Chapter 7: Seeking the People Behind that Man
A few weekster, the results of the soil investigation from the universityboratory arrived at Hirokis office by mail.
He didnt know what the detailed numbers and such stuff meant though, so he called theb, and Researcher Ishida personally gave him the seal of approval.
[Itspletely clean. There is absolutely no contamination whatsoever. There is no problem with the groundwater either. You can even use it as farnd as it is. What kind of technology did you use to have thend treated like this?]
[No, well Thats a trade secret]
When Ishida asked about the waste treatment technology used with great interest, Hiroki had no choice but to cover it up with a wry smile.
Anyhow, Hiroki felt relieved and confident after receiving the results of thebs investigations.
Apparently, no contaminants were leaking out from that hole.
This meant that he didnt have to worry about his health and well-being.
[I think I can take on a bit more garbage. I suppose it should also be alright to take on some of the high-unit price waste]
The high-unit price waste means the waste that is highly toxic or difficult to dispose of.
This includes the ones the yakuza had offered Hiroki, medical waste and radioactive soil.
[I guess we can handle twice as much now, right?]
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Two to three dump trucks a day bring garbage to Hirokis waste disposal site.
Hirokis job is to have them dumped on the conveyor and then shovel them into the hole in the yard.
Each of those trucks handles 10 tons of waste, so even with the help of his rickety conveyor, it used to take several hours of hard work, but Hiroki has gotten used to work and can now do it in an hour at most.
Moreover, Hiroki enjoys the sound of the garbage grazing against each other, crying out Gyaaooo every time he pushes the garbage deep into the hole.
He needs to keep throwing more and more garbage into the hole.
He has to do it.
Carrying a shovel on his shoulder, Hiroki went to dispose of the 20 tons of garbage piled up in the yard, stacking up to a 5-meter mound.
It was just the right amount of work for him to work off the pork ramen hed eaten for lunch.
[How mysterious Really mysterious.]
The money-lending tortoiseshell sses refrained from contacting Hougi after the hooligans sent were easily defeated.
He realized that he couldntpete with simple violence.
[When Tsuchiya-san introduced me to him, he seemed like an amateur who could be easily cajoled]
Introduced as a recycler with a hidden route where he disposes his trash, Hirokis first impression was nothing more than that of amon loser.
Hes just a dull garbage collector who lost thepetition for sess as a sryman in Tokyo, and left the city.
But by some stroke of luck, he has found a good route to collect industrial waste without the government finding out.
In short, he should have been a sitting duck.
He was supposed to be nothing more than a tasty bait that would be useless after he spits out his secrets after scaring him a bit.
However, the duck struck back with his surprisingly strong strength.
[I guess he really has backers behind him]
The tortoiseshell sses didnt believe the nonsense that Hiroki had beaten five hooligans by himself.
Perhaps, he had foreseen that Hougi would attack him and hired a skilled bodyguard.
Itsmon sense in this world that a goose thatys golden eggs should have a guard dog.
Knowing this, the tortoiseshell sses changed ns.
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First, he decided to investigate which family or organization was behind Hougi, before making contact with them.
To start with, for the past few weeks, he has been using his extensive experience as a real estate agent to hire a detective agency and his subordinates to watch Hirokis industrial waste site, but the results werent good.
[Their operations start at 8:00 am. epting 10-ton trucks of industrial waste. License te number 12:00 pm, operation stop. Lunch break, having pizza delivered to him. 1:00 pm, operation resume. Industrial waste trucks delivery. License te number 6:00 pm, operation ends. 12:00 am, lights out]
He threw the investigation report on the desk.
[In other words, what? The man wakes up in the morning, takes care of the garbage on his property, and never goes outside? Hes doing that all week long!?]
[Huhh It seems like it.]
The detective agencys chief replied with a shrug.
[That doesnt make any sense! He hasnt been out? Hes having his meals delivered? Well, being a single man, that certainly is likely. However, how many trucks do you think have brought in waste in that past week? How many is it?]
Kaneda banged on the desk with such force that his tortoiseshell sses almost shook.
[27 trucks.]
[Yes! Twenty-freaking-seven 10 ton trucks full of industrial waste! If he brought in that much waste, it would have piled up in that poorly equipped dumpster of his! However, theres no sign of that happening at all! Those trash would pile up like a mountain, but in the morning, theyre all gone! He must have taken them out somewhere during the night!]
In a muffled voice, the detective agencys chief tried his best to rebut.
[Even so, we have our own experts tailing him and even use nighttime surveince cameras. Theres no indication that they were removed from his property.]
Thats right. The detective agencys chief had discussed the surveince n with the tortoiseshell sses beforehand, and Kaneda himself had agreed to it.
Hearing their n so far, Kaneda hadnt found any problem.
That guy really is hiding some secret.
[Its quite mysterious, isnt it?]
[Quite so. Its as if were being deceived by a fox.]
[Alright. Ill take care of this myself.]
Perhaps, there really might be some secret about thatnd.
He cant beat him up. If one cant even monitor him, he might as well have someone probe into the property directly and perhaps, elicit a response from the man.
Of course, the tortoiseshell sses had no intention of being the one going within that property himself.
He had plenty of people that he can use as sacrificial pawns after all.