Chapter 352

"Eight ga!" NHK's core producer, director, and safety officer were anxiously waiting outside the scene, and core producer Nakamura Takashi could no longer hold back, shouting directly at director Tanaka Kenji: "Look at you! What on earth are you doing?! Someone died on set! How are we supposed to handle this from now on?!"

"I..." The director also turned pale, sweat on his face already frozen, his lips trembling slightly as he whispered: "There's nothing we can do; the shooting schedule is simply too tight! Producer, I had already raised this with you before—choosing Okada Junichi and others is different; he's a V6 member, so he has many commitments..."

"Well, well... I misjudged Okada Junichi, but what about you? Don't you bear any responsibility? There are safety hazards on the winter set—why didn't you warn me? Especially you, Tanaka, you're the on-set director! This is dereliction of duty! You've messed up! Ah?"

"I..." Director Tanaka Kenji felt wronged: "Producer Nakamura, I've reported the set's issues before—there was almost an accident earlier, and I repeatedly said we couldn't shorten the safety inspection process, especially not start work in bad weather. Moreover... the props are very old, and I clearly stated in meetings that the icy ground and exhausted extras were problems... The meeting minutes can prove it."

"Alright, alright!" Producer Nakamura waved his hand and immediately said solemnly: "I'm telling you this not to blame you, but to discuss how we should proceed from now on."

"The best outcome would be to rule it an accidental death and resume filming as soon as possible, but..." The producer, director, and safety officer watched Uesugi Muneyuki conducting the autopsy, all swallowing nervously.

What exactly is this great Buddha examining? Why does the autopsy take so long?

Everyone felt a vague sense of foreboding.

"At this point, we can only make the best of a bad situation!" Producer Nakamura suddenly gritted his teeth: "When the time comes, we'll release a behind-the-scenes compilation of *Gunshi Kanbei*—on-site forensics, Uesugi the Violent General descending, how about that?"

Director Tanaka's expression brightened.

Exactly! Fuji TV does it—why can't we NHK?

Besides, this is the set itself! All shooting props, camera positions, set design, and lighting are ready—we guarantee a nationwide Taiga drama-level live forensics performance!

"Everyone, come over here!"

"Camera positions, set design, lighting, recording preparation!"

After a while, officers from the Tochigi Prefecture Police Headquarters arrived. Since the case involved a deceased person who was the Criminal Investigation Division Section Chief Wareki Shobu of the Tochigi Prefecture Police Headquarters, he was followed by dozens of officers.

"It's actually Uesugi-san!" Inspector Wareki, about forty to under fifty, with messy hair, tall and sturdy, slightly overweight, a scar on his face, small eyes, and a large nose—this middle-aged man had already been overwhelmed hearing about the incident at the Taiga drama set, and after learning of the death, he felt numb.

Involving NHK and the Taiga drama, plus so many celebrities—if we don't resolve this quickly, after all my effort to finally become an inspector, I'll...

Normally, the Metropolitan Police Department has no authority to intervene in local police matters unless the local police headquarters requests assistance or technical guidance. Likewise, Ikeda Erena is still under investigation cooling-off period at the scene, so normally she couldn't act as a police officer.

"Uesugi-san, do you have any findings?" Inspector Wareki asked shrewdly.

There's no helping it—recent news exposed that this guy's fiancée is Special Mission System Management Officer Watanabe Minami, and his prospective father-in-law is none other than Watanabe Eiji, who was reappointed as Superintendent General for the first time since the Cold War!

Our Tochigi Prefecture Police Headquarters chief personally went to pay New Year respects—I'm just a small fry, so I'll obediently comply!

"The deceased, Nishimura Yuzuru..." Uesugi Muneyuki briefly described the scene: "Cause of death is head trauma from a high-altitude fall, obviously. The deceased likely slipped from the stairs while heading to this remote warehouse to retrieve items, fell to the ground, and died—at least on the surface."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Inspector Wareki nodded at the corpse: "So this is an accidental fall? Should we notify the insurance company?"

"No need." Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly smiled and shook his head: "Actually, it's not an accidental death, not suicide, nor death from illness..."

"Nishimura Yuzuru's fall was a downright murder!"

After Uesugi Muneyuki spoke, the entire crowd was shocked.

Especially the NHK personnel who heard Uesugi Muneyuki say this turned pale.

