SCIAW: Chapter 327: Crazy Artist

As expected, the officers dispatched by the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the explosives quickly returned with news.

“Inspector Megure, we’ve confirmed that the explosives were stolen from a Japanese military depot.”

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure’s face darkened.

“How long have they been hiding this?”

“They said... it might have been stolen last week.”

Megure’s vision nearly went black.

Stolen last week? And those fools didn’t even report it? What were they thinking?

Megure could feel his blood pressure rising. He knew exactly what those bureaucrats were trying to do—cover up the theft first, conduct an internal investigation, and only report it once it was impossible to hide.

The usual routine.

But this time, the stolen explosives weren’t sold on the black market. They were turned into time bombs and planted all over Beika City. If those devices were all detonated, the chaos would be unimaginable.

“Those idiotic gatekeepers really thought they could hide explosives! Are they insane?”

After forcing himself to calm his rising blood pressure, Megure suppressed his anger and began giving orders.

“Tell the officers still at the Oriental Explosives Depot not to return. Have them continue investigating the source of the theft. Send in the forensics team as well, see if there’s any evidence left behind.”

“I’ll report to Superintendent Matsumoto immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

This exchange took place in the First Investigation Division’s office area, and naturally, many officers overheard it.

Their expressions were full of anger.

The Oriental Explosives Bureau had completely screwed them over. The horrific Shinjuku blast had resulted in heavy casualties. This wasn’t something that could be swept under the rug.

If this case wasn’t resolved soon, the public would lose all faith in the police force.

Despite their frustration, the officers were careful not to show it in front of the explosion victims. If they were careless and made the wrong impression, their careers could be over.

Still on her phone call, Sato Miwako heard everything just now. She froze for a moment, then glanced at her phone in surprise before bringing it back to her ear.

“...Just like you said. I just received the confirmation.”

“The person in charge of the Oriental Explosives Depot is very... ‘reasonable.’ As long as the stolen materials don’t cause a public incident, they figured it could be dealt with quietly. They chose to gamble, but unfortunately, they lost big.”

“The man who stole the explosives is a lunatic. You can’t reason with a madman. And a full week... that’s more than enough time to lay out a lot of groundwork. For the police, every hour lost is fatal.”

Sato Miwako bit her lip hard. She was starting to truly despise these madmen who sought revenge on society.

At the same time, she hated even more the people who deliberately withheld crucial information.

“But the police do have one stroke of luck. That lunatic was so obsessed with his ‘art’ that he wanted to play games with the police. That’s why I said this explosion was his challenge to a detective.”

“His architectural design had been rejected, and he blamed it on the detective who influenced that decision. Moriya Teiji’s hatred for that detective wasn’t ordinary.”

“But unfortunately, that detective died in an accident two months ago. Moriya Teiji only found out recently—after hacking into the police database using a dark web hacker.”

“His target of revenge died just like that. His entire plan unraveled, leaving him in a psychological collapse. And considering the year of depression following the design rejection, that incident had become a stain on his life.”

“So, he finally snapped. He decided to go all in.”

“He’s already rigged his own home with a large quantity of plastic explosives. When it’s all over, he wants to go out like an ‘artist.’”

Sato Miwako took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress her growing anger, but she couldn’t hold it in completely.

“That lunatic… he thinks this is art?!”

“Well~ Isn’t that how a lot of people in the art world are? There’s only a fine line between an artist and a madman. You know the saying—genius and madness often go hand in hand.”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

“Of course, Moriya Teiji isn’t a real artist. He’s just a madman who exaggerated minor setbacks into something world-shaking.”

“But now that he’s lost his original purpose, he’s likely to escalate things.”

“I’m guessing he’ll start sending announcements to various media outlets. You know how those tabloid agencies are. All they care about is clicks and whether their papers sell. They don’t care about the consequences.”

Damn it… Sato Miwako cursed in her mind. She knew all too well how unscrupulous those media organizations were.

“That madman… He’s completely insane.”

Sato Miwako took another breath. At this moment, she finally understood the saying: there’s no point in reasoning with a lunatic. None at all.

“He’s definitely insane. But this so-called ‘artist’ who worships explosions is too obsessed with the ending he’s crafted for himself. That gives the police a sliver of opportunity.”

“What he wants is to stomp on the police, humiliate the detectives, and make sure his name is remembered—like one of his buildings.”

“So, Officer Sato, prepare yourself. If you can’t convince Inspector Megure, then you’ll have no choice but to wait for the madman to make his first move.”

This made Sato Miwako hesitate slightly.

Once you fall into a passive position, everything becomes exponentially harder. This time, she had to take the initiative.

“So… do you know where that lunatic planted his bombs?”

(To be continued.)