Chapter 51: The Metropolitan Police Department is Shaken, the Capital is Stirred

At seven o'clock on a September evening, the Fuji TV Odaiba Building in Minato Ward, Tokyo, was brightly lit. This futuristic architectural design, completed in 1997, resembles a "concave" character with a sphere embedded in the middle. Its appearance is highly unique, and the most conspicuous feature is, of course, the titanium sphere embedded between the two high towers of the Odaiba Building, which is full of magical color and brimming with a sense of technology.

It is said that the designer of this building referenced the concept of "visionaryism" to establish the intent for Fuji TV, one of the top two private television stations, to showcase its success and status over the decades.

However, today, what has happened at Fuji TV has already attracted the gaze of the entire Tokyo Metropolis. Outside the Odaiba Building, police cars are parked everywhere, and all access roads are covered with yellow tape; entry is permitted but exit is not. Further down, the plaza below and the seaside park have gathered even larger crowds—some are here to watch the spectacle, some are television station staff, some are people from the entertainment industry, and as for others, well, they are naturally the "friendly stations."

Upon hearing the news of the building lockdown, other television stations were like sharks that had smelled blood. NHK, NTV, Asahi, TBS, and even TV Tokyo reported the news of the Fuji TV lockdown in the upper right corner while airing a Kamen Rider compilation!

The news vans were deployed. An NHK anchorwoman, dressed in a gray suit skirt paired with 80D thick black stockings and thin high-heeled shoes, faced the camera. The staff beside her shouted "Start, start!" As the live broadcast began, the anchorwoman's long, wavy hair swayed in the night wind of the Odaiba Building.

"Hello everyone, this is an emergency live broadcast from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. I am the reporter on the scene, Kyoguchi Sayuri. What you are seeing now is the Fuji TV Odaiba Building."

"According to news from the scene, around 6 o'clock this afternoon, the Fuji TV Odaiba Building was suddenly locked down for unknown reasons. Currently, at least three thousand people are stranded inside the Odaiba Building. According to the Metropolitan Police Department on the scene, the reason for closing the Odaiba Building is because it involves an incident, and communication has already been established with the Fuji TV side."

"We still do not know the specific reason for closing the Odaiba Building. It is reported that this may be related to an investigation operation by the Metropolitan Police Department. This station will continue to report to you from the scene!"

The female reporter tried hard to straighten her back in the wind.

And she was not the only one on the scene; not far away, other news vans were already prepared.

"Hello everyone, this is TBS Television..."

"NTV will continue to follow this matter."

"Asahi Television reporting for you."

The crowd was surging. In the live broadcasts of the major television stations, people were constantly arriving at the scene. The NHK reporter was describing the sequence of events to the camera when the sound of sirens from afar made her turn her head.

"A car is coming, one moment..." The reporter held the microphone, and the elite from NHK, after a brief identification, said with great certainty: "From what we see on the scene, we see reinforcements from the Metropolitan Police Department arriving. Judging by the license plate number, it should be the Investigation Division 1 Chief, Police Superintendent Mikasa Yohei!"

"Chief Mikasa Yohei is a 'non-career track' officer who graduated from high school, yet he ascended to the throne of Investigation Division 1 Chief. Historically, Chief Mikasa possesses an extremely keen intuition for cases; his personal arrival indicates the severity of the matter."

The position of Investigation Division 1 Chief is theoretically held by the non-career track; only the strongest, most capable, and best-at-solving-cases non-career track criminal police can hold this position. However, it is not absolute; for example, the current Superintendent General, Watanabe Eiji, also briefly served as Investigation Division 1 Chief. But regardless of who holds it, this throne symbolizes endless glory—the face of the Metropolitan Police Department.

