Chapter 40

After more than a month, Uesugi Muneyuki maintained his master-disciple relationship with Ikeda Erena, striving to improve his abilities while also continuously deepening his ties with various police stations in Tokyo; his reputation gradually spread, and many precincts would proactively seek his help when examining corpses, and following the rules, Uesugi Muneyuki's fee for examining a corpse was ten thousand yen, and his efficiency in examining corpses was highly efficient, which quickly made his side income exceed his salary.

Thus, his daily routine gradually became fixed: every morning, Ikeda Erena would drive to the university where Uesugi Muneyuki was located, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and regardless of whether there was anything to do, she would arrive on time; if police from other precincts came to assist, Ikeda Erena would follow Uesugi Muneyuki to the scene; if not, Ikeda Erena could even spend an entire day in Uesugi Muneyuki's laboratory and office, occasionally watching him write reports and papers, and sometimes taking the opportunity to point out his training progress.

Due to the police department's scheduling, Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena's days off were arranged to be the same, so when both were off duty, they would rent the training room at Otsuka Police Station for karate practice.

As for why it was karate instead of judo, Uesugi Muneyuki thought that if he were to have close contact with possible beings from the inner world, it would feel very strange, so he proactively suggested learning karate first.

Ikeda Erena imagined the scene of Uesugi Muneyuki learning judo with her and felt a bit embarrassed, with an unspoken reason being: karate allows male-female sparring, while judo does not have male-female sparring; since Uesugi Muneyuki proactively suggested learning karate first, Ikeda Erena naturally had no reason to object.

Thus, the two formed this new relationship: usually they were partners, commuting together; on weekends during rest and leisure, they were each other's master and disciple, with Uesugi Muneyuki teaching Ikeda Erena some forensic medicine knowledge, although Ikeda Erena mostly did not understand much and could not grasp the connection between postmortem alcohol generation and case-solving, but she listened very attentively.

Unfortunately, Uesugi Muneyuki could not teach her much; he could only teach Ikeda Erena some basic forensic medicine tricks.

With goals, work, and training, the time of August passed in a flash, and September's golden autumn arrived with Kyoto's red leaves falling in succession.

After several rains, the weather gradually turned cool.

Over the past month or so, Uesugi Muneyuki had examined forty or fifty corpses in succession, yet what disappointed him was that none of the corpses could trigger the Death Soul Contract; aside from collecting the extremely small amount of po that had not yet dissipated from the corpses, he gained nothing else.

The lack of progress on the path to the inner world made Uesugi Muneyuki somewhat anxious, but he currently had no way to access higher-level cases, and after the previous arson case, the Metropolitan Police Department had not sought him again.

As is well known, precincts can only handle limited case levels, while truly major cases are directly investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

He still needed more, still needed to be able to access higher-level cases.

Uesugi Muneyuki calculated in his mind, and he faintly had a bad premonition.

If following his brother's investigation and Ms. Kurosawa's words, the supernatural should truly exist in this world.

But he frequently activated supernatural power now, yet had not encountered anyone with supernatural abilities or supernatural beings.

What does this indicate?

"Uesugi, this is today's schedule: there are two corpses in Toshima Ward and Shinjuku Ward that need your help examining; one seems to be an elderly person living alone who died of sudden heart disease at home, and the other is someone who died in an accidental fall."

Early that morning, several police officers were already standing at the entrance of the Forensic Pathology Department at Tokyo Medical and Dental University; Ikeda Erena naturally received them at the door, briefly reviewed the documents, and then reported to Uesugi Muneyuki.

The weather had turned cool, and Ikeda Erena had changed back into her suit jacket, shirt, long pants, and leather shoes attire—still neutral, yet still unable to conceal the charming, slender figure beneath the simple uniform.

Compared to their first meeting, Ikeda Erena's mental state had changed greatly; in plain terms, although she still faced exclusion and suppression at the police station, although she was still sidelined by the Criminal Investigation Division, although after several years she was still a patrol officer, now Ikeda Erena's eyes shone!

