The night rolled in and I, now jobless, compiled a summary to send via protected channels to Josh, Tom, and Erika.
"RE: UPDATE ON THE CASE: (see attachments)
Status:
6/6 Salaryman - surface investigations completed. I've investigated their web presence - nothing of value. Their houses, but not much information there as places were thoroughly cleaned.
1/5 NEETs - surface investigation ongoing. I've broken into one of the houses, the info is in the attachments.
0/8 High School students - Investigation pending. I have trouble coming up with a good cover.
Clues:
1. Nobu's response. I already told about it, so will not elaborate.
2. 3 days after accidents with trucks there are prolonged electricity blackouts/brownouts, suggesting a lot of power possibly used. But for what? If the power was funneled somewhere it would have been already investigated. I currently don't have access to that information, will try to get it later.
3. Areas of accidents without CCTVs - indicates a good preparation.
4. Cleared-out records from the only CCTV which could have captured a thing.
5. Quick cremation and funerals within 3 days after death organized by the municipality.
6. "The Last Hope" controls all areas of the victims' residence.
7. Talented Students. - not investigated yet.
8. Single NEETs and Salaryman might be as talented as Tanaka.
9. Yamamoto's terminal cancer.
Irrelevant clues:
Yamamoto - Possible relationships, love of Otome, and workouts.
Tanaka - rage and depression. Clan? Dojo? (see attached pictures.)
Some clues support The Last Hope's involvement as a municipality. All the events happened in parts of town where they are the municipal government, and probably as an aid to government-sanctioned actions. Spy theory makes no sense considering Yamamoto's terminal stage cancer. Suicide cult with government support makes no sense, unless they are hiding truck suicides to avoid new waves of suicides.
Human trafficking? Maybe for some WW2-style unethical experiments. A serial killer?
Most likely if it's government-related it could be different projects using the same way to make people 'disappear'.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
I am currently out of my wits.
Compiling a new working hypothesis: It’s for you Josh, I know you love a good conspiracy theory.
Someone from or connected to the Japanese government is planning the accidents meticulously. That's why the lone CCTV was cleaned, and no other CCTV recordings available. They work with "The Last Hope" municipality. They are staging accidents with trucks and making everyone believe that victims are dead, or they do something with the bodies. They get rid of the lack of bodies in the crematorium by expediting the process.
It is one of the two: Unethical experiments or the Japanese obsession with battle royales is pouring into reality.
Some of the victims can fight and have martial training. This could explain the power blackout if they use a lot of electricity during the shows. Actually nevermind, Squid Game is Korean. :)
P.S. Sorry guys, all I now have is some insane conspiracy theories.
P.P.S. Tomorrow, I'll start looking into high school students. No idea how tbh."
I quickly stepped away from the laptop on the table as the "sent" notification appeared. Mixed emotions churned inside me. I pulled out a cigarette from a "Lucky Star" pack and lit it up, meditating as I exhaled the poison out on the balcony. Tokyo's sky was starless, a light breeze conveniently wafted the excess smoke away from my face.
My heart raced—I hadn't pursued investigations like this in years. These are ones that filled you with anxiety, where you never quite knew where you might make a fatal mistake. In a war zone, you merely had to follow rigid instructions and position yourself correctly most of the time. The safety rules there were written with the blood of hundreds, thousands of war journalists who died illuminating the world's conflicts.
Uncovering conspiracies involving governments, all while operating outside the protection of a large news network, was an entirely different beast. It was a dangerous dance on a knife's edge where a single misstep could mean vanishing forever. There was more journalist blood spilled by the intelligence community than any other source. Sadly, it was hard to determine where exactly my colleagues had slipped up—their traces were so scant, barely leaving behind lessons to learn from.
On the other hand, I couldn't ignore the thrill that was slowly consuming me, the thrill of being a rogue journalist undertaking a high-stakes investigation. I felt like James Bond. "George, George Yossarian." I should present myself with a seductive smile of 007.
My steady inhales and exhales slowed my racing heart, and I came to a conclusion—I needed to slow down. More information might shed light on what I was dealing with. If I rushed, I might save someone from being killed or kidnapped, but if I slipped, there would be no one to save me.
____________
When I woke up the next morning I felt refreshed. Despite all the running my legs didn't hurt and my back felt relaxed, as if futons were more comfortable than the top of the line mattresses advertised online. The sun was shining bright and the concept of not having to stand at the bar made me want to have a nice walk around the town.
I checked my email and found a response from the "Tokugawa Elite Academy" sitting in my inbox. They had agreed to accommodate a representative from the agency I claimed to represent. Smiling at my screen, I typed out a polite reply and arranged a meeting for tomorrow, the closest time bracket they had offered.
I walked through Tokyo making some pictures for social media, but mostly for Tom. Obscure things, going to places where tourists didn't go. Pubs planned to translate some football tonight. I hated drinking while people were shouting next to me, so no bars and pubs for me.
"Should I break into another NEET's house?" I asked myself, completely disregarding my decision to slow down a day prior to that.
"I do. Why not? It’s a wonderful day for a break-in!" I replied in my mind. "Why slow down when I can speed up?"