Chapter 181
"Right, that bomber who almost killed you was released from prison. He was only sentenced to a few years."
Usuha Izuki casually asked: "Do you have any plans?"
Hagiwara Kenji hadn't expected Usuha Izuki to still be paying attention to this matter, even asking such a question. He couldn't help but ponder for a moment and ask back: "What do you think I should plan?"
Usuha Izuki: "...Nothing."
Hagiwara Kenji sighed on his end of the phone.
Don't think he didn't know—Little Shinryu was definitely thinking about things that were legal but immoral, like using entrapment to send that bomber back to prison.
Although he was moved that Little Shinryu was still paying attention to the bomber from years ago when he was the one who almost got killed, there was no need to go that far! Police shouldn't do such things!
...Though Little Shinryu didn't seem to care much about what police should be like, otherwise he wouldn't have had everyone in the Criminal Investigation Division write so many self-criticism reports for him...
Sigh, what a headache.
Hagiwara Kenji felt like this trip hadn't achieved its relaxation purpose either. He'd only played for one morning at the beginning, then went to investigate a case, and before dark received this news, now having to worry about Little Shinryu not doing anything dangerous.
When he ended his vacation and went back to complain to Matsuda Jinpei, Matsuda Jinpei expressed schadenfreude.
"I knew going out with you guys would definitely cause trouble."
Hagiwara Kenji was speechless: "...Is this the time to say that?"
"Then what do you want me to say—about that bomber? I also wish he'd stayed in prison a few more years." Matsuda Jinpei rolled his eyes. "Even if no one actually died, he was going for killing that many people. You and your whole squad almost got wiped out, but he only gets locked up for a few years before being released... Me not doing anything is already a very moral performance. I can understand if Samukawa really wants to do something."
Hagiwara Kenji sighed: "The logic is right... I'm mainly worried about Little Shinryu's ideas."
To say he held no grudge against that bomber was impossible. After all, he and his colleagues almost died because of him. If a suitable opportunity arose, some minor revenge within reasonable limits would be justified.
But if Samukawa Shinryu brought this up proactively and seemed to want to do something, the nature would change.
"If that bomber behaves himself and doesn't cause trouble, Samukawa won't have opportunities to do anything." Matsuda Jinpei frowned. "Anyone with brains wouldn't provoke Samukawa a second time."
Hagiwara Kenji pondered: "That would be best. Let's keep an eye on that website recently."
After discovering the leak of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit design diagrams in Hawaii years ago, the two of them started investigating the leak source when they returned to Japan, discovering a dark web for bomb enthusiasts. Many of the bombers they'd caught before also had accounts on this website.
They coordinated with other departments for a joint crackdown, but not long after, they interrogated new bomb criminals and learned of new web addresses.
With the advancement of internet technology, these dark webs hid deeper and deeper, with addresses changing periodically—only paid members could receive new addresses.
With servers overseas and no way to catch the people behind it, they could only watch helplessly as these dark webs refused to die completely.
Since they couldn't eliminate them, they could only join and make use of them.
Both Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei had accounts on some websites. When free, they'd check if there were any crime predictions or requests for criminal assistance in the Tokyo area. They'd actually caught several people red-handed this way before the criminals finished installing bombs.
However, most were smart people whose posts contained no useful information, with fake IPs making it impossible to know their locations or prepare in advance—they could only improvise.
Hagiwara Kenji hoped that if the bomber really planned to do something, he'd better be stupid and expose himself directly on the dark web for early arrest. That would definitely be better treatment than falling into Samukawa Shinryu's hands.
Matsuda Jinpei pursed his lips: "There are so many posts every day—how can we read them all..."
Though he said this, since it was mentioned, he casually opened the dark web, planning to check if there was anything worth noting right now.
"Eh? Is this an invitation for Plamia?" Hagiwara Kenji suddenly noticed a post. "Tokyo..."
Plamia—an internationally famous bomber of unknown identity who had created many cases globally with extremely bad influence, but no one had caught Plamia yet. All people who might know Plamia's identity were dead.
Police from various countries were ineffective at catching Plamia, causing relatives of victims killed by Plamia to band together and form an organization to hunt Plamia.
