Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 125, Section 123: Tell the Truth

Ping Shenglong looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Akiyama Masahiro from the Ministry of Public Security.

"As expected, you also led an investigation team. How's it going? Any leads?" The tall Akiyama grinned and familiarly put his arm around Heisei Ryu's shoulder.

Kurosaki glanced at him and saw that Taira no Ryu had a hint of helplessness on his face.

"Akiyama, shouldn't you tell me about your discovery first?"

Akiyama shrugged: "The investigation headquarters has provided a lot of information, but it's not in-depth enough. Besides, it's only just begun, so where would we get any intelligence? But I know you're different; you must have some other ideas."

Ping Shenglong pointed to the ward: "They brainstorm together; they'll come up with more ideas than I do. Let's go."

"Hey! Don't be so cold. Why don't we have lunch together? Himeko is leading a team too, come on over." Akiyama tried to persuade her a few times.

Ping Shenglong waved his hand.

"A classmate?" Kurosaki guessed.

"Hmm." Heisei Ryu simply nodded, without saying anything more.

The two rushed to another hospital, where they quickly found another target.

"Ms. Otsuka's hearing is still recovering due to the strong blast sound at close range. There is a temporary interrogation room next door where you can communicate using a whiteboard. Please do not disturb the patient for too long."

"Thank you, nurse."

The two entered the ward, a six-person room that was already full. Most of the patients had suffered temporary or permanent hearing loss and were lying on the bed in a daze, looking dejected.

The person they were looking for—Natsuki Otsuka—was not lying in a hospital bed, but rather leaning against the window, seemingly gazing at the cherry blossoms outside, whose blooming season had already passed.

She saw Heisei Ryu and his companion, and at first looked puzzled, then suddenly realized, and smiled.

"Are you here to find me?"

Because of her hearing loss, she speaks rather loudly.

Ping Shenglong picked up the writing board next to him and started writing quickly.

Is now a convenient time? We have some questions.

"it is good."

Otsuka followed them into the room next door.

On March 15, 2031, you and Mizutani Masaka's parents reported her missing along the Hibiya Line. Could you please tell us the details of this incident?

Otsuka stared at the whiteboard, his expression momentarily dazed.

"Okay, as long as you don't think I'm talking nonsense. Even my uncle and aunt didn't believe me at first, and the police just treated it as an ordinary missing person case."

"We were out a bit late that day and caught the last train at Hibiya Station, but we later found out it wasn't the last train."

The more he listened, the brighter Kurosaki Chimei's eyes became.

At first, it was Tatsumi Hiramori and Natsuki Otsuka who were communicating, but later Kurosaki pushed Tatsumi Hiramori aside and kept asking for details, filling in the details in his notebook.

"That's how it was. I escaped from hell by exchanging a train ticket for Ya Hua's blood and flesh."

"And there must be quite a few people like me, I can tell from the handwriting in the train carriage, but in reality, it seems that I have never attracted any attention."

"The lady who saved me had already died in the car, but for some reason, Yahua was able to possess her body and save me. When I left that hell, I promised that I would find a way to go back and save her, even if it was just her soul, I would guide her back to reality."

"But I didn't dare, so I could only sit on a safe train and deceive myself with flowers. But even in the face of my broken promise, she still chose to forgive me in the end."

Kurosaki put down his pen, listened to Otsuka's words, and turned to look at Taira no Ryu.

“Every year, 80,000 to 100,000 people go missing across Japan, of whom about 30% are long-term missing and cannot be found,” Tatsumi Taira calmly stated the data. “Many of them simply vanish into thin air, and the largest group consists of office workers, teenagers, and bankrupt and unemployed individuals.”

"AI is not omnipotent; it is difficult to accurately analyze the psychology of each individual."

“In the past, the police would not have believed such supernatural statements, and they would not have even recorded them in the statement. They would probably only write a sentence that the person was under severe mental stress and was talking nonsense.”

Kurosaki looked back at Otsuka, and perhaps because she had received forgiveness from the deceased, her mood was both low and positive.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I actually wanted to handle myself, but I don't know when I'll be able to be discharged from the hospital, and I'm afraid of wasting time."

"I feel that you are different from ordinary police officers, at least you are willing to believe what I say, so, could you please do me a favor?"

Otsuka seemed to remember something and looked at the two of them earnestly, asking them a question.

Please speak.

Kurosaki quickly wrote it down, hoping to get more relevant clues.

Otsuka took out a postcard-sized card from his pocket. It was somewhat old and had some bloodstains and dirt on it.

Heisei Ryu stopped Kurosaki's eagerly outstretched hand, put on gloves, and carefully took the card.

This is a greeting card that should be attached to a gift, bouquet, or cake.

This is our first anniversary together, and we'll celebrate our tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth anniversaries together forever.

Turn the Ping Sheng Dragon over to its back.

[Nakameguro 2-15-7, I still couldn't do it, I'm sorry]

“Please buy me a bunch of pink calla lilies, put the greeting card on them, and give it to the lady of this house in 2037.”

"After I woke up, this sentence kept echoing in my mind. I think it must have been left by someone else who accidentally wandered into that hell, and it might have been him who allowed Yaka to leave from there in the form of a soul."

"Please, please deliver these flowers to her. If she still lives there, please let me know so I can visit her in person after I'm discharged from the hospital."