The car door opened, and Investigation Division 1 Chief Mikasa, wearing a well-fitted full Armani suit, slowly stepped out. His already M-shaped hairline was covered by a tuft of protruding, sparse bangs. A nervous expression flickered in his small eyes, and against his bronze skin, his brows were upright and his gaze stern. Straightening his suit coat, the Investigation Division 1 Chief looked around. Seeing so many news vans and reporters, his steps became increasingly heavy: "What is the situation?"

"Police Inspector Megure of the Thirteenth Subsection and the security guards of Fuji TV are searching floor by floor from the top. There have been no valuable discoveries near the trash dump. Our people are checking the suspicious individuals entering and exiting on the surveillance footage one by one. The first-floor restaurant has been requisitioned by us as a temporary command center. Division Chief, please follow me."

"Not enough. Immediately notify all local branches in Minato Ward to gather personnel. Call all those guys in the branch offices who are just wasting time. Also, immediately have Fuji TV produce the building blueprints; we need the complete design structure map of the Odaiba Building."

Division Chief Mikasa clenched his fists tightly. He had already communicated with Fuji TV's top management in the car.

Nippon Life only gave them three hours; any actions beyond this time would not be covered by insurance. And although Dentsu and Hakuhodo did not explicitly state how long they could search, their attitude was very clear.

Could it be that if they keep failing to find the person, the Odaiba Building will remain locked down forever?

How could that be!

Therefore, they must try their best to find the person within three hours. If it really doesn't work, they must find the missing anchorwoman before twelve o'clock tonight, otherwise, Fuji TV is finished, and the Metropolitan Police Department will also be finished!

And even then, Fuji TV still wants to hold a live broadcast. I really don't know what those idiots are thinking!

"Kashiwagi, you handle it." Division Chief Mikasa quickly placed his hopes on the other police inspector who had arrived.

Kashiwagi Jin, 30 years old this year, a Criminal Investigation Division police inspector who graduated from Chuo University and the University of Tokyo graduate school. Coming from the career track, he has been famous throughout the police world for his execution ability of "precision, action, and perfection" since he joined. Moreover, because of his outstanding appearance and excellent temperament and talent, he is hailed by the police world as the "Star Inspector."

The Metropolitan Police Department also intentionally wants to cultivate him as the face of the Metropolitan Police Department. Many important cases are handled by him in interviews. This police star who graduated from Chuo University has an appearance typical of a "playboy" type; a head of messy hair hangs over his forehead, and on both sides of his high-bridged nose are a pair of melancholy peach-blossom eyes. Even in a standard work suit, he cannot hide his stylish demeanor.

However, although very handsome and cool, Kashiwagi Jin's private life is relatively clean. He married two years ago; his spouse is the previous Face of the Metropolitan Police Department—Assistant Police Inspector Kashiwagi Misa, who currently works in the Equipment Management Subsection of the General Affairs Department.

"Yes." As a career track officer, Kashiwagi Jin was very respectful to Division Chief Mikasa, but he was not so polite to Police Inspector Megure, who came from the non-career track: "Too careless, Megure. To not report in advance? Does he want to destroy the First Division..."

"The missing person has a fiancé, right?" Division Chief Mikasa interrupted Kashiwagi Jin.

"Yes, it is Executive Director Shimakawa of Ota Real Estate. Both parties are already engaged. If everything goes smoothly, tomorrow is their wedding day." The star inspector of Investigation Division 1 said coldly. He looked at the brightly lit Odaiba Building in the night sky with full confidence.

"Seal off the nearby streets."

"Third Unit, investigate all of the missing person's connections, especially this fiancé. Sixth Unit, seal all entrances; entry is permitted but exit is not. Ninth Unit, prepare to establish a temporary special investigation headquarters."

"Yes!"

At this moment, witnessing the mobilization of the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1, the major television stations on the scene became even more excited. Under the barrage of cameras and microphones, the entire Tokyo Metropolis began to pay attention to this building lockdown incident.

————I am the separator of the big star————

Inside the Odaiba Building.

"Understood, thank you very much."

