Chapter 45: Investigation Division 1's Invitation

Police Inspector Megure of Investigation Division 1 never expected that a falling accident would end so simply.

Uesugi Muneyuki performed an autopsy in five minutes, the police station investigated for half an hour, and a case was resolved easily and pleasantly; the Minato Ward falling case, which was originally expected to take an entire afternoon, was declared closed, and all that remained was to carry out the identification and wrap-up work.

The big shots of Investigation Division 1 certainly wouldn't do these things, so the remaining tasks would definitely be followed up by the police station side.

Originally thinking that this kid charged 10,000 yen per corpse, and that the Metropolitan Police Department alone in Tokyo had to pay Uesugi Muneyuki over 300,000 yen in autopsy fees every month, Police Inspector Megure had thought this money was too easy to earn.

Now it seems that a great reputation is well-deserved; he certainly has the qualifications to earn this money!

If the Forensic Pathologists of the Forensics Division could all have this level of skill, our Metropolitan Police Department would have no trouble solving cases!

While Police Inspector Megure was still thinking, the president of the construction company, House Construction, had already come running over in tears, bowing deeply to Uesugi Muneyuki: "Thank you! Mr. Forensic Pathologist!"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to clarify the matter." Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was a bit strange at this moment; his emotions flickered, a trace of anger and helplessness showing slightly between his brows, and shaking his head, the Forensic Pathologist reached out and patted the president's arm: "Next time, don't delay wage payments!"

The wish the "Jumping Brother" wanted to fulfill was not this; this guy's request was "I still want to gamble one more time," but Uesugi Muneyuki wouldn't listen to him.

"Next time for sure!" President House Construction thanked him again, and took the opportunity to present a business card: "If you need any renovations, please be sure to grace us with your presence, I'll give you a discount!"

And so, the matter ended.

"Clear the scene!" The suit brigade of Investigation Division 1 had watched Uesugi Muneyuki's performance the whole time, and now that there was no need to investigate or handle the aftermath, they boarded their vehicles one after another, preparing to leave.

"Uesugi-kun, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Police Inspector Megure had the intention to interact more with Uesugi Muneyuki; it would be best to build a good relationship with such an awesome guy, so after thinking it over, he took the initiative to ask.

"As for my plans, you'd have to ask your Metropolitan Police Department." Uesugi Muneyuki blinked: "Because I had to accept questioning from the District Public Prosecutors Office today, the hospital counts me as being on official business, so there shouldn't be anything else to do."

Nothing else to do?

Ikeda Erena, standing next to Uesugi Muneyuki, suddenly realized that besides Uesugi Muneyuki, she had nothing to do either!

It was only three o'clock in the afternoon; if that was the case, wouldn't it mean...

Heh heh~ This guy's time for the rest of the day was all hers.

Ikeda Erena was already calculating what she should go do with Uesugi Muneyuki next; it would be best to find a small shop to sit in and have him review this case again, as there were some parts she still didn't understand, for instance, why did accidental deaths always involve the upper body leaning out—was it not easy to fall if the lower body leaned out?

She didn't like Investigation Division 1 because absolutely no one answered her, everyone acted as if she didn't exist, and the local branch was even worse.

They only need him, they are all ignoring me!

Ikeda Erena felt miserable inside; she thought these people had no idea how important she was to him.

They have no idea!

"That's perfect, we are going to Fuji TV to investigate an incident next, would Uesugi-kun like to come with us?" Police Inspector Megure looked left and right, then leaned in and whispered: "Sudo mentioned before that Uesugi-kun really likes the Actress Bai Chuan Mai, right? She is at the TV station today too!"

"Oh? How so?" Sure enough, Uesugi Muneyuki became interested.

"???" Ikeda Erena's eyes widened.

"Fuji TV anchorwoman, Ms. Hironaka Mariko, a graduate of Keio University, has gone missing." Police Inspector Megure said in a low voice: "This matter wouldn't normally fall to our Division 1, but Fuji TV is an important partner of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Division Chief Mikasa told us to stop by and take a look on our way; would you like to come along? If you come with us, we can count you as assisting investigation personnel, and with an ID badge, Uesugi-kun, you can walk around the station and even see Bai Chuan Mai-san!"

"This..." Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes lit up: "Then I'll trouble your Division 1."

"Ha, no trouble at all." Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki had indeed taken the bait, Police Inspector Megure proudly patted Uesugi Muneyuki on the shoulder: "We should be the ones thanking you."

Uesugi Muneyuki followed them onto the Investigation Division 1 vehicle, leaving behind a stunned Ikeda Erena.

The tall beauty stared blankly as Uesugi Muneyuki was so easily persuaded by Police Inspector Megure to get in the car using his senior Mai as an excuse, her own beautiful plans all falling through, and she couldn't describe the feeling in her heart.

