Matsumoto Kiyotaka and others’ analysis was unknown to everyone else.
The hunting season continued unabated.
A group of people continued to play their parts.
Scores kept rising, rankings kept changing, everything was like a fog, with no one knowing who the final victor would be.
The lush willow trees seed as if they could exude oil under the scorching sun, and dozens of cicadas perched on the trees, continuously vibrating their drum-like tympana located at their abdons to emit a sharp and loud sound.
Each year in June and July, these common insects transford from pupae to adults and then laid eggs within a matter of days. From the egg stage to the nymphs living underground and until their final transformation into adults loud and proud upon the trees, this process usually took one to two years.
If one were to occasionally enjoy a walk in the woods, then the sound of cicadas would undoubtedly be the concerto of high sumr, bringing joy to one’s body and soul, but for hunters who were on a twenty-four-hour stakeout in the woods, it was piercingly painful to the eardrums.
The mass of noise could interfere with a hunter’s hearing, easily causing them to miss crucial information. Many tis, this ant barely missing prey or being completely oblivious to impending dangers.
Bi Fang squatted beside a stream, scooping up a handful of clear water to wash his face, cooling down his heat-filled irritability. At his feet was a small bamboo basket, similar to an ancient wealthy young master’s one for holding crickets, but inside there were not crickets but rather a crowded nest of cicadas.
As the person involved, Bi Fang was completely unaware that soone had already impersonated his act of "Batman."
Maybe even if he knew, he wouldn’t be upset. On the contrary, he would be more pleased.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly and busy manner, Matsumoto Kiyotaka and Gang Tianwu worked together to clarify the whole situation, and reported to Morishita Suji, preparing for the final action.
Only...
"You guys, are you joking?"
When Gang Tianwu and Matsumoto Kiyotaka reached a consensus, Morishita Suji’s facial expression almost lost its composure as he expressed serious doubts about their analysis.
How could an animal welfare activist’s work get involved with a wildlife smuggling organization?
Are you sure these two are the sa thing?
A protector and a poacher, two fundantally opposed entities, appeared at the sa ti, and the nature of the case shifted from one extre to the other...
Is the world really this complex?
To say that Gang Tianwu, as a mber of the Eastern Capital’s tropolitan Police Departnt, did not understand how this hunting season was related to Tiangella was sowhat understandable.
But as a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Morishita Suji could not possibly be unaware, especially since, in many cases, most of the leftovers from the whaling plans, aside from the necessary key parts, were sold to them.
However, Morishita Suji was also not well-inford about that dark piece of history from more than a decade ago.
For him, the events of so many years past were too distant. Back then, Morishita Suji might have been just a junior employee, not at all concerned with such matters and even less aware of the existence of such conditions.
At this mont, Matsumoto Kiyotaka and Gang Tianwu exchanged glances and nodded affirmatively.
After Matsumoto Kiyotaka had sought out Gang Tianwu the day before, Gang Tianwu swiftly utilized his position to investigate the identity and background of Bertrand Guy, uncovering Bertrand’s blemish from many years ago.
Everything was as Matsumoto Kiyotaka had described.
Taking into account the abnormal withdrawal of the three other hunters on the Kii Peninsula, Brown Bear had no direct evidence but the one whose thigh was pierced by a trap surely had sothing to say.
So, analyzing what cos next is simple, and the answer becos quite clear.
Gang Tianwu took the initiative to explain to Morishita Suji, starting with the identity of Bosen.
"Bertrand Guy, an experienced old hunter, yet all of us were deceived. He concealed the fact that fourteen years ago, he was involved in the club poaching scandal, was expelled by Tiangella, and sentenced to ten months of imprisonnt."
"Back then, it was so long ago that everyone had forgotten about it. His appearance had also greatly changed, allowing him to brazenly participate in this hunting season."
Matsumoto Kiyotaka added from the side, "We have reason to suspect that Tiangella actually did a cover-up job on Bertrand Guy, moving him from the open to the shadows, but this is without proof and rely our conjecture."
After all, "unaware" and "lax in supervision" were excuses they were all too familiar with, clear signs of passing the buck.
But speaking of facts and reason, Matsumoto Kiyotaka was rely stating a possibility, "It cannot be taken as evidence."
"This ti, Bertrand Guy had his sights set on our dolphin industry, a highly profitable industry—a single dolphin is worth a whopping one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. They took action, but there had been no breakthrough until now."
"Unfortunately, this has always been our base. The organization versus the state is, relatively speaking, still too insignificant. Hence, they reached out to Richard and others, showing their strength as a ans to help, and to avoid drawing our attention, they chose to register for the hunting season competition."
What a clever tactic.
Such individuals entering customs would certainly attract attention, but once cloaked as participants in the hunting season, everything seed reasonable, so much so that it took half a month for Taiji Town to catch on.
Matsumoto Kiyotaka could not help but admire the ingenuity of these people.
Unable to confront the nation, they would draw the attention of the whole world, using the world’s power to destroy the whaling industry of Taiji Town.
The industry’s Boss would be finished, and wouldn’t the remaining orders then belong to them?
Richard thought he was protecting the dolphins, not realizing they had beco a re facade, a protective cloak.
Taiji Town believed they were being attacked by a group of protectors, little did they know it was a group of poachers!
Morishita Suji pushed up his glasses, appearing calm on the surface but with tumultuous waves churning inside.
The analysis seed quite logical...
Could the true nature of the matter be this complicated?
"It seems I thought too simply," Morishita Suji sighed deeply.
Matsumoto Kiyotaka and Gang Tianwu exchanged a glance, their faces showing delight. Clearly, their analysis was correct,
"But even if that’s the case," Morishita Suji had another question, "then why would they want to eliminate the other hunters on the island?"
"That…" Matsumoto Kiyotaka hesitated for a mont. This was also where he was puzzled, but there were two explanations, "One is that those hunters might have discovered sothing, and to prevent leaks, Bosen took preemptive action. The second possibility is an issue with Bosen himself."
"Look at this." Gang Tianwu presented a docunt detailing Bosen’s military service from over twenty years ago. Although he had an outstanding performance, the double-digit number of brawls suggested that the amiable old man was not so friendly in his youth.
"Perhaps Bosen himself prefers such a brutal thod to eliminate his competition, a downright dangerous person!"
The two spoke with conviction. Having been soldiers themselves, they were even indignant about the temper of such military troublemakers. Their assuredness dispelled Morishita Suji’s last shred of doubt.
"So, what’s your plan going forward?"
"We can’t tip them off; we must catch them all in one swoop!"
"The hunting season cannot be stopped, as it generates substantial revenue."
"Currently on the Kii Peninsula, apart from Bosen, there are two other hunters. We must protect them!"
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