Lu Zheng and Lin Wan walked hand in hand, strolling down the streets of Kabuki-cho.
A man and a woman, as they walked, curiously looking around, speaking in Mandarin, clearly foreign tourists.
So those special nightclubs did not approach them to solicit, instead relatively decent izakayas or nightclub staff would respectfully come forward and hand over flyers.
"Want to check this place out?" Lu Zheng saw an izakaya on the side of the road that was relatively quieter, "Go in and taste some Japanese specialties?"
"Sure." Lin Wan had no objections.
Walking into the izakaya, the inside featured classic Japanese decoration styles, low tables, tatami mats, red lanterns, curtains, screens, and of course, the essential folk music tune "Sakura".
"Welcome!" A young lady in a kimono led the two to a table, then handed over a menu with Chinese, Japanese, and English text.
"Prepared really well." Lu Zheng smiled, as this waitress had just spoken Mandarin, praised her, "Your Mandarin is quite good."
"Thank you, Iâm also from Hua Country, studying here in Japan." The young lady smiled.
Lu Zheng, "..."
"So whatâs good to eat here?" Lin Wan smiled, "Introduce us."
"Certainly." The young lady smiled and said, "This store is considered a relatively traditional izakaya in Kabuki-cho. There arenât many new dishes, but several traditional flavors are quite authentic, just donât know if you two can handle them."
Lu Zheng blinked, he and Lin Wan really hadnât eaten much Japanese food back in Hai City.
Lin Wan replied with a smile, "No worries, recommend away, weâre from Hai City, not afraid of different tastes."
"Certainly." The young lady smiled, "I suggest you try a grilled eel, a tempura, a sushi platter; if this gentleman feels itâs not enough, you can also order an eel rice or beef bowl, and if youâre drinking, the store does have Naraâs old sake breweryâs sake."
"Professional!" Lu Zheng raised his thumbs, "Letâs go with your recommendation, one eel rice and one beef bowl each."
"Certainly, please wait a moment!" The young lady smiled and retreated, then served the two complimentary appetizers.
Lu Zheng looked at Lin Wan, "You look like youâre in a good mood, is your evidence real?"
Lin Wan shook her head, "All three pieces of evidence are real."
"Really? Split into three parts?"
Lin Wan nodded, "As long as one group can deliver the evidence, Hatanaka Shingo can be put in jail for twenty years."
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, "Not that much, huh, I thought itâd be a life sentence, considering all the people heâs killed!"
Lin Wan hesitated upon hearing this.
"But you donât have evidence, right?" Lu Zheng shrugged and said.
Lin Wan pouted but nodded.
Lu Zheng chuckled.
"Whatâs that supposed to mean?" Lin Wan replied in a bad mood.
"A chuckle means laughter." Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Lin Wan bared her teeth but said nothing because the young lady server already brought sake and some appetizers.
"Enjoy!"
Once the young lady walked away, Lu Zheng continued asking, "Bombs! Shooters! The ambush at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department entrance, it wonât just be let off like that, right?"
"Of course not, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Interpol Japan Branch have taken over the case." Lin Wan said.
"Alright then!" Lu Zheng nodded, "If you ask me, since he dared make a move on you, I want to go over tonight and teach him a lesson."
"Please donât act recklessly." Lin Wan was startled hearing this, "This is Japan."
"Exactly because itâs Japan, if it were at home, I wouldnât dare." Lu Zheng said as a matter of fact.
"Uh..." Lin Wan understood what Lu Zheng meant; after all, they had already broken the rules in Italy.
"Alright, someoneâs taken over matters, and this is a battle between police and criminals, donât interfere." Lin Wan said, then lowered her voice, "To avoid exposure."
"Rest assured, I know the reasoning, this is official business, not a personal vendetta, I wonât intervene."
Lu Zheng nodded, picked up a piece of sushi and put it in his mouth, "Hmm, itâs alright."
Of course, a big reason Lu Zheng refrained from doing anything was that Lin Wan was safe, after all, now itâs their side that has the upper hand, right?
Lin Wan also picked up a piece of sushi and ate it, "Pretty tasty, very fresh."
Lu Zheng poured sake for the two again, gently clinked glasses, and drank it all.
Lu Zheng smacked his lips, not much feeling, it was all brewed wine, not as tasty as Flower Carving.
"Are we going to the Japan Branch again tomorrow?" Lu Zheng asked.
Lin Wan shook her head, "No need, we already received the receipt at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, tomorrow Hong Liang will go to the Interpol Tokyo Branch to sign a document, then we can return home."
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you take leave?"
Lin Wan smiled, "I did, told them not to buy me a ticket, then I also took a day off on Friday."
"Excellent!" Lu Zheng raised his thumbs.
Lin Wan accepted it openly, then asked, "So where are we going to have fun tomorrow? Did you make a plan?"
Lu Zheng: (êȘâêȘ)
Spur of the moment, how could he have thought of so much? In Tokyo, he only knew three places.
Ginza, Kabuki-cho, Akihabara.
So...
"Akihabara?" Lu Zheng blinked.
"Sure!" Lin Wan nodded, "The famous anime base, gotta see it."
"Then itâs decided!"
Lu Zheng silently gave himself thirty-two likes, thinking accumulating a bit more knowledge is useful at crucial times!
The two chatted while eating, casually talking about Lin Wanâs amusing encounters at the Police Headquarters.
What amusing encounters?
Naturally, the incident where Lin Wan confronted two gunmen with two mini-submachine guns.
Mind you, when recording the statement, none of the Japanese police believed it, even with Hong Liang and Jiao Tianye personally testifying, they couldnât believe it.
"So then?"
"Theyâre all police after all, I shouldnât be too excessive." Lin Wan lightly sighed, "So I just knocked down ten disbelievers who had a bad attitude, casually dislocated a few joints, messed up a few meridians, ahem, of course, they were all restored afterward."
"You are too kind-hearted." Lu Zheng earnestly praised.
"Thank you, I think so too." Lin Wan said with a cheeky smile.
...
The two had supper at the izakaya, chatted for a long time, and when they left, it was close to midnight.
Then they found out...
Kabuki-cho was even more lively.
"No wonder itâs famous worldwide for its nightlife; truly bustling!"
Lin Wan shook her head and said, "But not much to see, letâs go back."
Both were not the kind to enjoy the hustle and bustle, visiting to see the sights was fine, but they didnât linger.
Lu Zhengâs hotel was just a ten-minute walk away, so they didnât take a taxi, just strolled back.
Leaving the Kabuki-cho district, turning a street, the noise quickly faded away, street lamps were dim, and there were fewer pedestrians.
Except for some staggering drunkards and a few night-time commuters, walking briskly past them.
Looking at the roadside buildings that were obviously much older than Hai City, Lu Zheng realized Japanâs Tokyo has also stagnated development-wise for quite some time.
Holding hands, passing by some drunkards who didnât return home at night, they even saw a few scattered homeless people by the roadside.
"Who wouldâve thought, just a street away..." Lin Wan shook her head.
Toward them came a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a phone clamped to his neck talking, while holding a briefcase in front and rummaging for something inside.
Seeing his awkward movements, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan slightly stepped aside to give way, the man nodded and smiled.
Then, just at the moment he passed by the two...
"Swish!"
The briefcase fell, two knives suddenly appeared in his hands, stabbing towards their hearts.