"The earth vein is real?"
"And it's connected to the massive earthquake from more than ten years ago?"
"Seriously?"
"That can't be good."
"If another earthquake like that happens again..."
"Just thinking about it gives me chills."
[It must be real, then.]
[If that's the case, they absolutely can't keep digging.]
"If another massive earthquake happens, what are we supposed to do?"
"Without the Earth God, I don't even want to think about it..."
"Officer Jenny has already confirmed this man's identity."
"If she recognizes him, then it must be true."
The sudden announcement left Takahashi frozen.
The people around him were stunned as well.
Then the entire area erupted into discussion.
The villagers began whispering among themselves.
The workers looked down at the tools in their hands, suddenly feeling a chill run through them.
If what this investigator said was true, they had almost become the people responsible for triggering another disaster.
Meanwhile, Takahashi's expression became increasingly complicated as Lin Feng stared directly at him.
Something felt terribly wrong.
Before this, nothing had interfered with his plans.
But the moment research confirmed the effects of the earth vein stones, one problem after another had suddenly appeared.
The frustration in his chest felt like a pair of tangled earphones.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not untangle it.
If the incident with the two children had merely been an annoyance, then the appearance of this so-called "Special Affairs Investigator" was something else entirely.
It made him feel as though someone had stuffed a pile of garbage into his chest.
Now the Alliance would be paying even closer attention to this area.
And more importantly...
Who exactly was this man?!
A Dragonite.
A Zoroark.
Zoroark...
Takahashi clenched his teeth.
But he quickly suppressed the emotions surging inside him.
A fake smile appeared on his face.
"Yes."
"Since the investigator has said so, then there must be a proper way to resolve this matter."
"I'll go and have the workers withdraw immediately."
Lin Feng looked at him.
His expression beneath the mask remained completely unchanged.
"Good."
[May I ask one more thing, Investigator?]
"I wonder where this information came from."
"And what exactly is your identity?"
"Why are you wearing a mask?"
"Of course, I'm not questioning your identity or anything like that."
"I'm simply curious."
Lin Feng remained completely unmoved by the questions.
"Temporary appointment."
"Special Affairs Investigator."
"My identity does not need to be disclosed."
"If you have any doubts, you may file a complaint with the Alliance afterward."
From the Mega Stone carried by the Garchomp beside Takahashi, it was obvious that he had already obtained at least some of the research related to Mega Evolution.
That explained why he was so eager to acquire as many Mega Stones as possible before the information became public.
Lin Feng could understand why Takahashi wanted to do this.
But understanding his motives did not mean Lin Feng would allow it.
Beside him, Zoroark was already baring its teeth.
"Zoro!"
If Lin Feng had not stopped it, it might have already lunged forward.
From Zoroark's perspective, the man standing before them bore an astonishing resemblance to the people who had destroyed the earth vein in the past.
The similarity was as high as ninety percent.
Those memories had resurfaced in its mind.
It was difficult for Zoroark not to become agitated.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng's Insight Eye had already revealed the information about Garchomp.
[Pokémon: Garchomp]
[Gender: Female]
[Type: Dragon, Ground]
[Ability: Rough Skin]
[Potential: Red]
[Individual Values: HP (27), Attack (30), Special Attack (24), Defense (26), Special Defense (24), Speed (29)]
[Strength: Level 72 to 74]
[Moves: Sand Attack, Bite, Tackle, Sand Tomb, Dig, Dragon Claw...]
Her strength was certainly impressive.
But something else was even more interesting.
Lin Feng could sense an aura from this Garchomp that was extremely similar to the aura surrounding Qin Shu's Gible.
Clearly, there was a very good chance that this Garchomp was Gible's parent.
Judging from her gender...
She was its mother.
Other than the Mega Stone, Garchomp did not appear to be carrying any other equipment.
There were no visible injuries on her body either.
But her eyes...
They were strangely dull.
There was no light in them at all.
It was the vacant look of someone who had become completely numb.
Had her mind been controlled?
Or had she simply become emotionally numb after being subjected to something for too long?
Lin Feng wondered.
Normally, with eyes like those, there was absolutely no way a Pokémon could successfully undergo Mega Evolution with its Trainer.
Yet Garchomp had a Mega Stone.
That meant Takahashi had probably used some other method.
Seeing that he could not get any useful information out of Lin Feng, Takahashi silently nodded.
He called out to his subordinates and ordered them to disperse.
Then he climbed onto Garchomp and flew away.
Lin Feng watched him leave.
The two Officer Jennys remained nearby, waiting for further instructions.
Lin Feng did not think too much about it.
He simply began giving orders.
"You two should head into the forest."
"Patrol along the route and see if anyone is still moving large amounts of earth or stone."
"Yes!"
The two Officer Jennys immediately took a group of law enforcement officers into the forest.
With the immediate situation settled, Lin Feng finally turned his attention toward Takeo and Keiko.
He walked over and gently patted both children on the head.
A smile appeared on his face.
Then he used his psychic power to block out the surrounding sounds.
"Big brother wants to ask you two something."
[Huh? Oh! Sure, sure!]
Takeo immediately nodded so hard that his head bobbed like a toy.
[So, tell me.]
[Where did you two hear the story about the earth vein?]
[I... I...]
"It was after we got lost."
"We were in the forest when an uncle found us and took us to a wooden cabin."
"He..."
.....
After leaving the village, Lin Feng first arrived at the edge of the forest.
He took out Serperior's Poké Ball.
"Go after them and take a look, Serperior."
[Servine...]
(Okay.)
Serperior nodded.
It naturally understood who Lin Feng wanted it to follow.
The target was the location where the Garchomp carrying Takahashi had flown.
Lin Feng then took out two Transformation Wish Energy Blocks.
After Serperior ate them, its body gradually shrank.
In just a short while, the enormous Serperior had transformed into a tiny snake only 0.7 meters long.
Only then did Lin Feng feel completely reassured.
He could not resist reaching out and rubbing the tiny, slender Serperior.
(o゜▽゜)o
"So smooth..."
Serperior immediately wriggled free of his hand.
It gave him an annoyed look.
Then it slithered toward the distance.
With Serperior's Aura and its tremendous energy level, it was the perfect Pokémon for this mission.
The state of that Garchomp had already shown Lin Feng something important.
Pokémon being controlled like her were definitely not the only ones.
There was most likely an entire research organization behind this.
The last time he destroyed a Team Rocket research facility, Lin Feng had learned an important lesson.
If you wanted to eliminate a problem, you had to get rid of the roots.
Otherwise, once the spring wind returned, the weeds would grow back.
This time, Lin Feng intended to collect every piece of evidence related to Takahashi's secret research on Pokémon.
Then he would send the man straight to an Alliance prison.
Thinking about it, he probably should have brought Gardevoir along.
With Gardevoir assisting Serperior, things would probably have gone even more smoothly.
What Lin Feng did not know was that, at that very moment, Gardevoir was far away at the Breeding House making Energy Blocks.
For some reason, her psychic power suddenly paused.
Then, out of habit, she used her Aura to search for Lin Feng's location.
When she failed to find him, she suddenly remembered something Lin Feng had told her.
He was taking Zoroark and Celebi to the Earth God Mountain Range.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng merely muttered to himself for a moment.
Then he turned his gaze toward Zoroark.
"You don't seem very concerned about whether the earth vein gets damaged anymore..."
------------------------------
Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.