Chapter 462

"Wū wū wū wū, Okada-san! Okada-san!"

Igarashi Hayato was already in tears, choking with sobs; he knelt on one knee before Okada Masayoshi, gripping his other hand tightly, and after hearing Okada's story, grief welled up — his face utterly sincere — and he threw himself forward like a Dream Beam bomb: "Don't worry, Okada-san! You deserve someone better! I'll help you, definitely, I swear!!!"

"Uh……" Okada Masayoshi was rather embarrassed and rather at a loss for words; he had actually only wanted to tell these things to Uesugi Muneyuki alone, and there was also the reason of a strong urge to pour his heart out after a great disaster, but he really hadn't expected other people from the Special Mission Unit to be present.

He instinctively wanted to blame Uesugi Muneyuki for having agreed to keep it secret, but immediately remembered it was he himself who had spoken up voluntarily, so he could only swallow it back; then seeing Igarashi with that pure, unblemished, burning-brave-warrior look, the words of reproach wouldn't come out, and he could only reply faintly and bitterly: "Tha……"

With something like this happening, at least for now, how could he possibly still have the mind to look for someone new?

As for Kai Toru beside him, he was shedding tears while his expression was complex; he wondered: Would Yūko be like this too?

No way, Section Chief Okada, if you're like this, how am I supposed to believe in love again?

Ikeda Erena said nothing; she knew she was bad with words, and for this National Hero Superintendent, Erena gave him a gentle hug, comforting him that it was okay, then stood obediently beside Uesugi Muneyuki, using her eyes to ask what they should do next.

"Let's send Okada-san back to the hospital first." Uesugi Muneyuki said softly, then very tactfully, together with Igarashi, he hoisted Okada Masayoshi up, one on each side, and the Special Mission Unit members escorted Okada Masayoshi away from the water purification plant.

Outside the water purification plant, an SAT armored vehicle was already parked there; the leaders were precisely Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau's Ichijo Keishi Management Officer and SAT's Fifth Squad Leader Godai; seeing Uesugi Muneyuki and the others escorting Okada out, Ichijo Keishi didn't say much, just jogged up, patted Okada on the shoulder, said quietly "Good work," then signaled SAT to escort Okada back to the hospital.

Ichijo Keishi knew that after going through so much, any words might hurt Okada's pride.

Just like that, under SAT's escort, Okada Masayoshi got into the armored vehicle and headed for the hospital; worth mentioning is that besides protection, this also carried a meaning of surveillance, after all Okada's suspicion had not been completely cleared.

The other side.

"We're returning to the Special Investigation Headquarters." Uesugi Muneyuki said to the remaining Special Mission Unit members.

"Hah? We're going back just like that?" Kai Toru said in surprise: "It's already dawn, you know."

"Right, go back now; if I haven't guessed wrong, the Special Investigation Headquarters side will have news very soon." Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow: "High Monk prediction — at the latest before dawn, Kashiwagi's side will have a discovery!"

"High Monk prediction, what High Monk is this?" Kai Toru shot a sidelong glance and retorted.

"Naturally it's the Abbot of Shaolin Temple on the other side of the sea, where all martial arts under heaven come from Shaolin, Master Shi!" Uesugi Muneyuki was full of confidence.

"So amazing! Worthy of Uesugi-san!" Igarashi had a face full of admiration; anyway, ever since he joined the Special Mission Unit he had admired every single member.

Youthful, invincible, sweet, cute, domineering, resource-rich, well-managed Management Officer Minami!

Under the heavens, omnipotent, no case unsolved, Noble Peerage Uesugi Chief!

Fighting his father to the end, carving his own path, dashing and open-minded Deputy Inspector Kai!

Judo beauty policewoman, fierce fighter of Tyrannos, Deputy Inspector Ikeda!

Professional ability maxed out, no matter how Uesugi deduces, Assistant Ishihara can find scientific basis!

Section Chief Okada who can pilot an EVA!

Our Special Mission Unit, simply every single one is a god-like person!

On the way back, Uesugi Muneyuki sat in the front passenger seat thinking, Ikeda drove, Kai and Igarashi sat in the back, and just outside the window, Village Flower Palace was moving alongside the car window at the same speed as a Toyota Camry, incidentally striking up a conversation with Uesugi Muneyuki.

【Humans, truly a species easily self-moved and beguiled.】 Village Flower Palace said with great disdain: 【No wonder it's the Love God Chi Rui An and the Wilderness God Yi…… In short, I now understand why humans have so many irrational behaviors; put bluntly, on one hand you humans are influenced by the Love God's power, sensibility and strong reproductive desire easily overwhelm reason, on the other hand as creations of the Wilderness God, the beast's instinct and passion are forever hidden in your blood and genes.】

【If you understand it that way, fine.】 Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: 【Humans are originally creatures who like to listen to stories, willing to pay huge costs for their own emotional value.】

【30】 【Say more, why.】 Village Flower Palace clearly grew interested, signaling Uesugi Muneyuki to say more.

【The Village Flower Palace clearly became interested, gesturing for Uesugi Muneyuki to say more.】

Uesugi Muneyuki naturally had no problem.

Humans are originally a species that especially likes to listen to and tell stories, innately yearning for love and emotional value; they are innately very easily attracted by splendid narratives, from the grand thousand-year Rome down to the cold plum by the roadside.

