Chapter 479

PS: Tenshi wishes everyone a happy Qixi Festival!

After hearing Imazaki's manager's idea, Uesugi Muneyuki frowned.

Imazaki, do you suspect Miyawaki Sakura of stealing documents?

Would Sakura steal documents?

How could that be? Could she be an informant for the Financial Services Agency or Public Security?

Although Sakura doesn't interact much with him, in his view, she is a highly dedicated, hardworking, and serious little idol, full of love for her idol career, and her mind is filled with ambitions to rise above others, her brows and eyes brimming with lofty aspirations—she looks like a greedy ambitious person.

Unbeknownst to them, the girl's greatest charm lies here; her desire to rise above others gives her a unique charm, which is exactly what Uesugi Shiro and Mai admire most—otherwise, a little idol would be lost in the Japan Sea, and there are plenty of younger, prettier girls than Sakura, so why would they specifically appoint Sakura as the placard girl?

The famous Korean Sun Parkaka once said: Idols must be like idols!

So why would Imazaki now suspect Sakura?

【Actually, actually I'm not entirely sure either, but when I discovered the files were gone, I checked the surveillance and conducted a sweep of the entire company, and the only one not screened was Miyawaki Sakura, because she said she had an appointment with Shirakawa Mai, and our operations couldn't possibly stop her from keeping the date. Now, thinking back, her suspicion is the greatest, and——

【And?】 Uesugi Muneyuki pondered.

【And I can tell you, Uesugi-san, never overestimate the intelligence of this idol group; their IQ is only slightly above elementary school level, most are semi-literate, can't recognize many kanji, let alone understand arithmetic or read income-expense reports, or spot problematic documents in a pile of operational paperwork—Miyawaki Sakura is one exception; compared to others, she is still somewhat smarter.】 Imazaki's manager gritted his teeth: 【Damn it, whoever it is, she's ruined me—I won't let her go even as a ghost!】

【———】 Uesugi Muneyuki had nothing to say, thinking: You don't really think I'd give you a chance, do you?

However, it's true that there's long been a saying: after a female idol group becomes popular, many of the group's staff (scholar-officials) are fans who voluntarily applied for low-paying, grueling work just to get close to the idols.

However, 90% of such staff, filled with fanboy goggles, can't last two years; after truly close contact with their dream idol, the vast majority actively quit.

There's no way—idols in the entertainment industry occupy this status: if acting, singing, or even looks had any merit, who would become an idol?

Afterwards, Uesugi Muneyuki inquired about Takei Masanori and Kakimoto Hirotomo.

Indeed, Imazaki admitted, Takei Masanori and Kakimoto Hirotomo are two extremely troublesome hardcore fans, but they're very rich, able to shower members with massive amounts of rice—this rice means little to top-tier Sakura, but for the wash-foot maid, it's life-saving, plus they regularly make offerings to operations, so they've done this more than once, yet they're repeatedly moved off the blacklist by operations, and members have no choice but to endure in silence.

Little idol, you don't really want to just stop chasing your dreams and graduate from YKC48, do you?

Times aren't what they used to be; after years of glory, YKC48's earlier members have all graduated and started to flop, now relying only on the long tail effect and the fact that Japanese fans are genuinely deeply devoted to persist.

Afterwards, Uesugi Muneyuki inquired about the two deceased members, Iehara Riko and Nakai Rika.

As Imazaki said, never overestimate the cultural level of little idols; besides resentment and unwillingness, they can't utter anything of value.

So now only one matter remains.

How exactly did they die?

The outbreak of external news indeed drew nationwide attention, but the Metropolitan Police Department announced they're still investigating, specifics unclear, and the Special Mission Unit's Uesugi Muneyuki has joined the investigation, so for now, no comment.

At noon, a certain villa in Setagaya Ward.

The study's four walls are lined with bookshelves reaching the ceiling, holding bound legal classics and historical biographies; the air reeks of old books and premium whiskey; National Diet Member Yuasa Masamichi, in casual kimono attire, lounges in a leather armchair, sipping small mouthfuls of amber liquid. His son Yuasa Yang appears somewhat restless, his suit jacket casually draped over the chair back, tie loosened, pacing back and forth on the heavy Persian carpet.

"Father, are we being too passive?" Yuasa Yang finally stopped pacing, voice strained with uncontainable anxiety: "YKC

Now it's just a powder keg; media are like mad dogs biting and not letting go! That idiot Imazaki dying is just dying, but Ping's career might suffer serious damage—Akasaka has serious potential!" His tone regrets not life, but the destruction of two "products" about to make him money.

Yuasa Masamichi didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly swirling his wine glass, ice cubes emitting a crisp clinking sound.

"Yang," his voice steady and low, carrying the detached air of long-held authority: "Are you running a company, or collecting Western dolls in display cases? Your vision needs to be broader."

He slightly raised his eyes, gaze sharp as a blade, instantly piercing his son's restlessness: "YKC, from start to finish, is just a machine.