Because this organization's methods were too extreme and they did have some capability, having given Plamia quite a headache and prompting several retaliatory cases, both Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei had heard about it.
Matsuda Jinpei frowned: "An international criminal like that probably wouldn't be interested in small commissions in Japan, right? I saw Plamia usually preferred operating in major countries like France, America, Russia..."
"Plamia's bombs are said to be very distinctive, but since they all exploded, it's unclear what the actual structure is. It would be troublesome if we encountered one." Hagiwara Kenji said worriedly.
"I'm also curious, but it's better if Plamia doesn't come to Japan. I'd be fine never knowing what kind of design it is for the rest of my life."
Matsuda Jinpei skipped that commission and scrolled down through keyword-related posts, complaining: "Smart people have increased—they don't give detailed intelligence anymore. Just saying 'Tokyo' is useless. At least say which ward you plan to set bombs in!"
This kind of website couldn't be viewed too much. Looking too much would make you realize how many cases might happen that they were powerless to prevent, creating strong feelings of frustration and anxiety.
However, before closing the webpage, one post still caught both their attention, and they couldn't help clicking to look.
The title was [If you want to revenge against police, where would be better to install bombs].
Probably because this topic was quite stimulating, the post had various enthusiastic responses—Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, schools, parks, Metropolitan Police Department, etc. Each looked like fun-seekers who wouldn't mind making a funeral bigger.
This kind of post was meaningless—reading it just added to their troubles. Hagiwara Kenji just jokingly said: "This post wasn't opened by that guy wanting to revenge against Little Shinryu, was it?"
"How could it be such a coincidence? There are plenty of people who hate police." Matsuda Jinpei sighed. "I really wish they could use this energy elsewhere."
Little did they know, this post was exactly opened by the bomber who had just been released from prison not long ago.
During his years in prison, as time passed and the brain's tendency to modify memories in a self-serving way, his fear of Samukawa Shinryu gradually faded while his resentment grew deeper.
Fortunately, he was only sentenced to a few years rather than decades, so he wasn't completely out of touch with the times when released. After familiarizing himself with technological developments, he began planning revenge.
First, he investigated Samukawa Shinryu and was shocked to discover this guy was now a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division—heaven was helping him!
If Samukawa Shinryu were an ordinary person hiding in deep mountains and forests, he really couldn't do much—he couldn't find the person, let alone revenge.
But this guy was now a police officer!
As everyone knew, police had to be reasonable and put citizens first, at least on the surface, so there were too many methods available for revenging against police.
The bomber immediately decided to kill Samukawa Shinryu under many people's gaze, or make Samukawa Shinryu despised by everyone.
That required finding a crowded occasion.
While posting to brainstorm, he checked bomb-related news, trying to gain inspiration.
Soon, his attention was caught by a recent case.
A bomb was installed in a Ferris wheel, and the criminal deceived the operators into stopping the Ferris wheel in mid-air so people on it couldn't get down, but it turned out to be a lie...
Though the criminal in that case was caught, he thought this approach was worth learning!
He would also make a bomb and put it in a Ferris wheel, somehow get Samukawa Shinryu to go in, then install a balance mechanism in the bomb to trap Samukawa Shinryu in mid-air.
He would also install bombs in other places—choosing from that post locations with many people and great social impact, then put hints on display screens that would disappear once defused, making Samukawa Shinryu choose between his own life and saving all those other people!
Since he was a police officer, sacrificing for others should be expected, right?
But he believed someone like Samukawa Shinryu, even if he became a police officer, couldn't possibly become a good person, so Samukawa Shinryu would definitely choose to defuse his own bomb, which would go against public expectations.
Then he'd find a way to notify TV stations in advance, have camera crews follow along for a live broadcast of a police officer sacrificing so many innocent people for his own life.
This would absolutely make Samukawa Shinryu notorious, socially dead, unable to go out in the future! It would also greatly damage the reputation and honor of the police profession!
And since he'd install everything in advance and control remotely with no evidence, they couldn't arrest him... This revenge would definitely be successful!
The bomber was increasingly pleased with his thoughts.
So the question was:
How could he ensure that the person entering the Ferris wheel would definitely be Samukawa Shinryu?