Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 510, The Countdown to Heaven!
Even Uesugi Muneyuki hadn't anticipated what was happening before his eyes.

Impossible. Security at the Imperial Palace is so strict. Detonators and circuit boards can be disassembled into parts and smuggled in, but explosives can't hide from security equipment!
Therefore, the only explanation is that the bomb itself was transported into the Imperial Palace by that being from the other world using special abilities and given to Horikawa Nen to assemble!
But if that's the case, another problem arises. Since that otherworldly entity can send bombs into the Imperial Palace using special abilities, why doesn't he do it himself instead of entrusting it to a 58-year-old mole? Isn't he afraid of entrusting the wrong person to do it?

Moreover, as a 30-year employee of the Imperial Household Agency, Horikawa Nen is considered a mid-to-high-level employee. What was his purpose in doing such a heinous thing?

Uesugi Muneyuki knew there was something fishy about this, but now was not the time to think about those questions!

How to do?
He possesses the abilities of spirit pills and spiritual vision, which Mariko Hironaka can control, and Miyahara can exhale smoke, but these abilities are temporarily insufficient to resolve this bomb crisis! Because Horikawa only needs to lightly press the detonator to detonate! And the explosives on his body will completely explode with just a violent contact!
I can't touch it, and I can't not touch it either. I'm totally stuck!

Mariko Hironaka's control wasn't immobilization; the opponent's fingers could still move, and launching the spirit ball was tantamount to detonating it for him!
As for Murakawa-dono... Murakawa-dono is still absorbing Professor Zaizen's soul and memories!
Depend on!
Uesugi Muneyuki's face contorted in rage. As expected, the power of the inner world has its limits!
Village Flower Palace, I don't want to be human anymore! I want to be a yellow weasel from Asia Minor! A giant golden guy!
At this moment, Aizen Myōō also keenly sensed the change in the surrounding atmosphere.

Uesugi Muneyuki could feel the near-collapse of fear and helplessness on the faces of every palace policeman around him. The air was filled with suffocating despair. Every staggering step Horikawa took made everyone's heart jump into their throats; every time he waved the detonator, it elicited a suppressed gasp.

They watched helplessly as the crazed bomber slowly walked through the corridors, approaching that sacred area that even high-ranking officials had to hold their breath in.

Ancient pines and cypresses, a clean gravel square, and beautiful Tang-style rooftops... all this solemn and tranquil backdrop forms the most terrifying and surreal contrast with the frantically running human bomb before our eyes.

Everyone present knew that if he were to detonate it near the palace, or even just next to any important building, the political significance and symbolic catastrophe would be unparalleled. This was no longer a simple murder; it was a terrorist attack unfolding against the very heart of the nation!
"Negotiation expert! Quickly, call a negotiation expert!"

"Where are the SATs?! Where is the explosives disposal unit?!"

"Evacuate! Emergency evacuation of personnel from the core area!"

A flurry of frantic instructions crisscrossed the radio, but they were too little, too late.

At the scene, only the madman who was determined to "die in glory" remained, along with a group of guards who were frozen in place by fear and hesitant to act.

There's nothing they can do!
As Horikawa Nen drew closer to the complex of buildings that represented the heart of the Japanese Imperial Household, a smile spread across his face, a mixture of madness, relief, and a twisted sense of victory.

Let the flames purify everything!

A cloud of despair hung over the entire Imperial Palace as if it were a tangible reality.

Time seemed to be stretched and compressed, every frame filled with heart-stopping horror. When more Imperial Palace police arrived with weapons, they were met with an extremely tense situation where the police even used their bodies to block the muzzles of their guns!
"It's a bomb!"

"It's a real bomb! Don't be reckless! Aa ...

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!!!"

Someone let out a distorted scream, like ice water poured into boiling oil, instantly causing uncontrollable panic among the armed police officers who rushed to the scene!
All the gun barrels pointed at Horikawa Nen trembled violently. The Imperial Palace police, who were about to pounce on him, were blocked by an invisible wall and staggered backward.

The command channel fell into dead silence, then was drowned out by screams of all kinds, screams distorted by extreme fear:

"Cease all operations! Cease!"

"Back up! Everyone back up!"

"Bomb disposal team! Where's the bomb disposal team?! Call for backup!"

"Damn it! He's heading towards the Imperial Palace!"

"Please provide guidance! Please provide guidance!!!"

Inside the temporary command center of the Imperial Household Agency, the faces of the Imperial Household Agency officials and others who witnessed this scene through live video feeds turned deathly pale in an instant, devoid of any color.

“How…how could this be…” Maeda Risuke, the head of the Imperial Household Agency, sat down on the ground with a thud, his body swaying precariously, and was barely supported by Takeuchi, the chief attendant beside him.

What he saw was no longer the composure of a bureaucrat, but a complete, utter fear, a fear that seemed to have shattered his faith.

Inside the Imperial Palace, a suicide bomber rushes towards the core palace? This is an ultimate nightmare, unprecedented since the war, capable of crushing the entire symbol of the nation into dust!
"I...I...he...he...how...I...why...he gave him one...I didn't..." Headmaster Gondo was so frightened that he was about to faint. A terrifying scene had already appeared in his mind.

Before the clear waters of the six rivers, he stood dressed in plain white clothes, washing a brand-new wakizashi with the water. At that moment, a police officer from the National Police Agency, Aizu Warrior, with a white headband bearing the words "Heaven Punishes the Traitors," calmly approached him, drew his katana, and said gently, "Sir, I will be your second!"