"Murder?" Inspector Wareki was stunned by Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment, glanced at the corpse, and said in disbelief: "But the autopsy result wasn't death from head trauma due to an accidental fall?"

"Well, the surface autopsy result indeed shows that, but Inspector Wareki, haven't you noticed something strange?" Uesugi Muneyuki scanned the surroundings: "This warehouse is very remote—I just asked, and only this place lacks surveillance. The external stairs are icy and extremely slippery, easy to slip on. If it were someone else, it might be forgivable, but as a production department assistant, how could Nishimura not have noticed? And why would he come here in the first place?"

Everyone around focused their attention, waiting for Uesugi Muneyuki to continue.

"First, we can rule out death from illness and suicide—no doubt about that. Then the key question is: why do I say he was murdered rather than died in an accidental fall?" Uesugi Muneyuki addressed the corpse: "Everyone, please note—if someone slips accidentally and might fall, what should their first reaction be?"

"They should try to grab something within reach." Inspector Wareki nodded.

"Exactly, but do you see any scratch marks on the stairs or nearby wooden handrails?" Uesugi Muneyuki said.

Sure enough, the police checked the scene and found no scratch signs or struggle traces.

"Generally, slipping feet can indeed cause a fall, but the person would still be standing on the stairs, making it almost impossible to grab nothing. In such a case, there are only two possibilities: first, the deceased was pushed down; second, the deceased jumped down themselves."

"But we've already ruled out suicide, so it couldn't have been the deceased jumping themselves. The scenario of the deceased jumping also differs from this (the difference between suicidal and homicidal jumps was mentioned earlier)—suicidal victims usually land feet-first." Uesugi Muneyuki continued: "During the autopsy, I found that the fatal head injury of Nishimura—specifically the point of impact, angle, and fracture pattern of the skull fracture—does not fully match the typical trauma from 'natural slip and roll on icy stairs.' The injury shows a more concentrated, more vertical impact force, as if he was violently shoved from behind, causing the back of his head to directly strike a protruding stone below, rather than multiple collisions during rolling."

"So, I examined the deceased's clothing, and indeed found something."

Uesugi Muneyuki slowly opened the deceased's clothes.

In the depths of winter, the deceased wore thick clothing, presenting a cold-outside, warm-inside condition. Having sweated heavily from being busy, the inner lining of the undershirt was damp, and as body temperature dropped rapidly after death, the damp clothing gradually cooled and hardened.

When Uesugi Muneyuki lifted the deceased's clothes and displayed the inner clothing to everyone.

A blurred tabi sock footprint suddenly appeared!

"!!!!!!"

That clear tabi sock footprint appeared before everyone's eyes in the ice and snow landscape—staff members were shocked, frightened, incredulous, or sighing, but regardless, they once again witnessed Uesugi Muneyuki's autopsy skill!

Truly divine!

Amidst the live recording with eight camera positions on the Taiga drama set, Uesugi Muneyuki continued speaking fluently.

"It must be said, the killer indeed chose the location well—first using the icy warehouse stairs to create a possible accident scenario to blur vision, while everyone, please look downward."

Uesugi Muneyuki pointed at the scene: "Below is a steep slope, with many miscellaneous items piled up, uneven ground. If someone falls from a height onto it, it's sometimes impossible to determine when the injuries on the body occurred."

"Clearly, this is a premeditated, precise crime, yet for some reason, the killer dared to do this in front of me—truly..." Uesugi Muneyuki sighed slightly, turning his gaze to the prop group leader Oogawa Gorou among the crew: "Are you too full of yourself, or do you think I, having resigned from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, lack the qualification to perform autopsies and thus can't wield a scalpel? Oogawa-san?"

Oogawa Gorou in the crowd turned pale, instinctively stepping back, and while dozens of staff and the Taiga drama crew's eight camera positions filmed simultaneously, Oogawa Gorou's tabi socks kept retreating.

"As for the motive, I think it's probably quite simple." Uesugi Muneyuki continued: "NHK personnel, I suggest you check exactly how many extras were supposed to come today versus how many actually showed up."

"Ask each extra about their registered work hours, actual overtime hours, overtime pay, and overtime allowances distributed."

"Also, the invoices and damaged props in the prop department..."

"The motive for the murder likely lies therein."