Chapter 3: Deductions, Conclusions

December 15, evening.

One day had been enough for Tea Immortal to learn a great deal. To him, the deaths of Kuwabara and Jingniao were not particularly complicated cases. The deaths of Matsuo Genki, Miura Kazuya, and Ikeda Takeshi, the three men with black inverted crosses marked on their faces, were harder to unravel.

Shimaki was in his office listening to Tea Immortal's account, with a clerk taking notes.

“Let's begin with that morning. At ten o'clock, Jingniao visited the police station's morgue. Only the corridors inside this station have surveillance cameras. We therefore have no way of knowing what Jingniao and Kuwabara said to each other, but I believe they were discussing the case.

After that conversation, Jingniao left the station alone. From C Squad's last transmission before contact was lost, we know that Jingniao went straight to the bookshop to see Tian Yi. They spoke, and Tian Yi told Jingniao what had happened at the Ikeda home. Jingniao hurried there, discovered the body and the mentally deranged Ikeda Nozomi, and contacted the station. He was then shot dead outside the door.

There aren't many variables in this case. Jingniao had no inverted cross on his face, so he presumably hadn't been drawn into Tian Yi's game. Shortly after Jingniao's death, Tian Yi used the credentials taken from his body to pass through several electronic doors inside the police station. Surveillance footage and the doors' access logs substantiate all of this. Taken together, these facts leave no doubt that Jingniao's killer was Tian Yi himself.

A few questions remain. First, why did Jingniao go to the bookshop to see Tian Yi? From discreet inquiries at the station, I've learned that Jingniao was a very capable officer with a strong sense of justice. I believe Second Lieutenant Kuwabara must have submitted reports to that effect within HL.”

Shimaki replied, “Yes. Second Lieutenant Kuwabara recommended Officer Jingniao to the organization. It's just that… his social background was somewhat complicated. Recruiting him into HL would have required fairly thorough vetting, so the final decision was to refrain from approaching him for the time being and place him on a reserve list, giving him priority when a vacancy arose.”

“By a complicated social background, you simply mean he was born a commoner and had clashed with nobles while investigating cases,” Tea Immortal said. “He had formal training in criminal investigation and was a sound investigator. Yet he was past thirty and still hadn't even made assistant inspector. The reason is obvious.”

Shimaki thought, He even looked into that… In just one day, too. There really is no hiding anything from him.

Tea Immortal continued without any change in expression. “Now, back to the case. Given Jingniao's character, he most likely went to Tian Yi intending to arrest him. I suspect he had no evidence whatsoever and was acting entirely on conjecture. That's how it is with Tian Yi's crimes. There's little anyone can do about it. Without an arrest warrant, and with limited authority of his own, Jingniao went alone.

Since he wasn't following legal procedure, he naturally had no reason to drag anyone else into it. But acting alone carries many risks. In the end, he never made the arrest. When Tian Yi told him about the Ikedas, Jingniao made a choice. Rather than catch a madman, he wanted a chance to save someone's life. So he left the bookshop. That brings us to the second question. If Tian Yi wanted to kill him, why didn't he do it there?”

Shimaki spoke up. “Perhaps he was wary of Jingniao's strength. Since Jingniao had gone there of his own accord, he must have been on guard. Tian Yi couldn't find an opening.”

Tea Immortal said, “That is one possible explanation, but it's unlikely. Tian Yi could kill a Cleaner squad and Second Lieutenant Kuwabara. Why would he be wary of a police officer? My guess is that he initially had no intention of killing Jingniao, but something made him change his mind.

The answer is also quite clear. Between Jingniao's departure from the bookshop and his death outside the Ikeda home, the only intervening incident was C Squad's fight with Tian Yi. That was what changed Tian Yi's mind.

When he spoke to me on Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's phone in the early hours of yesterday morning, he deliberately mentioned the deaths of Jingniao and Kuwabara. He killed both men himself. What he meant was that he had chosen to silence them because of my involvement.

We can then link these two sets of cause and effect. There is only one causal chain that connects them. That morning, he still didn't know that Second Lieutenant Kuwabara actually belonged to HL. C Squad's appearance allowed Tian Yi to deduce that connection. On that basis, he concluded that I would soon join the investigation, which led to his series of actions on the thirteenth.

And so, when I managed to reach Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's phone directly at the earliest opportunity, in the early hours of the fourteenth, Hokkaido time, Tian Yi had long since tied up every loose end and left the area at his leisure.”

Major Shimaki nodded gravely. Despite his expression, he had only half understood what he'd heard. The unspoken message was, “I don't really get it, but you two both sound pretty impressive.”

Tea Immortal had no time to worry about how much the other man understood. He had seen that expression often enough. These people would certainly grasp the outcome, and they could follow most of the process when he explained it. As for the deductions, causal relationships, underlying intentions, variables, and so forth woven through it all, well, he'd just keep talking…

“Next, C Squad's deaths. Very few people live in that area, and the eyewitness testimony is unreliable. Most civilians fled or hid when they heard gunshots. Even if they did see something, ordinary people would find it difficult to glean any useful information from a fight between ability users.

The final examination results give us the broad picture. One man died when the wiring in his mechanical components spontaneously caught fire and exploded. Another suffered a similar failure. A pipe carrying fluid through his mechanical components ruptured, allowing fluid to enter his brain. His skull burst open from within, and his brain was reduced to mush. The third… fell and broke his neck. Their captain had undergone a symmetrical half-body conversion, a new model introduced a few years ago. In his case, the connections between flesh and machinery suddenly came apart completely. This wasn't caused by external pulling or cutting. They came apart on their own while he was moving at high speed.