A kind of heart-wrenching bitterness, as if it were seeping out from her bones and blood.

After all, having been a detective for several years and isolated for several years, Erena didn't show her disappointment easily, but seeing Uesugi Muneyuki decisively abandon the time he could have spent with her to choose his senior Mai, Erena still felt very angry and aggrieved.

This guy begged her to teach him Karate, and from time to time secretly looked at her chest, legs, and feet, and she hadn't refused; during their usual training, the two of them occasionally had zero-distance contact and whispered in each other's ears, and she had tacitly allowed it all.

No man had ever dared to take advantage of her like this, except for him.

But the cruelty of reality mercilessly tore apart her fantasies; perhaps she was not the only one for Uesugi Muneyuki.

It was true, it was very normal for him to know other women in Tokyo, and she had seen it more than once herself.

Ikeda Erena felt like she was suffocating.

What was even more suffocating was that no one paid any attention to her.

From beginning to end, no one from Investigation Division 1 had said a word to her, and the local branch treated her like air; when Police Inspector Hayata greeted his subordinates to clear the scene and came over to apologize to Uesugi Muneyuki and Police Inspector Megure, he even specifically walked around her in a semicircle.

As the members of Investigation Division 1 boarded their vehicles one after another, no one called her; she seemed to have been forgotten.

An inexplicable heaviness pressed on her shoulders, and breathing became a bit difficult.

Is it, like this again?

Erena had a strong personality; the more she encountered such situations, the less she was willing to lower her status.

In the constant stream of the crowd, she stood stubbornly in the center of the field.

Until a voice sounded.

"Ikeda? What are you doing standing there?" Uesugi Muneyuki poked his head out from the back seat: "Come quickly, we're going to visit Fuji TV, it's a rare opportunity!"

"I..." Ikeda Erena lowered her head, clenching her hands.

"Hurry up, hurry up." Uesugi Muneyuki opened the car door and half-pulled, half-dragged the tall beauty into the car: "I know you have nothing to do next, so let's go together; we are partners, after all."

Just like that, Ikeda Erena was half-pushed and half-pulled by Uesugi Muneyuki into the back seat, and the Investigation Division 1 guy who had intended to get into this car immediately gave up and went to squeeze into another one instead.

I don't need your help!

Erena tried hard to calm her mood, but she couldn't suppress her expression; the bitterness that had just subsided and a strong sense of satisfaction surged wildly from the sea of her heart.

This guy, why is it that he can always appear when she needs help the most!

But, I actually wish you wouldn't go see that so-called senior Mai, I wish more...

Damn it, why am I so happy and satisfied just because he called out to me?

Bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Erena cursed Uesugi Muneyuki's denseness in her heart, and then sat happily by Uesugi Muneyuki's side.

There's no helping it, I'll just have to accompany you on your visit.

In the car, Police Inspector Megure saw Erena squeezing in through the rearview mirror and was speechless.

Why did you ask her to come along? I only invited you, I didn't invite her!

This woman is trouble, and I still want to continue working in Investigation Division 1!

But Uesugi Muneyuki's face could not be ignored, so Police Inspector Megure could only tacitly accept the situation.

"Hironaka Mariko from Fuji Television has gone missing?" Uesugi Muneyuki was still interested in the case of the missing anchorwoman.

"Yes, her family reported it, saying that Ms. Hironaka Mariko has not been in contact with home since last Friday, and she didn't reply to messages over the weekend," Police Inspector Megure said from the front seat. "So our Division 1 is going to the television station to investigate while we're at it."

"Is there no one at home?"

"She lives in a rented apartment outside."

After listening for a moment, Uesugi Muneyuki was not very interested in this case.

An adult living alone, it is very normal to occasionally lose contact for a few days, and there was no body to perform an Autopsy on; listening to Police Inspector Megure's account, he didn't take it too seriously either, just a routine investigation.

It was no big deal; Police Inspector Megure, Uesugi Muneyuki, and Ikeda Erena all thought so.

"Speaking of which, Police Inspector Megure, could you describe to me how your Investigation Division 1 usually handles cases when you encounter them?" Uesugi Muneyuki took this opportunity to ask proactively.

"Of course."

Police Inspector Megure described the Investigation Division 1's case-handling routine to Uesugi Muneyuki.

If a murder case occurs in a certain place, what would Investigation Division 1 do?

According to the usual routine, Investigation Division 1 would be divided into three groups.

The first group visits the surrounding area, questioning every passerby and nearby resident, tracking surveillance cameras, and looking for possible clues.

The second group screens the deceased's interpersonal relationships, starting the investigation from all possible suspects.

The third group gathers personnel, taking the location of the deceased as the center, and based on this, searches step by step in a radial pattern for possible criminal traces and evidence; of course, the Forensics Division that performs the Autopsy is also included, and the body and other physical evidence will be sent for testing.

