Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 459, The Divine Man Uesugi

The abandoned Sumidagawa Third Small Water Treatment Plant is located near the old industrial area downstream of the Sumidagawa River.

Abandoned water treatment plant control room.

Masayoshi Okada huddled in the darkest corner of the control room, wrapped in a tattered canvas that smelled musty.

The wound on his back, treated haphazardly and subjected to intense escape, burned with pain, each breath feeling like a tearing sensation. Hunger and dehydration blurred his consciousness, his body was cold, only his brain was frantically working in despair and heightened alertness: his wife's tragic state, the presence of his lover, his hands covered in blood, the piercing sirens, the endless pursuit... the sting of betrayal and the weight of injustice were almost crushing him.

He dared not close his eyes, for if he did, all he saw were Miki's empty eyes and the blinding red and blue light of the police lights.

It was already past midnight.

Okada trudged through the sewers for nearly an hour, enduring the stench, the cold, and the excruciating pain.

He found an overflow outlet leading to the riverbank (to prevent flooding), cautiously peered out to check, and after confirming no one was around, climbed ashore, soaking wet, covered in mud, and looking utterly disheveled. Using the cover of night and the riverbank vegetation, and guided by his memory and sense of direction, he found the almost forgotten entrance to the water treatment plant—a heavy iron gate covered in vines and rust. With his last ounce of strength, he pried open the rusted bolt, slipped inside, and quickly secured the bolt from the inside with an iron bar he had found.

This place was discovered during one of his previous investigations; it had been abandoned for many years, and the air was thick with rust, dust, and a faint musty smell. Most of the equipment had been removed, leaving only a huge concrete pool and pipe foundations. The air was cold and damp, but there was a weak airflow (the ventilation shaft was still working), and one control room was relatively dry.

Okada treated his wounds briefly before becoming completely exhausted. The excruciating pain in his back, his cold body, and the immense mental shock of witnessing his wife's tragic death and being framed left him utterly drained, both physically and mentally.

His only hope now lies with Uesugi Muneyuki and his father, Okada Masahiro.

There was a body in this case!

As long as there is a body, Uesugi Muneyuki will definitely be able to solve the case and uncover the truth!
As long as he has a father, he can interfere with the entire police system to get the Special Missions Unit mobilized!
Okada initially persevered, but he soon felt extremely tired. As the sun set, Okada Masayoshi couldn't help but feel sleepy and hungry. He simply couldn't hold on any longer and not only secretly slept for a while, but even experienced hallucinations.

He seemed to see a beautiful woman in a plain white kimono with small patterns from the Edo period appear before him.

A plain white oil-paper umbrella, out of place amidst the dusty beams of light, stood alone in the center of the control room. Around her, icy water droplets pierced the dim dome, and sighs hung like blood. She wrapped her signature off-white scarf tightly around her chin, revealing only her calm, sorrowful, round eyes, which gazed at the helpless Okada. Her bangs clung to her pale cheeks, and her slender figure, cut by the shadows of the rough, rusty pipes and nearby ventilation ducts, appeared as fragile as a piece of white paper that could be torn apart by a gale at any moment.

The splashing water around her was the only sound she made in this world.

Okada thought he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes, but the classically beautiful Yamato Nadeshiko in a kimono, who resembled a snow woman, was gone.

Princess Yuki-onna? When did she arrive? Masayoshi Okada was a little stunned. Wasn't Princess Yuki-onna supposed to only appear at Tokyo Disneyland?

Never mind... I'll take a break.

Okada couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, extremely faint yet exceptionally clear footsteps echoed through the empty, deathly silent factory! Approaching from afar, they were clearly heading towards the control room!

Okada's hair stood on end! Like a cornered beast, he grabbed a rusty iron pipe, forced himself to stand against the wall despite the excruciating pain, held his breath, and his heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest! Who was it? The police? Or… the real killer coming to silence him?!
The footsteps stopped at the control room door. Then came a few restrained but clear knocks.

“Okada, it’s me, Uesugi,” Uesugi Muneyuki said softly.

"Uesugi! You've finally arrived!" Okada Masayoshi was initially very excited, and he instinctively reached for the door latch, but then he immediately suppressed his excitement: "You... shouldn't you be avoiding suspicion? And how did you find this place?"

Once bitten by a snake, twice shy; the immense fear and suspicion made Okada hesitant to open the door immediately. He simply gripped the iron pipe even tighter, his knuckles turning white.

Uesugi, standing outside the door, seemed unsurprised by Okada's reaction. He continued in his calm and clear tone, "It's alright. I've investigated thoroughly. You didn't kill Mrs. Okada Miki and Koizumi Ryosuke."

boom--!
These words struck Okada Masayoshi like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness! The tension in his mind, stretched to its limit, finally broke under the immense impact, his hand clattering as the iron pipe fell to the cold concrete floor.

"What...what did you say?" Okada's voice was dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief, as he struggled to squeeze it out from deep in his throat. He suddenly pulled open the door a crack, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki calmly met his terrified, desperate, yet faintly hopeful gaze, and solemnly nodded: "Yes, there were conclusive signs of intrusion at the scene: shoe prints of a man over 185cm tall, pressure marks from a latex glove, clothing fibers and weapon fragments belonging to the real culprit found under Mrs. Miki's fingernails, and an escape route requiring specific height and skills... All of these have nothing to do with you and point to a meticulously planned frame-up. The Metropolitan Police Department Special Investigation Headquarters has adjusted its strategy accordingly; your danger level has been downgraded, and the priority is to find you safely and protect you."

