Chapter 7 Chapter 5 Tsugaru Strait Line

The operation of all trains on the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line from Aomori to Hakodate is managed by the Hakodate Command Center. After the "Hokutosei No. 5" train left Aomori Station, the atmosphere in the Hakodate command center immediately became tense. Although the Seikan Tunnel is still 70 kilometers away from the command center, there are several TV cameras inside the tunnel, which can monitor the inside of the tunnel from the command center. Using two TV monitors placed side by side, by adjusting the button switch, you can see the images of various places in the tunnel. On the large screen in front of the surveillance machine, a map of the Seikan Tunnel is drawn, and the passing trains are indicated by orange lights.

Another large screen is the centralized control screen. In addition, the commander in the command center can use a wireless phone to communicate with the conductor in the passing train. Now there are ten commanders in the command center, usually there are not so many people. The head of the room, Masaoyuki Miki, checked the various devices again. There are several devices in the command center, the most important device is the CTC (Centralized Control) device, and there are also train disaster prevention devices, automatic contact indicating devices, and centralized monitoring devices. Various devices are working normally, but Miki is still uneasy.

Because if the "Big Dipper No. 5" train is blown up inside the tunnel, I don't know what kind of serious situation will happen. The command center issued an order: before the "Beidouxing No. 5" train passes, no other trains, including freight trains, are allowed to enter the tunnel. If a train is exploded, a major accident will be caused. The tunnel itself is made of 70cm thick reinforced concrete, and seawater probably won't flow in. What to do in case of fire? Fire alarms are installed everywhere in the tunnel, and once a fire breaks out on the train, the command center will know immediately.

At that time, the train arrives at the submarine station in the steep road (two submarine stations are arranged in the tunnel) to ask passengers to take refuge. Both subsea stations are equipped with shelters that can accommodate 1,000 people. There are first-aid rooms, changing rooms, toilets and other facilities inside, and instructions can be issued from the command center. A fire on a train can be extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system or with water from a fire hydrant. The length of the Seikan Tunnel is 53.85 kilometers, the speed of the train is 110 kilometers per hour, and the passing time is about 30 minutes.

"30 minutes of fighting!" Miki said to himself. Two days earlier, the smug fire detectors had gone awry, delaying the train by nearly 20 minutes. "I hope to work normally today." Miki prayed. There are six fire detectors in the subsea tunnel and two in the land tunnel, making a total of eight. The fire detector is a system that uses infrared rays to detect the temperature. When the train passes by, it measures the temperature. When the temperature rises to a certain height, the screen of the command center will automatically light up. The fire detector detects the upper part, the middle part and the lower part of the train respectively.

So, if the top of the train explodes, or the bottom catches fire, the command center will know. There is also a smoke detection device in the command center, which is the most cutting-edge equipment developed by modern science, and it is still kept secret. "Please connect to the 'Big Dipper No. 5' train." Miki said to one of his subordinates. The wireless phone is connected. "Now the train has just passed Zhongze Station." The conductor said. Hashimoto and Detective Shiraishi sat in the public event car, watching the lights of the small station pass backwards from the window.

After the train departs from Aomori Station, it temporarily runs on the tracks of the Tsugaru Line. There are many small stations on the Tsugaru Line, and trains fly past all of them. Because we will enter the Seikan Tunnel soon, some sleeping passengers also got up. Five or six passengers came to the public event car. They occupied the big sofa in the corner of the room, and Hashimoto and Shiraishi moved to the small chairs. "What would it look like if the train exploded in the Seikan Tunnel?" Shiraishi said. Hashimoto said calmly, "I don't think they would do such a stupid thing."

"Is it because JR East has given the prisoner 100 million yuan?" "That's another reason. In addition, I think there must be their accomplices in the train. They won't do that kind of suicide." "Does Hashimoto-san still think there is an accomplice in this case among the passengers?" "yes." "Is it Kinomoto-sama?" "Yes, there may be others," Hashimoto said. "Do you think it will be useful in the future to write down the names and addresses of all the passengers?" Hashimoto said, "It would be great if it could be done, but..."

