Chapter 751

After everything settled, an indescribable atmosphere permeated the Ōtaku Police Station.

When Takahashi Toshio was taken away by Metropolitan Police Department personnel, the hallway was packed with people — Criminal Investigation Division, Life Safety Division, Regional Division, even General Affairs Division people poked their heads out to watch.

No one spoke; they just watched that middle-aged man who had worn the uniform for twenty-six years be escorted into a police car and disappear around the street corner.

Tanaka Naoki stood at the second-floor window, watching that police car recede.

His face held no expression, but in those eyes there was something indescribable — not relief, not gladness, but a deeper, heavier fatigue.

Tanaka Laodeng prided himself on never having harmed anyone in his life, on diligence; in his youth, to pursue criminals he once went four weeks without returning home, and his landlord discovered his monthly water, electricity, and gas consumption was actually zero and thought he had already died in the line of duty, even preparing to call a moving company to clear the room. He was of course not the incorruptible type like Haigangfeng; he would accept routine festive gifts, and he would attend to subordinates' matters — for instance, Uesugi Muneyuki's father's dinner invitations he would also go to — but he had indeed never reached into public funds or used his position to accept bribes, and he had always felt his reputation should be quite good.

He never expected he would actually have a day of being stabbed in the back.

Soon, the station issued a simple notification: Patrol Sergeant Takahashi Toshio, suspected of embezzling deceased's family property, has been transferred to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for handling.

The Ōtaku Police Station Chief personally appeared, expressing "regret" and "full cooperation with the investigation" and other boilerplate to the media.

But what truly made Tanaka Laodeng unable to bear it was a conversation he heard outside the break room after things ended.

"Takahashi-senpai... actually there were rumors long ago." A young patrol officer said in a low voice: "Heard that when he handled cases before, his hands weren't too clean."

"For real?"

"For real. I heard Old Kuwabara say, several times small things went missing at scenes — cigarettes, lighters, that sort of thing — no one caught him in the act, but everyone knew in their hearts. There was even someone who complained before, saying a few 500-yen coins they left at their front door disappeared, and a small vendor said sometimes when he patrolled he'd pocket a bottle of drink and put it on the tab, or say he forgot his small change and could he borrow two or three hundred yen to buy a bottle of water."

"Then why didn't they..."

"A few hundred yen worth of stuff, not worth it, and no evidence. And he'd done twenty-six years, no merit but had hardship, he still has a whole family to support, who has the heart?"

"Yeah, working so hard, who has the heart?"

Tanaka Laodeng stood outside the door, holding that cup of already-cold coffee, did not go in.

He turned and left.

You're all sympathizing with Takahashi, who's going to sympathize with me?

I also have a whole family to support!!!

I TMD almost lost my public position!! I TMD almost went to prison in handcuffs! I TMD almost suffered social death!

As Tanaka Laodeng who had cultivated the police world for thirty years, he was very clear on the powerful inertia of the Japanese judicial system.

Must not be referred for prosecution! Because once referred for prosecution and the entire judicial procedure activates, everything is over!

The most classic example of this part is the famous Gotemba Incident in Japan, namely 2001, an underage girl accused several underage skateboarding boys active in Gotemba of sexually assaulting her; the several boys, under repeated inducement and guidance by police and prosecutors, confessed to the crime in exchange for reduced sentences, but soon the girl's own testimony developed problems causing them to retract confessions — first, the crime time the girl stated, one of them was working at the time and had a detailed alibi.

So the prosecutors said this was the parents bribing the workplace and colleagues, and refused to adopt it.

Soon someone investigated and found that that night the girl was not in Gotemba at all, but went elsewhere and went to a love hotel to meet an internet friend for a date. So the girl immediately changed her story, saying the time was her memory error, not September 16 but September 9.

The prosecutors immediately adopted it, saying the person herself indeed might have remembered wrong.

And the defense immediately said according to this time, Gotemba was raining, skateboarding boys couldn't possibly go there to play.

The prosecutors refused to adopt this, even to avoid the girl further producing errors and contradictions, simply refused the girl to appear in court again, and ultimately after years of trial, appeal, trial, the several skateboarding boys were still convicted; by the time they served their sentences and came out 10 years had passed, the youths of yesteryear had become young adults, and their lives had already been ruined.

