Chapter 562

The Special Mission Unit watched from afar as this sixty-two-year-old middle-aged man (Japan considers sixty-five the start of old age), their gazes varied.

Naturally, the urgent investigation updates from the rear would not reach every officer on the scene; in fact, only a handful of officers learned the old man's background and experience immediately, and Uesugi Muneyuki was naturally among them.

Due to the Imperial Palace incident last time, and given that counterterrorism is not exactly the Special Mission Unit's forte, Uesugi Muneyuki and the others were blocked by the Mobile Unit and SAT, unable to approach, so they could only watch from afar, yet they learned immediately of the series of tragedies befalling Ōsumikawa Minoru.

A great father, yet an extreme terrorist.

His intentions were good; everything he did was merely to seek justice for his daughter, merely to fulfill his duty as a father.

But his actions and the explosion harmed more than one family, consumed countless public resources, and became the fuse and tool for terrorists to continue their attacks, triggering all sorts of dire consequences.

Judging by this alone, Ōsumikawa Minoru is truly unlikable, yet truly, one cannot bring oneself to hate him.

Because, after all, he merely wished to fulfill his duty as a father.

This led Uesugi Muneyuki to think of a term: "homomorphic revenge."

The earliest roots of law are homomorphic revenge, namely "a killer pays with his life, one who injures or steals shares the same guilt," so deep in his heart, Uesugi Muneyuki sympathizes with the Ōsumikawa father and daughter, as previously stated, Uesugi Muneyuki does not advocate abolishing the death penalty, but believes it should be "applied with caution," for the death penalty should always be the final and harshest punishment; if even slightly heavier crimes warrant death, then life essentially becomes currency, merely a tool to exchange with criminal law.

And more simply put, if robbers were to receive the death penalty, then after committing robbery, considering they have already committed a crime, they would surely kill the victim as well, since they are already facing death; if rapists were to receive the death penalty, then after the act they would surely kill the victim as well, reducing the risk of discovery, and so on.

Ōsumikawa has gone too far.

If his homomorphic revenge were merely sending Akimoto Shōta himself to heaven, it might still be somewhat reasonable—for instance, the revenge of a certain top male marksman could be called precise and perfect, affecting no outsiders—but Ōsumikawa's revenge cannot be called homomorphic revenge, for he has killed too many.

And the crux of the problem is, he is about to die.

Spirit vision can easily see that Ōsumikawa's physical body is already approximately dead, able to sustain until this moment only by relying on his boundless grudge-formed vengeful spiritual power, and the vengeful spirit formed by his daughter continues to sustain him.

Once this fellow learns his bomb has achieved its goal, the vengeful force sustaining him will vanish, then he will absolutely detonate the bomb on his person immediately!

Then everything is over! All clues, answers, the Sakikawa Restoration Army, the Red Goldfinch, the issues of the Inner World, and his secret of hand-rolling ANFO bombs—everything will be taken by him to another world; if all matters are settled without regret, then the Death Soul Contract will also be unable to take effect!

After great difficulty finding this place, after great difficulty finding this person, I cannot let everything end here, no way!!!

Uesugi Muneyuki gritted his teeth, his mind racing to think of a solution.

And among the countless police on the front lines, even including the temporary command headquarters in the rear watching this scene, Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji and Director of the Commissioner's Secretariat Onoda Kimiaki, after immediately pulling up and reading Ōsumikawa Minoru's file, instantly realized this problem!

Oh no!

This bastard wants to die!!!

He wants to just explode, wants to just die heroically, wants to just end with his self-destruction to maximally humiliate the police organization that initially gave him insufficient help, as well as the law and this corrupt country!

No! If he dies like this, the honor of our police organization will——all our efforts so far will be for naught, how are we to explain ourselves to the entire populace and the Cabinet?!

