Chapter 223: , A More Terrifying New Discovery

Just as the Mitsui Sumitomo Group was holding an emergency board meeting, Nippon Life and Tokyo Marine Holdings were holding similar meetings as well.

As mentioned before, these insurance companies all have massive assets and cash flows so abundant they are bursting; tens of millions of yen is considered pocket change. Often, even if they know there might be an issue, they just pay out, as it doesn't matter. If they were to actually launch an investigation, the money spent might exceed that amount, and it would also be a waste of resources.

However, this case in Yokohama is not a small amount of money.

230 billion and 150 billion—for Tokyo Marine Holdings and Nippon Life Insurance, this is not a small sum; it will directly affect the group's cash flow and financial statements.

Both insurance companies also held meetings overnight to discuss this matter, and the conclusion they reached was the same as the Mitsui Sumitomo Group.

It must be investigated!

It must be investigated strictly, and investigated to the end!

It would be best to specifically name Uesugi Muneyuki to investigate; if he handles it, we can rest easy!

Since the situation is basically the same here, I will not repeat it.

Just like that, Tokyo Marine Holdings and the Japan Coast Guard quickly joined forces, mobilized their fleets, and began overnight salvage operations in the Tokyo Bay area where the body parts were discovered.

All the Japanese media saw this scene.

Early on the morning of September 16, NHK and the four major commercial television stations were all reporting that unidentified human body parts had been discovered in Tokyo Bay. Currently, the Metropolitan Police Department is conducting further investigations, and this afternoon the Metropolitan Police Department will hold a press conference, which the television stations will broadcast live.

TV Tokyo was airing morning exercises for stay-at-home moms and parenting guides.

The Special Mission Unit assembled at the call of the Metropolitan Police Department and stayed right there at Tokyo Bay, waiting for the salvage results.

Tokyo Marine Holdings and the Japan Coast Guard both dispatched a large number of personnel to conduct large-scale salvage operations along the port in Ota Ward, Tokyo, where the body was discovered.

Just at this moment, a group of uninvited guests arrived without being asked.

Uesugi Muneyuki was standing at a certain spot on the pier, under a sunshade, waiting for the salvage results from the scene.

Because so many personnel were dispatched, with over a hundred ships alone, Uesugi Muneyuki believed that there would be results soon.

Ishihara Mikoto did not come; she was still at the Forensics Division conducting experiments, trying to confirm through scientific methods the location where the deceased was dumped, the cleaning agents from the fish market, and whether the parts of the deceased had suffered from beatings before death.

Watanabe Minami did not come either; the young lady Minami was in the office coordinating other relationships and resources, while also preparing for the afternoon press conference.

Only Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena were at the scene.

Erena was actually enjoying the moment of being alone with Uesugi Muneyuki. She was wearing a standard field-duty ladies' suit jacket, shirt, and trousers. The cuffs of the trousers swayed gently as she walked. Right on the surface of her smooth instep, between the trouser cuff and her patent leather low-heeled shoes, a layer of honey-colored sheer fabric covered the blue veins slightly emerging on the surface of her instep, hazy and full of a wonderful, dreamlike feeling.

The suit trousers clung to her body, outlining her voluptuous curves. The pair of plump miracles on her chest were about to burst out, as if they were going to tear through her lapels. Her face was made up with standard light makeup, and her thin lips were coated with a layer of pink lip gloss, appearing exceptionally alluring.

The tall beauty was dressed in a superb "trousers-with-stockings" style again today. She had long since become accustomed to wearing a thin layer of silk stockings inside her suit trousers when acting with Uesugi Muneyuki to make it convenient for him to grope her. Under Uesugi Muneyuki's cultivation and training, the feeling brought by her legs being bound by silk stockings had gradually changed from the previous sticky discomfort to being skin-friendly and tender. Even following the man and smelling his scent, Erena always felt very happy.

And only Uesugi Muneyuki knew that what the tall beauty was wearing inside today was a garter belt, not pantyhose.

Everyone in the Metropolitan Police Department was also used to Erena sticking to Uesugi Muneyuki's side like a piece of dog-skin plaster. Not far away, Kashiwagi Jin and the others from the Third Division were also waiting, while Police Inspector Okada could not stay idle and was chatting with a few employees from Tokyo Marine Holdings about recent events, how the treatment was, what kind of impact this matter would have, and so on.

"Hello, Uesugi-san, we meet again." At this moment, a familiar uninvited guest arrived in front of Uesugi Muneyuki.

"Oh? It's you." Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you in charge of claims for individual insurance?"

It was Takeda Hironobu, the claims manager of Nippon Life.

"Haha, it's just a department. Because I am familiar with you, the company decided that everything involving you will be handled entirely by me." Takeda Hironobu said very politely: "Ishimori and others from Tokyo Marine Holdings will also be coming over."

"We at Nippon Life and Tokyo Marine Holdings will fully support you on this case!"

"Is that so?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned. He roughly understood that the insurance amount involved in the Yokohama Case was not the kind of thing Takeda liked to joke about: "If you can persist in paying for a life insurance policy for a year and then commit suicide, then we will pay you."

This time, the Yokohama Case was not a small amount; it was a huge number that even insurance groups would feel heart-pained by!

