Chapter 26: The Shinagawa Train Corpse Case

The July heat in Tokyo was like a furnace roasting the earth; outside the room, the sunlight was scorching, while inside, the air conditioner blew a gentle breeze. The Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital remained as busy as ever, with a ceaseless flow of people coming and going.

In terms of medical strength, the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital could only be considered at the tail end of the first tier in Tokyo, a notch below the top-tier University of Tokyo Medical School and other world-class university medical schools. However, the Tokyo Medical and Dental University possessed a unique advantage: it specialized in dentistry and difficult, miscellaneous diseases. Consequently, the number of outsiders coming to seek medical treatment was endless, and among them were many rare diseases—cases that even the most advanced frontier medical technology could not fathom, which held immense research value.

This resulted in the hospital housing many patients who had no hope of recovery; the only thing they could do was wait for death.

Uesugi Muneyuki had not been interning in the Department of Surgery for long, but he truly loathed certain medical practices.

He wouldn't even mention the fact that the rich received the best service while the poor had to take things as they came—after all, the hospital wasn't a charity. What truly disgusted Uesugi Muneyuki was the diagnosis and treatment of different cases.

For those with research value, they would exhaust every means to keep the patient alive in the hospital, using "white lies" to make the patient believe they still had hope, and once the other party was completely drained, they would find ways to persuade the family to agree to a dissection to obtain precious samples. For those who no longer had research value, they would explicitly or implicitly demand a transfer, or even forcibly pack them off to a lower-level hospital to wait for death.

What exactly was the essence of medicine? Was the ultimate goal of medicine the technological progress of the medical frontier, or the complete healing of all patients?

This was one of the ultimate puzzles in human history, and Uesugi Muneyuki had no answer either.

The only thing he could do was: do not conceal, do not deceive, do not seek profit.

It was that simple!

Precisely because of this, he couldn't get along in the Department of Surgery.

Thinking about it carefully, Uesugi Muneyuki did indeed admit that his mindset had been a bit twisted after he woke up, and it was only after he unlocked the Death Soul Contract and received compensation in a certain sense that his mindset gradually stabilized.

If it hadn't been for Director Ukai hand-picking me back then, perhaps I would still be running errands and doing chores for Professor Zaizen in the First Surgery Department. Of course, being a surgeon isn't bad, it's just that for me, this forensic path is much broader and more open!

Uesugi Muneyuki fiddled with the pen in his hand for a while and continued to study. He focused on books about anatomy, looking at texts regarding "Life Reaction," pondering how to better combine the information brought by the Death Soul Contract with professional forensic knowledge to ensure his words were well-founded.

After reading for a while, the office door opened, and Professor Okochi walked in carrying a briefcase. As a retired professor rehired by the university, Professor Okochi was exceptionally punctual unless he had other matters.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood up immediately, just about to say good morning, when he heard Professor Okochi say with a strange expression: "Uesugi-kun, there is a policewoman at the door looking for you."

A policewoman?

Uesugi Muneyuki was stunned. He glanced over and saw Ikeda Erena poking her head in at the doorway.

Her refreshing, tea-colored hair, cut above the ears, was kept very neat. Her brows and eyes were filled with a unique, heroic, and spirited aura. Ikeda Erena, with her light brown eyes full of indifference and aloofness, stood prettily at the door wearing a sky-blue long-sleeved police shirt paired with a navy blue tube skirt. Her beautiful, deep, and hot face held a slightly nervous expression, but the moment she saw Uesugi Muneyuki, Erena finally relaxed slightly, and her exaggerated, proud body curves were fully displayed before him as her emotions eased.

Those long legs, wrapped in matte, flesh-colored silk stockings, were slender and straight. Even in the most ordinary black commuter low-heeled shoes, the arch of her foot, elegantly and sexily covered by a thin layer of silk, still appeared silky and soft.

"Ms. Ikeda?" Uesugi Muneyuki took the initiative to greet her. Upon seeing her police uniform attire, even Uesugi Muneyuki, who had lived two lives and frequently changed sex partners in high school and college, couldn't help but have his eyes light up, unable to hide the look of amazement in his expression. This uniform and silk stocking outfit, paired with Ikeda Erena's unique, spicy, sunny, indifferent, and cold-proud temperament, was truly superb.

"Good morning, Mr. Uesugi, I need your help with something." Ikeda Erena didn't know why, but seeing Uesugi Muneyuki's figure caused her physical and mental state of alert to automatically drop by one level. However, noticing that Professor Okochi was also present, Ikeda still couldn't relax and said stiffly: "It's about an autopsy, please come with me."

"Alright, wait a moment, let me tidy up." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded. He signaled for Ikeda Erena to sit for a moment while he packed his things: "Does the Police Station have a new case?"

Uesugi Muneyuki vaguely felt that those jerks like Tanaka Laodeng seemed to be intentionally throwing this hot potato to him. Ever since Erena had come to find him once, those guys like Tanaka Laodeng never came again; whenever they needed his help, they always sent Erena to find him.

