Chapter 724: PS: To celebrate Tuo Bo Ge's 2-1 comeback victory over BLG today, today is a 5600-word super combined double chapter!

PS: To celebrate Tuo Bo Ge's 2-1 comeback victory over BLG today, today is a 5600-word super combined double chapter!

Hahaha, what qualifications do you have to lecture me?

The four words "all living beings under heaven" — it's not your place to speak them!

Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was cold and stern; he glanced at Minami Ojou-sama and Okada Masayoshi beside him, narrowing his eyes slightly.

The Kodama Brothers have both come here — would they still allow him to refuse?

This is an offer that cannot be refused; these two brothers are forcing him to agree, leaving no room for refusal.

He knew this matter had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary criminal case, even surpassing the Metropolitan Police Department's regular jurisdiction, directly involving crisis management at the highest level of the Cabinet, and most likely involving state secrets and political deals that cannot be made public.

With his wife Minami Ojou-sama present as the Special Mission System Management Officer representing the police, and the Kodama Brothers personally making the request, both publicly and privately he had no grounds for a flat refusal.

So-called righteousness is merely a little girl dressed up by others... Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself.

Virtue passed down for ten generations or more; farming and reading passed down is second; poetry and books passed down is third; wealth passed down lasts no more than three generations.

Note: The "virtue" in "virtue passed down" here does not refer to the family "having virtue," but means your family has the power to define "virtue" — this is called virtue passed down.

In other words, you can arbitrarily define "righteousness" and possess the final interpretive authority over "righteousness" — that is what "virtue passed down" means. But he isn't someone to be kneaded at will either; since they have a request of me, they'll have to listen to me.

He raised his head, his gaze calmly meeting Onoda Kimiaki's, his voice clear and steady: "Commissioner, I understand the severity and urgency of the situation. As the Metropolitan Police Department's Chief Medical Examiner and a researcher, assisting in preventing a potential major public safety incident and restoring the Metropolitan Police Department's glory within my capacity — my generation's duty brooks no refusal!"

His tone shifted, still mild but now carrying a negotiating edge: "However, this mission is of a special nature, extremely high risk, and completely detached from normal legal procedures and official records. To ensure the necessary secrecy of the mission, and so I can devote myself without worry, I require several guarantees."

Onoda Kimiaki gave a slight nod, not the least bit surprised, instead showing a trace of "as expected": "Please speak, Doctor Uesugi. As long as it's reasonable and within our authority."

Negotiate — everything can be negotiated, there's nothing that can't be negotiated!

Not afraid you have demands, only afraid you have no demands!

"First," Uesugi Muneyuki extended his index finger: "All command, communication, and resource allocation for this operation shall be under my full authority, reporting directly to you, Minister, and the Kanchoukanbou. I need the highest level of information immunity and temporary emergency authorization to mobilize non-armed, absolutely reliable technical support and outer perimeter security when necessary, but absolutely must not alert the regular public security network, to avoid leaks."

"Done." Onoda Kimiaki answered immediately: "We'll give you an encrypted independent communication channel and a roster of mobile personnel who answer only to this operation; I'll personally back the authorization."

"Second," Uesugi Muneyuki continued, raising a second finger: "Regardless of mission success or failure, myself, my assistants, and especially my wife Superintendent Uesugi Minami must not suffer any form of internal investigation, questioning, or negative impact because of this operation. Our career safety and future development require written guarantees — naturally, classified internal level."

Uesugi Minami looked sharply at him, her eyes flashing with gratitude and deeper worry; Onoda Kimiaki glanced at Minami, then at his own brother, and Onoda Kimiaki nodded.

"On this point, we guarantee it with our character and positions." Onoda Kimiaki said solemnly: "Later we'll give you an unpublished memorandum jointly signed by me and Kimiaki. Management Officer Minami's participation is limited to being informed at this moment; she will not directly intervene in subsequent concrete actions, to ensure the purity of her duties. As for your people, you can give me a list, and I'll be responsible for protecting them."

"Third, Commissioner, if I complete my doctoral dissertation next year, what about that lecturer position..." Uesugi Muneyuki continued. Onoda Kimiaki, hearing this, even showed a hint of an almost admiring smile.

This young forensic authority is not only professionally solid, but his thinking is meticulous enough to understand that while risking himself for the country, he must also lay plans for his own core interests.

