No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Hey, Inspector Megure, oh—the body of a retired police officer has been found. Okay, I'll be right there. Sorry, I have to go again. Let's have dinner together tonight."

"No! I want to go too!"

"Alright, alright, the famous detective Vermouth, along with her loyal assistant Kitahara Masaki, is on her way to the scene!"

Chapter 190 Treasure Hunt Turns into Grave Digging

"The deceased was named Takashi Yasuda. The estimated time of death was between 9 pm and 11 pm. The victim was a detective in the local police station's life safety division. The cause of death was a brain contusion, caused by being hit on the back of the head by a weapon that was thrown aside. Therefore, the possibility of retaliation from a former criminal cannot be ruled out."

Upon arriving at the scene, Takagi didn't dare ask why Kitahara Masaki had brought his girlfriend along, and began explaining the case.

"Hmm, that is indeed a possibility, but—"

Kitahara Masaki saw the sticky notes on the noteboard next to him, one of which recorded tomorrow's itinerary—Kinjin-an.

After turning on his computer, the webpage displayed a photo of him with two men, both dressed in work clothes and carrying what appeared to be excavation tools. Below the photo was a text description.

"Hmm... The victim, Takashi Yasuda, even went to Mount Akagi with two men to dig up Tokugawa Ieyasu's buried gold. They even posted the digging process on their own website. It seems that the victim still has such a special hobby after retirement."

“By the way! Kitahara-senpai, according to the testimony of the first discoverer, although Mr. Yasuda has retired from the detective police, he is still a security guard. We have also confirmed the first discoverer's alibi. He went drinking with his friends at a place far away from here starting at 8 o'clock the day before yesterday, so the murderer cannot be him.”

Kitahara Masaki nodded. Then the murderer is likely to be someone with an old grudge—a past case, or someone with a new grudge—a buried gold.

"It is said that when Edo Castle surrendered without bloodshed, the Tokugawa Shogunate buried four million taels of gold, which, converted to Japanese yen, is about 20 trillion yen (one trillion is equal to one trillion yen)."

Upon hearing Kitahara Masaki's words, all the police officers present unconsciously swallowed hard. Kitahara Masaki continued:

"However, Japan has always been resource-poor. Even if gold is mined, it will soon be used as precious metal currency. So if there really were four million taels, it would have been used long ago and would not have been kept buried."

The bucket of cold water immediately dispelled the police officer's idea of ​​digging around after retirement.

"Ahem, I will personally investigate the buried gold lead, while the others will determine if anyone in Officer Yasuda's previous cases has ever threatened to retaliate against him."

The sticky note mentioned Kinro-an, a famous soba noodle inn located at the foot of Mount Akagi. Since the victim noted down the name of the inn, it's highly likely that the other two people on the webpage would also be there, as the inn was probably a meeting place.

Oh dear, this time it's not a three-choice question, nor is it a proof question. It really breaks my heart.

So I reluctantly agreed to go on a trip to Mount Akagi with Vermouth, since she had never been there before.

"How about we go to Mount Chicheng tomorrow?"

"Of course, no problem. Since there's no task of finding talent, we can have some fun. Hmm, I need to go buy a camera later."

------------------

The next day, Kitahara Masaki drove Vermouth to the Kinokan Inn at the foot of Mount Akagi, where they happened to see Detective Yasuda's two friends who had buried the gold.

Yesterday, he asked Ai to help him look up information on those two men. The younger, fat man, Naotaro Ishijima, is the heir to the Akagiyama Inn, and he also created the website about digging for buried gold. The other, a middle-aged man, Hiroshi Imamura, is the manager of the Kinokun-an Inn. Both are wealthy, so this buried gold digging project is probably just a hobby for them. The middle-aged man is Mr. Yasuda's elementary school classmate; they've known each other for decades, so it's quite interesting that they got together to do this kind of thing. But now that someone's dead, it's all rather pointless.

After Kitahara Masaki told them about Mr. Yasuda's murder, they were both shocked. Then, the middle-aged man, Imamura Hiroshi, said:

"Actually, I've felt something was off for a while..."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that Mr. Yasuda has done something strange in the past?"

"Yes, he was the one who came to us with a scroll that recorded the location of the burial site, saying it was evidence of where the gold was buried. But when we were about to dig to the target location, he suddenly said he was not going to dig anymore. Of course I disagreed. I wanted to ask him to come over and have a good talk, but I couldn't get in touch with him... Sigh, how could things have turned out like this?"

"Yes, things are unpredictable, so I have a suggestion—let me take Mr. Yasuda's place and we dig up Tokugawa Ieyasu's buried gold together!"

Eh!

Both of them were taken aback by Kitahara Masaki's suggestion. Vermouth, who was only responsible for being beautiful, almost burst out laughing. Only he could come up with such a way to slack off.