And many years later, when the female judge of that time Takahashi Shoko was asked about this verdict, she still quite naturally said "Legal verdicts occasionally having errors is very normal, not something that needs special attention."

This is the Japanese judicial system, as Hisashi Kurei said.

And the only one able to withstand the pressure and change all this, probably only Uesugi Muneyuki.

But what did I do wrong?!

Tanaka Laodeng really wanted to roar at the entire Metropolitan Police Department, saying for the sake of your face, I am something that can be sacrificed?

However, thirty years of police career had already made him lose the courage to question.

Now he only wants to go home, tell his wife and daughter, Dad is fine.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Kanjō Wataru handled the follow-up matters, submitted records and evidence; although the person himself had already confessed, sebaceous gland sweat stains and chewing gum residue can still serve as a link in the evidence chain.

Just as he was preparing to leave, he discovered Tanaka Laodeng was waiting for him right at the door.

"Uesugi-san."

Tanaka called to him, his voice carrying a strange hesitation.

Uesugi Muneyuki turned around.

Tanaka stood there, a fifty-year-old man, yet at this moment like a child who had done something wrong, lips moving again and again, not knowing what to say. "I'll go over there to confirm." Kansei Watari said very naturally.

"Go, I'll be right there." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, then turned his gaze to Tanaka Laodeng: "Any other situation?"

"I..." He finally spoke: "Uesugi-san, I truly don't know how to thank you! You saved a person's second half of life, you saved a family!"

Uesugi Muneyuki did not speak.

"Last night, when I said those words to you at 'Wild Field', I actually didn't hold much hope." Tanaka Laodeng's voice was very low: "I just thought, even if there was a one in ten thousand possibility, you'd be willing to listen to me say a bit, I'd be satisfied. Didn't expect you actually..."

He couldn't continue.

"I'm just a forensic pathologist, what I need to do is just make things clear." Uesugi Muneyuki finally still said, he shook his head: "What exists exists, what doesn't doesn't, where does so much business come from; you took it you took it, you didn't you didn't, you say you didn't take it, I also believe you're not the kind of guy who'd risk everything for 13 million, that's enough."

That's enough.

Tanaka Laodeng's eyes flashed with tears, he took a deep breath, suddenly raised his head, and with a near-desperate tone said:

"Uesugi little brother, my daughter, Shi, Tanaka Shi, nineteen this year, high school graduate, looks pretty good, personality also good, studies also not bad, she wants to study abroad — I'm not saying make you responsible for her study abroad matters, I'm saying, I'm saying..."

The more he spoke the more confused it got, until finally he simply gritted his teeth:

"Let me introduce her to you to get to know!"

üの」

￥？？？」

？？？？？？"

Uesugi Muneyuki's expression, in that instant, became extremely colorful.

He stared at Tanaka, on that young face first confusion, then shock.

What meaning?!

Tanaka Laodeng, what is this meaning of yours???

TMD, do I look like the kind of guy who thinks with his dick and can't control his lower half?

TMD, do I look like the kind of guy who gets sent a beautiful daughter, willingly degenerates, gets brainwashed into a ruthless case-solving machine, a merit wholesaler, and directly pulls an entire super department's worth of people?

Mei shake it ah! How exactly does the police world see me?

In the end, Uesugi Muneyuki wore an indescribable, complex expression caught between helplessness and disdain.

"Inspector Tanaka."

"Hm?"

"You were almost arrested as a suspect just now, your daughter almost became a thief's daughter, and what you're thinking about right now is"

He paused, seemingly searching for the right wording.

"Introducing your daughter to me?"

Tanaka Laodeng froze for a moment, then scratched his head: "No, I just... I didn't know how to thank you. Asking you to dinner you wouldn't let me, giving you money you definitely wouldn't take, I thought and thought, and that was the only..."

"Not needed." Uesugi Muneyuki cut him off, tone resolute: "Completely not needed. Absolutely not needed. Thank you for the kindness, but not needed." Tanaka Laodeng's expression was a bit embarrassed: "That, Uesugi little brother, don't misunderstand, I'm not that kind of old-fashioned person who has to matchmake, I just think you're a good person, Shī also admires you very much..."

