Chapter 559

Aokigahara Forest refers to a vast primeval forest located on the northwestern foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan, spanning Fujikawaguchiko Town and Narasawa Village in Yamanashi Prefecture, formed by volcanic eruptions of Mount Fuji.

This place is very famous in Japan, known as the renowned "suicide holy land"; it is said that over the past few decades, Japanese police have successively found over a thousand corpses in Aokigahara Forest, and this is only what has been discovered—undiscovered bodies may be even more numerous.

Uesugi Muneyuki is naturally familiar with this place, Aokigahara Forest; this primeval forest covering about 30 square kilometers possesses a "superior advantage" for suicide: the forest is vast, trees block out the sky, the terrain is complex and easy to get lost in, the entire forest is scattered with jagged volcanic rocks, and the ground is covered with thick moss and fallen leaves, making walking extremely difficult.

Due to the overly dense vegetation, sound is effectively absorbed, making the interior abnormally quiet, even to the point of feeling oppressive.

Moreover, because Mount Fuji erupted years ago and left behind large amounts of dissolved and cooled magnetic iron ore from lava here, affected by this, mobile phones have no signal and cannot receive external messages, making it especially suitable for suicide.

Of course, another reason Aokigahara Forest became a suicide holy land is the influence of literary works and media hype; in the 1960s, renowned Japanese mystery novelist Matsumoto Seicho released his famous work *The Tower of Waves*, in which a female protagonist chooses to end her life in Aokigahara Forest.

This novel and its later film and television adaptations achieved tremendous success, deeply imprinting the image of "Aokigahara Forest" and "suicide" into the collective consciousness of the Japanese public.

Subsequently, media repeatedly amplified this, emphasizing "Aokigahara Forest" in suicide reports and dubbing it the "Suicide Forest"; such labeled reporting creates a strong psychological suggestion and directional cue for those with suicidal tendencies, as if this place is a "socially recognized" location suitable for a final journey.

This perfectly matches the Japanese temperament.

For those determined to commit suicide, the forest offers a relatively "hidden" location; dense trees easily conceal one's figure, and the vast area means corpses may remain undiscovered for a long time, aligning with the Japanese psychological traits of "not wanting to trouble others" and "wishing to disappear quietly."

Then, as previously mentioned, Aokigahara Forest has magnetic stones underground, no signal, and is especially prone to getting lost and injured; some suicide victims who change their minds midway find the forest unwilling to let them go, ultimately dying from starvation, hypothermia, dehydration, or excessive blood loss—such "forced suicides" are also quite common.

Tree Sea! Tree Sea!

No doubt! The site for manufacturing ANFO explosives is there! The Sakikawa Restoration Army, the Red Goldfinch, and the secrets of the inner world are also very likely located there!

Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze swept from Sakuradamon toward the direction of Mount Fuji.

I hope this time, you do not disappoint me!

……………………

After locking onto the target at dawn the following day, before the darkness of early morning had fully faded, Mount Fuji's massive conical outline loomed faintly in the dawn light, the snow on its peak glowing with a chilly blue light.

At the mountain's base lies the so-called "Suicide Forest," Aokigahara Forest—a vast primeval forest formed by volcanic eruptions, with trees (mainly Japanese cypress and fir) tall and dense, their crowns interwoven to form an almost light-impenetrable dark green canopy; the forest floor is covered with thick, sponge-like volcanic moss, and walking upon it produces no sound.

A thin mist lingers year-round in the forest gaps, drifting slowly, adding mystery and foreboding; at the forest's edge, the sign reading "Cherish Life" stands out glaringly in the faint morning light.

However, today, this silent land of death is being squeezed from all sides toward the center by an unprecedented force of steel.

On the forest's outskirts, the originally quiet roads have been completely sealed off; red and blue flashing police lights, dense as stars, tear apart the pre-dawn gloom; uniformed officers wear stern expressions, forming the first human wall.

Behind them are the more elite mobile units, their black bulletproof vests bearing the "SAT" insignia faintly visible in the light; dozens of heavy armored vehicles, like crouching beasts, emit low rumbles from their engines, their top-mounted searchlights casting harsh white beams like swords attempting to pierce the forest's edge.

In the sky, helicopter fleets from the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency roar and circle, their massive rotor shattering the forest's millennia of silence, stirring strong winds that make the forest canopy undulate like waves; fully armed SAT members on board peer through high-powered binoculars, fixed on the green labyrinth below that may conceal countless deadly traps.

East, toward Fujiyoshida City.

Kobe Takeru, Public Security Bureau Counselor and Police Superintendent of the National Police Agency, personally leads the team; the roar of heavy truck engines breaks the morning's tranquility. A long line of black-painted police armored vehicles, like silent beasts, advances steadily along the forest road, wheels crushing the pavement with an unstoppable force.

On the vehicles, the white "Metropolitan Police Department" characters stand out sharply in the brightening sky light. Following closely are dozens of buses carrying mobile unit members, their windows filled with numerous young, tense faces, wearing steel helmets and gripping riot shields.

West, toward Narasawa Village:

More vehicles are gathering, including mobile command vehicles equipped with satellite communications and command systems; plainclothes vehicles of public security police are mixed in, appearing ordinary outwardly but internally loaded with the most advanced surveillance and monitoring equipment; experts' vehicles are also present, carrying geological radar, life detection devices, and other professional gear.

Kuroda Uhee, Superintendent of the Security Planning Division, National Police Agency Security Bureau, sits in command here, leading the public security police elite under Superintendent Kino-shita Tōya, always on standby.

