Chapter 606

In the afternoon, sunlight slanted across this somewhat aged district where the Sumida and Arakawa Rivers converge. The Public Security convoy silently parked one block away from the target area.

Following the range set by Uesugi Muneyuki, technicians quickly pinpointed several suspicious properties by checking recent abnormal utility usage and rental records.

Uesugi Muneyuki himself had actually already learned from Nakamura Kenichi where his so-called surveillance point was.

Without reason or basis, Uesugi Muneyuki simply stated he felt it should be nearby, and told everyone to follow him.

The Public Security officers looked at each other, thought it over, and still decided to unconditionally obey Uesugi Muneyuki's command.

We brought him here, wasn't it just for this?

"Follow the chief, follow!" Superintendent Ichijo arrived at the scene and said to everyone.

Everyone came before an inconspicuous five-story old apartment building, its exterior wall mottled, bearing traces of time.

"Is this it?" Detective Kino asked softly, his hand unconsciously pressing against the gun holster at his waist.

Uesugi Muneyuki did not immediately answer; his gaze like a precise scanner, swiftly sweeping over the entire building.

Spirit Vision!

Indeed, Nakamura is an excellent informant.

Uesugi Muneyuki discovered that although this apartment is old, its location is excellent—it does not directly face the riverbank, but sits at a subtle angle, allowing clear observation of the river and the quiet detached housing area on the opposite bank, while itself, due to its orientation and obstruction by neighboring buildings, is not easily observed directly from the opposite bank.

"This is it." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded firmly, the reason simple yet convincing: "Look at the fourth-floor room with the small balcony; on the corner of the balcony railing, there are slight, repeated friction marks, as if long-term placement of some support (such as a telescope or camera tripod) caused them. Moreover, this angle is the optimal viewpoint for observing the opposite bank's residential area—comprehensive yet concealed."

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be here." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded slightly, smiling: "It's your turn to work, you border bulwarks of the state without a search warrant?"

"————————" Detective Kino's face looked a bit grim; naturally, they had no search warrant for this deployment either.

But are rules really such an inconvenient thing?

We are the Japan Public Security!

Public Security personnel immediately found the apartment manager, showed their credentials (department unspecified, but sufficient to deter),

then obtained the spare key.

"Search!" Superintendent Ichijo waved his hand.

Several Public Security officers opened the room rented by Nakamura; it was in utter disarray. Drawers were pulled open, cabinets overturned, miscellaneous items scattered everywhere—clearly thoroughly searched already, and the other party's methods were professional, leaving no valuable papers or electronic devices.

"Too late!" The management officer's face looked grim.

How swift the action!

Uesugi Muneyuki also felt some surprise, he furrowed his brow and glanced at several nearby Public Security officers who had all reached to grip their pistol grips.

Strange, although Japan Public Security's level has indeed declined compared to before the Cold War, but——in this country there actually exists a force that consistently gets ahead of Public Security police everywhere?

Simply unthinkable!

No wonder Nakamura was dealt with! No wonder Public Security police have resolved to deal with this issue!

The existence of such a level of force has already grown large enough to threaten national security!

But today, I have come!

"Not necessarily." Uesugi Muneyuki walked toward the room's window, looked up: "If merely satisfied with this angle, he wouldn't need to choose this building. Better observation points are above."

Following his hint, several Public Security officers quickly rushed up to the apartment roof via the internal staircase.

Indeed, in an extremely concealed corner behind the rooftop water tank, they discovered a makeshift observation point camouflaged with waterproof cloth. There was a folding stool, several empty mineral water bottles, and most importantly—

an abandoned high-powered telescope and tripod, the telescope precisely aimed at a gray-blue roofed detached house in the residential area across the river.

"Found it! His surveillance target!" Kino Tōya exclaimed softly.

Everyone immediately looked toward Uesugi Muneyuki.

Unthinkable!

Simply, too unthinkable!

Is the Special Mission Unit under Uesugi Muneyuki's command always handling cases like this?

No wonder this group is so outrageous!!!

If they all handle cases this way, our Public Security can too!

At the same time, Detective Kino thought: No wonder Uesugi Muneyuki sometimes needs Public Security help, because many of his judgments are just like this—heaven-straying, baseless, without evidence.

Hey, isn't this a coincidence? Our Public Security police can conduct searches without evidence!

Though lovely in appearance, why follow thieves?

Our Public Security just needs talents like you, Superintendent Uesugi~

"What are you looking at me for? Immediately issue orders to the rear, investigate information on this detached house!" Uesugi Muneyuki said impatiently.

"Oh, oh!" This group of proud Public Security elites once again lowered their proud heads before Uesugi Muneyuki.

The message reached the rear; standby Public Security officer Ozawa Sumiko immediately retrieved information on this detached house, resident details vague, but one name caught everyone's attention—Nagase Arisu (NagaseArisu)!

"Arisu! Indeed it is Arisu!" Section Chief Hasegawa's voice carried suppressed excitement.

Got it!

"Begin search immediately!"

"Yes!"

However, when a large number of plainclothes Public Security officers tried to approach that detached house for investigation, problems arose. The community's residents seemed especially vigilant, distrustful of these men whose demeanor clearly differed from ordinary civilians; inquiries were either evaded or met with perfunctory replies like "not clear" or "didn't see."

The investigation reached a stalemate.

No way.

As everyone knows, Japanese civil servants are famous for their good attitudes, famous for their humility and affability; many Germans working or traveling in Japan feel pleasantly surprised, thinking this is still a neighboring country to ours? How come it feels completely different?