Take a typical example: it is generally believed that in the late Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms, Shu Han was the last regime in Celestial Dynasty history with a strong romantic color; although in official history it may not be so absolute — for instance, Liu, Guan, and Zhang were not sworn brothers but fellow townsmen from Zhuo Commandery who rose in rebellion as original shareholders; strictly speaking they were still a partner relationship; Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei also went through a certain running-in period, and because Zhuge Liang was too "upright," their private lord-subject relationship was far less intimate than Liu Bei and Fa Zheng's seamless, like-minded, even slightly deep male-male affection — yet Romance of the Three Kingdoms adapted and told this romantic grand story well, so even after over a thousand years countless people still speak of it with relish, deeply moved: one day the Peach Garden Oath, a lifetime of brotherly love; three visits to the thatched cottage; devoting oneself until death.

Another example: a luxury brand, Balenciaga.

Balenciaga is typical of not fleecing the poor — for instance, a plastic woven bag with a logo printed on it sold for 300; for instance, a pair of big white boxers with a red patch dyed on the butt sold for 500; for instance, deliberately distressed ragged denim jeans sold for 800.

Many people laugh that buyers of this brand are suckers, but actually Balenciaga just told its brand story well; because when you laugh that Balenciaga buyers are marks, you are not Balenciaga's target customer — they use this method to separate people from people, guaranteeing the high-net-worth crowd's prestige and condescension.

Similarly Hermès, Rolex, and for instance the famous Girls' Generation star Jessica Jung's self-created fashion brand: a 20-yuan T-shirt, she adds an English phrase plus "designed by SNSD Jessica" and sells it for 300, and still plenty of people buy.

A counter-example is Maserati: originally a very prestigious luxury car, but constantly associated with "micro-business XXX happily picks up," and Maserati not only didn't stop it but even designed a corresponding event "Welcome micro-business filming, 300 per session"; afterward everyone's first reaction upon seeing a Maserati was "micro-business, nouveau riche," so high-net-worth people and upper society stopped touching this brand — picking up sesame seeds but losing the watermelon.

As for criticism of luxury goods, not to mention the industrial era, even in 17th-century Paris there were piles of literati writing essays criticizing and mocking the luxury trend; now it's the 21st century, any use? Paris to this day remains the world's largest luxury consumption center; a certain brand started out positioning itself as a civilian brand satirizing and opposing luxury, but after developing for a while it itself became a symbol of mid-to-low-end luxury.

This is humans: romance and passion forever lurk in this race's blood, reason and beastliness rise and fall in turn, hence so many splendid stories.

After Uesugi Muneyuki finished speaking, Village Flower Palace was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly, rarely revealing a trace of delight.

Humans, are such an interesting species?

The outside world is quite interesting too!

……………………

The other side, early morning hours, Metropolitan Police Department Special Investigation Headquarters.

The Special Investigation Headquarters police led by Kashiwagi Jin had already been watching surveillance footage for several hours with red eyes.

Word soon came from the front: Uesugi Muneyuki had already found the escaped Okada Masayoshi!

Hearing this news, Minami finally couldn't hold on and went to sleep, leaving only Kashiwagi Jin feeling immense pressure.

The Special Mission Unit gained such huge merit the moment they joined, making Kashiwagi Jin unable to sit still.

He had to wrap things up before Uesugi Muneyuki returned, absolutely could not let him steal the limelight!

He ordered subordinates not to rest, they must find the culprit as fast as possible!

Fortunately, after Uesugi Muneyuki received Kashiwagi Misa's reminder, the culprit's characteristics were already very clear; then through Kashiwagi Misa's "Ah-le-le" marking of a person in the apartment entrance surveillance, the Special Investigation Headquarters quickly locked onto one person!

Kurozaki Ryūji, height 186 cm, priors for violent brawling and speeding, once knew Okada Miki, had a period of contact during night school at Tsushin High School, member of a Kantō bōsōzoku; police retrieved his recent photos and surveillance records (convenience stores, transit cards), discovering he often wears a dark blue hooded work jacket, a mask, and gloves.

The Metropolitan Police Department immediately pulled Kurozaki Ryūji's data from the archives; although the MPD's qualification recognition on whether he is a formal Violent Group member was not unanimous, one Organized Crime Control Department officer recognized this guy — a veteran Organized Crime officer in charge of the Giyōkai identified him as a related person who long frequented Giyōkai-associated business venues, and immediately found the Giyōkai demanding their cooperation.

Seeing Organized Crime Control Department officers show up, the Giyōkai didn't dare let a fart, and immediately sold out Kurozaki Ryūji.

They told the Organized Crime officers that Kurozaki Ryūji that guy is currently playing mahjong at the "Cherry Blossom Sparrow Club" in Shinjuku Ward!

Receiving this news, the MPD continued checking surveillance; Kashiwagi Jin clearly captured Kurozaki Ryūji's figure in an inconspicuous traffic surveillance camera — he was wearing that signature dark blue hooded jacket, swaggering into the shop's back door. The time was exactly the night of the incident.

"Yoshi, target confirmed! Repeat, target confirmed!"

"Target, Cherry Blossom Sparrow Club! Everyone! Move out!!!"

(End of chapter)