Tokyo Detective

Chapter 302 Germs (6000)

“When the four of us were traveling together, we heard this horror story. At the time, I and three others were gathered in the hotel lobby telling horror stories. Later, a young man joined in out of curiosity, and that's where I heard the story about it.”

"what?"

One of the middle-aged detectives grew impatient. They were there to find clues to a case, not to listen to some scary stories. Besides, they had been detectives for so long and had seen all kinds of corpses; why would they be afraid of such superstitious things?

Kenta Sawaguchi stopped his subordinate from being rude.

"Please sit down, Ms. Uehara."

Uehara Rin hesitated for a moment before continuing to speak.

"The story goes like this: A man was walking along a dense mountain path when he suddenly heard a faint, ethereal bell ringing behind him. When the man turned around, he saw a woman in a kimono with her eyes covered. The woman had her hands clasped together, and a string of Buddhist prayer beads on her palms that could make a bell sound. She looked quite frightening."

The man sensed something was wrong and hurriedly ran forward, while the woman followed him until he finally couldn't hold back any longer and turned around to question her, "Why are you following me?"

The woman replied, "Because you know I exist," while the man, puzzled, said, "I don't know you at all. What's your name?"

Uehara Rin hesitated at this point, a name lingering on her lips but ultimately not uttering it, and continued telling the unfinished story.

"The woman followed closely behind the man, introduced herself, and then said: I'm going to kill everyone who knows me. The man was a little suspicious and quickly retorted: Then go find someone else. There are definitely other people who know your name."

The woman, surprisingly obedient, slowly turned around and suddenly said fiercely to the man: "You're next."

As Uehara Rin said this, she pointed at the three detectives opposite her. This gesture actually frightened two of the elite detectives. Only Sawaguchi Kenta had a serious expression. He realized that this was a story that would draw the audience in.

His professional instincts also revealed that if the ghost story was true, one might need to spread the name of the evil spirit in order to survive, a common trope in traditional horror movies.

And the girl in front of me still hasn't revealed the name of the ghost in the story. Could it be real?

Kenta Sawaguchi, a detective with 30 years of experience, has encountered some bizarre cases. Most of these cases end up gathering dust in the archives or disappearing there, so he can't completely deny the existence of supernatural phenomena.

"Miss Uehara, are you saying that the deaths of the three people were caused by the female ghost you mentioned?"

Uehara Rin shook her head.

"I don't know either. By the way, I'm so sorry I haven't poured you any tea while you've been sitting here for so long. Please wait a moment."

"No need, we'll be leaving soon."

"No, we are all guests here. Please have a cup of tea before you leave."

As the woman left, the three police officers recorded what had just happened while discussing the reliability of the case.

"I don't believe it; it must be a man-made incident."

Kenta Sawaguchi nodded. Even if they said it was a strange incident, the higher-ups wouldn't accept the result.

"Yes, perhaps it's a screening process used by cults to find sacrifice targets."

Or perhaps...

One of the detectives didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: Uehara Rin was highly suspicious.

Soon after, the sound of boiling water came from the kitchen, growing louder and louder, which made the three detectives realize something was wrong. Why wasn't the stove turned off? It was going to explode.

Kenta Sawaguchi hurriedly got up and went into the kitchen. Sure enough, he didn't see Rin Uehara. So he turned off the gas stove and began to look for her.

The woman was quickly found hanging in her bedroom; her legs were still kicking, indicating she was still alive. Three detectives worked together to lower her down, and the purple marks on her neck proved she wasn't lying.

At that moment, several possibilities flashed through the minds of the three detectives.

This woman was the murderer; she committed suicide out of fear of punishment after the police investigated her.

The second possibility is that, without their knowledge, the real culprit disguised Uehara Rin as having committed suicide by hanging.

Of course, there are other possibilities, such as the female ghost being real, causing the woman to commit suicide out of fear, but the chances of that are extremely small.

"Miss Uehara, why did you hang yourself?"

Uehara Rin didn't answer, but looked at the three detectives with fear and resentment, then said a name in a hoarse voice.

