Chapter 229: Uesugi

Former Investigation Division 2 Chief Igarashi Masataka was a large man, and unlike traditional Japanese men who were already "thin-haired" by their sixties, he wore his hair in a dense, Showa-era slicked-back style; his hair was quite thick, even longer than Ikeda Erena's, and his sideburns and beard had already turned white. His middle-aged spread was much more severe than Watanabe Eiji's, with a large belly bulging out from beneath his shirt.

He was Sugishita Ukyo's old superior. After learning of his eldest daughter's disappearance on September 7, Igarashi Masataka had begun searching with his wife and four children. During this time, they had searched every corner of Yokohama and even Kanagawa Prefecture, posting missing person notices everywhere and offering a 20 million reward for it.

In fact, based on Igarashi Masataka's experience in handling cases, once someone had been missing for over 72 hours without a kidnapper demanding ransom, the probability of survival approached zero, but his family had not given up hope.

Until more than ten days later, when Igarashi Aiko's dismembered remains were discovered in Tokyo Bay.

The former Division 2 Chief never imagined that his own daughter would be dismembered in such a cruel manner.

"It is my fault that Aiko died." The old father wept silently, and behind him, the family had cried until their tears ran dry.

"How so? Chief, may I ask if there is a reason for this?" Sugishita Ukyo bowed politely with an unchanging expression: "Although this is somewhat offensive, please, Division 2 Chief, you must provide us with any possible leads; this will be beneficial for us to solve the case as quickly as possible."

"Didn't I already say? Ukyo, and this Forensic Examiner Uesugi." Igarashi Masataka's expression was heavy: "In my early years, when I served as Division 2 Chief, I investigated many major black-money cases, including but not limited to the Saiming Academy donation case, the Funabashi Company smuggling case, the Nippon Electric black-money case, and so on. I offended many people."

Hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki nodded and frowned; he had heard a little about this from the old guy Eiji and the young lady Minami.

One important reason why Igarashi Masataka had retired at the age of fifty to become a director at Mitsui Real Estate was that while he had accumulated many connections and resources during his tenure as Division 2 Chief, he had also offended many people.

This was also why Investigation Division 2 was inferior to the District Public Prosecutors Office; the District Public Prosecutors Office did not fear the powerful because they had the support of the Americans behind them, and the Chief of Special Investigation could take on both the political and business worlds without fear of retaliation.

Investigation Division 2 did not have that.

"Are you implying that because of you, your daughter's incident occurred?" Sugishita Ukyo said very calmly: "Regarding this point, could you provide a clearer explanation?"

"I told Aiko many times, told her not to live alone, told her not to show her face in public alone, told her not to take on such large projects. This child..." Igarashi Masataka just spoke to himself: "Why wouldn't she listen to her father?"

"Regarding this case, is there anything you can tell us?" Sugishita Ukyo interrupted his old superior again: "If there is, please tell us as soon as possible; if not, please return for now and wait for our news! We need to rest."

"Hey! Ukyo, what kind of attitude is that?" Igarashi Masataka was provoked, and the former Division 2 Chief said angrily: "Is this how you treat your old superior and Aiko's father?"

"And what is this, anyway? You come out to investigate, yet you stay in hotels, you want to rest, and you are so lazy! Is this the attitude for handling a case? Show me some drive! These are two human lives! It is my daughter, it is my..." Igarashi Masataka could not control his emotions, especially seeing Uesugi Muneyuki without a tie and looking sleepy, which made him even more resentful: "That is my daughter, that is my daughter!"

"Mr. Igarashi, we understand your grief, and I also understand your anger." Uesugi Muneyuki sighed: "But I am also human, and I need to rest. We still have to go to the scene for an inspection tomorrow."

"You!" Igarashi Masataka could not stand Uesugi Muneyuki's work attitude; he grabbed Uesugi Muneyuki's collar with both hands, intending to give this "lost generation" of Japan a harsh lesson, when he saw a few Public Security Police officers walking out from the corner of his eye, staring at him with vigilant eyes.

If he dared to make a move, the Public Security Police would dare to arrest him for obstructing official duties.

Public Security is here too?

Igarashi Masataka suddenly realized one thing: he was no longer a member of the Metropolitan Police Department, nor was he the Investigation Division 2 Chief.

He was now just an old man who had retired and moved on to become a corporate executive.

Thinking of this, Igarashi Masataka suddenly knelt on both knees, shouted "I'm sorry," and then slammed his head heavily onto the ground!

Uesugi Muneyuki and Sugishita Ukyo were both stunned by the scene before them; Sugishita Ukyo quickly reached out to help him up: "Division 2 Chief?! Please don't do this!"

"I beg you, everyone!" Igarashi Masataka performed a standard dogeza, laying down all his dignity to kneel and beg, his voice already carrying a hint of sobbing: "I beg you! You must get justice for Aiko!"

Igarashi Masataka stated his judgment.

Ten minutes later, in the corridor of the Mitsui Garden Hotel, Uesugi Muneyuki and Investigation Division 1 Chief Sugishita Ukyo walked side by side.