Shiraishi looked at his watch. "I'm afraid it will be after 8 o'clock when we arrive in Hakodate." "An hour and a half late?" "It's hard to do now. After exiting the tunnel, please ask the passengers to help and write down their names and addresses. Maybe it can be done." Baishi said. "I will definitely help," Hashimoto said. At this time, the conductor came over and said to the two of them, "We'll be at Xiaozhongguo Station in a while." "Are the trains controlled centrally by the Hakodate command center?" asked Hashimoto.He remembered seeing such pamphlets.

"Yes, the movement of this train is monitored by the Hakodate Command Center," said the full-time conductor. "That is to say, when the train has an accident, it will automatically stop?" Baishi detective asked. "That's right. However, in the Seikan Tunnel, it's dangerous to stop halfway, so we stop at the submarine station and let the passengers go to the shelter." "How are the passengers?" Hashimoto asked. "It's very calm. Some are sleeping soundly, and some are getting up to see what the inside of the Seikan Tunnel looks like." The conductor said with a smile, and the train passed the Xiaozhongguo Station that the conductor said.

"This will enter the Seikan Tunnel," said the conductor. The "Big Dipper No. 5" train rushed into the Seikan Tunnel with a sharp siren. Although Hashimoto felt that nothing would happen, he still held his breath and stared out the window. Inside the tunnel, the gray walls and electric lights that were lit at equal intervals flew backwards. As soon as the platform of Longfei Submarine Station on the Aomori side appeared, it disappeared in an instant. Because the long track is laid, the shaking of the car body can hardly be felt. These 30 minutes seem particularly long today. The train moved forward without incident in the subsea tunnel. The Yoshioka Submarine Station in Hokkaido also passed. Suddenly, the outside of the car window lit up. The train has exited the Seikan Tunnel. Hashimoto and Shiraishi unconsciously looked at each other, and both let out a long breath at the same time. It was broad daylight. "Finally passed the Qinghan Tunnel safely." Baishi said comfortably. JR East Japan received the report that the "Hokutosei No. 5" train passed through the Seikan Tunnel safely, and everyone's hanging hearts were finally relieved. Of course, it is still not completely relieved, but the greatest danger has finally passed. "It seems that there is no other explosives on the 'Big Dipper No. 5' train." Manager Tanaka said to Manager Koike. "Have we been deceived?" Shimamura said angrily. "Maybe I was deceived, but at the time when the lives of more than 200 people were at stake, the decision to give the prisoner 100 million yuan was a last resort!" Xiaochi said. Tanaka looked at Totsukawa and said, "Now we are expecting the police to arrest the criminal and recover 100 million yuan." "Understood." Totsukawa replied briefly. Hojo Sanae continued to follow the prisoner's Mercedes-Benz, and as expected, the Mercedes-Benz got on the Chuo Highway. The other two camouflaged police cars should also be heading west on the Central Highway now. "How is it? Now the Mercedes that catches up with the prisoner arrests the prisoner?" Kamei said, looking at Totsukawa.The other detectives also looked at Totsukawa. "If there are no more explosives on the train, of course the criminal can be arrested, but..." Totsukawa said ambiguously. "Do you think there might still be explosives in the car?" "It's hard to say, I think there is a half chance." "However, we can't ask the Hojo criminal police to follow him all the time. Judging from the criminal's fingerprints, he has no criminal record and his identity is still unknown. If this continues, it will be difficult to find any accomplices." Kamei said dejectedly. Totsukawa said solemnly: "Let's wait and see, the Hojo criminal police are following her well, so it's good to ask her to exercise." The only thing he was worried about was that the prisoner had installed another explosive on the "Big Dipper No. 5" train, and there were accomplices at the same time. It is good that the train is in absolute safety, but there are still passengers on board. Considering these problems, we should not act lightly on prisoners who escaped with 100 million yuan. Since the prisoner got on the Central Expressway, Hojo Criminal Police called twice. Both times, the prisoner slowed down, then stopped on the side of the road, and made a phone call in the car.This situation attracted the attention of Totsukawa, and made him have such doubts: the prisoner called outside, indicating that he had an accomplice who needed to keep