Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 533, That Lord!
Fuji TV President Chihiro Kameyama and FNS Production Director Kazuhiko Abiru are looking at a top-secret document bag sent from the Izu Peninsula.

It contains many photos of the live recording, edited together, as well as the original first-hand footage.

A very brief but clear shot captured the figure of the late anchor Mariko Hironaka next to the presenter Remi Tsutsumi. The expression on Hironaka's face as she instructed Remi Tsutsumi, her stern expression and familiar posture, were exactly the same as those in the station's archive footage.

Kameyama Chihiro recognized Hironaka Mariko almost instantly!

It's her! It's her! It's definitely her!

He can't possibly admit he's wrong!
Abiru Kazuhiko also saw the scene in the video.

A wide-angle shot in the corridor of an old villa captured a fleeting figure with a watermelon-shaped hairstyle, making a funny face. Its outline and signature gesture were exactly the same as those of Toru Miyahara during his lifetime.

Is this guy who died in the Odaiba building still haunting us?
Damn it, is our Odaiba building some kind of gateway between this world and the afterlife?
How many times has it been haunted?
Then, they saw the next video and the separated audio, the strange figure emitting a voice that could not possibly be human, the images of Mariko Hironaka and Toru Miyahara, and the reappearance of the Disney snow woman legend clapping in the crowd when Muneyuki Uesugi performed a skit.

"Ghost, ghost, ghost, ghost~ Is there really a ghost?" President Kameyama was finally scared: "Hirai wasn't talking nonsense? I thought it was just for the show!"

“I thought so too… Hironaka, Miyahara… We haven’t done anything to wrong them, have we? When will this end? What are they doing…” Abiru Kazuhiko also felt a chill run down his spine.

Are they really dead?
Are they trying to ruin Fuji TV? To ruin "God's Hand"?
If this kind of thing is recorded, how can the show be produced? The videotapes will be completely sealed away. Such a high budget, such precious time slots... All our efforts have not only been wasted, but if this episode of "The Hand of God" dares to be cancelled, the complaint letters we receive will fill crates!
Spicy balls!

But then, the two looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes an overwhelming joy that followed disbelief!

"Hmm?" Abiru Kazuhiko tentatively stretched out his head.

“Aha!” Kameyama Chihiro nodded affirmatively.

"Oh?" Director Abilu probed further.

"Hehe~" President Kameyama further affirmed.

“This…this is…” Abiru Kazuhiko’s voice trembled with excitement.

"It's real! It's actually real!!" Kameyama Chihiro slammed his hand on the table, so excited he almost jumped out of his chair. He braced himself on the table with both hands, leaned forward, and his eyes gleamed with the light of someone who had discovered a gold mine. "It's not special effects! It's not acting! It's the real thing!!"

"President! This is... an unprecedented exclusive bombshell! A national actress, a genius scholar from Tokyo University, the ghost of a deceased celebrity appears... all the elements are there!" Abiru was so excited that he was incoherent, and even couldn't help but punch his thigh hard. The two of them almost hugged each other and rolled on the ground to celebrate like characters in a comic book.

The two middle-aged men even shared a passionate kiss.

All fear and worry vanished instantly in the face of the allure of massive viewership. They realized that this was not a disaster, but rather a golden opportunity for Fuji TV to crush all competitors and create a ratings phenomenon!

Suppress it? Seal off the videotapes?
Suppress my ass! Seal my ass!
"Suppress it? No! We're going to broadcast it! We're going to broadcast it with a huge fanfare!" President Kameyama made the decision immediately, his face glowing with the red light of a gambler. "Set up a special project team immediately! Gather all the footage, yes, everything we filmed and heard! Edit it into... a three-hour special!"

"Let's call it... 'The Hand of God - The Scream of Izu: A Real-Life Captured Paranormal Moment!'" Abiru immediately added, his professional instincts instantly giving him a marketing strategy: "We need to blur the focus, not directly admit it, but use all the 'evidence' to guide the audience to discover and discuss it themselves!"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Uesugi and Shirakawa were already the biggest draw! Now, with Hironaka and Miyahara joining the fray, Yuki-onna making a cameo, and then there's the effect of Miyawaki and Hirate, this is simply, simply even more exciting than that night in Odaiba!" President Kameyama jumped around like a rabbit in his office, spreading his arms wide, praising the sun!
Hironaka! It's been three years, are you still guarding Fuji TV?

Miyahara! Fuji TV thanks you for your contribution!

Uesugi Muneyuki, you're practically the station's one and only lucky charm! You're like my own father, Uesugi Chihiro!
"Hahahahahaha!"

"Haha ...

Under the setting sun, the two embraced tightly in the president's office.

The top spot in the ratings for this year's NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen is in danger again!
Sure enough, a project proposal personally drafted and directed by President Kameyama was immediately issued.