"Black stake".

The woman fainted after saying those words, leaving three people to call an ambulance.
.
In the hospital, Uehara Rin woke up at two o'clock in the morning and felt extremely guilty in front of the three detectives who were guarding her.

"I'm sorry I revealed the female ghost's name. You've been cursed. I'm truly sorry."

"what?"

The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment. They were still guessing what the black stake was, but it turned out to be the name of the female ghost. Now, all three of them felt a little uncomfortable.

Kenta Sawaguchi asked.

"Ms. Sawaguchi, why did you commit suicide? Were there other people in the room at the time?"

"I was all alone. I thought that being killed by the female ghost was worse than suicide, at least I wouldn't die as miserably as the others. Besides, I didn't have the courage to face the female ghost. After you saved me, I started to resent you for not letting me die, but I was also a little relieved that I didn't have to die. I'm so sorry, so very sorry."

"."

Kenta Sawaguchi was stunned. The other party's behavior didn't seem fake. There were only three possibilities now.

First, Uehara Rin has mental problems; second, someone did it on purpose; third, there really are ghosts.
"Miss Uehara, if you remember any other clues, please let us know. It's late now, so we won't disturb your rest any longer."

Kenta Sawaguchi left the room and then arranged for a subordinate to stay overnight at the hospital to watch over Uehara Rin, who was suspected of being a suspect. Someone would come to relieve him early the next morning.

As for himself, he plans to visit a small town in Tottori Prefecture tomorrow, which is where the story begins.

It was almost 3 a.m. when Uehara Rin tossed and turned in bed. Suddenly, she heard a noise outside her private hospital room. The door opened, and a familiar detective's back was facing her.

"Officer Yushan."

There was no response to the first call, so he called a second time.

"Officer Yushan."

The detective named Yushan slowly turned around, but what he saw next made Uehara Rin scream. Yushan's eyes were bulging and oozing green pus, making it look like his eyes had burst and were bleeding green blood. If you looked closely, you could also see that his ears were the same.

"what"

Before the screams could attract medical staff, the sound of bells suddenly came from behind Uehara Rin.

Slowly turning around, I saw a figure stand up in the darkness. Judging from her small, quick steps, she was probably wearing a kimono or similar clothing.

"No, no, no, don't look for me, I don't want to die yet."

Having experienced the despair of suicide, Uehara Rin no longer wanted to die.

He turned and left alone, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

As Uehara Rin was walking, she suddenly stumbled and fell. When she turned around, she saw a ghostly figure in a kimono standing in front of her. The black veil was no longer covering its eyes, and a pair of large, completely black eyes sent chills down her spine. The pale ghostly hands touched Uehara Rin's eyes.

"No"

When the medical staff arrived, Uehara Rin's body was just like the detective's earlier body; her eyes looked like they had burst and were oozing thick green liquid, which terrified the doctors who screamed repeatedly.

However, the first thing the hospital had to do after it realized what was happening was to create an isolation zone, because the hospital suspected that the two deceased had been infected with some kind of strange virus, perhaps a new bacterium evolved from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Even though bacteria and viruses have different structures, sizes, reproduction methods, and infection and symptoms.
.
At the same time, Kenta Sawaguchi, who had just fallen asleep, was woken up by a phone call. Despite his wife's displeasure, he got up to answer the call.

"Section Chief, something terrible has happened! Tamayama and Uehara Rin are both dead."

Kenta Sawaguchi was startled, and then he was wide awake.

"Who did it?"

"I don't know. I'm checking the surveillance footage at the hospital. I saw Yushan sitting in the corridor and suddenly stand up. Shortly after, Uehara Rin was running in the corridor in a panic. By the time the medical staff found her, she was already dead. The surveillance footage didn't show anyone else."

"hiss"

"The hospital is now preparing to transfer patients to isolation wards. They suspect that the two deaths were caused by a new type of virus or bacteria."

"Wait for me to come over."

At that moment, Kenta Sawaguchi gasped. He now believed Rin Uehara's words. The curse of that evil spirit was too cruel. He had also heard that name. Would it come after him?

