radicalducati Page 94
Page 94
Sato Miwako glanced at Takada Yuuki, whose eyes were darting around, and was about to speak when he spoke first: "No... it's nothing."
What am I doing?
Don't misunderstand... okay?
This is just like her usual willful self!
Yuuki Takada started to let his mind wander.
"Anyway..."
Sato Miwako said earnestly, "I know you don't want others to see the two of us together."
"No...no, no, that's not it."
“That’s exactly it,” Sato Miwako insisted.
“That’s really not the case,” Yuki Takada immediately retorted.
“It should be the opposite,” Yuuki Takada said, scratching the back of his head. “You must feel embarrassed to be with such an old-fashioned guy.”
“Ah…what?” Sato Miwako continued, “It doesn’t matter what, I can decide who I’m with.”
"But other people will care."
Even if you feel that nothing matters, the people around you will still misunderstand something.
Yuki Takada analyzed his own perspective: "Besides, it's not necessary to be together right now."
As they were talking, Yuuki Takada was suddenly gently pulled forward by Miwako Sato.
His entire body suddenly lost control and lurched forward.
"Takada-senpai, why did you say such discouraging things? Just like you do in the Metropolitan Police Department, keep a close eye on me."
“Look…” Sato Miwako said, reaching out to turn Takada Yuki’s face so he could look at her directly.
"Look, look! You're still plotting against me all along." Sato Miwako became agitated. "Come on, let's do what you've always wanted to do today."
"Now that we're in such a nice place, why don't you stop pretending?"
"No... calm down, Sato, I don't even know what you're talking about." Takada Yuuki finally managed to catch his breath from those two clouds, stammering, "Anyway, just let me go first!"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hear what you were trying to say clearly."
"Come on, look me in the eyes and say it."
Miwako Sato nodded. "I understand."
"Phew." Yuki Takada breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, Sato is still listening to me now, otherwise I would really be finished today."
“I’m very unhappy.” Sato Miwako said with her head down, “Ever since you met Yumi last time, I’ve felt something is off. You always call me by my last name so coldly, and you’re always busy talking to other girls.”
“Every time I see these, I feel like you’ve become a completely different person, Takada-senpai.”
"I don't want to feel like we've become like that."
Yuuki Takada looked at her, suddenly feeling somewhat at a loss. "May I ask you, what do you mean by saying these things?"
Miwako Sato retorted, "What do you mean? I don't understand."
"Um... how should I put it?" Takada Yuuki's eyes darted around. "You mean, you want me to call you Miwako like Yumi does, right?"
"You don't like me having too much contact with other girls either, do you?"
"You're saying things just like my girlfriend right now?"
"Huh?" Sato Miwako raised her head with satisfaction, her face slightly flushed. "No...no, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Wait... were you serious just now?!"
Seeing her like this, Yuuki Takada gave her a polite smile.
……
After returning to the hotel, they said goodnight to each other at the door of their room, and then Sato Miwako went into room 1506 alone.
She carefully checked the door locks and windows, and only truly relaxed after confirming that everything was safe.
After taking a shower and changing into comfortable pajamas, she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the twinkling stars outside.
There was a text message on her phone from Yuki Takada, telling her to get some rest.
She gave a brief reply, without elaborating on the details of tonight, only saying that she would be going back tomorrow.
Just as she was about to turn off the light and go to sleep, she heard a very faint, almost imperceptible noise at the door.
Sato Miwako's movements froze instantly, and all her senses immediately went into alert mode.
She held her breath, moved silently behind the door, and looked out through the peephole.
The corridor was dimly lit and deserted.
Is it an illusion?
Or were other guests passing by on the floor?
She waited patiently for a few minutes, but there was no further sound.
Her heightened alertness prevented her from easily ignoring this anomaly. She gently pressed her ear close to the door panel and listened carefully.
A silence.
Perhaps I'm just being too sensitive?
She took a deep breath, trying to relax.
Senior Takada is in a room not far away. There shouldn't be any major problems on this floor. Perhaps I'm just overthinking it.
However, just as she was about to leave the doorway, her phone screen suddenly lit up with a text message from Yuuki Takada, which was very brief:
"Sato Miwako, are you asleep? If it's convenient, could you open the door? I need to talk to you about something."
Sato Miwako's heart tightened.
Why would Takada-senpai come looking for her at this time?
