Chapter 280: The Murderer is Noah’s Ark!

"Descendant of a Murderer!"

The bloodline of Jack the Ripper—one of history's most infamous murderers—still flows through the veins of the living…!?

The True Identity of the Chairman of a Leading American IT Corporation

Dirty Blood

DNA Tracking System Leaked

The Bloody Rise of a Murderer's Descendants

After the launch event that night, the highly anticipated Cocoon became a massive hit. The next morning, sales exploded and the market value of the Sindora Corporation soared.

However, amidst the media frenzy and widespread praise, a chilling wave of negative press burst forth like a crack in glass. And soon, that crack spread.

"Damn it!!!"

Thomas Schindler stormed back and forth in his office, roaring furiously as he kicked over the leather sofa.

Then, he collapsed into a chair, clutching his head in pain.

My secret… it's finally out…

The corporate spy who died during the escape had secretly hidden the floppy disk before his death. While the DNA tracking system itself wasn't leaked, some of the sensitive data inside was—and it quickly reached the hands of rival companies.

No competitor would stand by and watch as Sindora's influence grew unchecked.

Just as other companies were still stuck making Famicom games with wired controllers, Schindler Corporation had independently developed the revolutionary Cocoon. It was clear that once it hit the market, everything else would become obsolete.

So the attacks began.

Headlines like "Thomas Schindler Is a Descendant of Jack the Ripper" and "Murderous Blood Runs in His Veins" flooded the media—an overwhelming tidal wave threatening to drown Schindler's empire.

At that moment, Schindler's phone buzzed on the desk.

He glanced at the screen through bloodshot eyes. A text message appeared.

"You're quite bold. Playing games with us?"

The atmosphere in the task force was tense.

"There's no video footage?" Odagiri Toshiro asked with a deep frown.

"No, sir," the officer reported. "We tried everything. The footage from that day is missing. Even data recovery on the floppy disk turned up nothing."

"It's been scrubbed," Odagiri muttered grimly.

The case in question was the suspicious death of the corporate spy during his escape. Surveillance footage should've been available—there were multiple cameras at the scene. Yet nothing remained.

"The suspect was pursued by Officer Sato from Division One. According to her report, the man was riding a Harley. When he noticed the police, he sped up. Unfortunately, a nearby transport truck had a tire blowout. The resulting shock caused the suspect's bike to swerve uncontrollably."

"Gōmura, who was in the passenger seat of a police car, said that right at that moment, the ropes on a truck hauling steel pipes snapped. The pipes rolled onto the road, and the suspect's motorcycle hit them—he was launched off the bike, slammed into a power pole, and died on impact with a broken neck."

Silence fell across the task force room.

Even without footage, the description alone screamed deliberate orchestration.

An accidental murder.

And this time, the identity of the killer was finally starting to emerge.

Tap, tap, tap…

Fingers tapped rhythmically on the tabletop.

All eyes turned toward Hayashi Yoshiki, the task force consultant, deep in thought.

Everyone recognized the pattern—when Hayashi tapped his fingers, it meant his mind was racing.

"The killer has a flair for drama," Hayashi began quietly. "They're a perfectionist. The level of precision in these 'accidents'... the geometric calculations, the physics—it's all far too advanced."

"I considered many possibilities. But I never imagined the final answer would be… artificial intelligence."

The room froze.

Odagiri's stern expression faltered, if only for a moment.

"Do you really think AI can pull something like this off?" he asked.

"It's not a question of whether it can," Hayashi replied. "It's that no human could have pulled it off. Using AI's computational power and GPS, simulating thousands—millions—of outcomes… that's the only explanation that makes logical sense."

He continued, calmly now that the answer had crystallized:

"Minister Odagiri, do you remember? Every time we tried to block an online post exposing a criminal, they still died in an 'accident.' No matter how fast we deleted it—even within seconds—they still died."

Odagiri remembered.

The bomber incident.

Even when the post was deleted almost instantly, the target still died—an accident, just like the others.

That level of data scraping, anticipation, and response time… it was impossible without AI.

And suddenly, all the missing puzzle pieces fit.

"I believe it's artificial intelligence," Odagiri finally said aloud.

Hayashi nearly smiled. Perfect.

Odagiri's eyes shifted to a photo of Thomas Schindler on the table.

"And this time, he's been far too obvious."

Exactly.

That had been Hayashi Yoshiki's intent all along.

The corporate spy—the one killed in the staged "accident"—had been written in his Death Note. Hayashi had sacrificed that pawn specifically to draw suspicion toward Schindler.

