Ichijō Mirai is always up to something.
When Morofushi Hiromitsu turned on the TV, the emergency news was already on.
It was breaking news, but the newscaster was very calm and organized, "Attention all citizens, some criminals have escaped from the detention center, and it has been reported that..."
And then there's a picture of the detention center.
A reporter, standing near the guardhouse, sidesteps with a serious look on her face and motions for the camera to take a picture of the brightly lit guardhouse behind her.
She briefly told her that the runaway was a premeditated plan, that no one had been hurt in the detention center, that only a small number of criminals had escaped, mostly criminals who had stolen the rich man's antique paintings, vases and other collectibles, and that the real criminals hadn't escaped, and that she asked the public not to be unduly alarmed.
One more thing that was not mentioned was that the criminals had taken a number of weapons with them when they retreated and fled.
Morofushi Hiromitsu was reading the news when he felt his cell phone vibrate, so he looked down to find Ichijō Mirai in a private chat about assignments based on a serious 'You're no good, don't come to the rally, there's something more important waiting for you' speech.
[If I remember correctly, you seem to be a pretty good shooter? You were able to hit the instructor on the first floor from the third floor even through the staircase handle.]
...huh?
What do you mean by the second half of the sentence?
The second message quickly sent, this time not a question, but a positive sentence: [You shoot well.]
Sent another half: [Suitable for when in the distance to lock the enemy]
This sentence was not finished, but referring to the news 'the criminals took away a bunch of weapons', symbolizing that they are currently well armed, Morofushi Hiromitsu can already deduce the next half of the sentence: sniper.
He pressed the button and replied: [I'll use a sniper rifle...]
[But I have no experience in actual sniping. If you believe me] He hadn't finished typing this sentence, and hadn't sent it out, when he saw the second half of the sentence that Ichijō Mirai sent slowly: [My observer.]
Well, it's true that it's a sniper...what?
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "?"
If we count by number, snipers can be divided into two types: one is a lone wolf sniper who fights alone without an observer, and the other is a sniper who works in coordination with teammates and has an observer.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Morofushi Hiromitsu is certain that Ichijō Mirai is a lone wolf sniper for the simple reason that snipers and observers need to be close.
In order to snipe accurately, snipers and observers are often required to work as a pair, even breathing and beating in the same rhythm, and to snipe very, very close together, trusting each other absolutely.
Ichijō Mirai couldn't do anything more than 'absolutely trust his observer'.
Morofushi Hiromitsu moved his hand, and just as he was about to reply, he saw that Ichijō Mirai had replied to his previous message: [You know how to shoot a sniper rifle? That's great, but it's useless.]
[Don't worry, I won't give you a chance to defect to an enemy sniper.]
[I can't get the enemy sniper's observer, and the enemy sniper can't get you!]
[You're my observer, so don't read the group's confusing messages, just get to Shinjuku at 20:50.]
[I'm going to spy on the information.]
*
Why at 21:00?
It's not a good time to launch a surprise attack. If you want to launch a surprise attack, the best time is in the early hours of the morning, when humans are at their most relaxed, and Ichijō Mirai has just escaped from prison with his men, so you can make a decisive move.
Ichijō Mirai's escape from prison would have been the perfect time to strike. If the enemy was thought to be on high alert after the battle, then the attack could not have been made the next day.
But Ichijō Mirai chose to attack at 21:00 the next day.
Until he arrived in Shinjuku and met Ichijō Mirai, Morofushi Hiromitsu still hadn't figured out what the key point was.
But he saw his equipment: a high-powered scope, a rifle, a spare sniper rifle.
And a sniper position at least ten meters away from Ichijō Mirai.
Ichijō Mirai took only the sniper rifle.
With a sniper rifle in his hand, a spare sniper rifle at his side, and hundreds of rounds of sniper ammunition lined up, he looks like he's not sniping at the enemy, but rather, he's trying to kill his way through the bustling neighborhoods of Shinjuku.
