Chapter 89: "Foolish" Artist

This chapter may have some errors, but the AI picks up details that are affected by policy and such things, so it might repeat some paragraphs. I will try to correct it.

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In the private office of Director Yoshitoki Hotta, Dr. Takao Ohga took out his mobile phone, turned on the screen, and looked at the time displayed.

[12:10]

"Still 50 minutes before meeting that young artist," Takao thought silently to himself.

His constantly trembling right leg reflected the irritation in his heart at the moment.

"That idiot Kosaka, why did he have to die yesterday?"

"I clearly told him yesterday afternoon, but he didn't listen!"

"Sogabe and Souma are also fools. Even though Kosaka is already dead, they couldn't control themselves last night!"

"Although stupid people are easy to manipulate, if they are too stupid, they really infuriate others."

If anyone saw the grim expression on Takao Ohga's face right now, they would probably be shocked.

At this moment, Takao Ohga was entirely different from the self-assured smile of a successful man he always showed outsiders.

More than an hour ago, he had personally killed his loyal "client," Ryo Sogabe.

And forty minutes ago, he killed Souma Miho, who had also appeared to be very close to him.

Whether it was Tsunekazu Kosaka, who died yesterday, Ryo Sogabe, whom he had just killed, or Souma Miho, the three were all well-known directors in the Japanese entertainment industry.

In this circle, as long as you're a little older and have a good reputation, you'll more or less need plastic surgery—even if you're not a director who relies on their looks to make a living.

Takao Ohga was one of the most well-known plastic surgeons in the industry. His specialty was providing the so-called giants of the industry with the plastic surgery services they needed and analyzing them during the course of their interactions.

Once Takao Ohga discovered that the other person's willpower wasn't firm and their intellect wasn't particularly sharp, he would continue to seduce them.

As long as they couldn't resist temptation, he would act.

From then on, the other party would sink deeper and deeper with him, eventually becoming a "loyal client" completely controlled by him.

At that point, whether it was their wealth or their connections, everything would be at Takao Ohga's fingertips.

Of course, Takao Ohga wouldn't kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

He knew that keeping these people and continuously generating value was much better than draining them dry directly.

Initially, everything went smoothly.

Until yesterday, when the sudden death of Tsunekazu Kosaka disrupted Takao Ohga's stable life.

Originally, Takao Ohga still had the opportunity to smooth things over, but a detective at the dinner, who was overly curious, got in the way.

In the end, he couldn't carry out a secondary process on Tsunekazu Kosaka's body.

Once the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a forensic autopsy on Tsunekazu Kosaka's body, his secrets would be instantly exposed.

After that, he would also be in danger.

To prevent this from happening, the hidden dangers of Ryo Sogabe and Miho Souma had to be silenced forever.

But simply killing them wasn't safe enough.

Because there was still the risk posed by that pretty yet highly capable female detective, Sera Masumi.

"That woman isn't even a doctor, yet she immediately determined the cause of Kosaka's death as poisoning and respiratory issues."

"Then, with Sogabe and Souma's deaths today, she'll likely notice the connection immediately."

"To confuse her judgment, there must be 'interference elements' among today's deaths."

The person Takao Ohga chose as the interference element was Akikawa Kyousuke, someone he had met by chance this morning who seemed a little foolish.

As for what would happen after killing Akikawa Kyousuke, he had thought it all through.

As long as he disguised himself as a victim, he could easily pin the entire case on Yoshitoki Hotta, who had no alibi during this period.

Takao Ohga believed in Sera's abilities.

She would definitely be able to uncover the grievances between Yoshitoki Hotta and him.

By then, the fact that he had deliberately disfigured Yoshitoki Hotta back then would serve as armor to protect himself, becoming the perfect motive for Yoshitoki Hotta to murder him.

Furthermore, Akikawa Kyousuke's death in Yoshitoki Hotta's private office and the gun used as the murder weapon to kill Ryo Sogabe and Miho Souma would serve as strong evidence to push Yoshitoki Hotta to the gallows.

As for whether his victim disguise would be exposed by detectives?

It's a joke. If he, a doctor graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine, were to be outdone by an outsider high school student, then all his years of work would have been in vain.

"It's better to start preparing early."

Takao Ohga murmured quietly, then took out the candle he had prepared in advance, lit it with a lighter, and applied the wax to his fingertips.

When paraffin wax is heated and melted, it forms a film on the fingers.

In this way, no fingerprints would be left when using a weapon or touching objects.

Moreover, compared to cyanoacrylate adhesive (commonly known as super glue), using paraffin wax to cover fingerprints has the advantage of being easier to remove.

It only requires a gentle scrape with a knife or the fingertips, or reheating to peel off the wax film adhered to the fingers.

Just as Takao Ohga applied the melted paraffin to his fingertips and waited for it to dry, a sudden knock on the door startled him.

"Who is it?!"

According to Takao Ohga, no one should come at this time.

If someone saw him alone in Yoshitoki Hotta's office, it would cause many problems later.

Takao Ohga reached into his coat pocket, grabbed the gun, and silently approached the door.

The knocking continued, followed by the sound of someone trying to open the door.

