Chapter 16 Suggestions for Blocking

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At night, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

In the meeting room of the First Investigation Division, the atmosphere was solemn and the air was heavy.

Kazuma Tomikawa, standing at the head of the table, was wearing his uniform. His face was tired, his eyes bloodshot, and he had a haggard look about him. He glanced around the room and said seriously, "Mr. Nishino, report the latest situation."

"Yes," replied Nishino, who was seated below. He spoke bluntly, "Today, there are 56 more deaths. All the deceased have brain death in the test reports, and there are no signs of any physical harm. Among them, there are four cases in Adachi, twelve in Shinjuku, eight in Ota, nine in Shibuya, fifteen in Chiyoda, three in Meguro, and five in Toshima."

After Nishino finished speaking, he paused and continued, "Among the 56 new deaths, 54 were students. According to their classmates, these students were all considered delinquents. Including the previous numbers, the total student deaths have now exceeded 150."

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew even more solemn. The silence was so profound that you could hear a pin drop.

"Hell Girl..." Kazuma Tomikawa rubbed his temples, feeling his brain starting to freeze. On one hand, he didn't believe in such strange occurrences. On the other hand, all the deceased were brain dead. Some died suddenly at home, some at school, and others on the road. Surveillance and witness statements confirmed that these people died suddenly. No one was killed by a physical attacker, and the test reports confirmed sudden brain death.

To be honest, the probability of sudden death among Japanese people is very high, related to the social environment. But even if it's higher, it's impossible for 56 people to die suddenly in one day. This is neither right nor reasonable. The most puzzling thing is that the deaths are confined to Tokyo; no similar deaths have been reported in other regions.

Kazuma Tomikawa, who didn't believe in such rumors before, now felt a bit shaken.

At that moment, the door of the conference room was pushed open. Before he could scold the intruder, a young man came in panic-stricken, "Section Chief Tomikawa, look at the forum, post number 5786."

Hearing this, Kazuma Tomikawa turned on the computer, and the screen behind him lit up. Within a minute, he entered the 2ch forum, found the pinned post, and clicked on the video at post number 5786.

The seven or eight people in the conference room weren't expecting much from the video, having seen plenty of surveillance footage over the past few days showing no signs before the deaths. However, when a black and blue scarecrow appeared on the screen, some people whispered softly.

"Cursed doll?"

"Scarecrow?"

"Is this the means of killing?"

"Silence!" Kazuma Tomikawa noticed the uneasy atmosphere. He knew that the people in the Investigation Section were all elites. They weren't afraid of criminals, but the mysterious urban legend unnerved them. After all, the unknown is the most terrifying.

Kazuma Tomikawa stared at the palm-sized scarecrow in the video, watching the red string around its neck being torn apart, and then the scarecrow turning to powder and disappearing. In less than a few seconds, the girl in the middle fell to the ground and died. 

After watching, everyone in the conference room felt a little scared. They were fighting against criminals, and naturally, they respected life. But now, a person's life was taken away just because of a red string. It was truly unnerving.

"Did you find anything in the Internet Monitoring Division?" Tomikawa Kazuma didn't turn off the video but played it again, asking the young man who came in.

The young man looked embarrassed. They couldn't deal with this post on the 2ch forum. He had asked the moderator to delete it, but the moderator said it couldn't be done. When the Internet Monitoring Division intervened, they found the post to be of a supernatural nature—it couldn't be edited or deleted, and even the IPs of those who replied couldn't be tracked. It was a natural nemesis for their division.

Thinking about it, he said, "In the replies, someone revealed that this happened at Kasuga Oka High School. The person who died was called Mako, and the suspected murderer is Hase Riya. But these are just replies, and we don't know if they're true, nor can we verify them."

The post itself was a supernatural phenomenon, which couldn't be edited or deleted, and even the IPs of those who replied couldn't be tracked. It was simply a natural nemesis for their Internet Monitoring Division.

"Call a few people and find Hase Riya to ask about the situation." Although someone replied to the post that Jigoku Shoujo helped them get revenge, no one had revealed the scarecrow's situation. Many people didn't believe it, and few came forward to say they had seen Jigoku Shoujo. Now that the video provided this clue, Tomikawa Kazuma felt it was a breakthrough.

"No need." The door of the conference room was pushed open, and two young people, a man and a woman, walked in. 

The man wore long sleeves, with his hands tucked into them. He was pale, ordinary-looking, with gray hair and an abnormally thin body. He wore round glasses and habitually squinted, giving off an air of contempt.

As the man walked in, he said with disdain, "I will take over this strange incident. From now on, you just need to cooperate with me."

The young woman accompanying him took a step forward, her expression slightly nervous, but she introduced herself, "Hello everyone in the Investigation Section 1, I am Koike Oto, the assistant of Lord Aokiji. Regarding the Hell Girl incident, the headquarters has issued an order to hand it over to the Special Section."

"Special Section?" Tomikawa Kazuma looked the two up and down, and he said in a deep voice, "Who are you? The Metropolitan Police Department doesn't seem to have a special section. And... how did you two get in?"

Hearing this, the others in the conference room were also alarmed. Although it was late at night, there were naturally people on duty at the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department. It was very abnormal that these two entered without anyone leading them.

Just as he finished speaking, Tomikawa Kazuma received a call.

He looked at the two in front of him with vigilance and answered the phone.

"Isshin, it's me."

An old voice came from the phone.

Upon hearing this voice, Tomikawa Kazuma subconsciously bowed his head. He held the phone and said respectfully, "Director Yasuda."

"The Jigoku Shoujo incident will be taken over by Aokiji from the Special Section. He should be there by now. For the follow-up investigation, you are to follow the orders of Aokiji from the Special Section."

"Yes!"

Although he was puzzled, he didn't question the directive and agreed immediately.

"Okay, now that we know each other, I'll go rest. See you tomorrow." After hanging up, Tomikawa Kazuma hadn't yet spoken when Aokiji coldly said, "Also... I suggest you block the 2ch forum to prevent more victims. But personally, I don't recommend it. After all, it's good to have more scum dead."

(End of this chapter)

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