Chapter 196: Yūmi Island (2)
Chapter 196: Yūmi Island (2)
The warm morning sun rose slowly, and the light of dawn came through the window, along with the salty scent of the sea carried by the ocean breeze.
His blurry vision gradually became clear.
Yuki sat up; he felt he didn’t sleep well last night.
A somewhat harsh sound reached his ears, and then he realized it was coming from the radio placed on the windowsill.
This pocket-sized radio was a crucial item on this island, the only one that allowed direct contact with modern civilization.
With a burst of static noise, the voice of a weather report came from the radio.
“The Meteorological Agency has released a new update. At 7:00 AM on the 7th, Typhoon No. 31 of this year gained further speed. It was moving northeast by east at 70 kilometers per hour over the ocean, 50 kilometers west of the Izu Islands…”
The signal received by the pocket radio wasn’t very good.
“This typhoon has a central pressure of 975 hectopascals, with a maximum wind speed near the center of 30 meters per second, and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 45 meters per second. Within 170 kilometers to the east and 90 kilometers to the west of the typhoon center, strong winds prevailed, with wind speeds exceeding 25 meters per second…”
“It may impact nearby sea routes. The typhoon will maintain its intensity and increase in speed further. There is also a high possibility of sudden violent storms. Relevant personnel are urged to exercise caution when traveling.”
Yuki let out a yawn; the short sleep didn’t restore much of his energy.
The accommodation provided by the Shinzaki Tenrikyo wasn’t comfortable. Besides the problem of mosquitoes, the most troublesome thing was the very hard bed—it felt uncomfortable just lying down.
“Mr. Yuki, you’re awake!”
Living in the same dormitory was a young man who looked like a high school student. He called himself Kume and came with a lecturer named Osawa; they were probably relatives.
He walked with a pattering sound on the floor, holding a sandwich, and swallowed it down in a few bites.
“The cafeteria here closes around nine. Although the snack shop sells some snacks, it doesn’t seem to offer hot meals…”
“Oh! I see.”
Yuki nodded. He sat up, put on his coat, and put on his glasses. Meanwhile, the sound of a news report reached his ears.
It was about financial news, nothing more than reports about the US dollar falling sharply and the Japanese yen rising against the dollar, boosted by that.
Yuki simply went out to wash up, had a meal at the cafeteria near the lodging, and then ran into the cult’s senior member, Kuzunoki.
“Mr. Shusu Yuki.”
Kuzunoki was a man with a thin face.
Yuki had seen his resume and knew he was a top graduate from Keio University. He had worked for a famous trading company, spent some time at its branch in the Netherlands, and then studied international finance theory at the City University of New York.
Yuki couldn’t figure out why someone like Kuzunoki would come to serve as a senior member of the Shinzaki Tenrikyo.
In fact, the Shinzaki Tenrikyo had encountered frequent troubles a few years ago, and the headquarters’ finances were stretched thin.
At that time, Kuzunoki, who had been a junior member, suddenly emerged. With his excellent skills, he turned the situation around and managed to help the Shinzaki Tenrikyo escape its financial difficulties.
Moreover, using his keen sense for business opportunities, he made several very successful investments using the Shinzaki Tenrikyo’s funds, making a substantial profit.
Because of this, Kuzunoki rose from an ordinary member to the ranks of senior leadership in a very short time.
Now, he was also one of the disciples most favored by the cult’s Founder, Hayashizaki Ichi.
“Have you decided on the order of interviews–?”
When they met, Kuzunoki first exchanged polite greetings, then quickly moved on to discuss business matters.
Before Yuki arrived on the island, Kuzunoki had sent him an email explaining some precautions after arriving on the island.
He also gave him a “list” of people he could freely interview.
(So right from the start… the people available for interview were screened. That’s a bit troublesome!)
Yuki was well aware that he believed this interview trip wouldn’t go smoothly.
But he hadn’t expected Kuzunoki to pull such a move in advance.
Oh well, a competent journalist always finds a way to overcome adversity.
“Sorry, I’m still reviewing that information.”
“Mr. Yuki, you don’t need to be too nervous. You can conduct interviews anytime. Also, our Founder, Hayashizaki Ichi, would like to have a meeting with you, Mr. Yuki.”
What?!
That “Founder” Hayashizaki Ichi wants to meet with me.
Yuki frowned, his eyes clearly showing a look of suspicion.
One main reason for his suspicion was that this Founder always maintained a policy of secrecy in his actions.
It seemed that since childhood, he had been called a psychic and often appeared on TV variety shows to perform.
By the time he reached middle school and high school, he faded from the public eye. Later, for some reason, he established a cult called the Shinzaki Society.