Since Yoshitoki Hotta's private office had been locked by Takao Ohga himself, the person outside naturally couldn't open it.

Takao Ohga didn't intend to respond. After approaching the door, he prepared to confirm the figure outside through the peephole.

Then a familiar voice came from outside.

"Hello, Mr. Hotta, Mr. Taiga asked me to come here."

Hearing the voice of Akikawa Kyousuke, the artist he met in the morning, Takao Ohga breathed a sigh of relief.

After confirming through the peephole that it was indeed Akikawa Kyousuke alone outside, he opened the door.

"Akikawa-kun, why are you here so early? Didn't we agree to meet at one? I accidentally fell asleep."

Takao Ohga greeted him with a smile.

After welcoming Akikawa Kyousuke in, he quickly closed the door.

Then, with a soft click, he locked it silently.

"Isn't Mr. Hotta here? Why is it just Mr. Taiga?"

"Hotta is probably out having lunch and will return around one."

"Oh no! Did I arrive too early?"

Akikawa Kyousuke looked flustered.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just wait here for a while."

While chatting with Akikawa Kyousuke, Takao Ohga suddenly thought of something and asked:

"By the way, Akikawa-kun, why did you arrive so early today?"

"I was planning to watch a movie I directed, but the screening suddenly stopped for some reason, so I left early."

"I see. Did you inform your agent?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell her."

Takao Ohga felt a bit odd as he looked at Akikawa Kyousuke, who seemed to have just remembered.

"We agreed to meet at one, but you arrived forty minutes early without notifying anyone."

"Isn't this a perfect opportunity to create an alibi?"

Originally, in Takao Ohga's plan, the first person to discover the crime scene should have been Akikawa Kyousuke's agent, Itakura Misaki.

But now that Akikawa Kyousuke had arrived early, he could use their scheduled meeting time to create an alibi for himself.

This would be much safer than meeting Akikawa Kyousuke again at one.

Looking at his phone as if about to contact his agent, Takao Ohga slipped his hand back into his coat pocket and took out his gun.

Unlike with Ryo Sogabe and Miho Souma, Akikawa Kyousuke didn't require a "double shot."

One fatal shot would suffice.

Having made his decision, Takao Ohga waited for the roaring sound of the movie next door to suddenly grow louder. Then he drew the gun from his pocket, aimed directly between Akikawa Kyousuke's eyebrows, and pulled the trigger.

However—

The familiar sound of a gunshot didn't ring out.

The scene of Akikawa Kyousuke falling backward with a bloody hole in his head didn't occur.

It wasn't a failure.

He hadn't even fully pulled the trigger.

Takao Ohga saw it clearly.

At that moment, the slide of his gun was being held firmly by Akikawa Kyousuke's right hand,

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the gun from within.

The decisive difference between Akikawa Kyousuke and Ryo Sogabe or Miho Souma was that he didn't need a "double shot" for this one.

One fatal shot would be enough.

Having made his decision, Takao Ohga listened to the rumbling sounds of the movie screening in the projection room next door.

When the roaring suddenly grew louder, he pulled the gun out of his pocket, aimed directly between Akikawa Kyousuke's brows, and then pulled the trigger.

However—

The familiar sound of a gunshot did not ring out.

The scene where Akikawa Kyousuke would fall backward with a bloody hole in his head did not occur.

This wasn't a failure.

He hadn't even fully pulled the trigger.

Takao Ohga saw it clearly.

In that moment, the slide of his gun was being firmly held by Akikawa Kyousuke's right hand. The index finger of his right hand was inserted behind the gun's trigger.

The trigger that Takao Ohga had tried to pull was completely jammed.

The slim artist, Akikawa Kyousuke, who had still been looking at his phone moments earlier, was now staring directly at him with mocking blue eyes.

This scene made Takao Ohga feel as if a bomb had exploded in his mind.

He reacted instantly.

If it weren't for the Akikawa Kyousuke in front of him being so familiar with his gun—unbelievably familiar—how could he have been able to block the trigger mechanism at the exact moment Takao Ohga pulled it?

But Akikawa Kyousuke, standing right there, was clearly just an artist who looked young and harmless.

How could someone like him possibly do this?

This sudden, intense contrast immediately transformed into a chilling dread that pierced Takao Ohga's heart.

At that moment, he saw the delicate face of Akikawa Kyousuke twist into an utterly horrifying expression.

The chilling gaze in Kyousuke's blue eyes seemed to pierce through him, looking not just at him, but at something behind him.

Takao Ohga instinctively turned around.

However, there was nothing behind him except the empty room.

Then, he suddenly felt two hands encircle his neck, violently pressing against his carotid artery.

A wave of terror coursed through Takao Ohga's body instantly.

This sensation was all too familiar to Takao Ohga, a doctor.

This was what doctors called the "carotid sinus reflex."

Even when facing an opponent with a vastly different level of physical strength, it would take no more than five seconds to paralyze half of the opponent's body.

"How… How is this possible!?"

Takao Ohga's eyes widened as he let out his final words.

His upper body suddenly went limp.

But tragically—

He never discovered why Akikawa Kyousuke's demeanor had shifted so drastically in such a short amount of time.

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(End of Chapter)