Chapter 27: An Autopsy of the Mummified Corpse

East Japan Railway Company, abbreviated as JR East, is one of the behemoth enterprises spun off from the super-giant state-owned monopoly, the Japanese National Railways. It is a railway company whose primary scope of operations covers the Kanto and Tohoku regions of Japan. JR East operates a total of 69 lines, with a railway network spanning 7,457.3 kilometers, and transports an average of 17.1 million passengers daily. It is the largest passenger railway operator in Japan and one of the Fortune Global 500 companies (generally ranked around 450th).

Its most significant scope of business consists of the so-called "Main Lines" and "Shinkansen." The Main Lines primarily handle shorter-distance transport within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, while the Shinkansen serves as long-distance electric rail. The travel of the 30 million people in the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Area relies heavily on these two modes of transport.

Although Uesugi Muneyuki himself detests the act of cramming into trains and subways, he has to admit that, faced with the travel pressure of Tokyo's 30 million population, the approach taken by JR East is the correct one.

In its urban planning for large cities, the Celestial Empire, in addition to learning from the former Soviet Union, also studied the Japanese Main Line and Shinkansen systems extensively. Its public transport planning for buses, subways, railways, and the Shinkansen ensures the convenience of travel and daily commuting needs for the massive populations of large cities.

Correspondingly opposite is the American Empire. Due to its vast territory, sparse population, and the historical background of westward expansion, the American Empire—with the exception of old regions on the East Coast like Boston and Philadelphia—has designed the vast majority of its urban public transport around city-center highways and suburban residential areas, which leads to local residents needing to drive for everything.

You need to drive to meet friends, drive to go shopping, drive to go out for a meal, and even drive just to go for a stroll.

The people of the American Empire are qualified to plan this way because the American Empire is relatively wealthy with high wage levels, and cars are also cheap (there is also the reason of numerous enterprises lobbying Congress together), but this model is not universally applicable; any planning must conform to one's own national conditions to be the right path.

And for such a Fortune Global 500 giant to have such a problem, it is impossible for there to be no reaction. When Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena arrived, the train repair factory in Shinagawa Ward was already packed with people.

Elderly people looking for excitement gathered at the entrance, discussing the incident in a hubbub. Dozens of reporters shoved microphones toward the mouths of the JR East officials present. Seven or eight police cars were parked there, and over twenty ordinary police officers had formed a human wall to pull up yellow tape. Repair workers, police, and corporate executives were all gathered together with worried expressions, discussing the sequence of events.

"Hello, Director Minami Takeshi, I am Kishida from the *Asahi Shimbun*. What is your take on the discovery of this corpse? Does this prove negligence on the part of JR East?" A reporter in a suit and tie, around thirty years old, squeezed hard to the very front.

"I am Kogayakawa, a reporter from the *Yomiuri Shimbun*. Director Minami Takeshi, now that such a thing has happened, how does JR East intend to handle it? Will there be a comprehensive inspection of all trains on the entire Main Line and Shinkansen?"

"I am Okamoto from the *Daily Telegraph*..."

"I am Yamato from the *Economic Weekly*."

"I am Imaizumi from the *Weekly Bunshun*. Please, you must give all our citizens an explanation!"

The reporters fiercely besieged the JR East on-site person in charge, making this Fortune Global 500 company extremely embarrassed. The lead official, Director Minami Takeshi, was about 50 years old, his black hair combed back and groomed to a greasy shine, his face full and square, his complexion completely dark, and he did not say a word.

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived. Uesugi Muneyuki, carrying a briefcase, and Ikeda Erena, wearing a police uniform, got out of the car. The surrounding people immediately gathered around: "May I ask..."

"Police!" Ikeda Erena was born with a hatred for this kind of situation; she did not hesitate to show her Police Handbook.

"Make way, make way!" Police Inspector Moritsugu of Shinagawa Station appeared. He looked to be about 50 years old, similar in age to Tanaka Laodeng. He was not tall and had a slight middle-aged paunch, and he also sported a very greasy slicked-back hairstyle. His sharp, serious eyes were filled with anxiety at this moment. Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki arrive, he hurriedly dispersed the crowd and came before Uesugi Muneyuki: "You're a huge help, Uesugi-kun. We are all counting on you."

"What's the situation?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned. A row of Koban police officers pulled back the yellow tape for him to clear a path, and Erena followed closely behind Uesugi Muneyuki with small, quick steps.

Such a direct young man!

Police Inspector Moritsugu had originally wanted to introduce the JR East executives to Uesugi Muneyuki first, but seeing that Uesugi Muneyuki looked like he wanted to start the autopsy right away, he could only walk quickly to keep up: "The situation is like this..."

What Police Inspector Moritsugu described was not much different from the information Ikeda Erena had obtained. The police at Shinagawa Station clearly did not have the ability to solve the problem; all they could do was investigate the employees one by one, and then gather a large group of police force to search outward from the location where the corpse was found as the center. Naturally, they found nothing.

