"I'm a major league hitter."
"The overtime is about to begin."
"The competition will officially start at noon tomorrow and end at 3 p.m."
"It would be a waste of effort even if you find someone to stop me."
"I will eventually win."
"If you want to stop this game, just come to me until you policemen come walking on the blood-stained bases."
"I will be waiting for you at the steel plate in the end."
As Shiratori Ninzaburo was seriously injured in the explosion and sent to the hospital, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department also received a fax with incomprehensible sentences, causing an uproar in the police department.
Hayashi Yoshiki received the invitation.
He is a detective with a registered file in the Metropolitan Police Department. The police generally do not actively invite detectives to intervene in cases like this... The crime scene doesn't matter, but when it comes to incidents that happen within the police force, they have their own stance and face to consider.
However, now that Hayashi Yoshiki has the identity of a consultant for the special task force, the situation has changed.
"You want to play an extra game? That's really too much!"
In the office, after reading the fax carefully, Matsumoto Kiyonaga slammed the desk.
Odagiri Toshiro crossed his arms and said sullenly, "This time I must make an end to this guy."
"From what you two are saying, this isn't the first time the police have dealt with someone handing out flyers, right?"
Hayashi Yoshiki also had a flyer in his hand, and he asked the two people in front of him.
"Good."
Odagiri nodded. "That's the explosives criminal who is now targeting our police. He committed two crimes seven years ago and three years ago today."
"Seven years ago and three years ago?"
"Right..."
Matsumoto Kiyonaga looked at the young man who had been his daughter's student and took the initiative to explain:
"There was a bombing seven years ago. There were actually two perpetrators."
"As for the bomb locations, they were two apartment buildings in the city. They demanded a ransom of one billion yen at the time. If any resident left, the bomb would detonate immediately."
"Although one bomb was defused, the other posed trouble. The police agreed to their request, and the criminals stopped the timer."
"But 30 minutes later, one of them watched the news and misunderstood something, calling in a rage to say the timer was still ticking. That mistake gave us an opportunity."
"We tracked his call and found him at a phone booth, but he died in a car accident during the escape."
"That death inspired his partner to restart the timer... and one of our best officers died: Kenji Hagiwara."
Hayashi Yoshiki remembered that name well—Hagiwara, a close friend of Toru Amuro and Jinpei Matsuda.
Then Matsumoto recounted the second case, from three years ago—
A bomb in a Ferris wheel. Another officer, Jinpei Matsuda, gave his life to uncover the location of a second, hidden bomb—only revealed three seconds before detonation.
"If it's the same bomber... it's likely he'll try to force another sacrifice."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent this fax... daring the police to decode the message."
Hayashi Yoshiki raised the A4 paper.
Suddenly, the expressions of the two senior officials darkened.
An open conspiracy.
Even if they understood it, they couldn't just ignore it.
"Even so, at least we have to find where the bomb is buried."
"I agree with that."
"I'll need your help this time, Advisor."
"...It's nothing. We can't let this vicious criminal go unpunished, no matter what."
Hayashi Yoshiki's voice was low, his tone firm.
"That's right."
Odagiri nodded with resolve.
He never once doubted Hayashi Yoshiki's sense of justice.
Whether on the Loop Line, the Twin Towers, or Osaka...
He had always stood up, always acted.
And never sought credit.
But in that moment, Hayashi Yoshiki realized—
This might be an opportunity...
The bomber had taken the lives of two of the police force's brightest.
He had forced impossible decisions on the Tokyo police, taking 12 million people hostage.
He would do it again.
But what if... he was used as bait?
Would Minister Odagiri still stay within the lines of law and procedure...?
"The criminal also sent a similar fax three years ago, right? What was the code at that time? Please also tell me where his two bombs were buried."
Hayashi Yoshiki raised the current fax again.
"I'll bring you the files right away!" Matsumoto Kiyonaga left the room in haste.
"Do you have a lead?" Odagiri asked.
"Some speculations. But I need to confirm it first."
"Thank you for helping us!"
Technically, this wasn't Odagiri's case—it was under Matsumoto's jurisdiction.
But he couldn't sit out.
Not this time.
Once Matsumoto returned with the documents, Hayashi Yoshiki skimmed the code and declared:
"It is possible that it's at Minami-Itō Station."
A quick and confident conclusion.
But in reality, this was a decoy.
The bomber wanted the police to search Minamibeito. He planted a fake bomb there to buy time.
The real one... was at Tokyo Tower's elevator.
And that gave Hayashi Yoshiki the window he needed...
To begin his arrangements.