Chapter 54: Corpse Hanging in the Wall (First Update!)

PS: It's been published today, five chapters to celebrate!

Bunkyo Ward, Yonezawa Uesugi-style garden house, Uesugi Mansion.

The Uesugi family, surrounded by antique decorations and a Western Baroque-style ceiling, were watching television.

Grandfather Uesugi Kuninori sat in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth, snoring along with the sound of the TV, while father Uesugi Hironori and mother Uesugi Tomoko were fighting over ownership of the remote control.

"What on earth is going on today? Why is everything a live broadcast? It's just one person missing, right? They aren't even airing the dramas!" Uesugi Tomoko complained.

"Don't make a fuss, the one who went missing is an alumnus of our Keio University!" Uesugi Hironori was the most well-informed; the father snatched the remote control: "It's no use even if you don't want to watch; every channel is broadcasting this live!"

"But it's just the same content over and over again, I'm sick of watching it." Uesugi Tomoko snatched the remote back, but to her disappointment, after switching through several channels, they were all broadcasting the lockdown incident at the Fuji TV Odaiba Building.

The Fuji TV live broadcast had been going on for two hours, and there was nothing left to say after going back and forth.

"Hey! Wait!" Uesugi Hironori switched through a few channels and suddenly noticed a change in the Fuji TV feed, immediately switching back: "Look, look! It seems they've found the missing anchorwoman!"

"Really?" Grandfather Uesugi Kuninori suddenly woke up.

The family of three stared intently at the television screen.

On the screen, Police Inspector Megure picked up his mobile phone.

"What did you say???!!!"

"The body has been found???"

This roar stopped everyone nearby, causing the twenty or thirty people around to shift their attention, and even the Fuji TV executives and President Kameyama at the entrance subconsciously looked toward Police Inspector Megure.

Who knew that instead of being happy, Police Inspector Megure roared angrily into the phone: "Who asked you to do such an unnecessary thing? Uesugi-kun, didn't the Metropolitan Police Department tell you to stay with Ikeda and not walk around as you please?"

"You are doing something that is causing us a lot of trouble!"

After a few stern rebukes were met with an apology from Uesugi Muneyuki, Police Inspector Megure finally revealed a look of surprise: "You said you found the body? Where?"

"Good, good, you all just stay there, we are coming over immediately!"

Putting down the phone, Police Inspector Megure found the surroundings in dead silence, with dozens of eyes fixed on him.

"Uesugi Muneyuki from the Medical and Dental University says he found the body of the anchorwoman Hironaka Mariko! It's in a small room in the D4 area on the second basement level." Police Inspector Megure put down his phone and said blankly to the crowd.

"…………"

"…………"

"……………………"

The atmosphere nearby first fell into an eerie silence, and everyone looked at one another.

Who is Uesugi Muneyuki?

The reaction speed of the Fuji TV side was both slow and fast; slow because they didn't know Uesugi Muneyuki yet, or had only heard his name because of that JR East Japan incident.

Fast because the anchorwoman had been found.

The first to fully understand the meaning was President Kameyama; this head of Fuji TV let out a strange cry and took off running.

Once he ran, the directors and Department Directors beside him followed; these elderly people in their fifties and sixties acted as if they had taken medicine—their eyes were no longer blurry, their ears were no longer deaf, and their legs were full of strength!

"Abiru!!!" President Kameyama screamed while scrambling; several Fuji TV managing directors plus security guards formed a human wall, protecting the few people from the live broadcast team as they carried camera equipment, rushed out of the room first, arrived at the elevator lobby, and took the elevator down.

The second wave was the Fuji TV executives, led by President Kameyama; the old men were all spirited and red-faced, panting as they rushed into the second elevator.

The Metropolitan Police Department's reaction was a beat slower, and Police Inspector Megure also hurriedly announced to everyone: "Special Squad, and everyone from the Third Subsection."

"Here!" Even after working all day, the elites of Investigation Division 1 still forced themselves to stay alert.

"South side of the second basement corridor, D4 area, Tool Room B2, take your positions, move out!"

"Yes!" The exhausted detectives on the scene also performed a standard Japanese-drama run, but unfortunately, they were already too late to act; the elevator had been occupied by Fuji TV. Police Inspector Megure slammed the elevator buttons a few times and simply gave up: "Everyone, take the stairs!"

A large group of men in suits, mixed with a small squad of special police holding submachine guns, pushed aside the security guards at the door and rushed down the stairwell with a rumble.

For the first time, Fuji TV's live broadcast experienced a very chaotic situation; the director didn't have time to cut to commercials, and millions of people in the Kanto region watched as everyone from the anchorwoman to the staff to the floor director, and even a group of Fuji TV executives, played "old man run," laughing until they doubled over.

"President, the ratings are rising rapidly!" Inside the elevator, someone among the crowded Fuji TV executives shouted: "It's broken 19%!"

