Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 255 - 254: Big Trouble

Chapter 255: Chapter 254: Big Trouble

Regardless of the situation, Xia Yu planned to notify the Neon Department of IGO about the incident first, to see their reaction before considering a plan of action.

The "Gourmet Food Club" was a sworn enemy of the IGO organization, and their brazen acts in the public eye were not unrelated to IGO’s permissive stance.

After calling the police, Xia Yu also dialed Shinohara Shigetaro’s number.

Soon, the sound of police sirens echoed through the shopping district.

This time, it was that middle-aged police chief again; he led the team to the scene, and shortly afterward, an officer brought surveillance footage from the nearby streets. Xia Yu, Eriina, and the middle-aged police chief huddled in front of a laptop to review the footage.

"The crime took place at eight fifteen in the morning..."

The police chief pointed at the timestamp on the video.

Xia Yu’s face was somber. In the footage, just as he had ridden off on his bike, several men in black, each carrying a paint can, appeared on the screen.

Tiqie Eriina pursed her lips and said coldly, "Police Chief Matsuda, since there is surveillance footage, there shouldn’t be a problem catching them, right?"

"No problem!"

Police Chief Matsuda replied.

Surprise flashed across his eyes. By then, Tiqie Eriina had removed her mask, and her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. Matsuda of course recognized this star chef of the Far Moon Lineage, the famous "Divine Tongue" of the Neon Food World.

In reality, had the complainant not been a restaurant owner, the Taito Police Station would have, at most, sent one or two officers to deal with such a minor public order incident that didn’t rise to the level of a criminal case. They would have conducted a cursory investigation, just for the sake of appearance.

"Then please take the trouble to catch and arrest them all!" Tiqie Eriina said angrily.

Police Chief Matsuda’s expression turned serious, and he turned his head to instruct his officers, preparing to take the footage back to the station and use the internal network to identify these individuals.

At this moment, two cars parked one after another in front of Xia’s shop.

"Minister Shinohara!"

Seeing the man in a coat step out of the front car, Police Chief Matsuda’s expression changed slightly as he came to attention and bowed ninety degrees.

The other officers also stopped unanimously and paid their respects to Shinohara Shigetaro.

This head of the IGO Neon Department was in fact a minister with real power. Even the national prime minister had to bow and be courteous to him, let alone the minor officials below him.

Liangzi Lina alighted from the second car.

Matsuda and his officers bowed and greeted her again.

Shinohara Shigetaro did not look pleased. Tomorrow, the Special Envoy from the IGO headquarters would arrive in Neon to conduct a review of the ’Special Level Candidates,’ and now, this ’Special Level Candidate’ happened to be harassed by the sworn enemy of IGO.

’Special Level Candidates’ represented a great honor, an acknowledgment of those with immense potential who had already reached the level of ’near’ Special Grade chefs.

Since the founding of IGO, there had been only a very few ’Special Level Candidates’ from Neon, with the most recent one being that predecessor who also obtained the ’immediate admission’ symbol from Chiyoda Shrine thirty years ago.

For potential candidates who might rise to ’Qilin’ chefs, Shinohara Shigetaro naturally wanted to protect them by every possible means.

"Police Chief Matsuda, you must apprehend these people," Shinohara Shigetaro said with a deep voice, instructing, "I will sue them in the name of an IGO department minister. The charges will be... suspected intimidation, plotting against a Special Grade chef, and obstructing and disturbing the business operations of a Special Grade chef!"

"If possible, I will also request that the IGO headquarters’ legal department get involved and use the ’Culinary Eight Laws’ commonly accepted in the international culinary world to sanction them!"

Police Chief Matsuda’s complexion visibly changed.

Special Grade chefs?

A little way off, several officers exchanged glances, astonishment in their eyes.

If the victim was a Special Grade chef, the standard public order punishment regulations no longer applied.

Those people were in big trouble!

Many officers thought gleefully to themselves.

Under normal public order rules, those who splashed paint could at most be charged with public harassment and detained for ten to fifteen days before being released. However, with the victim being a Special Grade chef and with charges pressed by the IGO organization, the seriousness of the case escalated dramatically!

