The heavy door creaked open. A sharp, capable woman with azure dragon horns stepped in and took a seat at the far end of the interrogation table.
Moments later, the duty officer escorted Aki Hayakawa in, seating him directly across from her.
"First time meeting. I am Ch'en Huijie, Superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department's Special Inspection Unit. I've reviewed your initial statements," she said, her voice professional and clipped.
"Your familiarity with law enforcement protocols, your reactions under questioning, and even the subtle professional habits you've displayed lead us to believe one thing: you are indeed a colleague with solid, specialized training."
Aki nodded slightly, then glanced pointedly at the handcuffs rattling on his wrists. The message was clear: Then can I go?
"However," Ch'en continued, her gaze hardening, "you still haven't explained how you appeared out of thin air inside the L.G.D. headquarters. No entry records, no Originium Arts signature—you simply manifested. Do you have a handler? What was your objective in infiltrating the Guard Department?"
True to his honest nature, Aki replied truthfully:
"I have no handler. I don't know why I appeared here. My two companions and I were brought to this place by an unexplainable phenomenon, and we were separated upon arrival."
"If you're looking for a cause, it likely lies with my friend, Denji."
Aki vaguely recalled Denji saying "Confirm" three times before the world shifted. His best guess was that Denji had formed a contract with some bizarre, unknown Devil.
"The L.G.D. should have enough reach in this city. If you can help me find them, I'm willing to use my abilities to assist your operations in any way necessary."
Aki was confident in his utility, and his tone was sincere. But Ch'en's expression turned subtle as she recalled his medical and physical evaluation results:
Physical Strength: Substandard
Battlefield Mobility: Excellent
Physiological Tolerance: Substandard
Tactical Planning: Excellent
Combat Technique: Excellent
Originium Arts Adaptability: Flawed/Ordinary
According to the L.G.D. testers, Aki's constitution was likely weaker than that of a healthy child in Terra. If it weren't for his obvious tactical expertise and an uncanny combat experience that allowed him to predict an opponent's moves, a medical report this "frail" would have never cleared the L.G.D.'s recruitment threshold.
Ch'en didn't know where this "weak" man's confidence came from.
"Helping you find people is possible, but first, I need you to identify these," she said, pulling up photos on her terminal and sliding it over.
The familiar scenes of destruction and the crude chainsaw mural on the wall made Aki's heart skip a beat. A flicker of relief—of joy—crossed his face.
Ch'en, watching him like a hawk, didn't miss that spark of happiness.
Aki quickly realized he was being scrutinized. He was a man with tragic experience in losing comrades, and from Ch'en's aura, he sensed a faint, underlying trace of grief and anger. Kindred spirits recognize each other easily.
Aki pretended to analyze the crime scene, then casually dropped a question mid-sentence:
"Did we lose one of our own?"
The phrasing and tone were so much like a colleague's inquiry that Ch'en answered instinctively: "One missing—"
She cut herself off, suddenly alert. This man is fishing for intel!
Ch'en stood up abruptly, slamming her hands onto the metal interrogation table. Under her pressure, the metal visibly buckled and warped—a display of raw strength that left Aki internally shaken.
"Remember your status! I am the one interrogating you. You will answer my questions and provide the suspect's profile immediately!"
Ch'en radiated an overwhelming pressure. Aki didn't doubt she could take his head off with a single strike, but his gaze remained steady, reflecting a "do as you will" resolve. He was the type of man who would let himself be crushed to dust before betraying a comrade.
Ch'en stared into his eyes for a long time. Realizing he was a stubborn "hard-bone" type, she shifted her tactics.
"You probably don't realize how many masters—some far stronger than me—lurk in Lungmen's shadows. If your friend continues this indiscriminate slaughter, he'll cross the wrong people sooner or later. He won't even know how he died. Cooperating with me now is the only way to save him."
Her display of strength hadn't been mindless rage; it was a warning to this "frail" man that Lungmen was not a place where one could act with impunity. Whether in the government, the private sector, or the underworld, dangerous experts were everywhere.
She pulled up her own service record on the terminal and handed it to him.
"You're a colleague. You can read a record. I won't claim to be perfectly impartial, but I never settle personal scores through my badge."
Aki took the device and skimmed Ch'en's history. It was a flawless record of a just and competent officer. From her proposed legislations, it was clear she even harbored a deep sympathy for those on the fringes of society—people like Denji.
Aki realized he had to trust her. "That kid..." he began, sounding slightly awkward. "He's never had much of an education. He's simple-minded and easily manipulated. If he really caused harm to your people, I'll cooperate with the L.G.D. to make amends for him..."
Aki was truly Denji's "big brother"—the type who would walk through fire to shield him. Moreover, Denji might be the only link back to their original world.
Ch'en, however, was dissatisfied. As an officer with a fierce sense of justice, she couldn't accept a lawman making excuses like "he's simple" or "he's just a kid" to justify a criminal's actions. She was trying to find A-Fa; why was this man acting like his cooperation was a rare gift?
"Aki Hayakawa, I welcome your cooperation, but his actions are his responsibility. You don't need to answer for him. I want facts, not excuses."
Aki paused, understanding her anger—normal police focus on public safety, not on babysitting semi-stable Fiends. But he couldn't let go of Denji.
He decided to demonstrate his unique value.
"In thirty seconds, a female colleague with cat ears will come looking for you. She will say there is urgent business to discuss."
Ch'en knit her brows. "Don't try to change the subject—"
Before she could finish, a knock sounded on the door.
A Feline officer hurried in, her expression grave. "Madam Ch'en, there's an emergency meeting. Chief Wei requires you in the briefing room immediately to discuss countermeasures!"
Ch'en's pupils contracted. She whipped her head around to look at Aki, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Aki didn't explain. He simply met her gaze with a calm, steady look.
Ch'en knew that in a commercial hub like Lungmen, people would pay tens of millions of Lungmen dollars to hire someone with this man's "foresight" as a consultant. But she was still an officer first.
"Your ability is indeed significant. Your friend's crimes aren't yet irredeemable—he's only killed gang members so far, though he may have injured a police informant. I will do my best to track him down."
She paused, then added: "But if he harms the innocent, I will show no mercy."
Aki nodded. Knowing Denji's "canine" loyalty and nature, he didn't believe the boy would kill innocents.
Maybe he won't... Hopefully he won't...
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Arknights: Chainsaw Man Buccia
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