And it was done via text message?
This is not in line with his usual style of making phone calls or knocking on doors directly.
She looked through the peephole again, but the area outside the door was still empty.
A sense of unease arose spontaneously.
She didn't reply to the text message or make a sound, but instead thought quickly.
She recalled Yuki Takada's earlier instructions and his composed demeanor when he paid the bill.
If Takada-senpai wanted to contact her, he would most likely just call her directly.
Instead of sending such a somewhat abrupt and... tentative text message, you could walk to the door and knock.
She immediately dialed Yuki Takada's number.
The phone was answered after only one ring, and Takada's slightly puzzled but clear voice came from the other end: "Miwako? What's wrong? It's so late, is there anything you need?"
His background noise was very quiet, as if he were in a room.
Sato Miwako lowered her voice: "Takada-senpai, did you send me a text message just now?"
"A text message?" Takada Yuuki's tone immediately turned serious. "Didn't I just send you a text message telling you to get some rest? I was just organizing some documents. What's wrong? What happened? What did you receive?"
"A text message from your number asked me to open the door, saying something was wrong." Sato Miwako spoke quickly, her heart pounding slightly.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of Takada Yuuki quickly getting up. His voice was low and urgent: "Stay in your room, and absolutely do not open the door! Lock the door, I'm coming right now!"
The call hadn't been disconnected; Sato Miwako could hear rapid footsteps and the sound of a door opening on the other end.
She immediately locked the door herself and quickly moved to a relatively safe corner of the room, her body tense and her eyes sharply scanning the doorway and any possible entrances.
In less than thirty seconds, hurried but as quietly as possible footsteps came from outside the door, along with Yuuki Takada's hushed voice: "Miwako, it's me, Inspector Takada. Are you alright?"
Sato Miwako carefully checked through the peephole and saw that it was indeed him. Her expression was serious, and her eyes warily scanned both sides of the corridor. Only then did she quickly unlock the door.
Yuki Takada slipped inside and immediately locked the door again.
He was dressed casually, clearly still awake, and even had his sidearm in his hand, though carefully concealed at his side in an inconspicuous location.
"What exactly happened?" Sato Miwako asked immediately.
Yuuki Takada frowned, quickly checking the door lock and peephole: "I came over as soon as I received your call. I didn't see anyone in the hallway. Are you sure the text message you received was from my number?"
Miwako Sato handed him her phone to look at.
The sender's name was indeed "Yuki Takada," and the content was exactly as she described.
Yuki Takada's face darkened: "I didn't send this. My phone has never left my side."
He took out his phone and searched through the sending history, but there were no relevant records.
"It could be some kind of fake base station or number spoofing technology. The goal is to trick you into opening the door."
The two looked at each other and saw the solemnity in each other's eyes.
The other party was able to know their room number precisely and chose this time to probe or even attack them.
This shows that the threat is much closer than they imagined.
“They haven’t given up after all, and… their methods are very cunning.” Takada Yuki’s voice was cold. “They might even know our personnel distribution.” He glanced at Sato Miwako. “What about Miyamoto Yumi?”
"I'll notify her right away!" Sato Miwako reacted immediately, dialed the phone in Miyamoto Yumi's room, briefly explained the situation, and told her to lock the door and not to open it for anyone, and to wait for their message.
Miyamoto Yumi was clearly startled awake and readily agreed.
After hanging up the phone, the atmosphere in the room became unusually tense. The once warm and comfortable hotel room now felt like it was filled with an invisible threat.
"They may still be nearby, and may even be monitoring the room in some way."
Yuuki Takada lowered his voice, walked to the window, and cautiously lifted a corner of the curtain to observe outside. "The buildings downstairs and across the street need to be checked."
Sato Miwako also felt a chill of fear. If she hadn't been more vigilant and had opened the door so easily... the consequences would have been unimaginable. The other party's patience and precision were chilling.
"What do we do now?" asked Miwako Sato, her hand unconsciously resting on her waist—even though she wasn't carrying a gun at the moment.
Yuuki Takada pondered for a moment, his eyes sharp: "We can't just sit here and wait to die. Now that they've made their move, we have to react."
“Miwako, you stay here, lock the door, and stay on the phone with me. I’ll contact hotel security and my trusted subordinates to immediately lock down the floor and conduct a search. At the same time, we need to retrieve the surveillance footage from this floor.”