<h2>Chapter 632: Threatening</h2>


    Inside the Haiden Hall, there was no one left except for Miyazaki Ronjin. He was standing there alone, still in a daze. The sound of Xiao Luo’s voice telling him, “We are birds of the same feather” lingered in his mind. It struck a chord deep in his soul.


    It was true—the two of them were so simr. When Miyazaki Ronjin had annihted the Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters, they called him the “Monster Police Officer.” The only reason they spared him from going to prison was because of the efforts of his old department chief. He had pulled all the strings he could to prevent it. Otherwise, Miyazaki Ronjin would have ceased to be a police officer a long time ago.


    “Birds of a feather, yes, we are birds of a feather, indeed. Haha, haha…”


    Miyazaki Ronjin cackled maniacally and slumped on the floor like a deted balloon. He fished out a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his lips as he lit it. He inhaled the smoke ravenously, enjoying every puff of nicotine before he felt dispirited once again. His eyes were unfocused, and he had a nk stare. He mocked himself, muttering under his breath, “I am about to retire, anyway. Why didn’t I just while away my remaining days in peace? I just had to insist on bing a goddamn righteous police officer, didn’t I? And for what—to be exposed for who I am after all?”


    …


    …


    Oshima Jun had no leads on his end. Xiao Luo had disappeared into thin air. Theybed every inch of the Shinto shrine several times, but they could not find a single trace of him.


    Dongjing had already caught wind of Koizumi Junichiro’s death, as did the ever-alert media of the Ri Nation. The murder hit the news, and that sent shock waves through the entire nation yet again.


    “Even under the air-tight security managed by 300 Self-Defense soldiers and 200 police officers, he could murder the magistrate. How did the mysterious murderer Xiao Han pull it off?”


    “He is inhuman. There is absolutely no way Xiao Han is human!”


    “It is not that our army is weak, but it is the enemy who is too strong.”


    “Just the thought of such a cold-blooded murderer walking amid Dongjing is enough to send shivers down my spine!”


    “Why did he have to do this? Is this the Hua Nation’s retribution for Ri Nation’s role in the genocide?”


    The Ri Nationizens werementing on the issue fervently. It was as if a thickyer of fog had enveloped the nation, and its people were paranoid and terrified, and perpetually on tenterhooks.


    Barely a few days had passed before the Ri Nation’s richest man, Takahara Kei, published a lengthy essay titled, “On the Crimes of Ri Nation” on the inte. That essay cast attention on the gic engineering experimentation facility under Mount Fuji and mentioned the personnel involved. It unfolded the mystery behind the attacks of targeted prominent individuals in the country to the Ri Nation citizens. At the end of the essay, Takahara Kei apologized sincerely to the victims of the experimentation facility.


    However, the article only remained online for less than a day after publication, before the Ri Nation authorities took it off the inte. The parties involved refuted the rumors adamantly. They imed that the mysterious murderer Xiao Han had hacked into the wealthy man’s inte ount to publish the unsubstantiated essay to confuse the public. They swore to prosecute Xiao Han to the fullest extent of thew.


    More and more citizens became suspicious and were convinced that there was some conspiracy at work, no matter how much the Ri Nation officials hade out to deny that essay.


    As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Every word in that essay had expressed such deep emotions. The style of writing was like another essay that Takahara Kei had previously published. If the mysterious murderer Xiao Han had written the piece, it was unlikely that he could have imitated the man’s style of writing to such a degree.


    …


    …


    In an expansive garden, somewhere in Dongjing, there were many rare, ancient trees nted there. Describing it as a garden would not do justice to its splendor. It would be more appropriate to call it God’s Garden of Eden. The resplendence of that ce was breathtaking.


    ced in the center of that Garden of Eden was a luxurious vi about 7,000 square feetrge. Surrounding it on all four sides was an expanse of turf. There was a swimming pool, a car parking lot, a tennis court, and every imaginable facility one could imagine.


    That was where Takahara Kei, the richest man in the Ri Nation, lived!


