Asi Hell

Capítulo 21

The current timber yard is different from the timber yard when he first met Raiko.

Lai Zi seemed very frightened, and his tears stopped.

The enemy's true face is gradually becoming clear, and Kiba's spine seems to be surging with energy that has been dried up for years.

“If this girl’s testimony is true, then Ms. Kanako was almost murdered, and now someone has sent a notice threatening to kidnap her. I don’t think there’s any connection between these events. It’s obvious that an enemy is targeting you sisters. I’m an outsider, so I haven’t had the chance to ask you for details. Ms. Yoko, if it’s convenient for you, could you tell me—”

"Please wait a moment—"

Yoko, not looking at Kiba, interrupted him.

"—Mr. Kiba. Why are you so determined to get involved in this? Even if what Kusumoto-kun said is true, you can simply speak to Inspector Ishii, can't you? After all, you're just a passerby who stumbled upon this incident by chance."

Ishii is the police inspector sent by the Kanagawa headquarters just now.

“If reporting to Ishii would bring progress, I would have withdrawn from this matter long ago. That guy is too useless, bureaucratic and only knows how to flatter his superiors, always obsequious and afraid of causing trouble. Even if you had a dozen of those guys, you wouldn’t be able to defeat your enemy. I think your enemy is probably quite powerful.”

"Mr. Kiba, can you defeat—that enemy?"

Yoko's eyes were fixed on Kiba.

"The enemy exists to be defeated."

"You absolutely refuse to give up?"

"I just happened to be the one who witnessed the attempted murder, and I just happened to be the one who witnessed the delivery of the threatening letter. I think there must be some kind of fate between us."

Yangzi endured the pain, pondered for a moment with a tragic expression, and then fell into silence.

As the talking stopped, the mechanical sounds filled the room again, and the building itself continued to vibrate slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Could I—see Kanako?"

It was Lai Zi who broke the silence. Yang Zi was startled reflexively and looked at Lai Zi again.

Lai Zi also stared at Yang Zi.

Fukumoto could only helplessly watch the situation unfold from the sidelines.

Kiba's heartbeat gradually quickened.

“Kusumoto-kun—you’re called Raiko, right? I’ve heard Kanako talk about you. Kanako likes you a lot. Your presence here today might not be a coincidence. I’ll go ask the director to see if you can meet Kanako. Kiba-san, let’s talk about what happened earlier later.”

Yangzi finished speaking and stood up.

"Mr. Kiba, uh."

Fukumoto finally spoke.

"Regarding this incident, I also feel it's truly..."

"I understand, you should go back. Don't follow my example, you'll get fired."

"However, I also have concerns about the current police force's overly territorial attitude..."

"No need for all this grand principles. I'm not doing this because I'm dissatisfied with the status quo; I'm just doing it because I want to."

"But……"

Fukumoto's speech was interrupted when Amamiya entered the room.

“I heard it from Miss Yangzi. Little Sister Laizi, thank you for making this trip.”

Amamiya was dressed exactly the same as he had been two weeks ago. Kiba had seen him several times in the past two weeks, and he was almost always wearing the same clothes.

"Thank you, and thank you both for your hard work."

Amamiya thanked Kiba and Fukumoto sincerely. In Amamiya's eyes, all police officers probably looked the same, and he seemed completely unconcerned about Kiba's meddling. As for Fukumoto in his uniform, he probably didn't look much different from the police officers guarding the outside. In other words, Amamiya had absolutely no suspicion of the police.

Amamiya, still looking sleepy and with an expression that revealed neither joy nor sorrow, approached Raiko.

"Kanako must be very happy to see you. I often hear her talk about you."

"I wonder if Kanako still recognizes me?"

"Of course she recognizes me. She even responds when I talk to her. And she also recognizes me and Ms. Yoko."

Lai Zi's face twisted rapidly.

"Add rapeseed—"

Lai Zi hugged her shoulders—just like the position she maintained that night at the hospital in Mitaka—and began to sway and tremble.

"Don't worry. Jia Cai Zi won't die."

Amamiya said slowly.

A particularly loud knock came at the door, and a uniformed police officer entered the room.

"The interview has been approved. Please wait upstairs."

After saying this, the police officer turned and left, and Kiba slowly stood up.

Following the order of Kiba, Yoriko, Amamiya, and Fukumoto, the group walked out of the room in a line, perhaps influenced by the building's layout.

As they approached the spiral staircase, Raiko stopped, her steps faltering. Amamiya gently embraced Raiko's shoulders.

Kiba watched Amamiya's practiced movements from behind and, for some reason, felt a little annoyed.

But—at that moment, Kiba hadn't even considered that it was actually very similar to the emotion called jealousy. Amamiya then said gently in an inorganic tone, "It's alright, don't worry, go see Kanako. No, please, at least look at her face, okay?"

"Gai Zi, Jia Zi, she—to me—"

"She said you are her most important friend, and that she doesn't get along with her classmates."

"Can't get along?"

"Hmm—because Kanako's family background is complicated. She often has trouble making friends and has always been alone since she was little. So she is really happy to have made such a good friend as you."

Though it was only for a brief moment, Raiko's face returned to its original expression—at least that's how it appeared to Kiba. With Amamiya's shoulders cradle in hers, Raiko walked up the stairs with trepidation, as if stepping on a crumbling staircase. Amamiya, still maintaining her unique expression that was neither crying nor laughing, walked past Kiba with a hint of excitement.

"impossible."

Raiko spoke in a low voice that seemed indistinguishable. Even amidst the deep, mechanical vibrations, this subtle yet irresistible air vibration was transmitted more directly than any of Raiko's words Kiba had ever heard before.

The top floor—the third floor—has significantly different partitions from the first and second floors.

