Chapter 944: , Dark Knight!

Just as Uesugi Muneyuki and Eirina and others were checking the situation on Hachijo Island.

February, Sakuradamon, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters.

The talk on the streets and alleys was all taken up by one name: the Dark Knight.

Not Batman, not some DC superhero.

Over the past two years, a vigilante who metes out private punishment has appeared in Tokyo.

Starting the year before last, he has so far committed four offenses. His targets are those who escaped legal punishment: a man who long abused his wife but was acquitted due to insufficient evidence; a teacher who evaded indecent charges through a mental disorder evaluation; a doctor who defrauded a huge insurance payout by falsifying medical records.

The methods in each case are almost the same: nighttime operations, beating victims to serious injury with a blunt instrument, leaving no fingerprints, no DNA, no trace that can be tracked.

The Dark Knight likes to wear a hooded sweatshirt, a mask, and sunglasses.

He does not kill people; he just beats them into serious injury and then leaves.

The police call it a "violating private punishment incident."

And the Japanese people, on social media, in izakaya chatter, in late-night radio programs, have given him another name: the "Dark Knight."

Some people cheer for him.

The uncles at the izakaya say this society has too many bad people getting away scot-free, the law cannot protect good people, so someone must step up to do what the law cannot.

Others feel uneasy.

The lawyers at the Nishimura Asahi Law Office say private punishment is private punishment; if everyone can replace the law in exercising violence, then this society will become a jungle.

But no matter which voice, they all reached a peak after the news spread that the nurse had been beaten into serious injury.

Matsuda Satomi, thirty-two years old, a nurse in the inpatient department of a general hospital in Tokyo.

A year ago, in the ward she was responsible for, she repeatedly injected feces into patients' IV drips, causing multiple patients to become infected and suffer organ failure, three of whom died.

After the incident was exposed, the hospital dismissed her on the grounds of "personal conduct," but did not report it to the police.

The victims' families filed a lawsuit, but in the end she was acquitted because "it could not be proven that Matsuda intentionally injected" and "her mental state was unsuitable for bearing criminal responsibility."

In the courtroom, her lawyer played the "gender card" and the "occupational pressure card," describing her behavior as "a state of mental confusion caused by overwork fatigue," and cited a statement from a women's rights organization saying "a woman crushed by workplace pressure should not be driven deeper into the abyss." Ueno Chizuko publicly defended Matsuda, saying Japan's law serves a "patriarchal society" and should not apply to modern independent women; if Matsuda were found guilty, it would represent the overall oppression of Japanese professional women, and who would dare to seriously serve patients afterward? How would women's legitimate rights and interests in employment be protected?

One could say Ueno Chizuko has grasped the essence of Ma's teachings well, although this may not necessarily be Ma Sheng's original intention, but by mastering the "alienation" theory constructed from secondary sources, she aligns with the thinking of the traditional left, and Japanese courts as a whole indeed lean more toward left-wing progressivism, focusing on protecting women and children.

Matsuda also said this was her mistake, bowed in apology in court, her expression calm, not shedding a single tear.

After the verdict, the victims' families wept outside the courtroom.

And just on the night Uesugi Muneyuki went to Hachijo Island, Matsuda Satomi was found seriously injured and unconscious at home. Her limbs were fixed to the dining chair at home, her face bore multiple traces of blunt instrument blows, skull fracture, rib fractures, left arm comminuted fracture, no sexual assault occurred at the scene, no financial loss, no signs of forced entry, only a business card lay discarded on the coffee table in the living room.

After the news spread, two completely different voices appeared on social media.

"This is the price of justice, what the law cannot do, someone does it for us!"

"Private punishment is not justice, private punishment is another kind of violence!"

"Then tell me, if the law cannot handle it, who should the victims' families turn to?"

"She did it intentionally! It's written all over her face!"

"What expression on her face can't say something? On what basis do you assume she's guilty?"

"Then on what basis do you assume she's innocent?"

"Modern law is presumption of innocence! You bastard, do you want the Special Higher Police to come back?"

"Even that's better than her not having to take responsibility for anything now! If the law only favors them, then we must pick up weapons ourselves! I support the Dark Knight! You can beat me up!"

"Damn it! When the Dark Knight beats you, let's see what you say then!"

(The following are all swear words)

The debate continued to ferment, even someone launched a signature petition asking the police "not to pursue the Dark Knight." The petition gathered over a hundred thousand signatures overnight.

In the office of the Special Mission Division, the few people on duty were gathered around the TV set.

The news channel was rolling out a special report on the "Dark Knight incident."

The host was interviewing a sociologist, who described the current situation with "rule of law crisis" and "social trust collapse." The sky outside the window had already begun to darken, the lights in the office were on, warm yellow light evenly covering every face.

"TMD, how did the country become like this?" Okada Masayoshi put the remote control on the table, complaining: "That's a hospital suite! If it wasn't intentional, how could feces possibly get into the IV drip? What an international joke!"

