Chapter 978

After the alarm for the cold storage incident was lifted, the night voyage of the Tori I returned to calm. Crew members in the hallway removed the police tape, and passengers returned to their cabins in twos and threes, the topic shifting gradually from "Someone died" to "Oh, it was just an accident—thank goodness."

The wind on the deck remained salty and damp, the moonlight still scattered on the ripples of the Setouchi Sea, and everything looked as if nothing had happened at all.

At this time, the cruise ship was anchored offshore, awaiting the arrival of the Japan Coast Guard.

The Japan Coast Guard is quite straightforward—whatever the Uesugi Chief says goes, and you're absolutely right!

It's quite dignified that the Uesugi Chief personally intervened over the accidental death of a fisheries dock worker, sir!

Moreover, Uesugi Muneyuki determined the cause of death without even performing an autopsy—truly, the elegant legendary forensic doctor never damages the corpse's scales during examination!

Although the Japan Coast Guard does not belong to the National Police Agency, it falls under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism—so who is the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism?

It's Kosaka Morinori, father of Kosaka Nao! And Kosaka Nao is currently dating Okada Masayoshi, the Special Mission Division Supervisor!

So how could anyone doubt Uesugi Muneyuki?

Oh, my dear old partner, your words are just looking down on me! What do you mean, buy or not buy? Between us brothers, we talk about feelings, not transactions! You coming to do the autopsy is giving me face! We find your autopsy report completely correct!

When you need us, you know where we are!

Only one person did not return to their own cabin.

Eto Miyabi walked down the B Deck Corridor in her black strap high-heeled shoes, her footsteps swallowed by the thick carpet, silent and soundless.

She took off her coat and draped it over her arm, revealing the ivory flowing ribbon shirt, her posture like someone strolling, occasionally pausing to look at the fire evacuation diagram on the wall, occasionally pulling out her phone to pretend to take photos. Even if someone walked toward her, it would only seem like a sleepless passenger strolling aimlessly.

But her gaze kept scanning the door numbers on both sides of the corridor.

She remembered those details: the man with the black outdoor backpack she had followed when boarding, which direction his cabin door was in; during the cold storage incident, which direction Fujido had come from in a hurry.

Eto stopped in front of a dark wooden door with no door number, having taken off her high heels in advance, barefoot in black silk stockings, stepping on the carpet, she gazed intently.

A faint light seeped from beneath the door—the kind that leaks out as a thin edge after being blocked by thick curtains.

She tilted her ear to listen for a few seconds; there was no sound from inside the room.

This woman felt in her bag for a pre-prepared universal room card "borrowed" from the ship's service desk—obtaining a master key card on the cruise ship isn't difficult, as long as you know which crew member is on duty and when they hang the spare card in the service desk's drawer.

The card slid over the reader, emitting a soft "beep."

The lock sprang open.

Yes!

Misamisa, great victory!

Eto Miyabi slipped inside with quiet delight, then pulled the door shut behind her.

The room was larger than she imagined. It wasn't an ordinary cabin, but more like a meeting room formed by knocking together two guest rooms after renovation.

Nautical charts and several hastily drawn symbols were posted on the walls; scattered on the table were empty whiskey glasses and several ashtrays. The air retained a faint smell of tobacco and the musty scent of old books.

What caught her attention most was several rolls of paper spread out on a folding table in the corner of the room.

The paper was slightly yellowed, with rough edges, thick, like hand-copied special paper.

The handwriting was neat and fine, as if carved stroke by stroke by someone professionally trained, and it looked very old, the characters quite blurred.

This, I suppose, is what they call a secret transaction?

Eto Miyabi picked up one of the rolls; the cover had no title, only a line written in Old English. Her English isn't bad, but the grammar is somewhat archaic, and she roughly understood the meaning.

"Svwian, goddess of love and desire, creator."

Following was an illustration: a female figure—if one could call it female—had a head resembling a peach, a female face, four arms below, and her body composed of densely layered, overlapping breasts.

"She created her children at dawn, that is, humanity, and from the beginning, she has deeply loved her children."

"As time passed, her love blossomed with ever more obsessive surnames, and she increasingly wished to guide her children."

"But she realized her children could never respond to her with equal emotion, and her love gradually became ever more twisted and mad."

"Through the gift she bestowed upon humanity—love magic, that is, flower magic—she let humanity shape themselves according to her preferences and fantasies."

"In ancient times, humanity indulged in bodily pleasure and frenzy; in ancient Egypt and many places, naked people gathered together, forming a sea like a human wave, enjoying the love and desire Svwian bestowed upon them."

"However, in the year 30 AD, that being died as a New God, ascended to become an Old God, and the tide of logic and rationality gradually covered animality and primal desire, leading humanity from wildness and bestiality toward rationality and humanity, whereupon Svwian gradually cast humanity from her mind and departed this world."

"Perhaps there are still ways to breach the tide of logic and connect with this Old God, but even if she could respond, her love is far beyond what humanity can bear—there is only one way: to ascend through the Golden Throne to become—"

The rest of the content is illegible; the scroll ends here abruptly.

She quickly finished the first scroll, set it aside, and picked up the second.

The second scroll's cover was even more plain, bearing only a handwritten English title: "Flower Magic · Flesh Fusion Theory: Introduction and Analysis."

When she opened it, a faint musty smell assailed her nostrils.