Spicy meatballs!!!

"Quickly! Get His Majesty to move! Move him! Aaaaaaaah!" The head of the Takeuchi household shouted in a shrill voice, "Move him by any means necessary, immediately! Aaaaaaah!"

“Even if you say that… it’s difficult to do in a short time, and… at least we need to keep him calm first…” Vice Minister Nakajima’s lips trembled, and his face was ashen.

He regretted it. He shouldn't have said he knew Horikawa had made far-left remarks; that was clearly asking for trouble! He should have said he knew nothing!
This explosion will not only destroy the nearby buildings, but also the lives of all of them!
At this moment, they could only turn their attention to the Special Missions Unit members present. Invincible Chief Uesugi! Use your omnipotent forensic abilities to think of a solution!

Meanwhile, at the Prime Minister's official residence, the center of the cabinet crisis.

"Damn it!!!!" Police Commissioner Tamaru Jusaburo slammed his fist on the table and roared into the radio, his voice hoarse with despair: "SAT! Deploy all standby SATs! Have the Chief Cabinet Secretary notify the Security Department and the Public Security Bureau! All of you, get out there! Stop him! Stop him at all costs! But don't provoke him into detonating the bomb! Now!"

"Summon Watanabe Eiji immediately!" roared Kotaro Higashi, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission. At this point, he couldn't care less about anything else; Nagata-cho was right next to Sakuradamon. "Isn't he very experienced in handling emergencies? I'm entrusting everything to him! Give him everything!!!"

The order was given hastily, but it was too late to help a fire that was already burning.

An even more lethal order came from Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda: "Notify the Ministry of Defense! Order the Self-Defense Forces Special Operations Groups in the Tokyo metropolitan area to stand by! Immediately!!"

Mobilizing the army into the Imperial Palace? The very thought made everyone in the know dizzy; it was the last resort, a scenario straight out of an apocalyptic scenario.

Defense Minister Mari Toshi heard Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda's order and glanced at the Prime Minister.

Clearly, he wouldn't dare issue this order without the Prime Minister's permission!
Postwar Japan was a country with very strict restrictions on its military, and as Minister of Defense, he was well aware of the combat capabilities of the Self-Defense Forces.

However, Prime Minister Ōwada was already slumped in his chair, his eyes glazed over, muttering to himself, "It's too late, it's too late."

Even if we urgently mobilize the army now, it's too late!

Without the Prime Minister's approval, the Defense Minister ultimately did not issue the order.

Thus, a cabinet crisis management center was formed, with a bunch of paralyzed attendees.

Spicy meatballs!!!

But the situation on the scene wouldn't stop just because they were giving up. Horikawa Nen roared madly, waving the detonator, and like a wriggling maggot, slowly squeezed into the Ninomaru Garden!

The palace police futilely formed a human wall, but were pushed back step by step by his frantic sprint and the obvious threat of death. They could only shout hoarsely, "Calm down!" "Stop!" The scene was completely out of control, and despair spread like solid ink.

Minami Watanabe's face was ashen, her fingers gripping the walkie-talkie tightly, but she found that any commands she gave were powerless in the face of this madman.

At that moment, Eiji Watanabe had just received the news. The police superintendent, terrified, immediately got into a car and headed to the center of the cabinet crisis. However, as the situation on the scene continued to be reported over the walkie-talkie, the superintendent closed his eyes in the back seat, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. His heart was filled with icy despair—it was all over.

His political life, the reputation of the Metropolitan Police Department, and even the face of the nation would all be wiped out by that possible explosion.

Hurry, hurry up!
In that instant when all things were silent and despair reached its peak!

The palace police were frozen in fear, and the scene was filled with a suffocating sense of despair.

Special Missions Inspector Kai Toru was equally nervous. He lost his footing and nearly slipped, but was pulled back to his feet by Igarashi. In that instant, Kai Toru noticed that Horikawa Nen had also lost his footing. He slipped slightly, his muscles tensed, and he gripped the detonator tightly. This slip caused a frantic heartbeat and gasps from the surrounding Imperial Palace police.

Don't explode! Don't explode!
Fortunately, Horikawa regained his balance quickly. He realized that it was dangerous and moved his finger away from the button slightly.

While everyone was praying, Kai Takeru, a young, non-professional detective from a local police station with countless experiences in street chases and emergency response, filtered out all bureaucratic hesitations under extreme tension, leaving only his most instinctive police intuition and keen observation of the environment.

Unlike the others who only stared at the terrifying detonator, his eyes quickly swept over Horikawa Nen's moving feet and the area he was stepping into—the transition zone between the corridor and the open garden, paved with huge, smooth pebbles (tamarisk).

For aesthetic and drainage purposes, these gravels are not laid densely and have a smooth surface.

Unlike all the police officers in the Special Missions Division, Kai Toru was abandoned from a young age. He had poor grades starting in middle school, argued with his father, deliberately slacked off, and mingled in the underworld as a shady young man, accumulating a wealth of experience in street brawls. After joining the police force, he served as a patrol officer and detective for a long time, and had faced many such tricky situations.

In this respect, he is different from everyone else in the Special Missions Department!
An idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

This is a very dangerous idea!
But now, doing nothing will also lead to death, and launching a grand plan will also lead to death. Rather than just waiting to die, wouldn't it be better to die for the country?

Si Guoyi!

"Chief Uesugi, Manager Watanabe!" Kai Toru suddenly whispered, "Can you cover me?"

"I have a plan!"

(End of this chapter)