Chapter 82 A Paradise for Criminals
"So that's what you've been struggling with!" Hearing that the reason for her struggle wasn't that she wanted to divide her camp with him, Hagiwara breathed a sigh of relief, and his brain, which had become dull from worry, regained its usual sharpness.
After a moment's thought about what Feng Jiang had told her about her brother in the past, and what she had learned about the organization Feng Jiang worked for during this instance, she keenly sensed something was amiss.
He immediately asked her, "Feng-chan, have you ever heard of a country, such as the United States or Japan, announcing the dismantling of a transnational criminal gang? Or arresting a criminal gang that liked to use alcohol or code names for their crimes?"
"I don't think so!" Although Feng Xingshou didn't know why her words had prompted Hagiwara to ask her about this, she still thought about it carefully and replied, "I've only heard of a few major international crime cases that I've seen in the news."
We've already told you about gene-editing drugs like the "Silver Bullet." Besides that, another crime that could be considered international crime is the Ponzi scheme run by an American financial tycoon. After it was exposed in 2008, it caused huge losses to many wealthy people around the world and even contributed to the global economic crisis.
"Is it the Madoff case from 2008? I remember it vividly too. Not only did people in the US jump off buildings because of it, but there were also bankruptcies and suicides in Japan because of it." Matsuda heard his junior schoolmate mention this.
Having already guessed what Hagi really wanted to ask, he simply reminded him: "What Hagi wants to ask is probably about those I don't know, and future international cases that may be related to your brother. You can talk about some international cases after the end of 2015."
“Fifteen years later!” When Feng Xingshou heard that it was related to her brother, she naturally recalled it very carefully. However, she had been living in China at that time and knew mostly about domestic cases. When it came to international cases, she had to think carefully.
There were only a few things that left a deep impression on him, so he mentioned the ones that he remembered: "Besides the ones I told you about before, there are a few that are related to the international community, like the Silver Bullet and the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister! There are only a few things that have a significant international impact."
One case, known as the "Health Resort Island Case," involves a wealthy American pharmaceutical tycoon who bought a private island in the United States, built it to be extremely luxurious, and used it to lure and deceive healthy people from all over the world to the island, calling it a mobile organ bank.
The island provides illegal organ transplants and other medical services, which are explicitly prohibited by law, to wealthy and powerful individuals around the world. However, the most significant criminal activity and source of profit is rumored to be the island's owner using these illegal medical connections to cultivate relationships with powerful and wealthy people from around the world.
They acted as intermediaries, facilitating various illegal transactions and collusion... In short, this case continued until 2015, after the Silver Bullet incident, when people who had enjoyed the benefits of the resort island probably felt that the Silver Bullet was more cost-effective.
They stopped protecting the island owner! Anyway, it wasn't until the end of 2015 that there was some international buzz, and then it was completely exposed in 2016. Not long after, the island owner also 'committed suicide' in the prison where he was arrested.
The case was left unresolved, and the list of perpetrators was not released for 25 years before I entered the game, making it one of the more impactful international cases.
Another example is a celebrity from the US entertainment industry who reportedly funded a group of computer experts to establish a [website/platform] on the dark web.
Video websites allow anyone with access to the dark web to sell videos obtained illegally, such as those filmed secretly...
It's said that it initially consisted of secretly filmed scenes, but later, based on audience tastes, it gradually became devoid of ethics and morality, featuring disgusting acts such as explicit sexual acts and even murder performances...
Ahem... In short, until a legal action is taken, the other party is essentially a masked individual who secretly manipulates and induces perverts to commit even more perverted acts. Even if they are not perverted, they will become habitual voyeurs and other international criminals for profit.
When the case broke out, even in my country, besides some people who knew it was illegal, the videos were perverted and antisocial, but still participated for profit, many hotels and guesthouses were also involved in this voyeurism profit chain.
This resulted in many hotel guests becoming "celebrities" on the dark web without their knowledge. The interests involved in this case were no less than those in the previous case, and it had already been rumored internationally for some time, but it was only in recent years that sufficient evidence was found to arrest him.
Another incident occurred in 2021 when multiple states in the United States were hit by super tornadoes. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the natural disaster, criminal gangs robbed and murdered staff at a US old currency destruction facility and stole what is said to be tens of billions of US dollars in old currency.
The perpetrator remains unknown, and the whereabouts of the huge sum of old banknotes are still unknown. Many bloggers speculate that this was the work of an international criminal gang, as it is impossible for an individual criminal to commit such a large-scale crime in just over a day.
