Chapter 10 Head Balloons (3) "Takeichi-kun, this way please..."
"Takeichi-kun, this way please." Dazai Osamu opened the door to the Armed Detective Agency, and Takeichi nodded and went in. Today was to discuss cooperation with the Armed Detective Agency, and Dazai Osamu led him to the conference room.
Zhu Yi followed behind the other person, his eyes curiously observing his surroundings. The room wasn't spacious; the walls were covered with countless sticky notes and maps. In the middle was a long table and several chairs, and in front of the table was a whiteboard. The air was filled with a faint smell of coffee and the ink of paper.
Kunikida Doppo, who was sitting at one of the seats at the table, stood up and gestured to the chair opposite him, saying, "Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?"
"Need not."
Looking at the other person's serious face, Takeichi felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the oppressive aura emanating from Kunikida Doppo, much like when his homeroom teacher called him into the office in high school and was about to receive his teacher's loving care.
Once this thought popped into his head, the more Kunikida Doppo's face looked like his homeroom teacher, the more Takeichi tensed up. He instinctively straightened his back, feeling a little guilty, and obediently sat in the chair opposite Kunikida Doppo.
Wait, didn't I come here to discuss something?
Why be so nervous?
As soon as Takeichi sat down, Kunikida Doppo pushed a stack of printed papers over. "This is our compilation of eyewitness reports on the human head balloon. Since last Wednesday, seventeen eyewitnesses in Yokohama have seen its shape. Some eyewitnesses took pictures of the human head balloon and uploaded them to social media. After interviewing and questioning, we can confirm that the human head balloon is real."
Zhu Yi picked up the report on the table and flipped through it. The pages were covered with blurry photos; some were white dots floating above houses in the night sky, while others barely showed the outlines of faces on balloons. The content published by the photographers was also quite varied.
"Is that a UFO? Have aliens finally attacked Earth?"
"I saw this while having a late-night snack. Is this my punishment for being greedy? I'm too scared to go out for late-night snacks now, waaaaaah—"
"I took a picture when it hovered over the office for a few seconds! Its eyes were black holes."
"I was putting my child to sleep when this thing passed by the window and scared my child so much that he kept crying."
"What do they have in common?" Zhu Yi asked, looking up.
"All the witnesses are located in these areas." Kunikida Doppo opened a drawer, took out a map, and circled five areas in red.
“The areas are not far apart, and the human head balloons are frequently active around these areas,” Kunikida Doppo continued. “Based on the surveillance investigation, we have identified the suspects who are haunted by ghost stories.”
As he spoke, Kunikida Doppo took out several photos from a file folder in the drawer.
Zhu Yi lowered her eyes to look at the photos. The photos showed a middle-aged man whose expression in every picture was filled with inexplicable fear and panic. He also seemed to be sleep-deprived, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
“He always appears at the same time and place as the balloon with the human head on it.” Kunikida Doppo’s expression grew increasingly solemn as he continued in a deep voice, “But that’s not enough for us to draw a conclusion directly, so we launched an investigation into his personal information.”
"Wait a minute." Takeichi raised his hand to interrupt Kunikida Doppo: "Isn't this considered an unauthorized investigation? Don't you... I mean, this kind of behavior might be illegal, you know that, right?"
Kunikida Doppo was silent for a moment, then looked at Takeichi with a hint of approval in his eyes: "I'm pleased that you've noticed this. Of course, we've submitted applications to our superiors for this type of investigation and have obtained legal authorization. The Armed Detective Agency has also cooperated with the police, military, and government on many occasions. You can rest assured that we won't do anything illegal."
"So, did you find anything?" Zhu Yi asked deliberately.
“We’ve found quite a bit.” Dazai Osamu leaned closer to him and said casually, “The other party’s name is Sato Yota, he’s 36 years old and works for a company in Yokohama. He dropped out of high school and didn’t continue his studies. Instead, he made a lot of money through swindling and cheating. But due to a lack of evidence or because someone is deliberately suppressing this information, the police can’t make an arrest directly.”
Takeichi blinked. He found a photo of the other person from his high school days at Sakura High School. The boy in the photo was standing in the back row, wearing the Sakura High School uniform, with a smirk and an arrogant look in his eyes. He looked very similar to Sato Yota now.
Zhu Yi noticed that the boy's hand was on the shoulder of the classmate next to him, who was looking down as if he was trembling.
"What does Yota Sato have to do with the human head balloon?" Takeichi raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not just a feeling, it’s a certainty.” Kunikida Doppo’s tone turned somber: “Last night, someone took a picture of a human-shaped balloon downstairs at the Sato’s house. The distance was very close, and the photo is the clearest.”
Next, Kunikida Doppo handed the other person two printed photos. One was a photo of the human-headed balloon; although blurry, the outline of the balloon's face was clearly visible, with the beauty mark at the corner of its eye particularly noticeable. The other was a photo of a high school girl, whose face and beauty mark closely overlapped with the balloon's face.
This photo is more impactful than the images transmitted in real time by the system, Zhu Yi thought to herself.
This means that ghost stories are gradually entering the public eye, which is exactly the effect that Takeichi wanted.
“Takeichi-kun doesn’t seem very surprised.” Dazai Osamu suddenly smiled, his iris-colored eyes fixed on him: “Did you already know this when you were investigating?”
Takeichi felt his heart skip a beat, his brain racing. After a moment of silence, he decided to confess part of it: "I found out that the resentment or obsession of the human head balloon may come from Nishimura Yuko of Sakura High School, but I don't have any detailed information about her. I only know that she was bullied in high school, and Sato was one of the bullies."
