Tokyo Drift Arc (16)

Chapter 46: Tokyo Drift Arc (16)

Ameko covered the unconscious Takeda Tetsuya with the car's old blanket, then thanked him and, supported by Zhang Heng, jumped out of the car.

"Do you think he was lying earlier?"

"No, I just think there are some questionable parts to his story." Zhang Heng locked the car door and followed the girl into the elevator to the supermarket.

"Mainly, the attitude of Onitō towards him struck me as very strange. If it was really as he said, and Asano Naoto woke up in the hospital and told his uncle that he also participated in racing, there's no reason why Onitō's people wouldn't have gone after him then. You know, hatred is strongest when someone's relative has just died."

"Hmm, maybe Onitō's people couldn't find him. Didn't he choose to live under a pseudonym after that incident?"

"If that's the case, how do you explain what happened six years later, that stone and newspaper?" Zhang Heng said. "Especially that sentence on it. If you'll forgive me for saying so, that doesn't sound like the tone a well-organized yakuza society would use."

Ameko thought for a moment, "Now that you mention it, it really does seem that way. But the people who set fire to the shop and kidnapped me last night were indeed Onitō."

Zhang Heng shook his head. "It's the same as I said, their timing is too strange. It's been over twenty years since that incident, why suddenly start seeking revenge now? And who was that mysterious person who called him in advance? Someone from within Onitō? And why help? Your father isn't stupid, he should have been able to see these issues, but his mind is refusing to think right now, so we'll have to investigate this ourselves."

"But we have absolutely no connection to those people from back then," Ameko said worriedly.

"No, we have a breakthrough point right now. If Asano Naoto wakes up from his coma, the nurses and doctors around him wouldn't not know who he wanted to see. As long as we can find the medical staff who treated him back then, we can find out who he had contact with during that period." Zhang Heng pushed a shopping cart to the aisle with tape. "But before that, we need to quiet your father down first."

The two bought ten rolls of black tape and two bundles of climbing rope. Back in the van, they tied Takeda Tetsuya up securely. Under Ameko's guidance, Zhang Heng drove the L300 to an apartment building.

"This is where my cousin lives. She's a flight attendant, flies international routes, and is never home. She left me a key and asked me to water her balcony plants when I have time. No one should be able to find us here."

Ameko explained as she opened the door. The apartment was small, but it was fully equipped with furniture and appliances, and very clean.

Zhang Heng dragged Takeda Tetsuya, still wrapped in the blanket, onto the bed. The coma buff from the soup bowl had worn off, and the latter had woken up halfway and was staring with wide eyes, wanting to say something, but his mouth was sealed with tape, only able to make muffled sounds.

"Even if you're going to throw your life away, at least give us some time. Don't just die like this without knowing why, otherwise wouldn't Kobayashi's sacrifice back then have been in vain?"

Zhang Heng didn't care if the seafood shop owner could hear his advice. The man was tied up like a mummy anyway, and there was nothing he could do even if he disagreed.

Ameko apologized, and then she and Zhang Heng worked together to use the remaining climbing rope to secure the seafood shop owner completely to the bed, making him unable to even roll over. After finishing, the two took a taxi to the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library.

This was a public library located in Minamiazabu, Minato Ward, built in 1973. It housed about 1.8 million documents and was open to the public for free. They came here to check reports related to that incident. Speeding at high speed in the wrong direction and causing two deaths was a particularly vicious social event at any time.

Almost all newspapers reported on it at the time, so as long as they searched for the date, they could find the relevant news. Ameko found the physician responsible for treating Asano Naoto, Kurobe Saburo, after flipping through just two newspapers. An interview with him was briefly featured in the Asahi Shimbun.

Zhang Heng searched for this name online and found that Dr. Kurobe Saburo had left the public hospital where he was working and transferred to a private hospital as a vice president. This was a bit troublesome. People at this level were usually very busy, and also highly vigilant, making them difficult to approach.

Ameko flipped through more than a dozen more newspapers from the same period, including scanned versions found in the library system, but finally made a new discovery in a local tabloid that had ceased publication. "Zhang-san, is this useful?"

The girl showed the screen to Zhang Heng beside her. Over the past nine months, Zhang Heng had not only been honing his driving skills but also his language abilities. In addition to his school courses, he had also been seizing every minute to strengthen his vocabulary. Now, his efforts were finally paying off, and he could communicate in Japanese for daily conversations. As for newspapers, as long as the content wasn't too specialized, he could grasp the general meaning.

"Hayami Rinko, a nurse from back then?" Zhang Heng was drawn to the stern-looking elderly nurse in the newspaper.

"Yes, she worked at that hospital for thirty-two years. It says that Asano Naoto was in critical condition when he first arrived at the hospital, so she, the most experienced one, was assigned to personally attend to him, staying up for two days and two nights without sleep. Unfortunately, he still couldn't be saved in the end. But at her age... she should have retired by now."

"Let's try to find Kurobe Saburo first. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out how to find Hayami Rinko," Zhang Heng finally decided.

The result was as expected. Kurobe Saburo was not easy to approach. He was considered an expert in Tokyo's surgical field, and his contact information was publicly available online, but the person who answered the phone was his female assistant.

Although the assistant's tone was polite, she was unwavering in insisting on a prior appointment. However, Director Kurobe Saburo's schedule was already booked for a month later. The two then tried to intercept him directly at the entrance of the hospital where he currently worked. After waiting for two hours, they finally met the man himself.

But Kurobe Saburo claimed he had no recollection of the events from back then. After less than two sentences, he became impatient and opened the door of his black Mercedes. "If you have anything, please find my assistant. I have an appointment with some friends from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for lunch."

Zhang Heng did not resort to force. Kurobe Saburo was not a minor character like Takeda Tetsuya. If he disappeared or was coerced, it would quickly attract public attention. Moreover, this guy might genuinely not remember. As a surgical expert, he sometimes performed over ten surgeries a day, and after getting off the operating table, he was often so exhausted that he couldn't even remember his own name.

Ameko watched the Mercedes drive away and turned to Zhang Heng. "What do we do now?"

"Let's try the Hayami Rinko lead. She worked at the hospital for decades, so even if she's retired, someone should know where she is."

I recommend a budding novel, "The Sage of the Abyss," written by a fellow bookworm in our group. It's a fantasy novel, check it out if you're interested!