But in reality, the bureaucratic atmosphere in Japan is also quite strong, it's just that people usually don't encounter it.

The famous bassist Yahata Hailin once said: "Power is only responsible to its source."

Japanese civil servants, especially those serving externally, are affable and kind because they are responsible to the people, hence their humility and enthusiasm.

But when one truly enters the civil service interior, the hierarchy is called strictly hierarchical—higher rank crushes people, higher Katana suppresses all beings, here just as applicable: superiors' merit goes to superiors, superiors' faults are borne by subordinates.

Naturally, there are also departments that don't need to be accountable to the people, just like these public security police—they don't care at all about public perception.

So these people have a certain smell.

A special smell.

The unique sense of scrutiny and oppression on public security personnel is colloquially called "police stench" or "government office smell" by Japanese residents.

When Japanese people encounter such individuals, they quickly pinch their noses.

Damn, Mei Xi Ba shake it ah! Public security is here!

I won't tell you anything. jpg!

However, Uesugi Muneyuki also can't come forward—first, he's too famous; second, being active with public security affects his reputation.

What to do?

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Miyawaki Sakura beside him, who had pursed her lips from nervousness, and an idea struck him.

"Let Miyawaki-san try." He said to Ichijo and Kino: "Use her strongest identity."

"Eh?" Little Sakura blinked.

Is there still something for me to do?

"Idols must be like idols." Uesugi Muneyuki said interestingly: "Sakura, do you still remember how you performed at the handshake event?"

"Eh???"

A moment later, Miyawaki Sakura took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and put on that sweet, harmless smile idols show when facing fans, then walked alone toward an elderly woman pruning flowers in the nearby courtyard.

"Sorry to disturb you, ma'am." Miyawaki Sakura's voice was clear and pleasant, carrying just the right amount of apology and anticipation: "I am Miyawaki Sakura of the idol group YKC48. We received a very thoughtful fan gift from here, signed by Miss Nagase Arisu, and I wanted to personally thank her, but when I rang the doorbell, it seemed no one was home—do you know roughly when Miss Arisu might return? Or are there others in her household?"

The elderly woman looked at this beautiful, polite girl before her, her vigilance greatly reduced, especially upon hearing "idol" and "thanking fans"—such positive reasons—her attitude immediately softened.

"Ah la la, is it Idol Miss Sakura-chan?! I know you—I know you're the one who held up a sign for Uesugi-san in 《Hand of God》? Oh oh oh, so Arisu is your fan?" The elderly woman recalled: "Around midnight the day before yesterday, an ambulance came, took her away. The commotion wasn't small either.

"

"Ambulance?" Miyawaki Sakura showed concern at the right moment: "Is she alright?"

"I don't know? It looks serious—Arisu was taken away by ambulance, and Shi Shi-chan followed her!" The elderly woman said, her expression somewhat worried.

"Shi Shi? Is she Arisu's sister?" Little Sakura asked further.

"Yes, they moved here not long ago, living with their mother, but I basically never saw them go out together—then the ambulance came the next day, and several black panel trucks arrived, people in work uniforms got out, and they emptied everything inside and outside her house, cleaned it spotless, as if no one had ever lived there. Really strange—" The elderly woman chattered on.

Miyawaki Sakura's heart jolted, but she maintained a proper smile, thanked the elderly woman, quickly returned to the group, and relayed this shocking news.

"Ambulance took her away—then immediately emptied the house—" Ichijo Kaoru's face turned extremely grim: "This isn't illness! It's silencing, or emergency transfer! The other side's speed and methods are faster and more absolute than we imagined!"

The clue, pointing at "Arisu" at that moment, seemed to be forcibly severed by an invisible hand.

But at least, they confirmed "Arisu" truly exists, and the opponent, to conceal her, has already resorted to such extreme measures.

The girl named Nagase Arisu has become the key to unraveling all mysteries, and finding her has become the most urgent task for public security and Uesugi Muneyuki.

Yet Uesugi Muneyuki directed his gaze toward this detached house.

Nagase Arisu? Nagase Shishi?

Saito Nanami? Saito Asuka?

"Kino-san, what's the average housing price in Arakawa Ward here?" Uesugi Muneyuki casually asked.

"Eh?!" Kino Detective blinked, then casually said: "About 750,000 yen per square meter, what's wrong?"

"At 750,000 yen per square meter, how could these sisters afford such a detached house?" Uesugi Muneyuki gestured.

These two sisters live in a residential-type detached house, with an area of at least 200 square meters, so at market price it would cost 1.5 billion yen, not including various taxes, property fees, and municipal fees.

Moreover, the interior is extremely clean.

"Maybe it's the parents? Or relying on relatives?" Kino Detective pondered repeatedly: "Indeed, the head of household registered is Seiichiro Inokawa, which doesn't sound like a relative of the Nagase sisters."

"Check, check the surveillance." Uesugi Muneyuki temporarily had no other ideas, and said to Kino Detective: "Since the ambulance came the night before yesterday, we should be able to get its license plate from nearby surveillance and confirm which hospital it went to."

"Of course." The public security police, already frustrated from constantly being a step behind, now had no objections to what Uesugi Muneyuki said.

Yet Uesugi Muneyuki was still thinking.

Nagase Arisu is the involved party, and might have been harmed by the ambulance rescue, or possibly been transferred via surveillance, not necessarily allowing investigation.

But her sister, that girl named Nagase Shishi, perhaps is the key to the whole case—he felt it, and he's already getting closer to the truth!

Nagase Shishi!

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