    Any ordinary citizen would shy away from the property. The sheer opulence of it would take their breath away if they ever had the chance to view the ce. It would overwhelm anyone who was not of the same status, fearing they would taint it with their mere presence.


    But, at that moment, that splendid garden was full of Self-Defense Force soldiers armed to the teeth. All of them had hard looks on their faces, and they were wearing their headsets to ensure the security of the area.


    “Mr. Takahara, I hope you’ll be able to give me a reasonable exnation for all of this. Why did you put out an article like this? Don’t you know what kind of harm you’ll bring to our nation?” shouted Anbei, dressed in a sharp suit. In a conference room in the vi, he was questioning Takahara Kei in a loud voice. He looked extremely displeased.


    He had lost control over his emotions somewhat and was spitting as he spoke. They had initially nned to bury the matter of the human gic engineering experimentation facility. But as a stakeholder, Takahara Kei had exposed the entire issue online. It was a good thing that had happened in their own country, so they could still contain it. But even then, an army of international reporters would eventually catch wind of something fishy going on there. By that time, the Ri Nation would likely face a tsunami of international criticism.


    Takahara Kei donned a sky-blue suit. He was half bald and his features, though not perfect, were not altogether ugly either. He had a friendly personality. He sat on a plush chair and very calmly faced the Prime Minister of the Ri Nation. He said, “There is no way that we can continue to conceal this. No matter how far or how long we keep this buried, the truth will eventuallye to light one day.”


    “What do you mean?” Anbei said, his eye twitching anxiously.


    Takahara Kei stood up. He did not want to speak on that subject any longer. He heaved a light sigh as he said, “Prime Minister, I think you should clear the troops. I don’t need the protection.”


    “You don’t need the protection?”


    That stunned Oshima Jun, who was with the Prime Minister. “The mysterious murderer Xiao Han’s next target is likely to be you. Without our protection, there is absolutely no way we can guarantee that your life is safe, not when you only have your bodyguards,” he said.


    “And would I be safe even with your troops here?” Takahara Kei asked andughed sarcastically.


    Takahara Kei’s kindly gaze made Oshima Jun hang his head in shame. He did not dare look the man in the eye—Koizumi Junichiro’s death was under his watch and left him unable to defend himself against that question.


    Takahara Kei sighed and said, “Leave, all of you. I don’t enjoy having your troops in my home.” He looked every bit like a man who was looking at death right in its eyes.


    “Mr. Takahara, you are the pride of our nation, and your life is exceptionally valuable. I cannot allow…”


    “I said to dismiss the troops. Did you not hear me, Prime Minister?” Takahara Kei suddenly raised his head and interrupted Anbei in a stern, fierce voice.


    Anbei’s lips twitched. He hated that—being spoken to in such a tone. But the other person was the richest man in the Ri Nation. If he merely sneezed, half their economy would catch a cold.


    He forced himself to suppress his anger and spoke with a severe look on his face. “Mr. Takahara, are you not afraid that Xiao Han will make an attempt on your life?” he asked.


    “Of course, I am. Who is not afraid of death? Much less someone like me who has a bit of business under his name.”


    Takahara Kei said with augh, a calm look on his face. “But what good is there in fear? If it is meant to happen, then it will eventuallye to pass. So, I might as well do something meaningful while I am still alive,” he said, pausing for a beat, and then continued, “Prime Minister and Mr. Oshima, you can do as you please. I won’t keep youpany any longer.”


    He immediately left the conference room in deliberate strides. At the door, he suddenly stopped and turned around to add, “Oh, right. Don’t think of sending men to tail me, Prime Minister. I do not want to be your bait. If you go against my word on this, I think you may find that the Ri Nation’s economy will regress by a half-decade.”


    “Are you threatening me?” Anbei gritted his teeth.


    “Threatening?”


    Takahara Kei frowned and then lightlyughed as he said, “It’s a threat if you think it is, Prime Minister.”After he said that, he left without looking back.”That idiot!”Anbei mmed a palm down on the table in the conference room, fuming. “That old fool! Has his brain started rotting or something? Or did Xiao Han scare him out of his wits? What a coward, a blistering idiot!”