Her mental state was completely different from before; the Ikeda Erena with light in her eyes radiated brilliance like dazzling fireworks from head to toe; the skin revealed at her collar was delicate and lustrous, warm and smooth like egg white; below her collar stood a magnificent, firm, full, and proudly upright presence; her slender figure could be called perfect; her calves were evenly proportioned, tight, and streamlined with full, rounded muscles; her entire body had not a single ounce of excess fat, only a passionate, captivating aura exuding the atmosphere of the Iberian Mediterranean.

Naturally, the police officers who came to seek Uesugi Muneyuki were frightened by Ikeda Erena, this notorious tall beauty, and dared not act, so naturally everything became something Ikeda Erena had to handle personally.

She seemed to enjoy being Uesugi Muneyuki's guardian.

The only trouble was that there was another person in the Forensic Pathology Department.

The elderly Professor Okochi entered the room holding a briefcase; compared to Uesugi Muneyuki still wearing short sleeves, Professor Okochi had put on a heavy, long Armani coat after autumn arrived, clearly the elderly professor's heat production could not compare to that of the two young people.

This old professor was also one of the very few men Ikeda Erena did not dislike; he was over seventy, highly respected and prestigious, and was Uesugi Muneyuki's mentor; occasionally glancing at him a few times, Ikeda Erena truly could not generate any feeling of dislike.

Professor Okochi had grown accustomed to Ikeda Erena appearing here every day, but today was different; he specifically gestured for Uesugi Muneyuki to come over: "Uesugi-kun, come here, regarding the arson-murder case in Bunkyo Ward last time."

The old professor unintentionally glanced at Ikeda Erena, thinking this female officer seemed not quite suitable for his student.

"Yes." Uesugi Muneyuki approached Professor Okochi and bowed respectfully.

He had always been the type to not follow up after handling a corpse, participating little in the autopsy report and subsequent certification, mostly leaving it to Professor Okochi's other graduate students and the Medical Affairs Bureau's connections, but the income from the police department was his alone to enjoy.

Tokyo Medical and Dental University naturally had no objection to this, after all Uesugi Muneyuki alone handled all autopsy business, but Uesugi Muneyuki had to owe Professor Okochi a favor; if not for Professor Okochi's connections, the Medical Affairs Bureau and other students might not necessarily be willing to write so many autopsy reports for him.

Japanese culture is like this: the work is done by Uesugi Muneyuki, yet Professor Qian can openly take the money, subordinates' achievements go to superiors, and superiors' mistakes are borne by subordinates!

That is, Professor Okochi does not care about these matters; he is too old and has seen everything.

"Regarding that matter last time, the Metropolitan Police Department said they might still need you to write another report." Professor Okochi furrowed his brow: "During the prosecution process, the District Public Prosecutors Office investigated and found that Ms. Akashi's former husband had serious domestic violence and infidelity issues within the marriage, thus requesting a retrial of Ms. Akashi's lawsuit, and the Metropolitan Police Department needs your help."

Uesugi Muneyuki also furrowed his brow; he knew this matter.

The Bunkyo Ward arson-murder case, when it actually came to prosecution, became complicated and complex; on the surface, the issue seemed simple: Ms. Akashi murdered her former husband, Koyama Kengo, so she could be charged with arson and intentional murder.

But when this matter reached the District Public Prosecutors Office, it became very complex: first, the office discovered that the former husband had a history of domestic violence within marriage, then it seemed they also incidentally found that the former husband had extramarital affairs within marriage; second, due to alimony not being paid on time, the office believed Ms. Akashi did not bear full responsibility, considered the Metropolitan Police Department's sentencing too severe, and requested a re-audit.

This matter involved Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki was not surprised by the former husband's bad record; according to social surveys, at least half of Japanese men have varying degrees of domestic violence habits, and after eight years of marriage, the probability of infidelity among Japanese couples exceeds 50%; a television station once surveyed dual-income homemaker families in Kanto, finding that among the anonymous couples surveyed, sixty percent admitted to having had affairs.

