Net King Whale Fall

Chapter 688 Ono Chu

After a long while, seemingly having finally seen enough, Maki Hase laughed self-deprecatingly, "She's really annoying. She's a nuisance even in life, and she can't find peace even in death."

Sanada Rin's expression remained unchanged; she could still listen to what she had to say.

Now that things have come to this, and she's already in the interrogation room, whatever the reason, Maki Hase can no longer hide.

"Actually, you've already guessed it. What happened back then was no different from what you imagined, except that the process was a bit disgusting."

Sanada Rin twitched her fingers slightly, swirling the marker around her fingertip, and said something useful.

“I…we have a bad family background, as you have found out. Studying abroad is the best way to get rid of my family of origin, to leave and make sure they can never find me.”

"Studying abroad is quite expensive, but I've saved up a lot through part-time jobs over the years. The agency said that college students can get interest-free loans."

Maki Hase covered her face with one hand and laughed, lamenting her naive self back then, "I believed it. I actually believed such a perfunctory lie without a doubt."

"How could there be such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky? Even if there were, it would never happen to me."

"That day was a farewell party," Maki Hase's memory slowly returned to that day, those things she had deliberately buried deep, things that still disgusted and terrified her.

"It was to congratulate us on getting into our ideal universities. We only need to go through the final procedures of getting our passports. The teachers at the agency specially treated us to a meal."

"I was so happy at that time. I couldn't contain my excitement at the thought of leaving soon, and then I got drunk."

At this point, a hint of embarrassment crossed Maki Hase's face. "After waking up, what caught my attention more than the physical pain was the camera across the bed."

"We're all adults; we know what happened without even having to say it."

“The moment I woke up, I knew,” Maki Hase said calmly, “that the life I imagined could only exist in my imagination.”

Officer Matsuda asked, "At the time, we couldn't find any record of your police report."

Maki Hase's lips twitched slightly. "Just before I was about to call the police, I received a video."

"If I make that call, what awaits me is a sex scandal that could make the news."

“So I…” Maki Hase didn’t want to recall the past events that happened and that she was powerless to change, but her body’s subconscious reaction couldn’t lie, “I could only compromise.”

Once something like this happens once, it will happen again, and then it will become a matter of course.

“I don’t even know who the father of that child is, so I have to abort it.”

Sanada Rei's gaze swept over her eyes. "How did Ezaki Hako handle it?"

Maki Hase still doesn't understand how there can be such a stubborn person, even though they are the most similar people.

Why struggle so desperately to climb out of the mud when you're already wallowing in it? Wouldn't it be better to stay?

She naturally understood that Ezaki Yuko had encountered the same thing as her, but the reaction was completely different. Ezaki Yuko was willing to risk everything to call the police, even at the cost of her own life, to seek justice.

Maki Hase was furious. She couldn't accept that this was known to the public and that her video was uploaded online. If Yuko Ezaki made a big fuss, she wouldn't be spared either.

So she accepted the bribe from that group for the first time and stepped in to stop Ezaki Yuko.

She would never forget the incredulous look in Ezaki Hako's eyes at that time.

When stuck in the mud and seeing someone struggling to climb out, my first reaction wasn't to help my colleague, but to reach out and pull them down.

"I'll stop her," Hase Maki said. Sanada Rin thought to herself, having guessed it; Hase Maki's inner thoughts had already confirmed this.

"What happened on that trip?"

After the trip ended, Ezaki Yuko disappeared. It would be hard to believe that Hase Maki, who was traveling with her, was unaware of it, especially since she had already joined in.

Maki Hase repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists, then took a deep breath. "Ezaki Yuko can't escape. No matter what she does, she's already being watched by that group."

“Even if it wasn’t me, someone else would have taken action. If it were me, at least, at least the damage she suffered wouldn’t have been so great.”

Officer Matsuda's indifference and self-deception are rare indeed.

Sanada Rin looked up at her. "So, the fact that Ezaki Yuko was imprisoned and kidnapped for three years, and was beaten and tortured to death, is the result of your kindness to her."

"If you tell a lie for a long time, you'll start to believe it yourself."

Sanada Rin sneered, "Don't think of yourself as so noble, Hase Maki. From beginning to end, you've been a despicable little man."

Touched on her deepest sore spot, Maki Hase's voice was shrill, "What do you know?!"

“I know quite a lot,” Sanada Rin said calmly.

"Your high-paying, respectable job is probably a reward after that trip. You've been living a comfortable life all these years, living in your own lies, really thinking of yourself as a savior."

Maki Hase pressed her lips together, avoiding eye contact with the two people opposite her.

"Actually, Ezaki Yuko understands your obstruction and knows your difficulties. She just wants to seek justice for herself, that's all."

"Unfortunately, even so you won't allow it. You're afraid that Ezaki Yuko will escape her suffering, so you're holding on to her tightly and refusing to let go."

"I think you were the one who suggested that trip. You agreed to their plan, mostly for your own benefit, and personally delivered Ezaki Hako to their doorstep."

"Don't you know what the consequences of doing this will be for Ezaki Yuko? You know, you know very well, that if you send her away, Ezaki Yuko will never be able to stand up again."

"Ezaki Yuko's biggest mistake was empathizing with you, a victim like herself, which led her to fall into an abyss of no return."

"Ezaki Hako is dead, and you're next, Hase Maki."

"Now that you know so much inside information, do you think you'll be silenced?"

Looking at Maki Hase's pale face, Rei Sanada said, "It's only a matter of time."

Maki Hase spoke with difficulty, "You promised to protect me."

Sanada Rei leaned back in her chair without saying a word, not offering a single useful clue. Did she still expect her to protect her?
Maki Hase hadn't worked in society for nothing these past few years, and she could tell that these police officers were implicitly following Rei Sanada's orders.

After a long silence, Maki Hase opened her mouth several times before finally speaking, "I just... accidentally heard a name once."

"explain."

“Ono Hatsumi, from Beika University, she is also…” The words in between are omitted but are clear without much description, “I heard them say that this woman is difficult to deal with, and she is not afraid of anything, even if she has nothing.”

"I don't know anything more specific. All I know is what they accidentally let slip when they were drunk."

Sanada Rin looked at her for a while, then got up and left.