"Good, keep investigating, keep reporting!" President Kameyama's face lit up with joy.

There was finally a lead, and it was right at the deadline given by Nippon Life!

Our Fuji TV is saved, my position as president is saved!

But no sooner had he felt happy than deeper worries welled up in his heart.

Could this matter be related to the inside of our station? How exactly did Hironaka die? Won't that little relationship I once had with her be uncovered? And won't this kid named Uesugi lie to me?

Half happy, half worried, President Kameyama had been almost numbed by the series of events today.

Don't let anything else go wrong!

Five minutes later, second basement level.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena were standing at the door of the small room waiting. From far away, they heard the rumbling of footsteps, and they saw dust rising and the ground shaking ahead. The entire Fuji TV live broadcast team was rushing over, carrying equipment and holding microphones, with an astonishing momentum.

Then came the Fuji TV executives, one by one white-haired and panting, out of breath: "Where is the person? Where is the person?"

"Wait!" Before Uesugi Muneyuki could answer, new personnel appeared. The Metropolitan Police Department's suit brigade intervened, firmly blocking the Fuji TV people in the middle of the corridor: "No filming! That's enough! Please wait for us to confirm first!"

The scene in front of him was like a play; Uesugi Muneyuki found it funny, but thinking of what was to come, he put away his smile: "Police Inspector Megure, here, here."

"Uesugi-kun, I remember I didn't ask you to assist in the investigation!" Seeing the two figures, Police Inspector Megure was not happy, but instead criticized them head-on: "And Miss Ikeda!"

Uesugi Muneyuki hurriedly pulled Ikeda Erena to bow slightly in apology: "I'm sorry, Police Inspector Megure, I was just... curious."

Ikeda Erena was annoyed to see this group of panting, disheveled Metropolitan Police Department elites. It was clearly this group of people who had refused to let her participate in the investigation, yet after Uesugi Muneyuki and she found the body, they still had to take the initiative to contact them and apologize to them!

How could there be such logic in the world!

Fortunately, Uesugi Muneyuki had explained the difference between legal procedures and illegal searches to Erena on the way, and she could roughly understand that this step was the key to turning their illegal search into a legal one.

"Curiosity is no excuse!" Police Inspector Megure, as expected, raised his voice high but let the matter go lightly: "Alright, let's not talk about this for now, where is the person?"

"Right inside the room."

Uesugi Muneyuki reached out and pulled open the door. The small room in the basement area was not large, and the dozen or so police officers who flooded in, plus the Fuji TV people, had already packed the entire small room, but they did not see where the body was.

"Uesugi-kun, I hope you are not playing a cruel joke on me." Police Inspector Megure saw the pipes inside the small room, the clutter piled on the floor, the cleaning tool pile, and some hollow bricks and plywood, but he did not see where Hironaka Mariko was.

"We don't have time to play guessing games with you, Mr. Uesugi." The other detectives from Investigation Division 1 were also deeply disappointed.

Everyone's gaze toward Uesugi Muneyuki gradually turned unfriendly.

"The body is right behind this wall," Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly. "You all must have smelled the strange odor in the air, right? That's because the body is right here."

"Strange odor?" Police Inspector Megure had naturally smelled the stench of the corpse as well, and he was starting to believe him. "But... how did the deceased get inside?"

"Here." Uesugi Muneyuki walked up to the wall of the small room and tapped a spot near the bottom. "There is a duct opening here that leads into the wall."

"But it seems this duct opening cannot be opened from this side," Uesugi Muneyuki signaled. "Police Inspector Megure, smash the wall open; the person is inside."

A large group of police officers crowded around, half-doubting, until they noticed a tiny, almost imperceptible seam where a square piece connected to the wall.

This duct opening was a small square window, painted to match the wall exactly, with an area larger than a desktop computer's LCD screen; if an adult male moved carefully, he could squeeze himself into the wall. It was reserved for pipe maintenance, and if one didn't look very closely, it was impossible to spot.

But the trouble was that the duct opening wouldn't open; it seemed to have been locked from the other side.

He could even discover this?

Are this kid's eyes made by Canon?

How on earth did this kid discover there was a problem here? And how did he even find his way to the second basement level?

The people from the Metropolitan Police Department all wore confused expressions, but now was not the time to dwell on that.

The detectives of Investigation Division 1 had nothing to say to Uesugi Muneyuki, but they all chose to believe him.

Because during the Bunkyo Ward arson-murder case, this kid had identified it as homicide just by looking with his naked eye! This afternoon, this kid had also performed his miraculous autopsy skills in front of Investigation Division 1.

"Alright, Uesugi-kun, we believe you!" Police Inspector Megure gave Uesugi Muneyuki a hard pat on the shoulder. Exhausted from the day, he didn't say another word and signaled the special team of Investigation Division 1 that had just arrived.

