Chapter 79 The Missing "Waveform"

Yagami almost thought his ears were deceiving him.

This chubby, even somewhat kindly-looking Western man, was planning to wipe out the entire Tooyama Group in this law-abiding country of Japan?

The entire Tooyama Group—over a thousand people?!

"Don't look so surprised, boy," Zenel caught the look on Yagami's face, as if he'd seen a ghost, and teased him with words that sent a chill down one's spine.

"You know as well as I do—things like law and human life are laughably fragile in the face of true 'power.'"

"That's enough, Zenel." At this moment, Professor Ichiro Serizawa appeared much more like a normal person in Yagami's eyes. "We're a research institute. The United States military is only providing support. We are not an instrument of violence."

"Matters like this should be left to the Japanese National Police Agency." With that, Professor Serizawa set the tone for how this affair would be handled.

Only now did Yagami have the chance to speak up.

"So you're saying... there's no risk of a leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant?"

His voice was full of astonishment, but barely concealed joy as well.

Given the current situation, Professor Serizawa seemed to have no reason to deceive him.

Though it was astonishing that the incident he and his companions had spent so long investigating turned out to be nothing but a series of misunderstandings, with no real danger ever present, Yagami, kind-hearted as he was, would have been relieved if all their efforts had been for nothing.

At least, that way, the ignorant public could continue living their lives in peace.

"Of course there's no danger. There never was," Professor Serizawa said with confidence.

Having settled these matters, he handed the documents back to Zenel, letting him return to his duties. "From the very start, the security level of this power plant was designed for far more than mere nuclear energy generation."

"You say... 'mere nuclear energy generation'?" Yagami forced the words out.

Both detective and lawyer, his professions had always kept him on the periphery of society's darker corners.

But even in Kamurocho, Tokyo, the furthest he'd ever gone was crossing swords with company presidents or high-ranking government officials.

It was hard to imagine what could possibly render a cutting-edge human enterprise like 'nuclear power generation' so insignificant.

Perhaps, according to Mr. Brody's theories, it wasn't a 'thing' at all, but a 'creature'?

At that thought, a flicker of dread flashed in Yagami's eyes.

At that moment, Professor Serizawa was inspecting the evidence bag containing Yagami's belongings with keen interest.

Among those items was Joey Brody's notebook.

"The author of this—Mr. Brody—he trusts you deeply," Serizawa remarked as he pulled the notebook from the evidence bag and waved it before Yagami. "I'm quite interested in his theories. When we spoke in another room, he insisted he would only explain his theory if he had your consent—if you could guarantee that we would not use the information for ill intent. Otherwise, he wouldn't say another word."

"Though we haven't known each other long, at the very least, he must be certain that I can't be coerced or bribed. My profession gives me a certain knack for judging people's character. That's probably why he said that."

"I'm grateful for the trust he's placed in me."

"So," Professor Serizawa's eyes now glittered with a burning curiosity as they fell upon Yagami, "could you make the introduction?"

"You didn't mismanage the nuclear plant, nor did you go around killing people at the drop of a hat, and besides—" Yagami rattled his handcuffed wrists and forced a wry smile, "do I even have a choice?"

...

When he next saw Joey, the old American looked both agitated and exhausted.

Alone in his room, he was smashing a chair against a pane of one-way glass.

But the glass, with its bulletproof strength, withstood all his efforts.

"F—k! F—k everyone! F—k..."

"Stop! Stop, Joey!"

Yagami flung open the door and hurried in, cutting the old man off before he could say anything more inflammatory and provoke their captors.

"Yagami! You finally made it!" Joey was visibly relieved to see a familiar face.

As an American, his fear and hostility toward these secretive, violent organizations was almost palpable.

Even the declassified files from his own country were enough to keep any normal person up at night.

Still handcuffed, Yagami gave a helpless smile.

This was no time for pleasantries between old acquaintances.

He stepped aside, revealing Professor Ichiro Serizawa, who was rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation of hearing new theories.

"This professor and I have spoken. They're not some violent agency, but a research institute. Their research is simply of such a high level that they've received support from the U.S. military. He's very interested in your theories. After your discussion, we just need to sign a non-disclosure agreement and we can all leave."

With that, Yagami stepped back to the sidelines.

He knew he wasn't qualified to join a conversation of such high academic caliber, so once he had made the introductions, he was content to fade into the background.

He only hoped that Professor Serizawa, who appeared every bit the traditional scholar, would honor his word and let them go once the academic exchange was over.

But Joey Brody's next reaction caught him completely off guard.

"Discussion? Who has time to care about that crap right now, Yagami!"

The old man's eyes were wide, bloodshot with tension and anxiety.

He seized Serizawa's hands. "Where are my instruments? My data? Do you even know what's happened? I need them now! Right now!"

"Mr. Brody, please calm down," Serizawa was far more patient with capable scholars than with the likes of Zenel and the other operatives. "Everything here is normal. As I explained to Mr. Yagami, what you thought was a nuclear leak was just a series of misunderstandings—a false alarm."

But these words did nothing to calm the agitated, haggard old man.

"Do you think I don't know? I was the chief engineer at the Janjira nuclear plant! From the moment I entered, I knew the plant was fine!"

Joey gripped Professor Serizawa's shoulders, shaking him in frustration.

"It was the 'waveform' I detected! It's gone! It left days ago! If I hadn't been so worried about the plant, I would have gone after it already—do you understand?!"

His rant was disjointed and cryptic, leaving Yagami completely bewildered.

But for Professor Serizawa, meeting Joey for the first time in earnest, the change was immediate—he became deadly serious.

"'Waveform'? You mean, what you detected with your theory... No! Impossible! It's supposed to be—"

"Professor, you need to come see this! Now!"

Before Serizawa could finish, a sharp, intelligent-looking woman burst into the room, cutting him off.

Her large, lively eyes—though not exactly beautiful—were wide with panic, like a deer caught in a predator's gaze.

"We... we can't find it anymore!"

"The undersea earthquake destroyed the monitoring cameras. We only managed to send down twenty new ones today. Then, in the alloy enclosure on the ocean floor, we captured this..."

She handed over a tablet computer, and on its screen—

In the murky seawater, a huge, inverted bowl-shaped alloy enclosure came into view, with a gaping breach whose size was impossible to estimate from the camera angle.

It hung there, solitary and forlorn.

For some reason, Yagami felt the air in the room suddenly grow heavy.