In Tanaka Laodeng's words, Erena seemed to be a super troublesome thorn, a boss-killer who exploded at a touch, but Uesugi Muneyuki always felt that after interacting with her, it was fine; she wasn't that strange.

Usually, he always saw Ms. Erena in a neutral outfit of ordinary western-style trousers and leather shoes. Although that was also very good-looking, Uesugi Muneyuki always felt something was missing. Today, it was rare to see her wearing a police uniform skirt with silk stockings and high heels; everything was so pleasing to the eye.

"Police Inspector Moritsugu from the Shinagawa Station in Shinagawa Ward has asked you to come and help." Ikeda Erena always felt that Professor Okochi next to them made her feel very uncomfortable, and her tone was very hard: "During a routine inspection by JR East in Shinagawa Ward, a corpse was discovered under a local line train!"

"What?" Uesugi Muneyuki became interested.

Things were getting interesting. He packed his things and signaled: "Let's go."

"Mm." Professor Okochi's scrutinizing gaze made Ikeda Erena very uncomfortable. As soon as the tall beauty heard Uesugi Muneyuki say they were leaving, she moved with a light sway, her black patent leather thick heels hitting the ground with a crisp clatter, and she moved quickly to catch up with Uesugi Muneyuki's pace.

The two came out, and Uesugi Muneyuki said with great interest: "Why are you suddenly wearing a police uniform? Don't you criminal detectives usually not wear uniforms?"

"We still have to wear them for monthly meetings, annual meetings, and some special official activities." It was very noisy outside; the hospital lobby was crowded with people coming and going, and the waiting area was packed full, completely unlike the quiet and peaceful Forensic Pathology Department, but Ikeda Erena felt much more at ease: "There was supposed to be a regular meeting today, but I received a temporary notice to come and find you."

It was the two of them again; this was very comfortable.

"But if it's the Shinagawa Station, shouldn't someone from their station come to find me?" Uesugi Muneyuki still felt it was strange: "Why would they send you?"

Erena's expression changed immediately, and the sound of her heels stomping on the ground became a bit heavier: "Who knows?"

"But that's fine too. I also feel more at ease working with you. If it were some guy I didn't know, I'd have to break him in all over again. I'm a forensic pathologist; all I need to do is explain things clearly, and having too many complicated interpersonal relationships is annoying," Uesugi Muneyuki continued.

Hearing this, Erena's expression looked a bit better. She reached out her fair, white wrist to tidy the tea-colored bangs on her forehead, thinking that this was more like it—this was what a normal man should be like. Her footsteps also became lighter: "There are too many people here, let's talk in the car."

"Alright."

Even though it was the scorching height of summer, it felt like a warm spring day. Being with Uesugi Muneyuki, Erena only felt as if she were in a forest of high mountains and flowing water in spring—the mountain streams, the crickets in the grass, quiet and peaceful. The man's jade-like aura silently seeped into the bottom of her heart, making her feel a calm and safe atmosphere, no longer so nervous, and no longer so easily emotional.

After the two got into the car, Ikeda somewhat awkwardly stepped on the brake and did not start the car immediately.

"What's wrong?" Uesugi Muneyuki put down his briefcase, seeing that Erena was slow to start the car.

"About that club... the Metropolitan Police Department has taken over. The investigation result is that Takigawa Tsubasa is indeed a former member of a Violent Group, but... the Metropolitan Police Department's handling result was to let the KJDZ Club handle it themselves. Takigawa Tsubasa has been expelled from the club and is now missing." Ikeda Erena bit her lip, very unwilling: "In the end, the mastermind wasn't truly punished at all. If I had known, I should have..."

"Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Japan Police Duties Execution Act: Police officers must fulfill the protection of individual lives, bodies, and property, prevent crime, maintain public safety, and execute laws specifically, taking loyalty to their duties and authority as their own responsibility. Based on this law, the police are responsible for protecting the safety of the citizens." Uesugi Muneyuki closed his eyes and said softly: "However, there is no law that protects police officers."

"What do you mean?" Ikeda Erena didn't understand: "So we should exactly..."

"What I want to say is that before doing something, we should first think clearly about how to protect ourselves." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head slightly and said seriously: "Those who can open such a club in Shinjuku Kabukicho, which one of them doesn't have a backer that pulls on existences even higher than the Metropolitan Police Department? Ms. Ikeda, you don't really think that the little bit of evidence we submitted can make a club close down, do you?"

"I don't care!" Ikeda Erena hammered the steering wheel in anger.

"But I care!" Uesugi Muneyuki shouted sternly: "Are you an idiot? If you like to explode so much, why don't you just shoot at the host?"

Ikeda Erena was stunned.

