Chapter 802

In the conference room, everyone sat upright and listened attentively to Kashiwagi Jin's analysis.

Kashiwagi Jin stood before the projection screen, holding a laser pointer in his hand, explaining the on-site investigation.

That Cadillac, we conducted a thorough inspection. The interior was spotless—no fingerprints, no hair, no biological samples from which DNA could be extracted. Even the steering wheel and gear shift had been wiped down. The tires were new, as were the brake pads; the owner had just had the car serviced last month. We checked the owner himself—he's an ordinary mid-level company employee with no criminal record and no ties to any organized crime groups. This car was selected purely at random, or rather, they chose it for its performance and condition.

Kashiwagi Jin pressed the laser pointer, switching to the next slide. The screen showed a close-up of the vault door at the Mitsubishi UFJ Bank Tokyo Station branch. "On the bank's side, we reviewed all surveillance footage from one week before and after the incident. At 4:38, the surveillance was cut off. Before the cutoff, the footage showed three people wearing hoods and construction company uniforms entering through the back door. They were very familiar with the bank's security system—electronic locks were bypassed, mechanical locks were technically opened, and there was no sign of violent forced entry. We investigated all construction teams involved in vault maintenance, current and former employees of security companies, and even bank staff with access to the vault password, but so far, no suspicious individuals have been found."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room: "But there's one problem I just can't figure out."

The conference room fell silent.

Shiratori Sho raised his head, looking at him.

Minami Ojou-sama was relaxed, leaning back in her chair, her sweet almond eyes wide open, seeming both dazed and attentive. This was a state between relaxation and focus. As the Special Mission Section Chief, Minami needed to understand this case, but she usually stays in the office and doesn't go to the front lines, and moreover, the Special Mission Division isn't involved in this matter, so she only needed to know the gist—not to be overly serious—just to make everyone feel they were doing proper work.

This state was the most comfortable~ Minami Ojou-sama happily imitated Eirina's usual blank-minded state.

Others also stopped their movements, their eyes fixed on Kashiwagi Jin.

Kashiwagi Jin turned off the projector, turned around, faced everyone, and said in a steady voice: "This gang's timeline is so precise it's unbelievable. At 4:38, the bank surveillance was cut, and the robbers entered the vault. At 4:40, over at the gas station, the Cadillac was stolen, and the high-speed chase began. These two time points almost coincide. In other words, when the high-speed chase started, the robbers had already entered the bank. And when the bank reported the robbery around 5 o'clock, everyone's attention was drawn to that car speeding wildly on the highway, so no police could be diverted to chase the bank robbers."

He picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote several time points on the whiteboard.

"The problem is: how did they know that around 4:40, the Cadillac's owner would go to that gas station? If the owner had gone five minutes earlier or five minutes later, their timeline wouldn't match. If the owner didn't go to the gas station that day, or went to a different one, the whole plan would have fallen apart."

"But they did it—precise down to the minute!"

Low murmurs of discussion rose in the conference room.

Kashiwagi Jin turned around, his eyes sharp: "What does this show? It shows they conducted long-term surveillance and investigation into the owner's living habits. They likely knew the owner regularly went to that gas station at a fixed time each week, knew he habitually filled the tank, and knew that when he refueled, he would go inside to pay and leave the car keys in the vehicle. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment robbery; it was a meticulously planned operation that had been in the works for who knows how long."

Shiratori Sho nodded and continued: "So, we need to follow this lead. Investigate the owner's personal relationships, look into everyone he's contacted in the past six months—colleagues, friends, neighbors, regular haunts, people he frequently interacts with. To grasp his habits, this gang must have conducted long-term surveillance or long-term contact, which would inevitably leave traces…"

While the people above listened attentively to Kashiwagi Jin and Shiratori Sho analyzing the case, in the last row, Uesugi Muneyuki was listening, while Kashiwagi Misa's thoughts were entirely elsewhere. Originally a female officer in the General Affairs Section, she had neither interest in nor experience with frontline duties. Yet, in her husband's presence, Kashiwagi Misa felt a strange sensation.

Under the table, her hand moved silently, reaching out to grasp Uesugi Muneyuki's left hand from the back.

Her hand was cool, her fingertips slightly trembling.

Kashiwagi Misa said nothing and did not look at Uesugi Muneyuki; her eyes remained fixed on the stage where Kashiwagi Jin stood, her expression still cold and businesslike.

But facing Uesugi Muneyuki's doubtful gaze, her hand gently and slowly took his hand and lifted it.

Uesugi Muneyuki's fingers stiffened slightly, but he did not pull away. She guided his hand to rest on her leg. Through the thin layer of flesh-colored pantyhose, he could feel the warmth of her leg.

The texture of the standard 30D commuter flesh-colored pantyhose from Atsugi was fine and smooth, like a second layer of skin, with the muscles underneath slightly tensed. Kashiwagi Misa's breathing almost imperceptibly quickened.

She still did not look at him, still stared at her husband on stage, but her fingers lightly traced a circle in Uesugi Muneyuki's palm. Go ahead! You like it!

She guided Uesugi Muneyuki's hand to stroke her pantyhose-covered thigh back and forth, then her small hand slipped from his hand's back, loosened, and returned to her own knee, placed properly.

Her face remained cold, but her ears had turned slightly red, hidden by her hair, unseen by anyone.

