Chapter 153: And Then, It Blew Up with the University of Tokyo!

"Advisor Uesugi, I have something I need to discuss with you; it is a matter of important confidentiality."

The first thing Kosaka Shinichiro, a Police Inspector of the First Division of the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1, did upon returning to the Metropolitan Police Department was to rush to the Special Mission Unit.

Although the Special Mission Unit was a non-permanent department, due to Uesugi Muneyuki's extraordinary personal ability, its existence was practically an ace in the hole for the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police Department; once played, there was almost nothing Uesugi Muneyuki could not solve.

Ever since Uesugi Muneyuki joined the force, the case clearance rate of Investigation Division 1 had risen directly to 80%. Uesugi Muneyuki killed gods if gods stood in his way and Buddhas if Buddhas stood in his way, crushing every case. In the past, Togasaki Tomonobu, the Chief of the Public Relations Division, looked at these people from the Criminal Investigation Department as if he were seeing a plague god, but he was the only one who would nod and bow to Uesugi Muneyuki as if he were seeing his own father.

Luck was on his side; Uesugi Muneyuki was not out on field duty. He was in the inner office of the Special Mission Unit reading documents.

"Anything can be discussed; there is nothing that cannot be talked about." Uesugi Muneyuki had a good relationship with Police Inspector Kosaka, having collaborated with him previously on the Chiba Prefecture Serial Murder Case. For a non-career track officer to be able to become a Division Chief in Investigation Division 1, one had to be extremely capable.

Uesugi Muneyuki was already accustomed to the structure of the Metropolitan Police Department, where the top was clear and the bottom was murky.

"This matter is a very important secret." Police Inspector Kosaka subconsciously glanced at Eirina, who was peeking in from outside the door, and at Police Inspector Okada, who was also watching the room while holding a coffee.

Police Inspector Okada was a graduate of the University of Tokyo, and the father of the Minami Unit Chief was a graduate of the University of Tokyo; neither of them was reliable.

"Such an important secret?" Uesugi Muneyuki became interested. He stood up: "Then do I need to recuse myself as well?"

"Haha, Advisor Uesugi is joking." Police Inspector Kosaka was amused by Uesugi Muneyuki's little bit of humor, but he still insisted: "Could we talk in private?"

Only then did Uesugi Muneyuki realize that perhaps he really did have something he needed to find him for.

Ten minutes later, Metropolitan Police Department, underground facility.

Police Inspector Kosaka told Uesugi Muneyuki everything he had investigated so far.

"Kosaka-san! I am a Forensic Pathologist! I am not a detective!" Uesugi Muneyuki was left between laughter and tears by Kosaka Shinichiro's questioning.

You must have found the wrong person, damn it!

I am a Forensic Pathologist; I am good at autopsies, dissections, and deductions. Now that Professor Tsuda's wife is nowhere to be found—neither alive nor dead—are you asking me to hold a Qinghui Stone and fly across the stars all over Japan?

The reason why Investigation Division 1 could solve 80% of cases relying on Uesugi Muneyuki but could not solve the remaining 20% was precisely because for cases like robberies, fires, rapes, and brawls, there were no corpses to perform autopsies on, and Uesugi Muneyuki was powerless.

"Advisor Uesugi, you have always had the sharpest intuition, and besides, I feel like I can only discuss this with you." Police Inspector Kosaka looked at Uesugi Muneyuki with anticipation: "Shiratori from the Second Division and Kashiwagi from the Third Division are both graduates of the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law. Can you understand what I mean?"

"............ Police Inspector Kosaka, you seem to have forgotten that my grandfather, the current Head of the House of the Yonezawa Uesugi Clan, Uesugi Kuninori, is a professor of space dynamics at the University of Tokyo." Uesugi Muneyuki rolled his eyes: "Strictly speaking, I am also part of the Tokyo University Faction."

Don't you dare treat the Medical and Dental University as not being the University of Tokyo!

"!!!" Only then did Kosaka Shinichiro remember that this kid was also part of the Tokyo University Faction!

