Chapter 969: , Female Investigator Eto Miyabi!

Uesugi Muneyuki stood under the white shade canopy on the long pier, dragging his suitcase in hand, waiting for Shirakawa Mai to return from completing the boarding procedures. Sakura and Asuka had already run over to the souvenir shop nearby, chattering excitedly about the limited-edition ship model of Asuka 11.

"Asuka is Hikaru, Hikaru is Asuka! Asuka is also Asuka, Asuka is Ashura Rei!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly. "Woo~woo~Da-na! Miraculous light of Da-na from the universe! The Power Angel was told today's opponent is Asuka, but then Da-na appeared—what kind of Asuka are you?" Asuka also giggled and chimed in~

Getting ready to board~

At that moment, Uesugi Muneyuki was lowering his head to scroll through Minami's messages on his phone—nothing more than "Don't cause trouble when you're out," "I'll keep an eye on things here at the Special Mission Division," "I heard Mai is also here? Watch your step, don't antagonize the captain and first mate," "I don't want to hear big news tomorrow about the cruise ship running aground"—suddenly, a familiar voice came from the front-left side.

"Uesugi-san? Uesugi-san! What a coincidence!"

He lifted his head.

Eto Miyabi stood about five steps away from him, one hand pulling a silver-gray flight case, the other taking off her sunglasses. Today she wore an off-white spring women's shirt with a ribbon-style collar, loosely tied into a butterfly bow, the flowing fabric catching a soft sheen in the sunlight.

Below, she wore a deep blue horse-face skirt, meticulously tailored, with intricate gold-embossed dark-pattern embroidery on the hem of this refined formal dress; as she walked, the pleats layered upon each other, exuding a splendid feeling between tradition and modernity.

Beneath the skirt hem, a slender section of calf was revealed, wrapped in black ultra-thin silk stockings, the near-transparent texture making her leg lines appear exceptionally clean and neat.

On her black silk-clad feet were a pair of black leather-buckle high heels, with a narrow band of metal buckles around the ankle, the heel slender yet stable, producing a crisp sound when stepping on the pier ground.

Eto Miyabi's appearance was not as dazzlingly beautiful as Mai Xuejie's, but her features were more harmonious and balanced, lacking strong aggressiveness, combining the gentleness of a married woman with the sharp gaze of a mature sister; her shoulder-length hair flowed smoothly. Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki here, she was overjoyed and couldn't help but rush over to greet him. She didn't look like she was on vacation, but rather attending a semi-formal occasion—but Uesugi knew this was simply Eto Miyabi's everyday style. Back when she was a local underground idol in Kyushu, she was known for "dignity mixed with a hint of untouchable distance," and as a host, she refined this aura into something sharp and exquisite.

"Ms. Eto." Uesugi gave a slight nod: "Really a coincidence."

"A coincidence?" Eto Miyabi stepped two steps closer, the smile on her face shifting quickly from polite to a genuine, slightly eager delight: "Not a coincidence, it's fate. I was just thinking this trip might be boring—then I saw you."

Her tone carried the kind of just-right intimacy unique to someone who's done years of interviewing—neither offensive nor distant, quickly closing the gap: "Uesugi-san, your promise to me can now be fulfilled, okay?"

Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyebrows.

Indeed, after the Souda Sosuke incident, Eto Miyabi had repeatedly hinted she could specially "thank" him, but at the time he had a ruptured Seishokurin and couldn't perform normally, so he politely declined, and frankly speaking, he now had no shortage of women around him, his sexual resources already overflowing, so naturally he'd shoved this matter to the back of his mind.

But if Eto Miyabi insisted, he wouldn't lose out.

However, Eto Miyabi had not yet received a reply, and the corner of her eye immediately noticed Mai Xuejie approaching.

No way—once that woman appeared, the surrounding air dimmed, all eyes drawn to her snow-white, jade-like skin and her icy, inviolable radiant beauty.

This was not an opponent she could defeat with words!

Eto Miyabi immediately withdrew the eagerness from her eyes: "Ms. Shirakawa? Are you on vacation together?"

"Saying it's a vacation, but there's also some official business; saying it's official business, it's still partly a vacation—we have some matters to attend to in North Kyushu." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled: "You and Ms. Mai know each other, right?"

"Of course." Eto's smile remained unchanged, but the word "of course" carried a subtle understanding of the "national CP," "the female lead of Hand of God, after all. Long admired."

Shirakawa Mai walked forward, her gaze sweeping over Eto and pausing for about half a second on the gold-embroidered horse-face skirt, then she gave a flawless smile: "Ms. Eto, long time no see. In that NHK program before, your interviewing style left a deep impression." "Ms. Shirakawa, you're too kind." Eto nodded politely, her posture dignified, flawless.

Between the two women there was no clash, not even a hint of tension, but Uesugi could sense a subtle, mutual confirmation between adult women.

They were exchanging information: Who are you? What's your relationship with him? What's your purpose here?

Mai Xuejie clearly had the answer first—she handed Uesugi a room key, then naturally stepped back half a step, yielding the conversational space to Eto, her movement carrying the ease of "I'm just here to accompany you," a relaxed confidence only a principal wife possesses, needing no assertion of dominance. Eto also picked up on this signal.

