In the latter half of 1999, Japan's economy still showed no signs of recovery, and society was blanketed in a dead atmosphere.
Relatively speaking, the people of Hokkaido, thanks to Xiu Xin's meticulous efforts to win their hearts, were living fairly well, but starting from the second half of the year, there was a constant feeling of a chilling atmosphere in the air.
It was hard to pinpoint exactly where this feeling originated from.
It was only when they happened to see the soldiers whose training had noticeably increased that they suddenly realized the reason.
In October, Xiu Xin, along with his sister-in-law, his seven-year-old son Aoyama Tianze, and five-year-old son Hironari Aoyama, made a trip back to Tokyo to celebrate his elder brother Aoyama Sosuke's birthday.
After arriving home in Tokyo, when Asai Ayumi finished work, the family of five took a car to Aoyama Sosuke's house.
Opening the door for them was sister-in-law Ashida Kazuko.