The appearance of Uesugi Muneyuki also caused a sensation among the surrounding crowd.

"The Forensic Pathologist is here, the Forensic Pathologist is here."

"Let's see what he says."

"This Forensic Pathologist is so young. Who is the policewoman next to him? She's a real beauty, is she mixed-race?"

"Hmm, so tall, not like us Japanese."

"Her chest is so big... is she really a police officer?"

The whispers around her made Erena very uncomfortable, and her beautiful face turned even colder. The tall beauty really regretted wearing a police uniform paired with a skirt and stockings. If she had known there would be so many people here, a suit and trousers would have been more comfortable.

But facing Uesugi Muneyuki, who was talking to Police Inspector Moritsugu, Erena felt that she was indeed in an official capacity.

Forget it, just endure it.

Erena knew that the surrounding Criminal Police had already recognized her. Wherever her gaze passed, those few police officers were instinctively backing away. She tried to ask a few questions, but not a single person answered her.

Feeling somewhat conflicted and downcast, she simply stood behind Uesugi Muneyuki, just half a step away from him, to signify that she was with him.

"Alright, I understand. Let's start the autopsy now." Uesugi Muneyuki's brows locked tight after hearing the specific situation. He intended to give it a try first.

"I'm counting on you." Police Inspector Moritsugu leaned in slowly and whispered: "This matter has a huge impact, Uesugi-kun. You have to consider the travel of the 30 million people in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. If we have to inspect the entire train system, it will take at least a full day of suspension, and the entire Tokyo traffic will be paralyzed. This kind of thing involves the interests of the citizens, so we must be cautious."

"... I need to look first, and then we'll see once I know what's going on."

Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes flickered; he did not answer directly.

Performing the autopsy first was the priority.

Just like that, under the gaze of hundreds of eyes from the onlookers, aimed at by the long lenses and short cannons of over a dozen media outlets, under the stare of dozens of surrounding police and repair workers, and under the pointed, complex gazes of the JR East railway director and the Chief of the Criminal Division of Shinagawa Station, Uesugi Muneyuki began the autopsy.

The corpse was only sixty centimeters long, consisting only of a part of the torso and the right leg. Most of the parts had already completely blackened and dehydrated. Some clothing fragments were still stuck to the surface of the corpse, but overall, this remnant of a body had already become mummified and waxed.

Hmm, closed fracture. It should have been hit by a train and died, that's correct.

Uesugi Muneyuki turned the corpse over to examine it further.

The corpse was very thin, with abnormal depressions in many places.

Pitting edema? Uesugi Muneyuki reached out to probe it and found that there was such edema in many places on the skin of the corpse. After checking the fingernails of the corpse, a vague answer formed in Uesugi Muneyuki's mind.

The deceased must have fallen onto the train tracks and was dismembered on the spot by the train. Part of the corpse flew out, and part of the corpse remained attached to the bottom of the train.

But this is also a mummified corpse... Uesugi Muneyuki pondered.

As mentioned earlier, for a corpse to become mummified and waxed, it requires specific conditions; otherwise, the corpse would rot.

Alright, the points of suspicion have been summarized. What needs to be done next is...

Clenching his right fist, the Qinghui Stone Power was activated, and Uesugi Muneyuki began to try to awaken the Dead Soul.

The mummified corpse, which looked as if it had been dead for years, actually had a slight reaction. A vague Dead Soul wearing construction worker clothes barely aggregated into shape. Just as it was about to say something to Uesugi Muneyuki, it dissipated with the wind because its power was exhausted.

It could actually be pieced together into a shape?

Waxing, remnant corpse, pitting edema caused by malnutrition, closed fracture, train tracks.

Various clues were frantically arranged and combined in Uesugi Muneyuki's mind, until the final construction worker clothes.

"Uesugi-kun, have you seen anything?" Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki thinking, Police Inspector Moritsugu took the initiative to lean in and ask: "This is already a mummified corpse, which should mean the deceased has been dead for a long time, right? Last time I heard Tanaka say that you have examined mummified corpses, and such corpses are generally those that have been dead for many years. Also, looking at this, could it be a suicide by jumping onto the tracks?"

Ikeda Erena and Director Minami Takeshi also subconsciously leaned in.

"No, this corpse died recently." Uesugi Muneyuki immediately countered: "Not only did it die recently, but it is highly likely that it died within three weeks! And this is not suicide!"

What?!

As soon as these words were spoken, the face of JR East executive Director Minami Takeshi, who had been expecting Uesugi Muneyuki to give a verdict of "suicide by jumping onto the tracks, an old case," turned black.

The situation was heading in a bad direction.

He immediately gave a look to Police Inspector Moritsugu.

"Within three weeks? That's impossible, Uesugi-kun. If the death occurred within three weeks, why would the body have turned into a mummified corpse?" Police Inspector Moritsugu's expression darkened. "Furthermore, if it wasn't suicide, where is the evidence?"