At the bottom of the spiral staircase, you'll immediately find a corridor. The corridors on the first and second floors are located in the very center of the building, cutting it straight in two, but the corridor on the third floor extends along the right wall towards the main entrance. Therefore, there's nothing on the right side of the wall, while there are two doors on the left side.

The front door—near the stairs—was wooden, and the back door—closer to the front of the building—was iron. Therefore, even the only sliver of light resembling a window on the third floor was invisible. That sliver of light was—perhaps that's a grammatical error, since the sliver was completely sealed and couldn't actually be opened—in a room with a firmly locked iron door.

What's even more amazing is that the telephone exit on the third floor isn't in the corridor but in the room. In other words, if you take the elevator to the third floor, you'll be in the room as soon as you step out the door.

Amamiya put his arm around Raiko's shoulder and led her across the woods to the room at the elevator exit—the room in front of it—and opened the door.

The mechanical noises grew louder, as if one had entered a military factory.

"Please come in."

Amamiya led Yoriko inside first, then came out to guide Kiba and Fukumoto inside. Kiba hesitated slightly before entering the room. Kiba had entered this room three times before, but the fourth time—he was stopped by Inspector Ishii.

This is the intensive care unit.

The room was shaped like a huge L. Since the building's rooms were all square, an L-shaped room shouldn't exist; naturally, there was another small room inside. This small room was probably a treatment room—no, more like an operating room.

Upon opening the door, the elevator door is on the right. Next to the door is a vertically extending wall with a double door of similar size to the elevator door, resembling the entrance to a movie theater. On the day Kanako was carried in, Kiba and Yoko, who had run up the stairs, witnessed Kanako being led into this movie theater.

Kiba determined that this was the processing room.

There was another door to the processing room, which was not visible from the entrance. At the time, it wasn't convenient to wander around the room, so Kiba wasn't very clear on what the other door looked like. It was probably a door very similar to the first one, since Kanako came out from that side.

Kiba recalls what happened that day.

That day—the day the vegetables were sent into the processing room.

Having completed their duties, the emergency medical team members prepared to head home.

Only Yoko, Amamiya, and Kiba remained.

Thinking about this, Kiba realized something.

There was no mechanical noise at that time. The mechanical noise only started after Kanako was sent into the processing room, and it has continued uninterrupted for the past half month—at least while Kiba has been here.

The surgery continued into the afternoon. Kiba told Fukumoto to go back first, borrowed a card from Koda, and went out to buy some food. After returning, he went to the reception room for a nap. During this time, Yoko and Amamiya seemed to have stayed in that room the whole time.

The room was filled with all sorts of mechanical and measuring instruments, all box-shaped, like randomly placed tombstones. On the tombstones were oscilloscopes resembling radar on a warship and many buttons like those on a radio, and these tombstones were connected by various kinds of pipes.

The huge box was still full of boxes.

Surrounded by these boxes, a semi-circular plastic sheeting tent was erected in the center of the room. Whether its proper name was "Tent" was unknown to Kiba; it was merely a temporary designation he had chosen from his vocabulary. If it were made of cloth, Kiba might have called it a mosquito net.

The tent, hanging from the ceiling, was divided into several layers—perhaps more accurately described as a mosquito net in that sense—with dozens of pipes of varying sizes running through it from the tombstones outside. The membrane itself was translucent, but after being layered, the interior became blurred and indistinct, with only shadows visible. The shadows were square, like tombstones, indicating that the tent was also filled with mechanical boxes.

The rapeseed was lying inside.

In Kiba's memory, Kanako was covered in bandages and plaster casts all over her body, except for her face, resembling an Egyptian mummy. Several tubes, whether IV drips or something else, were inserted into her body. Thin tubes were also inserted into her nostrils, and she wore something like an oxygen mask on her face. The first time he saw her, she was asleep; the second time, she was looking at Kiba; and the third time, she was looking at the sky.

Every time Kiba saw her, he thought of Kanako shortly after the accident, when her joints were twisted and bleeding profusely; she seemed even more vibrant then, giving Kiba the feeling that she still had a chance to be saved. But now, lying in bed, Kanako always seemed truly alive, which ironically made him feel that she was probably beyond saving. This feeling was stronger the second time it came, and even stronger the third time. He wondered what he would think after seeing her this time.

After quickly recalling these events, Kiba entered the room.

Several chairs were placed between the tombstones. Yoko, Ishii, and a few police officers sat there, while several other officers stood against the wall.

As soon as Kiba entered the room, everyone turned to look at him.

The scene resembled a group of people admiring cherry blossoms in a cemetery, with cherry blossom admirer Ishii walking by.

"I heard about it, Kiba. How could you not tell me about something so important—"

"Let's not talk about these things here, let's talk about them later."

Kiba's personality seemed even more ferocious than when they were talking in the backyard.

Inspector Ishii was overwhelmed by his imposing presence and fell silent.

"The professor will be coming to see us soon. Kanako is awake right now, let's go check on her."

After speaking, Yoko stood up and weaved between the tombstones and the police officer, stopping in front of the tent and lifting the seam. Raiko avoided the tangled cluster of tombstones to reach it, Kiba followed, and Fukumoto slowly trailed behind. Between the tombstones lay piles of electrical wires, like snakes curled up in hibernation, making the path incredibly difficult.

When Kiba and the others arrived, Yoko lifted the second layer of the tent, then the third and fourth layers—meaning there were four layers in total.

Yoko suddenly stumbled forward and fell, causing the tent that had been lifted to be covered up again, layer by layer.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Amamiya quickly approached and reached out to support her shoulder, her thoughtfulness was truly impeccable.

"Miss Yangzi, please don't push yourself. You just had so much blood drawn the day before yesterday. Besides, you've always had some anemia."