Chapter 1020

June on Okinawa's main island, the tail end of the rainy season still lingered in the sky, but this afternoon the cloud layer had thinned somewhat, and the setting sun slanted over from the western sea horizon, bathing the entire beach in a warm, molten gold.

The Okinawa Hyatt Hotel where Uesugi Muneyuki's party was staying had a dedicated barbecue area by the sea, enclosed by a wooden fence, with several mosquito-repellent lamps already lit.

The sea breeze blew in from the direction of the coral reefs, carrying salt and the oily smoke of grilled meat, mingling together to form a sensation unique to seaside dusk that made people relax.

Okada Masayoshi had booked his return flight for the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.

Indeed, it wasn't a major case, not even qualifying as a criminal case; the Okinawa police had classified it as a civil matter, punishable by at most one and a half years in prison, and given that Miyabe Tamaki was an older woman, she might not even serve a full year before release.

"Is women's legal resistance really that strong?" Asō Kōta clicked his tongue, only to be glared at by Ikeda Erena.

The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office had already formally issued the indictment, and subsequent court proceedings did not require the Special Mission Division to remain present.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Okada Masayoshi announced the arrangement of "tomorrow, free activities all day," whereupon Maeda Toshihide jumped up on the spot, pulling Asō Kōta and Date Nagamune to go rent diving equipment for cave exploration.

"Cave diving! Cave diving! Cave diving!"

"I'll handle discarding the rope!" "I'll handle stirring up the silt!" "I'll handle nitrogen narcosis!"

"Who said there's no perfect crime?" Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but shake his head.

At this moment, the charcoal fire on the barbecue grill had reached its peak intensity.

Maeda Toshihide was in charge of flipping the meat, his technique so practiced that Asō Kōta glanced sideways, remarking, "The men of the Maeda family seem naturally adept at tasks requiring patience and precise heat control!"

Asō Kōta crouched nearby, holding a folding fan to fan the flames, his eyes squinting from the smoke but unwilling to move away.

Date Nagamune sat on a folding chair, holding a bottle of chilled local Okinawa beer, his gaze falling on the silhouettes of several sailboats slowly moving across the distant sea surface, his thoughts drifting to the Second Young Lady.

If I could spend this wonderful time with the Second Young Lady, how great that would be!

Of course, this would not hinder Date from experiencing the bubble bath in Okinawa.

Okinawa bubble baths, Americans all say they're great!

Date is a traditional person, and for traditional Japanese men, this kind of behavior is not considered infidelity at all.

Nanxiang Yui sat beside him, unusually not looking at her phone, simply watching the charcoal pieces in the fire gradually shift from orange-red to dark red, while Okada Masayoshi sat upright with proper posture, leaning against the chair back, a plate of freshly grilled bitter melon with egg and several skewers of pork rolls with asparagus before him: "Have some? Xiao Ban said that when you come to Okinawa, you should eat more of this, which you can't get in Tokyo."

"Thank you, Zhongyuan also told me that." Nanxiang Yui nodded.

The two shared a quiet, understanding smile.

One is the son of the Vice Minister of Finance, the other is a Chief Managing Director of the Mitsubishi UFJ Group.

From a certain perspective, the Special Mission Division truly is a hidden dragon and crouching tiger, each of these second-generation heirs backed by formidable influence.

Meanwhile, the only person at the scene without any backing, Ikeda Erena, was humming a tune, in excellent spirits.

As a Japanese-Filipino-Spanish mixed-race immigrant, Ikeda Erena naturally loves Iberian sunshine, beaches, and various activities. Today she wore a white spaghetti-strap floral-print dress, the fabric light and soft, the neckline slightly lower than usual, revealing the lines of her collarbones and shoulders, and also subjecting the buttons at her chest to the most severe test, nearly popping open.

A slender string tied around her waist, loosely knotted, cinched the dress's waist into a curve, and the two snow mounds on her chest swayed wildly with her body's movements as she walked, drawing stares from everyone nearby.

The hem of the dress reached a point above her knee by the width of a fist, exposing the entire leg wrapped in sheer nude nylon stockings; the ultra-thin Wolford Pure 10D invisible nude-feel pantyhose appeared almost thickness-less in the evening light, only making her skin tone look even and lustrous.

This was clearly worn to satisfy Uesugi Muneyuki's preference.

On her feet she wore a pair of wedge espadrille sandals, the heels not high but making the tall beauty's silk-stockinged legs appear even more delicate and slender.

She was bending over to carry a basket of skewers from the table to the barbecue grill, and in that small motion, the dress fabric tightened from the shoulders downward, emitting a sound of strain, tracing the smooth curve between her back and hips.

"Sunshine, beach, sea, cactus, and an old sea captain!" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed as he reached out and slapped Ikeda Erena's buttocks. The other members of the Special Mission Division couldn't help but glance, thinking, only Uesugi would dare do that.

Sure enough, Ikeda Erena flushed with anger, glaring at Uesugi Muneyuki, covering her now-red buttocks with her hands, her entire beautiful form trembling like a wave for a moment, yet in the end she said nothing, her face flushed as she sat down beside Uesugi Muneyuki.

Ikeda Erena's movements felt natural, as if she were simply on vacation; when she bent over, the hem of her dress slid up slightly, revealing the subtle arc where the stockings met the back of her thighs, then she straightened up again, linking her arm with Uesugi Muneyuki's, her face lit with unreserved pride: these past few days, Uesugi has been hers alone.