South, toward Fujikawaguchiko Town:

This is the main penetration direction.

Hundreds of criminal investigators from Investigation Division 1 and Division 3, wearing bulletproof vests and checking their sidearms, bear the fatigue of long-term manhunts and the sharpness of impending battle on their faces.

They stand alongside SAT members in deep blue combat uniforms, carrying submachine guns and breaching tools, conducting final briefings; the air reeks of gunpowder and tense sweat.

Superintendent Ichijo Keishi of the Public Security Bureau, Management Officer, and Superintendent Higurashi Keishi of Investigation Division 1, Management Officer, are deployed here!

North, toward Yamanakako:

The massive rotor sound approaches from afar, tearing through the sky's tranquility.

Three police helicopters (respectively EC135 and Bell 412 models) fly in a triangular formation at low altitude, like hunting hawks; their underslung searchlights act like light swords, piercing the forest mist and casting moving spots on the dense canopy; snipers, through open cabin doors, fix high-powered binoculars on any suspicious movement below.

Looking down from above, with the dark green forest sea as center, countless red and blue police lights, like twinkling stars, converge from all directions toward the center, forming a continuously contracting, dazzling encirclement; radio waves densely crisscross the air, and unit commanders' voices, clear and concise, report positions and situations on encrypted channels.

"A1 Unit, reached designated position, blockade line established."

"B2 Unit, SAT assault team ready."

"Air Unit Alpha, no obvious abnormalities detected on forest floor, over."

Within the forward command post established on a high ground at the forest's edge, Watanabe Eiji watches this grand deployment through a large screen; his face is stern, his eyes like Fuji's rocks.

Beside him stand Kanchoukanbou Onoda, Criminal Investigation Department Chief Uchimura, Investigation Division 1 Chief Sugishita, and Special Mission System Management Officer Watanabe Minami, who has just completed the final intelligence summary.

Naturally, Minami and Mikoto do not go to the front lines.

"Everyone," Watanabe Director's voice echoed through the internal communication system, reaching every participating police officer's ear: "The target lies within this forest. Their methods are brutal, their plans meticulous—a challenge to our entire nation! Today, we gather here, deploying the Metropolitan Police Department's strongest force in history, with only one purpose—"

He paused, his voice suddenly rising with a metallic clang:

"Exterminate the root, wipe out evil to the last! Bury the Sakikawa Restoration Army thoroughly in the grave they chose!"

"All units, proceed according to the predetermined plan—commence operations!"

"Yes!!!"

After Watanabe Eiji arranged all tasks, he suddenly noticed someone seemed missing.

Wait, where is my son?

As if sensing his father's doubt, Watanabe Minami explained: "Uesugi Chief and the Special Mission System followed the main force forward!"

"What? Who let him go?!" Indeed, hearing his daughter say this, Watanabe Eiji's face changed.

What kind of joke is this? This isn't playing house—it's a national-level counter-terrorism military operation!

The opposing side likely possesses equivalent weapons and equipment, and even weapons of mass destruction, such as bombs!

"It was Uesugi himself who wanted to go." Watanabe Minami sighed: "Muneyuki said he really wanted to see with his own eyes just what kind of divine person planned these activities, and if possible, he wanted to talk to them."

"Nonsense!" Watanabe Eiji flared up in anger; in a few months, Uesugi Muneyuki will marry his daughter, and now he's done this: "Immediately make him return! He's a forensic expert, not a SAT sniper!"

At this moment, Watanabe Minami, however, was broad-minded and magnanimous: "I trust Muneyuki; since he chose to go, he must have his reasons—we should believe him, Director."

Watanabe Eiji glared fiercely at Watanabe Minami, but unable to speak out with so many people present, he could only stay silent; although he is Superintendent General, he also cannot afford to show favoritism.

On the ground, the mobile units advanced like a blue tide, moving in skirmish lines into the forest, heavy footsteps and equipment collisions breaking the forest's millennia of silence; SAT teams, like ghosts, moved faster, using professional tools to infiltrate the core area along preset routes; in the air, helicopters circled above the forest, their massive noise startling birds, searchlight beams sweeping back and forth through the woods.

The momentum of certain victory's killing intent violently collided with the forest's inherent gloomy and deadly aura, foreshadowing an earth-shattering decisive battle about to erupt in this mist-shrouded forest depth.

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki and the others also officially entered the Tree Sea.

However, the Tree Sea lacked the imagined dangerous atmosphere, perhaps because there were simply too many people, and Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly felt this was less like a search and more like an outing.

The mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture, the forest of the Tree Sea, the wind of Fuji—exceptionally refreshing.

But he soon discovered that, besides being called the Suicide Forest, the Tree Sea had another unflattering nickname—the Trash Forest!

Trash everywhere!

Still, it was trash from the old Showa era.

Uesugi Muneyuki stepped down and saw a very old packet of laundry detergent, with "Washite Le—Powerful Degreasing!" written on it.

Beside it was an old game cartridge, the game "Collapse, East Hundred Railways" endorsed by Commander Zhang of Toyota.

A bald man endorsed "Damn It, Island Marines"!

"Archaeology Master Commander Sun enthusiastically recommends, Tomb Raider!"

How could all of this be old Showa-era junk? Uesugi Muneyuki felt both amused and exasperated.

But just then, Date Nagamune beside him made a discovery: "Uesugi-san! Come quick, look at this!"

"Come quick!!!"

(Chapter End)