Trouble Strikes in Succession, and the Exam Ends Early

Several days passed without a trace of the mysterious armed group, and several more people were killed in Shanghai!

Four people had died in three days.

The first was Yamanaka Masao, a major at the arsenal. On his way home from work, his driver drove into a deserted alley. The next day, someone found him sitting in the car with a thin steel wire around his neck. His eyes were open, and he still wore a look of confusion.

The second was Tanaka Ichiro, a lieutenant colonel in the management department. His throat had been slit in his own apartment, with the doors and windows locked from the inside. There were no signs of a struggle, and the tea on the table was still warm.

The third was Murakami Hideo, a captain in the port garrison. He disappeared while on night duty and floated to the surface of the water at the docks the next day, with a hole in the back of his head.

The fourth was Fujieda Kenji, a sergeant major in the military police and the liaison officer for the Xihengjing encirclement operation. He had been at work one day and failed to show up the next. When they went to his dormitory, the door was locked. They forced it open and found the room completely clean and empty, as though no one had ever lived there.

Four lives in four days. Three dead, one vanished. No witnesses, no clues, no killer.

Kuroiwa Masao sat in his office with four reports spread out before him. He read through them one by one, then read them all again from the beginning. Afterward, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while.

The four men belonged to different units and seemed to have nothing in common, but Kuroiwa had a vague sense that an invisible thread connected them.

He pressed the bell on his desk.

"Send for Shen Yan."

By the time Shen Yan arrived, Kuroiwa Masao had spread all four reports out on the desk.

"Sit." Kuroiwa Masao pointed to the chair opposite him, his voice hoarse. "Yamanaka Masao is dead. Tanaka Ichiro is dead. Murakami Hideo is dead. Fujieda Kenji is missing."

He read out the four names one by one, pausing after each.

"Four men, four days, all gone. It looks like a random assassination operation by the underground party or the Military Statistics Bureau, but I have a feeling something is very wrong. Look over the reports. I need an opinion from a fresh perspective."

Shen Yan said nothing. He studied the reports carefully, one by one, secretly admiring the underground party's and the Military Statistics Bureau's methods.

The job had been clean and efficient, beautifully done!

Time ticked by. The office was quiet except for the rustle of Shen Yan turning pages and the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Kuroiwa Masao got up and walked to the window, turning his back to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan stole a glance at the clock on the wall. It was about time; lunch was approaching.

"Section Chief, I have a preliminary idea."

"Oh!"

Kuroiwa turned around, a pleased look appearing on his face.

"Let's hear it. It doesn't matter if you're wrong."

"Yes, sir!"

Shen Yan got up, walked over to the blackboard in the office, and wrote a few words across it in chalk.

Hongkou arsenal　Shinshu Maru　Xihengjing

When he was done, Shen Yan picked up the photographs of the people on the desk who had been assassinated and attached them beneath the corresponding words.

Hongkou arsenal-Yamanaka Masao, major at the arsenal

Tanaka Ichiro, lieutenant colonel in the management department

Shinshu Maru-Murakami Hideo, captain in the port garrison

Xihengjing-Fujieda Kenji, sergeant major in the military police

Kuroiwa's eyes lit up!

Yes, that was it!

The people recently assassinated were all connected to the cases that had occurred over the past month!

"Very good! Shen, your observations are meticulous and perceptive! You truly are the talent I thought you were!"

Shen Yan hurriedly stood at attention and lowered his head. "You flatter me, Section Chief! It was your guidance that inspired me to offer this preliminary idea!"

"Good! Good! Work even harder from now on! I have high hopes for you!"

"Yes, sir! I'll return to the investigation immediately and do my utmost to get you results as soon as possible. I won't let your guidance go to waste!"

After saluting, Shen Yan turned and left, striding briskly. Yet what he was thinking was, I hear the new roasted lamb's head at Qingfeng Tower is good. I'll eat there for lunch.

After Shen Yan left, Kuroiwa stood in front of the blackboard, his brows drawn together.

The more he looked at the situation, the more it seemed that someone was tying up loose ends...

Just as he was pondering, someone knocked softly on the office door.

His secretary came in and placed a returned letter on the desk.

"Section Chief, you need to take a look at this letter."

When Kuroiwa picked up the envelope and saw the name on it clearly, his hand trembled involuntarily.

"Get out! Don't let anyone in unless I call for you!"

The secretary nodded and left, gently closing the door.

Kuroiwa took a deep breath and opened the envelope. The accusation letter Shen Yan had carefully prepared appeared before his eyes.

The letter was short, but Kuroiwa read it over several times. Suddenly, he came to his senses and rushed to the blackboard, repeatedly checking the names mentioned in the letter.

Then he smiled bitterly.

Except for one person, they all matched...

