Chapter 024: Survival Is Truly Difficult

As Kawamoto Daisaku left Aoki Qiao’s house and walked along the road, his mind was consumed by a single question: what was that smell in the basement? It was a little sour, with a metallic tang. Where had he encountered it before? What kind of chemical had that distinct scent?

He returned to headquarters late at night, but sleep eluded him. The death of Old Zhang by explosion—if he couldn’t find a scapegoat, nor uncover the leak, his own fate would be precarious. If Tokyo couldn’t withstand the pressure of public opinion, he might well become the sacrificial lamb, offered up to appease the storm.

Seated at his desk, Kawamoto Daisaku’s thoughts raced as he stared at the scattered newspapers on the coffee table. There, freshly printed, were the photographs of the leaked operational plan.

“Photographs!” he suddenly exclaimed. “Damn it! The smell—that must have been the scent of developer!”

Excitement overwhelmed him. He had to return to Aoki Qiao’s place to confirm his suspicion, heedless of the risk to himself.

He dashed down the stairs, out the gate, and hurried to Aoki Qiao’s house, knocking urgently on the door—all within three minutes.

At that moment, Zhou Yongsu had not yet returned, and Chen Jiehua was still awake. Hearing Kawamoto Daisaku’s voice, he found it odd and was about to open the door when that peculiar sixth sense returned: Kawamoto must have discovered something. But not opening the door was out of the question; even a second’s hesitation could spell disaster.

No time to worry. Open the door first.

Kawamoto Daisaku, still in the grip of excitement, gave no thought to anything but verifying whether that odor was indeed from developer. He glanced at the empty-handed Aoki Qiao, then rushed straight to the basement and flung open the door. The sharp, sour, metallic odor still hung heavy in the air.

“It really is developer!” he cried. “You’re the one who leaked the secrets! Why!?”

The truth finally dawned. As he spoke and turned, Chen Jiehua, who had followed him down, realized instantly from Kawamoto’s words that his cover was blown. Without hesitation, he drew a scalpel. In one fluid, practiced motion, he slashed upward and then swept back, the blade slicing cleanly across Kawamoto’s throat—a single, lethal blow.

Kawamoto’s carotid artery and windpipe were severed. His mouth worked soundlessly, unable to form words. His eyes stared in shock at Aoki Qiao, his last conscious thought flashing—He was empty-handed just moments ago! I was too careless! Aoki, who are you really?

Chen Jiehua sidestepped the spurting blood, then, in one swift motion, stowed the corpse away into his spatial storage.

The basement walls were splattered with blood—it all had to be cleaned. Chen Jiehua boiled water, took a towel, and methodically wiped away every trace, searching by candlelight, piece by piece. It took two hours to thoroughly cleanse every spot inside and outside the basement door. Closing it behind him, he stepped out, then, imitating Kawamoto Daisaku’s earlier actions, ran to the basement and flung the door open again.

The sharp, sour, metallic odor still lingered.

So that was it—the developer had given him away.

Next, he had to deal with that telltale smell as quickly as possible. Damn it! How could he get rid of it? Now, mixed with the stench of blood, it was even trickier.

What chemicals had a strong, sour, metallic odor? He wracked his brain for an answer.

“Iodophor! Yes, iodophor!”

But he couldn’t make any major changes to the basement’s arrangement, nor could he let the smell be too strong. If the military police came again and noticed any inconsistency, they’d be suspicious. He couldn’t just kill all the police, either—that would be an open declaration of war, leaving him no choice but to flee. And where would he even find those two military policemen who’d been in the basement?

Although discouraged, Chen Jiehua refused to give up. He fetched a bottle of alcohol, let it shatter by ‘accident’ in a corner, then stacked three more cases of alcohol nearby. Opening both the basement and room doors, he let the cold night wind blow through.

Let it air out as much as possible.

He kept the windows open until dawn. When he saw someone passing by, he quickly closed the doors and went to bed. But sleep would not come. His mind worked quickly, analyzing the situation.

First, Kawamoto Daisaku must have noticed the smell of developer during his initial visit to the basement. Because the room was stacked with chemicals, he hadn’t paid it much mind, but suspicion had already taken root. Had he spoken to anyone about it on his way back?

Second, from the time Kawamoto left to when he returned and knocked at the door, less than an hour had passed. Whom did he meet during that interval? Who tipped him off? Who saw him dash back alone?

Third, had Zhou Yongsu found Liu Junze yet?

Since returning to the country, Chen Jiehua had been without the aid of the Red Thread System. Everything—every move, every plan—he had to manage on his own. The initial choice of this house and the flawed hidden room had landed him in this deadly predicament.

Survival was a hard road.

In the morning, Aoki Qiao followed his usual routine, going out to his favored restaurant in the East City for breakfast before wandering the streets.

Elsewhere, as the morning wore on, Chief of Staff Saito Tsune still hadn’t seen Kawamoto Daisaku. He made inquiries until he found the two military police. They reported that after the three of them had left Aoki’s house, they’d returned to headquarters, and after Kawamoto went upstairs, they hadn’t seen him come down again.

Strange.

Sensing something amiss, Saito went to question the sentries on duty that night. They confirmed that after Kawamoto and the two military police returned, he stayed upstairs until around midnight, then suddenly rushed downstairs and out the main gate—and never returned.

“Upstairs after midnight, dashing out the gate, and never coming back. Kawamoto always lived here—he wouldn’t just leave for the night.”

Saito turned his attention back to the nervous military policemen. “Did you notice anything unusual at Aoki’s house?”

“No, nothing unusual. We checked the pharmacy, the back rooms, and the basement—nothing seemed out of place. Then we came straight back.”

Saito returned to the building and made a careful inspection of Kawamoto Daisaku’s office. The newspapers on the coffee table were the same ones he’d tossed there yesterday, undisturbed. So they were unrelated.

What had Kawamoto discovered? Or did he receive a phone call and flee?

“Someone! Check the call records for Kawamoto’s office phone!”

“Alert the military police headquarters—search the entire city for Kawamoto!”

Then Saito, accompanied by the two military police, set out for Aoki Qiao’s residence.

It was only a five-minute walk. The shopkeeper, Old Mo, greeted them at the door. Saito asked after Aoki.

“Looking for the master? He got up as usual this morning and should be having breakfast at the East City restaurant. Where he went after, I couldn’t say.”

The back rooms were locked. The shopkeeper had no key, and the one who did wasn’t there. Saito didn’t want to force the door open. He looked around and, seeing nothing amiss, left with the military police.

Finally, when the police found Aoki Qiao and brought him to headquarters that afternoon, Saito asked a few questions but didn’t press further. After all, Aoki’s behavior was consistent with his habits—there was no reason to suddenly accuse him of absenteeism. More importantly, there was no evidence linking Aoki to Kawamoto’s disappearance.

The call records came back—no calls had been made the previous night. So it wasn’t a phone tip-off.

The citywide search turned up nothing—no trace of Kawamoto, alive or dead. There was no record of anyone leaving the city.

Had he simply vanished into thin air?

Saito was utterly baffled.

But then a thought struck him—if he could enlist the help of Aoki’s pharmacy’s famed “Runners,” finding people or things might be much faster and more efficient.

No sooner thought than done. He summoned Aoki Qiao. “Aoki, your pharmacy’s Runners—could they help us search for someone? Kawamoto has gone missing. I want him found—alive or dead!”

Finding someone for you is no problem; I’ll cooperate fully—just as long as you don’t go poking around my house.