Page 280
Just as his daughter Tsugumi said, he was a gigolo, and Shibata did not deny that he really liked to take advantage of others, so when he knew that Junko had channels to contact the TAC team, he took the initiative to contact her.
But no matter what Junko thought, Shibata really had no romantic thoughts in his mind.
All the fantasies about love were abandoned after his wife cheated on him... no, his wife unfortunately died in a car accident.
“I just want to make news now.”
Konno wasn't sure if he should believe him, but he certainly no longer had much of the hostility as a 'male' in his heart.
"Konno, you like Junko-senpai, right? As long as you let me interview you, I can help you arrange a meeting. I can tell you everything about Junko's hobbies and tastes."
"Really?"
"Of course, don't look at me like this. I used to be a paparazzi. I'm the best at investigating this kind of thing."
No, you look like a paparazzi now too.
Konno was a little hesitant, he didn't know whether he should agree or not.
At this time, the captain's voice came from the communicator.
"Beidou, Konno, there is a large cave at the foot of Aiying Mountain. It is where all traces of the super beast's activities disappeared. I have sent you the location. Bring your weapons and come over."
Konno turned on the TAC special mobile phone, and the satellite navigation showed that the location marked by the captain was not far from here, and the straight-line distance was 3.2 kilometers.
I have to say that having this satellite navigation map that can mark your location and target location is indeed a lot more convenient.
It was inconvenient to drive on mountain roads, so Konno abandoned the Black Panther and headed into the mountains carrying TAC's newly developed laser cannon.
Although the laser cannon is a single-soldier weapon, it is a piece of metal and weighs more than ten kilograms. It is not a big deal for ordinary people to lift it, but it will be unbearable if they lift it for a long time. What's more, they have to walk on mountain roads.
But in Konno's hands, the laser cannon is no more than a foam cannon.
Shibata followed him, and Konno hesitated slightly but did not object.
"It's agreed that we'll ask Junko out."
"Hey, just don't worry."
The cave where the super beast disappeared was measured by TAC instruments to be about three kilometers deep. It was probably formed by long-term water erosion, and there is an underground river leading into the cave.
More than 40 minutes later, Konno arrived in front of the cave. Hokuto and Yoshimura arrived earlier because they were driving the Cosmos, which could take off and land vertically, and the plane was parked in the valley next to it.
Konno was the last one.
Shibata was panting after walking three kilometers of mountain road with a light load, and he looked like he was about to die. Forty minutes to walk three kilometers of mountain road, that was almost a full run. On the contrary, Konno, who was carrying a heavy load, was still relaxed.
"Hey, Konno, how did you bring him here?"
"He, he said he wanted to interview."
Beidou really couldn't figure it out. Let's not talk about the battlefield here. Let's take a step back. Isn't that reporter Konno's rival in love? Didn't he complain to him for two hours in the hotel last night?
How come in the blink of an eye, the two of them seem to have a good relationship?
"Nonsense! How can unauthorized people come here?" Shanzhong was even more impolite and he shouted loudly.
This is where the Ultra Beast last disappeared, and there is a high possibility of danger. Even if TAC has not issued an evacuation order, this should be a blocked area.
This guy Konno, doesn’t he even know this?
The loud voice in the mountain did scare Shibata, but he was not afraid and opened his mobile phone to take a picture of the cave.
"The super beast is in here?"
"No comment!" Yamanaka said with his eyes wide open, looking angrily and quite sternly.
"But aren't there people living there?"
"I said I can serve...wait, what did you say?"
"I say, isn't there an old man living with his granddaughter in this cave?"
Yamanaka and Shibata stared at each other, and then Yamanaka forgot about being angry and turned around to look at Captain Long.
Long, who had been silent since a while ago, came over. His attitude was much more friendly than Shanzhong's.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Reporter, this is indeed a restricted area, so it's not convenient to accept an interview. But where did you get the news that someone lives in this cave?"
"Everyone in the village knows about it. Interviewing is my job. When I was interviewing the villagers just now, several people said the same thing."
Shibata didn't keep the audience in suspense. He blew on the camera lens of his mobile phone, wiped it with the lens cloth and continued speaking.
"The village was originally going to build a dam. You know, it's a water conservancy project, and the town supports it. But many people moved away, but there was one family that refused to move. It was an old man with his granddaughter. The design drawings of the dam were ready, and the construction company was waiting, just theirs. Then one day there was a strong wind, and the old man and the girl returned home to find that the house had collapsed. People around them said it was blown down by the strong wind."
"Did it really collapse due to the strong wind?" Yoshimura interrupted.
"Who knows? Anyway, everyone in the village says so. Rumors can make a person appear guilty, you know."
Everyone says so, everyone thinks so, and everyone in a village can prove it, so that is the fact.
