Chapter 1014

Yūasa Yōichi sat at his workstation in the temporary office of the Special Investigation Headquarters, the LSD test report he had just retrieved from the drawer spread out before him.

He stared at it for a long time.

Outside the room, countless police officers came and went; many began a dragnet search around the garbage dump, while another unit led by the sharp Inspector Takahashi, with twenty or thirty officers, began inspecting the operations and members of Akasaka one by one, and the other units started checking surveillance footage.

Starting with Uesugi Muneyuki, the Japanese police finally learned how to review surveillance.

However, surveillance near the garbage dump was scarce, and the area around the garbage trucks in the southern ward was an industrial zone with even fewer cameras, making it hard to gather sufficient evidence; much more could only be hoped for from eyewitnesses.

Yet Yūasa Yōichi remained silent, staring at the drug test report, and he began to understand.

Huh, I get it!

He started piecing all the fragments back together in his mind.

Hirate Sarina went missing before the concert.

In the surveillance footage, she could be seen wearing casual clothes, a hoodie, alone, exiting through the small door of the backstage fire escape; the footage showed her stride was normal, with no signs of coercion.

So, for a national idol constantly surrounded by her agent, assistant, and operations team 24/7, what reason could possibly cause her to suddenly, without any warning, inexplicably leave just as the concert was about to begin, after already having rehearsed?

Inspector Yūasa Yōichi understood—because of the aftereffects of LSD.

Clearly, according to this test report, Hirate had taken LSD before the concert began; LSD has strong hallucinogenic effects and causes visual distortion, loss of direction, and collapse of judgment.

She might not have known where she was going at all, merely driven by an uncontrollable impulse to escape the place that made her feel suffocated. She thought she was on the "King's Way" or the "Grand Route," but in reality, she was walking toward a completely unfamiliar direction.

And that direction ultimately led her to a barren wasteland from which she could never return.

So, this explains why Hirate suddenly acted this way.

This counts as solving part of the police's doubts.

Otherwise, they would completely fail to understand why Hirate inexplicably left at that special time.

But this brings up a new problem.

Where did the LSD come from?

Yūasa Yōichi!

It must be Yūasa Yōichi! Only Yūasa Yōichi!

The scheming frog keeps feeling your belly!

The reason is simple: Hirate's living environment is highly sealed off—her agent, assistant, operations team, and group members are constantly with her.

She could not have purchased LSD from external channels, nor could she have gone anywhere alone unnoticed to buy anything.

The only person who could let her slip away from the team's sight and be alone with her is Yūasa Yōichi!

Yūasa Yōichi could get her to request leave from operations under the pretext of "business endorsement" or "local cooperation," allowing her to say "I have something today, so I won't attend rehearsal" without being questioned.

If the LSD came from Yūasa Yōichi, then he must certainly know she took hallucinogens on the day of the concert or the day before, and also certainly know she left while under their influence.

The damn egg-pain Yūasa Yōichi continued his deduction.

Yūasa would of course worry, of course be anxious!

Because if he didn't know, it would be "she went missing." If he did know, it would be "she went missing after taking the drugs he gave her."

The difference between these two "not knowing where she is" is the scale of responsibility!

Even, we can go further!

Isn't it possible that Yūasa often parties with Hirate, getting high together, you take a puff, I take a puff?

Very likely!

So no wonder Yūasa Yōichi is so concerned about this case! So no wonder Yūasa specially came over to emphasize he also doesn't know Hirate's whereabouts! Because Yūasa very likely took it himself! He's not just worried about Hirate—he's afraid this case will implicate him!

Scheming frog—

And thinking of this, Yūasa Yōichi's sudden surge of accomplishment was instantly frozen by a chill that shot up from the base of his spine!

If his deduction is all true, then what can he do?

To investigate this case, one must start from Hirate's LSD use.

But!

The top directive from the Prefectural Police Headquarters!

Hirate's private life cannot be made public! Her encounter with sexual violence cannot be made public! Her drug involvement cannot be made public!

Even her relationship with Yūasa Yōichi—a son of a former party secretary-general and current party general affairs head—this kind of "long-term sponsorship, private meetings" relationship, cannot be made public!

Because once public, public opinion will turn the whole matter into a massive scandal bomb.

Hirate will be redefined; she is now "an unfortunate victim," but once public, she will become "an idol involved with political figures, abusing drugs, and living a chaotic private life."

Her death will be labeled with all kinds of tags, her works will be re-interpreted, her family will be besieged by countless media for interviews.

So will the Yūasa father and son be held accountable?

Impossible! That political-business network will kick into action, using every means to redirect the blame toward the police.

"Why are you exposing the deceased's privacy?"

"Why are you turning an unfortunate young person's case into a tool for political struggle?"

And what about Yūasa Yōichi himself?

He is not Uesugi Muneyuki!