in touch; the interval between the two calls was exactly one hour, which may be their regular contact. If contact is lost in time, the accomplice will mercilessly blow up the "Big Dipper No. 5" train. It's 8:15 am. Detective Hojo Sanae called: "The prisoner is currently at the Suwako gas station." From the phone booth, Sanae watched the prisoners sitting in the restaurant. Sanae hadn't spoken to the prisoner since she got on the Chuo Highway. The initial conversation with the prisoner was successful.But if you talk to him repeatedly, it may arouse his suspicion. "The prisoner is eating breakfast, and the Japanese food he eats is a meal." Sanae reported to Totsukawa while looking at the prisoner. Totsukawa asked, "Did he call out at 8:00 am?" "As soon as he got here, he immediately called out from the phone booth. It was about 8 o'clock sharp. It must have been a long-distance call." "How do you know it's a long-distance call?" "He dropped several hundred-dollar coins." "Do you even see the hundred yuan coin clearly?" "Both my eyes are 2,0." After Sanae finished speaking, she smiled. The prisoner made the phone call just now from the phone booth Sanae used. Sanae walked into the phone booth impatiently, hoping to see if there was any handwriting written by the prisoner, but actually found no handwriting. "How is the prisoner? Is he still so calm?" Totsukawa asked. "Prisoner..." Sanae panicked as soon as she said two words. The instant her eyes left the prisoner, he was no longer in the restaurant. "Where has he gone?" Sanae glanced around with the microphone in her hand, and she became more and more panicked. Because the prisoner was walking towards the phone booth with a sneer. "We must deal with him in a playful way." Thinking of this, Sanae suddenly burst into tears holding the microphone. "What's the matter with you? Hojo-kun, is something wrong?" "You play too!" "Playing?..." "Okay, let's break up then!" Sanae spoke loudly, and hung up the phone roughly. The prisoner leaned his face against the glass of the phone booth door, giggling. Sanae opened the door of the phone booth, ignored the prisoner, and walked towards her car. The prisoner walked with her, peered into Sanae's face and said: "Why are you yelling so loudly?" "You don't care, it has nothing to do with you." "You are still so good! What did you say just now that you want to break up?" "I want to live alone." "Why did you go in the same direction as me?" asked the prisoner. "Stop joking!" Sanae shouted deliberately, "You are going in the same direction as me! First of all, I don't think you deserve to drive a Mercedes-Benz!" "Are you suffering from hysteria? Did the man get rid of you?" The prisoner laughed. "Mind your own business!" "Where are you going?" asked the prisoner. "Why is he looking for something to say?" Sanae was thinking this way. Is a man interested in me as a woman?Still think I'm suspicious, what do you want to hear from me? "Anyway, when I drive, I feel better." Sanae said to the prisoner. "Going west like this, you will arrive at Nagoya." "Well, it doesn't matter where it is, the farther the better." "I thought about going from Nagoya to Osaka. If you want, can we go to Osaka together?" the prisoner asked. Did the prisoner really think that way?Still want to see her reaction?Sanae couldn't make any sense of his intentions. Therefore, Sanae decided to continue acting. "I'll go where I want to go, and that's none of your business." Saying that, Sanae got on the Polcher that was parked there, and drove towards Nagoya. The prisoner said something, but Sanae didn't hear it. Sanae estimated that the prisoner would also be heading in this direction immediately. At a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, after five or six minutes of walking, she slowed down and drove the car close to the side of the road, watching the rearview mirror. Other cars overtook them one by one. But the prisoner's Mercedes-Benz is always coming. Sanae's face turned pale. Was the prisoner lying when he said he was going to Osaka? Could it be that he was meeting up with accomplices at the gas station?In that case, he changed to another car, and there was no way to follow him. Even so, Sanae couldn't turn the car back in. Sanae parked the car on the side of the road, opened the door and got out of the car. She was afraid of missing it from the rearview mirror in the car. She opened the front cover, and took out the triangle logo from the car and put it beside it. It seemed to others that it was a faulty parking, so she stared in the direction of the gas station. 