Defending the Samples

Masao Fukuda is an employee of the Japan Athletics Association. At this International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Osaka Grand Prix, he was responsible for collecting urine samples from male athletes after their events. This task wasn't particularly desirable; Masao Fukuda often felt like a toilet cleaner from decades ago. The process was not only awkward, but when dealing with some black athletes, he always felt a strong sense of inferiority.

Finally, Masao Fukuda completed his task. He placed all the samples into a specially designed box and prepared to meet up with a colleague. After delivering the samples to the testing center, his work would be done. However, before he could walk a few steps, a masked man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, snatched the box from his hands, and ran off.

"Robbery?" Masao Fukuda was momentarily at a loss. He had never experienced a robbery before, but then he remembered that the man in the mask had stolen the freshly collected samples.

"What has the world come to? Who would rob something like this? Has the security in Japan deteriorated to such an extent?" Masao Fukuda cursed under his breath. However, he knew that if the samples were lost, he would definitely be held responsible. So he immediately gave chase.

"What's the point of stealing urine samples? I get it, he must have mistaken the box for something valuable because of its unique design. If he knew it only contained urine samples, he wouldn't have taken it." With this thought, Masao Fukuda started shouting, "Robbery! Stop! Don't run! Someone has stolen the urine samples! Someone has stolen the athletes' urine samples!"

He shouted several times, certain that the thief could hear him. If the thief realized there was no money in the box but only urine samples, he would definitely abandon the heavy box and run away. However, the thief did not drop the box and ran even faster instead.

...

Tomoko Iida was a reporter who had just completed her internship. Though she was still a newcomer, she dreamed of capturing a big news story, making a name for herself, getting promoted, getting a raise, becoming a host, and achieving the pinnacle of success! But as a rookie, her superiors wouldn't assign her to cover major stories. She was only tasked with covering trivial street news or simple entertainment reports.

However, Tomoko Iida was not content with covering trivial news. She wanted to capture major exclusive stories. So even after the events at the stadium were over, she was still wandering around with her cameraman partner, hoping to bump into a famous athlete.

"The athletes should be leaving by now! Looks like there's nothing to gain today," Tomoko Iida thought disappointedly. Just as she was about to leave, she heard shouts not far away.

"Robbery! Stop! Don't run! Someone has stolen the urine samples! Someone has stolen the athletes' urine samples!"

Tomoko Iida immediately looked in the direction of the voice. She saw a masked man holding a box and running quickly, followed by a man wearing a yellow vest with a badge around his neck.

Tomoko Iida recognized that the yellow vest was the official attire of the Osaka Grand Prix staff.

"Someone's stealing athletes' urine samples? Someone is actually stealing athletes' urine samples? What's there to steal?" Tomoko Iida immediately realized she might have stumbled upon a big scoop! She envisioned getting promoted, getting a raise, becoming a host, and reaching the peak of her career! She grabbed her cameraman partner and joined the chase with Masao Fukuda.

...

Seventeen-year-old Riku Eguchi from Kumamoto Prefecture was a renowned sprinter. Recently, he had caught the attention of Waseda University, Japan's highest level institution, with its track coach visiting Kumamoto to evaluate him personally. It was also rumored that Japan's national team coach, Keiichi Kobayashi, had started to notice this young sprinter.

Two years ago, in September, at the Asian Athletics Championships, Riku Eguchi watched on television as Zhang Guan broke the Asian record, shattering the glory of Japanese sprinting. Back then, Riku Eguchi vowed to defeat Zhang Guan and reclaim the honor of Japanese sprinting. However, last year at the Olympics, Zhang Guan broke the world record and won the championship. Soon after, Zhang Guan broke the world record again in Yokohama. Riku Eguchi knew he would never be able to surpass Zhang Guan in his lifetime.

This time at the IAAF Osaka Grand Prix, Riku Eguchi had traveled from Kumamoto to Osaka specifically to witness Zhang Guan's race in person. The showdown between Zhang Guan and Gatlin was decided at the very last moment, making Riku Eguchi's blood boil with excitement.

