Chapter 820

PS: It's been a month, and despite fighting with no regrets, it's still not unblocked. So if anyone wants to join a new group, please join the "Emperor's Chicken and Dog Alliance" at the end of the chapter. PS2: LPL, your king is back! Today is a celebration of my brother's three-game winning streak MVP—this is a combined 6,000-word super chapter! Brother, keep it up! Get ready to arrest the big boss at MSI! Go for it!

Date Nagamune felt somewhat pleased.

As a former Self-Defense Official, he faced discrimination within headquarters; as a non-career track employee who entered through the back door, he faced discrimination within headquarters; as an idol fan, he faced discrimination within headquarters; as a patrol officer, he faced discrimination within headquarters.

Hey, even someone like me can make the Special Mission Division's group of second-generation heirs, elite career-track officers, tall beauty judo policewomen, and the Metropolitan Police Department's Ultimate Weapon put down their chopsticks and listen to me speak, right?

This is absolutely, Thai-pants-awesome!

I'll go back right away and share this with Akane-chan!

"Maeda, you handle the barbecue, and the rest of you, listen to me." Date Nagamune coughed twice: "You should understand, I'm a high-intensity internet surfing athlete, right? Before I enlisted, I was already online all day on INS and Twitter for work, so I can mostly understand the mindset of these people online, especially this kind of hatred. Online, true and false are all mixed up—ice black tea might be all water, or it might be all blood." "Get to the point, or people will think you're just padding the word count!" Maeda Toshihide immediately snapped angrily.

"Yes, get to the point." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "What do you want to tell us?"

"What I mean is, if we keep searching like this, it's no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, modern internet users with even basic anti-fraud awareness can easily use a VPN and create a virtual account—it's not difficult at all." Date Nagamune said: "So, can't we change our angle? We don't need to chase them along the network cable; we can place a bait they'd want to bite at the other end of the cable."

"It's not just similar." Date Nagamune's speech sped up—this was his sign when his thoughts entered high-speed operation: "It's highly similar—even deliberately manufacturing some identical details. For example, both live near Saitama or Gunma Prefecture, both have husbands who frequently travel for work, both have children in school, both have mothers-in-law living with them, both frequently share refined housewife life on INS, both have joined similar mom-cooking exchange groups, and even use similar wording and emojis in their posts."

Okada Masayoshi put down his chopsticks, leaned his body slightly forward—this was a signal—he had developed interest in this proposal.

"And then?" he asked.

"Then," Date Nagamune said: "We first contact this 'bait,' explain the situation, obtain her consent, and deploy surveillance around her residence—cameras, listening devices, plainclothes officers—all of it. She posts normally on social media, shares her life normally; the only difference is that we will intentionally or unintentionally 'leak' some information in her posts that the killer could exploit—for example, her husband will be away next week, or she bathes the children every night at nine, or her door lock is broken and not yet fixed. All this information is false, or rather, controlled."

He set down his beer cup, spread his hands on the tabletop, like a chess player displaying a board.

"Then we wait. We wait for the killer to, just like before, target her through social media, formulate a plan based on those 'leaked' information, and knock on her door late one night. And at that moment, at that place, we unfold a net, waiting for them to crash into it themselves." The izakaya fell silent for a few seconds. The wagyu on the iron plate continued to sizzle, the salarymen at the neighboring table raised their cups shouting "Cheers," a late-night variety show played on TV, and the comedian's laughter was suppressed low.

Kai Toru spoke first: "You mean, let an ordinary civilian act as bait, drawing a serial killer who's already killed seven people to her home?"

"Not a serial killer, or at least the perpetrator isn't a professional hitman." Date Nagamune put down his chopsticks, lifted his cola cup, didn't drink, but held it in his palm, feeling the cool touch of the cup wall: "Because of the rope."

Everyone's chopsticks paused mid-motion.

Rope?

Date Nagamune put the cola cup back on the table, traced a few lines on the tabletop with his finger, as if reconstructing a scene: "The on-site report for the Matsumoto residence mentioned that Matsumoto Yumi's wrists and ankles showed signs of binding."

"The binding wasn't just wrapping a few times and tying a knot—it had a specific structure: a double knot plus a half-hitch, fixed at the ulnar styloid process of the wrist, allowing restriction of movement without immediately cutting off blood circulation. The Takahashi residence report didn't mention binding, but Takahashi Mi's inner right wrist had similar pressure marks, though the rope had been untied after death."