He does not have an old nobility surname or the entire Kasumigaseki network of connections, he does not have the "Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Junior Assistant of the Board of Censors" personally written by the Retired Emperor, he does not have a police commissioner father-in-law, he does not have the backing of Tokyo Marine Holdings, Nippon Life, Mitsui Sumitomo

and a host of conglomerates and insurance companies, nor does he have the support of all kinds of demons and monsters in his class, nor does he have the ratings and popularity of a national-level TV drama as endorsement!

His position at the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters, which he has held until now, relies on the standard career track and his personal ability.

He has no capital to ignore political pressure, nor does he have the authority to bypass the bureaucratic system.

He cannot be like Uesugi Muneyuki, pointing at Park Yoo-chun's nose on live TV and saying "You too!"—and the funniest part is that episode of "Hand of God" actually scored 37.2% ratings, leaving NHK stunned!

If he dared to do that, what awaits Yūasa Yōichi will not be public cheers and media praise, but a reprimand from the Headquarters Chief, cold treatment from the Police Personnel Department, or more directly, being transferred to a Hokkaido outpost as a forever-unpromotable police inspector.

To accuse these people, you cannot demand he prove he didn't take it; you need evidence proving he did take it!

He has no evidence!

The LSD test can only prove that Hirate ingested the substance before death, but cannot trace its source!

Yuasa Yang is the first secretary of a National Diet member, the son of a political figure at the level of Party General Affairs.

Without solid evidence, he could not possibly apply for surveillance of Yuasa Yang's communications or bank transaction investigations.

The Japanese police fundamentally lack the qualifications to investigate National Diet members!

Who has the qualifications? The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Unit!

But he is not Uesugi Muneyuki! Will the Special Investigation Unit listen to him?

But if he directly questions Yuasa Yang, the other party only needs one phone call for the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters to receive a "concern" call from Tokyo—such a call leaves no written record, yet every word clearly conveys the meaning "Do not touch this person."

The Police Headquarters Chief is merely equivalent to a bureau-level official, while Yuasa Masamichi, as Party General Affairs, is equivalent to a ministerial level, and the Party Three Roles' status is equal to that of the Four Ministers of the Cabinet!

Can Aichi Prefecture withstand this pressure?

Haha! Even the Special Investigation Unit may not necessarily withstand it!

Only Uesugi Muneyuki can withstand this pressure! For example, he still has the support of Onoda Kanbocho behind him, and he still has connections with the Americans!

But he cannot request Uesugi Muneyuki's assistance—still that same old saying: Uesugi doesn't care how you are, he'll surely come up and directly say Hirate was on drugs, she died from being gang-raped, and then the investigation would just drift toward Yuasa Yang.

Damn, if I can't handle Uesugi, can I still not handle you?

This is the dead end facing Nagase Ren.

Moreover, the killer of Hirate is not Yuasa Yang—according to Nagase Ren's speculation, Yuasa Yang could not have killed Hirate,

at least probably not.

The person who directly strangled Hirate should merely be a stranger, a malicious individual who appeared at the wrong time and place.

But Yuasa Yang knows Hirate took LSD, knows why she left, knows her condition.

Yuasa Yang is the key to solving "why she appeared at that place on that night," but to actually crack this case, what must be found is the killer, the killer! Even that group of killers! And obsessing over Yuasa Yang's line is extremely likely to yield nothing.

This won't work, that won't work, this isn't certain, that isn't certain, yet we must hurry to find the culprit?!

Nagase Ren painfully covered his own cerebrum in his position.

Advance and die, retreat and die, stand by and die!

The state is dead!

He only has one LSD test report locked in a drawer, one unpublished preliminary forensic report, and a growing feeling like standing on a cliff edge yet unable to retreat.

He sat for a long time, the Nagoya night outside the window had already completely sunk in.

Within the system, there is no true secrecy; he ordered a gag order at most to keep the LSD test report and Hirate's gang-rape incident confidential for a few more days, but it will eventually leak out.

There's no way, Japan has the Sunshine Law, especially since Hirate is still a public figure.

Nagase Ren painfully scratched his forehead with his fingernails.

Now is not the time.

He still needs more information.

He still needs to clarify how the formal鉴定 report on the LSD test will be written, needs to know whether the forensic side will issue a complete report, needs to confirm the timeline of the last few contacts between Yuasa Yang and Hirate, all those things he temporarily cannot obtain.

He silently set a priority in his heart: first wait for the formal鉴定 report, first lock down the deceased's final appearance location and possible eyewitnesses, first clarify where Hirate went after leaving the concert venue that night, then is the DNA test effect of the Jingye extracted from Hirate's body—however, the forensic side said it's difficult, Hirate has been dead for a week, Jingye is generally easier to detect within 72 hours, and the success rate drops significantly after 5 days, let alone in the extreme environment of a garbage dump under the Giantism observation.

Before these contents come out, Nagase Ren cannot act rashly.

But he also knows that every day delayed, Yuasa Yang's Hirate inheritance may be cleared once, and Hirate's final activity traces from life may be wiped away one layer.