Uesugi Muneyuki's hand remained on her leg. He did not move, simply resting it gently and quietly, feeling the warmth and slight tension through the thin pantyhose. In this setting—conference room full of people, above her was her husband, to the side and far away sat his wife on the audience seats, his friend Minami, and the conference room was discussing a case that had all of Japan on edge—while he sat in the last row, hand on his leg. Kashiwagi Misa's heart raced as if it might burst from her chest, but she dared not move, dare not look at him, dare not do anything extra. She simply sat up straighter than before, both hands properly placed on her knees, eyes unblinking, fixed on the stage where Kashiwagi Jin stood. Her ears grew even redder.

There's nothing I can do, Ren, because Muneyuki… he likes it, for your sake I can only let him… this is all for you!!

The Kashiwagi Jin above was completely unaware.

He was drawing on the whiteboard, sketching the Cadillac's route, explaining as he drew: "Starting from here, he got onto the Central Loop Line, speed increased to 180. Then here, before the Kasai Toll Gate, he made an inertia drift, exited via the ramp, and entered the direction toward the metropolitan area." His voice echoed in the conference room—steady, powerful, full of confidence.

Shiratori Sho added something from the side, someone took notes, someone flipped through documents. Everything was normal.

No one noticed the two hands placed under the table in the last row.

Uesugi Muneyuki's thumb slid gently along the lines, lightly stroking the leg covered in pantyhose.

Kashiwagi Misa's breath hitched for an instant, then returned to normal; her fingers repeatedly tensed and relaxed on her knee.

The Kashiwagi Jin above put down the whiteboard marker, turned around, his gaze sweeping across the room, finally settling on Uesugi Muneyuki in the back row.

"Uesugi Chief." He spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of gratitude: "It's great that you could come. I know you said this case has no part for a forensic pathologist to intervene, but if you have any ideas, please feel free to share."

Uesugi Muneyuki's hand under the table remained still; he lifted his head, looking at the Kashiwagi Jin above, expression calm, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned: "Section Chief Kashiwagi, you're too kind. I'm just here to observe. Please continue."

His hand did not withdraw, because Kashiwagi Misa's knees had slightly pressed together, clearly indicating she didn't want him to leave.

Kashiwagi Jin nodded and continued: "Next, we'll split into several teams. Team One will investigate the owner's personal connections, Team Two will screen bank personnel, and Team Three will trace the Cadillac's driving route in the week before the incident. Shiratori-kun, you assign the personnel." Shiratori Sho stood up, began calling names and assigning tasks, and the conference room buzzed with activity—the sound of chairs moving, paper flipping, low conversations blending together.

Thus, under Kashiwagi Jin's booming voice, firm gaze, and rational deductive analysis, several minutes passed, when Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly felt the mixed-heritage iceberg beauty wife's body tremble twice. She almost instinctively covered her mouth, but couldn't hold back a long sigh, her back arching slightly: "Ah"

Someone heard the commotion here, glanced over strangely.

Does Madame Kashiwagi have any high opinions?

Uesugi Muneyuki silently withdrew his hand, while Kashiwagi Misa immediately lowered her head, pretending to search for something in her bag, her face still cold, but her ears burning hot.

After all, what could a General Affairs Section officer, an administrative desk worker, possibly know?

Even the Kashiwagi Jin above withdrew his gaze, thinking, 'Good thing Misa is sensible; otherwise, if she really had an opinion, would I listen or not? I, one of the Absolute Dual Pride, would I have to listen to a General Affairs Section officer's opinion? That would be too embarrassing!'

Uesugi Muneyuki looked toward the Kashiwagi Jin above, his eyes seeming to smile yet not smile.

He was standing before the whiteboard discussing something with Shiratori Sho, expression focused, gestures forceful, completely immersed in analyzing the case.

Old Ren, this guy's got it, Uesugi Muneyuki thought.

That time-point issue—he hadn't even considered it when watching the live broadcast on TV earlier.

His attention had been completely swallowed by the chase scene, never thinking to investigate how the robbers nailed that time point, with the result that Old Ren discovered this blind spot!

This Old Ren has strength!!

He looked at Kashiwagi Jin's energetic and spirited appearance, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned.

And after Kashiwagi Misa's long sigh, she zoned out for over a minute before slowly coming back to herself. In her icy eyes now swirled an emotion she couldn't name—like shyness, like boldness, like some long-repressed desire that had finally found an outlet. Then she softly said: "Uesugi," look, it seems I'll be bringing Ren his late-night snack tonight, you'll be there too, right?"

"Huh? Yeah." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "By the way, we'll also be doing on-location filming for 'God's Hand' then!"

Generally speaking, after the Special Investigation Headquarters is formed, the first wave of police are required to conduct continuous searches for about 24 hours before resting, so at this time, family can deliver meals, or one can buy bento or order takeout, even instant noodles.

Naturally, family-delivered meals would be ideal.

Of course, Misa's meaning was to meet again tonight.

"I don't even know what to make for Ren tonight…" Kashiwagi Misa said, a little shy and a little unnatural, her gaze wandering, no one noticing the lingering intense redness on her cheeks and ears.

"As for Ren, he likes salt-grilled finfish, raw-mixed mustard octopus, broth egg roll, salt-pickled leek, white vinegar mixed cold dish, and remember to add plum-flavored rice." Uesugi Muneyuki instinctively replied.

Kashiwagi Misa: "?"

???

??????

Uesugi, you???