Chapter 90: Is Tokyo a Nest for the Underworld?

Before Uesugi Muneyuki had even performed an autopsy, he had already determined through his eloquence and analysis of existing reports that the serial killer was the same person, and simultaneously raised two questions.

First, under circumstances where Chiba Prefecture was under full martial law and any adult male would be noticed, why was this serial killer able to easily bypass various surveillance and investigations to come to Tokyo to continue committing crimes?

Second, judging from the results of the scene investigation, it is clear that the serial killer seems to have a reason that compels him to continue committing crimes, which is why he continued to commit crimes in the face of such circumstances.

"The method of committing the crime is becoming increasingly urgent, and the means are becoming increasingly crude." Below, Police Inspector Megure of the Thirteenth Section of Investigation Division 1 nodded: "This suggests that the serial killer may have some kind of compulsive reason, forcing him to keep committing crimes."

"But how did he successfully get from Chiba Prefecture to Tokyo?" the police representative from Edogawa Ward also said: "We roughly checked the footage, paying special attention to suspicious males between 25-40 years old with sturdy builds, but we didn't find anything."

"Yes, from the scene, the killer is still very familiar with the nearby environment." Police Inspector Yukinoshita Hachiman from Chiba Prefecture was disheveled and dark-eyed at this moment; three consecutive cases had driven him to the brink of a breakdown.

Mouri Takayoshi, the Headquarters Chief of the Joint Special Investigation Headquarters sitting on the stage and Criminal Investigation Department Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, discussed with everyone for a while, then decided to ask Uesugi Muneyuki again: "Advisor Uesugi, what you have stated so far is an inference that can already be confirmed, so are there any other inferences you can share with us?"

"When can I perform the autopsy?" Uesugi Muneyuki did not answer Mouri's question directly, but instead put forward his own request.

"The bodies of the two victims from the first and second cases are with Public Security, and the headquarters is communicating with them; the body from the third case should be delivered in the early morning." Mouri raised his hand and glanced at his watch: "The victims' families are emotionally agitated and refuse dissection; the prosecution is communicating with the families. Once the negotiations are successful, we will arrange for you to perform the autopsy as soon as possible."

"Tell us your thoughts first."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, and under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, he slowly stood up and pointed to the victims of the three cases: "First of all, regarding the three cases, I have some thoughts."

"Generally speaking, it is a very strange thing for a serial killer to target elementary school students in succession. According to common sense, there are only three reasons for murder: for money, for lust, or for revenge."

The army of police officers below nodded one after another; generally speaking, there are indeed only these three types of murder.

"I just read the files of the first two cases. Neither of the victims' families were very wealthy, and there were no signs of assault. As for hatred, Chiba Prefecture and the Public Security Police have also investigated the victims' family relationships. They were all very ordinary dual-income families; there is no talk of any enemies, and no conflicting relationships were found."

Uesugi Muneyuki said in a deep voice: "Therefore, I believe the initial inference of the Public Security Police was reasonable."

"That is, motiveless murder!"

"In the first case, there was reason and evidence; it is indeed possible that the victim inadvertently witnessed a Violent Group transaction while out playing and was tragically killed. Let us not discuss why the Violent Group would leave the body at the scene instead of destroying it; the initial judgment made was not a problem."

"However, with the appearance of the second and third cases, it triggered a thought of mine." Uesugi Muneyuki said with a frown: "If the motiveless murder in the first case was to cover up the fact of a drug transaction, then was the victim of the second case also unfortunate enough to witness a transaction and be killed? Fine, let's assume the victim of the second case really, really coincidentally witnessed a transaction at a remote weather station and was killed, then in this case, the Violent Group actually dared to trade openly in a park? And it was also coincidentally witnessed by an elementary school student? This just doesn't make sense, does it?"

Speaking of this, Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but sneer: "My words are a bit blunt, please be mentally prepared, everyone present."

