Chapter 1007

On a sunny day in mid-June, the rainy season took a rare day off, sunlight leaking through gaps in the clouds and bathing the streets of Kudan South in Chiyoda Ward in bright, clear light.

Uesugi Muneyuki, Uesugi Minami, Ikeda Erena, and Saito Asuka stood at the base of a super-high-rise tower apartment, gazing up at the glass curtain wall gleaming in the sunlight.

This building is one of the newly constructed premium tower apartments in Chiyoda Ward over the past decade, modern in shape, with clean lines, standing out conspicuously in the surrounding somewhat low-key neighborhood.

But if you look closely enough, you'll notice that the window curtains on a certain floor are drawn more tightly than on the surrounding floors, never opened year-round, like a closed eye.

"Oh ho! I guess that floor is probably the place we're here to see." Uesugi Muneyuki gave a half-smile, looking into the distance.

"Huh?" Minami Ojou-sama clutched her belly, slowly getting out of the car with Ikeda Erena's support.

Uesugi Muneyuki has Spirit Vision, allowing him to see especially far, but Minami and Erena cannot.

As for Asuka, she was scrolling on her phone.

"Famous Japanese-American Chinese YouTuber Niu Zhihao confessed his feelings deeply to renowned voice actress Yohime Hitsuji on campus."

Asuka looked at the scene on her phone, couldn't help but beam with envy, thinking, How nice, campus romances really make people envious.

"A haunted house, is it?" Ikeda Erena glanced at it, couldn't help but mutter: "Why does it have to be a haunted house?"

"Because it's cheap." Uesugi Muneyuki said with a half-smile: "Normally, a 380-square-meter penthouse in Chiyoda Ward would cost over 1 billion yen, but this unit is very cheap—why not?"

"Eh???" Minami sighed and shook her head: "Anyway, a haunted house meeting Muneyuki is just perfect—a match made in heaven."

"Haunted house!" Asuka's eyes lit up excitedly.

The real estate agency's agent was already waiting downstairs.

A young man in his early thirties, dressed in the typical dark blue suit of agents, clutching a thick file in his hand, wearing a professional smile on his face.

But his smile stiffened slightly for a moment as the four approached, because he recognized Uesugi Muneyuki.

Ah, I see!

I was wondering who would want to come see this haunted house!

It's you!

Besides, apart from Uesugi Muneyuki, who else would have such a strong interest in haunted houses?

Damn! Maybe today I can actually close this deal!

A 400-million-yen big deal—I'll take a cut, and this year I won't have to work!

He quickly adjusted his expression, stepped forward and bowed: "So it's Mr. Uesugi Muneyuki from Tokyo University and Madam Uesugi from the Metropolitan Police Department—welcome, welcome! I'm Nakamura, the agent in charge of this property, and I'll be showing you around today."

As he spoke, he led them to swipe their cards through the lobby turnstile and take the elevator up.

The security features of Japanese tower apartments are absolutely solid—the elevator's mirrored surfaces are spotless, floor numbers flash rapidly on the screen, and it stopped upon reaching the 38th floor.

"President, welcome home!"

"This is the tower penthouse you're here to see today: 380 square meters of floor area, no shared area (in Japan, buying property doesn't include shared area), seven rooms, two living rooms, three bathrooms, plus a function room and a balcony of about 40 square meters. This floor has only this unit—one elevator, one household—privacy is excellent." Nakamura Chūkai pushed open the dark anti-theft door, and the door hinge let out a long-unused "creak" that echoed briefly in the spacious genkan.

"Nice, Japanese houses are nice—nice because there's no 30% shared area, and balconies sometimes only count one-third of their area, or even not at all!" Uesugi Muneyuki smiled as he entered the residence.

"What the heck is shared area? Can't I buy a 120-square-meter unit and only end up with 96 square meters usable?" Minami Ojou-sama couldn't help but complain.

Uesugi Muneyuki chuckled at the remark, thinking, Only 20% shared area—who are you looking down on?

In his past life, a relative bought a two-elevator-one-household unit in the city center—142 square meters on paper, but only 91 square meters actually usable.

Square meters.

The four stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows and spreading across the dark wooden floor in a large, bright patch.

This penthouse's space is indeed spacious.

The living and dining areas form an open-plan layout, with the living room alone larger than their entire current apartment.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lies Tokyo's cityscape: the distant green canopy of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower farther off, and even farther, the outline of the Skytree like a thin needle stuck in the skyline—so expansive it makes one want to take a deep breath.

Japan has relatively few high-rise buildings, so high-rise tower apartments offer exceptionally open and comfortable views.

Strongly recommended for those in need: consider living in tower apartments in Chiyoda or Minato Ward—beautiful surroundings, pleasant scenery, attentive service without disturbance!

Ikeda Erena spun once in the center of the living room, her high heels clicking crisply on the marble floor: "Wow—"

"This living room is bigger than my entire family home back home."

Meanwhile, Asuka had already walked to the balcony door and looked out, her cute eyes widening slightly as she turned and said: "You can see the Imperial Palace from this balcony! From now on, I can cook in front of Tokyo Tower!"

