Chapter 524: Kantou and Kansai

Under the leadership of the Public Security Police, a "polished" preliminary report was swiftly generated.

This incident was classified as: "An attempted terrorist attack by a specific extremist religious group from Kansai against religious figures in Kantou."

"The attackers used suspected explosives and modified firearms to launch an assault. Chief Priestess Shirakawa Mai successfully defended herself with the cooperation of Alliance security personnel, repelling the attackers. Some attackers fell to their deaths or self-detonated in the chaos."

The report attributed the combat outcome to the "timely arrival of the security team" and "internal errors by the attackers."

Given the sensitivity of the incident and its religious background, the Public Security Police advised against conducting a detailed interrogation of Chief Priestess Shirakawa Mai, to avoid triggering unnecessary religious disputes and social unrest.

Cleanup of the scene and handling of evidence were carried out jointly by the Kantou Shinai Alliance and Public Security.

This report was swiftly submitted to Shinzou Kamiya, Director of the National Police Agency Security Bureau. Upon reviewing it, this Bureau Director knew well how deep the waters ran; whether it was pressure from the Kantou Shinai Alliance or the potential taboo involving the "Living God" families, it all led him to adopt the Kantou Shinai Alliance's recommendation. With a stroke of his pen, he classified the case as "Top Secret," sealing it in the Public Security archives, while publicly claiming only that an "accidental explosion caused by a gas pipeline leak" had occurred.

Just like that, the two major incidents that occurred in June were both suppressed to varying degrees by the police organization and even the Cabinet through different means.

The Japanese public was actually very interested in what had happened inside the Imperial Palace. As subsequent information was disclosed and speculative interpretations spread, rumors soon emerged that "a bomb appeared in the Imperial Palace, suspected internal grudges among Imperial Household Agency staff nearly blew up the Imperial Palace." Then, based on the press conference mentioning the Special Mission Unit and the emphasis on Kai Toru's deeds, the public concluded it must have been the Special Mission Unit that prevented the Imperial Palace bombing!

But these were all just rumors, lacking evidence to confirm them, and the parties involved — whether the Imperial Household Agency, the Metropolitan Police Department, or the Special Mission Unit — all remained silent on the matter.

The next day, when Uesugi Muneyuki and the others were escorted out of the Imperial Palace after accepting the hospitality of the Akasaka Rikyū, they were still emphasizing not to reveal any inside information!

Uesugi Muneyuki and the others, having eaten the food and taken the money, naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, happy times are always short-lived. The very next day, the Special Mission Unit had to return to work, and when they arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department, Uesugi Muneyuki heard the news about Mai Xuejie being attacked!

However, he didn't panic at all, because the two of them had a relationship similar to "one lotus together born"; he didn't sense that Mai Xuejie was facing any particularly major crisis.

As it happened, today he had to go to Tokyo University to handle affairs, and after finishing a day's work at the Tokyo University Forensic Medicine Laboratory, and declining a drinking invitation from other doctors in the department, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived at Mai Xuejie's Roppongi apartment with a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

He used his key to open the door; the soft light in the genkan automatically turned on. A faint, elegant sandalwood scent, mixed with a trace of a familiar fragrance belonging to Mai Xuejie, wafted over him.

This allowed his taut heartstrings to relax slightly — she was at home.

However, when he changed into slippers and walked into the living room, the scene before him made him freeze in place, his heart skipping a beat.

Only a few ambient lights were on in the living room; the light was warm and gentle.

Shirakawa Mai was not curled up on the sofa in comfortable loungewear reading scripts or ancient texts as usual. She stood dressed to the nines before the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking Tokyo's dazzling nightscape.

She wore a fine-textured Monet-glazed wood-tone delicate floral dress, its hem with a high slit on one side, perfectly revealing her slender, beautiful leg lines. On her feet were a pair of exquisite champagne-colored thin-strapped high-heeled shoes, setting off her delicate ankles as even more slender and enchanting.

And most eye-catching were those jade legs wrapped in nearly transparent black-dotted ultra-thin silk stockings — Uesugi Muneyuki had once unintentionally said that her especially fair skin was particularly alluring when wearing this kind of faintly visible black-dotted silk stockings.

She had clearly just bathed; her black long hair was slightly damp, loosely draped over her shoulders. Having removed all the exquisite makeup from the stage and the shrine, her bare face appeared soft and fragile in the warm light, yet this attire added endless allure. She was a completely different person from the usual clear, cold, and dust-transcending Chief Priestess who decided others' life and death with a wave of her hand.

"Junior Student?" Mai Xuejie turned around, a trace of innocent smile on her face that contrasted somewhat with this sexy outfit, but in the depths of her eyes a hint of hunger difficult to fully conceal: "You still know to come back?"