The middle-aged woman stood up and said unhappily.

"You're leaving at 4 a.m.?"

“Yes, one of my men and the suspect died in the hospital, I have to go there.”

"Oh, it's a bit cold there. Wear an extra layer when you go out."

"kindness."

Kenta Sawaguchi gave his lover a tender hug, leaving her completely bewildered. Why was she suddenly acting like this? She usually complained that she had become a haggard old woman.

Kenta Sawaguchi took out his phone and started recording as he walked, while also unlocking the phone.

"I am Kenta Sawaguchi. If anyone finds my phone and hears this recording, it proves that I am already dead. If that's the case, I have some bad news to share: this case is likely the work of a mysterious entity. Remember, do not know the name of this mysterious entity, as it may be the trigger for the murder, and there is also something mysterious about it."

Kenta Sawaguchi stopped here because he heard the sound of bells behind him, getting closer and closer.

Kenta Sawaguchi turned around, cold sweat dripping down his back, and saw a blindfolded female ghost in a kimono with blood-streaked hair standing before him.

"bang bang bang"

The bullets were all gone, but the female ghost remained unmoved and continued to approach.

Kenta Sawaguchi quickly turned and ran away, recording as he ran.

"The bullets were useless. The female ghost was wearing a grayish-white kimono, her teeth were black, her eyes were covered with a black cloth, and her skin was festering."

He only had time to utter his last sentence before his words were cut short, because a pair of pale-fingered, black-handed hands pressed down on his head from around the corner.

"It can appear anywhere, ah."

Soon after, the police discovered that Kenta Sawaguchi had also died tragically. His death was similar to the other two, with green blood flowing from his eyes, which further convinced the hospital that it was some kind of new bacteria.

Several hours later, they had extracted bacterial concentrate from the three corpses and tested it. If the green concentrate on the corpses that died a few days ago could be considered Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it was hard to say whether the current green concentrate could be considered Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Faster lethality, more devastating destructive power and infectiousness.

A provisional name was proposed within just a few hours.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a species of bacteria never before discovered on Earth, currently has no treatment and its mortality rate is as terrifying as that of the Ebola virus.

When the information about this thing was released at 6 a.m., the city was immediately in an uproar. Residents living near the deceased rushed to the hospital to check if they had been infected.

Soon, a few individuals discovered they were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including Kenta Sawaguchi's wife. More than ten people were infected, but thankfully it was just Pseudomonas aeruginosa, not Pseudomonas virginii, and it was only in the early stages and not difficult to treat. Doctors were unsure why contact with infected individuals carrying Pseudomonas virginii resulted in the infection of others with ordinary Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These questions require further investigation, or may simply be unexplainable by scientific means.

In fact, even the record of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not ordinary in the world. For example, there was a case like this.

America once had a flash of inspiration and ordered a batch of eye drops from Indians, which directly caused a major medical accident in the area, resulting in 4 deaths, 20 people going blind, and 5 people needing to have their eyeballs removed due to the severity of the damage.

Later tests revealed that the potion contained excessive amounts of enchantments, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli.

I heard that America later sent people to investigate and found that the eye drop factory was supposed to be in a sterile environment, but in reality there were no protective measures at all, and the workers were wearing flip-flops and not wearing special clothing.

At 8:00 a.m., the Metropolitan Police Department's top officials arrived at work early for a rare meeting. Department head Shiratori Ten'ei, Jingu Futaba, and other high-ranking officials from the National Police Agency were present, except for the Commissioner General and the Vice Commissioner General.

Shiratori Ten'ei clicked on a recording, which was a message from Sawaguchi Kenta.

"I am Kenta Sawaguchi. If anyone finds my phone and hears this recording, it proves that I am already dead."

After the recording ended, the senior police officers present fell silent. Many of them, even if they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, knew from the reports that similar cases existed.

The police department's usual approach is to handle such cases quietly, or they would burn down the building where the incident occurred, then demolish and seal it off, and rebuild it after a period of time.

Or if they find a body or belongings, they'll just burn it all; they won't delve into what happened inside.