As expected, the upper echelons of this country were all the same group of people, weaving a dense, tight-knit web.

"However, although I cannot perform an autopsy, there is one thing I find very interesting." Uesugi Muneyuki was provoked into thought: "Are you very familiar with Professor Tsuda?"

"We are total strangers." Only then did Police Inspector Kosaka breathe a sigh of relief. Although Uesugi Muneyuki himself was part of the Tokyo University Faction, he truly had no factional colors and judged matters on their merits rather than by the person.

"Then is Professor Tsuda very familiar with the Metropolitan Police Department?" Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin.

"I haven't heard of it." Police Inspector Kosaka realized something: "I have investigated his background; there is no connection between a biology professor and the Faculty of Law. The connection here at the Metropolitan Police Department is mainly the network of the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law."

"Then why was he able to speak so fluently about your affairs?" Uesugi Muneyuki narrowed his eyes, keenly detecting a blind spot: "From what you said—I mean, if you haven't hidden anything from me—Professor Tsuda should not have expected the headquarters to intervene in his wife's disappearance case, but... he grasped information about you very quickly. What does this indicate?"

"Wait... you mean, he used the excuse of going to discuss a project with Doctor William from MIT, but actually contacted the headquarters?" Police Inspector Kosaka immediately realized where the problem lay.

"Mm, if I am not mistaken, very soon the headquarters will handle this according to the Normal Procedure as you said." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, frowning: "After all, he is a professor at the University of Tokyo."

"Handle according to the Normal Procedure" was internal jargon at the Metropolitan Police Department; in reality, it meant registering the case, filing the documents, and stopping the investigation, never to continue it again.

"How can this be?!" Police Inspector Kosaka also frowned: "Advisor Uesugi, we have not found any entry or exit records for Mrs. Tsuda. Do you know what this indicates?"

"It indicates nothing." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head: "I know you feel that something might have happened to Mrs. Tsuda, but this is not evidence. She could have just smuggled herself out of the country, she could have another identity, she could have run off with someone, she could have just gone into seclusion, or she could even just be traveling in Hokkaido or Kyushu to relax and cleanse her soul. Partying on an overseas cruise ship also makes sense."

"Before she left, she cleaned out the 20 million in emergency funds that Professor Tsuda kept at home, and she even secretly transferred Professor Tsuda's salary out of the country in batches!" Police Inspector Kosaka did not want to stop the investigation: "Both husband and wife have major motives, and even his son and daughter."

"That is the business of Investigation Division 2. You can request assistance from Investigation Division 2." Uesugi Muneyuki acknowledged Police Inspector Kosaka's deduction, but he still believed this evidence was insufficient to prove anything.

Upon hearing "Investigation Division 2," Police Inspector Kosaka subconsciously shook his head.

As mentioned earlier, Investigation Division 1 and Investigation Division 2 were in a competitive relationship; the two sides were as incompatible as fire and water, mortal enemies who never interacted. Now, relying on Uesugi Muneyuki, Division 1 was firmly suppressing Division 2. How could he possibly take the initiative to ask for help from Division 2? This would make Kosaka an outcast from Division 1 and a "traitor"!

"Furthermore, if you really want to investigate, you will inevitably have to check the flow of funds in Professor Tsuda's accounts, and that will become a very sensitive matter." Uesugi Muneyuki continued: "The project accounts and fund flows of university professors are inherently a black box. If it doesn't explode, no one can touch it, and no one dares to touch it."

"You can't just investigate everything, can you? What if you really find something?"

"No, as long as you really investigate, I can guarantee 100% that there will be problems; it's just a matter of how much."

Uesugi Muneyuki's words lingered in Police Inspector Kosaka's ears.

When he went to report to Division Chief Oshima of Investigation Division 1, sure enough, Division Chief Oshima's attitude changed drastically.

"Kosaka, how is the investigation going? Is there any progress?" Division Chief Oshima smiled at his subordinate: "How is the investigation into the disappearance of the wife of Professor Tsuda from the University of Tokyo?"