Smash the wall!

At this moment, President Kameyama finally squeezed to the door of the small room. Because there were too many people inside, he couldn't squeeze in at all, until someone asked him, "President Kameyama, is it okay?"

President Kameyama, who was outside the door, nodded half-doubtingly.

Is Hironaka Mariko really in there?

The special team reacted quickly; a battering ram was immediately prepared. Two special police officers gripped the handles and slammed the ram hard against the wall.

The scene before them stunned everyone in the room.

They saw the Fuji TV anchorwoman, Keio University graduate Hironaka Mariko, hanging from a pipe inside the narrow wall gap by a rope. She was still wearing her anchor uniform, with a High-heeled Shoe on one foot, while the other foot was bare.

"F-found her." Everyone at the scene was dumbfounded; only Ikeda Erena looked at the man with his hands behind his back beside her with an "as expected" expression.

Everything was just as he had judged!

The person really was still in the Odaiba Building, the person really was underground, and the person really was inside the wall!

It's simply godlike? How did he discover it, how did he do it?

This thought echoed in the minds of everyone at the scene.

Police Inspector Megure thought that if Uesugi Muneyuki didn't have a perfect alibi and hadn't been with the police for several days straight, they would have suspected Uesugi Muneyuki was the killer!

And at the moment they saw the body, the Metropolitan Police Department and Fuji TV felt a sense of relief.

The body had finally been found; otherwise, this building lockdown would have become a huge farce, and they wouldn't have known how to end it.

But this feeling of relaxation lasted only a few seconds before even greater pressure weighed down on the Metropolitan Police Department and Fuji TV.

Why did the anchorwoman go missing, and why did she die? Was it suicide or homicide?

The moment Police Inspector Megure saw the body, he immediately pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Body found. I repeat, this is Investigation Division 1, Thirteenth Subsection. We have found the body of Ms. Hironaka Mariko on the second basement level."

"Thank you all for your hard work. Please stop the search operation now, gather at the Special Investigation Headquarters on the first floor, and await further orders."

"Over."

"Stop them! Block the cameras!"

The special police team was still smashing the wall, while the brigade of suits outside had already blocked the door.

The body was found, but until they received permission from superiors and the family, the Metropolitan Police Department could not let the Live Broadcast see the body, otherwise, it would lead to huge social problems.

The scene was in chaos. Putting down the walkie-talkie, Police Inspector Megure thought for a moment and decided not to waste resources.

"Uesugi-kun, I'll leave the on-site autopsy to you!"

Uesugi Muneyuki looked up.

"Understood."

Outside the door, the top executives of Fuji TV saw Hironaka Mariko's body with their own eyes. They didn't know whether to be happy or worried, and were just urgently discussing what to do next.

"Continue the Live Broadcast!" President Kameyama's face was ferocious as he stomped his feet hard. "Immediately, get Abiru over here!"

"Tell people to record everything about the scene, listen to what the person performing the autopsy says, find an anchorwoman with a similar build to Hironaka, and have her imitate Hironaka's death pose for all of Japan to see!"

"Yes!"

"Production team, immediately create a 3D dynamic model of the scene. I want the entire Kanto region to know the situation at the scene within ten minutes. Go now!"

"Understood!"

The Fuji TV side was in a chaotic mess, scattering in all directions.

At the same time, the Live Broadcast program team was broadcasting from outside the door. The anchorwoman held a microphone: "Breaking news! Hironaka Mariko's body has been found! Hironaka Mariko's body has been found, right inside the room. The Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1 is still investigating! Please do not change the channel; we will bring you the preliminary autopsy results and investigation shortly!"

"President! The ratings have broken 25%!" a staff member shouted. This sentence was even recorded into the Live Broadcast.

"Good, keep investigating, keep reporting!"

Half of President Kameyama's face was filled with uncontrollable joy, while the other half was conflicted and pained—a perfect recreation of Two-Face from Gotham.

It was truly a hard day for this president.

Just as Fuji TV announced that they had finally found the missing person's body, inside Uesugi Hall in Bunkyo Ward.

Uesugi Hironori and Uesugi Tomoko stared intently, their mouths wide open.

"Isn't that Yukimatsumaru?" Uesugi Hironori watched his youngest son appear on camera.

"Grandfather, Grandfather, wake up!" Uesugi Tomoko was desperately shaking her grandfather awake. "Look, Yukimatsumaru is on TV!"

"Huh? What?" Uesugi Kuninori woke up with difficulty; unhappy about his sleep being disturbed, he took his reading glasses, but after just one look, his eyes widened, and all sleepiness vanished.

"Chitokumaru!" Uesugi Hironori's voice then spread throughout the Western-style mansion.

"Come quickly! Come over here!"

"Your younger brother is on TV!"

The author's note for the book's release will be added after the fifth update, that's all desu~

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(End of this chapter)