"Stop him! Stop him ah ah ah ah ah!" Watanabe Eiji caught sight of the forest edge in the distance with the corner of his eye, those figures blocked by police outside the cordon yet stubbornly extending their long-focus lenses

A journalist.

The NHK and the five major television stations' news broadcast vans are just outside the Tree Sea ah ah ah!

The urgent order from the rear reached the front, yet just before the abandoned cabin deep in the Tree Sea, not a single police officer dared to approach!

Because it is a bomb, one that appears from the outside to have at least twenty or thirty kilograms, ready to detonate at any moment!!!

As previously stated, ANFO bombs are unstable, and may explode at any moment due to the slightest external stimulation!

Who would willingly just be blown to death? Even if exchanging one for one with this bastard?

I am human too! I also have a wife and children! I also have family ah!

Faced with police as tense as facing a great enemy, Ōsumikawa Minoru's emotions seemed to ease slightly, but that carefree, twisted smile never left his face.

He pointed to his sunken abdomen, his tone carrying an eerie calm: "Don't be so tense, pancreatic cancer, late stage, I have only a few months left to live. The doctor said I won't make it past this autumn."

He scanned the surrounding dense police, as if admiring a beautiful view, his smile growing ever brighter:

"You've deployed such a massive force to find me—hehe, hahahaha—this shows the plan succeeded, right? Akimoto Shōta that scumbag—surely already blown to heaven, right? He's dead, am I right?!"

He was impatiently, with a morbid longing, seeking confirmation from the police of his enemy's death.

When he saw the commander's solemn and silent expression, equivalent to acknowledging his question, Ōsumikawa Minoru threw his head back and laughed loudly, his laughter echoing in the silent Tree Sea, filled with the ultimate joy of avenging his great enemy, yet also soaked with endless blood and tears and sorrow.

"Good! Good! Good! Worth it! This old bone of mine, worth it! Rina—did you see? Dad—got your revenge!!"

He spread his arms, as if to embrace this dark green forest that swallowed his daughter and is now about to become his burial place.

The explosives on his person, at this moment, are more like a moving, blood-soaked monument composing the score of his tragic life and cruel revenge.

Rina, Dad is here! Even in another world, Dad is here to keep you company!

Ōsumikawa Minoru's fingers have already touched the simple detonation device hidden in the gaps of the explosives.

The cold touch made him feel a calm of impending release. Dying in this forest where his daughter rests eternally, using a grand explosion as the finale, seems to be the script he wrote for himself.

All eyes are focused on Ōsumikawa's fingers!

It's going to explode, it's going to explode ah ah ah!

Watanabe Eiji and Onoda Kimiaki's eyes are blood-red, they stare fixedly at the figure before the abandoned cabin, and Watanabe Eiji has already grown somewhat accustomed to feeling despair—how does this scene keep happening again and again these days?

It's going to explode again! The surrounding SAT and Mobile Unit members are even more filled with panic as they retreat.

Damn it! The Inspector of the First Division, First System, Kōsaka is even more despairing, his face turned pale, his eyes rolled back as he thought, surely in the end they'll just dump the blame on me again!

Shirotori Keibu and Shimano Keibu are even more wailing as they flop to the ground.

However, at the very moment when the fingertips were about to exert force, a voice suddenly shouted: "Mr. Ōsumikawa!

If you detonate here, do you know what they'll say out there?"

Ōsumikawa blinked, he instinctively looked toward the center of the crowd, where Uesugi Muneyuki, under heavy police protection, was straining to make out a figure.

Only to see Uesugi Muneyuki continue to roar: "The outside news will only report 'Terrorist self-destructs in Tree Sea, police valiantly thwarted attempt!' Mr. Ōsumikawa! Think carefully, if you just die like this, your and your daughter's story will never be known! It will only become the act of a madman's extremism, a stepping stone for those people to shape the image of victims' families.' This is too cheap for them!"