Kuroiwa's vision darkened. He sank back into his chair, trembling, and did not recover for a long while.

After a long time, Kuroiwa gritted his teeth and pressed the electric bell on his desk.

"Notify Satō of the action squad. Tell him to get here on the double!"

Five minutes later, a thoroughly bewildered Satō entered the office.

Kuroiwa Masao took a folder from the safe, pulled out a personnel file, and handed it to Satō.

"Arrest him in secret. Don't alert anyone. Bring him here. I'll interrogate him myself."

Seeing the name and position on the file, Satō drew a sharp breath.

"Section Chief, are you certain? If there's been a mistake..."

Kuroiwa Masao looked at Satō without speaking. His face was ashen, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Satō dared not say another word. He stood at attention, saluted, and turned to leave the office.

At 5:30 p.m., Yamada Masao of headquarters' secretariat finished sorting the documents he was working on, stretched, and headed for the restroom.

It was his habit to use the restroom before leaving work, leaving the day's fatigue and unhappiness at the office so he could go home happy.

Yamada Masao entered the restroom and stood at a urinal, whistling as he watched the slightly split stream.

"Looks like I need a little more self-discipline lately."

Bang!

Yamada Masao fell forward at the sound, only to be caught gently by a pair of hands.

Shen Yan, who was enjoying a delicious meal, seemed to sense something and smiled.

It seemed his clone had succeeded. The final link was secure.

Five minutes later, "Yamada Masao" walked out of the headquarters gates and climbed into his car.

Ten minutes later, the car turned into a somewhat deserted alley. A black sedan suddenly burst around the bend and slammed straight into it without slowing down.

"Yamada Masao" bounced up from the back seat and knocked his head against the front seat's backrest, crying out in pain.

Before he could react, a gun was already pressed against his driver's head.

"Don't make a sound," a masked man said in fluent Japanese, holding a sharp dagger against his neck.

"Yamada Masao" stared wide-eyed at the dagger. The blade felt cool against his skin. He opened his mouth but dared not make a sound.

The masked man took a black cloth from his pocket and covered the man's eyes, then tied his hands with rope and dragged him into another car. The whole operation took less than thirty seconds, clean and efficient.

The car drove out of the alley and merged into traffic.

The Special Higher Police interrogation room was on the second basement level. It had no windows, only an iron door and a lamp. The lampshade was made of iron, concentrating the light on the interrogation chair and leaving everything else in darkness.

"Yamada Masao" was tied to the interrogation chair, the black cloth already removed. He squinted, adjusting to the glaring light. A man in uniform sat opposite him, his back to the light, his face impossible to make out.

"Your name." The man's voice was low and echoed through the room.

"You don't know who I am?" The man in the interrogation chair raised his head. The light fell on the face of a man in his forties, square-jawed, with small eyes and thin lips. His tone was calm, even tinged with arrogance. "Didn't you check my identity before you arrested me?"

"Your name." There was no change in the man's voice.

"You'll know my name soon enough." He gave an ugly smile that looked like a grimace of grief. "But you won't dare do anything to me."

The man stood up, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. He walked over to the interrogation chair and looked down at "Yamada Masao."

"Then take a look at who I am!"

"Yamada Masao" raised his head, squinting against the light. He stared at the blurred face before him, then suddenly froze, his face turning deathly pale.

"Section Chief Kuroiwa? Is... is there some misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding?!"

Kuroiwa smiled, his expression icy.

"Yamanaka Masao, Tanaka Ichiro, Murakami Hideo, Fujieda Kenji. Do those names sound familiar?"

"...I don't know them... Did they report me? That's a complete slander! I really don't know them!"

Kuroiwa Masao shook his head.

"They didn't report you. They're dead. All assassinated in the last few days. How do you feel hearing that?!"

"Yamada Masao" stared openmouthed and muttered in disbelief, "They're all dead... How could they do this?! We were all just following orders..."

"Following orders? Whose orders? Speak! Or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"Yamada Masao" fell silent. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Under the light, his face was deathly pale.

"You think you can get out alive if you keep quiet? You think the people behind you will save you?!"

Kuroiwa Masao shouted harshly.

"Yamada Masao" opened his eyes, looked at Kuroiwa Masao's face twisted with anger, and smiled as though a weight had lifted.

"I never intended to get out alive. But if I talk, my family in Kyoto won't have a chance of surviving either! Kuroiwa Masao, I advise you to stop here. The people behind me aren't people you can investigate."

"Bastard! You scum, parasites of the empire! How can you face His Majesty the Emperor after what you've done?!"

Kuroiwa Masao slapped "Yamada Masao" across the face several times in succession.

But "Yamada Masao" remained unmoved, his face lifeless.

"Fine! Very well! You won't talk, is that it?! I hear you have a younger sister. The empire is organizing a second group of comfort women to go to the Philippines in support of the holy war. Do you believe I can add your sister's name to the list with one phone call?"

