The young officer swallowed and continued his report.
"At three thirty this afternoon, Li Jianguo asked to see the Special Task Force.
He asked for paper and a pen. He wrote for twenty-five minutes.
He produced a detailed list of bribe recipients and where the money had gone."
The young officer paused for two seconds.
"At three fifty-five, he finished writing the last word.
He suddenly went berserk. There was no warning.
He stood up and slammed his head against the metal barrier in front of the interrogation chair."
"The detention center guards rushed in. They couldn't restrain him.
He was abnormally strong. He broke free of the guards and wiped blood from his head with his hand.
Then he turned and wrote on the white wall behind him."
Chen Lei turned to the third page.
The photograph showed a white wall. Three names had been written on it in blood.
Zhao Lidong. Secretary Wang. Sun Jianguo.
A string of numbers followed each name.
Chen Lei stared at the three names.
Zhao Lidong, a senior Linhai City official in charge of urban development.
Secretary Wang, the personal secretary to the city's top leader.
Sun Jianguo, chairman of the Construction Group.
Those three names, together with the handwritten final statement Li Jianguo had spent twenty-five minutes writing.
The sky had fallen on Linhai City.
Chen Lei put down the photocopies.
The papers landed on the metal table.
He turned his head. His gaze passed over the table and settled on Kannazuki.
Kannazuki sat in the chair. Both wrists were secured by hardened steel handcuffs to the rings on the metal barrier. His yellow outdoor jacket was zipped up to his neck. His face was calm.
Chen Lei glanced at the digital clock on the wall. 16:05.
"When did he stop breathing?" Chen Lei asked the young officer.
"The forensic doctor confirmed it at the scene. Three fifty-eight this afternoon," the young officer answered.
Chen Lei pulled his chair back and stood. He walked to the computer in the corner of the interrogation room.
He entered his badge number and password and logged into the municipal bureau's internal network.
"Pull up the surveillance footage from interrogation room three at the detention center. Bring up the footage from our interrogation room two alongside it."
Chen Lei gave the order.
The young officer walked over to the computer and typed on the keyboard.
The screen split in two.
On the left was interrogation room three at the detention center. The footage had a timestamp.
15:30:00. Li Jianguo sat in the chair, writing with his head lowered. Detectives from the Special Task Force sat opposite him.
15:55:00. Li Jianguo stopped writing and raised his head.
His facial muscles contorted. He abruptly stood and smashed his head against the barrier.
The footage was silent.
But Chen Lei could see the force of the blows. Once, twice. Guards rushed into the frame. Li Jianguo threw them off, stained his hand with blood, and wrote the names on the wall.
15:58:00. Li Jianguo collapsed. His convulsions stopped. A doctor rushed into the frame and performed CPR. A minute later, the doctor shook his head.
Chen Lei shifted his gaze to the right side of the screen.
Interrogation room two at the Linhai City Bureau. The timestamp advanced in sync.
15:58:00. In the footage, Chen Lei had both hands braced on the table as he questioned Kannazuki about the seafood congee.
Kannazuki sat in the chair, his hands cuffed, and spoke in rebuttal.
Two timelines. Two locations. Perfectly aligned.
Chen Lei took his hands off the keyboard and stepped back.
The municipal bureau building at 118 Jianguo Road was twelve kilometers from the northern suburban detention center as the crow flew.
Kannazuki had been put in the Santana at two forty that afternoon.
He had entered interrogation room two at three twenty. Both hands had been cuffed.
He had no phone. No internet access. No communication devices of any kind.
He had been in contact with no one except Chen Lei and the young officer taking notes.
Chen Lei stared at Kannazuki's calm face on the screen.
Criminological theory focused on motive, opportunity, and means.
Had Kannazuki had the opportunity? No.
He had been under complete police control.
Had Kannazuki had the means? No.
Li Jianguo had killed himself by smashing his head against the wall. There had been no possibility of poisoning or physical contact.
Chen Lei turned and walked toward the interrogation table.
He stood before Kannazuki, looking down at him.
"What did you do?" Chen Lei asked quietly.
"I sat here and answered your questions, Captain Chen." Kannazuki looked up.
"Li Jianguo is dead. At the detention center. He wrote a list of bribe recipients on the wall in blood."
Chen Lei stated the facts. He watched Kannazuki's microexpressions.
Kannazuki's eyes showed no change. No surprise, no fear, no triumph.
"Linhai City has one less parasite."
Kannazuki's tone was flat. "That's a good thing.
But it has nothing to do with me."
