Chapter 82 The Winds Have Changed

Chen Zi'ang and Luna Tsukimiya stood around the corpse, contemplating how best to handle the aftermath.

Ordinarily, the first step would be to notify their department. Yet Chen Zi'ang realized that alerting the Security Bureau at this moment meant, in effect, notifying Nagakiyo Baban—a man on the verge of being ousted. Was it really appropriate to let someone about to step down handle a major case involving victims who were all high-ranking officials?

What if he failed to grasp the urgency and simply sent some outsourced personnel to deal with it?

Worse yet, what if he overestimated the importance of the situation, showed up personally in an attempt to curry favor with the powerful, and by sheer luck managed to save his otherwise doomed political career?

That would be an irreparable loss for the Security Bureau... Even though the Sixth Countermeasures Division was about to become independent, Chen Zi'ang had served in the Bureau and held genuine affection for his unit—he couldn’t just stand by and let such a thing happen.

Luna Tsukimiya’s thoughts were even more complex. In her previous life, she’d only heard from her seniors that Miye Nishikawa had made such a stir that the city in the Far North was finally forced to take the threat of the supernatural seriously.

Now, it seemed the most pivotal event wasn’t the string of anomalies breaking out across the city, but rather this vicious attack targeting politicians.

If only ordinary citizens’ lives were at stake, those in power could remain aloof, issuing calm pronouncements at every stage that “the situation is improving.” But now, a witch had dared to strike at members of parliament—was there anything in this city beyond her reach?

A great change was surely coming.

Of course, Luna Tsukimiya herself was indifferent; no matter how dire the situation, it would, on balance, benefit both her and her senior.

Mystery was a powerful double-edged sword, and now its sharpness had been revealed for all to see. Those in authority, having realized this, would inevitably seek a trustworthy, effective force to counter the supernatural.

Nagakiyo Baban’s purge and the Sixth Countermeasures Division’s impending independence—if inferred from Song Mingyuan’s perspective—suggested that, after recognizing the threat of the supernatural, they would no longer allow the countermeasures to be controlled by other factions. Hence, a member of the Song family was being brought in to take charge.

The greater the commotion, the more indispensable they would become.

From this point of view, even the deaths of Qin Senhe and his son were not in vain. Aside from a few members of the Qin family, few would mourn their passing.

Luna Tsukimiya glanced at Song Xi behind her; as expected, there was only fear and confusion on her face—no hint of grief.

She then looked at the approaching Song Mingyuan, whose expression was grave as he stared intently at Qin Senhe’s corpse, apparently lost in deep thought.

If not for his position—standing just behind Chen Zi'ang—Luna Tsukimiya might have thought he felt no fear at all.

After a long pause, perhaps twenty seconds, Song Mingyuan finally spoke:

“He... is dead?”

“Yes.” Chen Zi'ang sighed. “We didn’t make it in time.”

“What I mean is...” Song Mingyuan rephrased, speaking slowly, “He won’t... I mean, suddenly get up and turn into some kind of ferocious monster, will he?”

“No.” Luna Tsukimiya couldn’t help but laugh. “Qin Senhe was murdered. The recent anomalies in the city are a kind of ritualistic infection; this is something entirely different.”

“I see.” Song Mingyuan tried to steady his nerves. “Very well... no, I mean, this is truly regrettable. The immediate priority is proper containment.”

“I’ll ask you two to stay here until the military arrives to take over.”

With that, he hurried off. Luna Tsukimiya leaned close to Chen Zi'ang and whispered, “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard Song Mingyuan misspeak.”

---

The military arrived with remarkable speed—so quickly, in fact, that Chen Zi'ang felt he and Luna Tsukimiya had hardly waited at all before these fully-armed soldiers descended from the sky to take control of the perilous scene.

... On second thought, perhaps it wasn’t all that perilous. With Miye Nishikawa gone for good, the only things left were a few chattering dolphins—hardly a threat.

At last, Chen Zi'ang and Luna Tsukimiya were free from their sentry duty. They planned to find Chen Xiaozhu and Goro Emon, then rest at the hotel they’d booked nearby.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t make it back to Gunma District, but they’d just learned that the cruise terminal in the Kuril Islands had been sealed off.

“I’ll never understand how these people think,” Luna Tsukimiya chuckled inwardly, though she complained aloud, “What sort of research or reasoning makes them believe that simply sealing the cruise terminal will keep Miye Nishikawa from escaping?”

“It’s somewhat understandable,” Chen Zi'ang mused. “We know Miye Nishikawa’s true targets are those fanatics and schemers who value animal rights above human life. But the military is bound to eliminate any other possibilities—who knows if she might still be lurking on the island, plotting some other unspeakable scheme?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than they spotted three or four soldiers netting all the dolphins from the bay and scanning them with devices, as if checking whether any of them were the witch in disguise.

“All right, I take it back,” Chen Zi'ang said at once. “Their way of thinking really is bizarre.”

They returned to the aquarium’s exhibition hall, where a squad of soldiers were checking the identities of his sister and the butler. Chen Zi'ang quickly stepped forward, presented his credentials as a security officer, and sent the soldiers on their way.

“Miss,” Goro Emon said quietly, though he hadn’t been at Dolphin Bay, he could sense the tension in the air. “Has something changed?”

“Yes,” Luna Tsukimiya replied curtly. “Let’s get some rest at the hotel—we may not be able to leave tomorrow, either.”

Chen Zi'ang smiled and explained, “It’s nothing serious, just a small issue, but it’s been resolved.”

He didn’t know whether Miye Nishikawa had truly escaped, but he didn’t want his sister to worry, so he left it at that.

The group set off, leaving the aquarium and boarding the resort train to the hotel.

Kuril Holiday Hotel was located northeast of Hot Lake, offering sweeping views of both the majestic Mount Fuji and the picturesque lake itself.

The room Luna Tsukimiya had booked for the Chen siblings was the hotel’s finest—boasting a 270-degree circular balcony with panoramic lake and mountain views, and only one such suite per floor.

Though it was a king-sized room rather than a twin, the siblings didn’t mind sharing.

Standing on the balcony for a moment, gazing at the vast, misty expanse of Hot Lake, Chen Zi'ang felt his spirits slowly lift.

“Senior!” Luna Tsukimiya called as she entered, card in hand. “I sent Uncle Emon to the kitchen for supplies—let’s have a barbecue on the balcony tonight!”

So just how did you get a key to my room... Chen Zi'ang decided not to dwell on it and simply smiled.

“All right.”