"No! You can't do that! Aiko is only sixteen!"

Seeing the corners of "Yamada Masao's" eyes split, Kuroiwa Masao straightened up and spoke unhurriedly, his tone icy.

"As long as you tell me everything, I can announce that you were assassinated by the Military Statistics Bureau and died serving your country. Your family will also be well taken care of!"

"Yamada Masao's" face twisted, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

"You promise? Swear it!"

Seeing Kuroiwa Masao nod, "Yamada Masao" seemed to let go of everything.

"Untie me and give me a cigarette."

Taking the lit cigarette, "Yamada Masao" inhaled deeply and began to speak slowly.

"We were behind all three incidents this month. There was a huge shortfall at the arsenal, and word came recently that the military was sending people to inspect it. Our orders from above were to blow up the arsenal and pin it on Lone Wolf. The crates on the transport ship were empty to begin with. The cargo had long since been sent to Korea, then shipped back to Japan from there. As for Kato... he deserved to die! If he hadn't reported it, none of this would have happened!"

"Who ambushed Kato's team?! Which unit?!"

Kuroiwa Masao grabbed "Yamada Masao" and demanded an answer.

"Yamada Masao" smiled indifferently.

"Do you remember the twenty-odd soldiers who disappeared when the arsenal exploded?"

Kuroiwa Masao released him and staggered back several steps.

It all matched...

"Where are they now?"

"Who knows? Maybe in Korea, maybe in the Philippines, maybe... they're all dead."

Kuroiwa Masao steadied himself and pressed on, his voice strained. "Who are the people behind you? There's no need to hide it now. I'll keep my promise to you."

A malicious smile appeared on "Yamada Masao's" face.

"Then listen carefully. The ones I know of are XXXX of the Tokugawa Main House, XXXX of the Shimazu House, XXXX of the Kujo House, and XXXX of the Konoe House. Go and arrest them, Section Chief. I wish you swift success and good fortune in battle!"

With that, he lunged forward and slammed his head decisively into a concrete load-bearing pillar. The lampshade tilted, sending the light swinging wildly. "Yamada Masao" collapsed to the floor, blood covering his forehead.

Satō crouched down and felt his neck, then stood up.

"He's dead."

Kuroiwa Masao was silent for a long time. He crouched down and looked at "Yamada Masao's" face.

Dead. He was truly dead.

His bones were shattered. A living man had smashed his own head in and died right in front of him.

He stood, turned, and left the interrogation room. His footsteps echoed through the corridor, each one heavy.

Doihara Kenji arrived at the Special Higher Police the next day. He summoned Kuroiwa Masao and Kagesa Sadaaki to the office, closed the door, and spoke with them for the entire morning.

No one knew what they discussed. The guard outside heard only the occasional slap of a hand on the desk and several arguments conducted in lowered voices. When they came out, Kuroiwa Masao's face was pale, and so was Kagesa Sadaaki's. Doihara Kenji walked out last, his expression unreadable.

That afternoon, a document was sent from the Special Higher Police to Tokyo. It stated: "The Xihengjing ambush was the work of remnants of the Scavenger Organization, who have all been eliminated. The theft aboard the Shinshu Maru was the result of a pirate attack during transport and is under investigation. The arsenal explosion was caused by dereliction of duty on the part of the garrison, and those responsible have been disciplined."

Three days later, Tokyo's reply arrived. It contained a single word: "Approved."

When Shen Yan was summoned to the office, Kuroiwa Masao's face was still ashen.

Shen Yan looked utterly stunned when he heard the order to stop investigating, but he immediately accepted it and handed over all the investigation materials.

His clone had just died and would need another fifteen days to respawn. He had decided to lie low for a while and not go looking for trouble.

Kuroiwa Masao was very pleased that Shen Yan knew when to back off. General Doihara had been considering silencing Shen Yan, but Kuroiwa had strongly opposed it.

He had finally managed to cultivate a capable subordinate. He couldn't let him go to waste over this bullshit!

When Shen Yan left the office, the corridor was empty. His footsteps echoed steadily through the deserted hall.

He went down the stairs and out of the building. Fang Yuan was waiting in the car and started the engine.

"Captain, back to the bureau?"

"Home."

The car drove out through the Special Higher Police gates and merged with the people on the street. Shen Yan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He went over the events of the past half month in his head-every step had been timed just right, not too much or too little.

He opened his eyes and watched the streetscape recede outside the window. The sky was gray; it was going to rain. People hurried along the street, rushing home. The owner of the bakery across the street, a Chinese man, was taking in his sign. The former Jewish owner was no longer there.

He looked away and leaned back in his seat.

Half a month. He hadn't finished the paper, and the exam was already over.

That was fine too.