Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 792 - 481: We Were Wrong

It was rare to encounter such a cooperative suspect, so Fushimi Roku showed the him due respect by removing his coat and covering Horie Kei’s wrists, obscuring the handcuffs as he was escorted away.

This left Fushimi Roku’s pajamas exposed, making him look like an attractive recluse heading downstairs in sleepwear to hang out with friends.

Upon returning to the precinct, Fushimi Roku took off the coat and put it back on properly, buttoning it up to avoid affecting his reputation again.

The three entered the interrogation room where Horie Kei was cuffed to an iron chair. Fushimi Roku casually shut the door and asked, "Do you know why you were arrested?"

"No idea," replied Horie Kei.

His skin was naturally pale and under the cold light of the incandescent bulb, it had a ghastly pallor. His prominent brow cast a shadow, deepening the hollows around his eyes.

These past few years seemed to have worn him down, erasing all traces of youthful exuberance, leaving only a nearly numb exhaustion. Reflecting on his attempts at freeloading last night, it seemed understandable - young people beaten down by society often try to find shortcuts.

"If you confess now, it could still count as a voluntary surrender. Once I lay it out, things will take a different turn." Fushimi Roku applied interrogation pressure.

"I really don’t know," Horie Kei repeated.

"Let me be straight with you - without evidence, we wouldn’t arrest anyone; we’d wait for the murderer to commit another crime, slip up. Only when we’re a hundred percent sure, do we act. Do you understand what I’m saying?" Fushimi Roku continued the pressure.

Hearing this, Minamoto Tamako suddenly understood, her eyes widened and she wanted to speak but feared disrupting the interrogation.

This was a good strategy - covert surveillance, wait for the criminal to commit another crime, catch them in the act; wouldn’t that ensure solid evidence?

Why reveal this now?

Minamoto Tamako suspected Fushimi Roku might be trying to slack off; after all, surveillance was tough work, requiring continuous 24-hour shifts, overnights were routine, and a moment’s distraction could let someone slip away. It’s much easier to bring someone in for interrogation.

"I don’t understand," Horie Kei reiterated.

"Do I have to spell it out?" Fushimi Roku asked.

"Please make it clear," Horie Kei showed no sign of being pressured.

Fushimi Roku approached, placed both hands on the table, and looked down at Horie Kei, articulating clearly: "About a week ago, a judge was stabbed to death on the street. A few days later, a congressman hanged himself on a streetlamp, and on the same day, the congressman’s lover also met a tragic end... do I need to go on?"

"I don’t understand, what’s this got to do with me?" Horie Kei asked, puzzled, shrugging.

"There’s evidence that you killed them," Fushimi Roku said with certainty, as if the precinct already had solid witness testimony and material evidence, and arresting him was merely a formal step before they could file charges anytime.

"I’m innocent," Horie Kei replied calmly.

Fushimi Roku’s gaze slowly lifted; he could clearly see, above Horie Kei’s head, small words floating.

"60.1%"

"Vices": Revenge for Pleasure

"Clearance Reward": Clear Horie Kei’s crimes to obtain Lv5 Decline in Presence

...

In his previous life as a lawyer, Fushimi Roku once encountered a special case.

The client was once a regular farmer, who, along with his father, was abducted into a black coal mine, subjected to near-cruel abuse, working eighteen hours a day, almost worked to death in the mine.

Fortunately, one day during mine expansion, the accounting staff fell short, and the foreman asked if any mine workers could read and write - out of more than twenty people, he was the only one who raised a hand—he had completed high school, could add, subtract, multiply and divide, and solve equations.

But his father could not, and thus died in the mine shaft.

Soon enough, he climbed into the management, became a trusted aide to the mine boss, not only helped with accounting, but also raised a group of enforcers. To curry favor, the mine boss married his daughter to him.

At this point, the client had turned his life around and wasn’t thinking of indulgence but of tracking down the human trafficker responsible for their plight, intent on avenging himself and his father.

