The moment the three of them entered the meeting room, the same thought popped into their minds.
Had it not been for the failure of the arrest operation and the resulting dip in morale, the atmosphere wouldn't have been this heavy.
Sure enough, once all the officers involved in the operation arrived, the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department played a video on the projector with a grim expression.
But this video wasn't about another random street assault—it was footage from their recent failed attempt to capture the clown!
**"Stupid cops dare to stop me, the clown, from delivering justice? Time to teach them a lesson!"**
Reading the video title, the detectives in the room stared at the clown on the screen, their faces twisting with rage.
In the footage, it was clear: faced with two burly detectives, the masked clown initially turned and ran, with the two men in hot pursuit.
With loud shouts and an imposing presence, the two officers looked quite intimidating at first.
But what happened next made everyone's expression grow even darker.
Just as the clown was being chased, he suddenly turned and counterattacked—punching the leading officer in the face, then landing a solid kick to the chest of the second one who had just caught up.
As that one fell, the clown delivered a clean upward elbow strike to the injured officer's chin, and followed up with a spinning kick that knocked both men out cold.
After this, the clown even had time to strike a goofy pose before fleeing effortlessly.
The end of the video showed the clown performing parkour while being chased through alleys, using walls and obstacles with impressive agility, while the officers looked like clowns themselves.
The final shot was of the clown leaping onto a second-story rooftop and, under the helpless gazes of the officers, patting his butt and jumping onto another building out of sight.
**"Damn it!!"**
**"Completely lawless!"**
**"This is provocation! A direct challenge to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police!"**
As the video ended, the detectives burst into curses and shouts.
"Silence!!"
Toshiro Odagiri, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, scolded sharply, "You are detectives of the Metropolitan Police! Do you want to look like a bunch of gangsters?!"
Hearing his rebuke, the officers finally quieted down and returned to their seats.
"First and foremost, we must ensure the safety of the public," Odagiri said sternly. "Increase patrols across all streets and alleys. The safety of the citizens must come first!"
**"Yes, sir!!"**
The resounding response echoed throughout the meeting room as the fired-up officers tried to demonstrate their resolve.
"In addition to decoy-based ambushes, we need to take the initiative in other ways."
After a pause, Odagiri turned to Tang Ze and said, "Inspector Tang Ze, I'll leave the investigation of the clown to you. I hope you can uncover some critical clues."
"I've already found something after watching the video," Tang Ze said, drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh? What did you find?" Odagiri's eyes lit up.
"I had a suspicion even before this, but this video confirmed it."
Calm under the spotlight, Tang Ze posed a question, "Has anyone considered how the clown managed to film this video?"
"At first, I assumed the clown used staged setups, placing cameras ahead of time before attacking passersby.
And previously, he chose smaller streets with fewer cars but more foot traffic—areas where he could set up cameras unnoticed during quiet times.
But during our recent coordinated pursuit, I gained a major insight!"
Tang Ze smiled at the officers. "I'm not just trying to comfort everyone. While we didn't catch him, we did learn more about him.
Next time, with preparation, we won't be caught off guard.
And because of his arrogance and your pursuit, I discovered a critical clue. Did anyone notice how this video's perspective differs from the previous ones?"
Even the seasoned detectives in the room began murmuring as they realized the implication behind Tang Ze's words.
They had just uncovered an important piece of intel:
**The clown didn't film alone—he had an accomplice!**
This latest video captured their chase of the clown, yet the perspective was clearly behind the two officers, following them.
Meaning—the clown had someone filming him during the chase!
"Otani, those two are your subordinates, right?" Odagiri turned to a man in the front row. "Call them and ask if they saw anyone suspicious holding a camera."
"And the rest of you—if you were present at the scene, think carefully. Did you notice anyone like that?"
"Understood!" the man called Otani replied, then made a call under everyone's watchful gaze.
But after speaking on the phone, Otani shook his head helplessly. "Sorry. They said they didn't see anyone like that during the chase."
"Apologies, we didn't notice anyone suspicious either."
"Same here."
Just as a glimmer of hope began to rise, it was quickly extinguished.
But Tang Ze smiled and said, "Actually, that's good news."
Surprised, the detectives looked at him.
"If no one noticed a cameraman running alongside them, we can rule out the possibility of a pedestrian. After all, someone running with them would've drawn attention.
And since the chase led through narrow alleys, a car is also unlikely.
That leaves only one mobile filming method—**a bicycle**."
**(End of Chapter)**