"The investigation is currently still ongoing." Police Inspector Kosaka bowed his head: "I have investigated some things; Professor Tsuda seems to have a serious financial dispute with his wife."

"Very good! You are indeed very talented!" Division Chief Oshima nodded with satisfaction: "That's enough, just close the case normally like this!"

"Eh?!" Sure enough, upon hearing "close the case normally," a chill ran through Police Inspector Kosaka's heart.

"Just treat it as a general missing person case. Register it as a runaway missing person and file it away." Division Chief Oshima smiled: "The evidence is sufficient; the case can be closed."

"But..." Kosaka still wanted to argue a bit more.

"Enough!" Division Chief Oshima said impatiently: "That's enough! That is the University of Tokyo! You acted on your own initiative to go to their home to search without a search warrant, which has already angered the University of Tokyo side! You even had your subordinates ask among the students, making the disappearance of the professor's wife known to everyone at the Oiwake Dormitory. Do you know how much pressure the headquarters is under? What are you trying to do?!"

Police Inspector Kosaka's pupils dilated instantly.

I, acting on my own initiative?

It was clearly you...

"Did you hear me?" Division Chief Oshima's wrinkled, old face was swollen with folds, and a pair of cold, small eyes, set off by a pair of large ears, stared fixedly at Police Inspector Kosaka.

"Yes..."

Emerging from the Division Chief's office, Police Inspector Kosaka's face was as black as ink.

Advisor Uesugi had already seen through everything.

Professor Tsuda claimed he wanted to discuss a project, but he took the opportunity to use his connections to contact the headquarters, and the Metropolitan Police Department, unable to withstand the pressure, planned to follow the "Normal Procedure."

No one cared about the truth of the case at all; no one cared about the whereabouts of Mrs. Tsuda!

These people had woven a dense, tight-knit web! It was not for justice, but for dirty deals!

However, this was a case he had handled himself. Without a doubt, this case would become a stain on his record! And the Division Chief... had actually already sold him out! The University of Tokyo side would naturally think that he was the mad dog!

Thinking of the sheer scale of Tokyo University, Police Inspector Kosaka could already foresee his fate: being transferred to a local precinct, or perhaps even a rural branch.

No!

I won't accept this!

The Division Chief of the First Division gritted his teeth hard, and the words Division Chief Oshima had said earlier suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"It's a pity, we are Non-Career Track, Kosaka. Career Track officers can get promoted just by sitting in the office drinking coffee, while we must jump into the mud, get covered in filth until we can't even see, and struggle to reach out our hands in the muck to find a hard-won opportunity."

"This is the way we Non-Career Track officers get promoted in the organization."

I have to gamble! Rather than being exiled to the frontier like this, I might as well blow this matter wide open!

I'll go to war with Tokyo University!

Soon, Kosaka Shinichiro's subordinate brought over the files on Doctor William Edwards, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.

According to the investigation, this Professor William himself was a very devout Puritan.

…………

The next day, Tokyo University, Hongo Campus.

Early in the morning, Doctor William, a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, found Professor Tsuda. The old white man was both angry and disdainful, grabbing Professor Tsuda by the sleeve: "Professor Tsuda, why didn't you tell me your wife was missing?"

"How could you turn a blind eye to your wife's disappearance and still hold an academic seminar with me!"

"You are family! Family!!! How could research projects and academic matters be more important than family?!"

"It is simply incomprehensible!"

"And what is the meaning of this transfer of assets overseas? I wanted to bring this up before; our joint research team with your university has had far too many overseas inspection trips, and you kept telling me it was necessary..."

Doctor William, who had always presented himself as a proud and serious old scholar, looked truly angry: "I believe it is necessary for us at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to reconsider our cooperative relationship with Tokyo University!"

"Huh?!"

At this moment, Professor Tsuda saw the Yomiuri Shimbun English Edition in Doctor William's hand.

The Tokyo University professor felt as if his head were about to explode.

"Wife of Tokyo University Biology Professor Missing for Days, Suspected of Embezzling Funds and Fleeing?!"

(End of chapter)