kvmb 172. Coincidence?
172. Coincidence?
Kyushu Izakaya is quite famous in Shanghai's Japanese food scene. Its interior decoration has a strong local Japanese style and is very popular among Shanghai locals.
Morinomaru, a member of the Saotome Squad, met up with a few friends at an izakaya in Kyushu, where they enjoyed sake, sushi, and barbecue while watching geisha performances.
A group of young people, drunk and dazed, hummed along to a somewhat eerie tune, clapping their hands to the rhythm.
Women in kimonos carried trays and moved in and out with small steps, placing plates of fresh food for the guests when they came in and then taking away the empty plates.
Just as Morinomaru was getting into the story, he saw a girl in a kimono with her hair in a bun kneeling in front of him, cleaning up the leftover food in his bowl.
The already drunk Morinomaru was momentarily dazed when he saw that profile and blurted out, "Mayuko...?"
The girl smiled shyly, did not answer, and got up to leave. Morinomaru suddenly pulled her down, making her fall into his lap.
The woman in the kimono let out a soft cry, and the surrounding guests all joined in with laughter.
Morinomaru seemed to remember something. He remembered his childhood sweetheart girlfriend who had said goodbye to him under the cherry blossom tree in his hometown. The woman in front of him looked almost exactly like her.
The woman stirred up Morinomaru's youthful memories, and fueled by alcohol, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her.
"Oh~ Oh~ Oh!"
His companions clapped and cheered loudly. Morinomaru's kiss lasted for more than two minutes before he released her after she struggled.
"Hahahaha~~~!"
A group of young men burst into laughter, watching the disheveled figures flee, and raised their glasses, saying, "Come on, let's have another drink!"
"cheers!"
That night, the atmosphere in the izakaya was lively, and everyone drank to their heart's content. In particular, Morinomaru's interest was heightened when he saw a woman who looked very much like his childhood friend, and he even went on stage to perform a strange dance for everyone.
After the drinking party ended, Morinomaru and his friends, arm in arm, made noise on the streets of Shanghai late at night, oblivious to everyone else, and even urinated and defecated in public.
But as he walked, Morinomaru's expression suddenly froze. He bent down, clutching his abdomen, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? You're not going to be in trouble so quickly, are you drunk?"
His companions thought he was vomiting because he had drunk too much, but Morinomaru kept vomiting and yelling "stomach ache!" He soon collapsed to the ground and began to struggle in pain, tearing at his chest with his hands.
His reaction startled his companions. After a while, they all sobered up and hurriedly searched the streets for a doctor.
A dozen minutes later, when they woke the doctor from his sleep and dragged him to Morinomaru's side, Morinomaru, who had just been talking and boasting about his childhood sweetheart, had wide-open eyes, was foaming at the mouth, and had stopped breathing.
"Damn it! What happened? He was just drinking and singing with us, how could he suddenly fall ill and die?"
The old doctor, shivering from the cold, said with a pained expression, "This gentleman has indeed passed away. It may have been a sudden serious illness that caused cardiac arrest. I suggest we take him to a Western hospital for a full examination."
"Get out of here! You useless thing!"
Upon hearing that their companion had passed away, the other young men were somewhat at a loss. It wasn't until Yosuke Saotome arrived in person that they were taken back, looking disheveled, to be questioned about what had happened.
This is the second member of Saotome's squad to die, following Goro Yamamoto. If the first death had been an accident, Yosuke Saotome could have somewhat accepted it, but this time, with such a short interval between the two deaths, it's simply unbelievable that it was an accident.
“Take his body back and examine it carefully. If an autopsy is necessary, then do it. I need to know the real cause of his death. I don’t believe in sudden illness or cardiac arrest.”
Yosuke Saotome's face was grim. He ordered Morinomaru's body to be taken back for dissection and research, while he led the remaining team members to investigate the scene.
Kawasaki, a tracking expert, thoroughly inspected the izakaya but found no suspicious people or signs.
Karate expert Yasuda questioned the other soldiers, geishas, waiters, and all the chefs and helpers in the kitchen, and even checked the suppliers that the izakaya usually got its supplies from.
The expert in eavesdropping and poisons, Mizutani, took all the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and glasses from the scene back for examination and testing. However, to Saotome Yosuke's horror, all directions of investigation yielded no abnormalities, as if Morinomaru had truly died from a sudden illness and cardiac arrest. This test result sent a chill down his spine, as if a huge, ferocious four-faced Buddha statue was looking down on him.
"It's him, it must be him! Damn it... sudden cardiac arrest, sudden illness! Investigate again! Bring me the best doctors and testing equipment in Shanghai, examine him from head to toe, inside and out, leave no place unchecked!"
A group of the most skilled doctors from the Japanese army in Shanghai were assembled, and after an all-night examination, they finally discovered an extremely rare urticaria toxin on Morinomaru's lips.
"What? It's nettle toxin? Is this what poisoned Morinomaru? Someone really did poison him!"
The doctor in charge of the autopsy said with a troubled expression, "Sir, this urticaria toxin is a biological toxin. In theory, such a small dose should be of very little harm to the human body, and our own resistance should be able to break it down. However... when we examined his liver, we found that the liver cells were severely damaged, and the liver's detoxification enzymes were affected by this urticaria toxin, which led to the cardiac arrest."
Yosuke Saotome said in a deep voice, "Don't use those technical terms with me. I just need to know the result: what kind of poison did he get? And how was it administered?"
The doctor said somewhat awkwardly, "Sir, I'm not entirely sure either. If we have to say someone poisoned me, then that person's knowledge of toxicology must be at least at the pinnacle of the field. But as far as I know, there isn't a toxicology master of that caliber in Shanghai."
We suspect that the deceased likely acquired a small amount of nettle toxin on their lips through some means. Their meal that evening included a sashimi platter, which contained a significant amount of pufferfish sashimi. While the pufferfish meat was processed, it would still retain some toxins. Consuming small amounts of these mild toxins would not cause any discomfort, and even consuming larger quantities would only result in mild discomfort that would completely disappear by the next day.
However, I discovered that the urticaria toxin on the deceased's lips mutated when combined with tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin blocks sodium ion channels in nerve cells; when combined with urticaria toxin, it causes the body's nervous system and protein synthesis system to collapse simultaneously, instantly leading to poisoning.
Of course, these are all just speculations. After all, mastering such a precise poison ratio, as well as understanding the deceased's eating habits and daily routines, is simply beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person. So, sir, I can only offer you a guess: perhaps... it really is all just a coincidence.”