Chen Lei clenched his fists.
He knew something was wrong. His instincts, honed over twenty years of criminal investigation, told him Kannazuki was absolutely involved.
Zhao Gang, Wang Hu, Zhang Wei, Sun Ming, Lei Bao. Now Li Jianguo too.
Six lives.
But instinct was not admissible evidence.
The law required a chain of evidence.
Kannazuki's alibi was personally vouched for by Chen Lei, captain of the Linhai City Bureau's Criminal Police Team.
It was a flawless logical deadlock.
The young officer stood to one side. He looked at Chen Lei.
"Captain Chen. The forty-eight-hour summons.
We have no concrete evidence.
Li Jianguo's case was classified at the scene as suicide to evade punishment," the young officer reminded him.
Chen Lei closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He opened them.
"Uncuff him," Chen Lei ordered.
The young officer stepped forward. He took out a key, inserted it into the handcuff lock, and turned it.
Click.
The metal clasp sprang open.
Kannazuki pulled his hands free. He flexed his wrists. A red mark circled them.
He stood and pushed the chair back into place.
"My belongings."
Kannazuki looked at the young officer.
The young officer left the interrogation room.
A minute later, he returned with a clear plastic bag.
Inside were Kannazuki's phone and electric scooter key.
Kannazuki took the bag, tore open the seal, and pulled out his phone.
He pressed the power button. The screen lit up.
He opened the food delivery app. It showed that he had been logged out for inactivity.
"They docked my pay for timing out." Kannazuki slipped his phone into his pocket and walked toward the door, holding his scooter key.
Chen Lei remained where he was.
"Kannazuki," Chen Lei called after him.
Kannazuki stopped. He did not turn around.
"I don't know what method you used. I don't know what organization is behind you."
Chen Lei's voice was cold and hard. "As long as you're in Linhai City.
If you act again, I will catch you. I'll bring you to court."
Kannazuki pushed open the interrogation room's iron door.
"Captain Chen. Catch a few more parasites like Li Jianguo. Linhai City will be a better place."
Kannazuki left the room and headed down the corridor toward the exit.
Chen Lei watched his retreating figure disappear around the corner.
"Captain Chen. What do we do with Li Jianguo's list written in blood?" the young officer asked quietly.
"Seal the original. Report it to the higher authorities immediately."
Chen Lei turned and headed toward the office area. "Things are about to change in Linhai City."
Four thirty that afternoon.
Kannazuki walked out through the Linhai City Bureau's main gate.
Sunlight slanted across the street. Traffic on Jianguo Road was growing heavier. The evening rush hour was approaching.
Kannazuki walked to the parking area to the right of the gate. His electric scooter was still where he had left it.
He climbed onto it and inserted the key.
He looked up.
Atop a twelve-meter streetlight pole fitted with a surveillance camera by the roadside.
Ryuk hung upside down from the crossbar. His enormous black-feathered wings dangled beneath him.
Passing pedestrians paid no attention to the gigantic monster.
Ryuk held a Red Fuji Apple.
He tossed it into the air. Caught it. Tossed it again.
"Gahahahaha." Ryuk grinned, baring his sharp teeth.
Kannazuki looked at him.
"Kannazuki, you won." Ryuk took a huge bite of the apple, sending juice spilling everywhere.
"The police let you go themselves. You're free now."
Kannazuki looked away and twisted the throttle.
The electric scooter pulled into the road.
"This is only the beginning." Kannazuki looked straight ahead.
Ryuk leaped off the streetlight. He spread his wings and followed above the scooter.
"The three rules my creator added."
Ryuk glided through the air. "Don't you want to know them?"
"No," Kannazuki answered.
"Why?"
"Rules exist to restrict the weak." Kannazuki stopped at a red light.
"All I need to know is that when I write a name in it, that person dies. That's enough."
Ryuk let out a hoarse laugh.
"You're truly arrogant. More arrogant than any human I've ever seen."
The light turned green.
Kannazuki rode through the intersection.
"I'm not arrogant." Kannazuki looked at the congested traffic ahead.
"I'm just taking out the trash. If the law can't clean it all up, I'll do it my way."
This world is rotten to the core. Rotten people are better off dead.
Someone has to do this. Someone absolutely has to.
Even if I have to sacrifice myself.
I can't let the world keep sinking while I still have my resolve and my life.
If someone else picked up this notebook, who would have what it takes to eliminate the people this world doesn't need?
No one like that exists.
But I could do it. No, only I could do it.
I'll use the Death Note to carry it out, to change this world.
Before you continue