Chapter 951

Overbought was wearing the dark gray suit he had on in life, his tie askew to one side, his shirt collar open, no buttons fastened. His face bore no bloodstains, no wounds, but the moment he entered this space, his body lunged toward Uesugi Muneyuki, grabbing his thigh in a tight embrace, as if a mass of damp cold had tightly wrapped around his legs.

"Uesugi Muneyuki-sensei! I still remember you! One sentence at a time, you pulled me out of the fog"

"Uesugi Muneyuki-sensei! I still remember you! For those unsolvable cases, you bore the burden for the people!"

Well then, there's still singing!

Uesugi Muneyuki's forehead showed black lines, but judging by the light of the Qinghui Stone, he was indeed wronged.

"Uesugi-sensei! You have to save me! You have to investigate this clearly! I can't just die like this! I did nothing wrong! I'm innocent! I'm just an unlucky wretch!" Rang Ben Motoki shouted desperately.

His voice carried an unstoppable undulation, like something long suppressed finally found a crack and was now pouring out endlessly from that gap. His arms did not loosen, through two layers of clothing, that soul-born cold was slowly climbing upward. "You let go first. Speak slowly." Uesugi Muneyuki gestured, I know you're anxious, but don't rush, speak slowly, I, Uesugi Qing Tian, will uphold justice for you! Rang Ben Motoki's grip loosened somewhat, but did not release completely.

"I... I that night returned to my doorstep, I had just taken out my key, hadn't even inserted it into the lock, when I felt something pressing against my waist. It was a small knife, the blade pressing against my lower back through my coat fabric. At that moment I froze completely. Then a voice came from behind me, very low, very hoarse, as if pressing on the throat while speaking."

"Ah, I see, it was you who opened the door yourself." Uesugi Muneyuki pondered, producing a photo: "Was it like this?" Black Knight, standard dress-hat man, mask and long pants three-piece set.

"Yes, that's him!" Rang Ben Motoki exclaimed excitedly: "I heard about it, the Dark Knight! It's the Dark Knight, but..." "Go on." Uesugi Muneyuki gestured for him to continue.

"He said 'Open the door, walk in, don't look back, don't shout.' I didn't shout. I opened the door, walked in. He followed me in. He had me sit on the sofa, not allowing me to turn around, then he began questioning me. He asked 'What have you been doing all these years?' I said 'I don't know what you're talking about.' He said 'How much political funds did you embezzle?' I said 'I didn't.' He said 'How many mistresses did you keep?' I said 'I didn't.' He said 'How much money did you take?' I said 'None.'" Rang Ben said.

"Really? I don't believe it." Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyebrows: "The Special Investigation Unit already told me, Rang Ben lawmaker!"

However Rang Ben Motoki became even more agitated: "I was telling the truth then! I really didn't know what he was talking about! I thought he was someone sent by an opponent to mess with me! I asked who sent him! He didn't answer! He just started attacking! He wasn't the type to slowly extort a confession, he really attacked! One punch hit my face, I was dazed at that moment! Then he continued questioning, asking about embezzlement of public funds! I said no! He hit again! Asked about taking bribes! I said no! He hit again! Asked about keeping mistresses! I said no! He kept hitting! I eventually couldn't bear the beating, I had no choice but to confess, I could only confess! I know confessing to false things is harder than confessing to true things! But I had no choice! I was in too much pain! I was about to be beaten to death!"

"So in the end, are your embezzlement of funds and keeping mistresses both true?" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at him sideways.

"I... I just felt I... well, but..." Rang Ben Motoki said this point quite naturally and rather proudly: "You know when he asked me how much money I embezzled, how did I answer? I said I really didn't take much! He asked for specific figures! I said I hadn't counted! He then pressed harder! I said I probably took over twenty million! He asked how much, I said twenty-one million! Then he said 'Pay it back,' I said 'I will pay it back, I will definitely pay it back, I'll repay with my salary, I have a salary, I still have savings, I myself have fifteen million in savings, at most one year and I'll have repaid it'!"

Uesugi Muneyuki stood beside the autopsy table, looking at his confident appearance: "Twenty-one million? Over these years in politics, how much have you taken in total?"

"Twenty-one million! Really only twenty-one million! I know this number sounds large, but among Diet members, what is it? Those real corrupt officials, who doesn't casually take hundreds of millions? My twenty-one million isn't even enough to stuff between someone's teeth! I occasionally did receive some small consolation money from enterprises, always small amounts, never exceeding the regulated limit. I admit I did have some social expenses, but those are all normal, necessary expenses, required by work! I don't think I'm guilty!" Rang Ben Motoki shouted angrily: "On what grounds am I, why? On what grounds? In this country, is integrity also a kind of crime?"

Uesugi Muneyuki was genuinely stunned.

Rang Ben Motoki served as a Diet member for five years.

Five years as a Diet member and only took twenty-one million?

Is this corruption?

This is integrity! If half of Japan's Diet members were at this level, wouldn't it be calm seas and clear rivers, peace across the four seas, harmony under heaven? Yet why would someone who took only twenty-one million become the Dark Knight's target? His first four targets were all truly guilty, having evaded legal sanctions, this level of... logically should not appear on his list.