A machine that handles our troubles, delivers nutrients, and when needed, can still draw fire. Now, one of its parts has malfunctioned, spitting sparks; our primary task isn't to mourn that part, but to ensure the sparks don't burn us."

"Father, things are already cleaned up." Yuasa Yang spoke, voice slightly faster than usual: "I had Takikawa handle it; he's always been reliable."

Yuasa Masamichi lifted his eyelids, silently gesturing for him to continue. His eyes were deep, revealing no joy or anger, just a pure, evaluative attention.

Yuasa Yang, having received permission, spoke more specifically, as if displaying a fine work: "Takikawa's people first settled the operations manager, Imazaki Hiroshi."

"Just bad luck—those called Ihara and Nakai came for pillow business, so Takikawa and them had to use some sedatives, making Nakai and Ihara 'cooperate' a bit. We brought them and Imazaki to the apartment, poured them plenty of alcohol, added something else, and made the scene look———-uh, very chaotic, like a botched party."

He paused, seeming quite satisfied with his own arrangements: "The most crucial step used fentanyl derivatives, high purity, liquid. Injection sites chosen on scalp and toe crevices—absolutely hidden, takes effect extremely fast, leaves almost no trace. Afterwards, Takikawa's people still posed the bodies, creating that——entangled effect. He also left a linguistically incoherent 'suicide note' on Imazaki's computer." He finished, slightly straightened his back, awaiting his father's evaluation.

Yuasa Masamichi listened silently, facial expression unchanged. He slowly inhaled a cigar, let the smoke linger in his mouth a moment, then slowly exhaled.

"Fentanyl, Yang, you're willing to try some new tricks." His commentary couldn't be heard as praise or criticism, more like stating a fact: "Did Takikawa ensure clean hands? Are all involved reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable. Takikawa used overseas-sourced, untraceable people; after the job, they're sent away immediately. All places that might leave biological traces have been thoroughly processed. What police can find is only what we want them to find: an overworked employee who lost control, and a tragic farce." Yuasa Yang's tone was quite certain.

Yuasa Masamichi slightly nodded, his gaze returning to the wine liquid swirling in the cup: "Hmm. Takikawa handles things—I still trust him."

His tone remained as flat as ever, as if what he'd just heard wasn't a cold-blooded execution but a routine business report: "Still, in the end, it's a inferior move. Shows we had oversights before, forcing us into this cleanup."

He raised his head, looked at his son, eyes carrying warning: "Remember, the supreme method is to prevent problems from ever occurring. Next best is to let problems vanish naturally within legal and regulatory frameworks. Using Takikawa and his people is the last resort. Each time, it increases risk."

"I understand, Father." Yuasa Yang reined in some pride, "But this situation is urgent—we must cut all leads. This is the fastest, most thorough method."

"Yes, fastest and most thorough." Yuasa Masamichi repeated, lips curling into a cold arc: "As long as the essence refining doesn't speak, the Metropolitan Police Department's bunch could never untangle the messy relations among Okada, Imazaki, and Yamaguchi; as long as we control information channels, and the only informed one, Imazaki, is dead, even if they flip YKC48's ledgers upside down, even if they clearly know in their hearts it's us, they can only watch helplessly. They don't need truth, they need evidence. And evidence—"

He let out a near-silent soft laugh, raised his wine glass:

"——. Already vanished together with those three poor wretches. Unless the forensic doctor's scalpel truly resurrects the dead to personally accuse us,

otherwise, Financial Services Agency and Metropolitan Police Department? They'll forever just circle outside our walls."

"Heard the Special Mission Unit's legendary forensic doctor Uesugi joined the investigation?"

"Hah, even if Uesugi Muneyuki is formidable, can he still make the dead speak?"

Yuasa Yang also laughed, fully relaxed, picked up his glass and lightly clinked it with his father's.

"Then let's drink to Takikawa's professionalism," Yuasa Yang proudly said, "and to those evidences that can never speak."

"Cheers." Yuasa Masamichi replied softly, the gaze of the Meat Kasaya Nio in the wine glass appearing even more profound and unfathomable.

Facing Okada's deployment, which failed, fortunately they haven't been discovered yet.

Father and son's wine glasses again emitted crisp clinks, echoing in the quiet, luxurious study, silently sealing their self-perceived flawless crime.

Once YKC48 has an incident, the public's fierce attitude will inevitably pressure the Metropolitan Police Department to bear huge pressure and rush to close the case; they've also long arranged how operations should handle this, and this incident's flashpoint can immediately cover up Okada's matter involving cat nip—this is two birds with one stone; although YKC48 might need sacrificing, it's already about burned out, and moreover, the Yuasa father and son don't hold many shares here, so it's just right to strongly push Akasaka upward.

As for whether they could be discovered—what international joke?

Such a complex tangle, such a secret execution method—unless Ihara and Nakai's Ihara and Nakai themselves come out to explain, who could untangle this mess?

Yeah, even if Uesugi is formidable, can he still make corpses speak?