The interior of the Crows was already in chaos, and the same was true for the upper echelons of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
"Odagiri, do you think Officer Sato's informant is the instigator of this incident?"
"Yes."
Toshiro Odagiri directly and frankly stated his opinion.
"The research on this drug, the human experiments conducted with it, and even the significance this drug represents, all point to one purpose: to make us focus more attention on that organization."
"Then, are you saying the madness of the guards in the pharmaceutical factory was also part of their scheme?"
"This… I cannot be certain."
Facing this question from Superintendent General Hakuba, Odagiri hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. He had no evidence to support such a claim.
"So, this remains a big question. But there is another issue, Odagiri, have you noticed it?"
"Why would Officer Sato's informant give us such intelligence in the first place? Is there a reason behind it?"
"What is the informant's true purpose?"
Odagiri could not provide a reasonable answer.
Superintendent General Hakuba was not angered by this uncertainty. Instead, he shifted the topic.
"Odagiri, your suspicion of Officer Sato's informant is primarily due to the excessively heavy casualties suffered by our action team."
"So tell me, do you think this situation is normal?"
"You mean… the casualty count is abnormal?"
Odagiri immediately understood Hakuba's meaning.
"Our action team members are all trained police officers. Each officer should have been able to handle the situation. So why was the team so slow to react inside the pharmaceutical factory?"
"This…"
Odagiri suddenly realized.
From the recording devices, it was clear those mad guards were not completely immune to bullets. At the very least, bullets could still kill them.
In other words, if the police officers wielding assault rifles had reacted quickly, they could have mowed down the charging guards. The only ones at risk would have been the officers with riot shields at the front. There should not have been such devastating casualties.
"I think Officer Sato's informant probably didn't expect our action team to suffer losses this severe."
"A team of forty against thirteen unarmed madmen actually suffered one-sided heavy casualties. How ridiculous."
Superintendent General Hakuba's face was twisted with anger.
"A mole has infiltrated the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and they even arranged for our newly formed action team to participate in such an operation. Which genius gave that order?"
The action team was supposed to be an elite unit composed of specially trained officers.
Originally, the formation process was extremely strict. But due to special circumstances, the department had recently needed more manpower, and so they hastily formed a new action team.
And it was precisely this temporary unit that was deployed in the operation.
Insane, wasn't it?
When Hakuba found out, he too was in disbelief.
Odagiri's face twitched.
Ten officers with riot shields at the front, backed by thirty armed with assault rifles, could not even bring down thirteen unarmed, frenzied guards.
At first, he thought someone had orchestrated this outcome. Now he realized he had been played by his own people.
With such a disparity in equipment and firepower, no matter how drugged the guards were, the team should have had time to respond.
Subsequent results proved the team did fire, but too late. Their quality was poor. They froze when the battle began and failed to pull the trigger in time, leading to disaster.
In other words, the action team that participated was nothing more than a temporary unit with no cohesion at all.
"Odagiri."
At this moment, Superintendent General Hakuba calmed himself.
"I need you to investigate why that newly formed team was assigned to this operation. Has a mole from the organization infiltrated our ranks?"
"As for Officer Sato's informant, do you still believe they were the mastermind?"
Odagiri shook his head.
A poorly arranged action team, forty officers against thirteen unarmed maniacs, yet still suffering heavy casualties—this wasn't about whether the informant's intelligence was accurate. This was an internal police problem.
"The mastermind is forcing us into direct conflict with that organization, deliberately causing the guards to go mad and mutilate themselves, leaving behind the drugs, formulas, and even the true purpose of that research."
"However, Officer Sato's informant has never shown such tendencies. In fact, they helped us crack a major bombing case before."
"Combined with the suspicious deployment of this team, I believe there is a third party pulling the strings."
"And I think that third party wants us to suspect this very thing."
"Exactly."
Hakuba also believed the deployment was orchestrated by a third party.
If it had been a purely internal police decision, once a killer organization's stronghold was identified, especially one confirmed to house military-grade weapons, there was no way they would assign a temporary action team.
"Whether the mole is from that organization or a third-party instigator, both are very serious for us."
"That organization has already been exposed, but the third party remains hidden in the fog. At this critical moment, we must control our suspicions, especially toward those who have shown themselves to help us."
"Odagiri, next time you doubt someone, consider all the factors. For now, your focus should be on our own internal affairs. Whether it is a mole from the organization or a third-party infiltrator, we must dig them out."
"I understand."
Odagiri nodded slightly. At this moment, his task was clear.
(To be continued.)