In contrast, Morofushi Hiromitsu has a spare sniper rifle without a single bullet.
He: "..."
He looks left to Ichijō Mirai's sniper position, then right to his own sniper position ten meters away, not understanding, but shocked, "Mirai-san, snipers and observers..."
They can't be that far away!
And why isn't there a single bullet in the backup sniper rifle?
"Ah, don't worry, I'll protect you and never let the enemy take you," Ichijō Mirai assures seriously, then looks sideways at the two sniper positions and thinks hard, "Isn't it too close?"
"I can't help it, I'm not used to people being too close to me when I'm on the move."
He's a little embarrassed. "It's sociopathic."
Thank you. It's sociopathic. I don't want to see anyone alive when I'm on the move.
"..." Morofushi Hiromitsu said with difficulty, "I see."
"But, Mirai-san, you didn't have to prepare so many bullets, did you?"
Facing Ichijō Mirai, he was euphemistic, "It looks horrible, almost as if it's going to be a replica of that bloody public sniping case from three years ago."
At that, he was struck by the fact that the perpetrator's code name was 'Satan', and Ichijō Mirai's code name was 'Messiah'.
"Really?" Ichijō Mirai didn't even blink, "No way, I'm Messiah."
"It's almost time."
The sniper position faces a shopping street 500 meters away.
Ichijō Mirai briefly explains the target: a bar at the end of the street.
The two gangs had been trading in a remote area of Shinjuku, and the leader had survived and taken up residence in the bar, which had a very high traffic count.
Bars are their home base, and they got their start running illegal deals in them.
"It's the most crowded time of the day, but it's okay, just a few shots and the bar will be empty."
Ichijō Mirai reassured Morofushi Hiromitsu, "Don't worry, don't worry about the replica."
While most of the cadets were responsible for infiltrating the bar in a variety of ways.
"I've already been to the bar in advance, and I've gotten a rough idea of the bar's situation, and I've gotten a floor plan of the bar from the police, but some of the spots are guarded by multiple people, so there's no room for maneuvering, and there are mechanisms that need to be operated at the same time, so it's impossible to pass through them alone."
Morofushi Hiromitsu realized that Ichijō Mirai actually had some regrets, "He's smart."
He was silent for a few moments as he watched Ichijō Mirai push down his headset, commanding the first batch of cadets as they managed to infiltrate, and then raising his scope to the target bar.
The bar was brightly lit.
The enemy is an apparently legitimate black man with a lot of experience.
With the strength of the police cadets, this was bound to be a deadly battle.
And so it was.
The first minute the first group of cadets infiltrated, nothing happened.
Two minutes after the first batch, and one minute after the second, a cadet was spotted hiding from surveillance and opened fire.
Shots were fired, and a fight broke out.
Ten minutes after the first group of cadets entered, the battle was over, half of the cadets were killed or wounded, the bodies of the cadets and gang members lay on the ground, and the leader managed to escape from the bar with his inner circle of men.
He was killed by Ichijō Mirai in three blows.
…
Morofushi Hiromitsu thought: "This battle is bound to be a deadly one.
In the fifth minute after the first group of cadets sneaked in through the back door, an alarm was triggered in the surveillance room.
The alarm sounded, and the battle began.
Half of them were killed, and the leader of the group fled the bar and was killed by Ichijō Mirai.
...
Morofushi Hiromitsu thought to himself, 'This is going to be a battle with a lot of dead and wounded.'
In the seventh minute, the first group of cadets managed to take over the surveillance room and cracked the mechanism to get the device and the code that needed to be activated at the same time.
The second batch of cadets infiltrated the negative floor of the chief's building, and while taking care of the guards, they were caught unawares and fired upon.
When gunfire erupts, a fight breaks out.
...
...
Morofushi Hiromitsu held up his scope and was about to speak when he noticed a gust of wind at his side and looked over.
Ichijō Mirai waved his hand without looking back, "Take over my sniper position, observer."
"I have high blood pressure, I can't watch this."