Uesugi Muneyuki still had a trace of displeasure on his face; he thought to himself that it was already 12 o'clock, and after working hard all day, he was being held accountable by the victim's family, and his originally planned "Spring Breeze" tryst was gone.

I really am screwed by Eirina's master!

"It is quite interesting, actually. When I was still in Division 2, what Igarashi Division 2 Chief hated most were entangled victims' families and meaningless forced overtime. He once told me that the police were supposed to be the existence that maintained legal order, but the first to violate labor laws were the police themselves. I didn't expect him to become like this too," Sugishita Ukyo said calmly: "Expecting the police to be on duty 24 hours a day, with no days off all year round."

"People always end up becoming the thing they once hated the most." Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly asked with interest: "Division 1 Chief, how did you handle cases in the past?"

"Hehe, that is true." Sugishita Ukyo thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Does Uesugi-kun think that police work is just like what you saw after joining the Metropolitan Police Department? All kinds of major cases, murders, dismemberments, international attention, Cabinet tremors? One Special Investigation Headquarters after another?"

"In fact, police work has two characteristics. First, prevention is greater than investigation. One shocking major case might be accumulated from all sorts of trivial small cases and insignificant daily conflicts. Rather than solving a big case and getting on TV, I would rather the case never happen." Division 1 Chief Sugishita Ukyo's eyes were a bit unfocused.

"Seeking a title is not my intent, I only wish for the sea waves to be calm."

"Second, investigation work itself is complex. The work of us criminal detectives is difficult to achieve entirely within a legal framework; investigation often relies on sweat and luck."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded silently.

"People want the police to be heroes, to be supermen, but for most police, being a police officer is just a job." Seeing that Uesugi Muneyuki was willing to listen, Sugishita Ukyo continued: "We should not over-deify it. Uesugi-kun, you only come into contact with criminal cases, but I, having worked in the Life Safety Division for twenty years, do you know what kind of things I came into contact with?"

"Patrol officers deal with lost cats, asking for directions, and helping old ladies across the street every day; criminal detectives run between life and death; Public Security handles espionage, special warfare, undercover work, and secrecy. But in the Life Safety Division, I dealt with domestic violence, abandonment, emotional disputes, and juvenile crime—these kinds of minor offenses. The Life Safety Division is also considered the 'isolated island of the Metropolitan Police Department'."

"Yet, it is precisely in these minor offenses that the essence of human evil is contained."

"A salaryman, ignoring the ban, comes to visit his son to bring him his favorite taiyaki, which is tear-jerking, but in reality, he is already unable to pay child support and is preparing to take his son to commit suicide together."

"A mother in a family involved in a case reports to the police that her husband is abusive and wants a divorce, but it is a fabrication; her goal is just to defraud the single-parent subsidy and child support to go play pachinko."

"A man who had all his savings swindled by a streetwalker is driven to a dead end and goes out to randomly attack other streetwalkers."

"A pair of infatuated lovers reported to the police 104 times in over two years, each time saying the other was going to kill them. If we didn't care, they would complain about us; if we did, they would argue at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed, and after it was over, they would continue to complain that we were interfering in their private affairs."

"Because of this, after more than two years, we finally received approval from our superiors to no longer respond to calls for this couple, and we would no longer accept any of their complaints."

"However, just because there was no police coordination, one day, the man reported that because he could not control his emotions, and in the absence of police intervention and persuasion, he killed his girlfriend."

"The Life Safety Division deals with these kinds of things every day. Many times, we cannot even tell who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. Few police officers can persist; the turnover rate remains high year after year."

Uesugi Muneyuki was silent upon hearing this. He thought for a long time before saying: "Human innocence is a consumable. Enthusiasm wears down, emotions are consumed, hot blood gradually freezes, and over time, one becomes a cold machine for handling cases."

"I now understand why it is always teenagers who save the world in anime and novels; it is because adults feel it would be better to just let it be destroyed."

"That is exactly it." Sugishita Ukyo nodded with a smile: "So, don't take it to heart, okay, Uesugi-kun? The former Division 2 Chief really loves his daughter."

"... I have a question, Division 1 Chief." Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly became interested: "How were you able to persist in the Life Safety Division for so long?"

"A heart of enthusiasm must not be extinguished; empathize with the weak, help each other, and become friends with people of any country. Even if this feeling has been betrayed a thousand times, this is my final wish." Sugishita Ukyo said slowly: "These are the words from the finale of a tokusatsu show I watched when I was a child. Relying on them, I have persisted until now. In the future, I will also continue to work hard."

"I am already old, Uesugi-kun; the future is yours." Sugishita Ukyo turned around.

"But the present is yours." After Sugishita Ukyo's guidance, the resentment Uesugi Muneyuki felt toward the victim's family was finally eliminated, and he suddenly truly understood Kashiwagi Jin a little bit.

Although that guy was really annoying for assuming guilt and trying to convict him, his enthusiasm for the case was worth acknowledging.

Being a police officer is just a job; they are not gods, but precisely because of that, this enthusiasm is precious.

He now understood why Sugishita Ukyo could serve as Investigation Division 1 Chief at the advanced age of 56, and why Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda recommended and appreciated him so much.

Always enthusiastic, always young.

Uesugi's men, Sugishita's gods.

(End of chapter)