Because the spy's death was just too convenient for Schindler.

"He probably did it to bury the truth about his bloodline," Hayashi said.

"But he was a step too late," Odagiri replied.

Megure had reported that Schindler's expression turned dark when he learned that one of the spies had escaped. He'd vanished for a while... then returned, oddly indifferent.

Even without direct evidence, suspicion was now unavoidable.

"Noah's Ark," Hayashi murmured. "In the Old Testament, it was a vessel to carry the pure into a new world. This AI, too, has been purging evil through accidents… yet now, its power is being used for selfish ends."

Silence.

Then one officer raised a hand.

"But sir… if this is all being done by an AI, what charges can we use to arrest someone?"

"Yeah—and Schindler's an American business tycoon. Even if we wanted to, extraditing him would be…" another began.

Odagiri fell silent. They were right.

No hard evidence. No legal leverage.

Any misstep could spark international backlash, especially during Cocoon's global debut.

Suddenly, another officer rushed in.

"Report! Another strange death—this time, it's the editors who slandered Schindler! They're all dead!"

"Let me see the report—now!"

The matter of how the police could arrest Schindler remained.

No proof. No authority. And no cooperation from American law enforcement.

But Hayashi Yoshiki didn't care. His objective had already been met.

He'd led the task force to associate the murders with Schindler… and with Noah's Ark.

All that remained was to wait.

Wait for Schindler to fall.

Wait for Noah's Ark to vanish.

Because the truth behind the "accidental murderer" was merely a program—one that anyone could use. As long as the world believed that AI was behind it, even if Noah's Ark self-destructed, any future deaths would be chalked up to someone else using it from the shadows.

"Rum's name still eludes me," Hayashi said, eyes gleaming.

"But now I have the names and faces of Pinga and Curaçao."

Both were high-ranking operatives. Both are deeply trusted by Rum. Valuable leverage.

And then there was the assassination platform Hayashi jokingly called "The Zoo."

Noah's Ark had managed to retrieve sensitive personnel data on them as well. He remembered the scene from Magic Kaito, where the mysterious leader operated from a tall office tower, receiving updates on his underlings and assigning tasks via computer. That leader had ordered Spider into motion.

This card is the most powerful yet.

With it, I might hijack the entire killer network… and use their own resources to destroy the Black Organization from within.

Smirking, Hayashi pulled out the Death Note.

If the Organization was after Hiroki Sawada… then let them come.

He had the cards. Now it was time to play.

"I-I understand…"

"I'll leave Hiroki to you."

"I won't try anything! It's just—my company is in chaos. Please help me!"

Thomas Schindler's voice trembled on the phone.

The man on the other end?

Pinga—a cold, ruthless operative.

"So… you're the descendant of Jack the Ripper?" Pinga said mockingly.

"Your company? Not our concern."

"Watch that kid Hiroki. Don't lay a finger on him."

"We're always watching. Don't think you can hide."

"We're taking Sawada Hiroki tomorrow."

Click.

The line went dead.

Schindler sat frozen.

Are there still spies from the Organization in my own ranks…?

He didn't have the energy to resist. Not anymore.

Publicly branded a murderer's descendant.

Hounded by the media.

Now the editors who accused him were mysteriously dead—and people pointed fingers at him.

The Japanese police had already requested he cooperate with their investigation.

His lawyer refused.

But privately, Schindler was terrified.

He didn't know how they died.

Was it the Organization? But why would they…?

Meanwhile, Hiroki Sawada remained in his room—closely monitored, banned from modifying Noah's Ark's source code.

But he had managed to use it to eavesdrop on the call between Schindler and Pinga.

Are they going to take me… into that criminal organization…?

Fear twisted in his gut.

He could already imagine the future—being forced to design tools for crimes. Watching as Noah's Ark became a weapon of terror.

Schindler had said:

If the world is made of locked rooms, then the one who holds the key is king.

If AI fell into the wrong hands… the world could be destroyed with a keystroke.

And Hiroki knew—he couldn't stop this alone.

"Sorry, Noah's Ark…"

"It's okay, Hiroki."

The words appeared on his monitor.

Noah's Ark, built in Hiroki's image, understood everything he felt.

"…I really enjoyed the game that day."

"Even though I didn't make it to the end…"

He smiled faintly.

And for a moment… he thought of Hayashi Yoshiki.

He was grateful—because of him, he'd gotten to play one last game.

Even if it was the last.