Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

8:30 p.m.

The Yasuda family mansion wasn't shrouded in darkness as usual; instead, lights shone brightly everywhere. The front gate was wide open, and cars entered the mansion's parking lot one after another.

Those whose status was not significantly different from Yasuda Masao's needed to arrive immediately to consult with Yasuda Fumio about ongoing matters and see if any changes were necessary. As for the subordinates who clung to Yasuda Masao, if they had any ambition, they wouldn't continue to sleep soundly at home. These individuals were received by different members of the Yasuda family, depending on their status.

The special task force headed straight for the scene. Emily's emotions were running high. She hadn't expected Dio to assassinate Yasuda Masao within the heavily guarded Yasuda residence. And to leave behind a witness, no less! This is an outright provocation! Her resolve to arrest Dio grew even stronger. It had nothing to do with so-called justice and evil; those were just arguments to delude Okayama Buji. Emily was a detective; she only cared about the truth and wanted to catch a high-IQ criminal like Dio. For a detective, such high-IQ criminals were badges of honor.

Emily hurried to the crime scene. Yasuda Masao's body had already been moved by family members, leaving only a servant and Haga Koumei to guard the spot. The rest of the Yasuda family had gone to welcome the guests. The cause of Yasuda Masao's death was very clear in their eyes: Dio had shot him. Therefore, there was no need to keep Yasuda Masao's body there any longer. Planning a grand funeral was now Yasuda Fumio's top priority. He needed to use a glorious funeral to display the Yasuda children's filial piety.

Emily, seeing no body at the scene, was somewhat dissatisfied but said nothing. Those politicians are always so keen on putting on a show.

She approached the witness. "Miss Haga, please tell me clearly exactly what happened," she said.

Haga Koumei had changed into casual clothes and, on the surface, looked like an innocent college student. Her attitude toward the investigating officers, however, was the exact opposite of the submissive demeanor she'd displayed in front of Yasuda Masao. She crossed her arms and spoke disdainfully, "What sort of case can a little girl like you handle?"

Disgust flashed in Emily's eyes. She knew exactly what kind of person this was. She said coldly, "It seems you need to have a word with Yasuda Fumio."

Upon hearing that name, Haga Koumei's expression changed, as if a sore spot had been touched. She barked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Okay now." A sultry voice interrupted their exchange. Morimoto Chiyoda stepped forward and said, "Miss Haga, as a law-abiding citizen, we hope you'll cooperate with our investigation."

"You need to show some respect! I'm not a criminal!" Haga Koumei was very angry and not at all inclined to back down. They weren't showing her enough respect! They clearly looked down on her profession. Otherwise, why be so informal? Addressing her so casually was a clear sign of contempt.

Morimoto Chiyoda hadn't expected her to be so headstrong. With a forced smile, she said, "Pure Little Sweet, you wouldn't want netizens to find out you were in Yasuda Masao's bedroom late at night, would you?"

Haga Koumei's complexion changed. Now that Yasuda Masao was gone, she wasn't sure about Yasuda Fumio's attitude. If she also lost her identity as a YouTube dance vlogger, she could very well be left with nothing.

"Oh, honestly! Fine, I'll talk." She quickly changed her tune, forcing a smile. "I was just joking with you earlier."

Neither Emily nor Morimoto Chiyoda responded, simply looking at her impassively. Haga Koumei, irritated internally, still had to maintain her sweet smile. "Here's what happened. At about 7:50 p.m., I heard a THUMP from outside, and then I saw a silhouette reflected on the sliding door..."

Haga Koumei began to recount what she had encountered, including Dio's words and his appearance. She didn't even notice that as she recounted these events, her expression wasn't that of someone describing an evil criminal, but more like she was discussing an idol. Her tone also carried respect and admiration.

Emily looked at Haga Koumei's expression and understood. There's more than a fifty percent chance this woman will venture down the path of crime in the future. Like Rumi Yoshizawa, Haga Koumei is subconsciously attracted by Dio's brazen charm and immense power. But this woman, living much better than Rumi Yoshizawa, wouldn't blindly emulate crime. She's likely just indulging in fantasies.

"Dio's complete disregard for power, status, and money, his sole desire to kill Yasuda Masao—he really is an idealist," Morimoto Chiyoda murmured, a hint of helplessness on her face.

Morimoto Chiyoda had always held a sense of admiration for such idealists and even felt she was unfit to participate in the pursuit of Dio. But a promotion to police superintendent and a half-year paid vacation... with two such generous conditions, even if a saint committed a crime, she would personally slap the "Silver Bracelet" on them and escort them to prison. Morimoto Chiyoda had long abandoned the idea of saving the world. Her mind was occupied by only one thought: to protect Aozawa and take good care of him. Beyond that, other people didn't matter much to her. Perhaps such thoughts were cold, but that was how she genuinely felt.