"But the other side insists, there's nothing we can do, and indeed some patients in the ward do have incontinence issues." Nango Yui said casually.

"What smoking cat cat, oh no, it's feces cat cat!" Ozawa-keibu, the public security police, said casually.

"I'm eating!!!" Igarashi Hayato held a rice ball.

Kai Toru sat at his workstation, a cup of tea that had gone completely cold in front of him, untouched.

His gaze fell on the TV screen, the camera was playing an interview clip, the interviewee was a neighbor of Matsuda Satomi, who said "That nurse usually looked very kind, never expected she would do such a thing."

Kai Toru's expression did not change, but his fingers lightly tapped twice on the desk.

"Someone is upholding justice in his way, even if the means are illegal, even if the means will be judged, even if the means themselves are a kind of violence, but that person chose to stand where the law cannot reach." Prosecutor Kanjō Wataru sighed: "Some things…… indeed, involving gender dispute issues, courts and prosecutors tend to prefer doing nothing over doing something."

"The country is being ruined by you lot." Minami Ojou-sama snorted with her small nose: "Anyway…… no one died, right? Anyway, no one died, so this case won't be handed to us Special Mission Division to handle, if the Metropolitan Police Department names us to handle it, we'll talk when we get it." "No need to worry about that, the Dark Knight strikes with measured force, he seems to intentionally avoid killing people." Kai Toru said casually: "Probably to avoid Special Mission Division getting involved?"

"Oh wow, saying that he's actually quite smart!" Uesugi Minami sneered: "If he killed someone, there would be a corpse, if there was a corpse, it would mean the Special Mission Division would get involved, if the Special Mission Division got involved…… hum, any evil, will ultimately be brought to justice by law!"

After saying that, Uesugi Minami waited for Eirina's response.

However, Eirina was not beside her, she waited half a day, and in the end Yamada Nanase weakly said from the corner: "The section chief is right!" "This is already the fourth incident." Okada Masayoshi finished his small talk, shaking his head repeatedly: "A nurse. She killed three patients, nearly killed more, then relied on lawyer and women's rights organization support, using 'insufficient evidence' and 'unintentional mistake' as excuses to get away scot-free. If I were an ordinary citizen, seeing that Dark Knight beat her up on the street, I would probably think he did the right thing."

Kanjō Wataru said helplessly: "The problem is, he didn't just beat her, he beat her into serious injury. Without trial, without legal procedure, without giving the parties any chance to defend themselves. He made himself into a judge, jury, and executioner in one. Once such power is recognized, today he beats those who escaped legal punishment, tomorrow he might beat an ordinary citizen who stole someone else's girlfriend." While Ozawa Sumiko paid more attention to the intelligence issue: "This nurse's case, I've already looked over the investigation files before. Indeed there is a broken chain of evidence. But the key is not whether she is guilty, but how the Dark Knight knew she escaped punishment? How did he locate her? Does he have an insider? Or has he been tracking all major suspects who haven't been convicted?"

No one answered her, because no one knew.

That afternoon, the Chief Cabinet Secretary issued a restrained statement, saying "Japan is a rule-of-law state, no individual has the right to exercise the state's exclusive violence power. The Metropolitan Police Department will fully investigate this case, ensuring every citizen's safety is not violated illegally."

The reaction on social media to this statement was almost entirely one-sided indifference.

"What the law cannot do, someone does it for us!"

"The Dark Knight is Tokyo's conscience!"

"If he comes to hit me, then I must be a bad person. So as long as I don't do bad things, he won't come to hit me!"

"Don't do guilty deeds, fear no ghost knocking at the door!"

"I don't know him, but I believe in him!"

"Gotham needs Batman, and Tokyo needs our own Dark Knight!"

"Exactly! Uesugi is our Superman, and the Dark Knight is our Dark Knight!"

"Then who is our Wonder Woman Diana? Is it Shirakawa Mai?"

"Isn't this Superman, Wonder Woman, and Bruce Wayne's grandfather having a love triangle?"

"Exactly, oh no, oh yes, oh I'm telling you it's wrong! Yes, yes, yes?"

The topic gradually drifted toward a strange direction.

After the news of nurse Matsuda Satomi being attacked and seriously injured spread, the lights in the Superintendent General's office stayed on until late at night.

Shinzou Kamiya sat behind his desk, with a freshly compiled preliminary investigation report spread out in front of him, the edges of the paper still bearing the printer's residue. This was his first major case since taking office as Superintendent General, and all of Japan was watching to see how he would handle it.

Times have changed, adult.

When Watanabe Eiji served as Superintendent General, the Police Commissioner listened to the Superintendent General.

And when Watanabe Eiji served as Police Commissioner, the Superintendent General listened to the Police Commissioner.

This is fair, taking turns.

The office door was pushed open, and Watanabe Eiji walked in, wearing a dark gray cardigan sweater without an overcoat. He walked to the sofa and sat down, crossing his hands on his knees, looking at Shinzou Kamiya.