After listening, Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself that this point is about the same in all countries, and everyone's criminal investigation technical means are much the same.

It must be admitted that Japan's social security is relatively good, but the Japanese police's ability to solve crimes is actually not strong.

"Not to mention other places, here in Tokyo, the clearance rate for all filed cases under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department is less than 40%, and the vast majority of these are things like missing persons, theft, fraud, and disputes," Police Inspector Megure said casually. "The most incompetent among them is Kanagawa."

The peak of Japanese police trash is in Kanagawa Prefecture; basically, every year there are national news-level scandals and illegal criminal acts exposed, including police wearing uniforms to engage in telecommunications fraud, sleeping with high school students (Japanese law considers 18 as adulthood, and it is illegal for adults to have relations with minors, but the legal age for marriage is 16, so relations between spouses are not illegal), molesting JK on the way to work, secretly filming under female customers' skirts in supermarkets, smearing semen on female passengers' bags on trains, being caught red-handed stealing Tempura and bread in supermarkets, finding seriously injured patients while on patrol and not sending them for treatment but leaving them at the police box until they died, driving police cars into streetcars, corruption and taking kickbacks, and so on and so forth.

It can be said that it has already transcended the category of incompetence and entered the realm of the abstract.

Moreover, Kanagawa Prefecture once had a record—four police gun-loss incidents in one year, and the most outrageous one was that a police officer lost his gun and never knew it; a convenience store clerk found the small revolver and played with it for an entire morning before remembering to return it to the police officer.

If you exclude the abstract Kanagawa, the Japanese police's clearance rate is actually not high; for instance, fraud and theft have always had extremely low clearance rates, and then for many cases, the police either report it as a missing person and there is no follow-up, or they simply determine it as suicide and close the case hastily.

Since that is the case, why hasn't Tokyo become the Gotham of East Asia?

It's very simple; first of all, the Japanese attach great importance to the "public morality" of national character, and have always had the habit of not causing trouble for others, respecting the law and authority, having a relatively homogeneous racial culture, and being a society of human relationships; under these multiple factors, the crime rate is relatively low.

Secondly, the quality of the police is relatively high.

Yes, although the police in local branches and local stations have always been abstract, when they truly encounter important cases such as murders, the Metropolitan Police Department will handle them personally, and the elite police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department have high execution capabilities; for example, cases handled personally by the Metropolitan Police Department such as murder, robbery, gambling, drugs, and human trafficking have a clearance rate of over 80%.

However, relying solely on a small number of elite police bureaucrats at the headquarters to maintain social peace and stability may not last long, and it is a great test of the level of succession.

Uesugi Muneyuki understood what Police Inspector Megure meant.

In short, 90% of the police in local stations are trash, while the Metropolitan Police Department is much stronger, with only 40%-50% of the police being trash.

"There are a few other reasons." Police Inspector Megure shook his head with a bitter smile. "In the past, the level of technology was not good enough, there was no surveillance or DNA technology, but our Metropolitan Police Department's scope of authority was much larger; now that surveillance and DNA criminal investigation technology have improved, our investigation authority has become smaller and smaller. Now there are many things we cannot do, let alone interrogation; many times we know clearly that he is the murderer, but in the end, we can only let the person go."

"Another thing is that the status of the police is getting lower and lower. In the sixties and seventies, a police background was considered a main road, dignified and prominent, and only true elites could enter the Metropolitan Police Department to work. But later, the economy improved, there were more choices, and fewer and fewer people went into this line of work. Social elites are more willing to become lawyers, doctors, or go into politics and business. The quality of new police officers is getting worse and worse, and only the Metropolitan Police Department or places like Osaka Prefecture still have career-track officers willing to come. And in politics, a police background has also changed from being dignified and prominent to being looked down upon."

The team has begun to become a mixed bag, and police capability has dropped significantly.

"Finally, society is different." Police Inspector Megure also expressed his own worries.

Ever since the bubble economy burst, society has become increasingly cold and isolated. With the development of commercialization, it is becoming more and more difficult to trace items left at crime scenes through production and regionality, and the difficulty of collecting and examining evidence at crime scenes is constantly rising. On the other hand, the demise of the traditional lifetime employment system also makes people less and less willing to cooperate or come forward to testify.

The Japanese police are best at solving murder cases through interpersonal relationships and tracing evidence; once they encounter other types of crime, they are often at a loss.

"Uesugi-kun, our Metropolitan Police Department needs talent like you!"

China once inspected the Japanese police system many times in the seventies and eighties and generally expressed appreciation for the Japanese police system, but it was from the late eighties that the quality of the Japanese police began to decline rapidly, and it only began to recover after 2010.





(End of this chapter)