"I'm already married to Minami." Uesugi Muneyuki said with a dark face.

Old Showa Rolexes also have the traditional and overbearing side of Old Showa Rolexes, that is, in their minds, whether wife or daughter, both are part of the family property, since I am the provider, I naturally have ownership rights, so-called rights and responsibilities correspond. "Uh, right..." Tanaka Laodeng thought he really didn't know how to thank Uesugi Muneyuki, his expression finally turned solemn, he very straightforwardly dropped to both knees, performing a standard dogeza: "Then, let it be like this!"

"Gratitude, inexhaustible!"

"Uesugi Chief, thank you. Really, thank you!"

This time Uesugi Muneyuki didn't refuse, he also didn't hypocritically say "get up quick, no need to kneel, we modern people don't do this set", but reached out to help Tanaka Laodeng up, laughing: "First go back and apologize to the missus, admit you hid private savings, then... going to the United Kingdom to study isn't necessary, properly let your daughter go to university and work, only when she truly works will she know money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat!"

The dream of the British Isles should wake up.

"Hyi!" Tanaka Laodeng's reply was so loud, so resonant.

When Uesugi Muneyuki walked out of Ōtaku Police Station, Prosecutor Kansei Watari was standing on the stairs smoking.

Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki come out, he stubbed out the cigarette, threw it into the garbage bin beside him, and walked over.

"Uesugi Chief, settled?"

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, also a bit dread: "Just a hair short."

Kansei Watari fundamentally didn't care about a 50-year-old Non-Career Track old man; on this Ministry of Justice elite's face was a hard-to-mask excitement — that unique, near-professional-instinct excitement investigators get when encountering a "good case".

"I just sorted through Takahashi's crime process again." He said, tone carrying a certain admiration: "Uesugi Chief, did you know, this Patrol Sergeant Takahashi, in essence, is a high-IQ criminal."

"Uh-huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at him.

"The timeline design is too precise." Kansei Watari said, eyes shining: "He chose to strike exactly when Inspector Tanaka last confirmed the scene — Tanaka just happened to have that fifteen-minute window, and just happened to have no witnesses. Then the next day Tanaka took leave, just happening to match his private savings. The time the family discovered the will, just happened to be before the Supervision Officer intervened. Every step landed on the dot, every step made Tanaka's suspicion heavier." He paused, hands in pockets.

"Most key is — he utilized the system's own inertia. Yesterday afternoon Supervision Officer deployed, today 10 AM is the surrender deadline. If not for you intervening last night, once 10 AM passes today, Inspector Tanaka suspended and investigated, materials transferred to District Prosecutors Office, we would just go down that track all the way. By then, even if there are doubts, who would want to overturn already-activated procedures? Who would want to bear responsibility?"

He shook his head, tone carrying a few parts sentiment.

"This Takahashi, essence master! If this brain was used on the right path, he'd long be more than just Patrol Sergeant."

Uesugi Muneyuki listened quietly, frowning.

Kansei looked at him, suddenly asked: "Uesugi Chief, how do you see it?"

Uesugi Muneyuki considered a while, lightly shook his head.

"You're making him sound too godly." He said, tone very light: "This isn't some precise design. This is just a person taking one step at a time, who happened to step right every time."

Kansei Watari froze a moment: "Not planned?"

"He found the money, didn't make a fuss, because of instinct, he originally had the habit of unclean hands and feet." Uesugi Muneyuki said: "He took the money when Tanaka spaced out, because the opportunity arrived before his eyes. He went to work normally the next day, lived normally, because he had no better choice. By the time the family kicked up a fuss, Supervision Officer intervened, he discovered he was already dragged in, could only bite the bullet and gamble on — gamble on Tanaka being caught, gamble on his own safety."

He looked at Kansei Watari.

"This isn't high-IQ crime. This is an ordinary person, pushed by desire and fear, walking to the end, discovering he can't turn back anymore."

Kansei was silent a moment, then slowly nodded.

