Chapter 976

???"

The scream pierced the entire ship.

That sound was sharp, out of control, heart-wrenching, as if someone had poured glass shards directly into the throat.

It came from the direction of the B-deck corridor end, penetrating the thick bulkheads and carpet, trembling in the air as it exploded.

Everyone in the corridor froze simultaneously.

It was Matsumura Sayuri's voice! That usually sweet, soft, "silly apple" voice had now become something completely unfamiliar, a shriek on the verge of collapse.

Immediately followed by her crying shout: "Someone! Help! One! There, someone's in the cold storage!"

Uesugi Muneyuki released Mai Xuejie's hand.

He strode toward the direction of the sound, his steps unconsciously quickening.

Mai Xuejie followed behind him, Sakura and Asuka exchanged a glance, and also followed.

They went around two corners, passed a descending staircase, and seven or eight people had already gathered near the cold storage.

Matsumura Sayuri sat collapsed on the ground, her back against the wall, hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down like a broken string. Her whole body trembled, her knees stained with condensation seeping from the cold storage door, her whole body curled into a ball.

Matsumura's male companion Fujido rushed over from the other side in quick steps—he had not gone far after leaving the banquet, he should have been nearby—half-kneeling to support Matsumura's shoulder: "Sayuri! What's going on?!"

"The, the cold storage…… I, I just wanted to see what high-end ingredients there were…… the door wasn't shut tight…… I pushed open a crack……" Matsumura spoke incoherently, pointing at that thick silver metal door: "Inside there's a person…… lying on the ground…… so much blood……"

Fujido looked up at the cold storage door, his expression appropriately solemn.

He released Matsumura's shoulder, stood up, tried to peek inside, but was stopped by crew members rushing over.

"Please do not approach, passengers! We have already notified the captain and ship security!" the crew members shouted loudly.

But no one could stop everyone's gaze, as if they had agreed beforehand, all turning simultaneously toward Uesugi Muneyuki standing at the edge of the crowd. That man in the trench coat stood at the edge of the corridor lighting, one hand in his pocket, expression calm as if he weren't on a ship where a corpse had just been discovered.

He slightly tilted his head, as if waiting for more information.

"Here we go again." Asuka muttered softly beside him.

"What again?" Sakura asked.

"Wherever we go, there's a murder case." Asuka said deadpan: "Mr. Uesugi, do you want to apply for a 'Death God Exemption'?" "Hahahaha" Mai Xuejie covered her mouth and chuckled secretly; she had actually reached the point where nothing could really surprise her anymore.

But she and Matsumura Sayuri were good friends, so she still quickly went over to help the silly one up, yet at this moment she smelled a urine odor. The silly one had wet herself from fright.

"Wuu wuu, Mai-sama! Sorry sorry! I just wanted to see what tasty things there were…… I didn't do it on purpose, I really didn't do it on purpose! Wuu wuu wuu chicken……" The silly one cried like a child.

"Muneyuki…… you should step aside a bit……" Mai Xuejie could only helplessly say to Uesugi beside her.

Uesugi Muneyuki did not turn to respond.

His gaze fell on the light and condensation seeping from the cold storage door crack; the fact that a dead person lay inside that door was gradually seeping into every corner of the air.

He found it a bit strange.

The Qinghui Stone did not glow!

Was this person's death not unjust? Or perhaps they weren't dead at all?

But he also felt that he seemed able to summon this person's soul?

So what on earth is going on?

Captain Sato Hirofumi arrived five minutes later.

He was about fifty, of maritime background, solid build, face ashen. He did not approach to examine the corpse—he didn't even get near the cold storage door—but instead walked straight through the crowd and stopped in front of Uesugi.

"Mr. Uesugi." Captain Sato lowered his voice, tone urgent: "We have a Metropolitan Police Department forensic examiner on board, right? I heard you're on this voyage."

"I am, I am Uesugi Muneyuki, Tokyo University Doctor, Chief Forensic Examiner of the Metropolitan Police Department." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

"Good." Captain Sato breathed a sigh of relief: "Please conduct the on-site examination now; we need to do it as quickly as possible—"

"But…… please allow me to refuse!" Uesugi Muneyuki said coldly.

Captain Sato was stunned.

Uesugi's voice was not loud, but clear enough for everyone within four or five meters to hear.

When he said "I refuse," his tone was exactly the same as when he said "Your hypothesis lacks a control group" in academic defense meetings—calm, objective, devoid of emotion.