"Hey, look, why is there a hole in the door?" Okayama Buji asked while investigating the scene, having found a finger-poked hole in the Japanese sliding door.

Haga Koumei glanced at it and answered, "Dio did that when he was leaving. He even took the piece of paper he poked through."

"He took the paper?!" Emily was profoundly shaken.

If it wasn't necessary, Dio wouldn't have poked through the sliding door. There must be some special reason that prompted him to poke through it and take the paper. Emily stepped forward and stared at the hole in the door. From the inside out... what did this indicate? Or rather, was some kind of micro-device attached to the original piece of paper? Emily supported her chin in her right hand, her azure eyes deep in thought, when a lazy voice suddenly came through the Bluetooth earpiece in her left ear.

"Hello, Team Leader Emily. I just checked the surveillance at the Yasuda family's home and the surrounding neighbors, and I didn't find any trace of Dio. However, rewinding further, a suspiciously dressed person was brought into the mansion by someone from the Yasuda family yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Emily hurriedly asked, "Who brought that person in?"

"The Yasuda family's second son, Yasuda Yutaka."

"Good. Continue to review the surveillance footage, going further back."

"Huh? I still have to keep watching?"

"Of course," Emily answered resolutely.

The special task force had now expanded to seven members. The new additions included Police Superintendent Morimoto Chiyoda, whose resume showed her to be highly competent in all areas, and a genius hacker specializing in cyber affairs. Emily had selected this hacker precisely for moments like this. The task force didn't need the Yasuda family's cooperation; they hacked directly into the surveillance system to review past footage. After all, getting these politicians, who concealed so much, to provide surveillance access was very difficult, as their favorite pastime was keeping secrets tightly under wraps.

"Katerina, take this door down and bring it back for a thorough examination. See if there's anything special about it."

"With Dio's ability, he probably wouldn't have left any clues for us on the door," Morimoto Chiyoda said. She thought Emily was engaging in a pointless exercise.

Emily also knew the likelihood of Dio leaving clues was small, but there was always a chance. Dio wasn't a god; he was human. And humans make mistakes. "We can't deify Dio. Don't touch the body on the floor; leave it for Otome to handle."

"She might not be free that quickly."

"Morimoto, don't take pleasure in others' misfortune," Okayama Buji reminded her. The pleased expression was practically written on Morimoto's face.

Morimoto Chiyoda shrugged. "I don't like Otome. She's so cold, and she always has this sort of... corpse-like smell around her."

"That's the smell of disinfectant," Okayama Buji said, a bitter smile on his face. Each new member has their own unique expertise, but their personalities come with obvious flaws. No one respects anyone else. For instance, Ito Otome had more than once openly criticized Morimoto Chiyoda for wearing such strong perfume.

"Okayama, women can be very petty," Morimoto Chiyoda responded casually.

Emily was biting her thumb, lost in thought. This is a bad habit of mine when I'm pondering, one I'd managed to quit a long time ago. However, when a case seems to lead nowhere, it unconsciously resurfaces. She couldn't guess Dio's next move. Was murdering Yasuda Masao simply about proclaiming justice? Or were all the previous cases just a prelude to this assassination?

Just as she was puzzling over this, a loud voice came from outside. "Team Leader Emily, I've gathered all the Yasuda family servants! Chefs, gardeners, maids, the butler... there are sixty-three of them in total. I can't question them all by myself!"

As the words fell, a tall man with a buzz cut appeared at the door.

"So many people! We're not going to have to work overtime, are we?" Morimoto Chiyoda hated rich people more than ever at this moment. Living in such a vast mansion was one thing, but employing so many people? Wasn't that just going to prolong their investigation? Trying to figure out who among them had contacted Dio wouldn't be easy.

"When a major case like this happens, you'd better be prepared to work until the early hours before going home," Emily replied with strong determination. She was convinced that this was a great opportunity to catch Dio. The Yasuda family's estate is so large. To precisely locate Yasuda Masao's bedroom while avoiding all surveillance cameras... it's impossible without inside help. If we follow this lead, we might just catch Dio.

"Ugh! Women's words are so deceptive! I shouldn't have trusted you when you said there would be no overtime," Morimoto Chiyoda grumbled about Emily's broken promise. She knew perfectly well that if she dared to slack off now, the Yasuda family would definitely sue her for dereliction of duty. Then she'd be dismissed by the Metropolitan Police Department. Or she'd be transferred to some remote backwater to be a precinct chief. Neither outcome was acceptable.

She took out her phone and sent a message to Aozawa.