Chapter 211: The Wrath of Senior Sister Mai

There are not many places to check inside a single cell at a detention center—just the toilet, the table, and the bed. If one could be transferred to a formal women's prison, Yamada Aika might have been able to get a television and could have applied for a tatami-mat room, but those do not exist inside a detention center. In particular, the fact that the toilet and the iron-frame bed are so close together has become a point of attack for some human rights organizations against the Japanese system; they believe this prison system is truly devoid of humanity.

"No, it is not the Cursed Grudge of Saijo Yasue." After Hironaka Mariko drilled out from the wall, she shook her head: "I absorbed most of Saijo Yasue's Cursed Grudge power, and this energy does not share the same source as mine."

"Not the same source?" Uesugi Muneyuki quickly realized something; he interrupted his perception of the Qinghui Stone and instead summoned Kongō Yasha Myōō.

The direction was wrong!

There was no Cursed Grudge! Because it was not a dead person, but a living one!

As the direction of the investigation shifted, Uesugi Muneyuki sensed a faint trace of Otherworld Energy.

This energy was extremely faint, already almost imperceptible, with only two remnants left in the room: one under the folding table, and one on the toilet.

The toilet?

"Hironaka, can you appear from inside a toilet?" Uesugi Muneyuki said with a strange expression.

"Of course I can, but I don't want to do that." Hironaka Mariko was shaking her head, using her long hair as an electric fan to cool Uesugi Muneyuki down. Hearing him say this, the former Fuji TV anchor showed a strange look on her face: "Besides, didn't I tell you? It is not Saijo Yasue, and there is no scent of Cursed Grudge, which means the residual Otherworld Energy was not emitted by a dead person, but by a living one."

"This is an even worse situation." Uesugi Muneyuki said with a frown: "This means our enemy is not just the Cursed Grudge, but also a living person."

"An enemy? Why? You and them have no grudge, and in a way, this person even helped you." Hironaka Mariko was puzzled: "Perhaps you two even have things to talk about."

"No, as long as they appear, they will be an enemy." Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was very serious: "The good news is that we have discovered them, while they have not yet discovered us."

Otherworld Energy is already tending toward exhaustion; every existence in the Inner World will try to seize others' energy by any means necessary. This relationship dictates that even if the probability is extremely small, one must be strictly on guard—this is what is called the "Dark Forest Law."

"However, if such an Inner World person really exists, why would Yamada Aika commit suicide?" Uesugi Muneyuki pondered: "And why commit suicide willingly? Hypnosis? Or control?"

No, neither is possible. If one were hypnotized or controlled into suicide while alive, they would certainly cry out for justice after death, triggering a Death Soul Contract.

"I don't know." Hironaka Mariko retorted: "Strictly speaking, I could turn myself into a piece of meat sausage 10 centimeters in diameter and 20 meters long to crawl in through the pipes, but what would be the point? And Uesugi, you don't really believe in hypnosis, do you? Those hypnosis masters on Fuji TV programs are all fakes, one and all. And even if one were to hypnotize someone, the subject would have to cooperate completely."

"Very well." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "At least we can now confirm that Ms. Yamada Aika's suicide was not an accident."

In order not to alert that mysterious living Inner World person, Uesugi Muneyuki did not act rashly, and since there were indeed no suspicious points in the autopsy, the detention center hastily sent Yamada Aika's body to be cremated.

This is where Uesugi Muneyuki's special status was displayed; after he performed the autopsy and told the detention center there were no suspicious points, the detention center immediately reported to the Ministry of Justice. Upon hearing that Uesugi Muneyuki had personally examined the body and confirmed that Ms. Yamada had simply committed suicide, the Ministry of Justice no longer pursued the detention center's responsibility for lax supervision.

From Cabinet ministers down to ordinary citizens, everyone in Tokyo firmly believes in Uesugi Muneyuki's autopsy abilities; if he says it is so, it is so, and no one would question it.

Because those who dared to question him had their faces smashed in; even the District Public Prosecutors Office had been humbled by him, the Metropolitan Police Department had lost two Investigation Division 1 Chiefs because of him, and the Public Security Division had fallen completely into a disadvantageous position during his struggle with the Criminal Division.

After investigating Yamada Aika's suicide case, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately set about re-examining the previous missing person case of the Tokyo Woman's Christian University female student. On the way back, Uesugi Muneyuki contacted a Superintendent in Public Security.

Public Security has greater authority.

This investigation indeed yielded new discoveries. According to the Superintendent's information, the missing Tokyo Woman's Christian University student was found to have a massive amount of consumption records at the same KJDZ Club. With the assistance of Public Security, she had spent 10 million yen within at most one year, and someone had once seen her and that host, Takigawa Tsubasa, together.

Because Hirasawa Yui used the money originally intended for tuition and living expenses to see a host, her father was very angry, and the two had a huge argument. During the quarrel, Hirasawa Yui contemptuously called her father a "biological dad," causing their relationship to almost break down; in the end, it was only through her mother's mediation that they barely avoided a complete severance of ties.

The father subsequently cut off his daughter's living expenses. At the same time, the Yamada Aika case occurred, and after Takigawa Tsubasa was reported by name, he was discovered to be a former Yakuza. The club was furious, the former Yakuza group was furious, and Public Security was also looking for him; this host had no choice but to flee.

With Takigawa Tsubasa gone and her father no longer providing living expenses, Hirasawa Yui had to return to her previous life after a period of squandering money. Burdened with heavy debt and cut off from funds, she sobered up a bit and started working part-time to earn her own living expenses.