"If the third case was also an unfortunate witness to a Violent Group transaction and was killed, then I suggest that everyone present can submit their resignations now to go sell boxed lunches or valet park cars on the street, because if this is true, then your existence is just a waste of the citizens' tax money. Rather than constantly eating the government's rice, it would be better for everyone to resign collectively to save some budget expenses."

Sure enough, as soon as Uesugi Muneyuki said this, the army of police officers below exploded.

Half of the people who were familiar with Uesugi Muneyuki were amused by him and couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake their heads, thinking that now that even the Joint Special Investigation Headquarters had been formed, and thousands of police forces and hundreds of police inspectors had been gathered for a meeting, if this couldn't be solved, everyone's future would be over, and the honor of the Japan police would also be lost.

To some extent, Uesugi Muneyuki was actually right.

The other half of the police officers who were not familiar with Uesugi Muneyuki were furious, especially the police representative who rushed over from Chiba Prefecture, Yukinoshita Hachiman.

The case had broken out on October 20th, and more than two weeks had passed since then. They hadn't slept well or rested for a single day in these two weeks, working 24 hours straight, successively investigating thousands of suspicious targets and searching all the streets near the crime scenes.

As a result, all their efforts were now denied by a single sentence from Uesugi Muneyuki.

How could this not make them angry?

We have all worked so hard, who are you?

"Hey! What is wrong with you, the field consultant!"

"What the hell are you trying to do by suddenly saying such strange things? If you don't understand, don't force yourself to act like you do!"

"We don't have the time to waste with you guys from the headquarters."

"If you're so good, you do it!"

There was a clamor of noise below. Seeing this, Criminal Investigation Department Chief Mouri gave his Counselor a look, and the Criminal Investigation Department Counselor immediately stood up and slapped the table: "Quiet!"

Who knew Uesugi Muneyuki wasn't finished yet: "If you are not convinced, then I will ask a question."

"From the first case, the second case, and then to the third case, if they were all done by the Violent Group to cover up their actions, then... is Tokyo a nest for the underworld?"

"............" Now, there was no sound below.

Uesugi Muneyuki's sharp remarks, besides stinging the hearts of the hundreds of police officers below, also forced them to face a question: Did the Violent Group really do this?

Yes, after so many years of crackdowns, the Violent Group had long since become rats in the sewer. When the Yamaguchi-gumi boss had a birthday, the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters deployed nearly a thousand police officers outside to hold guns and "wish him a long life," making the elderly boss tremble as he spoke, repeatedly emphasizing in his birthday speech: "Don't hurt people," "Don't fire guns," and "Don't do illegal things."

Could Public Security have made a mistake?

But there was so much circumstantial evidence in the first case.........

At this time, Uesugi Muneyuki's voice on the stage sounded again: "So I personally tend to believe that the first case is temporarily in doubt, and the second and third cases have absolutely nothing to do with the Violent Group."

"Then, since it is not a murder with a motive, and the motiveless murder is unrelated to the Violent Group, I tend to believe that the serial killer's problem is his own. He is very likely either suffering from a mental illness, or has encountered some extreme force majeure event in his life that led him to want to take revenge on society, so he chose to satisfy his needs through this means."

"The above are all my personal insights." Uesugi Muneyuki finally added: "If those of you present think it makes sense, you might as well think according to my logic. If you think what I said makes no sense, you can just treat it as listening to a play and watching the courtesan parade in Yoshiwara, and just laugh it off."

There was silence below.

Beside him, the young lady Minami couldn't help but roll her eyes.

What a cold joke.

Is this a descendant of the Feudal Lord Peerage? A unique, ancient joke; no wonder he and her father could talk to each other.

Sure enough, among the many police officers at the scene, older police officers such as Chief Mouri and others laughed dryly twice, while the younger police officers didn't understand it at all.

"Alright, thank you for the inference, Advisor Uesugi." Chief Mouri stood up: "Indeed, I think Advisor Uesugi's words make sense. If the first case might indeed be related to the Violent Group, the subsequent two cases could not have involved the Violent Group, and Tokyo has never been a nest for the underworld."