Even more frightening was the prospect that if IGO’s legal department also got involved, this matter might very well become an international issue.

Matsuda understood the severity of the situation; feeling a heavy weight in his heart, he called his officers to get into the police cars and rushed back to the station as if their rear ends were on fire.

Shinohara Shigetaro’s involvement in the case with the IGO organization, and the involvement of a special-grade chef, meant he had to report to the police chief, who would in turn escalate the report to the higher-ups at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

No matter what, a foreseeable storm was about to erupt in Tokyo.

Tomorrow, all the news media would definitely mention the frequent police deployments throughout the police stations in Tokyo.

...

"Please come in—"

After seeing off a group of police officers, Xia Yu welcomed Shinohara Shigetaro and Liangzi Lina into his shop with a refreshing smile.

As soon as Shinohara Shigetaro took his seat, he apologetically said, "This matter is due to a lapse in supervision by the IGO organization. In fact, we’ve been keeping a watch on important figures from the ’Gourmet Society’ and their activities in Neon."

"Liangzi!"

He continued in a deep voice, "For the next month, no, until this matter is resolved, you’ll stay at Xia’s Main Store!"

"Yes!"

Liangzi Lina answered without hesitation.

Hey, hey!

Xia Yu criticized internally, shouldn’t it be the police’s job to provide protection? Why a woman?

"The police can’t get too deeply involved in our struggle with the ’Gourmet Society’..." Shinohara Shigetaro explained at a measured pace, with a meaningful look in his eyes, "Plus, Liangzi can further curb the Gourmet Society’s underhanded tactics! There are some methods you can’t even imagine!"

"Don’t think too much about it; Liangzi is our main female protector from the IGO Neon Department’s Defense Bureau. It’s her responsibility to protect those genius chefs, and that’s her job."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu bowed his head, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Alright, but Miss Liangzi can stay at the family inn next door. That property is already mine, and Miss Liangzi is free to choose a room and make modifications as she pleases," Xia Yu said, blinking.

Liangzi Lina’s mouth quirked up slightly, and she asked out of the blue, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, no, no."

Xia Yu waved his hands, "Xia’s Main Store is too cramped, ahem, with only one bathroom. It’s inconvenient for men and women to live together."

It hadn’t been a problem to live with the old man before, but living with a woman was a different story; there would be no place to hang clothes, and Xia Yu would feel uncomfortable.

Tiqie Helinai’s eyes revealed a trace of amusement, obviously pleased with Xia Yu’s arrangement.

Now that the IGO organization had raised the alert level and assigned a capable protector, Xia Yu felt a sigh of relief. This way, he could buy himself at least a month’s time.

In fact, if he were to actively challenge Smith from the ’Gourmet Society’ to a Food Duel, Xia Yu wasn’t sure about his chances of winning.

But it would be different a month later.

Firstly, he would transition to a Special Level Candidate status and gain enough understanding of the special-grade field to grasp as many Special Grade Recipes as possible, increasing his chances of victory naturally.

In other words, now was not the time to initiate a Food Duel; he needed to keep his cool.

After discussing for some time and realizing it was midday and they were hungry, Xia Yu stood up from his seat and headed to the kitchen, leaving behind a comment, "Minister Shinohara, Miss Liangzi, please wait for a moment. I will treat you with one of my latest recipe creations!"

"A latest recipe creation?"

Shinohara Shigetaro and Liangzi Lina exchanged glances.

Seeing this, Eriina chimed in, "I’ll vouch for him, it’s a hundred percent Special Grade Cuisine!"

"Oh?" Shinohara Shigetaro raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

...

Sirens resounded densely throughout Tokyo.

Far Moon Group Building.

In the executive office at the top floor.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Dojima Yin folded his arms, overlooking the streets below, his attention caught by several speeding police cars with flashing red lights, "Interesting, what kind of major event is happening in Tokyo, stirring up such a commotion."

He turned around, intending to ask a friend who held a high position at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but his deputy, Sena Hikari, rushed into the office in a flurry, shouting as he entered:

"Boss, something’s happened, a big incident!"