The Genius System Without Equal

“Thank you, thank you!”

After the man had walked out of the Metropolitan Police Department, he repeatedly thanked Xiao Luo, Miyazaki Ronjin, and Kimura Akino. He was extremely grateful for their help. It never occurred to him that he would end up at the Metropolitan Police Department because of a mere misunderstanding at the supermarket over the matter of a color pen. He almost got detained, and that had happened, it would have stranded his wife and son at the supermarket. Both of them could not speak or understand a word of Japanese. Without him, they would be helpless, and that thought made him shudder.

“You’re welcome,” Xiao Luo said, conversing with him in Chinese.

“So you are from Hua nation as well?” the man said, looking at Xiao Luo in surprise.

Xiao Luo nodded and replied, “That’s right.”

“Thank God. I’m so thankful that I met a compatriot here, if not I… I’d have…”

The man looked visibly upset, and his eyes turned red. He felt such relief to have met a compatriot in a foreign land, especially when he had found himself in dire straits and had needed help.

“Where’s your wife and son? We can escort you there,” Xiao Luo said.

He would help his Hua fellow countryman as much as he could, as he could tell that the man was distressed. He desperately wanted to get back to the supermarket to reunite with his wife and son.

The man accepted Xiao Luo’s offer and said, “They are at Ito Yokado Supermarket. I’d be grateful if you could send me there. Thank you so much!”

“Mr. Ronjin, do you know where this supermarket is?” Xiao Luo asked the veteran cop.

After this trip to the Metropolitan Police Department, the impression that Xiao Luo had of Miyazaki Ronjin had changed drastically. Even the pungent smell of cigarette smoke on him had become tolerable.

Miyazaki Ronjin said nothing. Instead, he put his cigarette between his lips and inhaled deeply, and then he walked toward his patrol car.

Kimura Akino smiled and said, “Xiao Han-kun, tourists from the Hua nation who visit Dongjing would invariably shop at Ito Yokado Supermarket. This place is so famous that any local would know its location.”

“I see.”

Xiao Luo responded with a nod and then told the man to follow him to Miyazaki Ronjin’s car.

******

******

After chatting for some time, Xiao Luo got to know that the man’s name was Xie Wenchang. He was from the Eastern province of the Hua nation. Xie Wenchang’s parents passed away when he was young, and his grandmother had raised him. He ran a business in the construction sector and was well-to-do. However, he never had the chance to repay his grandmother for the love she had showered on him. Unfortunately, she passed away when his business was getting successful. He got married a few years later and had a child. Life has been going well for him, and they decided that they could afford to take an overseas vacation. Ri nation had been their first destination.

Speaking of his son, Xie Wenchang soon guessed that it must have been his naughty son who had quietly put that color pen into his pocket. Xie Wenchang’s craving for a cigarette kicked in during the shopping spree, so he went outside to smoke. As he walked out, the anti-theft detector sounded off when it detected the unpaid product in his pocket. The security guard did not even allow him to explain or find out how the color pen got into his pocket. The guard had called the police straightaway. That was how he ended up in the Metropolitan Police Department.

“You don’t have to moan about this. Perhaps, in the Hua nation, this matter could have been settled by subsequently paying the money for the item. But in our country, we do not tolerate theft at all. But a large franchise like Ito Yokado Supermarket is very strict about such behavior, so sending you to the police is a standard protocol,” Miyazaki Ronjin interrupted as he was driving.

Looking at the rear-view mirror, Xiao Luo could see the reflection of Miyazaki Ronjin’s eyes and noticed yellowish eye mucus in the inner corner of his eyes. It was eye gunk! Although he was disgusted, Xiao Luo did not ask him to wipe them off.

Xie Wenchang smiled nervously and said, “I understand, Sir. I will make sure this does not happen again.”

******

******

It did not take long for them to reach Ito Yokado Supermarket. The renowned department store had an entrance that somewhat resembled a five-star hotel. It was full of people—some were heading in to shop while some had already done their shopping. The shoppers who were leaving the store had come out with their hands full of paper bags and smiles.

Before the car could stop, Xie Wenchang stuck his head out the car window and shouted, “Honey!”

Xiao Luo saw a woman at the entrance who looked confused and worried. She had with her a little boy who looked around five years old.

As the car came to a halt, Xie Wenchang jumped out and ran towards the woman as fast as he could.

Xiao Luo felt gratified seeing the family reunited again. He smiled as he watched them at the entrance hugging each other.

When he approached them, he could hear the woman talking to Xie Wenchang in between sobs. “Where have you been? I thought that someone had kidnapped you! We have been so scared, do you know that?” she cried.

Xie Wenchang’s eyes were all teary, now that he could finally see his family again. “Honey, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later. I am so glad that you didn’t wander around. If not, I wouldn’t have known how to find you and our son,” he said.

“You dumb*ss, you scared me. I…” the woman moaned, then she finally broke down and started crying out of relief.

“Honey, I swear that I would never let such a thing happen again,” Xie Wenchang said as he hugged his wife tightly.

They hugged each other for a good few minutes before letting go. Then, Xie Wenchang calmed himself and said, “Honey, we have to thank this gentleman. If not for him, I would still be in police custody for another seven days. His name is Xiao Han, and he is also from Hua nation. He is a police officer who has been assigned here to investigate the recent cases of our Hua nationals that had gone missing.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much!” cried the woman.

She thanked him profusely and then turned to her son and said, “Say thank you to uncle.”

“Thank you, Uncle!” the little boy said in his high-pitched, singsong voice.

The boy looked up and stared with Xiao Luo with his baby doll eyes. He had a big innocent smile and an angelic voice. He looked like a little angel from heaven, and although he was a boy, he was cute as a clay doll. The dimples on his cheek made him look even cuter when he smiled.

Xiao Luo patted the little boy on his head and smiled.

The little boy saluted him in a formal posture, and it made Xiao Luo feel awkward. He was not an actual police officer, after all.

Before the family left, Xie Wenchang thanked Xiao Luo once again and wished him well. He hoped that Xiao Luo would successfully solve the cases and rescue all their compatriots who had been missing in the Ri nation, and bring them back to Hua nation safely.

As he watched the family leave, Xiao Luo was deep in thought. Why were Fu Yiren and the other five Hua nationals the targets for abductions? Were they related, or were they just randomly kidnapped by the perpetrators?

“Let’s go,” a rather tired and coarse voice spoke out.

Xiao Luo could tell that it was Miyazaki Ronjin without turning around as he detected the pungent scent of the man. The smell was a mixture of cigarette smoke and a sour body odor because of a lack of self-grooming. It left a strong imprint of Miyazaki Ronjin on Xiao Luo’s senses.

“Where to?” asked Xiao Luo.

“We are asking for help from the Yakuza. To solve such matters, we need the right tool for the job. If we want to find that black SUV, the Yakuza might be more efficient than the police,” Miyazaki Ronjin said with no hesitation.

Xiao Luo looked a little surprised. “The Yakuza?” he said.

Xiao Luo looked at Kimura Akino quizzically and said, “Didn’t Mr. Akino say that the Yakuza does not exist in Dongjing?”

“Nonsense. There are always two sides to a coin, and one does not exist without the other—they are symbiotic in nature. This boy knows nothing,” Miyazaki Ronjin scowled.

Kimura Akino gawked awkwardly at the man. He had believed that the Yakuza did not operate in Dongjing. After all, in every place he had visited with Miyazaki Ronjin, the people had always greeted them with smiling faces, though there were the occasional fierce-looking ones. How could they be Yakuza?