Minami Ojou-sama didn't wander around like they did; she stood in the living room center, one hand resting on her slightly rounded belly, her gaze slowly sweeping across the entire space.

Walls, ceiling, window frames, floor seams—she assessed every detail of the house with the precise gaze honed in the Special Mission Division, her expression calm yet satisfied.

If it's under 400 million yen, it's definitely worth considering!

Only Uesugi Muneyuki stood beside Nakamura, noticing something: this real estate agent always wore a look of wanting to speak but holding back.

"Go on, say it." Uesugi Muneyuki crossed his arms.

Nakamura cleared his throat, flipped open the file in his hand, and began introducing the property's basics: "This unit totals 380 square meters, 7 rooms, 2 living rooms, 3 bathrooms, plus a function room and a 40-square-meter balcony. The layout itself is excellent—north-south ventilation, ample lighting, and it's the only unit in the entire building with an independent function room, usable as a study, media room, or fitness area.

Property and management fees are set at the highest standard—24-hour security, gym, lounge, parcel lockers—all included."

Nakamura spoke a bit faster here, but still tried to keep his professional smile: "Naturally, three years of property fee reduction and tax incentives are included, and it's even half-price—if you're truly interested, Mr. Uesugi-san, we can discuss the exact price further."

"Right, Guldan, then Daikawei————oh no, what's the price?" Uesugi Muneyuki thought, You say it.

I love hearing murder cases the most!

Likewise, Minami Ojou-sama, Ikeda Erena, and Asuka all had their eyes light up.

You say it! We love hearing murder cases the most!

"Eh————well." The agent thought, This family seems rather abnormal.

Also————originally, a man and three women coming together to view a property is already strange, and Uesugi Muneyuki is obviously into the harem thing, which everyone in Japan knows.

"Then I'll just say it outright————this unit's previous owner was surnamed Sasaki. A family of four: husband Sasaki Yoshikazu, wife Sasaki Mika, and two children, one seven, one five." Nakamura Chūkai lowered his voice slightly, as if afraid to disturb something in the room: "A family of four, plus Sasaki Yoshikazu's mother—five people total, lived here."

He flipped to a certain page in the file, where the events were clearly recorded.

"This is a second-grade haunted house."

"According to Japanese law and agency regulations, we must disclose this."

He lowered his gaze and recited a passage he had practiced repeatedly: "About three years ago, more or less, because the neighbors smelled an unusual odor seeping from the crack of this household's door, they called the police."

"After investigation, the police found they could not contact the homeowner, and after multiple reports, they chose to break in. Upon breaking in, they discovered in the kitchen's commercial freezer the bodies of the five members of the Sasaki family."

"According to the forensic examination, the time of death was approximately two months before the incident. All five victims were strangled. The killer

arranged all the bodies neatly in the freezer after the crime, preserving them—his technique was quite skilled. There were no obvious signs of struggle at the scene, the door lock was not damaged, indicating the killer may have obtained legal access through some means."

"An acquaintance as the perpetrator?" Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin.

"At the time, the police did follow this line of investigation, but found little, questioned no suspicious individuals. Sasaki was a minor shareholder at Toshiba, had nominally retired, and had no known conflicts with others." Nakamura Chūkai said awkwardly: "On the contrary, in some places and corners of the residence, traces of someone living there are clearly visible."

"Therefore, the police inferred that the killer might have, in some way, been living parasitically in this household prior to the incident—possibly posing as a domestic worker, a renovation worker, or some long-term associate, or even the killer himself secretly resided in the home without the homeowner's knowledge. After killing the five, he sealed the bodies in the freezer and then vanished silently. To this day, he remains at large."

"What human-shaped sofa?" Uesugi Muneyuki said with a chuckle: "Also, the house is too large, and I guess the Sasaki family usually doesn't live here; often only an elderly person stays, right?"

"As expected of Uesugi-san, exactly so."

Nakamura closed the file, lifted his head, and glanced at the expressions of the four.

He found that the reactions of the four people were not quite as he had anticipated.

Asuka's brows furrowed slightly, but more out of curiosity than fear; Eirina leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her expression like "Oh, so that's how it is"; Minami's eyebrows twitched slightly, but she quickly regained composure, and she unconsciously glanced toward Uesugi Muneyuki standing at the balcony doorway: "What do you think?"

"Then what? Has this house remained vacant all along?" Asuka asked unconsciously.

Nakamura nodded: "Yes, it has remained vacant. During that time, there were several prospective viewers, but—nothing came of it."

"After the homeowner's death, according to inheritance law, this penthouse passed to his sister, but she couldn't afford the inheritance tax, so it reverted to the bank. Mitsubishi UFJ Group originally intended to convert it into office space or—"

His voice dropped another half-degree: "But after it was put into use, occasionally someone reported some—strange phenomena."

"For example, one could hear someone moving in the living room at midnight. The kitchen faucet would turn on by itself, and after being closed, would twist open again. Security room surveillance captured the living room lights turning on and off when no one was present, yet the fingerprint log on the entry door showed no one had entered or exited this household."