"Lecturer? Associate Professor!"

"Tokyo University President Hamada and several key Directors have regular communication with the Cabinet Office; your contribution, if it indeed helps resolve a major crisis, we will ensure the right people know in an appropriate manner. This won't be a transaction, but an objective evaluation of an outstanding scholar serving society." Onoda Kimiaki laughed.

Conditions settled, the atmosphere seemed to loosen slightly, but the heavy core remained unchanged.

After the Onoda Brothers laid down a few more absolute confidentiality requirements and emergency contact methods, they rose and left in haste; they needed to return immediately to handle the chain reactions this matter might trigger.

Only Uesugi Muneyuki, Uesugi Minami, and Okada Masayoshi remained in the conference room.

Okada Masayoshi rubbed his brow, his usually calm face showing a rare strange expression; he said in a low voice: "Terrorists threatening a former terrorist leader's daughter, forcing him to commit terrorism... the former terrorist leader driven to a corner, turning to the police top brass for help... this plot, even a writer wouldn't dare write it. Truly, live long enough and you'll see everything."

Uesugi Muneyuki walked to the window, gazing at the stern building complex of Tokyo's Nagatacho below, and shook his head: "The world is vast, nothing is too strange. No matter how bizarre the logic, once it happens, it becomes the reality we must face."

He recalled the records in the file, his tone carrying a touch of cold mockery: "As for the 'Red Goldfinch' — after that failure thirty years ago, especially after the Kurokawa Giin's daughter kidnapping and murder case caused public opinion to completely reverse, leading to universal condemnation and an all-out police crackdown — they actually still have residual forces, even daring to show their faces and plan new operations... these people are either madmen, or they have something to rely on, fundamentally unafraid of death!" What Uesugi Muneyuki worried about was precisely this — he wasn't certain whether the enemy possessed weapons of mass destruction, or even... power from the Inner World! "Muneyuki..." Uesugi Minami walked to his side, gently tugging his sleeve, her upturned face full of unease: "I always feel there's an indescribable strangeness to this matter. Honda Atsuhito... would he really turn back for his daughter? Or is this itself another trap? You must be extremely careful! Promise me, if anything feels off, withdraw immediately, prioritize your own safety!"

Uesugi Muneyuki held her hand, squeezing it hard, giving her a reassuring look: "I know. I'll be careful."

"Good, then when do we start the operation?" Okada Masayoshi nodded: "Isn't the place where Honda Atsuhito's daughter Marie works already known?"

"No, you all, including the entire Special Mission Unit, don't mobilize yet." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head: "We have a problem." "What problem?" Okada Masayoshi and Uesugi Minami asked simultaneously.

"We are all too much like celebrities, while the public security police and the District Public Prosecutors Office carry a 'government office stench'." Uesugi Muneyuki said: "Judging by the current situation, there is no doubt the Red Goldfinch has also grasped and is monitoring Marie's movements."

"Yes, we are too well-known." Uesugi Minami said helplessly.

Who to blame? Okada Masayoshi is naturally a police superstar too; in Tokyo's high-society circles he even has a fan club called the "Okada Club," whose president is the age-appropriate daughter of the Asako Family this generation, named Asako Sachiko.

"So, we need someone nobody knows to make contact with Marie." Uesugi Muneyuki said meaningfully.

The next morning, Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters.

The atmosphere was solemn and grave; heads of various departments and major section chiefs gathered in full attendance.

Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji, already in his third consecutive term, had just begun his fourth and final year as Superintendent General, his expression graver than ever before.

Below, Uesugi Minami sat in the front-row Management Officer seats, palms slightly sweating; Uesugi Muneyuki attended as a specially invited expert, seated further back, expression calm — this husband and wife pair stood out conspicuously among the crowd of Police Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners.

"Everyone," Superintendent General Watanabe's voice spread through the hall via the microphone, carrying a metallic timbre: "Today's emergency summons is because we face an extremely severe, potentially major latent threat that could endanger Tokyo's and even the nation's core security zones."

"Next, Onoda from the National Police Agency will brief everyone on the situation."

Onoda Kimiaki ascended the podium, facing countless pairs of police elite eyes below, his expression stern; he began in official language to report the severe situation of the "Red Goldfinch" possibly making a comeback, demanding the entire Metropolitan Police Department enter the highest alert status, strengthen patrols in key areas, initiate review of relevant historical case files, and coordinate with public security departments for all-round intelligence gathering and risk assessment.

