NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 182



Only Krnovel

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 182

Anger (3)

A body was found in Namsan.

However, it was not as exaggerated as Governor-General Saito had thought.

However, it was not the ghost of Gyeongseong as thought by Commander Shinnosuke of the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) Command in Yongsan or Admiral Hara, commander of the temporary battleship squadron in Hungnam.

[Lieutenant Daisuke Tsugimoto]

He was an army officer whose name was known to the police, military, and even civilians in Gyeongseong.

He was not just any officer, but an officer in the most hated supply corps within the Japanese Army.

He was the person who started and ended the conflict between the Governor-General and the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) that occurred in Gyeongseong in 1923 (the 12th year of the Taisho era).

The case began with his disappearance and ended with his return.

“But this is… … .”

The police and soldiers who saw Major Tsugimoto’s military number were all speechless.

Everyone froze in place and couldn’t move.

Just… … . Just stood there.

Hundreds of people were left frozen in Namsan, where a cold wind was blowing.

Something colder and more heartbreaking than the bitter wind blowing from Siberia froze them.

“What a scoop!”

Oh, of course there were exceptions.

-Click. Click.

Newspaper reporters who followed the news that the police and military were launching a large-scale search of Namsan were busy quickly clicking their shutters for the unexpected scoop.

Of course, there were those who thought that he had simply gotten a scoop on this incident without any interest, and those who had even heard of the Gyeongseong Ghost or the name Daisuke Tsugimoto were frozen in place.

Oh, except for Inspector Sasaki.

He knew from the beginning that the ghost of Gyeongseong was alive, so he yawned lazily and quietly stepped away from the scene to watch.

Among those who had been frozen for a long time, the first to move was Commander Shinnosuke’s adjutant from Yongsan.

“Sasaki! Inspector Sasaki!”

“Yes, yes, did you find it?”

Inspector Sasaki, who was resting by a warm campfire, ran to the army officer who was desperately calling his name.

Then the officer thrust his military ID tag in with the aforementioned face.

“Hey, what is this?”

“… … ?”

Inspector Sasaki looked at the officer with an expression that said, “Are you really asking because you don’t know?” and answered.

“Well… … . It’s your military number, right?”

“So… … . So what I’m saying is!”

“Why is this here?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“Um… … . Well… … .”

Inspector Sasaki really didn’t know anything.

So there was nothing to answer.

“I also just came over from Shanghai… … I don’t know what to say. Yes.”

“… … .”

“Um… … . Since this is also evidence, should we let the police take it… … ?”

As Inspector Sasaki tried to take the dog tag, the army officer snatched it away and gave Inspector Sasaki a wary look.

“The body and evidence will be managed by the North Korean military headquarters.”

“Yes? No… … . But it’s clearly evidence from a crime scene and a corpse… … . Shouldn’t the police take care of it?”

“What?! Crime scene!!!”

“?”

Inspector Sasaki was perplexed by the sight of the army officer getting angry at the mention of a crime scene, but the army officer was reminded of what Inspector Miwa had said earlier through Inspector Sasaki’s words.

‘All evidence and scene management are under the police’s jurisdiction.’

He is the man who brought nightmares to the Korean (Japanese) military command and brought indelible shame to the military.

“Whoa, Whoa… … Calm down, everyone. Okay. Then, the military will take care of the item and the body.”

Of course, Inspector Sasaki, who had no way of knowing these circumstances, could only quietly click his tongue at the sight of the needlessly picky army officer.

‘Tsk… … The little boy is acting like a young girl now.’

In fact, for Inspector Sasaki, it was a good thing no matter how things turned out.

His thinking was that even if something went wrong here, how much more problems could there be?

It was bound to be known someday that the ghost of Gyeongseong was alive, but that date has just been brought forward a little.

I thought so.

But that was only a thought that Inspector Sasaki could think of because he prioritized the ghost of Gyeongseong, his close friend and comrade, over the country that had abandoned him.

The circumstances for others were completely different.

‘Since when on earth… … ?’

In particular, those in the Korean Army Command where Major Tsugimoto served were so shocked that their hearts leapt out of their mouths.

No, there were people who collapsed, clutching their hearts, at the mention of Major Tsugimoto being the ghost of Gyeongseong.

‘From the beginning… … . Was I deceived?’

‘Then, the internal strife with the Governor-General that arose because of that guy’s disappearance… … is it all his work?’

‘Where did it start… … . Where did it go wrong?’

The Korean (Japanese) military command was unable to catch him even while he was infiltrating the headquarters and moving around safely.

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t be caught, he had access to all sorts of confidential information, and he was associating with high-ranking military officials, even getting to know the personal information of high-ranking officers.

Is that all?

‘Then, the items in the supply warehouse disappeared too… …!’

Now I feel like the puzzle is finally coming together.

‘shit!’

The Korean (Japanese) military command opened its eyes and felt like it had its nose cut off… no, it felt like its nose had been cut off.

It’s a feeling that’s extremely uncomfortable and uneasy… … but also a vague pain creeps in.

“… … I will withdraw now.”

“Already? Please look for more.”

“What else do you want to find here?”

Sasaki had simply been saying this to kill some more time, but to the army officer whose sensitivity was at an all-time high, every word he said had a different meaning.

“No… … . Well… … . If we look for it, won’t something else come out? There’s a saying that criminals leave evidence at the scene.”

At first glance, it sounded like a simple recommendation for additional search, but Sasaki.

‘If I go back here, I’ll just have to sit at my desk again and do nothing but stare at the wall… … .’

I thought so, the army officer.

‘If we search further, what might we find? Those police bastards… What on earth have you hidden in Namsan…?’

I thought so.

Since they couldn’t open up to each other, they just looked at each other and didn’t say anything.

