Chapter 99: , Born a Bad Seed

In the early morning, the scent of dampness still permeated the air of Chiba Prefecture after the rain; the temperature in Chiba Prefecture had also begun to drop in November, and due to the recent serial murders, the entire Chiba City was in a state of panic.

The blue sky was covered by dark clouds, and the moisture in the air was bone-chillingly cold; people wrapped themselves in thick clothing and began a brand-new day with one "I'm heading out" after another. Although a major incident had occurred, work still had to be done, and life still had to go on.

The morning, transitioning from late autumn into winter, was dim and lightless. A high school girl with short hair was strolling through the narrow streets wearing headphones. She seemed to enjoy this time and was oblivious to the pedestrians on the road. She wore her hair in a short cut past her ears; it was simple but could not be called neat, as the hair was clearly neglected, and her broad forehead was covered by messy bangs.

She was not fat, but she was sturdy. A pair of eyeballs with small irises and large whites kept rolling around. In those eyes, there was no emotion called "human," but rather the most primitive bestiality.

The atmosphere today was a bit abnormal. Turning a street corner, the high school girl discovered a person standing in the middle of the street.

This man was in his early twenties, with a cold appearance and an outstanding temperament. He wore a well-fitted suit with a long trench coat draped over it, and his pitch-black eyes seemed to hold a biting, cold wind!

He saw her and slowly turned around.

For some reason, the high school girl actually felt a trace of a dangerous aura from this man.

She took off her headphones, stopped in her tracks without changing her expression, and slowly took a step back.

Tap-tap-tap-tap~

A dense sound of leather shoe footsteps came from behind; twenty or thirty men in suits blocked the street behind her.

She hurriedly looked to the left; four Toyota cars had completely blocked the road, and over thirty men in suits had jammed the entire street solid.

Looking to the right again, a row of Toyotas was parked from one end of the street to the other, and a brigade of men in suits was entering in an orderly fashion.

"Is this Miss Saijo Yasue?" Uesugi Muneyuki, standing in the middle of the road with his hands hanging down, said coldly: "Don't think about running; there are police on all four sides."

Behind Uesugi Muneyuki, Police Inspector Megure of Investigation Division 1 and the Superintendent General's personal driver, Okada Keibu, entered quickly with over a dozen men in suits.

Roughly calculating, the number of police officers who had arrived at the scene exceeded one hundred.

One hundred against one, the advantage is mine!

"…………" Saijo Yasue did not answer. She felt neither fear nor showed an expression of tension or hatred, but simply continued to walk forward, reaching her hand toward her shoulder bag as she walked.

And the moment she reached for her bag, at least over twenty men in suits nearby immediately reached for the holsters at their waists!

"Stop, don't move!" Police Inspector Megure had already gripped his handgun and placed his finger on the safety. He shouted softly: "Put your hands out, slowly."

"…………" However, Saijo Yasue did not listen to the police at all. Not only did she continue to walk forward, but her hand also kept digging into her bag.

The suspect's behavior scared the surrounding police into drawing their handguns directly, but facing at least five S&W small revolvers and five Sig handguns, Saijo Yasue's reaction was... still advancing, still reaching in to dig.

The elites of the Metropolitan Police Department had never seen such a formation, let alone the local police of Chiba Prefecture. Moreover, when it came down to it, Criminal Police were meant to avoid using handguns as much as possible. Saijo Yasue's advance shocked a dozen nearby police officers into retreating!

Thus, a very bizarre scene occurred: dozens of police officers with guns were bluffed into retreating by a high school girl, making it look like the high school girl was the one with the gun.

Facing the pitch-black muzzles, she even suppressed a laugh; she seemed not only to have no tension regarding the scene, but instead felt quite delighted!

Yes, in Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes, this high school girl did not have a shred of tension or fear; instead, she seemed quite delighted by the appearance of the police! Quite expectant!

The levator labii superioris, depressor anguli oris, and buccinator muscles on her face were highly tense, causing the corners of her mouth to curl up slightly—a half-smile, caught between being tense and not, a state of wanting to laugh but having to hold it back.

Just like that, after she bluffed the hundred-plus police officers around her by herself, she fumbled around in her bag and finally pulled out a set of keys, even deliberately shaking them in her palm to show off to all the police present.

Then she made a downward pressing gesture, just like a monarch commanding her subjects—you may put your guns away.

Added to the half-smile, half-tense expression on her face, this was a naked provocation!

The Chiba Prefectural Police were fine, but the elites of the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1 were enraged by Saijo Yasue's behavior. Kousaka from the First Subsection and Kashiwagi from the Third Subsection immediately put away their guns, stepped up, and pinned the high school girl down from the left and right. Giving a wink, a female detective who had been prepared beforehand came up to search Saijo Yasue to confirm she had no dangerous items on her.

This was also the only female detective who came to the operation today; originally, Uesugi Muneyuki had wanted to give this position to Ikeda, but unfortunately, the young lady Minami would not agree.

"This girl's emotions are a bit strange." Behind Uesugi Muneyuki, Police Inspector Megure put away his handgun, his expression serious.

"Yes, she didn't change her expression even when pointed at by guns; I think she even wanted to laugh."

It was not just Saijo Yasue who felt danger, but also Uesugi Muneyuki. For some reason, he always felt that this high school girl was very dangerous.

"To be able to laugh while facing handguns, is she really an ordinary high school student?" Okada Keibu also put away his handgun: "Looking at it like this, the interrogation might not yield anything."

"No matter what, let's search first!" Uesugi Muneyuki also had a faint, ominous feeling.