"You're right." He said: "But one point — someone who can play 'take one step at a time' clearly, isn't simple either. How many criminals mess up the first step, fall on the second. He could hold on to this step, already counts as having brains."

"Fair point, indeed." On this Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, being able to play 'take one step at a time' clearly is already very formidable.

Even with Kāng Xī's political wrist and personal charisma, he didn't think to have the House of Representatives discuss electing a new Crown Prince to restore Yinreng as Crown Prince, halfway an Eighth Prince could still kill out, he wanting to forcefully recommend with personal prestige would still be opposed by the ministers.

Zhang Tingyu is a treacherous minister!

Finally forced Kāng Xī to forcefully "Empress Dowager Xiao Zhuang entrusted dream" not caring about face at all, making everyone very awkward.

There doesn't exist a super conspirator who can incorporate everything into a plan, but this Patrol Sergeant Takahashi being able to take one step at a time, gradually stringing together the information he obtained, his understanding of the Japanese judicial system, and his jealous hatred of Tanaka Laodeng, finally making this game, is already an impressive guy.

If not for coincidentally Uesugi Muneyuki intervening, plus Asuka's capability, it was an almost ten-deaths-no-life dead end!

"Prosecutor Kansei."

"Hm?"

"That money," Uesugi Muneyuki said: "Patrol Sergeant Takahashi already took it to pay debts, right?"

Kansei Watari nodded: "According to bank records, he repaid two credit card debts and one private loan. Total 2.4 million, the remaining money, should still be hidden at his home or some place, or maybe a part already used to pay other debts."

"Can that still be recovered?"

Kansei Watari thought a bit, started explaining from a prosecutor's angle:

"Legally speaking, this money belongs to Mr. Suzuki Tadahiko's inheritance, should be owned by heir Mr. Suzuki Kenichi. Takahashi's behavior is criminal crime, no matter where he spent the money, this money's ownership won't change."

He paused.

"But actual operation, have to divide several situations. If money still in his hands, directly seize and return. If already used to repay debts — like repaid to bank or private creditors — then have to see if those creditors 'acquired in good faith'."

"Good faith acquisition?"

"Right." Kansei Watari shrugged: "If creditors didn't know this money was stolen goods, and their claims are legal, then this money is very hard to recover. Law protects good faith third party rights. Unless can prove creditors knew, or this money was obtained through illegal means."

He thought a bit, added:

"As for the remaining part — what he hid at home or other places — should be recoverable, search warrant already approved, tomorrow early we'll go search his home, if luck good, can find a part."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Roughly how much can be recovered?"

Kansei shrugged: "Depends where Takahashi spent the money. If just repaid debts, that part most likely can't be recovered. If still has remainder, can recover some, maybe still several million."

"Hahaha~" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed, shaking his head repeatedly: "So you see, sometimes a case can be solved, matters can be sorted out, the truth can be revealed, but the impact and harm caused cannot be taken back."

"The old man's money. Saved for a lifetime, left for his grandson's study abroad. I wonder why he didn't give it in advance, but insisted on keeping it with himself?" Uesugi Muneyuki was thoughtful.

"Uesugi Chief, you're still young, sometimes you don't quite understand these things." Kanjō Wataru suddenly laughed: "Let me give an example. Giving an old person a 45 million yen annuity in one lump sum, or giving 150 thousand a month, guess which most old people would choose?"

"Theoretically speaking, old people would naturally choose the 45 million yen annuity, because this is equivalent to 300 months, that is 25 years of annuity. Getting it all at once is of course good. The vast majority of Japanese elderly retire at 65, but don't live to 0 years old."

"But actually, most old people would choose to get 150 thousand a month." Kanjō Wataru said: "Because receiving 150 thousand every month means they still have remaining value, it also means they're still alive, even means there will still be people coming to seek them out."

"Still alive, is it?" Uesugi Muneyuki understood.

Yeah, that 13 million yen is actually proof that the old man is still alive.

He took one last glance at Ōtaku Police Station, smiled.

Tanaka Laodeng, the last 10 years of your career, life after promotion to Police Inspector must be happy, after retirement even happier!

I'll persist until I eat your funeral feast!

I guarantee it!