"Director General Kamiya, how do you plan to handle the Dark Knight case?"

Shinzou Kamiya closed the report and placed it on the corner of the desk, his voice slightly tense: "The case's classification is indeed thorny. His actions objectively punished those who escaped legal sanctions, but his methods themselves are illegal. If we cannot swiftly bring him to justice, public trust in the police will suffer immeasurable damage."

"Very good." Watanabe Eiji also furrowed his brow: "Do you know where this case is more thorny than ordinary cases? First, he always precisely locks onto those who have escaped legal sanctions. What is his source of information? How does he confirm those people truly committed crimes?" "Second, he leaves no trace whatsoever for tracking. Fingerprints, DNA, footprints, surveillance—nothing. He seems to come from thin air and vanish into thin air."

"Third, and most importantly, there is no corpse. Matsuda Satomi is still alive. Uesugi Muneyuki's forensic medical ability is indeed strong, but a living person cannot be autopsied."

Shinzou Kamiya's heart trembled.

He came from the Public Security Division, inherently not skilled in criminal cases and investigations, so he had to rely on Sugishita Ukyo from Investigation Division 1 and Uesugi Muneyuki from the Special Mission Division.

However, the problem lies here: Sugishita Ukyo is a very rigid person with an exceptionally strong sense of justice. Faced with this case where order and justice are clearly in conflict, what would he do? He has repeatedly disrupted systemic major issues, turning big things small and small things big, and the habits of various police senior officials engaging in secondary employment! I am not Onoda! I cannot control him! I am also not Onoda!! Can make Ukyo retreat!!

And Uesugi Muneyuki?

Hehe, the user manual for Uesugi Muneyuki has always been in the hands of Watanabe Eiji and Uesugi Minami, and only they can exert influence over Uesugi.

"Then we'll approach from other directions. Investigate his information source. Those he targeted, who have they interacted with? Their case records, trial documents, media reports—any overlap? He couldn't possibly know those people's backgrounds out of thin air." Shinzou Kamiya could only think using his strongest suit.

We are Public Security, intelligence! espionage! war!

"There is one more important matter. Public support for the Dark Knight is currently around seventy percent. Seventy percent of people believe he is doing the right thing. The deeper our investigation, the more likely the public will see us as 'protecting bad people and suppressing good people.' If we mishandle this, the Dark Knight won't be caught, and public trust in the police will collapse first." Watanabe Eiji said.

Shinzou Kamiya fell silent for a while. Since taking office, he had never encountered a case where the line between justice and illegality was blurred to the point of invisibility.

His habit as former Director of the Police Agency Security Bureau was to first listen to the Cabinet's orders.

But this time, the Cabinet also believed a detailed investigation was necessary.

He sat in that chair, as if struggling to adapt to the weight this case placed on him: "Then we also cannot leave it unattended."

"No one said to leave it unattended. But we must handle it wisely. We cannot create a narrative space where 'police are persecuting justice-bearers.' Director General Kamiya, do you have confidence?"

"No. But I will do my utmost."

Watanabe Eiji stood up from the sofa, walked to the door, and placed his hand on the doorknob, pausing for a moment. "Then let's do our best. The outcome of this case affects not only the Metropolitan Police Department's reputation, but also whether you can remain stably seated in the Superintendent General's position. Neither of us can afford to lose." The door closed.

Shinzou Kamiya sat alone in the office.

Don't cause any more trouble!

Shinzou Kamiya now understands how Watanabe Eiji's three-year term as Superintendent General came to be.

However, it seems the more one fears something, the more it comes to pass.

Late at night, an emergency call came into the Metropolitan Police Department's alarm center.

When the operator pressed the answer key, a woman's trembling voice came through the microphone, as if she had exerted great force to squeeze each word out of her throat: "Wada Shi... I live in Meguro Ward, something seems to have happened here... the house across the street... I heard a loud noise... someone kept shouting... then... then there was no sound... oh, oh nai! Please send someone quickly! Please!"

The operator's pen tip paused on the paper: "What is the specific address you mentioned? Did you see anyone entering or leaving? Did you hear any suspicious sounds?"

"I... I dare not go out to look... but I... I saw a person's shadow... from the window curtain gap... coming out of the back door of that building opposite... walking very hurriedly... wearing black clothes... then... then there was no......"

When the police car arrived at the scene, all the lights in the building were on.

Residents stood in the hallway, some in pajamas, some wrapped in feather quilts, some still gripping their phones, maintaining the posture they had just used to report the alarm. National Diet Member Motoki Honke lay on the living room floor, face up, arms spread.

His head bore clear signs of blunt instrument trauma, the skull depressed, the modus operandi nearly identical to the previous four cases, but this time, the victim did not survive.

"It's the Dark Knight, it's the Dark Knight, teeth!!!"

"Not good! The Dark Knight has become a shark person!"

"Sadirang!! Sadirang!! The Dark Knight killed someone!!!"