Chapter 557

After more than two hours, Minami and the others had all returned to the APA Hotel to rest, leaving only Uesugi Muneyuki at the Special Mission Unit's crime scene.

Uesugi Muneyuki was currently speaking with Arimura Hana, asking for her opinion on the evidence left at the scene by the Village Flower Palace.

The Village Flower Palace seemed to be in a good mood today; she licked the bomb's remnants and wood shavings with her tongue, thought for a moment, and said: "The scent of volcanic ash."

"The scent of volcanic ash—you mean—there is a volcano near where this bomb was made or stored?" Uesugi Muneyuki mused.

No matter how you mock it, Japan is indeed a place with extremely strict gun and bomb control, but even so, it is impossible to prevent someone from manufacturing and assembling double-barreled shotguns or homemade explosives by purchasing parts, and in reality, the vast majority of civilian firearms in Japan are imported from Southeast Asia and subsequently assembled, of course, some firearms also flow out from the U. S. military base in Japan, which these Americans naturally do not admit, but they absolutely account for a certain proportion.

"If we are talking about Japan here—ANFO bombs are not difficult to make; as long as one has sufficient chemical knowledge and hands-on ability, one can produce ammonium nitrate from local natural materials, then assemble ANFO bombs by collecting and purchasing parts, but those with this level of skill are at least engineers, and must have very rich experience." Uesugi Muneyuki thought for a moment and asked: "So it should be near Fuji TV, in the environment left by volcanic eruptions? Or perhaps it was made while passing through."

"That should be the case, but this is not my area; if it is water, I can listen to the sound of water to determine the source." The Village Flower Palace nodded, then she went busy with her own affairs.

The Village Flower Palace has recently become obsessed with experiencing high school life; as for how to experience high school life—she began tailing and imitating Asuka's life trajectory, so recently, Tsukuba University High School has started to see the appearance of strange, unconfirmed female high school ghost stories.

Asuka can see the Village Flower Palace; the girl roughly knows that the Village Flower Palace bears her no ill will, unfortunately the two cannot communicate, but for Asuka, who has already seen no little supernatural power and divine chaos, it also does not matter.

For the time being, Uesugi Muneyuki could not obtain more results, and just then, his phone rang.

The other party only sent a ".".

Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but show black lines on his face; this woman, she really can't wait.

It hasn't even been three hours yet.

So Uesugi Muneyuki apologized to the Criminal Investigation Department Chief Uchimura Kanji, who was on duty at the scene, saying he was going back to rest.

Uchimura Kanji is a lackey of Watanabe Eiji, and even more so treats Uesugi as his adoptive father; his life goal is to serve one term as Superintendent General, and although he has done nothing during his over a year as Criminal Investigation Department Chief, he excels at doing nothing!

After the Special Mission Unit solves major cases, don't they all have to credit him? Isn't the Special Mission Unit a subordinate department of the Criminal Investigation Division 1?

Uesugi Muneyuki moistened his lips, leaving behind the duty-bound Uchimura Bucho, Nakazono Sangi-kan, and Chief Sugimoto of Division 1, as well as the Public Security Counselor Kobe Takeru, Police Superintendent, who came from the Police Agency; Kobe Takeru and Chief Sugimoto have worked together before, they are partners, and the two get along very well, while Uchimura Bucho hates Chief Sugimoto to the point of his gums itching, but the latter has Onoda's support behind him, yet there is nothing he can do.

After chatting for about twenty minutes, suddenly, an emergency call from the Shizuoka Prefecture Police Headquarters broke this tranquility!

The daughter of National Diet Member Kurotetsuro Tetsuro, Uno Yukiko, who is already four months pregnant, has been kidnapped! The kidnappers are the far-left organization Red Goldfinch; they not only demand 1 billion yen in ransom, but also threaten the legislator to withdraw the bill!

Since all the elite forces in Shizuoka Prefecture Police have been deployed to Tokyo, the Shizuoka Prefecture Police Headquarters is now formally requesting assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department!

"Na na na na, na ni???" Uchimura Bucho, upon hearing this news, was practically numb; his first reaction upon encountering an incident is to seek guidance from Watanabe Eiji: "Superintendent General, what should we do?"

Watanabe Eiji had already gone to sleep at this time; upon hearing this news, the Superintendent General also felt his scalp go numb.

Red Goldfinch! Finally appeared?

You finish your part, I'll take the stage?