He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally settling on Uesugi Muneyuki's face.

"During my time in the Self-Defense Forces, I learned wilderness survival and rope techniques. The double knot isn't something an ordinary person can casually tie—it requires practice, muscle memory. The rebar tying used on construction scaffolding is a variant of the double knot, because this knot distributes force evenly, resists loosening, and is easy to dismantle. I suspect the killer—at least the person responsible for binding—has prior experience in the construction industry, or has undergone similar hands-on training."

Maeda Toshihide put down his chopsticks, picked up his phone to flip through the on-site report, frowned, and said: "The report only states 'wrists show binding traces,' with no detailed description of the knot type. The Forensic Identification Division might have missed this detail."

"It's not that they missed it," Date Nagamune said with a wicked grin: "It's that they lack the relevant knowledge base to identify it. Forensic experts excel at DNA, fingerprints, and bloodstain pattern analysis, but rope knot analysis is an extremely niche subfield. The number of experts in all of Japan who can infer a killer's occupational background from rope knots can be counted on one hand."

Maeda Toshihide tilted his head, looking at him, eyes flashing with curious light: "Our Date Self-Defense Official, you know so much—are you already preparing to work in civil engineering after retirement? What a pity, such earnestly learned knowledge going unused! But it's not too late now!" "Get lost!" Date Nagamune took a sip of beer, his tone flat as if commenting on today's nice weather: "Anyway, during my time in the Self-Defense Forces, I had a comrade from Shizuoka Prefecture whose family had been in construction for three generations. He taught me various knot-tying methods, saying, 'If one day the northern puppets invade southward, we might need these in the field.' Later he switched careers, returned to his hometown, and took over his father's construction site."

"Pfft!" Ikeda Erena was amused, a bit flustered: "Northern puppets? War? Self-Defense Forces? Are you serious?"

Only Uesugi Muneyuki and Okada Masayoshi understood—this guy was probably of Korean descent; such Korean-Japanese people generally hide deeply in Japanese society, appearing even more Japanese than ethnic Japanese, so while the number of Korean-Japanese in Japanese society is huge, they are practically invisible in daily life—they aren't nonexistent, but they're all "invisible."

It's worth noting that the collective political spectrum of Korean-Japanese skews heavily right-wing; this group is more xenophobic toward foreigners than native Japanese, which everyone should understand why.

"Before joining the Self-Defense Forces, that guy also did odd jobs at construction sites. The way construction workers tie knots differs from ordinary people—they pursue 'fast' and 'stable,' not 'neat.' Looking at that knot at the scene, I immediately felt it was familiar."

Okada Masayoshi leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes shifting between Date Nagamune and Uesugi Muneyuki: "Date, are you implying the killer includes former construction workers?"

"Not implying." Date Nagamune said seriously: "I'm proposing an investigative direction. Of course, the premise is that Uesugi-san's autopsy results can corroborate my speculation."

Everyone's gaze once again focused on Uesugi Muneyuki.

The almighty golden key Uesugi—it's your turn to unlock the lock and pat the back!

"Stab wounds." Uesugi Muneyuki spoke, his voice not loud, but the noisy background of the izakaya seemed to automatically lower its volume at this moment: "Mikoto isn't here now, so of course I'm examining…… The two female victims' stab wounds are distributed extremely chaotically, varying in depth, with no directional pattern. They appear on the neck, chest, abdomen—some wounds penetrate deep into the viscera, others only break the skin and stop. This isn't something a person who knows how to use a knife would do." "Someone who uses a knife, when attacking the human body, exhibits several traits—first, they target vital areas for concentrated attack, usually the neck, heart, liver; second, the stabbing angle has a tendency—right-handed people habitually stab from left to right downward, left-handed the opposite; third, force application is controlled, so you don't get 'stabbed in and can't pull out.' But the scene is completely opposite—wounds scattered all over the body, no focus, angles chaotic, and several wound entry shapes indicate the killer twisted the hilt after thrusting, causing the blade to jam between bones, requiring great force to withdraw."

Uesugi Muneyuki reflected: "Simply put, the killer lacks knife experience. He's just stabbing—wildly, without pattern, with massive emotional venting."

Okada Masayoshi nodded: "Yes, this is also the result of the portrait analysis—we're facing such a group—at least two males, no knife experience, but one possibly having construction industry background or rope training; at least one female, responsible for knocking on the door and disguise, the 'key' of the entire operation; the method is crude but effective, relying on numerical superiority and surprise, not skill. This isn't professional criminals, not triads, not organized violent groups."

