Chapter 15
1237words
"Directors, to celebrate the important moment arriving tomorrow, let's have an early celebration tonight." Kokonogi raised his glass, his face glowing with smug satisfaction.
Several important directors of Amami Construction were sitting in the private room. Outside the window, signs of the typhoon were already visible—howling winds and pouring rain.
"Executive Director Kokonogi, are you certain tomorrow's board meeting won't be postponed due to the typhoon?" an elderly director asked.
"Absolutely not," Kokonogi said firmly. "Especially at such a critical moment, we need to demonstrate our decisiveness. Besides, this typhoon is practically a heaven-sent opportunity for us."
Another director frowned: "What do you mean?"
Kokonogi smiled mysteriously: "Tomorrow afternoon, the evacuation drill at the civic center coincides perfectly with the typhoon's landfall. If there are any problems with the building, everyone will attribute it to a natural disaster. And we just need to quickly rebuild afterward, showcasing the company's response capabilities."
"But the citizens taking shelter..."
"Will have adequate protective measures," Kokonogi interrupted. "Of course, if there are isolated incidents, those would be unavoidable natural disasters. The insurance company will handle it."
The room fell silent. The directors exchanged glances, all feeling the chill in those words.
"What about Arata Nakayama then?" someone asked.
"Him?" Kokonogi sneered, "A lost dog under house arrest in a hotel—what waves could he possibly make? Once the board meeting concludes tomorrow, I will be the president of Amami Construction. By then, his accusations will be nothing more than the howls of a defeated dog."
Outside the window, lightning streaked across the night sky. A storm was approaching.
Seaside Hotel, thirty-second floor.
Arata sat at the desk with a half-completed architectural model in front of him. It was a miniature version of the civic center, with every detail precisely rendered.
"Mr. Nakayama is still working on models," the guard peeked through the door crack. "Such a refined hobby at a time like this."
Arata didn't look up: "Since everything ends tomorrow anyway, I need something to pass the time."
His voice was filled with despair and exhaustion, completely like someone who had accepted defeat.
The guard closed the door, satisfied.
Shin continued his "model making." In reality, he was dismantling the electronic components in the model base—the magnetron from the hotel room's microwave, along with the transmitter circuit from a radio.
Three years of undercover work had not only allowed him to gather substantial evidence but also taught him various skills. Modifying these devices wasn't difficult for him.
"Frequency set to 146.94MHz..." Shin muttered while working, "Power at 5 watts, enough to cover a radius of three kilometers."
Half an hour later, what appeared to be an ordinary architectural model base had been transformed into a miniature radio transmitter.
Shin carefully concealed the antenna within the model's supporting structure, then ran a test. The green LED flashed twice—the signal was normal.
He glanced at the clock on the wall: 11:30 PM. In just over ten hours, the decisive battle would begin.
"Dad," Shin looked at the model and said softly, "I won't let your efforts be in vain."
Meanwhile, in Hana Sawamura's apartment.
She sat in front of her computer, her fingers rapidly striking the keyboard. The screen displayed the interface of an encryption program.
"File encryption complete."
"Set delivery time: Tomorrow 14:30."
"Recipients: Reporter Tanabe, Prosecutor's Office Reporting Center, Tokyo Construction Bureau Regulatory Department..."
A total of twenty-seven email addresses. Each one was a key person who could bring the truth to light.
Hana Sawamura finished setting the timed delivery, then inserted a USB drive into the computer and began organizing the final files.
"Amami Construction Violation Records.pdf"
"Shio Kokonogi Personal Account Abnormal Transfer Details.xlsx"
"Community Center Design Changes Unreported List.doc"
"Evidence of Falsified Building Material Quality Inspections.jpg"
Behind each filename were the results of countless sleepless nights of investigation.
Outside, the howling of the typhoon grew louder. Hana Sawamura walked to the window, watching the swaying trees and flying debris outside.
"Hana, are you sure you want to do this?" she asked herself softly.
Then she nodded firmly: "There's no turning back now."
She returned to her computer and typed on the last document:
《Report Letter to the Prosecutor》
"I am Hana Sawamura, an employee in the accounting department of Amami Construction. Today, I am formally reporting the following illegal activities committed by our Executive Director Yukio Kokonogi and related personnel in the Civic Center project..."
After writing the last word, she let out a long sigh. Once these documents were sent out tomorrow, her career would be completely over. But 580 lives were worth such a sacrifice.
Her phone rang. It was a message from Moriyama:
"Everything is ready. Awaiting your signal."
Hana Sawamura replied: "Received. Be careful."
Then she turned off her computer and lay on the bed. The sound of wind and rain outside was like war drums on the eve of battle, signaling that tomorrow would be an earth-shattering confrontation.
2 AM, Civic Center.
Due to the typhoon warning, the building had already been evacuated. Only a few security guards were on duty on the first floor, with no one else in the other areas.
Moriyama, wearing Amami Construction workwear and a safety helmet, carried a toolbox toward the back door of the building.
"Hey, who are you?" A security guard stopped him.
Moriyama showed his work ID: "Emergency maintenance task. Before the typhoon arrives, we need to check all electrical equipment to ensure there won't be power outages during evacuation."
The security guard checked his credentials and looked at the work order: "You're doing maintenance at this time?"
"No choice, orders from above." Moriyama smiled bitterly, "If the power goes out during evacuation tomorrow, who's going to take responsibility?"
The security guard nodded and opened the back door: "Be careful, the backup lighting system is already on upstairs."
"Thank you."
Moriyama entered the building carrying his toolbox. The elevators were already shut down, so he had to take the stairs.
Thirty-first floor. His targets were the fire control room and the power control room, both located on this floor.
Moriyama used a master key to open the fire control room door. The equipment inside gleamed under the dark red emergency lights.
"Smoke detector control panel... found it."
He opened his toolbox, which contained a modified small smoke-generating device. Once activated at the right time, it would trigger the building's fire alarm system.
Next, he located the power control room. It controlled the entire building's power supply system, including elevators, lighting, and air conditioning.
Moriyama installed a remote switch on the distribution panel. When necessary, he could cut off power to specific areas, forcing people to evacuate through emergency exits.
"Everything is ready," he looked at his watch, "In eleven more hours, I hope we'll all be alive to see the moment when the truth comes to light."
Outside, the typhoon's sound grew louder. The entire building swayed slightly, like a giant trembling in the wind.
Moriyama packed up his tools, preparing to leave. Just then, his phone vibrated.
It was a new signal:
"146.94MHz, standby. Act promptly tomorrow at 13:00."
Moriyama replied: "Received. All set."
Then he turned off his phone and quietly left the civic center.
Tomorrow, this place would become the battlefield for the final confrontation between justice and evil.
And the four of them had already staked everything they had on this gamble.
