Chapter 372

PS: This is the first installment of the two updates I owe you; the rest… I'll repay them! Have I ever lied to you, Your Majesty Brother?

Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, high-end fitness gym in Ebisu.

Son of Diet member Masuo Ban'ei, 33-year-old Ryohei Ban'ei arrived here early, but his mental state is not good.

At the Sakurada Gate hearing, the originally certain victory unexpectedly failed, rendering Father Masuo Ban'ei's retaliation against the Metropolitan Police Department and Japanese police ineffective; the heavy counterattack not only missed its target but also strained ligaments, and Weekly Bunshun suffered heavy losses due to this incident and now faces multiple charges.

Ryohei Ban'ei was furious; when he saw Asuka's face while gathering intelligence for Weekly Bunshun, he was stunned to the point of awe, and he had already bribed the staff at the child consultation center, waiting for Misono Uesugi to arrange for Mio Ishihara to lose custody, at which point he would arrange her adoption into a family and ensure the girl permanently disappears!

Of course, Hiroyo Yuasa, son of another Diet member, thought the same way; the two nearly came to blows over this, with Yuasa even saying, "Choose Akasaka however you like, otherwise we'll each rely on our own abilities," unwilling to back down even if it meant mutual destruction, yet failing to make Ryohei Ban'ei concede, nearly capsizing the small boat of friendship between these two lecherous Diet members' sons.

Masuo Ban'ei's status is inferior to that of Masamichi Yuasa, who serves as party secretary-general, but Ryohei Ban'ei is the official first secretary of a Diet member, so their positions are roughly equal; in the end, they still couldn't reach an agreement.

After the hearing accusation failed and the Bunshun cannon was shattered, the furious and ashamed son of a Diet member retaliated by going onto "N Network," where he found a female student from Tsukuba University and another from Ochanomizu High School, spent the night partying, took a small amount of performance-enhancing drug, and fantasized about Asuka's face while having her wear a uniform.

This left him somewhat fatigued.

The private fitness gym in Ebisu has pleasant scenery, an elegant environment, high-end equipment; Ryohei Ban'ei slept a little late but still struggled to get up for his routine workout, though he was still drowsy, so he found an inverted leg press machine, lay down on it, and tried to nap for a bit.

You wait! Misono Uesugi! I've already bid one hundred million on N Network! Asuka, I've claimed you!

This is a machine that lets users lie on their back and push a heavy sliding platform with their feet, demanding high glute and leg strength, used to strengthen leg muscles.

Unfortunately, someone wouldn't let him sleep; at that moment, a fit female fitness instructor, 173 cm tall, happened to come face to face with Ryohei Ban'ei: "Mr. Ban'ei? What's wrong? Not training?"

Ryohei Ban'ei helplessly opened his eyes.

Who? Oh, it's that female trainer from this gym—she has a great figure but an unfeminine face, very man-like; Ryohei Ban'ei isn't very familiar with her, but when he saw the few young women learning yoga behind her staring at him curiously, he felt embarrassed and quickly said: "Nothing's wrong, Miss Sayakura—I'm just adjusting."

"Sure, then let me help you adjust!" the trainer said enthusiastically, after all, he's the son of a noble Diet member: "Same as last time? Or should I go lighter?"

"Just go with normal," Ryohei Ban'ei instinctively said, looking at a group of female yoga trainees, unable to resist saying: "My usual strong standard will do."

"Alright~" the trainer actually isn't very familiar with Ryohei Ban'ei; he always boasts about his good physique and professional fitness level, so she set the resistance to a higher value: "Keep going, take it slow—I'll take these ladies over there."

"…………" Ryohei Ban'ei originally didn't want to say more, but unexpectedly, several well-built yoga pants women kept staring at him, making him feel awkward again, so he proactively extended his legs, preparing to do a few sets of warm-up.

Ugh! So heavy!

The Diet member's son discovered the trainer had set the resistance too high! He was already exhausted, and summoning all his strength, he managed to push the massive weight up, draining his last bit of strength and control; when the inverted leg press reached the top, his feet weren't firmly and fully planted on the platform's center—one foot slightly up, the other slightly down, with the heel somewhat hanging in the air.

How come, so heavy?