"But although they're ordinary people, they're very cunning and very good at selecting targets."

Everyone nodded repeatedly—the portrait grew clearer and clearer.

"So your 'bait' plan," Kai Toru turned to Date Nagamune, his tone carrying a complex emotion of 'though I don't approve, I must admit it makes sense': "is based on such a killer profile—they aren't professional killers, aren't antisocial loners, but a group with premeditation but lacking professional capability—ordinary people."

"Their modus operandi depends on two core conditions: first, the victim opens the door voluntarily; second, there's no adult male capable of resistance in the victim's home. As long as both conditions are met simultaneously, they succeed. Conversely, if one condition is broken—"

"They're done." Date Nagamune took over: "Two men with no combat training, no knife skills, plus one woman, facing armed police with live ammunition at the surveillance site—no chance of winning."

"Wait, I need to say, this all hinges on one premise." Okada Masayoshi's voice was unhurried, but each word carried an undeniable authority: "This entire premise is that we can find a suitable bait, and that this bait is willing to cooperate. Date, you've said so much—do you have specific person-selection criteria in mind?"

Date Nagamune had clearly already considered this question.

He sat upright, clasped his hands on the tabletop, like a staff officer giving a briefing.

"First, she must have external labels highly similar to Matsumoto Yumi and Takahashi Mi—married, with children, her husband holding relatively high social status, frequently traveling or returning late as a salaryman, living in a relatively isolated but luxuriously renovated detached house, extremely active on social media, frequently sharing refined housewife life and family gourmet food. These are the basic conditions the killer uses to select targets—none can be missing."

He extended one finger.

Second, her social media content must carry a specific 'tone.' Not just showing off happiness, but carrying—how to put it—one—a 'look how good my life is now' sense of showing off, and an unconscious belittling of those worse off than her. Matsumoto Yumi's INS has a line I remember deeply: 'Some people think being a housewife means just lazing around at home all day—actually, we suffer more than those women struggling desperately in the workplace.' Such remarks earn lots of likes in circles of similar housewives, but in some people's eyes, they're just a thorn." Maeda Toshihide blinked: "Date-sama! Could it be that you……"

Date Nagamune's mouth corner twitched slightly, as if a bit embarrassed, but he still answered truthfully: "I follow idols. The idols I support post thirty to forty messages daily on their phone blogs, sharing their moods, what they ate, where they went, who they argued with. To read their true state from those trivial daily updates, I've trained an ability—reading a person's social media expression to discern their subconscious emotions and values."

"Don't underestimate our idol fans' strength, okay!"

"ldolotakussavetheworld!!!"

The izakaya fell silent again.

This silence differed from the previous one—before it was solemn, now it was shock.

The first time, Maeda Toshihide's face shifted from contempt to solemnity, from solemnity to shock, from shock to admiration—he immediately straightened his back and gave Date Nagamune a fierce salute.

"I swear eternal loyalty to Great Elder Brother…… oh no, to Date Brother!"

"Very good, Maeda, you understand me!" Date Nagamune felt the other's sincerity, and almost simultaneously, music began playing in the izakaya: "The Song of Guan Yu."

At this moment, humanity finally understood each other!

Two pairs of hands clasped tightly.

Sea! Land! Kinship! Friendship!

Uesugi Muneyuki opened his mouth—he suddenly felt that even if Axis fell down, it wouldn't be so bad.

After Date Nagamune and Maeda Toshihide gripped each other's hands tightly for a second and then let go, both of them unconsciously reached for a damp towel to wipe their hands. Date, while wiping his hands, said: "Third, this housewife's 'happiness concession principle' must be strong. The so-called 'happiness concession principle' means that people who live happily tend to concede when facing conflicts, because they feel it's not worth arguing with those inferior to themselves."

"Matsumoto Yumi and Takahashi Mi are such people—when they argue online, once a dispute arises, they either don't reply, or they say 'you're right, just be happy,' this 'I'm happier than you so I'm more qualified to speak' attitude will greatly enrage certain psychologically twisted individuals."

He raised his third finger.

"Therefore, the bait we need to find must not only understand 'happiness concession,' but also be 'combative.' It should give people on social media a feeling of 'you dislike me but can't take me down,' and always voluntarily concede when appropriate—for example, saying beforehand 'I'll delete bad comments,' then once a dispute arises, directly blocking and deleting comments in one go, treating all critics as 'life's losers,' '3D people' with unhappy lives, then hanging them out, ID half-censored, three sentences cut into one, adding some Kyoto yin-yang—this is far more effective at provoking the killer's hatred and urge to act than simply showing off happiness."