………What?" Captain Sato opened his mouth: "You, you aren't a Metropolitan Police Department forensic examiner? You, you are a national hero, why……

"I said, I refuse." Uesugi Muneyuki repeated, then pulled out his Huawei XSma deep space gray phone from his pocket: "Before taking action, several things need to be done. First, immediately report to the Fifth District of the Japan Coast Guard—this is not a 'shipboard accident,' it is a criminal case. Second, report to the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters—if I haven't miscalculated, we are now in the waters near Aichi Prefecture. Third, report to the National Police Agency, report to the Tokyo University Forensic Medicine Teaching Room. Only after these departments are informed and grant written authorization will I perform the autopsy."

Captain Sato's face changed: "Mr. Uesugi, we are now on the high seas…… lives are at stake right now!"

"So what?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked at him: "Criminal jurisdiction on the high seas has clear international conventions and domestic Japanese law to cite. But I don't want to be asked after docking 'Why didn't you follow procedure?'—I am a Metropolitan Police Department person, not a cruise company employee. I can perform the autopsy, but only if everyone knows I am 'helping out,' not that I 'naturally should do it.'"

"Everything must be done according to procedure, otherwise this is just me practicing medicine without FIFA authorization, practicing medicine without authorization, practicing medicine at non-designated locations, destroying evidence, destroying the crime scene, having no legal effect." Uesugi Muneyuki narrowed his eyes: "You guys, have you been watching too much painful Conan?" He paused, put away his phone, voice still steady, but his tone now carried an unyielding hardness: "Third, Captain, I need you cruise company people to sign a legal declaration. Contents include: exemption clause, I bear no legal liability for anything outside the autopsy results; non-prosecution clause, the cruise company waives the right to sue me for any accident or dispute related to this case; fee clause, all costs generated by this autopsy—including but not limited to possible subsequent mental harm or reputational impact—shall be borne entirely by your company."

Captain Sato widened his eyes: "Mr. Uesugi, someone just died now"

"So we must follow procedure all the more." Uesugi interrupted him: "Captain, you come from maritime affairs, you should know that any 'exception' at sea could become trouble. I can help you, but only if I am not dragged into this trouble."

"Until you complete all these items and confirm their legal validity, I will do nothing."

Uesugi Muneyuki snorted: "I have already seen countless medical seniors prove with bloody lessons what happens when one makes judgments without going through all proper legal procedures—including my mentor, Zaizen Professor."

In December 2004, Dr. Kato Katsuhiko of Fukushima Prefectural Ono Hospital performed a cesarean section on a 29-year-old parturient, and due to the placenta adhering tightly to the uterus, the doctor's incision caused massive bleeding leading to the parturient's death.

Fukushima police arrested the doctor on charges of "professional negligence resulting in death," and prosecutors also indicted the doctor.

Medical societies of obstetrics and gynecology nationwide issued protests, obstetrics and gynecology doctors went on strike, and finally, Dr. Kato Katsuhiko was acquitted. However, this case still caused great harm in Japan.

Thereafter, in just one or two years, Japanese obstetrics and pediatrics doctors suffered massive attrition; if not for mandatory regulations requiring certain-level hospitals to have pediatrics, many hospitals would have simply eliminated obstetrics and pediatrics, or kept only emergency services.

Moreover, from then on Japanese doctors also learned that since they must bear responsibility for their own judgments, after admission they would run through all examinations to ensure no missed or misdiagnosis, and even if misdiagnosis occurred, it would be considered a machine's problem, and doctors would only handle problems they could handle, otherwise recommending transfer for troublesome issues.

This is defensive medicine.

Thereafter, hospitals often refused to admit critical parturients, making ambulances shuttle between over ten hospitals, and due to delay leading to death, news emerged. Critical parturients were shuttled between hospitals, rejected, and called by Japanese people "parturient ball" or "medical ball."

Similarly, there had been cases where children suffering from severe meningitis, clearly already in an ambulance, were rejected by nine hospitals in succession, finally shuttled for hours and dying in the ambulance.

Therefore, until 2009, Japan had to amend the law, stipulating that doctors do not bear on-site responsibility for misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, while as for whether medical diagnosis has problems, it is to be investigated by third-party agencies.

But even so, the problem remains serious; for example, according to what Uesugi Muneyuki knows, the vast majority of hospitals in Tokyo have eliminated pediatrics, retaining only pediatrics in emergency, and generally just three on-duty doctors, seeing only one or two hundred a night, and if overloaded, they uniformly refuse admission and recommend transfer, the reason being sufficient—because exceeding maximum capacity, if I admit you, what about the other children waiting for treatment? Uesugi Muneyuki is no longer the impulsive youth he was at twenty-two.

He is already a husband, and he is about to become a father; he has his own career and work, in plain terms, he has a weak point now.

Now he has a big family and a big business, so he will not give any chance to find any leverage; he can perform an autopsy, but he will absolutely not leave any violation or excuse for later investigation.