This is understandable. There are only a few cases of bizarre incidents nationwide. How many people are killed in a year? A few, dozens, hundreds. It's not even one-tenth of the deaths from car accidents. Why waste energy on these supernatural cases?

However, this incident is too serious; seven people have already died, and we must deal with it as soon as possible.

The newly appointed head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency, Kunimitsu Tegoshi, spoke, and this 48-year-old man was the youngest police inspector present.

"Does such a filthy thing really exist? Could it be that the newly discovered Pseudomonas aeruginosa has hallucinogenic properties, causing infected individuals to experience hallucinations of seeing ghosts?"

Koichi Uemura, the Superintendent General of Police, spoke up.

“There are indeed evil things in the world, but if the world knew, it would cause panic, and the death toll is too low, so we don’t let you know. The Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency both have an archive room that records these kinds of cases. Apart from me, only the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency know about them. If you are interested, I can take you in to have a look.”

Kunimitsu Tegoshi had nothing to say, after all, these three were the top three in the police system.

Koichi Uemura looked at his silent subordinates and spoke.

What are everyone's plans?

"Send people to find the relics and burn them, just like before."

"Send who?"

This topic kept the higher-ups discussing it, since they were unfamiliar with the supernatural beings, and today's thing was clearly very dangerous, unlike the past when, even if it was not handled properly, it would at most be a serious illness.

"I think it's best to put people from the Ministry of Public Security in charge. They are the best police officers in the police system, both literate and skilled in combat."

The two public security ministers from the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency immediately objected.

"We police only know how to deal with humans. You want us to deal with ghosts? Are you kidding me? I think it's best to let the criminal department handle it. After all, if there were no supernatural beings, such cases should be handled by the criminal police."

Now, Shiratori Ten'ei and Tegoshi Kunimitsu were equally unhappy.

"You're talking nonsense. We're just ordinary mortals. How would we know how to deal with the supernatural? Instead of what you're saying, why don't you ask some priests or witches to handle it? Right, aren't priests, witches, nuns, and monks good at dealing with evil spirits? Just ask those people to go."

"Yes, yes."

Koichi Uemura quickly stopped everyone's wild ideas.

"Those clergy aren't as powerful as you think. They just chant scriptures and worship gods often. They have strong wills and are not easily influenced by evil spirits. They also know some ways to restrain strange things. But if you really compare them, they are not as strong as a martial arts master. Martial arts masters have strong blood and energy, which makes evil spirits unwilling to come near them."

No wonder he's the Superintendent General of Police.

Many high-ranking police officers shared similar thoughts; they were genuinely unaware that there were so many intricacies involved in dealing with unclean things.

Koichi Uemura looked at Ten'ei Shiratori.

"Shiratori, I want Yuzuru to be in charge of this case. He is the Metropolitan Police Department's ace, and also a strongman who can kill a martial arts master."

"me"

Shiratori Ten'ei hesitated. He would agree without hesitation to let Hanyu Naoki deal with humans because he had confidence in Hanyu Naoki, but he dared not agree to deal with evil things, in case he killed his junior.

Koichi Uemura sighed. If he didn't deploy his ace now, when would he?

"Have him come see me after the meeting, Chief Tegoshi. This case might extend beyond Tokyo, so I'd appreciate it if you could send someone from your side as well. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a terrifying bacterium, not much less dangerous than Ebola. I don't know what would happen if it broke out. Have you forgotten what happened during the pandemic?"

"I see."

Using the overall situation to pressure them, Shiratori Ten'ei and Tegoshi Kunimitsu had no way to refute it.

Meanwhile, Naoki Hanyu rushed back to the First Search Division office around 6 a.m. After all, with his theoretically top subordinate killed in the line of duty and two other subordinates also dying in the line of duty, he couldn't continue to be a bystander.

As he examined various clues, he gradually gained a general understanding. In particular, reading the story about the black stake in the police officer's personal notebook and the recording of Kenta Sawaguchi before his death made him take it more seriously.