Holding the greeting card, Heisei Ryu and Kurosaki left the hospital in silence.

The eyewitness, on whom they had placed their greatest hope, was not interviewed, but instead, they obtained such a terrifying amount of information from seemingly unrelated people.

It wasn't until he got into the car that Kurosaki finally let out a leisurely sigh.

"I feel like your assistant, Takagi, is a bit underutilized working for you."

"She's a very outstanding person, don't get any ideas about her. She doesn't like sloppy men." "Wait, what?! I only said one thing! It's not like I have any feelings for her. Besides, I clearly tidied myself up, am I still considered sloppy?"

Kurosaki looked slightly insecure and grinned at himself in the rearview mirror.

Ping Shenglong ignored him, drove to several flower shops, finally found a bunch of pink calla lilies, and then drove toward the address on the card.

He had already asked Takagi to check on the way there, and the tenants of this house had not changed in the past few years.

After finding a place to park the car and placing the greeting card in a conspicuous spot on the bouquet, they quickly found the house indicated on the card.

【Dayou's house】

“Wait for me outside.” Heisei Ryu glanced at Kurosaki’s stubble.

"Huh? Uh, okay. Remember to call me when you go in." Kurosaki wanted to ask some more questions, but considering that if the other party was a woman living alone, two men coming to her door seemed too intimidating and could easily arouse suspicion.

Kurosaki walked across the street and pretended to make a phone call.

Ping Shenglong stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

Soon, footsteps could be heard from inside.

"Who is it?" a voice came from behind the door.

"I'm a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department. We have news about your husband."

clack.

The door was immediately opened halfway, and a slightly thin woman gripped the door frame, looking at the man in front of her with excitement and wariness.

"Is what you just said true?"

Ping Shenglong quickly sized up the woman in front of him.

She was wearing an apron, presumably cooking. Her hands gripped the door frame tightly, her voice trembled slightly, and her eyes were filled with excitement.

Ping Shenglong suddenly wondered if letting her know the truth was really the right choice.
He would prefer to see a wife who has started a new family and cherishes the past with nostalgia and longing. In that case, delivering the message might not bring much sadness, but given the current situation...
"This is a belated bouquet for his wedding anniversary, please accept it."

Ping Shenglong handed over the flowers.

She stared blankly at the bunch of pink calla lilies, her mouth slightly open, her throat bobbing several times before she finally raised her trembling hand to take the blood-stained greeting card.

The greeting card had only a few words, but she read it for a long time.

The woman made no sound; her back was bent so low it seemed as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and her head was completely buried. Only her constantly heaving shoulders could be seen, without a sound.

Only when she collapsed completely onto the entryway did a faint sob, as if she couldn't breathe, escape her lips.

"Mommy mommy!"

A toddler, no more than two or three years old, stumbled out and slammed his body into Ping Shenglong's leg. He raised his tender face, opened his arms, and shielded his crying mother with anxious eyes and a hint of fear.

"No, you're not allowed to bully my mom!"

Staring at the face of the little boy who could barely speak, Ping Shenglong's eyes seemed to travel through time and space, seeing himself thirty years ago.

His stiff body slowly relaxed, and he bowed, saying, "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

He left with that sentence, asked no further questions, and walked out of the wall with somewhat unsteady steps.

He looked up blankly, gazing at the sky that was gradually changing color.

The sun was nearing sunset, and the aroma of sukiyaki wafted from an indistinguishable source. A few students and office workers were walking along the narrow street.

The twilight still held a lingering warmth, like a ladle of lukewarm water, slowly pouring down the long street, trying to equally offer passersby a final bit of warmth, but it was blocked by the eaves, unable to reach the woman kneeling and weeping in the doorway.

"what happened?"

Kurosaki Mihiramori seems to be acting a little strange.

"Let's go." Ping Shenglong shook his head and walked towards the parking spot.

"No, we're already here, aren't we going to ask anything? Once we upload this information, a lot of people will definitely come and bother us. Why don't we get more firsthand information?" Kurosaki followed behind Taira no Ryu, muttering to himself the whole way.

Heisei Ryu suddenly stopped and turned around to stare quietly at Kurosaki, making Kurosaki feel a little uneasy.

“Sometimes, we don’t necessarily have to be so utilitarian.” After saying that, Ping Shenglong continued walking forward.

Kurosaki nodded blankly, then suddenly came to his senses.

What the hell!
Anyone can say that, but you absolutely cannot!
How dare you call me opportunistic?!

You're the most pragmatic one when it comes to handling cases!

Kurosaki quickly stepped forward to protest, but Taira no Ryu remained expressionless and unmoved.

The two got into the car, and Ping Shenglong took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it in silence.

Kurosaki opened the window and turned on the external air circulation.

drip.

There is a message on my phone.

[A new batch of personnel information has been released, a list of those who appeared on the platform that day but were neither found with a body nor registered.]

Ping Shenglong clicked on it, and there was a batch of items highlighted in red, which had undergone a second screening by Takagi.

Kurosaki leaned closer, and the two quickly glanced through it.

Then, it suddenly paused at a certain name.

"Nobi Chira."

The two looked at each other.

They didn't believe it was a coincidence.

　Chapter 2 3K equals 6K
　　
　
(End of this chapter)