A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover Chapter 123: One-on-One Meeting

Haji wanted to fly at everyone who was there and duke it out with them. But before he could do so, one of the policen had already completed putting a gag on gumi’s mouth.

Haji froze in place since the person responsible for pinning gumi down also pointed a knife at her throat.

Even though the policeman wore a bona fide policeman uniform, his expression was nothing short of criminal when he pressed the knife on gumi’s throat. Haji could see the fleeting life in gumi’s eyes as the knife was pressed a little bit more. A deep red started running through the edge of the knife as a drop of blood slowly flowed by the end of it, coagulating right above gumi’s neckline. gumi flinched, but even though she wanted so hard to scream, the gag in her mouth prevented her from doing so.

"If you so much as move an inch, we’re going to slit her throat and you can say goodbye to your girlfriend." The man wore a smirk on his face as he threatened Haji.

Haji wanted to move, and a burning rage filled his eyes as he just stood there, motionlessly. He had enough experience in this dangerous part of the town to know that the people in his house right now an business. He couldn’t act recklessly since life and death were on the line here. If it were only him in the house, Haji wouldn’t have thought twice about struggling to death. But no, gumi just had to be there.

"Why now, of all tis?" Haji gritted his teeth in frustration as a bat hit him squarely on the head. A dark liquid trickled on the surface of his eyes, and even though Haji couldn’t clearly see the color of it, he knew it was blood.

There was no ti for Haji to recover since another strike of the bat hit him on the side, then on his shoulders, then on his head again. He fell forward, his body seemingly detached from his mind since he couldn’t control it anymore.

gumi tried to scream Haji’s na but nothing ca out of her mouth. She tried to struggle, but the person who pinned her down wrapped his arm around his neck in a chokehold position. It didn’t take long before gumi’s eyes fluttered and she slipped into unconsciousness.

As for Haji, he was still awake, well, barely awake. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the footsteps of the policen gathered around. The taste of blood was on his lips, and his head throbbed in pain. Then he noticed a glint, a shining shard of glass from the broken window a couple of feet from him. Haji didn’t waste any ti bringing his head forward, grabbing that shard of glass with his teeth and putting it in his mouth.

Unconsciousness finally overca him.

"Well, that was easier than most. Should we get going?" One of the policen asked, slinging Haji on his shoulders before loading him in the trunk.

While the policen continued to look for the deed to the house, Shelly Pearson and the other two debt collectors arrived at the scene, bringing with them new orders from the boss himself. The policen weren’t that elated when they saw them, but they didn’t complain since they were close to the boss.

"We have direct orders from Basilio, we’re going to take the girl with us." Shelly Pearson said a matter of factly as Tamotsu and Jiro (the other two debt collectors in their group) picked up gumi and put her inside their car. "She’s a valuable person, we can’t afford to leave her in your care." Shelly continued.

"All right, if that’s what the boss said then sure. But we’re demanding another million from him if he gets the ransom." The policeman pointed out.

Shelly Pearson nodded in response. "We’ll bring it up to the boss. Did you get the deed?"

As if on cue, soone inside the house scread. "WE FOUND IT!" The policeman talking to Shelly Pearson smiled as he jerked his thumb toward the house.

"Looks like they’ve already found it." He said with great confidence.

.....

anwhile,

The atmosphere in Tokyo during the transition between day and night gave Kikuchi Koji a sense of relaxation as he opened all the windows of his car. There were little to no people since the rush hour hasn’t happened yet, and that’s why the roads and highways were a bit spacious— the optimal ti to drive around town.

"Let’s see here... to the right, right? There should be a building... yep, here it is." Koji muttered to himself, whistling a tune as he parked in front of the building.

The building was twenty stories tall with a familiar logo of the letter ’M’ on top of it. Kikuchi Koji couldn’t help but laugh since it was almost identical to his company’s logo design. After all, both companies only had one letter as their logo. "So this is the Mizunari Company huh? It seems decent." He muttered to himself before he purposefully walked towards the entrance.

A lady in a secretary outfit approached Kikuchi Koji before he reached the entrance. The lady then bowed towards him before addressing him. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Mizunari is waiting in his office. Please follow ."

"Lead the way," Kikuchi Koji casually greeted back before the secretary turned around and headed towards the elevator. The people by the reception slightly bowed towards Kikuchi Koji as he strode inside. Because of his partnership with the Mizunari Company, he was well-known amongst the employees.

After a disinteresting ride in the elevator, Koji and the secretary made their way through a spacious and carpeted hallway. They arrived in front of a huge wooden door that led towards the office of Mizunari Masaru, owner of the Mizunari Company and the father of Mizunari Keiichi.

Creak!

The wooden door slowly opened and a familiar face peeked outside. It was none other than Mizunari Masaru, wearing an amicable expression on his face as he smiled at Koji.

"Oh, it’s Koji, please co in!" He gestured, opening the door fully before he returned to his desk.

"Pardon the intrusion." Koji bowed toward Masaru before he headed inside. He assud a seat right in front of Masaru’s desk and silently sat there, waiting for Masaru to permit him to speak.

Masaru looked from afar. There, his secretary stood in front of the entrance. He gave her a signal to close the door and stay outside— to which the secretary nodded and obeyed his gesture to the letter.

"I was waiting for you. I thought that it was only a matter of ti before you schedule a one-on-one eting with . And no, you don’t have to deny it. I was connected to that incident after all, whether I liked it or not. Ask away."

After heaving an exhale, Kikuchi Koji cleared his throat and spoke. "Well then, if I may, I’ll cut right to the chase." He began. "How are you related to Ricardo Basilio? Are you personally related to him?"

A smile appeared on Masaru’s face as he clasped his hands together. "Before I answer that," He responded. "How are you related to Sasajima Seiji and Sasajima Mizuki?"