PEERLESS GENIUS SYSTEM II

Chapter 393: Unexpected

The Yasukuni Shrine in Ri Nation was in Kudankita of Chiyoda, Dongjing, and was dedicated to the soldiers and their families who had died in wars since the Meiji Restoration era. Most of them were soldiers of the Ri Nation who took part in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, including some thirty thousand of the Takasago Volunteers. The shrine complex comprised several buildings housing prayer halls such as Reijibo Hōanden, Honden, Haiden, Tori, Yūshūkan, Chōzuya, and many others.

The priests of the shrine had been waiting for Koizumi Junichiro since this morning, and they had received his notification only last night. All of them were made aware that the governor of Dongjing would visit today.

A dozen police officers had been dispatched to the Haiden Hall to conduct a thorough search of its surrounding. There they checked the inside of the hall meticulously and escorted out all non-essential personnel. The only person left behind was the high priest who managed the shrine, and he was a man well known to Koizumi Junichiro. The police officers had conducted five thorough searches, combing through the area with highly sensitive detectors for the possibility of hidden bombs.

Besides the Haiden Hall, the police also conducted thorough checks on Reijibo Hōanden, which only opened to the top officials of the Ri Nation. So thorough and complete was the security check that it included a search of the crossbeams, and even a fly could not escape detection.

On top of the police officers or the three hundred Self-Defense Force members, they all had a secret passcode to verify one another's identity. As all visitors were required to verify their identity, security personnel carried portable fingerprint recognition devices. Although Xiao Han, the thousand-faced killer, could transform himself into someone else, his fingerprints could not be altered.

Koizumi Junichiro walked into the shrine through the front gate under the watchful eyes of an escort of a dozen police officers, including Miyazaki Ronjin and Asou Shuyao. He looked curious and slightly confused. Turning to Miyazaki Ronjin, he said, "The distance between my residence and the shrine is only of seventeen kilometers. Yet that thousand-faced killer, Xiao Han, did not attempt to assassinate me en route. Could this be a trap?"

"I would imagine so," Miyazaki Ronjin answered.

Ever since Xiao Luo became an elusive and dangerous outlaw, Miyazaki Ronjin's entire demeanor had suddenly changed. He now looked a revitalized man who had regained his self-respect and the discipline of a head inspector.

Although he knew that they were setting up a trap, he still felt uneasy as his instincts told him that there was a pair of eyes looking at them from the dark. It felt like they were being predated upon by a venomous snake that was going to strike anytime.

"That outlaw is not dumb, and he would have noted the preparations we have made," Asou Shuyao said, trying to make her presence felt in the company of the governor of Dongjing. She took every opportunity to speak to Koizumi Junichiro.

"Then he's probably going to disappoint me. I didn't expect that he'd be such a coward."

Koizumi Junichiro felt the bullet vest on underneath his clothes, and he felt slightly disappointed. He then stepped into the Haiden Hall, leaning into his walking stick.

The ritual for paying respects to the war dead at the Yasukuni shrine always started with the Haiden Hall and then on to the Hōanden building, which housed the Reijibo. The Reijibo contained some two hundred names and black-and-white photographs of the martyred soldiers. This included Koizumi Junichiro's father.

"Welcome and good morning, Mr. Koizumi Junichiro!"

The highest-ranking priest of the shrine came forward to greet Koizumi Junichiro with a warm smile. He was wearing a black kanmuri cap, held a shaku in his right hand, and was dressed in a special white pure robe. His silver hair gave him a very dignified appearance.