[Officer Jenny, what you're dealing with is nothing more than the word of two children.]
"What could two little kids possibly understand?"
"They probably heard some story from somewhere."
"Or maybe they didn't hear anything at all and simply made it up themselves."
"How can you call that a legend?"
Facing the two Officer Jennys who still refused to let the mining operation proceed, Takahashi adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
He did his best to hide the impatience and anger in his eyes behind the lenses.
[Mr. Takahashi, rules are rules.]
[Until the matter has been thoroughly investigated, all mining operations must remain suspended.]
The two Officer Jennys stood firm.
They did not dismiss the matter simply because the people making the claims were only two children.
'Damn it...'
At this moment, Takahashi finally realized just how troublesome the situation had become.
For a mining operation, the most important thing was undoubtedly the Alliance's approval.
Without the Alliance's support, all of his plans would have to be carried out in secret.
If he had operated in secret from the beginning, that would have been fine.
But the problem was that he had already brought the project into the open.
There was no way to quietly move everything back underground now.
For this project, he had poured a huge amount of money into Happiness Village.
He had even started with the village's education system, promoting the idea that modern technology was the key to development and gradually making the villagers believe in the benefits of modernization.
At the same time, he had secretly found ways to persuade those who still knew about the old legends to leave the village.
Everything had been done so that he could conduct the excavation openly and without interference.
But who could have imagined that everything would be ruined because of two children?
Takahashi stepped back toward his own people.
He was just about to quietly ask where the two children had gone when the two Officer Jennys followed him.
He had no choice but to abandon the idea.
[And there's something else, Mr. Takahashi.]
[Because of your actions, Keiko and Takeo were taken away by a mysterious Trainer. You will also be held responsible for this incident.]
[???]
Takahashi froze.
He had only failed to enter the village himself for a moment.
And those idiots had actually failed to catch two children?
Worse yet, somehow the responsibility had landed on him?
For a moment, he felt something strange.
The truth about the earth vein's stones being capable of triggering Mega Evolution had not even been revealed yet.
And yet...
It already felt as though a pair of invisible eyes were watching him.
As though someone knew exactly what he was trying to do and was deliberately interfering with his plans.
[Then Officer Jenny, shouldn't you hurry up and find those two children?]
[Send out Arcanine! Its sense of smell is incredibly sharp. Can't you see their parents are crying their eyes out over there?]
He snorted coldly.
He did not argue with them.
The earth vein stretched for such a tremendous distance.
If they really could not rely on modern technology to excavate and locate it, then they could simply find a group of Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon to search for it instead.
There were always more solutions than problems.
After saying this, Takahashi patted Garchomp.
He was about to leave.
But at that very moment, a voice suddenly drew everyone's attention.
"The children are here!"
.....
"That's him!"
"He's the one who convinced most of the people in the village to believe him!"
"He's trying to excavate the earth vein!"
As soon as they arrived, Takeo immediately pointed angrily at the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses.
Lin Feng nodded.
He took out his phone.
While listening to the conversation between Officer Jenny and Takahashi, he waited patiently.
A moment later, Feng Yang sent over his official identification credentials.
Lin Feng showed the information to Zoroark.
Zoroark immediately dispelled its Illusion.
"The children are here!"
Lin Feng called out toward the two parents who were crying nearby.
The sudden appearance of Dragonite and Zoroark caused all the security personnel present to freeze.
They immediately became alert.
The Growlithe and Arcanine beside them also took threatening stances.
But that threatening look quickly turned into confusion.
[Alright. Thank you two for your help. You can go back now.]
Lin Feng patted Takeo and Keiko on the head.
"Go back to your parents first."
"But..."
[It's fine.]
[I'm here now.]
[Don't make your parents worry.]
Lin Feng reassured them.
Only then did the two children obediently run toward their parents.
Once the children were safely returned to their parents, the law enforcement officers and the two Officer Jennys finally felt a huge weight lift from their shoulders.
The initial report had stated that the Trainer riding Dragonite had only taken the children because they had cried out for help.
That had left the officers uncertain about his intentions.
Had he wanted to abduct the children?
Or had he actually been trying to rescue them?
Now it was obvious.
It was the second one.
But there was still one strange thing.
Why was he wearing a mask?
Meanwhile, Takahashi, who had been preparing to leave, suddenly stopped when he saw the scene.
His eyes immediately lit up.
He thought another opportunity had presented itself.
He was just about to approach and question the two children about what had happened when he heard Lin Feng speak.
Lin Feng walked over to the two Officer Jennys.
Then he raised his phone.
"Alliance Special Affairs Investigator."
"I have been assigned to handle the earth vein investigation."
His voice sounded remarkably official.
Lin Feng himself felt a strange sensation inside.
Yep.
This was probably what people called showing off.
The two Officer Jennys looked at the identification credentials displayed on his phone.
They immediately took out their own phones and scanned the information.
After confirming that everything was legitimate, both of them immediately saluted.
"Officer Jenny Haruka reporting!"
[Officer Jenny Ruka reporting!]
Although Officer Jennys all looked remarkably similar, there were still subtle differences between them.
And these two even had names associated with the sun and moon.
They were clearly twins.
"Special Affairs Investigator?"
Takahashi, who had been walking over, suddenly stopped.
An investigator specifically assigned to the earth vein incident?
That pause caused him to hear Lin Feng's next words as well.
Lin Feng had the two Officer Jennys and the camera crew that had been recording the incident turn their attention toward him.
He then glanced at the surrounding villagers and spoke loudly.
"The earth vein incident is real."
"Deep beneath the ground lies an earth vein connected to both Sichuan Province and the neighboring Yunnan Province."
"If this earth vein is damaged, the entire region could become unstable."
"Consider the massive earthquake that occurred more than ten years ago."
"That disaster caused unimaginable destruction."
"The consequences of damaging the earth vein could be just as serious."
"So I strongly advise anyone with ulterior motives to think carefully before attempting to interfere with the earth vein, regardless of the reason."
"The Alliance has always maintained zero tolerance for actions of this nature."
The words rang clearly throughout the area.
Only then did Lin Feng turn his gaze toward Takahashi.
The man's face was filled with disbelief.
The shock was almost impossible to conceal.
Lin Feng looked directly at him.
"Mr. Takahashi, I'm sorry."
"Regardless of your reasons for wanting to excavate the mineral deposits in this area..."
"This matter ends here."
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