Chapter 52: The Body Found?

Unlike what Ikeda Erena had imagined, the way Sueshi Munesuki searched the underground was worlds away from professional.

He neither flipped things open nor unlocked doors. Instead, he simply kept his right hand raised as if sensing something, pausing for a few seconds at each spot before signaling to Erena that they could move on to the next.

Erena did not ask why. She held a blind trust in him.

"The last time we searched together, I think it was that time at the host club." With no one else around and Sueshi right by her side, completely oblivious to the fact that the Metropolitan Police Department and Fuji Television were losing their minds, the tall, beautiful policewoman actually found the building lockdown... rather interesting. The two of them had originally been about to part ways, but now they were forced together again. "That male host named Takigawa Tsubasa ended up missing. Who knows what happened to him later."

"Right, that time was an illegal search too, and so is this one," Sueshi nodded. With his right hand still raised, he casually responded to Erena's questions. "That's why we have to be careful, Master Erena. You must be wondering why I'm sometimes so stubborn and uncompromising, yet extremely cautious at other times, right? At the commuter train corpse case, I dared to go head-to-head with JR East, a Fortune Global 500 company, but in the host case, I only dared to conduct a secret investigation, and afterward had to make up excuses and twist concepts to report it to the Metropolitan Police Department?"

"You always have your reasons anyway, and I can never win an argument against you," Erena pouted, feeling somewhat aggrieved. She thought to herself, who could possibly understand something as complicated as what you're saying?

"Some things, if you don't weigh them, they don't even tip the scales; once you put them on the scale, a thousand pounds won't hold them down," Sueshi said softly. "It's true that JR East is a Fortune Global 500 company, and as a rookie forensic doctor facing the entire Metropolitan Police Department—even with the Superintendent-General personally inquiring—I am worth less than a speck of dust. But when I do things, when I perform autopsies, I follow standard procedures and make compliant objections. That's why not a single one of them dares to directly move against me or outright reject my judgment."

"That is the system. It has long formed an incomparably rigorous operational framework, and within this operational method, no one is allowed to rebel, or they will face the backlash of the entire system. This backlash won't come immediately, but it will gradually grow stronger and stronger," Sueshi lowered his voice. "At this point, if you want to continue surviving within this system, everyone has no choice but to follow its rules."

"This is why I dared to challenge JR East, why I dared to contradict the Metropolitan Police Department, and why I dared to face the Public Prosecutors Office head-on. I handled everything strictly by the book, operating according to the system's rules. No matter how dissatisfied they were with me, they could not bypass the rules to directly attack me."

"But the host case and our current situation are different. What we are doing right now is an illegal search, so we must be careful with everything," Sueshi smiled wryly. "Under a legal search, the system can protect us; under an illegal search, it cannot. In this kind of situation, we must prioritize protecting ourselves."

"You always use such complicated words." Ikeda Erena pursed her lips, though upon reflection, she felt that what Sueshi said made sense.

Ever since she began maturing, she had been relentlessly dogged by gossip. Sueshi had no idea what kind of trouble she had faced in the judo and karate worlds before joining the police force; refusing to submit to her coaches, she had been forced to leave the dojo.

Who could have guessed that the police world would be filled with endless harassment just the same? Fortunately, reporting misconduct within the police system was far more effective than in the sports world.

"Then why do I run into so much trouble, Sueshi? Am I not acting according to the operational logic of the police system?" Erena finally voiced the question that had been weighing heavily at the bottom of her heart for years.

She believed she had never done anything wrong, that she had strived to do everything she was supposed to do, and that she had gone through all the proper channels!

"Because..." Sueshi smiled, revealing his teeth. "Bureaucratic order cares only about order and chaos, not about good and evil."

What Sueshi left unsaid was: Your very existence brings turbulence and disorder, so naturally you are rejected by the system. This has nothing to do with good and evil.

The tall beauty's mood dimmed instantly. She did not fully understand, but she roughly grasped what Sueshi meant.

It was all because of these damned fleshy burdens on her chest, her unaccommodating height, and her mixed-race face!

Erena bit her lip and suddenly asked, "Then what about you, Sueshi? Don't you bring chaos too?"

"Indeed, I do. The only difference is that the value I can create far outweighs the trouble I cause," Sueshi smiled as he spoke. "Is it more important to tolerate my hardline attitude, or is returning to 'order' by solving a case on the same day more important? The system's rewards and punishments will give them the answer."

"Yeah, I'm just a woman with zero value who always brings trouble," Erena grew even more depressed.

This was not the answer she wanted!

She knew this man's personality: honest and blunt.

If she had known, she wouldn't have asked!

So annoying, so annoying, so annoying!

"Don't think like that, Master Erena. At least to me, you are very important!" Sueshi continued, giving the tall beauty a thumbs-up. "You're my master and my partner, after all!"

"Hmph, trying to make up for it now is too late!" Ikeda Erena turned her head away slightly, refusing to deal with him.

This was the answer she actually wanted.

He probably didn't know that to him, she was at most a relatively important person by his side.

Yet to Erena, he was rapidly becoming everything in her life; to her, he...

As the two chatted back and forth, Sueshi had roughly scoured the first basement level.

Nothing found.

Next was the second basement level. Besides piles of props and scenic backdrops, this floor contained numerous pipe rooms and utility spaces.

The foul odor grew thicker. In the air, alongside the scent of rust and the pungent smell of paint, lingered a faint, sweet, and bloody tang.

"There doesn't seem to be any surveillance on this floor." Ikeda Erena felt a vague, ominous premonition and took the initiative to step in front of Sueshi. "Be careful, the air smells a bit strange."

"No, it's not here." Sueshi kept his right hand raised, shaking his head. "Keep going, keep moving."

The underground area was vast. The two walked for a long time, turning several corners and taking a couple of wrong turns before Sueshi suddenly sensed something.

"Follow me!" Grabbing Erena by the wrist, the two broke into a trot, arriving at the door of a basement room.

Pushing open the door of the small room, a wave of intensely foul odor rushed at them.

Yet the interior of the room was completely visible at a glance. Aside from the pipes on the ceiling, construction materials piled on the floor, some cleaning tools, and a pushcart, there was nowhere anyone could hide.

"There's no doubt about it, this is the place!" Sueshi said with absolute certainty. "Ms. Hironaka Mariko is hidden in this room!"

"Huh?" Erena looked around the bare, completely exposed room, a look of doubt crossing her face. "But..."

"You can notify Inspector Himura now, call them over!" Sueshi gripped her hand slightly tighter, pronouncing each word clearly. "Tell them we've found Ms. Hironaka!"

"But... there's nothing here!" Erena was still futilely inspecting the entire room over and over again. "Where's the evidence?"