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Chapter 522: Chapter 519 Storm

On the electric train, Bi Fang with his mask on and Mugalen, sitting back-to-back, tried hard to look upwards, pretending to be indifferent to the high school girls on board.

After getting off the train, Bi Fang noticed that Mugalen’s T-shirt was completely soaked. He asked, puzzled, “Can’t you act more naturally?”

“It’s my first time being a thief, I’m a bit nervous.” Mugalen sneakily looked around, always feeling as if someone was watching him.

On the way here, Bi Fang had told Mugalen everything.

As a half-friend, Mugalen was trustworthy, and it was better to be clear now; who knew, he might be able to help later.

Bi Fang disagreed, “If we’re really talking about it, they are the thieves.”

Mugalen sighed to the sky, “I never dreamed that you weren’t here to kill Black Bear but to save dolphins. Had I known, I would’ve never followed you here.”

He thought there was something special about Wakayama Prefecture Taiji Town. Maybe it was a gathering place for black bears that he hadn’t noticed. Only after arriving and hearing about it did he understand.

All bullshit!

Now that he was on the “thief ship,” there was no getting off.

Bi Fang walked out of the train station and saw lush forests and mountains. They were standing on a road encircling the mountains, overlooking most of the town from a high vantage point.

Taiji Town, an environmentally beautiful bay surrounded by low mountains, the coastal scenery was nothing short of spectacular.

Mugalen was initially shocked that such a beautiful place could be the scene of such brutality.

Perhaps the word “hunter” often implies hunting, but those with legitimate licenses understood the importance of rare animals even better.

This was a tourist spot, not only with conservation parks but also many famous temples that ranked among the best in all of Japan.

One temple had a rock garden where the monk had raked the gravel smooth, and in the middle were several boulders for people from around the world to admire.

Through his binoculars, Bi Fang saw the temple Richard had pointed out.

The temple was not tall but built with a refined elegance, with interconnected tiled roofs that reflected the sunlight like ocean waves.

Looking down, the overhanging eaves covered most of the sunlight, making the interior shadowy, but it was clear that many people were moving around inside, possibly tourists.

In front of the building was an open area with a dense layer of cobblestones. Monks used rakes to arrange them neatly, and amidst these pebbles, several rocks stood erect in different places, with lush grass growing at their feet.

Tourists took pictures of these rocks, and as a breeze blew, the wind chimes under the eaves swayed gently. Even without sound, one could almost hear the tingling and chiming, a true sense of Zen.

Bi Fang found it all very interesting.

The people there looked at rocks, oblivious to the fact that rocks could “look” back at people.

“Back in our country, nobody would come here to look at rocks on a Sunday.” Mugalen clicked his tongue in wonder, then turned to Bi Fang, “So what are we doing now?”

“Waiting for Richard and the others,” Bi Fang leaned on the railing and continued to survey his surroundings.

Reconnaissance is always the first step of any operation.

“By the way, since you guys are working both openly and covertly, why do we need to wear masks? Wouldn’t it be better to just be open and aboveboard?” Mugalen asked, puzzled.

“Richard and his team are also arriving today. Just to be safe, it’s best not to show up in front of everyone on the same day,” Bi Fang replied.

Bi Fang looked towards the coast where fishing boats had just returned to the harbor. A restaurant owner was loading a crate of fish onto his motorcycle, and even from here, his smile was visible.

Many local fishermen kept the phone numbers of local restaurant owners, to sell the freshest big fish for a good price, with the rest going into frozen shipping containers.

Most of these catches would enter the Tsukiji market, the largest fish market in all of Japan, and even the entire world.

Bi Fang murmured, “It’s going to rain.”

Mugalen looked up at the clear sky and asked in surprise, “How do you know that?”

Not all weather can be judged by clouds. For instance, a storm cloud could suddenly appear, and such abrupt weather changes can only be detected by weather satellites, which are beyond human prediction.

Did Bi Fang secretly check the weather forecast?

“They told me,” Bi Fang extended his hand, pointing distantly at the returning fishing boats.

“It’s noon, the fishing boats primarily go out based on the wind, and not the time; sometimes they even leave at midnight, and there’s no set time for when they return. But now, more than one boat is coming back to port, some even with hardly any catch.”