*Hiss*— Seeing Xuejie's expression, Uesugi Muneyuki's face changed.

Tonight, the Abyss settles accounts!

Taking a deep breath, Uesugi Muneyuki set his briefcase aside, walked quickly to her, gave Xuejie a big hug, then gently cupped her face with both hands, and kissed her deeply.

Mai Xuejie was clearly very satisfied with Uesugi Muneyuki's performance; she laughed and tapped his forehead: "Count you sensible!"

"Mai—" His voice was low, filled with heartache and understanding, "About today's matter, I heard some rumors.

You should be fine, right?"

Shirakawa Mai enjoyed his warm body temperature, narrowing her eyes slightly like a lazy cat leaning in his embrace: "Mm.

Some blind mice from Kansai, following the method taught by Master — no, that old thing — set up a scheme."

When she mentioned the late Master, her tone was cold and disgusted, "Dispatched by that person from Kansai, probing the reality."

She told Uesugi Muneyuki what had happened.

Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes sharpened: "As expected, it's him! Wait, you say he judged that the Living God is still under protection, so does that mean the matter inside the Imperial Palace was also arranged by him?"

"The Imperial Palace? Right, Junior Student, what exactly happened inside the Imperial Palace?" Curiosity rippled across Mai Xuejie's stunningly beautiful face.

The two exchanged intelligence, from the infiltrators being Inner World existences, to Shizuo's death, from Horiguchi Nen's self-detonation, to the Red Goldfinch's appearance and the aftermath handling; Uesugi Muneyuki told Shirakawa Mai everything that happened inside the Imperial Palace.

After the intelligence exchange, both fell into contemplation.

"Kansai, New God, truly a cunning fellow. Through round after round of probing, he's already tested both you and me out, but precisely because of this, he has also exposed himself, and moreover has drawn the attention of the state apparatus and police organization because of this matter." Mai Xuejie lightly rubbed against Uesugi Muneyuki's chin, saying with amusement: "After confirming my strength exceeds imagination, confirming your strength is unfathomable, and confirming the Living God family is still under protection, this guy's first reaction is actually a truce? Truly experienced and exceptionally afraid of death."

"Heh, a great man can stretch and bend!" A flash of sharpness crossed Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes, then returned to calm: "After losing so many personnel, he should have temporarily given up the idea of direct confrontation with us. This old fellow — truly cunning. He cleverly hid this attack on you within the Kantou-Kansai religious conflict."

"How could one become a New God without some ability?" Mai looked at his calm demeanor; the cold ripples stirred by killing in her heart gradually calmed. She suddenly rose on tiptoe, pressed a brief yet suggestive kiss on his lips, and smiled: "Kantou and Kansai, you know it too! Neither side looks pleasing to the eye!"

Between Japan's Kantou and Kansai regions, there exists a long-standing "opposition" culture with a competitive consciousness.

A most typical example is that the AC hertz of Japan's Kantou and Kansai are actually different!

This is a "one country, two systems" phenomenon unique to Japan, its root lying in the choice of power generation equipment introduced during the Meiji Restoration period.

In the Meiji era, various regions of Japan introduced generators from different Western countries.

The Kantou region (headed by Tokyo) introduced 50Hz generators from Germany's AEG company.

The Kansai region (headed by Osaka) introduced 60Hz generators from America's General Electric (GE).

This resulted in the electrical appliances of Japan's Kantou and Kansai being incompatible! Kantou rice cookers can't cook rice in Kansai, while Kansai hair dryers in Kantou would have incorrect rotation speed, reduced efficiency, or even get damaged!

How do Japanese people view this difference?

Conservative Japanese view: "Different is good; we are naturally different from them!"

As a result, the entire Japanese power grid needs to build frequency conversion facilities (such as the Shinano Substation and Sakuma Frequency Conversion Station) to connect Kantou and Kansai electricity, at enormous cost.

And the Japanese are not ashamed of this but proud of it!

Similarly, cuisine divides into Kantou-ni and Kansai-ni; buckwheat noodles, one uses thick soy sauce, the other light soy sauce; grilled eel, one is split from the back, the other must be split from the belly.

There are also cultural and dialect habits; even riding elevators, Kantou people and Kansai people — Kantou people habitually stand entirely on the left side of the elevator, Kansai people habitually stand entirely on the right side!

The two looked at each other and smiled, but Mai Xuejie soon frowned: "Muneyuki, still need to be careful."

"The Kansai New God says he won't come over, but that doesn't mean he won't continue probing and waging proxy wars."

"From the current situation, our enemies are uniting."

"So-called, 'Shin-Sa Gōryū'!"

Shin-Sa Gōryū???

Hearing this term, Uesugi Muneyuki nearly spat it out.

Religious organizations and far-left organizations, who would have thought they'd ever unite?

Japanese-style Alliance