Just like Sony's exclusive!

Before Uesugi Muneyuki lay a plate of Okinawa specialties: sea grapes and several slices of sliced island tofu.

Sea grapes are a local specialty seaweed, strings of tiny green beads on the plate shimmering with a watery luster; biting into them releases a burst of faintly salty seawater flavor in the mouth.

He ate slowly, his eyes occasionally scanning the news on his phone screen.

He had been monitoring the situation in Nagoya, but the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters had sent no collaboration request to the National Police Agency, so all he could do was wait.

Uesugi Muneyuki took a sip of Okinawa's local awamori liquor—spicy on the palate, with a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste, like the character of this island: "From Okinawa, passionate as fire, loud voice, disturbing the neighbors, Master, this passage was originally meant to describe GAKKI-san, but I somehow feel it fits you just as well."

"Hmph hmph~ No choice, Minami said this period is entrusted to me!" Ikeda Erena said proudly, completely missing Uesugi's sarcasm, instead feeling quite pleased.

I just like being with you—what's wrong with that?

"Hahaha" Uesugi Muneyuki said nothing, merely planting a kiss on Ikeda Erena's cheek: "Master's kiss!"

What disgusting people these two are! everyone thought.

In the Metropolitan Police Department, they're opening the Ooku, Uesugi Chief, you lecher………please guide us! everyone then began to admire them again.

"There's a press conference in Nagoya today." Nanxiang Yui suddenly spoke, still holding her beer, her gaze having somehow already shifted to her phone screen: "Four p. m. Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters."

Uesugi Muneyuki lowered his cup, tilting his head slightly toward the phone. Maeda Toshihide lifted his head from beside the grill, still holding the tongs: "Which channel is broadcasting it?"

"NHK and several commercial stations should have switched to live broadcast." Nanxiang Yui said.

"Look." Uesugi Muneyuki indicated he wanted to watch.

When the television screen lit up, Nagase Ren was already standing behind the podium in the press hall.

In the image, he wore a dark suit, his tie tied tightly, his hair neatly combed, his face very calm.

Any results?

Everyone in the Special Mission Division thought.

"Regarding the Hirate Sarina case." Nagase Ren's voice came from the television speaker, clear despite the crackling of the barbecue charcoal and the howling sea wind: "As the head of the investigation headquarters for this case, I hereby inform everyone of the current investigative progress. To date, we have not identified any clear suspect. I personally bear full responsibility for this. In the initial investigation of this case, I failed to timely integrate key clues, resulting in the loss of timeliness for some evidence. This is my personal error in judgment, unrelated to other colleagues at the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters."

"Red bean paste, private mosaic!"

Having said that, Nagase Ren bowed deeply, apologizing.

"I personally assume all responsibility, a thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes—all are mine alone. Starting today, I accept punishment, temporary suspension for reflection, and I will hand over the follow-up of this case to Superintendent Takahashi."

"That's all, desu!"

The press hall erupted in a clamor and commotion, reporters began raising their hands, someone stood up, and flashbulbs flashed continuously.

Thereafter, Nagase Ren rose and left his seat at the press conference.

"Just this?" Maeda Toshihide couldn't help but complain: "Just this? Ah, is this Nagoya's trump card? With over four hundred police deployed, five days of continuous investigation, and this is it? Ah, just this? What a joke? If an apology were useful, why would we need police at all?"

"What on earth are they doing over in Nagoya?" Nango Yui then said, pinching her chin: "They never applied for our intervention, and now they're publicly announcing they've found nothing..."

"Could it be that you've uncovered something about my Asō family?" Date Nagamune suddenly turned to look at Asō Kōta.

"My family is in Kyushu! Eight ya! Don't say such unpleasant things! Could it be that our Asō family spends all day conducting black-box operations and shady deals, covering the sky with one hand?" Asō Kōta snapped: "Date, have you forgotten our friendship in the Park Yoo-chun case?"

"? What does this mean?" Date Nagamune didn't understand.

"You want Park Yoo-chun dead, I want Park Yoo-chun dead too—we shouldn't be on opposite sides, should we?" Asō Kōta continued.

"Shut up! Watch the match……oh, not the match, watch the livestream!" Uesugi Muneyuki said.

At this moment, the screen switched to the spokesperson taking over the microphone.

The Nagoya Police Department spokesperson was saying something to the reporters, nothing more than: "The investigation is still ongoing," "Please give us time," "We will report any news immediately."

But those words were no longer being listened to by anyone.

Down below, a reporter shouted:

"Where is Inspector Nagase?"

"Why did he leave? Regarding the case details, we need to know the truth!"

"Was what he just said an apology?"

NHK's female host Higashitani Miyabi also shouted from below: "Regarding the dispatch of investigation personnel, we need to know why! Also, regarding Toyota's 500 million yen bounty, how does the police view it? Please don't brush us off like this—the public has the right to know! Also, when will you apply for the Special Mission Division to intervene? For such a major case, why has Uesugi Chief been consistently excluded? What exactly are you Nagoya people hiding?!"

Countless reporters surged forward, and the guards on both sides had no choice but to step forward to block them.

The camera lens was shaking, as if the cinematographer was panning.

The spokesperson was struggling to cope, uttering a few stock phrases over and over, but simply refusing to answer.

However, at this very moment, a sound came from outside the frame.

"Bang!!!"

Extremely short.

Extremely loud.

But it was picked up with crystal clarity by the countless microphones and audio equipment on site!

That was……gunfire!!!