15 minutes passed, and the prisoner's Mercedes-Benz was still not coming. Sanae felt more and more uneasy. Could it be that the prisoner drove past in another car, but she didn't see it? 20 minutes passed. Just when Sanae was feeling desperate, she suddenly saw the prisoner's Mercedes-Benz approaching from a distance. Sanae pretended to check the engine and let out a long breath. Her hanging heart finally let go. The prisoner's Mercedes drove past Sanae.But after walking about 100 meters, he suddenly stopped on the side of the road. The prisoner walked this way after getting out of the car. Sanae pretended not to see it, focusing on the engine. The prisoner patted Sanae on the shoulder. Sanae raised her head, looked at the other person's face, and said deliberately coldly: "What are you doing? It's you." "You drive very hard. What, something went wrong?" "None of your business," Sanae said. "Let me help you take a look." The prisoner was especially docile looking at the engine of the car from behind her. "Didn't I say you don't care?" Saying that, Sanae closed the front hood. "Why are you so arrogant?" "I don't trust men!" The prisoner snorted, and continued: "The car doesn't move, what do you do?" "I have a way, don't worry about it, just go!" "I have a character that I can't ignore other people's difficulties. You can get in my car and get off wherever you want, okay?" said the prisoner. Sanae was thinking: Should he continue to follow him with the Porsche, or should he ride in the prisoner's Mercedes? If you want to get in the prisoner's car, you can't contact Totsukawa at any time.But that might reveal something about the prisoner. "How?" asked the prisoner. "You don't know how to mess around, do you?" Sanae asked what the young woman was most worried about. "I don't hurt women." "Okay, get in your car," Sanae said. Director Miki handed over the work to his subordinates and walked out of the room. The morning sun is dazzling. He stretched a little and turned around. An iron tower with a parabolic antenna stands on the roof of a beige three-story building. It is the office building of JR Hokkaido Hakodate Branch. Miki had been staring at the signboard in this building just now. Now, the "Big Dipper No. 5" train finally passed through the Seikan Tunnel without incident. There were no explosions and no fires. Other trains to make way for "Big Dipper No. 5" will also start, and the Seikan Tunnel will resume normal activities. The branch manager Kuroda also walked out of the building, said "ah" and waved to Miki. Kuroda was woken up when he was sleeping at home, and he is still blinking his eyes as if sleepy. "Congratulations!" Kuroda said to Miki. "It's nothing, it's just that a train passed through the tunnel safely." "However, if there is a bang in the tunnel, JR Hokkaido Company will be in trouble now, and it will suffer losses of hundreds of millions of yuan!" Kuroda rubbed his bloodshot eyes with both hands. "I heard that JR East gave that blackmailer 100 million yuan, is it true?" Miki asked. "It seems to be true." "What shall we do next?" "The future will be handled by the police!" Kuroda went on to say: "I've made coffee, let's have a drink." Totsukawa spread out a national railway map on the table. Criminal Minister Mikami also came to JR East, which became the headquarters of the temporary search. "The prisoner was at the Suwa Lake gas station on the Chuo Expressway at 8:00 a.m., that's right." Totsukawa pointed to the map and said to Mikami. "Eight in the morning, 30 minutes ago, right?" Mikami looked at his watch. "Yes, the prisoner will probably go straight to Nagoya." "Didn't the Hojo criminal police contact you again?" "No." "Maybe it was thrown off?" "I don't think so. Hojo Sanae did a great job. And Hojo is followed by a police car, so the prisoner won't run away. His photo was taken and his fingerprints were taken when the prisoner was arrested." Totsukawa put in front of Mikami the photos of the three prisoners taken with the Polaroid camera. The three photos were taken from the front, the side and the back. "When necessary, you can name and arrest people," said Totsukawa. "I talked to JR East's manager Koike, and he said he wanted to get back the 100 million yuan no matter what. As a manager, he certainly hoped so." Mikami said. "clear." "If you know where the prisoner is now, arrest him and recover 100 million yuan, do you think it will work? If there is an accomplice, if you ask him, you will ask him, right?" Minister Mikami said. "I've considered this." "Then why not implement it? Didn't the 'Big Dipper 5' train pass the Seikan steep road safely?" "However, there are still more than 200 passengers sitting on the train now," "Do you think the train is still in danger of