Things in this world are always so simple.
"After that, the old man took the compensation money from the village and moved into the cave in the mountains. I heard that the money was quite a lot, enough for him to live on until he died without doing anything. It was just hard for the girl, but she loved living in the cave, and the villagers had no say in such things. They have been living there for two years."
"Mr. Shibata, you are such a great reporter."
They didn’t expect that the reporters could find out so clearly what their TAC team couldn’t find out.
"Hey, everyone has their specialty."
TAC does have coercive power, but ordinary people dare not say much when facing the army and the police. Journalists are different. They love to talk a lot when they can appear on TV and in the news.
"Captain, let me go in and take a look." Beidou took the initiative to say. If there really is a super beast inside, then everyone must be transferred out as soon as possible.
Captain Long nodded, "Hokuto, Yamanaka, you two come in with me. Konno, Yoshimura, Noriko, you stay outside and on standby."
"clear."
Just as Shibata said, there were indeed people living in the cave.
After entering the cave and walking a short distance inside, they saw signs of human life. There were some pots and pans, but the things were kept clean.
Beidou walked in front with a flashlight. He thought there was no light in the cave. But he didn't expect that after walking a few dozen meters inside, the cave became colorful. Someone installed colored lights and dragged wires from somewhere.
"It's so beautiful. It seems like it's actually quite nice to live like this."
It feels like a fairy tale world, it looks pretty good.
"Who are you?"
Suddenly there was a girl's voice in the cave.
Beidou shone the flashlight over there, but because the light was too strong, the other person quickly covered his eyes.
"Oh, sorry!" Beidou quickly moved the flashlight away, and it was indeed a girl.
Before, they couldn't find the child because he was in a shadowy place.
"Were you sent by the villagers? We are not going back."
"No, we are members of the TAC team. We are here to find the Ultra Beast."
The three of them approached and could see that it was a pretty girl, but a little dirty. Living in a cave like this, it was probably not convenient to take a bath.
"You mean the super beast? But there is no super beast in the cave. There are only me, grandpa, and Shobei."
"Shobei?"
Isn't it just an old man with his granddaughter? Is there a third person?
"Shobei is a giant salamander."
"You said there are still giant salamanders here? Didn't they say that the giant salamanders in this area have been extinct for a long time?"
"No, Shobei is still alive."
Beidou and Shanzhong looked at each other. What a coincidence! The giant salamander was what they were looking for.
Chapter 309: The Extinct Giant Salamander
The girl's name is Sayuri. Her grandfather was sleeping in bed and woke up when he heard the noise.
The old man had a bad temper and drove people out as soon as he saw the TAC team.
"I don't know anything about the TAC team. There are no damn super beasts here!"
"But, just now a super beast appeared and attacked the village at the foot of the mountain. Didn't you see it?"
"No, I was sleeping. You said the super beasts attacked the village down the mountain?"
The old man was not panicked when he heard this, but was extremely excited. If eyes could shine, they would be like this.
"Did a lot of people die?"
"Uh... no." Although he felt that the old man's tone was not right, Beidou still said truthfully, "The villagers have all gone to take shelter, and no one was killed."
"No one died? Didn't the super beast come here for nothing?"
Beidou found that he couldn't keep up with the other person's train of thought.
"Those damn guys should be trampled into pulp by the super beasts one by one!"
"Grandpa, you can't say such things!" Sayuri said, "I'm sorry, but my grandpa is like that. Ever since he lost his home, he has hated those villagers."
"You said your house is gone. Was it blown down by a strong wind?"
"I don't know. My grandfather and I went to the mountains to see some giant salamanders. When we came back, the house collapsed. It seemed like there was a strong wind, but we don't know why. People in the village said it was the wind that collapsed it, but my grandfather didn't believe it."
"Of course not! How could it be such a coincidence? It was done by that group of villagers! They were trying to build a dam!" The old man who lay back down shouted angrily from behind.
"But isn't building a dam a good thing?"
"A good thing? Oh, maybe that's the case in your opinion. Humans are so arrogant! But what about the giant salamander?"
"Do you know that because of the dam, the giant salamanders have lost their home! There used to be an underground river here. Ever since the Eagle Mountain was built, the giant salamanders have lived and recuperated here for hundreds of thousands of years. But because of a decision made by humans to build a dam, the water was blocked."
Without water, the home where the giant salamanders have lived for generations has dried up.
"Originally there were dozens of giant salamanders here, but they all died in the past two years. Only Shobei is still alive. It's the only one left."
"Do you think this is a good thing?"
Beidou was speechless when asked.
"You know what? Humans have never learned to live in harmony with other creatures. Never!"
The old man spitted when he spoke, which made people feel very intimidating. Even Shanzhong, who was usually eloquent, did not dare to contradict him.