Is this yet another bizarre case?
Seven people died in just five days, which was more ferocious and terrifying than the Yinmu Village in the Fenggu region.

Naoki Hanyu instructed Natsumi Senbon, who was standing to the side.

"Go ask the hospital for detailed information about the body."

"Yes."

Suddenly, his phone rang; it was a call from the Superintendent General of Police, whom he had never called before.

"Yuzuru, come to my office."

"Yes"

Before he could even reach the director's office, Shiratori Ten'ei called him back by phone.

The two started chatting in the corridor.

"The director is planning to send you to handle today's case involving something sinister. What are your thoughts?"

"I was already mentally prepared."

Seeing his junior so calm, Shiratori Ten'ei offered a reminder.

"Not many people in the entire police system are willing to do this. You can make some requests."

"You're asking for the moon, I know."

"Good that you understand. Go ahead and don't keep the director waiting."
.
In the Superintendent of Police's office, Naoki Hanyu knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, entered. He immediately saw Koichi Uemura with a friendly smile, a smile that suggested something was amiss.

"Director."

"Hanyu, please have a seat. I have some fancy desserts here, would you like some?"

"Thank you."

He certainly wouldn't refuse a meal offered by the director.

Uemura Koichi said with a smile.

"Yuzuru, I won't beat around the bush. You've probably seen the details of the case. I'm planning to put you in charge. Are you willing?"

The reason why Koichi Uemura asked if he was willing was because he was worried that the case would be handled perfunctorily, a practice that often occurs in bizarre cases.

Naoki Hanyu looked troubled.

"Director, the truth is I'm terrified of ghosts. Could someone else handle this case?"

"You're afraid of ghosts? You must be joking."

Koichi Uemura almost spat out his anger. As the only person in the entire police system to have killed a hundred people, you're telling me you're afraid of ghosts? Ask the souls under your gun if they agree.

In fact, nearly a thousand people have died under Naoki Hanyu's gun, and his trip to the East added another 600 lives.

Kouichi Uemura tried hard to maintain a smile.

"Cough cough, don't worry, with your constitution, no evil thing can get close to you."

"But I'm really scared."

"Can you name someone in the entire police system who is better, stronger, and more suitable than you? If so, I'll let him go."

"."

Naoki Hanyu was speechless. Well, he did indeed believe he was the best policeman in the Metropolitan Police Department and even the entire police department.

Koichi Uemura didn't want to drag things out.

"If you handle this case well, you can get the terms I've proposed."

Naoki Hanyu answered instantly.

"The position of Minister of Criminal Investigation."

"You said... Pfft, cough cough cough."

Hirokazu Uemura burst out laughing. Good heavens, a policeman around 27 years old actually wants to become the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, who is ranked in the top 8 of the Metropolitan Police Department. Is he dreaming?
"If you can't do it, find someone else. You've only just become a section chief and haven't accomplished anything yet, but you want a promotion. Young people need to be down-to-earth."

"One type of comprehensive professional examination (formerly the Level 1 Civil Servant Grade A examination, which was reformed a year ago) exempts candidates from the examination."

There are no such slots available.

Goodness, this kid really knows how to ask for an exorbitant amount.

One type of comprehensive professional exam is only open to master's/bachelor's degree holders, yet it's still dominated by students from top universities like the University of Tokyo.

The number of recruits each year is between 700 and 1000, of which only about 100 end up in the police system, and in some years there are not even 100.

After all, from the perspective of a top student who has passed one of the exams, the police system is the lowest-ranking among all public service positions.

Therefore, as the elite of the nation's civil servants, there would be a quota for exemption from exams and cheating.

Seeing this, Naoki Hanyu also offered the spot he wanted.

"Three types of general vocational undergraduate exemption quotas."

This time, Koichi Uemura did not immediately refuse. The two general positions were the former second-class national civil service examinations.

There are two types: general vocational and professional vocational. Each type is further divided into general vocational university (undergraduate) and general vocational short-term university (associate degree). The admission rate is about five percent.

"Ding, you have obtained an 8-star Sin reward."

(End of this chapter)