After seeking for many painstaking years, the heavens rewarded determination, and the client actually found the culprit.

The trafficker, already ancient in age, had long retired. This man had settled down, married, had children, opened a hotel in a second-tier small city, living a peaceful life.

The client approached with his group of enforcers, and right in front of the trafficker’s eyes, first murdered the children, then committed a heinous act upon the wife, finally waterboarding the trafficker to death.

Due to limited police resources and rampant gang activity back then, the client wasn’t immediately arrested. He then committed several more family annihilations, killing several traffickers.

The client’s method was peculiar. Before killing, he’d deliberately pose as an impoverished farmer, let traffickers snatch him, endure months of suffering in the mines, always with pent-up anger until he couldn’t bear it any longer, then contact his henchmen to rescue him, seeking revenge on the trafficker.

When the state launched a crackdown, he was quickly caught.

Back then, Fushimi Roku asked the client why he did it—having achieved revenge, why experience the original pain all over again?

The client asked him in return, "Do you know what revenge feels like?"

At the time, Fushimi Roku shook his head, indicating he didn’t know, hopeful the client would be frank and not conceal anything from his lawyer.

So the client continued, "When I exacted revenge, it felt incredibly exhilarating, more than getting high. In front of that bastard, I violated his wife; it was the most exhilarating experience of my life, felt like my scalp would explode."

"People often say revenge leaves one vacant, but emptiness comes after the exhilaration."

"It’s like smoking, the first puff is the best. You feel good for a while after finishing a cigarette, then feel an empty urge inside, wanting another one."

"So after killing one, you’d want to kill another. Killing alone isn’t fun; it has to be someone you have a grudge against— the more you hate them, the more exhilarating the kill."

"Do you understand?"

"I became addicted to revenge."

...

Currently, as Fushimi Roku stared at the small line of numbers after "Vices," he was absolutely certain that Horie Kei was the killer.

He was like that client, addicted to revenge.

Luckily, Horie Kei had plenty of enemies, probably wouldn’t finish off before being caught.

"If you confess obediently, you might secure a life sentence; if we file charges, it would definitely be capital punishment," Fushimi Roku threatened, then signaled to Minamoto Tamako.

They now had a bit of tacit understanding. Minamoto Tamako immediately grasped, played the role of good cop, cooperating by saying, "Mr. Horie, Mr. Fushimi is trying to help you... Don’t be fooled by his appearance, he actually has a kind heart, hoping you seize this chance to turn over a new leaf."

When she said this, her tone was particularly earnest. Along with her cute appearance, her voice lacked aggressiveness, leaving a very good impression; playing good cop was nearly infallible.

"Cut the chatter! Since he won’t admit it, don’t fault me for not giving a chance!" Fushimi Roku shouted loudly, banging the table forcefully, doing his best to play a tough criminal police officer.

Horie Kei leaned back slightly and said, "But I truly did not kill anyone, since you’ve got the evidence, bring it out."

Minamoto Tamako instinctively replied, "The evidence isn’t convenient to show you, we’ll submit it to the judge..."

"Aren’t you presenting evidence to question me?" Horie Kei suddenly interrupted.

Minamoto Tamako then realized she misspoke and had to turn around, lean close to Fushimi Roku, and whisper, "Did we catch the wrong person?"

"Didn’t you reason out the truth?" Fushimi Roku queried.

"Just a guess though..." Minamoto Tamako seemed a bit guilty.

Fushimi Roku actually didn’t have a good approach either; he indeed wanted to slack off, hoping to extract a confession from Horie Kei through interrogation if possible.

But now hope was dashed—Horie Kei wasn’t fazed by pressure at all.

Fushimi Roku squinted his eyes, suddenly smiled, tapped Horie Kei’s shoulder, unlocked his handcuffs saying, "Maybe we got it wrong, sorry, you’re free to go."

"Huh?" Minamoto Tamako was stunned.