Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 449 - 396: More Clues Found, Persuasion, Visiting Group (Seeking Monthly Pass)

Chapter 449: Chapter 396: More Clues Found, Persuasion, Visiting Group (Seeking Monthly Pass)

Seated behind the expansive desk, Aoyama Xiu Xin examined the files of seven victims closely.

The seven individuals did not know each other. Apart from all being young women, they shared another striking common trait: they were loners, unemployed, residing at home in Sapporo without close relatives or friends to stay in regular contact with—perhaps the reason why no one reported them missing after their death.

Clearly, the murderer had meticulously stalked and selected each victim with premeditation, and since these seven had no connection to each other, it was impossible for the killer to bear a grudge of love or hate against all seven of them at once.

Moreover, it was also unlikely the motive was monetary gain; one wouldn’t need to resort to such brutal means for money, nor would they specifically use severed heads to create panic after the killings.

Thus, ruling out revenge and money, the only remaining motive for the murder was to satisfy their twisted psychology and desires.

This was one purely psychopathic murderer.

"Check the surveillance footage around the victims’ homes over the past month, and ask their neighbors if they’ve seen any suspicious people," Aoyama Xiu Xin instructed, putting down the files and looking up.

Nakamura Shinichi bowed and responded, "Yes!"

"Ring-ring! Ring-ring!"

Just then, his mobile phone rang.

Nakamura Shinichi was about to reject the call subconsciously, but Aoyama Xiu Xin stopped him, "Answer it, let’s see what it’s about."

"Yes!" Nakamura Shinichi then answered the call, listened for a while, and turned pale. He looked up at Aoyama Xiu Xin and reported, "Senior Police Director, we have a new discovery in the surveillance footage from the opening ceremony. On the night of the 31st, a stagehand acting suspiciously carried two large suitcases into the site and left an hour later."

After the report, he instructed the subordinate on the phone, "Immediately lock down that employee’s identity, track their whereabouts, and capture them. Keep me updated with any progress, that’s all."

He then hung up, waiting for Aoyama Xiu Xin’s next instruction.

"You go ahead, and keep me posted," Aoyama Xiu Xin concluded after a moment of thought, and with a wave of his hand he dismissed Nakamura.

Nakamura bowed and hurriedly left the room.

"Ring-ring! Ring-ring!"

The phone on Aoyama Xiu Xin’s desk rang.

"Moshi moshi, Deputy Director of Criminal Affairs office, Hokkaido Police Headquarters," Aoyama Xiu Xin answered.

A deep voice came through from Fujimoto Takayoshi, "It’s me; I’m heading to the hospital now."

"Yes!" Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up immediately, and by the time he came downstairs, Fujimoto’s car was already waiting. From the back window, Fujimoto called out, "Just take my car."

Aoyama Xiu Xin walked over and got into the passenger seat.

The driver started the vehicle and drove out of the headquarters’ gate.

Knowing that the mayor would visit the injured at the hospital this afternoon, a large number of notified reporters were already waiting at the entrance of the hospital hosting the victims.

Only Ryosuke the reporter and Hashimoto Chiyoko were exceptions.

Both firmly believed that it was impossible for only three people to have died in last night’s severe stampede—the city hall must have underreported the casualties. They were determined to uncover the truth and expose it to the public.

Ryosuke had the misfortune of having two colleagues perish in the previous night’s stampede, so the two planned to start their investigation with the families of these colleagues to probe for the truth.

That afternoon after work, they bought gifts and visited one of these colleagues’ families.

"Number 98, here it is."

Standing in front of a single-family home, Ryosuke, clad in a down jacket, turned his head to say to the lovely Hashimoto Chiyoko.

Hashimoto Chiyoko nodded and stepped forward to press the doorbell.

"Ring-ring! Ring-ring!"

It took a while for the doorbell to be answered before a grief-stricken elderly woman with white hair, sunken eyes, and swollen eyelids opened the door and rasped, "This is the Muranishi residence, who are you looking for? What is it?"

"Mrs. Muranishi, hello, my name is Ryosuke, a colleague of Muranishi Toshi—I visited your home for a meal about a year ago, and I’m still impressed by your homemade pickles," Ryosuke said with a bow.