"As for evidence, first, we can confirm one thing." Uesugi Muneyuki pointed at the corpse first. "The train should be inspected every three months, right? So we can be certain that three months ago, no corpse was found on this train, correct?"

At this point, Director Minami Takeshi and Police Inspector Moritsugu could not voice any opposition. Whether it was the internal inspection by JR Higashi Japan or the investigation by Shinagawa Station, it could be stated with certainty that no anomalies occurred during the inspection three months ago.

"It is possible that the workers were negligent, but that is not important. What is important is, why did you, a Forensic Pathologist, judge that the person died within three weeks?" Director Minami Takeshi's face was losing its composure, and he said stiffly, "Do you think this is some kind of orthodox mystery novel? You must speak with evidence; where is your evidence? This is JR Higashi Japan, not some mystery novel!"

"Actually, the evidence is very simple." Uesugi Muneyuki understood.

Whether it was Shinagawa Station or JR Higashi Japan, they both hoped he would provide a simple result—suicide by jumping onto the tracks.

But this was clearly not suicide!

Thinking of this, Uesugi Muneyuki only felt the anger in his mind rising.

Why do these Japanese people, whenever they encounter an issue, think of dragging it toward suicide or disappearance?

This kind of atmosphere must absolutely not be tolerated!

"Look, these are the corpse's fingernails." Uesugi Muneyuki's anger rose, and his tone became even more Hardening: "Do you see? The outer parts of the deceased's toenails are covered in stains and oily mud, but the nails closer to the inside are relatively clean?"

"The reason is simple. After a body dies, neither nails nor hair continue to grow. However, when we perform an Autopsy, we sometimes see nails that had been trimmed and hair that had been cut grow out a bit. This is not because the body is still alive, but because after the body loses moisture and shrivels, the hair and nails hidden under the skin are exposed."

Uesugi Muneyuki said decisively: "If the time of death had been long, the inner nails would also be dirty, but they are not, which is enough to prove that the time of death for this corpse was not long ago."

"As for why it is three weeks, it is also very simple. Look at the weather forecast more often. The last rain fell three weeks ago, and it has not rained for three consecutive weeks since. The air is dry, so the corpse would not rot; if the air were humid, the rotting of the corpse would occur before mummification."

"So there is no doubt. This is a fresh corpse that died within three weeks. Due to some reasons, the body was severed by the Wheel of the train. A portion of the body was stuck under the train, and as it followed the speeding train, it was subjected to the equivalent of gale-force winds of seven or eight degrees every day within Tokyo, effectively blowing it into a mummified corpse."

Uesugi Muneyuki finished speaking calmly.

The entire scene was silent. The onlookers outside, the dozen or so reporters, the surrounding Detective and workers, as well as Director Minami Takeshi and Police Inspector Moritsugu—these two guys who did not want to blow things out of proportion—opened their mouths but could not utter a single word of rebuttal.

With the ability to reconstruct the condition of a corpse merely through a surface Autopsy and a logical, well-founded argument, Uesugi Muneyuki appeared like a deity before others at this moment.

And more importantly, Uesugi Muneyuki had invoked the Aizen Myoo Dharma Image. While narrating the sequence of events, he was focused and single-minded. The infectious power under the blessing of the Dharma Body made his clear and firm words seem capable of piercing through the sky and the earth.

After this round of description, both the Detective and others had subconsciously believed Uesugi Muneyuki's words. Only Director Minami Takeshi was still muttering: "But, but, Mr. Forensic Pathologist, we at JR Higashi Japan have not received any accident reports within three weeks? Are you suspecting us?"

"That's right, we haven't received any clues about missing persons either."

As the last voice fell, Uesugi Muneyuki opened his eyes. Hearing Director Minami Takeshi's final stubbornness, he could not help but chuckle: "Yes, why were no accident reports or missing person reports received? Why is that?"

"The answer is very simple: someone covered it up."

Once these words were spoken, the entire scene was in an uproar. All the JR Higashi Japan workers at the scene, along with Director Minami Takeshi, had their faces flushed red.

What is this young man trying to do?!

Is he trying to accuse our Fortune Global 500 company with his own strength?

How bold!

But Uesugi Muneyuki clearly did not intend to yield. He stood there with his hands behind his back, facing the hundreds of people at the scene.

The man felt his mission was to clarify the matter, yet he did not notice the shock and surprise on the face of the tall beauty behind him.

Eirina only felt that it was truly a case of "the reputation is well-deserved," and that hearing of him a hundred times was not as good as seeing him once. After witnessing Uesugi Muneyuki's deduction from start to finish, the tall beauty's sharp brown eyes became increasingly soft, and the brilliance in her pupils reflected only Uesugi Muneyuki's sturdy back. She felt her blood surging and her face burning.

Now this is what you call a normal man~

Public transportation is great; the good thing about it is that it's punctual and won't get stuck in traffic.

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(End of this chapter)