However, besides slacking off, there are other things that are of great concern. Yesterday, in addition to having Xiao Ai find out the information about those two people, she was also asked to investigate the excavation project near Mount Akagi. It was discovered that a company called Dongtang Real Estate Company had already excavated a place that the three of them believed to have buried gold, but they found nothing.

What's even more concerning is that the deceased Mr. Yasuda worked as a security guard at that real estate company.

That evening, the two checked into a hotel in the Akagi Mountains together. After taking a bath together, Takagi suddenly called:

“Senior Kitahara, we sorted through Detective Yasuda’s belongings and found a map of the buried gold and the Todo Company’s excavation records in his home. Judging from the labels on the cardboard boxes, Mr. Yasuda probably took the company’s documents from the warehouse himself.”

"So, Yasuda already knew there was nothing there?"

"Yes, the documents state that the excavation was personally led by the president of Todo Company, and he also personally ordered the excavation plan to be stopped."

"Hiss—tomorrow, go ask that club president about this excavation project, and also investigate his interpersonal relationships, understand?"

"Yes! We also found most of the cases that Mr. Yasuda was in charge of when he was a detective. Because he worked in the Life Safety Department, he often only gave verbal warnings and education, and was not involved in any serious cases. So we have no clue about the search for enemies."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Masaki lay down on the bed and immediately realized that the case must be related to the buried gold. The suspect should be someone from the Todo Company. After all, Kitahara Masaki had already confirmed the alibis of Mr. Yasuda's two treasure-hunting companions this afternoon. So, since Mr. Yasuda knew there was no treasure there but still went to search for it, he probably wasn't looking for glittering gold, but rather terrifying bones.

Chapter 191 Seizing the Treasure Bear Soldier

The next day, the treasure-hunting duo looked at Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth, who were traveling light, and asked somewhat hesitantly:

"Officer Kitahara, are you really planning to come treasure hunting with us?"

“That’s right. If we can really find Tokugawa Ieyasu’s buried gold, it will allow Mr. Yasuda to rest in peace. So please let me lend you a hand!”

Whoa whoa!!!

Seeing Kitahara Masaki's high spirits, the treasure-hunting duo decided not to say anything more and drove together to the cave they had found.

"Ah! We've arrived!"

"Oh, this is it."

The four people stood in front of a cave, and Kitahara Masaki asked:

How did you know the buried gold was here?

"It was found using the old map that Mr. Yasuda brought. It said that the marker for the burial site was this Jizo Bodhisattva. Look, it's that Bodhisattva."

Following the direction the treasure-hunting duo pointed, there was indeed a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue there. Kitahara Masaki walked over, squatted down, and slowly examined the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue. Looking around at the environment, which resembled a primeval forest, he felt a sense of unease.

"Oh, so this is Japan's Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. It's unbelievable that there is a statue of a deity in this kind of forest. However, its face is no longer visible. I wonder how long it has been here."

After hearing Vermouth's words, Kitahara Masaki suddenly realized where the incongruity lay.

This Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue has been moved! That's why most of the moss covering it has been worn away; otherwise, it should be covered in moss.

"Gentlemen, did you wipe off the moss on this back then?"

"Ha, no way. It would be terrible if we accidentally angered the Bodhisattva and our buried treasure disappeared. Anyway, when we found this place, we only intended to dig up the buried treasure."

Heh, I see. But Kitahara Masaki didn't ask anything more. He just went into the cave with the treasure-hunting duo to start digging, and then had Vermouth take a few more photos for them.

Just as everyone was digging, Kitahara Masaki's phone rang intermittently. He immediately picked up his shovel and ran out of the cave to answer the call.

"So, Takagi, what did the club president say?"

"That's right—President Toudou's reason for stopping the excavation plan was that the board of directors was unwilling to let him continue this absurd plan. What's most intriguing is that we also found out about the disappearance report of President Toudou's daughter-in-law three years ago. The timing of the excavation plan's suspension was exactly shortly after Mrs. Toudou Sayaka's disappearance report."

"What a coincidence? You've already found the information from back then, right? Tell me about it."

"Okay, back then, it was President Todo's son who reported the case, saying that his wife had suddenly disappeared and he hoped the police could help find her. Three days later, President Todo came to the police station and said that he no longer needed the police to look for her, because Mrs. Sayaka had eloped with someone else. President Todo, who wanted to keep his family scandal private, hoped the police could close the case. However, this reason was too far-fetched, so the police never listed this case as closed."

Kitahara Masaki shoveled the shovel into the ground, stepping on it with his right foot. He knew in his heart that this President Todo was definitely up to something. What kind of son would come to report a crime, only to have his father say he was there to close the case...