"Someone reported again, and after investigation, the police classified these phenomena as due to building aging, poor electrical contact, etc., and did not conduct a deeper investigation." Nakamura Chūkai said, glancing sideways at Uesugi at this point, very worried that Uesugi Muneyuki would say no.

However, Uesugi Muneyuki became even more interested.

You wanna get fierce? Can you get fiercer than me?

I'll draw the Sword of Heavenly Clouds, one sword per little buddy!

My Dharma Body and Qinghui Stone have long been starving and thirsty!

Fine, you're supernatural? I'm supernatural too!

"I think it's great. Lighting, view, area, layout—all very satisfactory. And the price is right, 50% off with two parking spaces and five years of property fee waivers included." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled at Minami Ojou-sama: "As for the haunted house, don't worry, I'm not afraid of haunted houses, and besides, I have Mai Xuejie!"

"I agree. The space is large enough. Both kids can have their own rooms, and there's also a separate study; later you can set up a workshop on your own." Minami Ojou-sama turned to Nakamura: "We're interested; can we discuss the specific signing process and price details further?"

Nakamura opened his mouth—he had been a real estate agent for so many years, had seen buyers who didn't believe in superstitions, but had never seen four people together viewing a haunted house, not even furrowing their brows, then immediately saying on the spot, "We can sign the contract."

He was stunned for two seconds, then broke into an even brighter smile: "Good, good! Then the specifics—I'll go back and prepare the contract!"

Great!

This haunted house can finally be sold!

Uesugi Muneyuki stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze sweeping over the dark wooden door attached to the living room wall.

Looks like the kitchen door?

Uesugi Muneyuki noticed a patch of wall-adjacent empty space deep in the kitchen corner, faintly visible were several deep indentations on the floor not fully wiped away, left by a large freezer.

At the same time, he saw something: in the afternoon sunlight slanting indoors, forming light and shadow, there was a very faint outline, almost imperceptible unless looked at closely.

That outline was roughly the build of an adult male, standing at the kitchen doorway, as if tilting his head to look at him, emitting a strong cursed grudge from within the shadow.

How many years have passed, buddy?

Uesugi Muneyuki blinked, then hummed a tune.

Gee~gee~gee~gee~babybaby~

Fine, buying a house even comes with a soul!

This deal, we're doing it!

At the same time, Nagoya, same time.

The Red Slope 46 dome concert had ended two days prior.

The members were given a short break by the management, most had already returned to their Tokyo dorms or hometowns to rest.

When Moriya Akane returned to her apartment in Tokyo Metropolis, she sat alone on the sofa looking at her phone screen.

She scrolled through her unread messages, seeing one from her agent: "Hirate Sarina still can't be reached. Have you messaged her recently?"

Moriya Akane fell silent for a moment, then slowly typed: "No.

In the idol group, it's naturally very typical plastic sisterhood; generally, while in the group they still sell some CP, but after graduation, few maintain contact.

Compared to Hirate Sarina, the Second Young Lady is more concerned about where to go on a date with Date next.

This group is unbearable! She's already thinking about an escape route!

Coincidentally, these years as an idol, she has also saved about 38,888,800 yen, planning to marry Date after graduation and use it as her dowry! Give Date a better apartment, then buy him a car—

After all, she and Date have been together before, not the first time, and she has always felt a bit guilty.

The agent's side remained silent for a few minutes.

Then a new message popped up: "Management held a meeting this afternoon. They said—if we still can't reach her by today, we'll have to consider reporting to the police.

66

Moriya Akane looked at that message, then locked her phone screen and placed it on the sofa's armrest.

She leaned back against the sofa, gazing up at the round ceiling light, and suddenly very tired, closed her eyes.

"Hirate?" (Unconcerned)

On the other side, in the meeting room of Red Slope Operating Company, the atmosphere was heavy and dull like low pressure during the rainy season.

Seven people sat around a long table, with Hirate Sarina's schedule, communication records, the last confirmed surveillance screenshot, a blurry image taken at Nagoya Dome backstage corridor, timestamp showing fifteen minutes before her disappearance, spread on the table.

A middle-aged man in a gray suit flipped through the communication records on the table again and again, then put them down, his voice carrying a layer of desperately concealed urgency: "Her phone's last network location was near Nagoya Dome. After that, no signal. No social media login. No calls. No emails. Her family asked, saying they had no contact with her."

Another female operations staff spoke, voice tinged with hesitation: "She had gone missing for one or two days before—but this time the duration is too long. Moreover, her luggage remains in the hotel room. Passport also there. She brought nothing." The meeting room fell silent. Everyone waited for someone to say that line.

Finally, the middle-aged man who had spoken first took a light breath and spoke slowly: "————Report to the police.

Just treat it as a missing person case. No one on the desk objected.

Someone began using their mobile phone to contact the police, someone began organizing the timeline and related materials.

That afternoon, Police Inspector Nagase Ren of the Criminal Investigation Division, Nagoya Police Headquarters, received the police report.

National Female Idol! Unmovable C of Red Slope 46! Super Newcomer Actress! Hirate Sarina, with tens of thousands of official paid fans, has gone missing!