Saijo Yasue's home was a very simple detached house, two stories with a very small yard. The iron railing gate was painted with "welcome," and a basket of fresh flowers hung on it.

Okada Keibu rang the doorbell.

"Hi~ may I ask who is it?" A middle-aged woman's voice came from inside.

"Excuse me, we are the police, may we disturb you for a moment?"

"Hi?" The door of the detached house opened, and an ordinary middle-aged woman saw the hundred-plus suited police officers who had almost crowded the entire street outside, and she froze: "Eh?"

Saijo Yasue's parents were both ordinary dual-income workers. The stepfather was in his forties and was a Regular Employee at a company in Tokyo; the mother worked part-time at a clothing store in Tokyo, working three days and resting four, dividing a portion of her energy to take care of the family.

The couple had two children: the eldest daughter, Saijo Yasue, 15 years old, and the second son, Saijo Akito, 9 years old.

The Metropolitan Police Department had, of course, already investigated the couple's background, but there was nothing suspicious.

The only thing that was not normal was their attitude toward the appearance of a large group of police.

Hearing that their daughter might be related to the previous serial murders, the couple's attitude was actually very calm. The mother brought out three cups of tea from the kitchen and placed them in front of Uesugi, Megure, and Okada: "Yasue's room is upstairs; if you want to search, please feel free."

This strange attitude immediately made the three who entered the house sense that something was wrong. Uesugi Muneyuki asked: "I am very sorry to disturb your lives, but is there anything you can tell us about your daughter?"

"There is nothing to say." The father was equally calm.

"Are you not worried that your daughter is related to the serial murder case?"

"Whether she is related or not, we don't know; in any case, I stopped caring long ago." The mother was also very cold toward her daughter's attitude.

"What is the reason for that?" Uesugi Muneyuki pressed.

"Yasue, she has been different from normal people since she was small..." The mother said a few words casually.

From the moment Saijo Yasue was born, she was different from normal children. She did not like to cry, nor did she like to laugh. Usually, when she stayed at home, she would often just stare blankly in one direction, staying that way for an entire day.

The previous failed marriage was the mother's responsibility; the mother had cheated with Saijo Yasue's current stepfather, so the children had left with their father, and only Saijo Yasue was left unwanted, so the mother took this child with her.

But Saijo Yasue was naturally unlikable. There was no emotion to be seen in her hollow eyes, which made people uneasy and creeped out. The mother did not like this child, but the child was innocent after all. She was very busy with work, so she decided to send her daughter to be raised by her grandparents.

After spending some time in the countryside, Saijo Yasue seemed a bit more normal, so the mother brought her back to the reconstituted family. But no matter what they did, Saijo Yasue could not integrate into the existing family. The stepfather had also tried in every way to please this stepdaughter, but to no avail; Saijo Yasue neither accepted his kindness nor showed any disgust toward him.

As time went on, the stepfather and mother exhausted their patience and used up all their love. From then on, they treated this daughter as a familiar stranger, deciding to provide her with food, clothing, and schooling until she was 18, and that would be the end of it.

"We are completely unconcerned about her affairs. If you want to search her room, please feel free." The couple said very easily: "As for why you want to arrest her, where you are taking her, or how long you will lock her up, it doesn't matter; we agree. If you want to publish her real name and photo, we as guardians also permit it."

Uesugi Muneyuki and Megure and Okada looked at each other and decided to begin the search operation.

At the same time, Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters, interrogation room.

Saijo Yasue sat before the iron table, expressionless, not saying a word.

Third Subsection Chief Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin sat opposite Saijo Yasue.

A printed surveillance photo was shoved in front of Saijo Yasue: "Is this you?"

"............" Saijo Yasue did not even look at the photo; her hollow gaze fixed on Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin: "No."

"This is you! You were captured on surveillance entering and leaving the vicinity of the crime scene multiple times, Saijo Yasue, and we have also uncovered travel records showing you frequently moved between Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture! You lingered at Sendai Horikawa Park multiple times in an abnormal manner!" Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin said coldly: "What were you doing on the day of the incident?"

"I was just hanging around nearby." The high school girl raised her eyes, her hollow gaze gaining a bit of focus, as if someone had reminded her; her levator anguli oris, depressor anguli oris, and buccinator muscles tensed highly once again: "What's wrong, is that not allowed?"

"Why did you kill those animals? Why did you dump the cats' corpses in the restroom?"

"I didn't do it."

"The person caught by the school that day was you!"

"I don't remember."

To all of Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin's questions, Saijo Yasue denied everything, and she hardly needed to think, nor did she show the slightest hesitation.

What made Kashiwagi Jin feel even more infuriated was that she remained calm throughout.

She was even suppressing laughter; especially as Kashiwagi Jin's emotions became more agitated, the harder she tried to suppress her laughter.

"We are asking you questions very seriously!" Kashiwagi Jin was provoked by Saijo Yasue's attitude, and he said sternly: "Do you have any idea that because of you, several families have suffered immense pain!"

"I didn't do it."

"Still being stubborn? Saijo Yasue, I am warning you, our Joint Special Investigation Headquarters is currently searching your home! My colleagues will soon find the evidence of your crimes! You committed these crimes alone, and your entire family will be disgraced because of you! Have you even thought about how they will live on the streets wearing such a label in the future?"

Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin habitually brought up her family and put on an expression of "doing this for your own good."

Finally, upon hearing this, Saijo Yasue had a reaction; she looked at Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin's coaxing, considerate expression, perhaps thinking of her own parents and then of what happened today, and she finally couldn't hold it back, bursting into laughter with a "pfft."

"Getting anxious?"

(End of chapter)