But now, the investigation into the foreign-related car bombing case has reached a critical stage; no matter what, we cannot abandon it halfway; the situation in Shizuoka Prefecture is indeed important, but whether considering influence or responsibility, it is clearly more appropriate to prioritize this side!

After thinking, Watanabe Eiji thought of a suitable person.

"Send Kashiwagi Jin; let him use his third system as the backbone, and form an elite small team." Watanabe Eiji said coldly on the phone: "Coincidentally, Kashiwagi had shown signs of overzealous behavior when interrogating that former female Patrol Officer Chief Shiyuan; the occupational group is our Police Agency's elite and key cultivation targets, and should maintain calm rationality and restraint; although Kashiwagi's behavior can be understood, he is currently indeed no longer suitable to remain in the Special Investigation Headquarters; moreover, Muneyuki-kun here has also found some leads, so in that case, let him lead the team to Shizuoka Prefecture."

"Yes!" Uchimura Bucho secretly smiled, thinking the Superintendent General is planning to send Kashiwagi away; this side won't give him credit, and that side will let him take the blame—but who let Kashiwagi Jin himself fail to control himself?

When Kashiwagi Jin received the notice from the Police Agency, ordering him to lead the team to Shizuoka Prefecture to take charge of the kidnapping case of the National Diet Member's daughter, Kashiwagi Jin's first reaction was to refuse.

At this critical juncture, you want me to leave?

However, the Police Agency requires him to obey organizational deployment, and this situation is indeed different, since the opposing side is very likely an extreme-left terrorist organization, so this time there will be Organized Crime Control Department officers and Public Security Department elites going together; moreover, due to the different nature, this time Kashiwagi Jin is allowed to adopt more aggressive response strategies and his favorite presumption of guilt!

Moreover, the Police Agency and Shizuoka Prefecture will guarantee that Kashiwagi Jin will be the sole core in solving this case!

Kashiwagi Jin quickly felt moved.

He originally had nothing to contribute in this case, but if he could go to Shizuoka Prefecture, it would be different! There, he would have a stage where he could fully exert himself!

On the east a cedar, on the west a wood, with Absolute Dual Pride present, Japan faces no danger!

You wait and see, Uesugi, I will handle it better than you, even more excellently!

"Good, I will obey the organizational arrangement!" Kashiwagi Jin immediately agreed, delighted beyond himself, but he still said: "However, please give me some time; I need to organize personnel, and also take the opportunity to tell my wife about this."

"That is natural." Uchimura Bucho of course agreed.

After taking on the mission, Kashiwagi Jin immediately mobilized his system's personnel and used this as the foundation to build his own small team; his face bore the solemnity and urgency of accepting an emergency appointment; he checked his sidearm and equipment while anxiously looking around, hoping to at least say a word to his wife before departure.

However, he discovered he could not find his wife no matter how he searched.

Strange, where did Misa go? She doesn't answer the phone, doesn't check messages, and I didn't see her leave at the front desk!

Kashiwagi Jin searched thoroughly, confirmed his wife had not left the Police Agency, her car is still parked in the parking lot, which is even stranger.

Wasn't she coming to bring me a change of clothes? Now the clothes have been delivered, I also ate the late-night rice ball myself, where is she? She doesn't go home, doesn't stay in the office, and isn't even by my side—where did she go?

Just as he was almost about to give up, preparing to lead the team out, at the end of the corridor, Kashiwagi Misa's silhouette finally appeared; she walked quickly toward him, but her steps seemed less steady and powerful than usual, carrying a faint, hard-to-detect lightness.

"Jin!" she called out, her voice slightly more hurried than usual, carrying a deliberate suppression of breath: "You're looking for me?"

Kashiwagi Jin stepped forward to meet her: "Misa! There's an urgent case in Shizuoka, I must lead the team there immediately!"

"Oh, ah, uh, I see." Kashiwagi Misa nodded slightly, her expression somewhat dazed, as if she didn't really care.

At this moment, under the bright lighting, he finally got a clear look at his wife's appearance, and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

Kashiwagi Misa's complexion was abnormally flushed; her honey-colored skin showed a layer of unnatural ruddiness, not the healthy flush after exercise, but more like a lingering warmth from within, as if passion had not yet faded, even her earlobes tinged with pink.

Those eyes, usually clear and sharp in their mixed heritage, now seemed veiled by a layer of watery mist; her gaze was somewhat wandering, not daring to meet his for too long, as if still immersed in some intense emotion from which she could not fully disengage.