Confirmed! This confirmation comes from an authoritative forensic expert and is based on cold science!

“No…it wasn’t me…really…it wasn’t me…” Masayoshi Okada murmured to himself, repeating the same phrase over and over. The last pillar that had sustained him as he fled for his life, enduring excruciating pain and fear—his will to survive and his obsession with clearing his name—collapsed at this moment, at this moment when the truth was confirmed!

Instead, he was overwhelmed by a deluge of the deepest pain, resentment, betrayal, and despair of a middle-aged man's collapsing faith—feelings that had been suppressed for far too long! For this woman, Okada Miki! He disregarded his father's fury and the pressure of his family severing ties, insisting on marrying this supermarket clerk who bore a striking resemblance to his childhood sweetheart (Noriko Sakai)! He thought he had found true love, thought he could protect this ordinary yet beautiful relationship. He endured his wife's dissatisfaction with his income and her mockery of his "integrity," carefully maintaining this hard-won marriage, even rushing back injured to "protect" her amidst the media storm…

The results of it?
She betrayed him long ago! With that bartender, Ryosuke Koizumi!

Her greed and debauchery led to her death, but left her husband burdened with the heinous crime of "murdering his wife and killing his husband," forcing him to hide like a stray dog ​​in the filthy ruins.

“Ahhhh——!!!”

A heart-wrenching howl, like that of a wounded beast, suddenly burst from Masayoshi Okada's throat! There was no fear in this cry, no dread of death, only the grievances accumulated over the years, the piercing pain of being betrayed by the person he trusted most, and the utter despair that all his efforts and sacrifices had vanished into nothingness!

This tough guy, who hadn't flinched even when facing a butcher's knife at the nursery gate, this elite member of the Metropolitan Police Department's pride and joy, now resembled a child abandoned by the world. Leaning against the cold iron gate, his body slid helplessly to the ground. He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders convulsing violently, and scalding tears streamed down his face, mingling with the mud and blood on his skin, dripping onto the filthy ground.

"Why...Miki...why did you do this to me...what...what did I do wrong..." He sobbed, his voice broken and fragmented as he questioned her. This questioning was directed at his deceased wife, and also at this absurd and cruel fate. Years of marriage, those precious moments he had fought for, now seemed so laughable and illusory in the face of truth and betrayal, like a meticulously woven yet suddenly shattered, glamorous dream.

The cornerstones that underpinned his life's beliefs—love, responsibility, and honor—collapsed completely at this moment, along with his tears.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood there quietly, gently patting his shoulder. Amidst the ruins of the water purification plant, only Okada Masayoshi's long-suppressed, desperate, and sorrowful sobs echoed.

The man did not shed tears, but he did not go to the sad place.

In the cold air of the abandoned water treatment plant on the Sumida River, Okada Masayoshi's violent sobs gradually subsided, leaving only heavy breathing and occasional uncontrollable choking. Uesugi Muneyuki silently handed him a bottle of water and a pack of compressed biscuits without urging him on.

Okada mechanically took it and swallowed it without tasting it.

After an unknown amount of time, Okada suddenly asked, "How did you find me?"

"It's complicated," Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly.

"Then say what I can understand."

"Trace amounts of sewage sludge samples can be found in the basement equipment level of the apartment building."

“I applied to the University of Tokyo for equipment assistance and used a high-resolution X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) to perform precise analysis on the sludge samples.”

"Analysis results show that the sludge contains a specific proportion of heavy metals (such as lead, zinc, and chromium), unique organic pollutants (such as degradation products of a certain industrial solvent), and a specific type of aquatic microbial pollen assemblage."

“After comparing these features with a map of Tokyo’s vast sewer network, a specific area was identified: the lower reaches of the Sumida River near the old industrial area. Historically, certain factories in this area discharged wastewater, creating a unique sedimentary ‘fingerprint’.”

"So we found your fresh size 41 shoe print in the vicinity, at several possible landing points, using electrostatic adsorption extraction membrane and highly sensitive luminescent ammonia."

"Based on the terrain near where the footprints disappeared, I deduced that you need a secluded, dry place that can provide basic shelter and is not easily thought of."

"Review the city archives and satellite maps..."

"Alright, alright! You don't need to say anymore!" Okada Masayoshi interrupted Uesugi Muneyuki with a wry smile: "You're really a genius for finding me with just these things!"

I really am a genius.

Uesugi Muneyuki thought it was bullshit. It was Murakawa-dono who found you through the direction of the water flow and the huge emotional fluctuations. She even resonated with you to a certain extent, which was the extreme grief for the deceased beloved.

Then, Uesugi Muneyuki, that bastard, only conducted the scientific identification by working backward from the result after confirming that he was hiding in this abandoned water purification plant.

The Six Classics interpret me!

Looking at the ever-calm Uesugi Muneyuki, Okada Masayoshi felt a strange mix of exhaustion from the pain in his back and the agony in his heart, yet also a strong urge to confide in him. He needed to speak out; he needed someone to know how the love for which he had given everything had led him step by step to this hellish end.

“Uesugi-san…” Okada Masayoshi’s voice was hoarse and broken, his eyes staring blankly at the cobweb-covered and rusty ceiling, as if gazing at a long-broken past, without asking Uesugi Muneyuki if he wanted to hear it: “Miki and I… met in Hachioji City.”

"Hmm?" Uesugi Muneyuki, Hironaka Mariko, Miyahara Tetsu, and Arimura Hana Jun all became interested.

Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening!
(End of this chapter)