The mention of her son brought tears streaming down the old lady’s face, "Toshi... he is already..."

"I know, I know," Ryosuke said solemnly, "I was at the scene last night too. Mr. Muranishi was just unlucky, please accept my condolences."

Unable to hold back her emotions, Mrs. Muranishi sobbed uncontrollably against the doorframe, "My son, my poor son, why did you leave me!"

"There, there," soothed the old man with silver hair, hearing the cries and coming out. He comforted his wife and cleared his nose before addressing Ryosuke and Chiyoko, "Let the guests come in first."

Mrs. Muranishi nodded, leaning into her husband’s embrace as they moved aside to make way in the entryway.

"Sorry to trouble you," Ryosuke and Hashimoto Chiyoko bowed once again, then started to take off their shoes. Ryosuke’s leather shoes were easy enough to slip off, but Chiyoko had to set down her things to free both hands to unzip her boots—revealing white cotton socks and delicate feet.

Ryosuke couldn’t resist taking an extra glance, prompting Chiyoko to pretend to kick him, making him sheepishly avert his gaze.

After entering the house, the two were seated on the living room sofa while Mr. Muranishi went to pour tea, leaving Mrs. Muranishi, who continuously dabbed at her tears, to keep them company.

The coffee table was cluttered with photographs of Muranishi Toshi from childhood to adulthood, indicating that the old couple had spent the last night reminiscing over these images.

"We apologize for the poor hospitality, and we hope you understand our situation," Mr. Muranishi said as he brought over the tea and sat down with a heavy sigh.

Ryosuke and Chiyoko quickly bowed in gratitude.

Silence then fell upon the living room.

Chiyoko secretly signaled Ryosuke with her eyes, indicating for him to break the silence while she kept her head down to sip her tea.

Ryosuke pursed his lips, looked at Mr. Muranishi, whose eyes bore heavy bags, and carefully phrased his words, "Mr. Muranishi, Toshi was my colleague and good friend. I’m deeply saddened by his fate. The departed has passed on, and it’s crucial that you and your wife take care of yourselves. Also, I noticed there’s no wake set up at home—please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need any assistance with his funeral arrangements."

He had thought they were two elderly people with mobility issues.

"There’s no funeral, there won’t be one," Mr. Muranishi choked out.

Chiyoko and Ryosuke exchanged a glance and urgently asked, "Why? What happened?"

"In the early hours, the Disaster Countermeasures Officer from the police headquarters came with people and money, threatening us not to disclose Toshi’s real cause of death. They also forbade us to claim the body, saying they would cremate it and hand us the ashes later. They instructed us to hold a funeral a month later, under a different pretext. If we didn’t agree, we wouldn’t get Toshi’s ashes, and we’d be framed and thrown in jail," Mr. Muranishi said, tearfully, his voice filled with anger and helplessness.

Hashimoto Chiyoko, grown red-faced with anger, her ample chest heaving under her brown coat and black turtleneck sweater, cursed, "Idiots! Those bastards!"

How could bureaucrats be so vile? To avoid accountability, they were hiding casualties—even forbidding the victims’ families from claiming the bodies and holding funerals. Were these the actions of human beings?

"Mr. Muranishi, have you really decided just to resign yourself to this fate?" Ryosuke asked, pronouncing each word distinctly.

Mr. Muranishi gave a bitter laugh. "What else can I do? I’m old and not afraid of prison threats, but I’m scared of not getting my child’s ashes, of him having nowhere to rest in death!"

"Toshi would never be afraid! He was someone who would stop at nothing to seek the truth. Given the choice, he would certainly rather be unburied than suppress the facts and lie quietly in the earth!" Ryosuke stood up from the sofa, agitated. "Uncle, Auntie, Aoyama Xiu Xin has come to Hokkaido, that unyielding, righteous detective known for cracking every case! If you’re willing to come forward and tell him the truth, he won’t ignore this! We can’t let those shameless bureaucrats get away with this!"

"Really... will he?" Mrs. Muranishi pursed her lips.

