Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 596, The Deathly Sound in the Rainy Night!
At the end of August, the lingering warmth of late summer was swept away by a sudden autumn rain. The night was deep, and dense raindrops, like countless cold needles, pounded against a secluded, abandoned seaside warehouse district in Minato Ward, Tokyo. Far from the hustle and bustle, the rusted steel frames stood silently in the rain, like the skeleton of a colossal beast. Only the rotating beam of light from the distant dock occasionally tore through the rain, bringing a fleeting, stark white illumination.

Police Inspector Toru Kinoshita parked his inconspicuous black sedan a few blocks away and walked through mud and puddles to the agreed-upon side entrance of Warehouse No. 3. He wore a dark gray waterproof windbreaker, collar turned up, rain dripping from the brim of his hood. He chose this location because of its relatively open view; the complex structure of the abandoned warehouse provided multiple observation points and evacuation routes; and the wind and rain perfectly masked conversations and footsteps. Like a stone statue, he remained hidden in the heavy shadows cast by the warehouse, only his sharp eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, alert for anything unusual.

Time passed second by second, but the rain showed no signs of letting up.

The appointed time has arrived.

Finally, a familiar figure appeared in the rain, also wearing a dark coat, carrying a black umbrella, and walking hurriedly. It was none other than Kenichi Nakamura, an important informant disguised as an investigative reporter.

He saw Kinoshita in the shadows, visibly relieved, and quickened his pace to approach.

The Public Security Bureau was operating covertly. After obtaining the document from Miyawaki Sakura, the Japanese Public Security Bureau finally had a clue. They began to investigate the forces behind YKC48 and made use of other informant resources.

Kenichi Nakamura was one of the informants for the Public Security Bureau. He was an investigative reporter for Bungei Shunju, the parent company of Weekly Bunshun, and was a so-called double agent.

In other words, Minister Akimoto's contact with the police organization angered the entire organization. In addition, the two sides broke off relations due to the bombing of the minister's son, and Minister Akimoto had already lost power with Prime Minister Owada. Onoda and Jinshiro only decided to thoroughly investigate the N network after receiving support from Chairman Minami Kotaro, and thus made use of this valuable mole.

For this reason, Inspector Kinoshita personally took action.

As a public security elite, Inspector Kinoshita of the Security Planning Division of the National Police Agency carefully confirmed that there were no tails around before stepping out half a step from the shadows, raising his hand, and preparing to beckon Nakamura over with a simple gesture.

Nakamura saw his gesture, and the tense muscles on his face relaxed, even revealing a relieved expression of "finally arrived".

Just as he was about to step across a puddle of water, a sudden change occurred!
"Oh!"

A dull thud, like the sound of a cloth bag filled with wet sand being struck, was not loud amidst the wind and rain, but it was exceptionally clear.

Nakamura cried out in pain, staggered, and the umbrella in his hand flew out and tumbled in the wind and rain.

He instinctively covered his side, his face initially showing confusion.

It looks like he bumped into something?
Because of the rain, the surrounding light was dim, and Inspector Kinoshita thought that he had accidentally bumped into something or slipped while walking. Although he controlled his facial muscles well, he still felt contempt in his heart.

A mediocre journalist is just a mediocre journalist, and an investigative journalist is just an investigative journalist.

After all, if someone really had the ability, why would they do this?
Investigative journalists are only slightly better than paparazzi. They make a living by getting all sorts of big news in politics, business, and entertainment. Today they can get a juicy story and sell a single photo for millions of yen, but tomorrow they can earn nothing and starve.

Kenichi Nakamura was also forced to become a police informant after he sabotaged a police operation during a clandestine investigation.

In the rain, Nakamura rubbed his side and looked around in confusion. Finding no one, he continued walking toward Inspector Kinoshita. But as he slowly approached in the rain, his steps became heavy, and his body began to twist, making it impossible for him to stand up straight. He seemed to be performing a strange dance in the rain and even reached out to Kinoshita.

"What's wrong?" Kinoshita asked in a low voice, her heart tightening.

Nakamura did not answer. He bent down and made a strange "clucking" sound in his throat.

Kinoshita sensed something was wrong and immediately stepped forward to support him: "Nakamura!?"

The moment Kinoshita touched his body, Nakamura abruptly raised his head, his face turning a terrifying bluish-purple in the occasional flashes of light from the lighthouse.

He opened his mouth wide, as if he wanted to say something, but instead of words, a large amount of white foam mixed with blood gushed down his chin and dripped onto the wet ground.

“Ugh…uh…” Nakamura’s eyes bulged out in terror, filled with incomprehensible pain and fear. He grabbed Kinoshita’s arm, his nails almost digging into his trench coat, and his body convulsed violently.

"Nakamura?! Hold on!" Kinoshita's alarm bells rang in his mind; he immediately realized that this was no accident!

He abruptly laid Nakamura flat, attempting to provide first aid while simultaneously drawing his sidearm from his waist at lightning speed, the muzzle warily pointing towards the surrounding dark rain.

nobody.