Wait a minute, shouldn't missing persons cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Life Safety Division?

"Mr. Yasuda was the one who led the investigation into this case back then, but he retired before he could find anything out, right?"

"Yes! So, Kitahara-senpai, was Mr. Yasuda killed by President Todo because he was about to uncover the truth?"

With so many coincidences, even Takagi realized that this disappearance case was not simple.

"There is no evidence yet. First, check President Todo's whereabouts over the past few days, focusing on the places Mr. Yasuda appeared around the time of his death. Then send over the information on the disappearance case and Todo Company's excavation plan."

Tired from digging, Kitahara Maki sat down on the ground and ate a bento with Vermouth. At the same time, she told her about the series of coincidences she had discovered in the case. Just then, she took Kitahara Maki's phone and started looking at the case of the disappearance of President Todo's daughter-in-law. A passage on the screen caught her attention.

Kazuya Kumazawa, a male host in Ginza, had dated Ms. Sayaka. Even after Ms. Sayaka married the son of President Todo, he continued to harass her. So Mr. Yasuda wondered if this man had taken Ms. Sayaka away. However, when he investigated the host's residence and workplace, he found that he had been missing for several days. But because the man didn't care about him at all, no one reported it to the police.

"I think—could Sayaka's disappearance be related to this man? Regarding Sayaka's family structure, she just gave birth to a son. I don't think it's possible that she eloped with a man like this, so...is it possible that she was killed by this man?"

"Yes, that's certainly possible, but the key issue now is that both of them have disappeared, and what exactly President Todo is trying to hide is also a concern."

Just as he was returning to the hotel, Kitahara Masaki suddenly had an idea. He found Ishijima Naotaro, the treasure hunter in charge of creating the website and uploading the excavation progress, and told him his conjecture:

"Ahem, Mr. Ishijima, we've practically dug up the entire cave today, but we haven't found anything. It seems the treasure might not be there."

“Yes, I also find it strange, but the old map that Mr. Yasuda brought says that there is a Jizo Bodhisattva statue in front of the cave where the gold is buried, so that should be correct.”

“That’s right, but I discovered that the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue had been moved before.”

"What! It's been moved? How did that happen?"

"Well, don't worry, I have a way to find the person who moved the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I hope you can cooperate with me. Here's how: write this on the webpage that records the excavation progress: 'The treasure hunting trio has found the real location of the buried treasure, right where the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was originally! Tomorrow we will go to the actual cave to excavate!' As long as we add the photos we took today, it will definitely make the person who moved the Bodhisattva appear."

The chubby young man didn't quite understand and asked:

"Um, you mean that person has been monitoring our excavation progress? And why did attaching today's photos prompt him to take action?"

"Haha, Mr. Ishijima, I'm a famous police officer known for my deductions! When my face appears in the photo, everyone who's been following this website will surely think we've found the real cave!"

Oh!

You're so mean, Officer Kitahara.

Chapter 192 The Little Black Guardian of the Corpses

Following Kitahara Masaki's instructions, Mr. Ishijima posted today's excavation progress on the website, including a photo of the three of them standing together giving a thumbs-up at the beginning. He also emphasized that this new recruit was none other than the police officer Kitahara Masaki, and clearly explained Kitahara Masaki's reasoning about the true location of the buried gold. At the end, he added the statement, "We must dig up the buried gold tomorrow!"

After seeing off the treasure-hunting duo, Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth returned to Mount Akagi and sat quietly waiting for the unknown guest.

"Shinichi, do you think there are any animals like brown bears on this mountain?"

"You're overthinking it. Even if there were bears here before, they would have been hunted down long ago. The fact that hotels and restaurants can be built at the foot of the mountain proves that there aren't any large carnivores here. In Japan, a place this small, the only place you can really see ferocious beasts is the zoo."

Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth chatted quietly, wrapped in thick blankets, drinking hot coffee from a thermos. They didn't need to personally observe any movements around them; the drone was sufficient to monitor them.

Sasasa—

The two, who had initially thought they would have to wait until dawn, checked their watches and found it was only 10 p.m. They quickly packed up their belongings and silently hid behind a large tree, waiting for the mysterious person to appear.

Xiao Hei sneaked up to the entrance of another cave, and just as he was about to take out his shovel, Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth appeared behind him.

"Oh! So this is where the buried gold is! And it's not far from that fake cave either."

"I guess the effort required to transport that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva flower was greater than expected, so they only placed the Bodhisattva statue in a place not far away."

After hearing the conversation between the two, Xiao Hei turned around abruptly and tried to run away in a panic. Having already determined from her thin figure that Xiao Hei was a woman, Kitahara Masaki gestured to Vermouth to "please." Vermouth quickly caught up with Xiao Hei, grabbed her hands, and brought her back.