But the District Public Prosecutors Office insisted on using this matter to make a point, and still made Uesugi Muneyuki feel a hint of strangeness.

"This is only your first time encountering such a matter, Uesugi-kun; in the future, you will encounter more and more of these." Professor Okochi said solemnly: "Some cases, if the Metropolitan Police Department believes a heavier sentence is warranted, then the District Public Prosecutors Office will request a lighter sentence; if the Metropolitan Police Department believes leniency is appropriate, the District Public Prosecutors Office will request a heavier sentence."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded thoughtfully, probing: "It feels unrelated to the case itself……is it due to factional opposition?"

"Exactly." Professor Okochi, somewhat annoyed, pinched the steel pen in his hand: "Everyone hopes their power could be greater; the opposition between the Metropolitan Police Department and the District Public Prosecutors Office has lasted decades, Uesugi-kun, you must be careful yourself."

"You can still offend neither side for now, but……if you continue doing things this way, sooner or later there will come a day when you must completely side with one." Professor Okochi looked out the window: "You and I are different, Uesugi-kun; I know you don't like staying in the laboratory, so if you keep going this way, you will inevitably have to face these matters."

"We are not here to be politicians, but we cannot avoid politics."

Uesugi Muneyuki narrowed his eyes, unconsciously glancing toward Ikeda Erena in the distance.

Should he choose the Metropolitan Police Department, or the District Public Prosecutors Office?

————I am the dividing line of choice————

Likewise, in the golden autumn bringing coolness, maple leaves beneath the paulownia trees sent autumn's whispers, the clear sky above ten thousand miles of cloudless dusk reflected the brilliant sky, and even in the still-warm evening breeze mixed with an imperceptible hint of chill, it blew into the community of a super-large housing complex in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.

If one speaks of the term "housing complex," then the vast majority of people's first impression in their minds might be "housing complex wife" (laugh).

But the true meaning of "housing complex" is not this.

In Japanese, the so-called "housing complex" refers to an ultra-large residential community; if compared to the Celestial Dynasty, these communities are like university dormitories lined up in rows, factory workers' dormitory buildings, some large residential communities—each floor may have seven or eight households, dozens of households, a building may have thousands of residents, slightly fewer may have five or six floors, each floor housing dozens of people.

Housing complexes naturally come with corresponding supermarkets, schools, hospitals, and an entire housing complex will also have a dedicated housing complex management office, but compared to the high-end apartments where Uesugi Muneyuki lives and traditional detached houses, housing complexes have no walls, no gate guards, and basically no elevators.

This makes the distance between people very close; due to households living one after another, even if people dislike it, they cannot avoid large amounts of social interaction; at the same time, housing complexes also see large numbers of strangers visiting—salespeople, delivery personnel, missionaries, those seeking friends, even thieves and those with ulterior motives.

This is how the concept of "housing complex wife" arose, because truly like Uesugi Muneyuki's mother, Uesugi Tomoko, who lives in a garden Western-style house as a noblewoman, ordinary people in daily life simply cannot come into contact with them; rather, it is the wives living in housing complexes, who due to unavoidable large-scale social interaction residing in especially densely populated areas, that are easily remembered and coveted.

"I'm back."

In the large housing complex building of Setagaya Ward, a 15-year-old high school girl opened the door alone, randomly shouted into the empty room, then kicked off her worn-out, nearly faded little leather shoes and entered the house.

Although wearing only the most common and ordinary JK uniform, her slender build and slightly sallow complexion due to malnutrition still could not conceal the girl's graceful, upright posture; beneath the simple sailor-style uniform outerwear, the girl's clean, refreshing classical long straight hair flowed down over her shoulders, and beneath the swaying pleated skirt, a pair of slender, bony legs wore pilled elephant-trunk socks, her delicate, moving waist swayed with the colors of youthful vitality.