"Whether it is Nippon Life, or Tokyo Marine Holdings who will be coming later, we all hope that you can take over this case..." Takeda said with some expectation and a little nervousness: "This case may involve a super-large joint insurance policy of up to 380 billion, we..."

"Mr. Takeda, thank you for the kindness of Nippon Life and Tokyo Marine Holdings, but whether the headquarters will designate me to take over this case is not yet certain." Uesugi Muneyuki interrupted Takeda: "Whether I take over the case specifically is not decided by me; it depends on the arrangements of the headquarters."

"Eh?!" Ikeda Erena, standing next to Uesugi Muneyuki, widened her eyes in surprise.

Didn't Uesugi-kun take the initiative to propose participating? Minami had already started coordinating resources and communicating with other departments at the headquarters, preparing to set up a Special Investigation Headquarters!

How could he say he had to listen to the headquarters' opinion at a time like this?

But this was the opinion of Minami and her father; they believed that if they took the initiative to arrange for Uesugi Muneyuki to join directly, it would seem "cheap," and it would be better to wait a little while, which could win him more benefits.

"... Uesugi-san, please rest assured, we at Nippon Life and Tokyo Marine Holdings will definitely make the Metropolitan Police Department 'arrange' for you to take over this case." Ikeda was still confused, but Takeda understood in a second. He said straightforwardly: "Please rest assured, Uesugi-san."

With our two Fortune Global 500 companies, plus the Mitsui conglomerate, the Metropolitan Police Department has no right to refuse our "proposal."

Before Uesugi Muneyuki could say anything, news came from the front.

"Found it!" the crew of Tokyo Marine Holdings and the divers of the Japan Coast Guard shouted excitedly.

Hearing this, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and ran at full speed toward the salvage site.

As the ships docked, the salvage ship of Tokyo Marine Holdings found three black plastic bags one after another very close to the seabed.

The people from the Metropolitan Police Department immediately stepped forward to untie them.

The scene before their eyes made the hundred people present subconsciously frown and hold their breath.

The three black plastic bags contained, respectively, a bag of flesh chopped into pieces, a complete piece of a corpse from the chest area, and a pair of arms.

"Sure enough, this is a body-dumping case." Uesugi Muneyuki squatted down to identify them briefly and immediately nodded: "Looking at the location of the cuts, the degree of decay, and the size, that's right, these are the other parts of Igarashi Aiko."

The body parts in two of the black plastic bags were exposed. The items were relatively complete; apart from severe decay, the cuts were very smooth. Uesugi Muneyuki felt he could match them with the previous body parts after a brief comparison.

The Qinghui Stone also reacted, feeling even stronger. Uesugi Muneyuki thought that if he took them back to the Metropolitan Police Department and stitched them together, he might be able to trigger the Death Soul Contract.

Kashiwagi Jin also frowned. He squatted beside Uesugi Muneyuki to identify them and made a discovery: "There are still the head and legs, right?"

"Yes, the head and legs haven't been found yet." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, and he looked at the third black plastic bag.

The flesh in the third black plastic bag was more severely decayed, and it had been cut into smaller pieces, not in whole chunks like in the first two bags. A broken thigh bone was also found inside, which might have been caused by a failed cutting attempt.

Are the lower limbs in this bag?

Enduring the nausea, Uesugi Muneyuki began to try to examine the third bag again.

Because the flesh inside was chopped very finely and the cuts were not that smooth, he could not distinguish what was inside for a moment.

But just as he was examining it, a finger fell out.

Seeing this finger, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems they are all here.

Next, all that's left is to find the head...

"No!" Uesugi Muneyuki observed the finger for a moment, then suddenly roared: "This, this is wrong!"

"Uesugi-san, what's wrong?" Police Inspector Kashiwagi, who was nearby, and the Takeda claims Manager, who was pinching his nose while observing from the side, asked instinctively: "Isn't this part the lower limb?"

"It's wrong!" Uesugi Muneyuki continued to shout, picking up the finger segment: "This isn't a toe, this is a finger!"

A finger?

Wait!

A finger???

Everyone at the scene instinctively cast their gaze toward the corpse parts of Igarashi Aiko's arms that had already been salvaged.

Although the arms were severely decomposed, the ten fingers were clearly and distinctly arranged there, not a single one missing.

Since none were missing, then where did this finger come from?

Wait???!!!

At this, the air at the entire pier froze.

Hundreds of maritime police, hundreds of employees from Tokyo Marine Holdings, dozens of Detectives, plus the arriving employees from the Mitsui Sumitomo Group and the insurance group—everyone's eyes were fixed tightly on the finger segment in Uesugi Muneyuki's hand.

This isn't Igarashi Aiko's finger?

Then whose finger is this??

No one knew, and no one dared to speak; for a moment, the only sounds at the entire pier were the sound of the waves and the ding-ding-dang-dang of a nearby tram passing by.

"The body in this bag is not Igarashi Aiko's!" Uesugi Muneyuki's pupils dilated, and he said sternly: "Report to headquarters immediately! Report it now! Temporarily suspend this afternoon's press conference!"

"We have discovered a new body in Tokyo Bay!"

"The victim of this case might not be just Igarashi Aiko alone!"

(End of this chapter)