Fuji TV used all its promotional channels to release the trailer extensively. The trailer deliberately selected the most bizarre images and the most terrifying audio clips, and labeled them with sensational slogans such as "Fully Real Recorded," "Inexplicable Moments," and "The Ghost of Taboo in the Entertainment Industry."

Soon, the fame of Mai Shirakawa and Muneyuki Uesugi, the mystery of the incident itself, and the bombshell of "the reappearance of the ghost of a deceased celebrity" instantly ignited the curiosity of the entire society.

The topic has become incredibly popular online, with everyone wanting to know what exactly happened that night.

Upon hearing this news, a somber atmosphere descended upon the high-level meetings at NHK headquarters.

NHK was already dealt a huge blow by the "Gunshi Kanbei" incident, and now this happens again.
"Shameless! These profit-driven guys at Fuji TV! What are they playing at?! Broadcasting real paranormal phenomena as entertainment?! Do they have no sense of social morality at all?!" An NHK director was so angry that his face turned red.

"This is utter disrespect for the deceased! It's a trampling of broadcasting ethics!" another high-ranking official chimed in, his head practically steaming. "This isn't the first time! Our Red and White Song Festival, meticulously prepared for half a year, promoting orthodox culture, has repeatedly lost to this... this kind of superstitious nonsense! It's outrageous!" "The year before last, the year before last, and this year... This is unacceptable! Is the Red and White Song Festival doomed again?"

"Fuji TV is a disgrace to our broadcasting association!"

"If this continues, the annual fee will be reduced again! I heard that some manufacturers have already started producing TVs that specifically block this station's signal!"

"Fuji TV's ratings and advertising revenue are skyrocketing every quarter? Once Fuji TV airs its new drama adaptation of 'God's Hand,' featuring Uesugi solving cases, are they aiming to dominate the Japanese entertainment industry?"

NHK internally condemned Fuji TV for being shameless and having no bottom line.

"Enough! You all cry day and night, and night and day again. Will that kill Kameyama? Will that bring in ratings?" Finally, the NHK president jumped up and roared, "Is this never going to end? Fuji TV has that Tsutsumi Reimi who specifically named Uesugi, so why don't we at NHK do the same?"

"Hurry up and select people! Select people!!!"

NHK and the four major television stations were in a state of chaos and turmoil that night.

TV Tokyo: "Surprising! A treehouse guesthouse that caters to 3000 people a year is like this inside!"

........................

Meanwhile, in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, at an abandoned factory.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of rust, old engine oil, and damp concrete. The only light source came from a few makeshift incandescent bulbs, their dim, yellowish glow flickering uneasily in the howling draft, elongating and distorting the young figures gathered around the dilapidated workbench, casting them like restless ghosts onto the graffiti-covered walls.

A twenty-year-old boy, whose youthful features had not yet completely faded, was typing on a laptop, but his eyes burned with a flame that was incongruous with his age, a mixture of despair and fanaticism.

Behind the notebook was an open map of Shibuya. The boy's hands were gripping the edge of the table, his knuckles white from the effort. He was unremarkable in appearance, even somewhat handsome, but the cold gaze in his eyes added a touch of ruthlessness to his young face.

His gaze was fixed on the point on the map that was circled in red—the upscale members-only bar "Moon Goddess".

"That's right, this is the place. Shota Akimoto often receives entertainment here; it's highly suspected to be a N-net (Network of the Underworld) hideout." — Hijikata Toshizo

"There are many enemies, and security is very tight." — "Hajime Saito"

"Our current forces are insufficient to penetrate." — Kashitaro Ito

“Shota Akimoto’s bodyguards will escort him to that black Maybach.” —Isamu Kondo

"Getting on and off the train might be our only chance, but... we haven't found an opportunity yet." — Matsukata Masayoshi

On the encrypted dark web, a group of people using the pseudonyms of historical figures are communicating.

"Don't worry, we have the support of 'that person' this time, he will definitely find a way."

The boy was typing on the computer, and his online name was "Okita Souji".

"That lord?" "It really is that lord!" "With that lord's support, there's nothing to worry about!" "The matter of the Imperial Palace was also handled by that lord. If it weren't for the Special Missions Department's obstruction, it would have succeeded by now!"

Sure enough, all the code names became excited at the mere mention of that person.

"Yes, that sir has always been on our side. Now, communication is suspended. Everyone, please remain hidden and send your code names regularly. If even one person is absent, everyone must immediately fall silent!" The boy continued typing: "Long live the Reformed Army! For the future of the nation!"

"Long live the Reformed Army! For the future of the nation!"

"Long live the Reformed Army! For the future of the nation!"

"Long live the Reformed Army! For the future of the nation!"

After a series of +1s, the entire channel was interrupted.

The boy closed his notebook, looked up at the Tokyo summer night sky that looked like it was about to rain, and a cool smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

That person is someone even Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't deal with!

(End of this chapter)