He sat in this dilemma's crevice, like a pebble caught between two rocks, unable to advance, unable to retreat. The only thing he can do is wait.

"If the cuckoo does not sing, then wait until it sings." Nagase Ren said with a bitter smile.

But if the cuckoo does not sing and he will die, what should he do?

The next morning, Uesugi Muneyuki walked into the Special Mission Division office as usual.

He arrived earlier than usual today, because there was no rain on the way, and the subway had no delays.

He placed his briefcase on the desk, took off his suit jacket and hung it properly, sat down in the chair, and habitually glanced toward Okada Masayoshi's direction.

Okada was sitting in the acting section chief's position, flipping through documents, feeling the gaze, he raised his head, and their eyes met in midair.

Uesugi Muneyuki: "Nine~ Yin~ True~ Scripture~ (Japanese: Today really is good weather~)"

"Hey!" Okada Masayoshi casually replied: "Pinch your chrysanthemum!"

Uesugi Muneyuki slightly tilted his head: "Any new news?"

Okada Masayoshi raised his eyebrows: "No!"

The two stared at each other for about five seconds, while others in the office were still busy with their own tasks.

"Well, then when are we going to Nagoya?" Uesugi Muneyuki thought, as expected, Okada is not as good as Minami; if it were Minami, she wouldn't force him to speak up and ask personally.

Still need to learn one————on its granularity————

I AAA nationwide can fly's Uesugi is already hungry and thirsty!

This case should originally have been taken over by me!

Hirate Sarina's case has already been confirmed as homicide, involving a national-level idol, triggering nationwide and even global attention, the Aichi Prefecture police will likely request assistance from the National Police Agency within forty-eight hours, and the Special Mission Division, as the ace unit of the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Department, being named for support is only a matter of time.

Uesugi Muneyuki even checked the Shinkansen schedule.

Okada Masayoshi, however, shook his head: "No request received."

Uesugi Muneyuki froze: "What does 'no request received' mean? Explain, Okada, what does 'no request received' mean? Doesn't the Aichi Prefecture police want to solve the case?"

"Just the literal meaning! The Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters did not submit an application for assistance or guidance to the National Police Agency. The National Police Agency side issued no deployment orders. The Metropolitan Police Department also received no inquiry letter from Aichi Prefecture." Okada Masayoshi closed the folder in front of him, his tone carrying a hint of confusion he himself couldn't fully hide: "I was waiting for news yesterday afternoon, all the way until this morning, thinking it was just a procedural delay."

"But this morning I called the National Police Agency Criminal Investigation Bureau to confirm, and indeed, Aichi Prefecture had no movement. They themselves built a Special Investigation Headquarters, assigned police forces themselves, issued bulletins themselves. All investigative work is progressing within their own system, so far, no outward reach."

"Ah?! What meaning is that?" Following behind Uesugi Muneyuki, Ikeda Erena was stunned, the tall beauty female officer had her luggage ready, the box contained three pairs of garter stockings, Okamoto also stuffed two boxes: "Aichi Prefecture didn't request assistance?"

"This is not uncommon in Japan's police system; when prefectural police encounter major cases, if the case is sufficiently sensational and complex, they usually proactively apply for support from the National Police Agency, or the National Police Agency proactively intervenes to coordinate. But if the prefectural police believe they have the capability to independently solve the case, or for some reason do not want external forces to intervene, they can also choose to close the door and handle the case internally."

"Closing the door to handle the case usually occurs in two situations: either the case is very simple, they think it's unnecessary; or the case involves sensitive figures or sensitive relationships, they don't want outsiders to see." Kai Toru also followed, his face still bearing a hint of curiosity.

"Is that so?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned, suddenly looking toward Kanjō Wataru of the Prosecutor's Liaison System: "Chief Kanjō, what do you think?"

"In my view, Chief Uesugi, there must be suspicious circumstances!" Kanjō Wataru said in a low voice: "They obviously don't want us to go over!"

"I'll go find Commissioner Watanabe." Uesugi Muneyuki immediately stood up, the feeling in his heart growing stranger and stranger.

Although he didn't like Hirate, that didn't mean he wanted Hirate to die, and to die so miserably at that!

This Uesugi's conscience is very much present!

However, at the same time, the Police Commissioner's Office.

Watanabe Eiji sat behind the desk, three documents spread before him. The first was the latest bulletin from Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters regarding the Hirate Sarina case, the second was the Criminal Investigation Bureau's assessment report on "whether to proactively intervene," the third was the internal briefing his secretary had just delivered.

The Hirate case had brought him a flood of inquiry calls from the Cabinet Secretariat and the media, and every time he answered "Aichi Prefecture is investigating with full effort," he could feel the trust of the person on the phone in those words continuously declining.

What matter could be of equal importance to the Hirate case?

Watanabe Eiji opened the third document, and soon his pupils rapidly contracted.

"What is this?!"

>