Ikeda Erena stuffed her Police Handbook back into her pocket, while Uesugi Muneyuki thanked the security guard from the Security Division.

Just as he expected, when Erena showed her Police Handbook, the Security Division naturally assumed she was also a police officer, so they repeated the situation they had previously described to Police Inspector Megure.

After understanding the specific details, Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena came out. The two found a narrow corner to discuss the information they had obtained.

Ms. Hironaka Mariko was last captured on surveillance staying in a third-floor corridor on Friday afternoon. Afterward, the punch-in record showed Ms. Hironaka Mariko punched out, but none of the surveillance cameras leaving Fuji TV captured any image data of her leaving the building.

Fuji TV has a complete visitor registration list. Among them, in the four days from Friday to Monday, at least 6,000 people visited this building. The Metropolitan Police Department is currently arranging personnel to rule out their suspicions one by one. However, with this scale, even if the entire Minato Ward and even nearby local branch offices came to help tomorrow morning, it would be impossible to rule anything out without five or six days.

The security guard insisted that the areas where people enter and exit the television station have very strict surveillance, but areas involving some privacy and trade secrets in the television station do not have surveillance. This is why Police Inspector Megure and others started searching from the top floor.

Ikeda Erena's brain was chaotic because she had received too much information. She could only habitually rely on Uesugi Muneyuki: "Did you discover anything?"

"Ikeda, let's look at this." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded. He pulled Ikeda Erena to the elevator in the corridor: "There are a total of 22 surveillance cameras in the circular corridor on this floor. Theoretically, there are no blind spots, but... look at this position, why is there no surveillance?"

Ikeda Erena looked at Uesugi Muneyuki with disdain: "Because this position is a restroom. It involves personal privacy, so there is no surveillance."

"Correct!" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Then, if I come out of the elevator, specifically pass by the restroom door, stick to the wall to enter the stairs from the blind spot of the surveillance, and then follow a specific sequence to avoid the surveillance cameras, wouldn't it be possible not to be discovered?"

"Hey, it really is!" Ikeda Erena looked at the floor plan and widened her eyes.

Uesugi, you found a blind spot!

"But, didn't Megure and the others discover it?" Erena thought for a moment and felt something was wrong: "Why didn't Megure and the others discover what you could discover?"

"Stupid, because someone didn't let them get all the information." Uesugi Muneyuki said in a low voice: "Being able to avoid the cameras through this method is something I experimented with myself. Didn't you notice that when I was checking the recordings just now, I specifically looked at the playback of the recording on the floor of our lounge tonight?"

"No, I didn't." Ikeda Erena realized belatedly: "So you tried it yourself?"

"Yes, Megure and the others must have learned from the Security Division that surveillance can cover almost every corner of the television station, except for some key areas involving personal privacy and trade secrets. But no one told them that, in fact, as long as you skillfully remember the position of each camera and avoid all surveillance blind spots, and deliberately walk on the side of the restroom, the surveillance definitely won't see you."

Uesugi Muneyuki gave the floor above a meaningful look: "Things are getting interesting. The Security Division did not tell the First Division about this method. They are deliberately leading the First Division to waste time in the high-level trade secret areas and office areas."

"You mean, Fuji TV doesn't want the Metropolitan Police Department to know Ms. Hironaka's whereabouts? Could this be a conspiracy of the whole station?" Ikeda Erena widened her eyes, which made her look a bit cute.

"Please, Master Erena, look outside." Uesugi Muneyuki was simply speechless at the tall beauty. He pointed downstairs through the window: "Fuji TV actually wants to find out where Ms. Hironaka is more than anyone else! Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to lock down the building!"

"So what exactly is going on?" Erena thought to herself, isn't it because you didn't explain it clearly! One moment you say Fuji TV is intentionally misleading the Metropolitan Police Department, and the next you say Fuji TV also wants to find out where Ms. Hironaka is. Isn't this self-contradictory: "Uesugi, stop talking to yourself. Just tell me directly, what should we do? Just tell me what I should do."

