Pathway to Japanese Literature

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The Golden Bat IncidentAuthor: Unno Juza

Original Title	ゴールデン・バット事件
Author	海野十三
Genre	Detective & Mystery
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a shadowy corner of Tokyo’s underworld lies Café Golden Bat, its neon sign flickering with twin bats—a haven for vice and whispered secrets. The nameless narrator, haunted by the sudden disappearance of a rosebud-like waitress, finds himself entangled with amateur detective Homura Sōroku, whose sharp instincts pierce the fog of deception. Their nocturnal wanderings lead them to Tsurumaki Apartment, where a bloodcurdling scream shatters the silence. Inside, they discover Kin Seinen—a morphine-addicted enigma whose magnetic hold over the café’s women borders on supernatural—brutally bludgeoned, his life seeping into the floorboards. \nThe Golden Bat thrums with dark allure: women clamor for Kin’s cigarettes, their desperation hinting at more than infatuation. Homura’s deductions unravel a web of addiction and manipulation, where smoke-cloaked desires mask lethal intentions. As the detective probes scattered cigarette butts and cryptic clues, whispers of smuggled narcotics and twisted obsessions surface. Yet the truth remains veiled—why does Kin’s corpse lack cigarette stubs? Who fled through fog-drenched alleys, leaving only echoes? \nBeneath the café’s garish glow, danger coils like a serpent. Every patron hides a motive; every smile drips with deceit. The Golden Bat’s wings cast long shadows—and within them, a killer waits.