Another example is the shooting death of a wealthy American businessman who made his fortune in the medical field last year. He was a key figure in the sale of medical warehouses and gene therapy drugs in the United States.
In short, ever since my brother went missing, I've been collecting news from all over the world, especially news related to Japan and the United States, but I feel like none of it has anything to do with him. Maybe those cases make the news, but the cases my brother was involved in don't!
As she said this, her tone became somewhat downcast.
.
"What kind of nonsense is this? It feels like the US isn't some paradise on earth, but rather a crime hotspot where all sorts of bizarre cases happen," Matsuda couldn't help but complain after hearing all this.
He grew up in an era when going abroad to the United States was highly valued. Many people considered someone who could work or study in the United States to be a winner in life who had achieved instant success and transcended social class.
Unexpectedly, the United States in the future seemed to have become a haven for criminals. This sense of disparity, influenced by the people around him in his daily life, made him subconsciously feel a sense of gap between his ideal and reality, as he also felt that being able to go to the United States was a sign of being a winner in life.
"Just as I thought." Hagiwara didn't care what the United States had become. His attention had been focused on what Fuu-chan was saying the whole time, so after listening, he said in a confident tone, "I don't think you need to waste your energy on this."
"Huh?" What does that mean? Feng Xingshou looked at Hagiwara in confusion, not understanding the meaning of his words.
Matsuda, standing nearby, had already guessed his best friend's thoughts, but he didn't say anything. After all, as childhood friends, when he wanted to show off his abilities to a woman he liked, silence was a form of support! o(￣ヘ￣o＃)
Even if I'm talented...
Although he hasn't been working there long, he is still considered an employee within the Japanese official system and has a fairly good understanding of his country's law enforcement system. In your brother's case, he is a Russian citizen and has you, a Chinese citizen, as a relative.
If the case were handled by the Japanese or other official systems, they would definitely need to contact the country of your nationality and your relative. However, you have not received any contact from any official country, nor have you found any related news on any country's official website.
That would mean that his disappearance is either unrelated to what happened during the official law enforcement process in various countries, or that the case he was involved in was a shady case for the official authorities of a certain country, possibly for national interests or for the personal gain of the law enforcement officers.
The other party acted illegally under an official guise, failing to follow the legal procedures for international criminals. Without being interrupted, Hagiwara quickly answered the question that Fuusei no Kami had in mind.
After all, he had heard during his time at the police academy that the public security forces in the Japanese official system liked to do all sorts of illegal work, and as long as the traces of their illegal activities were erased afterward, the public security forces and the Japanese official system would assume that no illegal activity had occurred.
Kofuya was investigating the organization under the guise of a public security officer. The public security officers had sent more than just him as an undercover agent. As far as he knew, besides Kofuya, there was also Komobushi and the senior public security officer who led to Komobushi's exposure.
An international criminal organization that requires three, or possibly more, Japanese public security officers to conduct undercover investigations has also had its FBI planted in the United States to investigate the organization.
Those criminal organization members also habitually use aliases and code names to communicate and carry out their operations. Unlike the open and aboveboard Yakuza groups in Japan, they are very cautious and careful, yet they are so arrogant that they directly threaten the safety of the Japanese people with the government.
Clearly, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. The fact that Feng Jiang's brother went missing without any official announcement suggests that there might be some complicated reasons involved. Besides the possibility he just mentioned, there's another one.
Hagiwara was quite certain that, given Fuu-chan's personality, she would choose to react: "Of course, if your brother's disappearance is unrelated to the official investigation, there is another possibility: a double-cross between criminal organizations, betrayal among accomplices due to mutual interests, etc."
But whether it's the official investigation that law enforcement officers committed illegal acts first, the internal strife within that transnational criminal organization, or the power struggles with other underworld figures, if any of these are related to your brother's disappearance, given your personality, you certainly wouldn't dwell on it anymore, would you?
"Yes! Of course, if that's the case, I'll definitely side with my brother." Just as Hagiwara predicted, Kazesei no Mamoru stated his reaction without hesitation.
However, after she said it, she realized that her two companions were Japanese police officers. She immediately took a step back and asked cautiously, "Ahem... I haven't done anything yet! You're not planning to arrest me, are you?"
"Heh... Don't forget I'm your accomplice." Hagiwara deliberately feigned fear, leaning closer to Fuu-chan and looking at Matsuda with 'warliness': "Officer-san, are you arresting a thief?"
"Hey! You two, stop feeding me dog food at a time like this!" Matsuda was speechless at his childhood friends' impromptu performance and simply opened his half-moon eyes to complain about them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com