Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 416, The Silver Bullet That Destroys the Organization!

P.S.: Finally, a high-quality product! Thank you all for your support, I love you all, muah!
"Zong Xue, what surprise do you have for me this time?"

At the Sakurada Gate, in the Superintendent General's office, Watanabe Eiji sat comfortably in his chair and casually remarked.

With his 15-year-long wish fulfilled, Eiji was very relaxed, a smile appearing on his face. He was even more amiable to Uesugi Muneyuki, who came to his door, and asked him if he wanted some tea.

Uesugi Muneyuki smiled, thinking to himself that he would soon lose his appetite for tea.

“Father, I have made some…surprising discoveries…” Uesugi Muneyuki placed the investigation results of Inspector Hikawa Seiji, an expert from the Forensic Science Equipment Department, on the table: “We made new discoveries while autopsiing the two police inspectors who died in the line of duty.”

"A new discovery? You're not going to tell me that Inspectors Yamada and Kikuchi, who died in the line of duty, didn't die from gunshot wounds but from sudden strokes, are you? Muneyuki, let me tell you, the cause of death can't be changed at this point. The whole nation is watching." Watanabe Eiji took the documents, wrapped the rope around himself a few times, and laughed.

"You'll understand once you see it, Father." Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself, "Does he like to laugh?"

Sure enough, Watanabe Eiji's smile began to freeze after only a couple of glances.

As a graduate of the University of Tokyo's Gold Watch Division, who served as the head of the First Investigation Division and has actually experienced several gunfights in his career, he is naturally more knowledgeable about firearms and police equipment than Uesugi Muneyuki!

After just one glance at the X-ray scan and the forensic examination report, Eiji Watanabe immediately understood the crux of the problem!
The Metropolitan Police Department's bulletproof vests are not bulletproof.

This was not unusual. As a police officer who had worked on the front lines, Eiji Watanabe knew that bulletproof vests not only had an expiration date, but Japanese police were also quite lax in their use of bulletproof vests.

In recent years, the average number of gun-related cases in Japan has been around 30-50 per year. However, 90% of these cases are related to organized crime or drugs, which are not usually associated with ordinary police officers. Therefore, when spread across the entire country and back to Tokyo, Tokyo often goes a whole year without a single shooting. After a long period of peace, the Metropolitan Police Department officers have become quite complacent. Not to mention now, even when Eiji Watanabe was still the head of the First Investigation Division, 99.9% of ordinary police officers never experienced a gunfight in their lives. Bulletproof vests were considered "uniform accessories for duty" rather than life-saving equipment.

At the time, some patrolling police officers had already complained about its weight and stuffiness, and had secretly removed the lining to reduce its weight.

However, just like modern national defense forces, you know that the army is useless most of the time, and you are just letting a large group of young and strong laborers in their prime waste their years in the barracks, but you absolutely cannot do without it!
This is what Japanese police officers wear as bulletproof vests.

At first, Watanabe Eiji thought that Kikuchi Fuma's bulletproof vest was not properly equipped, or that he had secretly removed part of the lining to reduce weight. Besides, he didn't know that the Ghost had a gun at the time, so it was normal that he didn't take the firearm seriously.

However, when the inspection results showing that Yamada Yuki's bulletproof vest also had problems were placed in front of Watanabe Eiji, the Superintendent General of Police finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

These two individuals belong to different police stations in different districts! And they are wearing bulletproof vests purchased from different batches and taken from different warehouses! Yet they encountered almost the exact same problem!

One piece of Kevlar has only 18 layers, and another even has only 16 layers. Moreover, they all have the same problems: inferior nylon is used to make up the difference, the resin coating is not fully bonded, and the fiber lamination direction is messy!
Eiji Watanabe is such a shrewd person, doesn't this mean... it's highly likely that the bulletproof vests purchased from Yamato Armor... have huge problems as a whole!

The middle-aged man's pupils dilated sharply, the smile on his face vanished completely, and he even looked dazed. He suddenly raised his head and stared at his adopted son.

Is this what they call a surprise?

Can you translate what "surprise" means?
Translate this for me, what does "TMD" mean? Surprise!

"What a wonderful surprise, isn't it, Godfather?" Uesugi Muneyuki said with a complicated expression, "Were you aware of this?"

"...Who else knows about this?" Watanabe Eiji abruptly interrupted, his voice fierce and menacing, roaring like a tiger: "And, damn it, who else knows about this?! Speak up!!!"

“I am Mikoto from the Forensic Science Division, Nakado, and Inspector Hikawa from the Forensic Research Division.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded and said just as earnestly, “Father, tell me, are you aware of this?”

"You doubt me, Zong Xue?" Watanabe Eiji's eyes widened in anger, and he slammed his fist on the table. "You don't believe me?"

"I'm asking you!" Uesugi Muneyuki said fiercely, "Yes! Or no!"

The Superintendent General's face was ashen, his eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched so tightly that they were grinding together. After a long silence, he finally said, "No, I did not receive a single penny from Yamato Armor, and I was not in charge of the procurement project at the time."

"That must be the previous Superintendent General, Chief Inspector Hakuba, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Watanabe Eiji a few times, feeling that he wasn't lying. Moreover, Inspector Hikawa had mentioned that the last batch of unified procurement was three years ago.

“No, it has nothing to do with Director Hakuba. The procurement three years ago should have been put out to public tender four or five years ago. So it should have been the director before him, Director Tabuchi, Masahiro Tabuchi.” Watanabe Eiji forced himself to calm down. He glanced at the documents in front of him, then looked at Uesugi Muneyuki: “You didn’t tell anyone else, did you?”

