Hunt: Break Through One by One / Endgame: Retreat

Mei called her friend's name, looked deeply at her, then turned around resolutely and ran toward the transparent container without looking back.

"...!"

For some reason, when the black Nihilego saw Mei's actions, an anxious expression appeared on her face for the first time. She hurriedly extended her tentacles and sprayed venom toward Mei.

"Block her attack!"

Mei released her Pokémon.

A group of Poison-type Pokémon appeared on the ground and used their moves to block Nihilego's venom. Nihilego's venom might have been troublesome for other Pokémon, but for Mei, the "Poison Master," it was instead the easiest kind of attack to deal with.

"...&...@@)#*(@!!"

Mei's actions enraged the black Nihilego. She let out a strange cry, and under its influence, the surrounding Nihilego swam faster and faster, their numbers steadily increasing.

The Nihilego nearby also launched attacks on Mei—

"Just as expected..."

Facing the countless jellyfish around her, their venom, and their tentacles, Mei showed not the slightest panic. Instead, a knowing smile curled across her lips.

She had no reason to panic, because she knew—Qiao Ran had gambled right this time.

She could not help recalling the discussion Qiao Ran had held with her beneath the bridge some time ago.

Before, she had not entirely believed in the boy's strategies. But now—she felt truly convinced by Qiao Ran for the first time.

"Even though our target is clear, there is still one problem: how do we find her? Searching around blindly is obviously unwise. We need a practical method to make her appear before us on her own."

The boy stroked his chin, sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Right, I drew out the Nihilego in that room before. I never encountered them when passing through other places, so why did it only happen when I went into that room? And as soon as I left the room, I encountered that black one..."

"Um... actually, I often run into her around here too, which is why I chose to live beneath this bridge..."

Mei raised her hand and answered.

"Around here?" The boy frowned, as though he had caught hold of something important.

"Mm. Although I say around here, the area is still quite large. And this section just happens to be where the most Nihilego gather." Mei nodded.

"Then let me ask you another question. The one inside that container is Lusamine, right? Why was she frozen?"

"This... Lillie was actually the one who chose to do it." Mei's expression became conflicted. She looked away, unable to meet Qiao Ran's eyes.

"Lillie's mother was once bewitched by an Ultra Beast, and her mental state had already become highly unstable. If she remained in an environment like this, she would go completely insane... Lillie had no choice but to freeze her mother, planning to thaw her after everything was over... As long as she was frozen, those Nihilego could not treat her as a target for parasitism..."

"So this was all Lillie's own decision? Lillie... Lusamine..."

The boy's brow furrowed and relaxed, but soon, he covered half his face and let out an involuntary laugh.

"What's wrong with you?"

Mei looked at him in confusion. Had this guy gone mad from too much pressure?

"No, I'm fine. I just thought of something interesting."

Qiao Ran waved his hand, telling Mei not to worry, but the smile on his face did not fade at all.

"Everything—was connected."

"Our previous assumption was that Nihilego controlled Lillie, seized her thoughts, and controlled her body. But have you ever considered... that perhaps Lillie's obsession could influence that Nihilego in return? If we follow that line of thought, many of our questions can be solved

easily."

Qiao Ran spoke word by word, but what he said made Mei's eyes widen.

That shocking conclusion completely overturned her thinking.

"You mean..."

This... how could that be possible?!

Section 074: Hunting—Single-Target Breakthrough

Countless times—Mei had lost track of how many times she had tried to awaken Lillie's consciousness. Yet... every time, Lillie had made her suffer terribly, as if she did not remember Mei at all.

Gradually, Mei had begun to lose faith in awakening Lillie's personality through ordinary methods.

"Lillie's path of growth was different from that of ordinary people. She lost her father when she was young, so her mother had always been her support."

Qiao Ran analyzed calmly.

"So the reason that black Nihilego appeared after I entered that room was not because I triggered some mechanism, or made too much noise. It was—because I entered that place."

"She... was afraid you would hurt her mother?" Mei's voice trembled.

"No, quite the opposite."

Qiao Ran's gaze sharpened as he narrowed his eyes.

"She was afraid of something else—she was afraid that we would save Lusamine."

"If we fail to save Lusamine, Lusamine will face an incomparably tragic end. Not only will she be parasitized, her mind will also collapse. If we succeed in saving Lusamine, then the current Lillie will completely lose the pillar in her heart and truly become nothing more than a puppet under total control."

"Neither outcome is one Lillie wants to see. That is why her obsession is so deep that it has affected Nihilego's own thoughts."

