Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 573 - 570 Suspicion

Seeing the visitor, Matsumoto Kiyonaga was filled with trepidation and bowed deeply in apology, "Lord Morishita, I never expected you would personally come to Taiji Town so late. I hadn’t heard any news of your visit and fear that our reception was inadequate. Please, you must forgive us."

The administrative structure of Japan is divided into one cabinet office and twelve ministries. The cabinet office is like the cabinet itself, and the ministries are similar to the General Affairs Ministry, Justice Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Finance Ministry, etc., which are equivalent to Huaxia’s ministries.

Owing to the unique structure of Japan’s fisheries, instead of an agriculture ministry, there is a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan.

The man before him, Morishita Suji, was a high-ranking official in Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the vice chairman of the Japan Whaling Association. In terms of rank, he was more than a notch above Matsumoto Kiyonaga, the mere provincial director.

Even though they were not from the same ministry, Matsumoto Kiyonaga still felt nervous and unsteady.

Was he here to hold me accountable?

Thinking of all the days he had been busy without catching the culprit and having been slipped by the other party time and again, Matsumoto Kiyonaga couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat, so much so that he didn’t dare to lift his head, with his entire back gradually drenched with sweat.

It was already the wee hours of the morning, yet even then Matsumoto Kiyonaga had to take personal action, which could only mean how great the pressure was.

Morishita Suji extended his hand in a feigned support, "There’s no need to be so formal, Chief Matsumoto. You don’t need to be nervous, I’m not here to hold you accountable. My visit is due to an urgent matter, and I didn’t notify you in advance."

"Yes, yes!"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga nodded in agreement, but he didn’t believe a punctuation mark of those words.

This guy was notoriously two-faced, disguising a hungry tiger under a refined appearance. Trusting his words was just asking for trouble.

As expected, after helping Matsumoto Kiyonaga to his feet, Morishita Suji started by praising his decades of daily work attitude, expressing strong approval of Matsumoto Kiyonaga’s work in Taiji Town. He fully demonstrated the responsibility and resolve of an exemplary Liberal Democratic Party member, ready to face challenges and head into adversity...

Morishita Suji spoke for a good ten minutes, during which Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who was initially quite nervous, almost fell asleep; it was like standing in the scorching sun on a primary school playground, listening to a headmaster drone on and on during the opening school speech.

"But recently, the situation in Taiji Town has us very worried, Chief Matsumoto. As a worker in the Fisheries Ministry, every time I stand in front of the Whaling Commission fighting for our fishermen’s interests, making explanations has been difficult. If those with malicious intentions make misleading videos, my job becomes even harder."

"The Whaling Commission’s annual meeting is about to be convened. It doesn’t matter if my job is difficult, but what about the many fishermen of Taiji Town? What will they eat and use throughout the year? This is our pillar industry! Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga, please take it to heart."

Finally, it had come!

Matsumoto Kiyonaga, previously on the brink of dozing off, was instantly alert and vocally assured that he would certainly catch the culprits and secure evidence, promising they would pay for their actions.

"Any results tonight?"

"Uh... none. We had a lead from the police dogs, but they seemed to have been prepared for us, and we caught no one," Matsumoto Kiyonaga said, embarrassed for a few seconds, but still stated firmly.

"Prepared..." The smile on Morishita Suji’s face slowly faded, and his eyebrows began to knit together.

If anyone didn’t want Dolphin Bay’s affairs to come into the public eye, aside from the fishermen of Taiji, it might be Morishita Suji.

Relying on dolphins, Taiji Town had already developed rapidly from this income source. It was a well-known and prosperous tourist town. Public exposure would deal a massive blow to the local economy.

Even if people continued to trade and slaughter dolphins regardless, no one would think of coming here to travel.

Moreover, as someone who annually promotes and explains the rationale of Japan’s whaling to the outside world at the Whaling Commission, he couldn’t possibly cope with the fallout.

A career dead end was nearly a given, not to mention the possibility of resigning to take responsibility, and furthermore facing the public’s anger and condemnation. That could mean being pelted with rotten eggs whenever he was out and about.

Those guys, they weren’t trying to save any dolphins, they were clearly after his life!

Morishita Suji came to the blackboard in the office, where several photos pinned with thumbtacks were displayed, all of Richard and his crew.

Next to each photo was a wealth of personal information. Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga was not without his achievements. At the very least, the true identities of Richard and his people, what they had done, their backgrounds, ages, genders, and experiences had all been thoroughly investigated.

"To be so proficient at dealing with police dogs, to install cameras right under the noses of the police, to know the jungle, to understand tracking, to love Nature..."

Morishita Suji’s gaze swept over each of the individuals in the photos, who were either photographers or scientists, with the only notable figure being Pondy.

But even then, he was just a retired military man, skilled in combat, and his execution ability was slightly stronger than others on the blackboard, but that just made him bodyguard material.

With such a background, it was hard to believe that he was the doer, especially when comparing the poor execution of Richard and his group’s first operation with this next one, which was clearly much more sophisticated.

The only possibility was that someone was helping them, and what Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga needed to do was find this person and then slap any charge on him, lock him up in prison, and eventually deport him.

Whoever could accomplish these feats certainly couldn’t be a nobody.

Looking at the map of Taiji Town.

Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga slowed his breath, not daring to be careless.

"Eh."

Morishita Suji let out a soft murmur, bringing the deeply focused Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga back to reality, who quickly asked, "Lord Morishita, have you discovered something?"

"Not a discovery, but, there have been hunters around Taiji Town recently for the hunting season, haven’t there?"

The bustling of the hunting season was well known, like the town was emptying out, even Morishita Suji, who was busy preparing this year’s report for the Whaling Commission, had caught wind of it.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"Yes, not only that, but there are several, and many of our mountain ranges are national protected areas with a lot of wildlife, bears included. A few days ago, as I drove through the tunnel, I even saw one, but what you’re implying is..." said Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who was no fool.

"Is it possible these hunters are helping them?"

Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga hesitated: "That’s not very likely..."

"Why not?"

"Because every day at eight o’clock in the morning, the hunters have to start live streaming until eight o’clock at night, a twelve-hour stretch. If a hunter is helping them, what is he, a robot?"

To be busy in the forest all day and then continue through the night?

Aren’t they afraid of dropping dead?

Moreover, dealing with bears is not an easy task.

"Check it out anyway, keep a close eye on them, just in case," Morishita Suji didn’t believe it but still instructed Chief Matsumoto Kiyonaga to be vigilant.

"Understood!"