And what attracted attention most was that the girl had a very small face; her small face paired with a pair of clear, large eyes was like stepping out of a manga, adorable; her delicate features were pure and cute, full of transparency, utterly lovable, sweet when smiling, kawaii when serious, and with an occasional hint of moving shyness, she fully displayed the charm of a maiden.

In school, she was praised as the "girl chosen by the gods."

But this is at home—she is just a pair of sisters who came to Tokyo from Hokkaido together with her older sister.

The small room in the housing complex is really not big—just the size of four tatami mats. Even with such a small area, they still have to fit in a toilet and a kitchen, leaving the two sisters a living space only as big as a table. Books and miscellaneous items scavenged from the community mutual aid group are piled in the corner. There is no television; the refrigerator is borrowed from the neighbor auntie next door; even the bowls in the sink are scavenged from the community mutual aid group. The large bowls already have several chips, and the small bowls show signs of cracking.

Saito Asuka smelled the musty odor in the house and weakly shouted: "I'm back."

No one answered, because her older sister had an appointment that evening—she knew that, but she still had to shout, as if it were a ritual that must be completed.

She quickly washed the dishes using as little water as possible, then lay directly down on the tatami mat.

The girl who had just finished her part-time job was actually very hungry. As soon as she lay down, her stomach began to gurgle.

Today her luck was bad—though the part-time shop did good business, she only brought back two leftover seaweed rice rolls, the kind that cost 100 yen each. This amount of food could not possibly satisfy the needs of a first-year high school girl. She wolfed down the first one and saved the second for her sister.

She knew she couldn't have more. The monthly rent for the housing complex is thirty thousand yen, which is already extremely cheap in Tokyo. Even so, Tokyo's terrifying prices and various living expenses nearly crushed the two sisters' lives—let alone her sister's tuition, her own tuition. Having been in Tokyo for only a year, Saito Asuka already understood some things from seeing her sister's troubled expression when settling the bills.

She lay on her back on the tatami mat like that, arms and legs spread out.

When there was nothing to do, she would lie like this to conserve as much energy as possible, to fight against hunger.

The autumn afternoon turned into evening glow, but her older sister did not come back.

The evening glow faded, the last crimson light turned into the deep dusk of night, yet her older sister still did not return.

Before darkness completely enveloped everything, the streetlights turned on, and from the neighboring households came noisy sounds and the audio from television programs.

Her older sister still did not come back.

Hunger tormented the girl's nerves. She stared at the ceiling, feeling as if the peeling, worn-out ceiling was getting closer and closer to her face.

It seems today is another day of going hungry.

The girl could no longer bear it—she ate the last remaining seaweed rice roll, and her hunger eased slightly.

Sorry, sister—I'm just too hungry.

There's still one problem.

Saito Asuka closed her eyes.

Winter is coming.

In summer she could dress about the same as others, but winter clothing is far more expensive than summer clothing, plus heating costs...

The girl chosen by the gods only felt an invisible worry gradually spreading over her body, pulling her toward an unseen abyss of darkness.

The night grew deeper. Just as Saito Asuka doubted whether her sister could return tonight, a voice suddenly came from the doorway.

It's her sister!

Asuka immediately rose from the ground, but then nearly fell over due to dizziness and blurred vision.

"I'm back, A-shu!" her sister exclaimed excitedly, kicking off her high-heeled shoes and placing a large wooden food box on the table: "Hungry? Hurry up and eat!"

The sister excitedly opened the food box, and after hastily saying "I'm going to eat," she picked up her chopsticks—but when she clearly saw the contents arranged in a row: grilled beef tongue, cheese-baked scallops, wasabi octopus, shrimp tempura, and a small clump of raw beef slices, Saito Asuka lifted her head in disbelief.

She saw the red mark on her sister's neck—it was fresh.

"Sister?"

The girl's eyes reddened.

The construction of the large housing complex referenced Khrushchev's buildings—the corn emperor truly is the light of humanity!

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(Chapter End)