"He absolutely will!" Chiyoko took over from Ryosuke, saying, "Officer Aoyama’s integrity and honesty are known to all of Japan. And don’t you want to hold a funeral for Toshi now? Like Ryosuke said, Toshi was an honest man, and his spirit in heaven would surely want you to reveal the truth. As for safety, there’s no need to worry, Officer Aoyama will protect you."

Mr. and Mrs. Muranishi looked at each other, pondering.

"Alright!" Mrs. Muranishi was the first to decide after a short internal struggle. She wiped away her tears, her voice choked but resolute, "You’re right, Toshi would want me to do this too."

"Let’s do it. What have I got to be afraid of at my age!" A spark ignited in Mr. Muranishi as well.

Ryosuke and Chiyoko exchanged looks, joy and excitement visible in their eyes. They told Mr. and Mrs. Muranishi to wait for news and then took their leave.

Stepping out of the Muranishi home, Ryosuke let out a deep breath, "They really did cover up the true casualties!"

"As long as Chief Police Qing Mountain gets involved in the investigation, the true number of casualties will be revealed, and those bureaucrats involved in the cover-up will be punished!" Chiyoko was confident, then curiously asked Ryosuke, "Was Muraishi Toshi really such an upright person?"

If he was, she felt it was such a shame. The world needed more reporters like him.

"Not at all, that guy was greedy and lecherous, often made up fake news for circulation, and took bribes from bureaucrats," Ryosuke shrugged disdainfully.

Chiyoko laughed, her conscience quivering, "Looks like you’re quite the liar too, huh? I even believed what you said earlier."

A gust of wind blew past, lifting the hair at her temples, revealing her pale, blushing face. The smile there was exceptionally radiant, causing Ryosuke to be momentarily enchanted.

He felt like he was falling in love.

Chiyoko gave him a glance and hurried off.

Ryosuke chuckled and quickly followed her, "Let’s go find Chief of Police Qing Mountain right now!"

.........

Meanwhile, Chief of Police Qing Mountain was putting on an act in the hospital.

A hospital room with four beds was crowded with patients, their families, a visiting group of bureaucrats, and journalists tasked with taking pictures.

Over a hundred people were injured and hospitalized, and the mayor, busy with a myriad of tasks, certainly couldn’t visit all of them.

Therefore, from among those injured, four were specifically chosen as representatives for the mayor’s visit.

The identities of these four were quite particular; not one was an ordinary person—they were businessmen, bureaucrat’s children, and university professors—those with better economic conditions.

After all, the ordinary folks had less experience interacting with senior officials. What if they said something out of line? Thus, they picked these influential individuals.

Miyashita Hidekatsu approached each patient with a warm expression, shaking hands, taking photos together, then instructing them to heal well. This routine was repeated four times, followed by a simple acceptance of an interview with a couple of reporters arranged in advance, concluding the visitation.

Aoyama Xiu Xin was just a minor character in the visitation group, with no right to speak, he stood like a lackey.

Just as the visitation group was preparing to leave, a voice suddenly called out from behind, "Officer Aoyama."

Everyone subconsciously stopped in their tracks.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, who was at the back, turned to look at the wealthy youth with a cast on his leg and multiple scrapes on his face, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"You’re going to catch the serial dismemberment case killer, aren’t you?" the wealthy youth asked, full of hope.

Clearly, he was attributing his own unfortunate experience to that killer and was eager for retaliation.

Aoyama Xiu Xin smiled slightly, "Absolutely."

"I’ll be waiting!" the youth nodded vigorously.

"Don’t you worry, young man, Chief of Police Qing Mountain is Heisei’s No.1 Detective. No matter how cunning the prey is, it can’t outwit an experienced hunter!" Miyashita Hidekatsu suddenly turned back, patted Aoyama Xiu Xin on the shoulder, "Isn’t that the truth, Mr. Aoyama?"

"I will not disappoint the mayor, nor the citizens!" Aoyama Xiu Xin promised solemnly.

Miyashita Hidekatsu smiled again and then turned to leave.

He was aware that Aoyama Xiu Xin’s god-grandfather was Yanchuan Shilang, which was why he took this opportunity to express closeness and respect. It was just a small impression for now, but he thought it best to deepen the relationship when an opportunity arose in the future.

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