While the Metropolitan Police Department held its major meeting, in Tokyo, Ota Ward, inside a slightly old commercial building.

At the reception of a medium-sized international dispatch labor company, the atmosphere was ordinary.

Dispatched employees in standard gray suits busily answered phones and processed documents.

Among them, one female employee, about thirty-one or two years old, with a chin-length bob, features still fairly pretty, but her brows and eyes carried the fatigue of long-term desk work and a trace of indifference that couldn't be shaken off. Her ID badge read: Marie.

She was lowering her head organizing a stack of client data when suddenly a light, quick figure bounced up to the counter.

"Um... sorry to bother you!" The voice was clear, belonging to a young girl.

Marie raised her head and saw a high school girl who looked under eighteen standing before her.

The girl wore a well-tailored navy sailor uniform, a warm duffel coat over it, a backpack on her shoulders, her appearance extremely lovely and cute, large eyes sparkling with a lively yet seemingly somewhat timid light.

"Alright, may I ask what business you have?" Marie said softly, very polite, in a strictly business manner.

"Are you Marie-neesan, customer service number 114514? I'm Shi Shi! Nagase Shishi!" The girl tilted her head, a sweet harmless smile with a hint of uncertainty: "So happy to see you again, Marie-neesan! Do you still remember me?"

"???" Marie seriously scrutinized the girl before her; she was absolutely certain she did not know this girl named Nagase Shishi at all, but the girl's innate friendliness and familiarity made even her doubt herself a little.

"You forgot? We met in a restaurant! Back then you even said you really liked 'Alien' and 'Prometheus'!" Shi Shi very naturally handed a movie ticket to Marie: "This is the newly released 'Alien: Covenant'; let's watch it together tonight!" As she spoke, with an extremely concealed motion, she folded a small piece of paper with rough edges — the movie ticket — and swiftly slipped it into the gap of the folder Marie was organizing.

Marie's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

She didn't look at the note; her sharp gaze scrutinized the smiling girl before her.

The girl's gaze was clear and innocent, yet seemed to hide something else.

"Excuse me, I'm currently working." Marie's voice remained calm: "During work, please address me by my title!"

Shishi, however, acted as if she hadn't heard her advice, still maintaining that sweet smile, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear clearly: "So glad you came! I just like you~"

Finished speaking, she didn't wait for Marie to react, simply bowed politely: "Sorry to disturb your work, goodbye!" Then, like a light butterfly, she turned and walked briskly away from the front desk, disappearing around the hallway corner.

Marie stood in place, fingers quietly tightening, that small movie ticket stub crumpled in her palm. She didn't immediately look at it, instead continuing to finish the work at hand, as if nothing had happened. The staff beside her also turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

Merely beneath that flat expression, a trace of extremely complex emotion flashed through the depths of her eyes — surprise, suspicion, a fleeting fear, ultimately coalescing into a dim resentment.

That evening, Shibuya Cinema, Theater 3.

Inside, a lighthearted family film "Alien: Covenant" was playing. The audience was sparse, mostly young couples or families with children. The air carried the cloying buttery scent of popcorn and the fizzy sound of carbonated drinks.

On screen, black liquid permeated the good brother's body, and a Neomorph burst from the crew member's back. Hayase Marie arrived slightly late. She still wore her gray winter uniform suit skirt from work, and took her reserved seat.

Uesugi Muneyuki and another police officer... Assistant Police Inspector Nango Yui, a Career Track graduate of Kyoto University, were already there.

Among the many in the Special Mission Unit, Uesugi Muneyuki ultimately chose Nango Yui to help. First, this guy wasn't that famous. Second, his appearance was good. Third, as a high-achieving graduate of Kyoto University, the old leftist stronghold of Kansai, he might better understand these people's thoughts. The presence of Uesugi Muneyuki and Nango Yui was like Wang Wang Snow Crackers in a wanderer's pocket, fireflies among dung beetles — so dazzlingly conspicuous. Marie first sensed the aura of an elite bureaucrat and high achiever beneath Nango Yui's Western suit and leather shoes. Then, when she saw Uesugi Muneyuki, her eyes suddenly widened.

That overly handsome and famous face also made her instantly recognize him — Uesugi Muneyuki, seen daily on TV news and academic journals, Tokyo University's genius forensic doctor, one of the Metropolitan Police Department's Absolute Dual Pride!

