Net King Whale Fall

Chapter 685 Maki Hase
The smile on Atobe Keigo's face vanished, and his lips tightened into a straight line, making his meaning quite clear.

Sanada Rin's eyes darted around, and she began to play dumb. "Oh my god, Keigo, you've become even more handsome and dashing in just a few days. I miss you so much."

Atobe Keigo was so angry he almost laughed. After all these years, Sanada Rin's excuses for changing the subject were still so perfunctory.

Do you think I would believe that so easily?

Sanada Rin touched the tip of her nose; wasn't this just to lighten the mood?

Atobe Keigo gave her a disgruntled look. "Don't just stand there after you've finished your work. Go wash up and go to bed."

Sanada Rin readily agreed, "Okay."

She quickly went to the bathroom to take care of herself, and when she came out, her face was still damp. "I'm going to sleep now, goodnight."

“Wait a minute,” Keigo Atobe interrupted in time, “If you’re still staying at the hotel tomorrow night, just like now, connect to my video call.”

Sanada Rin couldn't estimate her own schedule. "Well, you're busy with your thesis and company affairs. Wouldn't it be too much of a disturbance to make video calls for so long?"

“It’s alright,” Atobe Keigo said good-naturedly. “I’m not too busy right now, I have plenty of time. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you at all, just like today.”

"After all, we are separated by a great distance, and I just want to be with you in another way."

Having come this far, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse outright, so Sanada Rin thought for a moment and agreed, "Okay."

Atobe Keigo relaxed as well, saying, "Wipe the water off your face before you go to sleep."

"Okay, then, goodnight, Keigo."

"Good night."

Sanada Rin lay on the bed, still pondering the process of the case in her mind, and eventually fell asleep.

After hanging up the phone, Atobe Keigo sighed softly. Irregular work and rest schedules are indeed bad for your health, but when you're busy, you really don't pay attention to these things. He knows this all too well.

Atobe Keigo's eyes hardened as he looked back; he needed to finish this quickly and return.

Early in the morning, Sanada Rei's phone vibrated. It was a message from A-Da, telling her to come downstairs for breakfast and then they would set off.

At the dinner table, Shinichi Kudo glanced at Rei Sanada's condition and knew that she had stayed up late again, probably all night.

However, he didn't say anything, because he was in the same boat, and neither of them should criticize the other.

Sanada Rin ate mechanically, and it took her a long time to fully wake up. Remembering what she had discovered last night, she said, "I'm not going back to the police station later; I need to see someone."

Shinichi Kudo turned his head to the side. "What did you discover?"

Sanada Rei showed him the information on her phone, "This person."

Maki Hase is the friend that Ezaki Hako used as an excuse to go on a trip with friends three years ago.

Shinichi Kudo remembered her, but, "Didn't the police check at the time to see if she really didn't know anything about it?"

As the last person to see the victim, Maki Hase was investigated by the police more than once, but the results were always negative, which greatly frightened her.

Sanada Rin finished the last sip of coffee. "Not necessarily, but I found something else."

The hotel restaurant is bustling with guests coming and going, so it's best not to say too much. We'll chat in the car.

Yesterday's policeman—oh, by the way, his name is Hideki Matsuda, Inspector—naturally had to accompany the entire investigation of cases that occurred in his district. Three years later, Maki Hase moved. The journey from the hotel to her new home took about forty minutes. During this time, Rei Sanada shared the results of her investigation with her.

Genichiro Sanada had somehow gotten his hands on a notebook and was writing down his thoughts, stroke by stroke. He didn't ask many questions, but analyzed and recorded whatever he heard. Once the case was over, he would try to request access to the complete case file.

"Before leaving, Ezaki Yuko had inquired about studying abroad, and Kitada Yuna had also looked into information about pursuing graduate studies abroad before she disappeared."

"Only two people, let's say it's a coincidence for now. After all, these victims are all around the age of college graduates, so it's normal for them to have such thoughts."

"So I took the opportunity to look up the cases of those victims from ten years ago, and they all had the idea of ​​studying abroad."

“The police did not focus on this at the time because the agencies they consulted were not the same ones, and some of the family members testified that the victims only had this idea but did not take any actual action.”

"But after I went through all these study abroad agencies, I discovered something very interesting."

Shinichi Kudo hissed, "Are they in cahoots?"

Sanada Rin handed the computer to A-Da, saying, "The company's legal representative didn't find any problems, but their training instructors, who shuttle between these institutions, could be considered industry role models."

Officer Matsuda gripped the steering wheel tightly. "These organizations are competitive, aren't they?" Can they allow an employee to jump ship so frequently? Aren't they afraid of taking away their clientele?

"Yes."

“If a school has a high number of missing students, it is very likely to be noticed by the police. But if the victims are selected in different times and in different batches from different schools, the police will not be so likely to notice them.”

"The killer was a very picky person. He would only choose those he liked. The victims looked like they were all cut from the same template."

"The selection is also very accurate. They are all people with disharmonious family relationships, average family background, whose parents will not pay attention to them, or even if they do, they will not have the time or energy to pay much attention to them."

Even more shockingly, some of the previous victims disappeared for over a year before their families discovered them and reported them to the police.

Officer Matsuda's face was grim. What a beast! He has humanity completely under his thumb.

Ah-Da then sent all the information to Minister Odagiri, and these people should all be traced back to their ancestors.

During their conversation, they arrived at the building where Maki Hase lived. Luckily, she was home.

Maki Hase opened the door in response and saw several tall men with unfriendly expressions. She couldn't help but feel a little wary and pulled the door back a little. "Who are you looking for?"

Officer Matsuda expertly pulled out his badge and greeted A-Da with, "Hello, officer."

"Ms. Maki Hase, there is a case that requires your help. Would it be convenient for us to come in and talk?"

When Maki Hase heard that they were police officers, a hint of nervousness flashed in her eyes. She stared at the identification documents for a while before opening the door and letting them in.

Maki Hase didn't really want to, but seeing their expressions, she couldn't bring herself to refuse, and silently poured them water.

Officer Matsuda tried his best to appear amiable, something he couldn't rely on with Ada. "Ms. Hase Maki, we're just asking a few routine questions. You don't need to be nervous or bother. Just sit down and we'll talk."

Maki Hase asked curiously, "What case do you have to ask about?"

Officer Matsuda took out a photo of Ezaki Hako from before her death and placed it in front of her. "I heard that Ms. Hase Maki and Ms. Ezaki were college classmates and even traveled together. They were good friends. I wonder if you still remember them?"

The moment the photo was released, Maki Hase's expression changed drastically, even though she tried her best to cover it up.

But it was no use; even Genichiro Sanada noticed something was wrong.