Bi Fang held out his hand by the roadside, letting the wind pass through his fingers and head out to sea: “Look, the wind is behind us. With a favorable wind and tide, it’s easy to leave port and reach the fishing zones. The boats should be heading out, not trickling back in. They must have heard the weather forecast and decided to return early.”

“A big storm is coming,” Bi Fang concluded.

Mugalen fell silent for a moment.

Though the information was still indirectly from the weather forecast, how come he felt so damn impressive?

With the Hunter, why this show?

As if to validate Bi Fang’s statement, within half an hour, the sky suddenly turned gloomy. Lead-gray clouds drifted from the land towards the sea, and it took only a few minutes for the day to turn into night once the clouds were spotted.

The wind suddenly picked up.

White flashes pierced the thick clouds, thunder roaring explosively, and the rain suddenly poured down, rushing towards them with urgency.

People on the streets scattered in the narrow alleys, hurrying back to their homes, firmly shutting doors and windows.

Mugalen looked bewildered, turning to Bi Fang, who had one foot propped on the railing, “Did you bring an umbrella?”

Bi Fang fell silent and slowly shook his head.

The awkward moment happened; neither of them had brought an umbrella.

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long. As they ran down the hill, the sound of a car horn saved them.

Richard and the others had arrived.

“Phew, thank you, almost got completely soaked.”

Bi Fang took the towel Mandy offered and wiped his drenched hair.

How embarrassing. The rainy season usually lasts from late June to mid-July. Bi Fang saw the clear skies today and thought the rainy season had passed, not bothering to bring an umbrella—an oversight that taught him a lesson.

After introducing Mugalen to everyone, they quickly accepted each other.

Whoever came to help was a friend to everyone.

Richard and the others had a nine-seater van, just enough to fit everyone comfortably.

“Great opportunity, now with the downpour, the roads are almost empty,” observed Mugalen, noting the decreased traffic ahead.

Bi Fang nodded. Taking advantage of the present moment to make a quick round indeed seemed like a good opportunity.

Richard nodded, and they all quickly drove towards the town center.

Mugalen rubbed his eyes just after rounding half the mountain, wound down the window, and looking back with confusion, pointed to the dolphin statues, “Am I seeing things, or are they erecting dolphin statues?”

“You’re not seeing things,” Bi Fang pointed ahead. That was what they hadn’t noticed before, the other half of Taiji Town hidden behind the mountain.

Dolphin Park.@@novelbin@@

Driving into Taiji Town felt very strange.

Dolphin statues were everywhere, the welcome paintings on the walls were filled with dolphins, there was a fountain of a person riding a dolphin in the middle of the park lake, and a giant whale tail seemed to leap from the ground, making Mugalen, a foreigner aware of the truth, feel as though he had entered a “twilight zone.”

The pedestrian path was tiled with images of welcoming dolphins, and even far out at sea, one could spot a few dolphin-styled boats.

Mugalen gave a bitter smile, “If I didn’t know better, I might really think this is a dolphin paradise.”

Halfway through, Richard pointed to a building in the distance decorated with a huge whale and dolphin motif, “See that building over there? That’s Taiji Town’s Whale Museum, the place I hate most in my life.”

Richard was very frustrated. They all put on masks, wary of being recognized by the town’s residents. In these Asian territories, Western faces stood out sharply.

Unaware, one might think this group was some sort of medical team.

“In Taiji Town, at the ‘Whale Museum,’ you can watch dolphin performances, buy fluffy dolphin toys, and end with a feast made of dolphin meat.”

Richard’s words made everyone present shudder.

To watch a dolphin show and then eat the meat of their kind straight after, what kind of cold-hearted madness was that?

“They brazenly sell whale and dolphin meat right there in the dolphin pavilion.”

This industry chain allowed the massacre to continue year after year, rewarding the fishermen for their atrocious actions.

“Each dead dolphin is only worth six hundred dollars, but sold to the Whale Museum, they fetch one hundred fifty thousand dollars. The Taiji Town Whale Museum, acting as a middleman, shares the profits with the town government and the fishermen.”

“Iki was once a tourist hotspot in Japan. But they too slaughter dolphins, and without exaggeration, thousands could be killed in a single day.”

“Three years ago, I went again, but there were no dolphins left—twenty years ago, there were thousands along the coastline. Now, they’re all gone.”

Richard turned the steering wheel and exited a short tunnel, officially entering Taiji Town.

“Every whale known to humans, as soon as it approaches Japan, faces a catastrophe…”

“Wait, the police!”