Ryohei Ban'ei exerted all his strength, only to see stars flash before his eyes, his waist twitched, and his legs could no longer resist the weight; the platform began to retract rapidly, and his right foot instantly slipped off the platform—landing right on the ground! Unbeknownst to him, the anti-slip rubber mat here was dripping with a few drops of cleaning agent, causing his already uncontrolled right foot to completely lose traction, unable to make any supportive or adjusting movement.

This caused his entire body to instantly lose balance, his buttocks violently sliding forward off the seat!

As his body slid forward uncontrollably, the platform also shot backward at high speed! Moreover, it didn't stop at the limit point; instead, as the platform slid down, the limit screw suddenly snapped, losing the limit pin, and under immense inertia, the platform—like a heavy iron door—slammed violently and completely back to its starting position!

At that moment, Ryohei Ban'ei, already impaired by a hangover, had lost control of his body; he wanted to dodge but was powerless, watching helplessly as the high-speed descending platform, carrying the massive weight, came crashing down onto his lower body!

BANG!!!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Accompanied by the cracking sound of breaking bones, Ryohei Ban'ei fainted on the spot; as he was struck by the platform, the entire machine tilted, and beneath the askew platform, blood flowed out!

Dark red blood dripped onto the anti-slip carpet; the scene shocked everyone present.

"Oh no! Oh no! Mr. Ban'ei was hit by the machine!"

"Call 119! Call 119!"

"What happened? How did the machine malfunction? Where's the limit screw? And why didn't the buffer device work?"

"Come quickly, Mr. Ban'ei is seriously injured! He's unconscious!"

"Request air ambulance! Immediately apply for DoctorHeli to Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital!"

In the mid-January morning of the third year of the Uesugi era, a major accident occurred at the Ebisu private fitness gym.

In the wailing rescue helicopter, flight medics raced to the scene.

However, upon arriving and checking the injuries briefly, the emergency doctor was already drenched in sweat and sensed something was terribly wrong.

"Patient Ryohei Ban'ei, 33, male, due to 'loss of consciousness after being crushed by heavy fitness equipment on the lower abdomen'!"

"Severe deformation from lower abdomen to upper thigh, visible massive bruising and swelling, the entire lower body area shows destructive tearing injuries with active bleeding, both testes exposed and partially missing, pelvic compression separation test positive!"

"Condition: shock!"

The first to learn of this news was Masuo Ban'ei's secretary; at that moment, Masuo Ban'ei was still having a slightly late breakfast with Hiroshi Ozaki, president of Yoshimoto Kogyo, when the secretary persistently called him, he was still somewhat annoyed.

Didn't you see I'm in talks with the Yoshimoto president?

The phone kept ringing, and Masuo Ban'ei merely apologized, got up, and borrowed the phone.

"Hello? One man? What the hell is going on?! Why do I need to answer this so many times?!?!"

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「………………」

"What?" Upon hearing the secretary's tearful, fearful report, the Diet member froze: "You're… serious? Ryohei…?"

"Yes, sir! The young master was injured in the gym! Severely! According to on-site accounts, it was… improper equipment use! Emergency medics diagnosed destructive tearing of the lower body, pelvic crushing, possible… paraplegia!"

"What?!?!" Masuo Ban'ei froze, his vision darkening, the hotel scene spinning before his eyes.

Paraplegia?

No way!

Absolutely not!

This is his son! His only son! The one who served as his first secretary for eight years! The one preparing to inherit his Diet seat!

"Immediately call Professor Funao, director of Tokyo University Hospital! Have them take over—no matter the cost, we must save Ryohei Benz!!"

"Yes!" The secretary also spoke through tears, knowing how terrifying this was, what it meant.

"Also, call the police!" Masuo Ban'ei continued: "Report it now! 110! Immediately!"

"This is absolutely not an accident! Absolutely not!" The Diet member's voice, nearly squeezed from his teeth, trembled with pain and madness: "This is absolutely… murder!"

"Immediately call in Eiichi Watanabe! Have the Metropolitan Police seal off that gym! Seize all hard drives on-site! Fast!!!"

Hanging up, Masuo Ban'ei stared blankly ahead, his eyes unfocused.

"Prepare the vehicle."

"Ah?"

Suo Masao suddenly turned around, grabbing Osaki's collar with both hands, and shouted angrily: "Prepare the vehicle!"

"My son, my son—something happened!!!"

(Chapter End)