"So don't die, don't just die like this!!! You still have things left undone, not done!!!" Uesugi Muneyuki shouted hoarsely: "Let me talk to you, talk to you, okay?"

Don't die?

If we just blow up like this, then we father and daughter will be labeled as extreme terrorists, nailed to the pillar of shame in history?

The things that happened to Rina will forever remain undiscovered?

Ōsumikawa Minoru, this sixty-two-year-old old man, after being shouted at like this, suddenly felt there was some sense to it, having experienced so much, could he still not understand Japan, not understand the Japanese police?

He knows that even if he spilled everything here, it would be of no use, for police are essentially the lackeys of higher-ups, they only answer to their source of power! Their primary duty is stability maintenance, not upholding justice!

However, when he turned his gaze toward the person shouting at him, Ōsumikawa froze.

Uesugi——Muneyuki?

Is it him? Really him? Then that means the Special Mission Unit has come?

There is almost no one in Kantou who doesn't know Uesugi; even when the Sakikawa Restoration Army communicated in secret, they spoke his name: "After all, there is only one Uesugi."

Moreover, Uesugi Muneyuki has always been famous for his unruly personality and saying whatever he thinks; he is a descendant of Kenshin Kō, the incarnation of Dà yì; Ōsumikawa himself is a chemical engineer, and he instinctively believes this kind of scientist who pursues truth and fears no powerful elite has his own principles.

Uesugi Muneyuki came to the crime scene today as well?

"Mr. Ōsumikawa, I'm here to negotiate conditions!" Ōsumikawa froze like this, and under the gaze of countless gun muzzles, Uesugi Muneyuki, wearing a white coat, calmly passed through the police cordon, pushed aside the surrounding police, and walked alone toward Ōsumikawa Minoru, who still had explosives strapped to his body: "Can we talk? I am——"

"I know who you are, you're Uesugi Muneyuki, hehe, Yonezawa Uesugi kyū kazoku, the Metropolitan Police Department's trump card, the legendary forensic doctor!" Ōsumikawa Minoru roared with some embarrassment turning to anger: "Of course I know who you are, do you think I'm blind? God damn it, the Metropolitan Police Department actually sent out a big trump card like you, I'm truly lucky for three lifetimes!"

"Yes, that's right, I am Uesugi Muneyuki!" Uesugi Muneyuki squeezed out from the crowd; he fixed a skeptical look on the man before him: "You recognize me?"

"Who in Kantou doesn't know you?" When Ōsumikawa saw Uesugi Muneyuki, for some reason, even he who didn't fear death subconsciously felt a wave of awe; he could vaguely feel that behind Uesugi Muneyuki, a more terrifying, higher existence had emerged——gazing at him.

"So, can you listen to me for a moment?" Uesugi Muneyuki used his special power; his voice traveled through the vibration of water vapor in the air into Ōsumikawa's ears: "Mr. Ōsumikawa, don't you think——dying like this is too easy?"

"What?"

"What I mean is, you should live; you should personally tell the whole world what kind of demon Autumn Minister's son is! Even if you can't directly bring down Autumn Minister, you must make him and his family live forever under the interrogation and suspicion of public opinion! You should make the surname 'Akimoto' associated with scandal and sin for decades to come!"

Hearing Uesugi Muneyuki say this, Ōsumikawa was stunned for a moment, and for the first time, an expression of confusion and surprise appeared on his face.

It can still be done like this?

But thinking carefully, Ōsumikawa suddenly realized, right, it really does seem to be the case!

Indeed, the heart, it's still you guys, the old nobility, who are black! Black to the point of being kaleidoscopic, eating people without spitting out bones!

But——it seems not without reason——right, if I just blow up like this——then wouldn't Rina and I never be able to turn things around?

Seeing Ōsumikawa Minoru's expression loosen, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately shouted loudly again: "Mr. Ōsumikawa, I'm here to negotiate conditions!"

"Deal!"

"But for the negotiation, I only trust Uesugi!"