Uesugi Muneyuki exhaled through his nose, thinking it was no wonder Tanaka Laodeng and the others were afraid of her. He shook his head, his lingering anger not yet subsided: "If you had actually taken action back then, the final result would have been that the matter wasn't solved, that host would be fine, the club would open as usual, and Ms. Ikeda Erena would have unfortunately gone missing during the investigation. The Otsuka Station would express their close attention, and after three years, they would issue a declaration of legal death, and then we might have a chance to see you in Bali in the future."

With every word Uesugi Muneyuki said, Erena's face looked worse. By the time she was planning to punch Uesugi Muneyuki's dog head in, Uesugi Muneyuki then said seriously: "So, now you know how difficult it is to actually do something, right? The method I chose is already the most powerful method possible under the premise of being able to protect ourselves."

"Believe me, Ms. Ikeda, I am always on your side."

Ikeda Erena's brows immediately lifted slightly, and her low mood was swept away by this sentence from Uesugi Muneyuki.

This was exactly what she wanted.

In interpersonal relationships, "having correct values" is generally considered an extremely important reference basis in relationships.

Men are mostly rational creatures; for them, "having correct values" represents more of whether this set of logical thinking can justify itself and be accepted by others.

Women are emotional creatures; for them, right or wrong is not important—what is important is, are you on my side?

Uesugi Muneyuki's stance perfectly matched Erena's needs; he was always expressing one meaning.

My values are the same as yours, and I am always on your side.

That was enough.

"But, does that mean the club will just continue to operate unaffected?" Erena's tone was much weaker; she was just still a bit unwilling.

"We are focusing on the facts, not the person, Miss Ikeda." Uesugi Muneyuki narrowed his eyes: "Currently, there is no evidence to prove that the club is involved in any crime. This is the conclusion we reached together after investigating, isn't it?"

Eirina finally had nothing more to say: "I understand what you mean. Thank you, Mr. Uesugi."

"Then can we set off now?" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded with a smile.

Dodged another bullet today!

Ikeda Eirina was just about to say something, but she immediately noticed that Uesugi Muneyuki's sincere eyes, which had been looking into hers, uncontrollably shifted downward by thirty centimeters. The faint smile on the tall beauty's face instantly faded quite a bit, and she glared at Uesugi Muneyuki to signal that she had caught him, then stepped on the gas to set off.

The discomfort of being offended lessened by a few degrees; Eirina found that she didn't seem to care as much anymore.

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki hurriedly shifted his attention elsewhere: "Alright, it's time to talk about this incident."

"Mm." Ikeda began to recount the details of the matter.

The rail transit in Tokyo is divided into three major systems: JR East Japan Railway, the subway, and the six surrounding private railways. Among them, the ones primarily responsible for daily commuting within Tokyo are the subway and the conventional line electric trains. These two modes of commuting are the "hellish roads" that almost every office worker is forced to endure.

The one that had a problem this time was an electric train on a JR East Japan Railway conventional line.

According to regulations, every electric train, after three months of continuous operation, must go to the maintenance plant in Shinagawa Ward for a vehicle inspection. The workers responsible for the maintenance will inspect the train along the tracks for any abnormal conditions.

It was precisely this inspection that uncovered the problem.

A piece of a corpse was found stuck to the underside of an electric train!

This discovery shocked the workers at the maintenance plant, who reported it to the police on the spot. Police Inspector Moritsugu of Shinagawa Station rushed to the scene with his men.

The situation at the scene left the police in a difficult position: first, the time of the crime was unclear; second, the location of the crime was unclear; third, the identity of the deceased could not be confirmed; and fourth, it could not be confirmed whether it was a suicide or a homicide.

They invited a doctor from a local private clinic, but the other party stated they were completely unable to handle it.

Thus, Police Inspector Moritsugu suddenly thought of his peer—Tanaka Laodeng, who serves as an Assistant Police Inspector at Otsuka Station.

"Don't you know a very capable Forensic Pathologist? You know, that Dr. Uesugi who helped your Criminal Investigation Division receive a commendation from the Metropolitan Police Department, whose injury during the female knife-wielder incident caused the Metropolitan Police Department to be furious, and who later even provided you with a letter of apology?"

"Lend him to us for a bit~"

The bond of being peers was hard to refuse, and since the entire Criminal Investigation Division of Otsuka Station only had one convenience store theft case to handle in July, Tanaka Laodeng agreed to the introduction very readily.

It was enough for Tanaka Laodeng to just agree, but Uesugi Muneyuki had many things to consider.

"The corpse part, how big is it?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned.

"Only a part of the torso and a part of the right leg," Ikeda Eirina said: "But I don't know the specific details either."

Listening to her description, this part should not exceed 30% of a human body.

Uesugi Muneyuki clenched his fists.

This is going to be a bit difficult.

Actually, public safety in Japan is quite good; in the real world, there aren't this many cases. Everyone should just treat it as a parallel world. Didn't Beika Town have hundreds of murder cases in just one year in 'Conan-science'?





(End of this chapter)