained her today, but she left twenty minutes ago."

"Twenty minutes ago so early?" Jiuzhou Cheng on the side couldn't believe it.

Generally speaking, wealthy drinkers would party until late at night, and it was only eight o'clock in the evening.

"She can't drink much~" Chino waved her hands and couldn't help laughing: "That woman boasted that she was a heavy drinker and even ordered the most expensive champagne in the store, but she got drunk after just two sips. It was obviously just a toy wine with a concentration of more than 20 degrees~"

"Is the bottle of wine still there?" asked Officer Takagi, his eyes a little alert.

"It's still there. After all, it's the wine that the guests didn't finish drinking. We will help preserve it." Chino pointed to the wine cabinet at the back and said, "Hey! Please help me get the Le'Badit that Miss Xiangzi deposited!"

A moment later, the waiter brought a bottle of champagne wrapped in gold paper, which looked very high-end.

"I'm going to confiscate this bottle of wine as evidence." Officer Takagi grabbed the bottle.

"Whatever. Anyway, you policemen will go and deal with her. It has nothing to do with me~" Chino spread her hands, distancing herself from the matter.

"Hey, why did you take the wine away?" Xi Shenjian asked in a low voice.

"I just want to test whether there are any drugs or other substances in the wine." Officer Gao Mu replied: "Maybe it's my professional habit. It's better to test it anyway."

"By the way, since Miss Xiangzi was drunk, where did she go afterwards?" Jiuzhou Cheng asked, "Did she go home?"

"I don't know. She was picked up by an uncle who said he was a servant in her family." Chino answered, and then added:
"That uncle gives me a scary feeling. I really hope I won't meet him again."

Upon hearing this, Officer Gao Mu also called Qingchuan's home to confirm:
"What? The housekeeper didn't pick up Miss Xiangzi, and she didn't come home?"

Hearing Officer Takagi's stunned tone, Kyushu Makoto and Yugami Ken both felt their hearts tighten at the same time.

After confirming, Officer Takagi's expression became serious: "Mr. Chino, do you know what that uncle looks like?"

"Well, we have surveillance cameras in our store. You can go ask the store manager!" Chino pointed to the backstage.

The three of them went backstage to find the store manager. After Officer Takagi showed his police ID and stated his purpose, he quickly obtained the surveillance video of the store.

The video footage showed that Qingchuan Xiangzi had indeed been to this store and was indeed drunk twenty minutes ago and was picked up by a man who was estimated to be in his forties.

The man was wearing a cap and was dressed in a low-key manner. Although he did not wear a mask or sunglasses to cover his face, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding the camera of the store's surveillance cameras, and most of the shots did not capture his face completely.

Officer Takagi captured the clip of the man appearing and sent it to Mrs. Qingchuan and his colleagues in the task force.

After a moment, Madam Qingchuan replied with a little fear: "I don't know this person! He is not my servant!"

"Could it be Ms. Xiangzi's friend?" Officer Gao Mu asked in a gentle tone, "For example, maybe she was picked up by a drinking buddy who was on good terms with her?"

"That's impossible. My daughter's friends are basically people of the same age, and most of them are women." Mrs. Qingchuan denied vigilantly: "This older man who looks as suspicious as a kidnapper is unlikely to be her friend!"

"Oh, I understand. We will quickly track down Miss Xiangzi's whereabouts." Officer Takagi's brows were twisted into a knot. He could only respond in a deep voice and then hung up the phone.

The next moment, Officer Gao Mu's phone rang again, this time it was his colleague:
"Takagi-senpai, as you instructed, we have compared the man in the video with photos and videos of Hijikata Hitoshi from several years ago. The similarity between the two is 85%. Considering that seven or eight years have passed, this similarity can basically confirm that it is the real person."

"Thank you." Officer Takagi nodded with a chill down his spine.

"Sure enough, it must be him!" Xi Shenjian snorted angrily, and his breathing became heavier: "Sure enough, this bastard is not going to stop yet!"

"That is to say, we just missed the murderer by a hair's breadth," Jiuzhou Cheng said with a sigh, "Qingchuan Xiangzi is very likely to have been kidnapped by the murderer and is about to be killed?"

"Damn it, how are we going to find her?" Officer Gao Mu gritted his teeth and thought, "Where could the murderer have taken her? An abandoned area nearby? But the area to search is too wide, and there's no time at all. By the time we find her, there will definitely be a dead body waiting for us."

"Oh, right, police dogs! You should have police dogs!" Xi Shenjian suddenly had an idea and patted Officer Gao Mu's shoulder and said, "The murderer should not have gone far with Qingchuan Xiangzi. If we use a police dog, we may be able to find her by her scent."

"This is the only way," Officer Gao Mu picked up the phone again and ordered sternly: "Notify the police dog base and come for support immediately! If they were a second late, there would be one more death."

Probably because they learned the news that "Qingchuan Shao's daughter was about to die", the police dog base was very active. Within 20 minutes, two people led a dog to the door of the bar.

What they brought was a black German Shepherd with a fierce look and bared teeth. It was strong enough to knock down an adult. It was obviously an elite among police dogs.

The dog trainer brought the sheepdog into the bar and let it sniff the sofa where Qingchuan Xiangzi had just sat and the wine glass and bottle he had drunk from. Soon, the sheepdog opened its mouth and barked twice, then ran out of the bar.

"Langwan, slow down!" The dog trainer called the sheepdog and chased after him, then turned around and said, "You guys should catch up too!"

(End of this chapter)