Misa, is it because you're too worried about me? Kashiwagi Jin felt somewhat moved in his heart, but he quickly noticed other strange things; previously, his wife wore those sheer black stockings of excellent texture, but now he faintly felt the stockings' color seemed a shade darker than when she came, the texture also appeared somewhat "newer," the fit at the ankle also slightly different, and rather uncommonly, there was a vertical seam at the back of the stockings—this clearly indicates she had just put on a brand-new pair of the same model, still a type of stocking rarely seen at the Police Agency.

At a place like the Police Agency, why would she suddenly change her stockings?

Similarly, Misa's usually impeccable hairstyle had a few stray strands of hair escaping at the edges; when close, he seemed to smell a trace of an extremely faint scent, not belonging to her usual perfume, nor to any scent at the Police Agency, but mixed with other odors.

Detective Kashiwagi Jin only felt that Misa had something strange about her; a shadow of doubt passed through his mind, but at this moment, the kidnapping case in Shizuoka burned like fire on his eyebrows, and the immense sense of responsibility and urgency overwhelmed this moment's suspicion.

"You—are you alright? Where did you just go?" He still couldn't help but ask.

"I'm fine," Kashiwagi Misa quickly adjusted her breathing, striving to make her voice sound naturally smooth, even adding a touch of just-right concern: "I just went downstairs to buy something from the vending machine, the signal was bad. You're going to Shizuoka? Be very careful!" She reached out her hand, gently tidying his actually not-disheveled collar, her movements skilled and full of care.

Seeing her familiar eyes and movements, Kashiwagi Jin's lingering doubt was dispelled, replaced by the concern of parting.

"Mm, I will. You also stay safe in Tokyo." He firmly gripped her hand.

Just as Kashiwagi Jin turned around, he saw Uesugi Muneyuki standing at the other end of the corridor; Kashiwagi Jin still wanted to say nothing and pretend to be an expert, but Uesugi Muneyuki's words quickly shattered his pretense; he strode over, very earnestly saying: "Be extremely careful, the opposing side is a far-left organization, however brutal and crazy they come, do not treat the enemy as ordinary extortion kidnappers; if you find any clues, immediately inform me, I can help you analyze and discuss, anything goes!"

"Uesugi Chief—." Kashiwagi Jin, seeing Uesugi Muneyuki so easy to talk to and willing to fully assist him with forensics, couldn't help but feel moved: "You, you're this busy here, still——thank——I——then many thanks to you."

Uesugi, I wrongly blamed you—you really are an honest person!

"I'm in Tokyo, you're in Shizuoka—we're both serving the public, just different places. There's no need to draw such clear lines." Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

Kashiwagi Jin was even more moved, thinking: No wonder he's the Uesugi Chief, to be paired with him as the Absolute Dual Pride—this move was worth it!

"It's just a pity we can't fight side by side anymore." Kashiwagi Jin proactively extended his hand.

"Who knows—maybe after settling things here, I'll swing by to help you." Uesugi Muneyuki joked: "As long as all resources are gathered, this side will be resolved quickly."

"That's impossible! I'm definitely faster than you!" Kashiwagi Jin brimmed with confidence, the hands clasped symbolizing male friendship gripping tightly C

Jin was indeed much faster than Uesugi. Kashiwagi Misa was also deeply moved. The ice-cold beauty, a female police officer, subtly tightened her long, beautiful legs clad in black velvet stockings with back-seam suspenders, her knees slightly trembling. She thought: I've already paid the price—Ren, you must make good use of it!

"Hurry up, don't delay important matters." Kashiwagi Misa spoke softly, seeing her husband off as he turned, leading his subordinates in hurried steps until they vanished at the corridor's end.

Only after her husband's silhouette completely disappeared did the warm, worried expression on Kashiwagi Misa's face gradually fade. She glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki in the distance, secretly delighted: He's gone—just in time. Now, my time with Muneyuki will be even greater—'

She gently smoothed the last wrinkle on her suit dress, returning to her former self—the commanding, icy beauty of the Metropolitan Police Department's flower. But when her deep eyes met Uesugi Muneyuki's in the distance, both saw amusement in the other's gaze. The former beauty of the Metropolitan Police Department couldn't suppress her lips from curling into an arc mixed with stimulation and pride.

Ren, go ahead with peace of mind—I'm doing very well here, extremely well.

As long as I'm here, Uesugi will do his utmost to help you—you'll surely unleash your full strength! Then Uesugi will also unleash his complete strength on my side!

This is, double win!