He deliberately avoided mentioning the existence of the system: "These kinds of ghost stories are usually related to strong resentment, and the target is usually the person who caused the resentment."
"Resentment?" Kunikida Doppo frowned. "You mean, this thing is aimed at Sato?"
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Zhu Yi sighed. “Otherwise, why would they come knocking on our door for no reason?”
Takeichi rested his chin on his hand: "As for the 'head balloon,' so far, the other party hasn't tried to harm Sato Yota, so its purpose is not malicious."
"Have you investigated any information about Yuko Nishimura?" Takeichi blinked.
Kunikida Doppo was silent for a moment, but then nodded, his tone complicated and regretful: "Nishimura Yuko was bullied throughout high school, which led to her developing severe depression. Later, after Sato Yota dropped out of school..."
Kunikida Doppo paused for a moment: "She jumped into the river and committed suicide. Her grades were always among the top in the class, and you could say that she was destined to go to a good university and live the life she wanted."
Takeichi's gaze was fixed on Kunikida Doppo's face, even his blinking slowed down, and his tone was flat and monotone: "Are you going to stop it?"
“This is our job. We’re just investigating everything about the human head balloon.” Kunikida Doppo frowned. “And we can’t guarantee it won’t hurt the people around it.”
"After you finish your investigation, will the Special Abilities Division handle this strange tale?" Zhu Yi's tone remained indifferent, revealing little emotion.
Although Dazai Osamu mentioned the Special Ability Department, he only said "for example," because there are several special departments.
"Well... it's hard to say." Kunikida Doppo's response was somewhat hesitant.
"Let me make it clear first that interfering arbitrarily could have negative consequences. The essence of ghost stories is resentment and obsession, and physical attacks are useless. Forcibly destroying them will only cause the resentment to erupt, and may even affect innocent people." Zhu Yi looked up at him and explained slowly.
He paused, then continued, "There are two ways to resolve resentment. One is to send it back to the [Inner World], but since its purpose hasn't been achieved, it will most likely be unwilling to cooperate. The other is to address the root cause."
“Sato Yota is the key; we can find a breakthrough by dealing with him.”
Kunikida Doppo took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart: "I will write these questions about the ghost stories in the investigation report."
"So you really trust them?" Zhu Yi smiled, but her eyes were icy cold.
When they were working with the Special Abilities Department, they encountered a few arrogant old geezers who thought they could solve the problem and secretly wanted to use the supernatural tales to their advantage.
Kunikida Doppo remained silent; he couldn't make a decision on his own.
“I understand.” Zhu Yi’s tone remained unchanged: “After I cooperate with you in investigating the human head balloon, this cooperation project can be considered over.”
“Exactly.” Kunikida Doppo nodded in response.
"I will cooperate with your investigation." Zhu nodded in agreement, then changed the subject: "The 'human head balloon' will probably reappear tonight. We can go and stake it out to see what happens."
Kunikida Doppo hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Dazai Osamu beside him. Dazai Osamu shrugged lazily, a smile playing on his lips: "I have no objection."
"By the way, is there only two people in your detective agency?" Takeichi suddenly realized that he had only seen Kunikida Doppo and Dazai Osamu since he entered the room.
Dazai Osamu explained with a smile and a light tone, "Because the president and Mr. Ranpo went to handle some matters, and the Tanizaki siblings are students and are still in school. Everyone else is also busy, so it's just me and Kunikida-kun left in the detective club."
"I see." Zhu Yi nodded, then asked, "So, what time will we take action tonight?"
Around 8 PM.
"good."
*
At eight o'clock in the evening, the three of them squatted in the alley opposite Sato's house. There were several garbage cans piled up at the entrance of the alley, emitting a sour smell.
Kunikida Doppo covered his nose, his face looking rather unwell: "Why did you choose this place?"
There are clearly many places to choose from.
“Of course~ this is the best view.” Dazai Osamu pointed to the Sato family’s house across the street: “I specially chose the most secluded spot. From here, you can see the windows of their rooms, and you’re not easily spotted by the human balloons.”
Zhu Yi covered his mouth and nose, focusing his attention on the upper floor of the Sato family's house. The second-floor window was lit, and although it wasn't fully closed, he could see shadowy figures moving inside.
That means the other person is at home and hasn't gone out.
According to their investigation, Yota Sato goes out drinking every night.
"He didn't go to the izakaya today?" Takeichi asked, sticking his head out.
"No." Kunikida Doppo flipped through his notebook: "Someone saw him go to the convenience store this morning and buy beer and fast food. He's probably planning to stay home."
Time passed slowly, and the wind picked up again in the evening. The temperature outside grew colder and colder. Zhu Yi wrapped her coat tighter around herself and looked down at her watch, which showed that it was ten o'clock.
The lights on the second floor suddenly went out, the curtains were pulled open a crack, and a figure was pressed against the window glass, swaying incessantly, as if looking out at something.
"What is he looking for?" Kunikida Doppo asked in a low voice.
"Find the human head balloon." Zhu Yi's voice was soft, with a hint of anticipation in his tone: "He's scared."
A few minutes later, the figure shrank back in, the curtains were drawn shut again, the lights on the second-floor windows came back on, and even the lights on the first floor gradually came on.
The other person seemed unable to tolerate being in the dark for a long time, as if they were afraid of the dark.
"Should we continue to wait?" Zhu Yi asked.
"Let's wait a little longer," Kunikida Doppo replied to Takeichi in a low voice.
The three of them waited for another half hour, and Takeichi, who was about to fall asleep, was suddenly nudged on the arm by Dazai Osamu.
"Look at the sky."
A note from the author:
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Thank you everyone for your continued support, and especially to all the readers who donated nutrient solutions! I will always remember your encouragement...qvq
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