“That depends on how you intend to handle this matter, Father.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

"Good, very good." Watanabe Eiji finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both surprised and delighted.

The bulletproof vest issue exposed by Uesugi Muneyuki could, if not handled properly, be a hellfire bomb that obliterates the entire Sakurada Gate! The kind that could send the entire police organization to its doom!

This kid is practically the legendary silver bullet, but he can not only destroy the enemy, but also potentially destroy the organization itself!

Fortunately, he was willing to discuss it with me first and see what I thought. If Uesugi Muneyuki had directly reported this to the district prosecutor's office or the media, at this critical juncture, he and all the other high-ranking officers in the Metropolitan Police Department would have been finished!

Uesugi Muneyuki was waiting for his response. Watanabe Eiji thought for a moment, then nodded and picked up the phone.

The Superintendent General first arranged for Mikoto and Nakado from the Forensic Science Division, along with Hikawa from the Forensic Research Division, to be sent directly to Chiba Prefecture under the pretext of an emergency business trip. There, they were immediately placed under the care of his trusted confidant, Superintendent General Takayoshi Mori, the Chiba Police Headquarters.

Then, Eiji Watanabe immediately stood up: "This is not the place to chat, Muneyuki, come with me!"

"it is good!"

Thirty minutes later, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, there is Rakuten Ryotei.

Superintendent General Eiji Watanabe sat in the main seat, with several high-ranking police officers seated below him:

Yasushi Tanaka, Chief of General Affairs of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Metropolitan Police Department Security Chief Saneatsu Ide.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Criminal Investigation Department Chief Kanji Uchimura.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Staff Hiroto Kawakami.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Muneo Hasegawa.

These are all close associates of Eiji Watanabe. In fact, there is also Yoshikazu Atomoto, the head of the Public Security Bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department. But do we need the Public Security Bureau to know about our criminal affairs?
Therefore, Eiji Noboru can now be described as having absolute power in the Metropolitan Police Department. At most, Onoda Kimiaki of the Public Security faction could only place Oyama Ren, a member of the Public Security faction, as the deputy commissioner.

In addition, Watanabe Minami, the Special Missions Unit administrator who rushed to the scene, was also present. Among them, Miss Minami was not qualified to participate in such a gathering of big shots; she was only there to serve tea and water.

The police bigwigs of the Ying Er faction originally thought that the director had called us to a celebration party, and thought that this was a bit too hasty.

However, after they finished reading all the materials, they were all too afraid to even breathe. In the late February weather, they were all sweating profusely and holding their breath, occasionally glancing up at Watanabe Eiji sitting in the main seat. No one dared to speak first, and the room was filled with fear and shock.

"Director, where...where did you get this data?" Finally, General Affairs Manager Tanaka broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly argued, "We haven't found any problems in any of our previous inspections!"

"No problem? Tanaka, are you blind? You call this no problem?!" Watanabe Eiji roared, slamming the documents in his hand onto the table. "These two bulletproof vests, from different locations, different batches, and different stockpiles, have the same problem!"

The winning bidder, "Yamato Armor," went through a rigorous bidding process... but there were problems with its past inspection records... Tanaka, as the head of general affairs, cannot escape responsibility!
Police Chief Hasegawa immediately retorted sternly, “Past inspections? Those were random checks! We’ve never conducted full testing due to cost concerns! Based on the material analysis of the broken parts… all the problems with this batch of substandard products are exactly the same. There’s a strong suspicion that the supplier deliberately used inferior materials! Furthermore, Yamato Armor has been supplying this agency since 10…”

Security Commander Saneatsu Ide finally stammered, "Yamada was... killed by the vests we bought?! How could this be..."

The group leader, known for his fiery temper, declared: "Immediately terminate the contract with 'Yamato Armor,' initiate criminal proceedings! Those responsible for procurement will be severely punished!"

Only Criminal Investigation Department Chief Kanji Uchimura was under immense pressure. He tentatively asked, "Chief, what exactly is this...?"

“It was Uesugi-kun who discovered it.” Watanabe Eiji nodded and looked at Uchimura, his voice icy: “It’s fortunate that it was Uesugi-kun who discovered it. If it had been anyone else, we would all be finished.”

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "My autopsy revealed that although the .45 caliber bullets are significantly more powerful, the perpetrator only used standard-issue bullets. If he had been wearing a compliant Level III body armor and had worn it correctly... he could have completely avoided being penetrated."

These words struck everyone like a final judgment, plunging the ryotei into a deathly silence, broken only by heavy breathing.

The two police officers, Yuki Yamada and Fuma Kikuchi, who died in the line of duty, did not die from gunfire by criminals, but from corruption and dereliction of duty within the Metropolitan Police Department system.

Eiji Watanabe slowly stood up: "15 years ago, at the Sato family's house, the murderer left behind... cheap energy drink cans... and rough climbing ropes."

"And 15 years later, a police officer from this department... also lost his life because of 'cheap goods'."

"If this matter comes to light, the credibility of this department will be completely ruined. Even a collective resignation wouldn't be enough to explain it... and we might even face criminal charges!"

Upon hearing this, only a group of pale-faced, thunderstruck high-ranking officials remained in the ryotei.

The "peace sickness" caused the Japanese police system to lose its respect for the threat of violence, equipment supervision became a bureaucratic farce, and ultimately the cost of police officers' lives was paid for.

"The question now is, what do we do next?"

(End of this chapter)