Rang Ben Motoki lifted his head, his eyes holding a near-pleading light: "Then what exactly did I do wrong? Why does he want to kill me?" "I want to ask you one question first. Before you went home that day, what did you do?"

Rang Ben Motoki's body paused slightly, his gaze shifted from the autopsy table for a moment, then returned in the air, becoming somewhat indescribable: "I... went to see someone."

"Who?"

"A... female friend. Her name is Sasaki Ayaka, she works as a regular employee at a large enterprise, just started not long ago. We've known each other for over half a year, our feelings are still good." He seemed afraid Uesugi Muneyuki might misunderstand, his tone carrying more explanatory nuance: "I and she are serious, not that kind of casual relationship. I told her, once I settle my family affairs, I will formally consider our future."

"Is this what you meant by keeping a mistress?" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "When did you two start?"

"Last summer. We met at a gathering in Akahaka, she was a friend brought by a friend. We chatted a few sentences, later added LINE, slowly began... just like that. I told her my situation is special, because work nature isn't suitable for public relationships, she also expressed understanding. She said as long as I treat her sincerely, other things she doesn't care about."

Uesugi Muneyuki stood up, his gaze sweeping over the gray space to fall on the distant undulating mist: "Did you tell her about work matters? Did you mention that sum of money? Did you tell her how much you took, from whom?"

Rang Ben Motoki's voice quieted a bit, he didn't answer immediately, after several seconds he spoke: "I... might have mentioned it once. Exactly how much I said, I don't really remember either. That night I drank a little, said some things I shouldn't have. But the next day I told her it was all drunk talk, just baseless rumors others spread. She didn't press further at the time. I really don't know what connection that matter has with her. She's just an ordinary office worker, she doesn't care about politics, I also didn't give her money, at most just meal reimbursements, even hotel costs she pays half of."

【Wow! It's pure love!】Hironaka Mariko exclaimed.

"Before you went to see Sasaki Ayaka that day, did you feel anything abnormal? Was anyone following you? Did anyone see you meeting her? Did you mention this to anyone else?"

"I don't know... I didn't notice anyone following me. I usually don't pay attention to whether there are people around. She lives in Meguro, not far from my home. That night I came directly home from her place. If someone saw me entering or leaving her apartment, they might have followed me."

Uesugi Muneyuki had a rough idea in mind.

A Diet member returned home having just seen his mistress, while the Dark Knight happened to be waiting at his doorstep.

This time difference was too precise. Not like a random target selection, but more like someone had beforehand grasped Rang Ben Motoki's schedule that evening, knowing when he would return from where.

"You said when you reached the doorstep, someone from behind pressed a knife against your waist. How long had he been waiting? How did he know you would appear at that location at that time?"

"I... I don't know, I never thought about this question. He might have been waiting there a long time, or might have been following me all along." "Do you think he randomly picked you, or someone told him you would pass that way? Do you have any opposing factions within the Diet? Or enemies?"

Rang Ben Motoki fell silent.

He lowered his head to look at his pair of hands hanging at his sides, stared for a while: "I don't know, but... Uesugi-sensei, Japan isn't Africa, even if our Diet members are seriously opposed, they wouldn't entertain assassination thoughts."

"Indeed." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, Japan lacks the tradition of political purges, compared to Russia and such countries the gap is huge, even if opinions in the Diet differ greatly, they wouldn't end up like Prigozhin in a plane crash.

Twenty-one million yen for a Diet member is truly a small amount, you know Diet members are Vice Minister Level!

The Metropolitan Police Department's initial Investigation Division 1 Chief Oshima Ichizu could easily take fifty-eight million!!

"That night you went to see Sasaki Ayaka, who else knew about it?"

"Her colleagues probably shouldn't know, she said she doesn't like discussing private life at work. I also didn't mention it to others, this kind of thing... isn't convenient to say. But maybe someone saw it. If someone had been following me all along, they would know." His voice grew lower and lower: "Uesugi-sensei, I know I'm not a good person, but I'm not some great villain either. I took money I shouldn't have, but I'm willing to repay. I did things I shouldn't have, but I've always been striving to maintain. I don't understand why he wants to kill me. His first four times he didn't kill anyone."

Uesugi Muneyuki stood still without moving: "You indeed are not his previous four types of targets. You don't deserve to be killed. But he killed you, which shows his reason for killing you differs from before. Or put another way, from the start he intended to kill not just those who evaded legal sanctions. He's merely using those people to conceal his true target."

Rang Ben Motoki's voice sounded again, carrying a near-pleading tremor: "Uesugi-sensei... will you help me investigate clearly? Will you tell me why I died?"

"I will investigate clearly. Not because of how much you embezzled, nor because of how honest and upright you are. It's because someone replaced law with violence, this matter itself should not exist." Uesugi Muneyuki shifted his gaze from his gray-white face, falling onto the night outside the window: "I will investigate clearly, then tell you the answer."

"Then please, Uesugi-sensei!!!" Rang Ben Motoki bowed his head in worship.