being bombed?" Mikami frowned and looked at Totsukawa. Judging by his expression, it seemed that he thought Totsukawa was thinking too much. "According to Hojo-kun, the prisoner calls every hour. I think it must be to contact his accomplices." "So what?" "It may be that as soon as they lose contact, his accomplices will blow up the 'Big Dipper 5' train." "There are so many things to think about, is there any end?" "Maybe I'm overthinking it, but this is a matter of life and death!" said Totsukawa. "However, how long do you plan to let the Hojo detective and the prisoner deal with each other?" Mikami said anxiously. "When we know who the co-accused is, where he is now, or we know that no one will be hurt even if we blow up the train, or we know that there are no explosives installed on the train, the order to arrest the criminal is issued," Totsukawa said. "Isn't this a slow knife cutting flesh?" Mikami said. Totsukawa instructs the young Kusaka detective to investigate the situation of Aida Takashi and Kinomoto Masa. This is because Hashimoto, who was on the "Hokutosei No. 5" train, told Totsukawa that he suspected that one of the two men might be an accomplice of the fraudster. Hashimoto's suspicion does have his reasons. In addition to the bombing of the "Dancing Girl" train at the Shinagawa Vehicle Dispatch Station, explosives were found in only the luxury rooms 1 and 2 on the "Beidouxing 5" train. These two single rooms are the trump card of the "Big Dipper", because they can be locked from the outside, and explosives were found in the room. Of course, the passengers in this room are the most suspicious. Kaori Hamano, a passenger in Deluxe Room 2, was killed, and her traveling companion was Takashi Aida. The passenger in Deluxe Room 1 was Kinomoto. According to Hashimoto, he had casually predicted that the train would be dangerous. If he had drilled a hole in the shower wall of his room and installed nitroglycerin, it would have been a threat. After Kusaka and Nishimoto left, Kamei asked Totsukawa: "Do you think Aida and Kinomoto are related to the fraud incident?" "Not both of them, but one of them was involved in the incident," Totsukawa said. Totsukawa, of course, did not see these two people. I have seen Kizhimoto Masaru on TV, and he has appeared in weekly magazines, so I know a little bit about his situation.As for Huitian, I don't know this person at all. However, Totsukawa wanted to know how the two of them were doing. "I have a question in my mind." Kamei said. "Is it about Aida Gong, or Kizhi Motonsho?" Totsukawa asked. Kamei shook his head and said: "It has nothing to do with either of them." "What's the problem?" "For the amount of 100 million yuan." Kamei said. "Do you think this amount is too large or too small?" "I think this amount is too small. Of course, if it is compared with my annual income, it is a very large number; but in today's society, it is not difficult to plunder 300 million yuan. Moreover, the criminals in this incident carried out There were two explosions, and there was another time where nitroglycerin explosives were discovered, not to mention that he risked being arrested. Generally speaking, it is not surprising that he asked for two or three hundred million yuan." "Go on." Totsukawa urged Kamei with interest.He never had any doubts about the amount of 100 million yuan.He felt that Kamei pointed out his loopholes. "You know, the prisoner is extorting JR East Japan Corporation. It is the largest of the six JR travel companies, with a capital of 200 billion yuan, 83,000 employees, and a business scale of 7,657 kilometers." Kamei said. "You know the details." Kamei scratched his head at Totsukawa's praise and said: "This is what Minister Tanaka just told me. I think this is also the reason why the criminal chose JR East Japan for blackmail." "Makes sense." "The criminal chose the 'Big Dipper No. 5' train instead of the 'Big Dipper No. 1' train to commit the crime, because the former is operated by JR East Japan, while the latter is operated by JR Hokkaido." "How is the situation of JR Hokkaido Company?" "Mr. Tanaka also told me that the capital is 9 billion yuan, the staff is 13,000, and the business scale is 3,177 kilometers. Moreover, JR Hokkaido has the most local lines closed due to deficits, and the business is in trouble." "I see." At first, Totsukawa couldn't understand why the prisoner chose the "Big Dipper No. 1" train instead of the "Big Dipper No. 5" train. The train composition of "Big Dipper 1" and "Big Dipper 5" is almost identical.Both have well-known Class A deluxe single rooms, as well as public event carriages and converted dining cars.The interior