The contents were even more obscure, discussing the secret art of "flesh fusion," using "love magic" to let humanity, through shared love, "materialize," permanently unite, never to part!

Eto Miyabi's pupils contracted slightly.

She recalled the nationwide shock of the terrorist attack years ago—the "Red Goldfinch" incident.

In that attack, when police raided the hideout, several terrorists were found in an inexplicable state of fusion, their bodies pressed together as if by some external force, bones interlocked, muscles congealed, indistinguishable who was who.

At the time, the forensic report could only state "cause of death unknown," and it remained a cold case.

If this manuscript is true, then that incident is related to this.

"Big news————Big news————"

Eto Miyabi's brain surged with blood from excitement, her fists clenched tightly.

Misamisa, great victory!

She reached for the voice recorder, her hand trembling—not from fear, but from the uncontrollable thrill of seizing prey.

We're going to get rich!

I'm going to get promoted! I'm going to get rich! I'm going to get a big scoop! I'm going to—

"Smack!"

A heavy blow struck the left-rear side of her head, precise and merciless.

Her vision instantly exploded in white light, a ringing filled her ears, her body felt as if all supporting strings had been cut, and she slumped forward, limp.

Standing behind her was that tall thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his hand gripping a black, short-stick-shaped hard object, his expression calm to the point of near indifference.

"Earlier you said we were missing a sacrifice."

"Well, here we have one now."

The tall thin man glanced at Eto Miyabi on the floor—she was still breathing, just unconscious.

He dragged her into a storage closet in the corner of the room and locked the door.

Then he bent down, tidied the scattered documents on the table, neatly restacked them, put them back in place, and wiped the tabletop area Eto might have touched with a cloth, ensuring no obvious traces remained.

After finishing all that, he turned off the lights, quietly exited the room, and the door lock clicked shut again with a soft "click."

The hallway returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, on the 12th floor ocean-view suite, balcony.

Uesugi Muneyuki sat in the wicker chair on the balcony, holding a glass of whiskey, gazing at the blurred island shadows in the night fog over the Setouchi Sea.

Mai Xuejie curled up in the recliner opposite him, covered with a thin blanket, while Sakura and Asuka were playing "Breakup Kitchen" on the TV.

"Speaking of which, where is our Madame Genden?" Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly said.

"Oh? Our chief broadcaster Eto?" Mai Xuejie suddenly lifted her head: "She never lived on our floor to begin with, so—"

"what happened?"

"Yes, but what I mean is, she was with us during the banquet earlier, then after hearing that absurdly reasonable scream, she seemed to vanish, and while others might not matter, it's Eto—she should have come running at the scent of news, but I haven't seen her since." Uesugi Muneyuki remarked casually.

"Wasn't she saying she wanted to secretly investigate some business secrets?" Mai Xuejie said with an indifferent expression: "Then let her investigate, anyway, as you said, Junior Student, economic crimes go to Investigation Division Two."

Uesugi Muneyuki was amused by that remark. He set down his glass, leaned back against the chair, and gazed at the sea surface in the night: "That Eto person, she's actually quite interesting. She has a certain—do you know what 'premodern traits' are?"

"Premodern?" Mai Xuejie raised an eyebrow.

"Like Sakura—greedy, ambitious, an involution king." Uesugi Muneyuki jerked his chin toward Sakura: "This is both why she's not so likable and why she's especially captivating."

What are premodern, modern, and postmodern traits?

For example:

Premodern: I want to conquer a vast harem!

Modern: Devote oneself to one person till white hair, choose one city to grow old in.

Postmodern: Don't want to fall in love, just want to play Genshin Impact in an air-conditioned room.

Premodern: 996ICU, I want to take step after step after step to the top! I still want so much! Make money! Make money! Make money!

Modern: Much money, few tasks, close to home, high position, great power, light responsibility!

Postmodern: Don't want to go to work, just want to play Genshin Impact in an air-conditioned room.

Premodern: Our goal is the stars and oceans! Hakkō ichiu! Seven lives for the nation!

Modern: Small happiness, big safety net, hide in subcultures and secretly indulge.

Postmodern: Don't want to participate in any activity, just want to play Genshin Impact in an air-conditioned room.

"The prevailing temperament in Japan today is postmodern traits." Low desire, lying flat, giving up, not causing trouble, don't give me trouble. You see most people on the ship—knowing someone died in the cold storage, their first reaction is not to disrupt my itinerary.

Second reaction is that the ship crew will handle it. Third reaction is don't let me testify." Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help laughing: "So people like Eto are rare indeed.

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"And you?" Mai Xuejie asked with a hehe laugh: "What traits do you have?"

"I am fundamentally premodern, but I've learned postmodern self-protection measures." Uesugi Muneyuki raised his glass and took another sip: "So before I conduct an autopsy, I must first sign a disclaimer."

Mai Xuejie chuckled: "So Eto is an entity with only premodern traits and no postmodern protection mechanisms?"

"Exactly." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "So her kind, in this era, either produce earth-shattering news or ruin themselves. No middle ground—she's not the first. When we first met, it was the Genden case; later, this cruise encounter—she truly wants so much, wants it all, and is never satisfied."

"Then let's see what happens next!" Mai Xuejie chuckled and nodded: "Don't you think today's incident is still a bit strange?"

"Uh-huh?"