After standing there for a while, they all withdrew because it was too cold, and the army never again asked the Governor-General for help.

No, from that day on, the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) Command in Yongsan entered a state similar to combat readiness.

They say they are ready to respond immediately, but if that doesn’t mean they are ready for battle, then what is?

Of course, there were no direct armed conflicts like before.

However, it is true that the Government-General and the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) in Yongsan began to look at each other with even greater caution.

All of this because of one corpse from Namsan? Wow… … . It was something I never knew.

* * *

“The body of Major Tsugimoto was found?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“… … Didn’t he leave a few days ago to monitor the navy in the North?”

“The Lieutenant Tsugimoto I saw had been buried underground for quite some time, and his skeleton was in the process of decomposing.”

“… … .”

The fact that the corpse was in the process of being skeletonized meant that it had been buried in the ground for quite some time.

Interestingly enough, Commander Shinnosuke had been having a pleasant conversation with Lieutenant General Tsugimoto just a few days ago.

Didn’t you discuss with Lieutenant General Tsukimoto how to deal with the reinforcements coming from the mainland this time?

“… … It is impossible that Major Tsugimoto was murdered and buried in Namsan during that short period of time.”

“Your Majesty, even if such a thing were possible, there could only be one person who could do it.”

“yes.”

The Ghost of Gyeongseong.

It’s his doing.

That means.

“It looks like he didn’t die… … .”

“Maybe a new character has emerged to take over from that guy.”

“… … Are you disguised as Lieutenant Tsugimoto? Say something reasonable.”

“… … .”

Lieutenant General Tsugimoto was the ghost of Keijo.

No, should we say that the ghost of Gyeongseong is Major Tsugimoto? Commander Shinnosuke’s mind became complicated.

“Hmm… … Then, a few months ago, the supply depot was robbed… … and a special agent of the Governor-General was found dead inside… …?”

“It’s his doing.”

“Umm… … .”

What this meant was that the Ghost of Gyeongseong had been infiltrating and operating within the Joseon (Japanese) military headquarters for quite some time.

“Then… … . The one that disappeared before and then reappeared… … .”

“There must have been a reason for everything.”

“hmm…….”

Commander Shinnosuke nodded quietly.

But he glanced at the adjutant in front of him.

‘Maybe that guy too… … ?’

If the ghost of Gyeongseong is alive and well, and if he comes and goes between the Army and the Government-General as if it were his own home… … . Isn’t it true that he can’t trust his own adjutant either?

Shinnosuke looked at his adjutant who had assisted him for the past five years with somewhat uneasy eyes.

“You’ve worked hard, I’ll be heading back now.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yes, it must have been quite a struggle for you and the soldiers to search Namsan since the early morning.”

In an instant, the adjutant’s gaze changed.

The adjutant also seemed to have realized that Commander Shinnosuke was suspicious of him.

“……it’s okay.”

“Go in and rest, that is an order.”

“… … Yes, Your Majesty.”

The situation at the Governor-General’s Office was no different.

Governor-General Saito, who received the report from Inspector Sasaki, was so shocked that his eyes seemed to pop out of the world and he raised his voice.

“What?! Lieutenant General Tsugimoto was the ghost of Keijo!!!”

“Uh… … . I didn’t say that.”

“If a person who was just walking around Gyeongseong until a few days ago was found as a skeleton in Namsan, doesn’t that mean that person is a different person?”

“Oh, so that’s how it works.”

“… … .”

Governor Saito felt his hands tremble and his breathing became ragged, to the point where he felt like he was suffocating.

The fear that he thought he had completely shaken off came crashing down on Governor Saito once again.

“Article… … . First, block the newspaper article.”

“yes?”

“You’re telling me to stop the newspapers from writing articles about him! If they find out he’s alive, don’t you know what’s going to happen right now!”

“Uh… … But, it must have already been spread all over the streets as an extra edition.”

“what?”

Governor Saito quickly got up from his seat and walked to the window.

If you open the window of the Governor-General’s Office located at the very top of the Government-General Building, you can see Jongno Street, the center of Gyeongseong.

It was quite a distance, but it was close enough to see what people were doing on the street.

So Governor Saito opened the window and looked outside.

Then his eyes caught sight of a gray paper fluttering all over the world.

“Extra edition! Extra edition!”

“I have news that the ghost of Gyeongseong has finally crawled out of hell! Extra edition! Extra edition!”

“There is news that the thief who brought terror to Gyeongseong has returned to Gyeongseong!”

Boys carrying bundles of papers ran through the streets of Jongno, shouting out the extra edition over and over again.

And instead of handing out the hastily published extra editions to the people, they just scattered them haphazardly into the air.

The extra editions the boys distributed were carried by the wind and flew high into the sky, scattering all over Gyeongseong.

As it happened to be a time when there was no snow and the weather was mild, many people went out for an outing for the first time in a while, and one by one, extra editions fell on their heads.

The streets were piled high with gray paper, showing how many extra editions the Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo distributed.

“… … .”

“Uh… … Should we stop publishing the newspaper right now?”

“… …Stop it now.”

Inspector Sasaki hurriedly saluted Governor-General Saito, who was seething with anger, and ran outside.

“… … .”

The extra edition, which had flown high into the sky, was also delivered to Governor-General Saito through his office window.

[Fear, Empire of Japan! The Ghost of Gyeongseong Crawls from Hell! – Reporter Hwang Geon-cheol, Chosun Ilbo]

The extra edition didn’t have much content.

The text was simply a large, printed title, and the rest was a drawing… … of an eerie ghost tearing a giant Rising Sun Flag in half.

“… … .”

-Squeak.

Governor-General Saito tore up the extra edition.

I tore it into small pieces until no more of its original form remained.

As we were dealing with that one, this time three or four extra editions came rushing in from outside the window.

“… … .”