decorations are different and have their own characteristics. Although there are subtle differences, the degree of luxury is comparable to each other. The famous food of 7,000 yuan on the "Big Dipper" can also be eaten on both sides. The only difference is that the departure time from Ueno is different, and the parking stations are different. That being the case, why did the prisoner choose the "Big Dipper No. 1" train instead of the "Big Dipper No. 5" train? Totsugawa thought this was just a coincidence, but after hearing what Kamei said, it made sense for him to choose a big company. "If he chose the 'Big Dipper No. 5' train for the above reasons, why did he only need 100 million yuan? I don't understand this point." Kamei said. "There are various explanations for the amount of money. Can you continue the discussion?" Totsukawa said to Kamei. "This prisoner probably has accomplices. In that case, 100 million yuan is even less. Regardless of whether JR East Japan is willing to give it or not, why doesn't he want 200 million or 300 million yuan? I find it very strange." "Kamei-kun, why do you think about this?" "I think there are two reasons. One is that the prisoner may want to threaten JR East again. Therefore, the first time only 100 million yuan. The second reason is that the prisoner may ask JR East for money. There is a way to make money." "Specifically, besides JR East, is there any other way to get money?" "This is just my guess. Didn't a passenger die in this incident?" "It's a woman named Hamano Kaori." "Assuming that someone wants to kill this woman, it is also possible that the prisoner(s) entered into a contract with that person." "Are you saying that someone commissioned a prisoner to pretend to blow up a train and kill her?" "I think there is such a possibility." Kamei said. "If Kamei-kun's reasoning is correct, the most suspicious person is Aida Kou, who was traveling with the victim, right? According to Hashimoto-kun, the two of them seem to be on a romantic trip together." "Hashimoto was entrusted by Aida's wife to follow Aida, right?" "Seems." "In this case, Aida Gong's wife is also suspicious. She gave the bomber a sum of money and asked the prisoner to kill Hamano Kaori. It is also possible." "If it's a big sum of money, it's enough to ask JR East for 100 million yuan, isn't it?" "yes." "But, how did they know that Kaori Hamano went to take a shower at that time?" "On this point, if Aida is a prisoner, then mobilize her to take a shower at that time. In addition, if Hamanoka has the habit of taking a shower in the middle of the night, Aida's wife may conspire with the bomber to kill her." Kamei Say. "Interesting! Ask someone to investigate this too," said Totsukawa. After passing through the Mount Ena tunnel, the prisoner checked his watch and drove the Mercedes-Benz into the Kamisaka parking lot. "Are you resting again?" Sanae asked. "I'll make a phone call." The prisoner said roughly. "Isn't it okay to use the phone in the car? I don't mind. You don't have to be polite." "This phone doesn't work very well." "I want to make a call too." "To the man you fought with?" The prisoner sneered. "Man I have enough!" "Have courage!" The prisoner laughed and said, got out of the car and walked towards the telephone booth. Sanae also got out of the car and walked to another phone. Sanae put a few hundred-yen coins into the telephone and called Totsukawa who was staying at JR Japan Company: "I'm in the Kamisaka parking lot on the Chuo Expressway. The prisoner is calling someone again." "Is your play very successful?" Totsukawa asked. "It's hard to tell. Now I'm in the prisoner's Mercedes. The Porsche I borrowed from a friend was left in front of the gas station in Lake Suwa because of a breakdown. Please." "Understood, I'll send someone to fetch it. Are you all right?" "I don't know if the prisoner has seen through the scene I acted in. It's fine now." Sanae said. "The police car will follow behind you at a distance of 100 meters. In case something happens, please contact them. The police car is disguised as a white Corona, and the car number is Shinagawa XXXX." Totsukawa said, Sanae put down the phone and called the prisoner Looking over from the phone booth where I was waiting. The prisoner is still on the phone. Sanae returned to the Mercedes-Benz, but the prisoner hadn't finished calling.Seems like something is complicated. Sanae looked at the suitcase on the passenger seat. It was the suitcase containing 100 million yuan in cash. Sanae opened the suitcase while looking at the phone booth. "Ah!" Sanae exclaimed, her expression changed, the banknotes inside were gone, and it was full of old magazines.