"You know how to piss people off to death." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded in deep agreement.

Is this what an idol fan is like?

As he said this, Uesugi Muneyuki turned his gaze toward Okada Masayoshi.

Now the problem is making this 'bait plan' legal and compliant.

Minami isn't here, so the only one who can provide consultation and opinion on this matter is Okada... the remaining four officers are all non-career track. Okada Masayoshi remained silent for a long time. His fingers tapped lightly and rhythmically on the desk surface—this is his habitual gesture when thinking. Everyone watched him, waiting for him to speak—once he does, in this room, if Uesugi Muneyuki is the sword, Okada Masayoshi is the scabbard; the sword decides where to cut, the scabbard decides when to cut.

"Date made perfect sense." Okada Masayoshi finally spoke, his voice calm and steady: "But there's a fundamental problem—we cannot use ordinary citizens as bait. This isn't advice; it's regulation. The Japanese Police investigation guidelines clearly state that civilians cannot be used as 'bait in controlled environments for entrapment operations' without written consent from the individual and approval from the Metropolitan Police Department's Police Affairs Chief. Even with consent, it requires at least a three-level risk assessment and ethical review. The whole process takes at least a month."

He glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki, then at Date Nagamune.

"The killer won't wait us a month."

Date Nagamune nodded, indicating he fully understood this point.

Then he revealed a smile—this smile had nothing to do with the old nobility's reserve, carrying instead a youthful vigor, like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

"Exactly, we can't use ordinary citizens as bait. So we need someone who isn't an ordinary citizen—one who has received police training, is familiar with social media operations, is married, has housewife experience, and can legally participate in the operation as a 'voluntary collaborator.'" He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"Simply put, we need a female officer from the Metropolitan Police Department to play this housewife."

Ikeda Erena's eyes narrowed slightly.

She quickly ran through all her female colleagues in her mind—too many unmarried, the vast majority of married ones are dual-income households with no 'full-time housewife' experience, and single-income households only have the wife working while the husband stays home to raise children... such a situation basically doesn't exist in Japan.

The only possibility might be a female officer living alone after divorcing her husband, raising a child.

But that wouldn't meet the conditions of 'active on social media,' 'living in a detached house,' and 'husband having high social status'... she thought for half a minute, then shook her head.

"Among the people I know, no one meets the conditions."

Kai Toru also shook his head: "Same here—I don't have any. The female officers I know are basically all single, work more overtime than I do, and have no time to manage social media."

"This is completely a false proposition." Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but retort: "You want a housewife, so you can't possibly be an active officer of the Metropolitan Police Department; you want an active officer, so she can't possibly have housewife experience. Female officers who marry and quit to become housewives are not few, but those who spend years as housewives gaining extensive experience then return to take local civil service exams to become police—there isn't a single one! This defies common sense!" "But this won't do, according to our killer profile, she has been carefully selecting this type of person, and without housewife experience, it's easy to expose flaws." Kai Toru also shook his head: "The opponent is clearly someone who observed for a long time before striking, and these people are very familiar with this aspect."

This is completely impossible—it's like that classic theological question: 'Can an omnipotent God create a stone He cannot lift?' A complete false proposition, because human language logic has already limited expression in this regard, just like 'I want a square circle' or 'I want colorful black'—a missionary answered this question a thousand years ago.

Or perhaps human language logic itself is limited and cannot use a false proposition to prove a false conclusion, or perhaps God, as a higher-dimensional being, is naturally unbound by human low-level logic—Divine Terra has already entered its 43rd millennium; can't we have something more challenging, like debating scriptures with the Puritan Gnostics?

Maeda Toshihide, on the other hand, quickly gave up thinking, directly staring at Date Nagamune: "Date-sama, since you proposed this plan, you must have someone in mind, right? Otherwise, you're just messing with us—that's not fun at all!"

Date Nagamune did not answer immediately.

He picked up the cola cup, took a sip, put it down, took another sip, put it down.

After repeating this action twice, he finally spoke, his voice somewhat lower than before, as if weighing his words.

"You guys really think hard—there really isn't anyone?"

"Huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned, realizing things weren't that simple.

"There is someone who fully meets all these conditions!" Date Nagamune took a deep breath.

"That is..."