"When will I be able to run that fast?" Riku Eguchi thought, suddenly feeling a bit disheartened. Although he worked hard and was considered one of the best among Japan's younger generation, he didn't think he was more outstanding than his predecessors on the Japanese team.

"I should focus on breaking 10 seconds first," Riku Eguchi consoled himself. At that moment, he heard distant shouts.

"Someone's stealing the urine samples! Someone's stealing the athletes' urine samples!"

"What? Stealing urine? Is the security in Osaka that bad?" Riku Eguchi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a masked man holding a box and running quickly, with a man in a yellow vest behind him.

"The yellow vest looks like it's from the Osaka Grand Prix staff. But the speed difference between the two is too great; he won't catch up with the masked man. I bet the masked man will shake him off in a few seconds," Riku Eguchi, being an athlete, was very sensitive to speed and made an accurate judgment with just one glance.

However, Riku Eguchi didn't move. He had no intention of helping Masao Fukuda. The Japanese believe in doing one's own job; for example, catching thieves is the police's job, and saving lives is the doctor's job. They call this adherence to order. Acts like standing up to a criminal aren't something Riku Eguchi would do unless there was a benefit.

Riku Eguchi was about to leave when he noticed that two more people had joined behind the staff member in the yellow vest. One of them was a woman holding a microphone, and the other was a man carrying a camera.

"Journalists!" Riku Eguchi's eyes lit up. He immediately thought that if he could catch the thief in front of the reporters, he would definitely make the news. This would give him the image of a heroic youth standing up to a criminal, and such a good reputation would make getting into Waseda University a certainty.

The next moment, Riku Eguchi started running towards the masked man.

...

Nagata Kawai was a delinquent from Osaka. He was supposed to graduate from high school this year, but a week ago, he was expelled for fighting, leaving him without even a high school diploma. Since then, he had been wandering around aimlessly, hanging out with people like him. People like Nagata in Japan have no future. Without an education, no company would hire them, making it difficult to find a job, and they would likely end up on the path of crime.

Recently, Kamezo Kondo had approached Nagata Kawai and gave him a large sum of money to steal something. Although robbery was a serious crime, for someone with no future like Nagata Kawai, the large sum of money was too tempting. Moreover, since he was under eighteen, the punishment would be lighter, so he agreed without hesitation.

Everything went smoothly. Nagata Kawai grabbed the box and started running. He used to be on the school track team in his first year of high school, so he was confident in his speed. Running away was his strong suit. As expected, the man in the yellow vest couldn't keep up with him and would soon be left behind.

During his escape, Nagata Kawai heard Masao Fukuda's shouts from behind.

"This box contains the athletes' urine samples? No wonder it's so heavy. I thought it was valuable jewelry! But why would someone want me to steal this? It's worthless! They must have some ulterior motive," Nagata Kawai thought, planning to use it as an excuse to extort more money from that spectacled man.

At that moment, he noticed a figure approaching quickly from behind. When he turned to look, he saw that the person was almost upon him.

"How is he so fast? Where did this guy come from?" Nagata Kawai muttered to himself.

Soon, Riku Eguchi caught up to Nagata Kawai and grabbed his clothes. Nagata Kawai struggled but couldn't break free. In desperation, he threw the box at Riku Eguchi, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Riku Eguchi cried out in pain, but he didn't let go. As an athlete, his endurance and willpower were much stronger than an ordinary person's. The pain only made Riku Eguchi more determined to catch Nagata Kawai.

As they struggled, Masao Fukuda also caught up, and the two of them managed to subdue Nagata Kawai.

Within a minute, two police officers arrived at the scene. Since this was the area around the Osaka Grand Prix, the Osaka Police Department had deployed many officers to ensure order and safety, which is why they arrived so quickly.

Seeing the police, Nagata Kawai immediately gave in. He knew he was in big trouble this time. Nagata Kawai knew that his only option was to sell out his accomplices.

"I was ordered to do this!" Nagata Kawai immediately shouted to the police.