She sighed softly in her heart, but her face revealed nothing.

Ah, with this woman by Uesugi's side, it's not easy to make a move.

"How did Ms. Eto end up on the cruise ship?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked casually: "On vacation? What about NHK?"

"Sort of." Eto adjusted her sunglasses back onto her head, revealing a smooth forehead: "But it's mostly work. I'm producing an NHK special program on 'Modern Japanese Maritime History,' doing preliminary research. But honestly, to tell you the truth..."

She lowered her voice slightly, leaned forward a bit, the ribbon at her shirt collar swaying gently.

"I got this information from contacts back home. I used to be an underground idol in Kyushu, and I still have good connections there. They told me this voyage might involve a secret business transaction. Not drugs, not arms—but possibly something even more troublesome than those two." "More troublesome than arms?" Uesugi raised an eyebrow: "Cultural relic smuggling? Or some extraterritorial celestial beings trying to steal the secrets of Japan's Setouchi Sea route?"

"I'm not joking with you, Uesugi-san." Eto Miyabi's expression turned serious: "I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I have a few names in hand. They booked this voyage as ordinary passengers, but their actual backgrounds are complex. I plan to dig around on the ship and see if I can uncover a big story."

As she said this, her eyes flashed with that focused light unique to investigative reporters when they scent prey: "If I can uncover a big story... I want to enter management before I turn 40!"

Uesugi Muneyuki stared at her in silence for two seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"What?"

"Ms. Eto." Uesugi slipped both hands into his trench coat pockets, tilted his head slightly to look at her: "You want to be a female investigator? Female Investigator Eto Miyabi? Should I handle the filming?"

Eto blinked, then a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

The term "female investigator" usually refers to the comparatively special "narcotics investigation" within Japan's prosecutorial system—that is, drug investigation operations.

Japan adopts a mixed police-prosecutor system; prosecutors in principle do not personally participate in dangerous investigation operations, and if they truly must, they would certainly call in police or even SAT; prosecutors in principle are not issued firearms, and even if the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Unit carries guns in some extreme situations, it is absolutely impossible to let a female prosecutor act alone.

So everyone also doesn't need to pretend to be a Big Tail Wolf—the term "female investigator" has already evolved to refer specifically to certain flavor role-play characters in adult videos.

Any language still in use will see its meanings constantly shift, just like Napoleon's "Old Guard"—originally referring to the Old Guard, but over time came to mean those who rely on seniority to endlessly comment on everything; this is why biological Latin names use Latin, because Latin is a dead language, immune to contamination.

Words like "miss," "comrade," "dog" have already undergone many rounds of semantic change.

"If Uesugi-san likes it... I can cooperate..." Eto Miyabi blinked her eyes, like some kind of inside joke only two people would understand.

"Haha~" Uesugi Muneyuki gave a noncommittal chuckle.

For this, he neither initiates nor takes responsibility, but also does not refuse.

"Speaking of which, Uesugi-san, I was just thinking to ask you for a small favor." Eto Miyabi's tone carried a hint of probing: "If you notice anything suspicious on the ship, could you let me know? Or if it's convenient, we could find a time to chat?" Her gaze lingered on the two words "chat" for a moment—meaning not just information exchange.

Uesugi Muneyuki naturally understood, he laughed and shook his head: "For economic crimes, please transfer to Investigation Division 2—I have no interest in this. I'm here on vacation, Ms. Eto. My doctoral defense just ended, you're making me board the ship and work overtime—that's not something a person should do, and as for investigation, I completely don't get it! Even if you ask me to help, I truly wouldn't know how to begin."

Having said that, he patted Eto's arm, then turned and walked toward Mai's direction.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

He walked away without looking back.

Eto Miyabi stood in place, watching his back disappear into the crowd, Shirakawa Mai walking beside him, the two not holding hands or linking arms, but that natural side-by-side posture made their rapport more evident than any intimate gesture.

Ah, finally that tall, long-legged female police dog plaster beside Uesugi is gone, but Shirakawa Mai is here—that woman... though she's always smiling, I have an instinctive feeling that she is extremely dangerous.

Eto Miyabi lightly inhaled, pulled her sunglasses down to shield her eyes, then dragged her suitcase toward the boarding passage.

No problem.

She thought.

The ship has four days and three nights. There will surely be a chance!

This piece of fat meat, I will definitely eat it!

At the same time, about twenty meters away from the boarding passage on the other side, two men stood in the shade of the shade canopy.

One person held a convenience store coffee in hand, while the other carried a black outdoor backpack on their back. They looked like ordinary backpackers, but their gaze remained fixed on the group that had just spoken with Eto Miyabi.

The first man's coffee cup was slightly deformed from being squeezed.

"That person... is Uesugi Muneyuki?"

"And Shirakawa Mai."

The two exchanged a glance.

The man carrying the black backpack spoke in a low voice, his words almost inaudible:

"This guy, the Japanese Police's final weapon—how could he be here?"

The coffee cup was completely crushed.

"The plan remains unchanged, but proceed with caution!"

"Understood!"

"Don't be afraid—even if it's Uesugi Muneyuki, he's just a snail cricket of a forensic pathologist, while we have already embraced a higher form of existence! The advantage is mine!"