After finishing, the tall beauty gazed at Uesugi Muneyuki full of expectation, signaling with her eyes that he could begin.

"…Actually, what I want to say is that to be able to skillfully avoid the surveillance blind spots in the building, it must be someone from inside the TV station who knows them." Uesugi Muneyuki could only make his point clearer: "And it wouldn't be the top brass of the TV station. Looking at this attitude, the top brass of the TV station are trying hard to prove their innocence, but they might have sensed something too, so they are desperately trying to distance themselves from the station's internal affairs, not wanting the Metropolitan Police Department to realize this."

"Therefore, after Hironaka was last seen on the surveillance footage, she definitely did not head upstairs."

Uesugi Muneyuki moved his finger downward along the floor numbers: "The greatest possibility is downstairs."

Following his gaze, Ikeda Erena moved her line of sight downward from the third floor.

The first floor is the lobby, and the second floor is the General Affairs Section; the foot traffic in these two areas is extremely high.

As her gaze continued to move down, Erena finally understood what Uesugi Muneyuki meant: "You mean, the underground area?!"

"Right, let's go check that area." Uesugi Muneyuki tapped his finger on the first basement level, second basement level, and third basement level.

"You should have said so earlier, then let's go!" Ikeda Erena had completely understood what Uesugi Muneyuki said this time, and the tall beauty was eager to try: "Can you be sure? Uesugi?"

"I can't be sure." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head and shrugged, looking slightly relaxed: "But it's about right. If we really don't find anything, then we'll just treat it as a post-meal stroll to help with digestion."

"Cunning guy, you always have a reason for everything." Ikeda Erena simply grabbed Uesugi Muneyuki and began their secret investigation activity. The two disappeared into the stairwell one after the other, following the surveillance blind spots. Although there were security guards on duty at the time, facing the official police uniform on Ikeda Erena and the Police Handbook in her hand, the security guards had no reason to stop them.

However, what no one at the scene noticed was that just as Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena were whispering, a fair-skinned beauty wearing a violet vine princess feather tube-top long dress was standing not far from them, listening to their conversation.

What met the eye was a flash of brilliant pure white. Her gorgeous appearance, which usually only wore nude makeup, was enough to bewitch all living things. Her thin cherry lips were coated with bright red, moist high-end lip gloss. Her vermilion lips parted slightly to reveal white, pearly teeth, and every gesture she made exuded infinite charm.

"I'll just follow and take a look." The beauty had clearly overheard the entire conversation between Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena.

She was trapped inside the TV station, causing the entire Soul Agency to be in an uproar. As the agency's most prized treasure, her situation concerned the safety of the entire agency. Miyazaki Takataka, one of the Miyazaki Brothers who were the presidents, had already rushed over personally and was now outside the Odaiba Building.

She herself was annoyed by the constant greetings from people, so she told her Agent that she decided to go out for a stroll, and happened to hear the private chat between Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena.

A strange policewoman, actually wearing black silk stockings. Wasn't the standard attire for a policewoman's commute flesh-colored stockings?

The beauty only felt that she had encountered something interesting today.

A bizarre thing happened: whether it was Uesugi Muneyuki, Ikeda Erena, or the security guards guarding the stairwells and elevator entrances, not a single person noticed her, and not a single person realized that this national actress, whose beauty surpassed all others, was standing not far beside them.

Even more bizarre was that she didn't walk through surveillance blind spots like Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena at all, but instead brazenly stepped in a pair of milky-white butterfly high heels and stood directly under a surveillance camera.

Yet, on the surveillance monitors that the security guards in the nearby surveillance room were watching with constant vigilance, there was no figure to be seen, and nothing happened.

The Fuji TV Case is not a small case; how could it be finished so easily?

However, considering everyone is so enthusiastic, it wouldn't be good for me to say nothing, so I will add an extra chapter tonight!

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(End of this chapter)