This Shinzaki Society was the predecessor of the Shinzaki Tenrikyo. However, this newly formed cult was involved in a fraud case, was cracked down on by the police, and was disbanded.
Hayashizaki Ichi even nearly went to prison because of it, but he luckily avoided the crisis. A few years later, he established a new religious organization—the Shinzaki Tenrikyo.
Founder Hayashizaki Ichi claimed to possess psychic powers, able to use the Thousand Rites Eye. He also had precognitive abilities and could heal people through supernatural powers.
The cult’s doctrine stated that the Founder could connect with higher-dimensional lifeforms from outer space. These visitors from outer space established a great civilization at the center of the galaxy and were the guiding pioneers of human evolution.
…Confucius, Jesus, Buddha, Nichiren, and countless other outstanding historical figures in human history were extraordinary beings capable of connecting with the TAR aliens…
(Even thinking with just your toes, you could guess this doctrine is absolutely problematic. Somehow, there are still so many people who believe in this kind of nonsense religion…)
Anyone with a bit of common sense could tell how outrageous the explanations in this doctrine were, yet the number of believers in the Shinzaki Tenrikyo was not small.
However, Yuki himself was well aware that these religious fraudsters exploited the fact that some people lacked inner solace, and religion and such group structures could provide them with great spiritual comfort.
Even so, he definitely didn’t like these deceptive methods.
“This is also a good opportunity. Someone like Hayashizaki Ichi—ordinary methods wouldn’t allow an interview with him…”
Yuki naturally thought this to himself.
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Shusu Yuki.
This was a man worth paying attention to.
Fang Jing stood at the corner of the window, a faint smile on his face.
He had learned some details from Osawa Kyotaro, but it wasn’t enough to confirm Shusu Yuki’s true identity.
Yuki claimed to be from a detective agency. He came to the island for some business, but he didn’t reveal the specifics.
However, Osawa suspected he might be a journalist or the like; the detective agency story probably wasn’t accurate…
“He doesn’t seem to be here to investigate secretly, at least. He seems to know that man named Kuzunoki.”
Thinking this, he unfolded the map in his hand.
It was a very old hand-drawn map, originating from a fisherman who had left the island many years ago.
The Information Broker had put a lot of effort into obtaining this item.
Using this hand-drawn map, one could roughly understand the situation on the island.
“The lodging where the archaeological team is staying is located in the northern corner, quite far from the port direction.”
By looking at this map and combining it with what he had seen, the specific layout of the island became clear at a glance.
“Through this forest, following the path, one can freely access a deserted fishing village. No one lives there; it’s a remnant settlement left after the islanders migrated decades ago.”
“The southern part of the island has some scattered fields, but not on a large scale. Probably only a few believers grow rice and vegetables for their own use. The central area contains the cult’s ‘Shrine,’ the cult’s office buildings, and a clinic with a full-time doctor.”
“The western mountain forests of the island are uninhabited mountainous areas. There’s a gentle slope there, which is the excavation site of the archaeological ruins. Finally, to the north, that area is off-limits for casual movement… According to the island’s fishermen, there’s a sea cave there, though the cave itself isn’t very large…”
Fang Jing had certainly put a lot of effort into gathering information about Yūmi Island.
This Yūmi Island was a remote island discovered only in modern times. Initially, only some fishermen came to the island to take shelter when storms approached. Normally, no outsiders came to this desolate little island, so there were no special rumors about it.
“But the Apartment wouldn’t give useless information. Based on those pieces of information at the time, I must find something on the island…”
The bloody message in the Apartment instructed him to find a special item called the “Wedge.”
However, just this information was still rather vague.
Without more specific details, Fang Jing found this aspect quite difficult and wasn’t sure how to proceed for now.
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In the afternoon, at the training location, Professor Horikawa explained the main process of this archaeological expedition and the precautions.
The content wasn’t much. By around four o’clock, the meeting ended. The young men and women present began discussing going to play on the island’s beach.
“Anyway, they didn’t say we couldn’t go to the beach. Plus, we can’t possibly waste the whole summer on the excavation site, right! Yuki Ham.”
Several boys shamelessly pleaded with Yuki Ham.
“But the cult members also said we shouldn’t wander around the island randomly. This is private property. If we cause trouble…”
Yuki Ham naturally wore a bitter smile.
“Please! Senpai.”
Girls like Kase Mi and Ato Shiho also came to ask him to help figure out a way.
“Alright, Yuki, you go with them to play. Just make sure no one runs off everywhere and causes trouble.”
Associate Professor Tomatsu happened to be passing by and kindly agreed to their request.
The group of young people let out cheers and excited cries.
No one expected that a killing intent was gradually approaching the stage, about to erupt.