Apart from the endless sound of rain and wind, there was no one in sight.

The impact just now felt like it came from a ghost. The "thing" that hit Nakamura vanished without a trace, as if it had merged into the rain and darkness.

"Damn it!" Kinoshita growled, feeling a chill run from his tailbone to the top of his head. He was an elite member of the security force, having handled countless dangerous situations, but this bizarre and inexplicable attack method filled him with a long-lost fear stemming from the unknown.

Right in front of him! Right in front of him! Nakamura was killed!
I didn't see anyone at all! Nor did I notice anything suspicious!
Nakamura's convulsions gradually weakened, his pupils began to dilate, and with his last bit of strength, he gripped Kinoshita's sleeve tightly, his lips moving to utter a few indistinct syllables:
"ア...リス...(a...ri...su...)"

The sound was so faint that it was almost drowned out by the sound of the rain.

Kinoshita immediately leaned down and put her ear close: "What? What did you say? Arisu? Is it a person? Who is Arisu?!"

But Nakamura no longer had the strength to answer.

He abruptly released his grip on the hand beneath the wood, which fell limply to the ground, splashing up a few drops of murky water. Those once alert eyes were now frozen in extreme fear and unsolved mystery, staring blankly into the endless rainy night.

Kinoshita Toru remained kneeling in the cold rain, gun at the ready, watching the rapidly dying corpse before him. His heart felt as if it were being clenched by an icy hand. The wind and rain continued, and the lighthouse's beam swept across once more, reflecting an unprecedented solemnity and a barely concealed fear on his face.

“Arisu…” he repeated these dying words in a low voice, feeling the word weigh heavily on his heart like a curse.

The cold rainwater flowed down Kinoshita Touya's neck and into his collar, but he felt no chill. A deeper, unknown fear instantly gripped his heart, making his blood almost freeze.

He knelt in the mud, his fingers still resting on Kenichi Nakamura's lifeless neck, where there was no pulse, only the cold touch of death.

"What the hell...what the hell is going on?!"

His mind went blank for a moment, the most direct reaction a human being has when faced with an attack that is incomprehensible and undefendable. A well-trained informant, right before his eyes, in what seemed like an absolutely safe environment, was instantly and in such a bizarre way taken away by an unseen "ghost."

This method exceeded all his previous experience in handling cases, bringing a near-surreal sense of dread.

But he is Kinoshita Touya, an elite member of the security force!
We are the roots that guard and support the great tree!
Panic surged in like a tide, but receded even faster, replaced by a ingrained professional instinct and the will to survive. He abruptly stood up, his gun-wielding hand still steady, his gaze, sharp as a hawk, once again rapidly sweeping across the surrounding warehouse shadows, the piled-up containers, and the depths of the rain.

"We can't stay here!"

A clear and cold voice boomed in his mind. The target was Nakamura, but who could guarantee the assassin didn't have a second target? Who could guarantee he wasn't locked onto the crosshairs of a sniper scope? The "safety" of this area had been thoroughly proven to be a joke.

Without hesitation, he reached out and rummaged through Nakamura's body, haphazardly stuffing his wallet, lighter, cigarettes, notepad, and keys into the evidence bag, and then into the safest pocket inside his trench coat.

How to do?
He glanced at the corpse on the ground.

Taking it with you when you leave would be foolish and dangerous; it would only make you a sitting duck and destroy any tiny clues that might have been left at the scene pointing to the killer.

"We must evacuate immediately, report the incident immediately, and seal off the site!" His action plan became clear instantly.

After giving one last wary look around, Inspector Kinoshita turned around without hesitation and, keeping a low profile and using various cover, quickly and silently retreated along a more complex route than he had come by. As he moved, he took out his encrypted communicator and pressed the emergency communication button.

"This is an emergency at 'Bourbon'! 'Woodpecker' was attacked at the side gate of Warehouse Area 3 and is confirmed dead! The attacker's identity and methods are unknown, and he is extremely dangerous! I have completed intelligence gathering and am evacuating according to Plan B! Requesting immediate, highest priority support! Repeat, highest priority! Seal off the entire area and conduct a thorough search! The operation may have been exposed; activate emergency communication protocols!"

He finished his report quickly but clearly, and without even waiting for confirmation, he turned off the communicator's location function and ran towards the designated safe evacuation point. The rain blurred his vision, but his mind was clearer and colder than ever before.

The fact that the other side was able to eliminate Nakamura so precisely means that their intelligence network may be deeper and more terrifying than imagined.

Nakamura was in charge of investigating "N-Net," the criminal network behind the idol's parent company, and he encountered such misfortune after only conducting a brief investigation...

At the very beginning of Project Shadowmoon, a crucial informant was lost!

Informant?

A thought struck him like lightning, causing him to almost stumble as he boarded the vehicle.

Oops!

Miyawaki Sakura!
(End of this chapter)