Tokyo: I'm really not a killer

"I've said what I needed to say, and I've seen what I needed to see. Section Chief Yamamoto, do you have any leads?"

My younger brother, with his hands in his pockets, asked expectantly.

As usual, Section Chief Yamamoto dodged the question, replying vaguely, "Well, the progress of the investigation is kept confidential..."

"Huh?" My younger brother flashed a thug-like threatening look, leaning forward and demanding, "Are you kidding me?! Do you think just anyone can walk into this place? Don't try to fool me with excuses!"

"Too close, too close..." Section Chief Yamamoto turned his face away.

My younger brother wouldn't give up, pressing his face against Yamamoto's, forehead almost touching, like a cat with its fur standing on end. He swayed from side to side as Yamamoto dodged, but always remained face to face, eye to eye.

"Damn it! Look me in the eye! Stop looking down on me!"

Driven by his protective instincts, Akio Yoshioka instinctively reached into the lining of his suit jacket. Upon seeing this, the members of the Yamakane Group immediately surrounded the three of them, puffing out their chests and looking down at Akio Yoshioka. A tense atmosphere filled the air.

"Everyone, please don't act rashly!"

Hara Masaki smoothed things over, saying, "Section Chief Yamamoto can't draw conclusions so quickly; he needs to go back and retrieve the data to uncover the truth—"

"Who do you think you are? Do you have the right to speak here?" My younger brother didn't even look at him.

Even a random thug on the street can harass a patrol officer, who can only bow and scrape and endure it. These days, having little power means having no human rights.

Seeing that he couldn't get away with it, Yamamoto Koji had no choice but to put on a serious face, take out his police ID, slap it on his younger brother's chest, and ask, "What do you want? Assaulting a police officer? You've got some nerve, are you going to kill me and throw me into the sea?"

Not to be outdone, the younger brother was about to pull out his gun to threaten him when he suddenly changed the subject: "What Zhisheng said is right. There are some things I need to go back to the police station to gather information before I can draw a conclusion... I might as well tell you that this murder case is related to a suicide case a while ago."

"What suicide case?" My younger brother looked suspicious, his attention successfully diverted.

Yamamoto Koji embellished the story of Akiyama Mitsugu's suicide, starting from the beginning when she silently committed suicide under the protection of patrol officers, all the way to the point where the skin on her body was peeled off and the security guard witnessed another "Yamamoto Koji"...

Finally, he didn't forget to find an excuse to leave:

"In conclusion, I need to go back to the police station to retrieve the case files to confirm whether these two cases were committed by the same person... Are you satisfied with this reason?"

The group leader's face turned pale, and the rest of the group exchanged bewildered glances. Someone whispered, "Could it really be a monster?" The group leader turned around and scolded, "Idiot! Don't talk nonsense!"

These days, Japanese people are still quite superstitious. Shinto and various religious sects are very popular. In addition, the members of the Yakuza have not read many books and are mostly from the lower class, poor people from the countryside. It is not surprising that they would think this way when they encounter things that are hard to understand.

Even the headquarters of the agency has a shrine, and incense is offered there every day.

Not wanting to be laughed at by the police, the younger brother finally let Yamamoto Koji and the others leave.

The three hurriedly left the office and walked out of Senju-cho. Yoshioka Akio exclaimed, "Boss, that was close..." Hara Masaki reminded him from the side, "Section Chief, my name is Hara Masaki, not Hara Chisaki."

Yamamoto Koji selectively ignored Hara Masaki's words and sighed, "Sigh, we shouldn't have taken the case so seriously."

These days, people only die suddenly at work, are killed while on duty, or have accidents while investigating cases; I've never heard of anyone dying from slacking off.

"So what should we do now?" Akio Yoshioka asked. "Should we go back to the police station to retrieve the case files?"

"I was just saying, you actually took it seriously." Yamamoto Koji lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and looked around as he said, "Let's find an izakaya and have a few drinks. Just be on time for work tomorrow."

"Huh? What if the section chief asks about it?" Yoshioka Akio asked somewhat anxiously.

"Just say you're on fieldwork." Yamamoto Koji felt he was entitled to receive the fieldwork allowance.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhensheng felt very gratified.

What excellent police officers! Japanese detectives should be like this: good at time management, focused on personal development, and adept at balancing work and life.

Instead of being like Shinomiya Rin, meddling in other people's business.

Speaking of which, what was Shinomiya Rin doing in the trunk of the car last night? I wonder if she's dead or not... no, she should still be alive, otherwise there would be an obituary in the newspaper.

Why aren't you at work? You're so lazy...

Yuan Zhensheng sighed inwardly, "Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years. I really hope that if Shinomiya Rin gets into trouble, all the favors he owes can be wiped clean."

"Since you two have other plans, I won't bother you any longer." He bid farewell to Yamamoto Koji and planned to go to the telephone club to collect the remaining payment.

"Don't rush off, let's have a drink together," Yamamoto Koji said.

He found drinking with Yoshioka Akio pointless; the guy was a sycophant when he wasn't drunk, but when he was, he would act crazy and he would have to clean up the mess and take him home.

Yuan Zhisheng seems like a decent kid, he's perceptive, and he even tried to smooth things over earlier... On the other hand, Yoshioka Akio is completely terrified and all he knows is to pull out his gun.

"No, I have something to do later," Yuan Zhensheng declined.

He wanted to say he was allergic to alcohol, but the original owner had drunk alcohol at the welcome party, and such a lie would be easily exposed, so it was better to tell the truth.

"What could be more important than your seniors and superiors treating you to drinks?" Yoshioka Akio asked, frowning.

This is the current workplace culture in Japan: after work, people still have to socialize and go to izakayas (Japanese pubs) to drink with colleagues and superiors.

If you don't go, you'll be seen as a troublemaker, suppressed and subjected to passive-aggressive behavior at work, and even your wife will look down on you for coming home early, thinking you're not serious about your career.

Despite the earnest persuasion of Akio Yoshioka and Koji Yamamoto, Masaki Hara found it difficult to refuse and could only agree to have two drinks.

At worst, I'll pretend to be drunk and slip away halfway through.

The three sat down at a roadside izakaya and each ordered some snacks to go with their drinks. Once the shochu was served, Yamamoto Koji and Yoshioka Akio returned to the case, casually asking Hara Chisei for his opinion.

"My name is Yuan Zhensheng..."

"Anything is fine. Who do you think the killer is?" Yamamoto Koji asked casually.

Yuan Zhensheng thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Have you ever heard of the Swamp People?"

"What?" Akio Yoshioka had never heard of it.

"It's just a ghost story from the anonymous 2ch forum," said Yamamoto Koji.

"I've never heard of it before. What is it?" Akio Yoshioka asked curiously.

Before Yuan Zhensheng could even speak, Yamamoto Koji took the initiative to explain—an anonymous user posted on a forum, claiming from their own experience that they had encountered a "swamp man."

In Japanese Shinto folklore and traditional ghost stories, swamps are the boundary between the mortal world and the world of the living. Legend has it that swamp men roam the swamp, hunting the living and stealing their identity and life.

Yamamoto Koji concluded by saying, "Legend has it that witnessing one's own doppelganger is a sign of impending death..."

"Huh?" Yoshioka Akio's eyes widened. "Then, Section Chief, aren't you in a very bad situation?"

The man who appeared in the morgue had Section Chief Yamamoto's face; perhaps it was a sign that the Swamp Man was coming to claim his life!