She took a slight breath, her tense shoulders relaxing imperceptibly for an instant, then tightening even more. The relaxation was because those who came didn't seem to be the imagined sinister "Successors." The tension was because the police's appearance meant a more complex, more uncontrollable situation. "It's actually the super-duper famous Uesugi Chief? Heh, I thought..." Marie's voice was pressed very low, almost drowned out by the melodious silver moon of the Alien film, carrying a barely perceptible tremor and mockery: "I thought it was Public Security."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded slightly. His voice was gentle and clear, likewise controlled at a volume only three people could hear: "Uesugi Muneyuki, Tokyo University Forensic Doctor, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Medical Examiner."

"Nango, Special Mission Unit Acting Chief." Nango Yui inclined his head slightly toward Marie's direction, counting as a greeting.

"Hayase Marie." Marie reported her name swiftly and coldly, using her mother's surname: "That girl earlier... was she sent by you?" She recalled Nagase Shishi's innocent, extremely deceptive face.

Great acting! Couldn't tell at all!

I almost thought she really was an old acquaintance of mine!

"Yes." Uesugi Muneyuki didn't deny it: "A contact method relatively unlikely to alert potential watchers around you. Hope Shishi didn't scare you."

Marie tugged at the corner of her mouth, that couldn't count as a smile: "A nasty joke. So... what business do you have?"

"Miss Hayase, no nonsense." Uesugi Muneyuki cut to the chase, tone still steady: "We sought you out at this time because your father..."

"He is not my father!"

This sentence was like an ice pick suddenly stabbing out from beneath a frozen lake surface, both fast and cold, carrying sharp pain and an undeniable denial. Marie whipped her head around, looking directly at Uesugi Muneyuki for the first time.

A cold-toned light happened to sweep across the silver screen, illuminating half her face. The Alien appeared again!

On that fairly pretty face, there was currently no large-scale agitated expression, but every inch of muscle was taut, lips pressed into a pale straight line. Her eyes were terrifyingly bright in the dim light — not tearful, but a hatred and venom that had burned for thirty years, long since cooled into ash, yet still searing.

Her voice pressed even lower, almost squeezed from between her teeth, every word soaked in icy venom: "He... Honda Atsuhito is merely my biological 'dad.' A stranger who provided half the genetic material. I have no father! None!!!"

She paused, breathing becoming somewhat rapid, but her tone strangely sharper within its restraint: "I never had a... as an 'Enemy of Humanity,' when his own daughter was only one year old, had just learned to call 'Daddy,' he unhesitatingly abandoned her, disappeared without a trace without a word, letting her mother, a noble young lady, bear the stigma of 'premarital pregnancy' and 'involvement with terrorists' from then on, suffer endless cold stares and mockery, be utterly ruined, and die in depression..."

Her throat choked up, as if that massive hatred blocked all vents for release. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice carried a near-shattered calm, yet more heart-wrenching than a scream:

"... Murderer 'Father.'"

On screen, Android David and Android Walter were kissing, eliciting a few low chuckles from the audience.

"So if you're here to ask about my father, I can only give you one answer: nothing to say. From birth to now, I haven't spoken a single word with him." Marie said: "Anything else? If not, I'm leaving first. I'm very busy. A dispatched employee's monthly salary is only 220,000 yen. After paying various pensions, taxes, and medical insurance, take-home is only 180,000. No matter how I scrimp and save, I can save at most 20,000 to 30,000 a month. I'm not like you elite public servants with free time. Just to survive, I've already exhausted all my energy."

"Miss Hayase, we didn't come because of your father, nor to find Honda Atsuhito through you." Uesugi Muneyuki listened calmly to Miss Marie's words.

Although not explicitly stated what she experienced these years, from her resentment and attitude toward her father...

At first hearing her call Honda Atsuhito 'biological dad,' Uesugi and Nango still thought saying it like that might be a bit too hurtful to him?

However, after hearing those few sentences of hers, they both understood.

This one is a genuine, bona fide biological dad!

"What do you mean?" Marie was somewhat confused. She was already in her early thirties. If not because of her father, could it be that this Metropolitan Police Pervert has designs on her?

"Miss Marie, we found you because..." Nango Yui said: "Your current situation is critically dangerous!"

"What?!!"