The surrounding passengers and crew fell silent.

Some whispered, some took photos, some recorded with their phones; Matsumura Sayuri was still softly sobbing, helped up by Fujido; Mai Xuejie stood half a step behind Uesugi, arms crossed, the corner of her mouth slightly twitching.

Well done, Junior Student, you don't need to bear a responsibility you cannot bear.

She looked at Captain Sato with the expression of someone who had eaten a fly, and silently thought, Ichiran, this man is still like this even on vacation, truly helpless.

Captain Sato took a deep breath, the muscles on his face twitching twice.

He glanced toward the cold storage, then looked at Uesugi's expressionless face, and finally squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "Good." "I'll give you the lawyer's fax number." Uesugi said: "Attorney Kunpei of Nishimura Asahi Law Office, documents are ready and signed, I can start anytime."

Sato turned and walked away. He walked in a hurry, a small patch of his back shirt soaked with sweat.

The crowd in the hallway gradually dispersed by security personnel, the area in front of the cold storage was cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Fujido supported Matsumura as they walked toward the cabin, passing by Uesugi Muneyuki's side, he tilted his head to glance at Uesugi Muneyuki.

In that gaze, hostility remained.

But there was an added layer of something more complex—like one had originally thought an opponent would not take this game seriously, only to have the opponent suddenly produce the entire rulebook and even demand signing a liability waiver first.

Aconitine also had no effect……

Sakura Minato leaned close to Uesugi's ear, voice very soft: "Uesugi Mr., those words just now……did you rehearse them?"

"No need to rehearse." Uesugi Muneyuki said: "Having suffered a loss once, you know the process."

"What loss?"

"My professor Zaizen Professor encountered this kind of thing……so often, medical skill and medical ethics cannot be reconciled, especially in this postmodern environment, everyone only talks about law, fine, you talk about law, I also talk about law." Uesugi Muneyuki said expressionlessly: "All matters, one must first learn to protect oneself, then consider other things, especially since I have no police around me, strictly speaking I also have no law enforcement authority." Asuka whispered beside him: "Uesugi Mr., back when you faced my parents protecting me at Hankyo Bridge, it wasn't like this!" "So I got set up, ended up on the front page of Weekly Bunshun, had to convene the Hankyo Bridge hearing, and even had to send you to the hospital collaborating with the CIA for a gynecological examination." Uesugi Muneyuki laughed as he rubbed Asuka's head: "Such foolishness, doing it once is enough."

Two hours passed.

Documents were sent from the ship's fax machine to major institutions, then received receipts and confirmation slips—Japan Coast Guard, Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters, National Police Agency, Tokyo University Forensic Medicine Teaching Room—each document was stamped, signed, and archived with a number.

Captain Sato also signed his name on that dense legal declaration and stamped it with the shipping company's seal.

When he signed, his hand trembled slightly, unknown whether from anger or haste.

Damn, I originally wanted to drag Uesugi Muneyuki into trouble!

Anyway, the autopsy is his responsibility, so if there's a problem, he bears it; if there are questions, he explains them; if the family later has objections, he is the one who has to go to court!

Result: this guy actually turned out to be so serious!

Is this still the same person who constantly shouts "Great Righteousness," who would fight for "Justice" under the banners of "Vaisravana" and "Chaotic Dragon Flag," a descendant of Uesugi Kenshin? How did he become this litigation-savvy merchant type? Whenever something happens, he thinks of distancing himself?

Can this country be saved? If everyone only thinks of themselves like this, who will bear responsibility? Who will make the foot basin great again?

If this continues, the country will cease to be a country!

Captain Sato was very dissatisfied, however, if Uesugi Muneyuki does not immediately perform the autopsy and determine whether it is indeed a homicide, then the troubles ahead will be greater— the ship will have to dock, all tourists will apply for refunds, and then they will have to undergo investigation……this loss will be greater, up to hundreds of millions of yen or even more!

So they could only agree!

Uesugi took a photo of the signed declaration and sent it to Minami, and sent another copy to Okada Masayoshi for backup. Then he put his phone back in his pocket, rolled up his shirt cuffs, and took out from his bag that pair of portable, already disinfected dissection gloves.

"Now we can begin." He said to Captain Sato standing at the cold storage door.

The cold storage door was fully pushed open. Cold air surged out like a layer of white mist, carrying the smell of iron rust and something more pungent. Light shone into the cold storage interior, illuminating the male corpse in crew uniform lying on the floor.

The deceased lay on his side, with an obvious depression wound at the back of the head, blood had solidified under low temperature into dark red ice-crystal-like substance. But his face was downward, making facial features unclear.

"Huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced twice, then noticed something strange.

"This is……