Cyborg technology was already highly mature by the middle of this century. In another half month, we'll be entering the twenty-second century, and optical computing will become the symbol of a new era. Under these circumstances, the probability of finding a defective conversion in an HL Cleaner squad cannot exceed one percent. Four defective cyborg bodies being assigned to the same squad and suffering fatal malfunctions within the same period is impossible.

Their deaths must therefore be connected to Tian Yi's ability. Yet over all these years, no one, including the analysts at EAS, has been able to determine its precise nature, rarity, classification, or any other aspect. I have no leads on this either. Wild speculation would be pointless and could lead us astray, so we can only set the question aside for now.”

At this, Shimaki finally understood why none of the files on the “inverted cross” explicitly stated Tian Yi's combat tier. No one knew. Three days ago, he had presumed that the man was at most a Normal-rank ability user. Thinking back on it now, he himself bore considerable responsibility for C Squad's deaths.

Tea Immortal continued his account. “Finally, Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's murder. The sequence of events is essentially clear. After Officer Jingniao died, Tian Yi took his credentials, then killed another uniformed officer on duty near the station. He put on the uniform and brought the body into the station through the back entrance. Murders had been occurring throughout the week, and he had Jingniao's keycard to open the doors. He encountered few people on his way through the station, and no one questioned him. This allowed him to reach the morgue and meet Second Lieutenant Kuwabara without difficulty.

The words ‘You guessed wrong’ had been written in blood across the dead officer's chest. It was a trap in very poor taste, but judging by Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's body, it worked.

While Second Lieutenant Kuwabara was examining the corpse, Tian Yi picked up a scalpel from the tray on a nearby trolley and stabbed him from behind. It was a cunning choice. Had he reached around to slit Kuwabara's throat, he might have been detected and only managed to cut the side of his neck. One careless move in that position would have left him vulnerable to a devastating counterattack. A stab at the head might have been evaded at the moment of contact. There is bone beneath the scalp, after all, and it isn't so easily pierced. Instead, Tian Yi chose the surest method. With a slap, he drove the scalpel into Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's torso, burying even the handle inside. The wound was in the middle of his back, making it impossible for him to remove the blade himself. With a scalpel that thin and sharp left inside his body, the damage would soon kill him.

The scene shows, however, that Second Lieutenant Kuwabara fought back. He was, after all, a Normal-rank fighter. An ordinary person would have died quickly in that situation and could never have got up and moved again, but Kuwabara still had the strength for one final attempt. Had he managed to spring up, kill Tian Yi, and receive treatment in time, he would indeed have had a good chance of surviving.

The weapon Second Lieutenant Kuwabara used was probably a bone saw, but Tian Yi had clearly anticipated his actions. If I were Tian Yi, I would deliberately offer an opening, perhaps by turning my back on Kuwabara or pretending to relax. Something of that sort. The true purpose would be to lure him into attacking. Once Second Lieutenant Kuwabara moved, he would be the one exposing an opening. With a sharp blade inside his body and his heart and lungs compromised, he must have been counting on settling everything with a single blow. Whether Tian Yi countered or dodged, Kuwabara would never get a second chance. Once that blow missed, his strength would inevitably give out and his body would sustain further damage. At that point, Tian Yi could simply do nothing. Unless someone took Kuwabara to a hospital, he would die there.”

At this point, Tea Immortal picked up the cup of green tea on the desk and gulped down half of it. “That is the general outline of the three murder cases in which Tian Yi personally killed the victims: Jingniao, C Squad, and Kuwabara. Include Officer Jingniao's death in HL's internal investigation files as well. It is connected to the other two cases, after all. We have a substantial amount of evidence in Second Lieutenant Kuwabara's murder, which can also corroborate our findings in the other two. Combine all three into a single case.

That brings the investigation of these three cases to a close for now. Tomorrow, we'll begin analyzing the cases of Matsuo Genki, Miura Kazuya, and Ikeda Takeshi. Besides these three, Hokkaido's Third Precinct has another three bodies bearing inverted-cross marks. Given Tian Yi's habit of manipulating events, the six deaths are very likely connected.

So… Major Shimaki, have the relevant materials and case files sent to me as quickly as possible. Tonight, preferably. Also, please make the arrangements. I'd like to speak to Miura's family in person tomorrow.”

Shimaki replied, “Yes, sir.”

Tea Immortal finished his tea and stood. “I'll take my leave. If anything comes up, you can contact me in my room at any hour.”

Watching him leave, Shimaki let out a long breath, looking as though a great weight had been lifted.

Shimaki knew perfectly well that putting together a report like that on the matters they had just discussed would have taken him at least half a month, even working at his fastest. On many of the key questions, he could never have dug so deep. Tea Immortal had needed only a day. The difference in their efficiency was plain.

“Krause Wittstock…” Shimaki etched the name into his memory. As he saw it, this prince, though only about twenty, was already a man of consequence. Even if he wasn't one of the great talents of the age, he was at least a hundred times better than those elder brothers of his with their notorious reputations. The emperor was getting on in years now and must have grown senile. Instead of keeping such a gifted young man by his side, he kept only a pack of vicious consorts and worthless sons in the palace. In another ten or twenty years, if unrest swept the realm…

He stopped himself from thinking any further. Such thoughts were treasonous, after all. Never mind acting on them. Merely thinking, speaking, or writing them could mean imprisonment at best and losing his head at worst. Better to put the thought aside now and get back to investigating the damned business of that lunatic with a danger level of six.

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