"But according to Advisor Uesugi's analysis, the killer of the three cases is undoubtedly the same person, the targets are all elementary school students, and they all adopted the act of cutting off the heads. Whether there is a special meaning in this may be the key to solving the case."

"Also, everyone, this serial murder case has already caused an extremely negative impact at home and abroad, and now it has spread to commit crimes within the capital. The whole country is watching us. Perhaps Advisor Uesugi is right; the criminal is very likely to commit crimes again. If we let the criminal commit crimes under our noses again, then every single one of you present will suffer unspeakable shame!"

"This case concerns the prestige of the Japan police. At this moment, please abandon regional, branch, and career track versus non-career track consciousness and the idea of fighting for credit. Work together, do not hide information, and solve this case as soon as possible!"

"Yes!!!"

The hundreds of police inspectors below responded with a roar.

The Joint Special Investigation meeting was thus dissolved.

The police were divided into three groups. The first group was led by Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin of the Third Subsection, investigating all interpersonal relationships of the third case victim's family.

The second group was led by Police Inspector Shiratori Sho of the Second Division, visiting all nearby personnel to ask if there were any suspicious signs or suspicious figures.

The third group was led by Police Inspector Kosaka of the First Division, responsible for thoroughly searching the entire Sendai-bori River Park.

As for the local branch police, their biggest task was—watching surveillance, and the surveillance footage of key areas had been taken away by the Metropolitan Police Department. What they could get were cameras at least three kilometers away from the crime scene.

The police from Chiba Prefecture were considered too useless and were excluded from the key search scope. Their task was to investigate vehicles, subways, Shinkansen, and key roads from Chiba Prefecture to Tokyo recently.

They say not to engage in discrimination based on region, between the Metropolitan Police Department and local branches, or between the Career Track and the Non-Career Track.

Yet when it comes down to it, the key positions are all led by the Career Track, and the key surveillance footage is all observed by the Metropolitan Police Department itself, while the local stations and local branches are left doing all the hard, exhausting, and thankless labor.

It is no wonder the local branches do not want to seek help from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Uesugi Muneyuki complained inwardly.

But with things set up this way, he suddenly did not know what he was supposed to do.

The corpse has not been delivered yet, so is there nothing for him to do?

Huh? Where did Miss Minami go?

Uesugi Muneyuki wandered around the Special Investigation Headquarters for a while, but did not see Miss Minami; the Detectives were all busy, so he strolled around like an idler, bought a bottle of Suntory low-sugar oolong tea from a vending machine, and chugged it all down in one go.

"Uesugi-kun!"

Just as he finished the tea, he saw Miss Minami standing prettily before him; she had already changed into her police uniform, and her sweet, almond-shaped eyes were smiling with a hint of triumph as she handed a room key to Uesugi Muneyuki.

"This is?" Uesugi Muneyuki took the room key.

"It's a room key for the hotel next door, right next door!" Miss Minami grabbed Uesugi Muneyuki and brought him to the window.

It really was next door; there was a hotel no more than 50 meters from the Police Station.

"You've been tired all day, go get some good rest. I don't think you'd want to squeeze into a temporary communal room with a bunch of middle-aged men," Miss Minami said very directly. "I booked a hotel room for you, go get some sleep first, and I'll notify you as soon as the corpse arrives. As they say, one must stay focused even after a victory; how can you manage without a proper rest?"

"What about you?" Uesugi Muneyuki squeezed the room key in his hand, his expression somewhat moved.

So she went to book a temporary hotel room for me.

"I am a Detective, I have to stay here, but don't worry, the female Detectives have a dedicated lounge, so I don't have to squeeze in with the men." Miss Minami patted his shoulder, signaling for him to go and rest quickly.

Uesugi Muneyuki took the room key and headed to the nearby hotel; upon opening the door, he saw a box of fresh cut fruit on the table, with a note written in elegant handwriting: "Gourmet Uesugi-kun, are you hungry? It's this late, so don't eat any heavy meals; have some fruit instead. You need to replenish your vitamins when staying up late!"

The man gave a helpless smile.

This young lady really has arranged everything for him.

(End of chapter)