Of course, although he was so angry at being called "biological dad" that he nearly had a stroke, Hirasawa Yui's father still cared for her in secret. He had originally thought she could return to a normal life, but his daughter went missing during her senior year. As an Executive at the Tokyo branch of Japan Post Bank, he put great pressure on the Metropolitan Police Department, hoping they could find his daughter.

However, the Metropolitan Police Department was also powerless to do anything about it.

Because of the lesson from the last time with Saijo Yasue, Uesugi Muneyuki did not dare to show himself openly again. He chose to hide in the shadows to observe, but that mysterious Inner World existence did not appear again, and the two cases—Yamada Aika's and Hirasawa Yui's—were not investigated in conjunction. Even Uesugi Muneyuki himself felt that there was currently no evidence to prove the two cases were related.

But in secret, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately contacted Mai.

A new Inner World person had been discovered!

That evening, Toranomon, Tokyo, at the Yamasato Ryotei.

The 【Yamasato】 Ryotei is hidden deep within the winding paths of bamboo fences among the skyscrapers of Toranomon; mossy rain chains hang from the eaves of this century-old ryotei.

At the entrance, the white sand of the dry landscape garden ripples like waves, and the shadows of maples cast mottled ink-wash patterns on the plain walls.

Uesugi Muneyuki sat in a private room in simple casual clothes, his cold features and outstanding temperament making him look like a scenic view. Before him, the warm yellow paper lamp on the small table reflected off the cypress tabletop, and amidst the swirling steam of matsutake clear soup, the shadow of a cherry tree slanted across the paper door.

Two "tap-tap" sounds of high-heeled shoes hitting the ground, followed by a rustle of changing shoes, and Uesugi Muneyuki heard a series of light footsteps slowly approaching the room, led by a waitress.

Uesugi Muneyuki turned his head to look and saw that Mai was wearing a white twist-knit shirt today, paired with a black gauze skirt that fell below her knees, making her look exceptionally beautiful and moving. Her three thousand strands of dark hair fell over her shoulders, with only a single slightly curled lock left in front of her smooth, fair left forehead. Her skin was delicate, and beneath her soft, dainty peach-blossom cheeks was a straight, moving jade neck and elegant collarbones. The white, tender jade skin between the collar and the surrounding white collar blended together, their colors almost indistinguishable. Below the collar, a pair of full, firm breasts stood proudly forward, plucking at the heartstrings.

The hem of Mai's white shirt was tucked tightly into a black, tight-fitting gauze skirt full of charm, perfectly accentuating her soft, graceful, and slender waist that could be spanned by a hand, and her slightly raised, rounded, perky buttocks. Between her perky breasts, it seemed to form a wonderful arc, making her body lines beautiful and curvaceous. Her long, snow-white jade legs were wrapped in Wolford Individual 10 skin-colored stockings as thin as cicada wings; the restraint of the stockings displayed her perfect leg shape to the fullest, and her beautiful silk-clad feet were encased in black high-heeled shoes, setting off her feet like clean white lotus roots.

As she gently hooked her heels with her hands to take off her shoes, ten evenly arranged, white, tender toes were revealed neatly, the carefully trimmed toenails painted with a thin layer of cherry-red transparent nail polish, appearing faintly visible under the seamless toe of the stockings.

"Mai." Seeing that Mai had arrived, Uesugi Muneyuki stood up to greet her.

"Mm." Shirakawa Mai responded softly, then sat down on the tatami cushion to the side. Her two silk-clad beautiful legs were elegantly crossed, her hands folded over her chest, and her pair of calm, cold, beautiful eyes stared straight at Uesugi Muneyuki.

"?" Uesugi Muneyuki discovered that Mai was sitting at the small table, maintaining a dignified and elegant posture while staring at him, staring until his scalp felt a little numb: "What's wrong?"

"I remember I instructed you last time to set aside one day every week to go to my house to increase our familiarity, right?" Mai's expression was without a ripple.

"Yes." Uesugi Muneyuki braced himself against Mai's scrutinizing gaze and replied awkwardly: "But aren't I very busy? You are too, Mai."

"It's one thing to be busy in July, but when you say you are busy now, do you mean reuniting with your beautiful school doctor sister and being busy connecting with her? Or do you mean secretly investigating that missing person case whenever you have time?" Mai's clear, beautiful eyes glanced faintly at Uesugi Muneyuki, and after a slight hesitation, she continued: "You don't come to see me unless you have to? Aren't we partners?"

"I wanted to collect reliable intelligence before discussing it with you." Uesugi Muneyuki could only explain: "Besides, there is one more thing I want to obtain your consent for."

"What is it?" Mai stared at Uesugi Muneyuki, her eyes revealing undisguised possessiveness and anger at Uesugi Muneyuki for skipping her scheduled meeting requirement.

"I want Ishihara Mikoto to adopt Saito Asuka." Uesugi Muneyuki pondered for a moment and said softly: "I feel it is necessary to inform you of this."

"……Very well." Shirakawa Mai's face was expressionless, her pair of clear eyes just watching Uesugi Muneyuki, waiting for him to finish speaking. After a brief silence, she said slowly: "This matter is not important, as long as you trust your beautiful school doctor sister."

"Mai, are you angry?" Uesugi Muneyuki was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood: "Are you… jealous?"

"No!" Mai turned her face away.

She really was jealous! Uesugi Muneyuki felt the pressure now.

It wouldn't matter much if others were jealous, but if *she* was jealous, his royal road to conquest was at risk of immediate collapse!

The Inner World really is dangerous!

(End of chapter)