As he spoke, Qiao Ran's presence began to rise, sharp as a sword drawn from its sheath.

"And that is precisely what we should make use of this time!"

"You... what are you planning to do?"

Mei's voice trembled. She could not help swallowing. The boy before her possessed an outstanding mind and logic, along with boundless energy and passion. She even had the feeling that anything he said would succeed.

"What I'm going to do is simple. I'll force that Nihilego into a corner. Once she gets desperate, she'll expose the opening we need."

Qiao Ran raised his head and looked toward the broken bridge high above.

"If you want to defeat someone without flaws, the best way is to make her angry."

Time returned to the present.

In the pitch-black room, Mei was facing the siege of countless Nihilego. Yet she calmly issued commands; she had fought these Nihilego too many times to count.

"Toxapex! Scald!"

"Splash!"

Toxapex's body shook, and streams of scorching water burst from her mouth, striking the Nihilego. Although Toxapex's offensive power was not particularly strong, the double-effective Scald forced back most of the "jellyfish."

While commanding her Pokémon to resist, Mei also did her best to approach the transparent container. Her Pokémon could not defeat the Nihilego, and likewise, those Nihilego found it difficult to defeat her.

It did not take long for Mei to reach the container. The fair and flawless Lusamine entered her field of vision. Her proud figure was far superior to that of a little girl like Mei. Even after becoming a mother of two, Lusamine's body had never lost its shape, and her appearance had only grown more beautiful with age.

However, Mei paid no attention to that. Her gaze fell upon the control panel beside the container, and she reached out to fiddle with it.

"Tap tap."

The sound of tapping rang out continuously. Of course, Mei did not truly know how to operate the control panel and release Lusamine from the container. Her purpose was simple: she merely wanted to anger that Nihilego.

"**&(@!^w&----!!!!!!!"

Sure enough—shortly after Mei began, that Nihilego let out a strange and shrill scream, her body twisting and trembling.

The other Nihilego seemed to have been injected with stimulants as they launched wave after wave of suicidal assaults against Mei's Pokémon. The black Nihilego also charged straight at Mei. They all wanted to stop her.

Venom, tentacles, and rocks continually flew through the air. Even Mei's well-trained Pokémon team was beginning to struggle.

Mei gritted her teeth. She knew it was not yet time, but she had to create an opportunity. If she did not do this, that black Nihilego might never approach her to attack. So she lunged toward the controls and began entering the real password, one digit at a time.

"!"

At the sight, the black Nihilego screamed and pounced directly at her.

"Everyone, attack together—! Attack that black Nihilego!"

Mei instantly stopped her hands. She turned around, her eyes locking onto her target.

She knew the time had come! Now!

Under her command, Decidueye, Alolan Muk, Toxapex, Salazzle, Drapion, Tropius... all of her Pokémon swarmed forward and unleashed their most powerful moves at the black Nihilego.

Decidueye spread her wings, drew back a shadowy bowstring, and fired arrows made of darkness. Salazzle struck a strange pose and spewed scorching flames from her mouth... Countless moves intertwined in the air, illuminating the room brilliantly.

However—the black Nihilego was not afraid. Her body drifted through the air as she hid behind layer after layer of Nihilego. Even in her rage, part of her awareness remained untouched by Lillie's influence.

"Boom!!!"

The waves of countless moves exploded in midair, but in the end, they only injured a few of the white Nihilego at the very front.

"Heh..."

A scoffing sound echoed once more, like an ethereal sound reverberating through the sea. Yet there was no melody in it, only thick mockery.

However—something seemed to have changed this time.

"You think you dodged it?"

Mei gave a scoffing laugh as well.

The saddest thing in the world was taking the bait while still smugly congratulating yourself on your own cleverness.

"?" Nihilego had no idea what this human woman was doing.

But at the exact moment Mei wore that expression, the ground beneath the black Nihilego—directly exploded apart. Accumulated energy surged upward, swallowing her body whole.

"Boom!!!!"

The ground roared. Energy passed through Nihilego's body, bringing her unprecedented pain. Even her tentacles curled up.

The energy from the ground was four times as effective against her. That kind of pain was unimaginable.

At the same time, a thick column of water slammed into her face. The attacks came one after another like a violent storm, not giving her even a moment to rest.

"!!*!!!"

Nihilego screamed. After taking two super-effective moves in succession, her body tumbled crookedly from the air.

"..."

Dazed and weak, she lifted her head from the ground. The first thing she saw was an adorable Pokémon floating in the air in a pink dress, and a blue water wolf with ribbons wrapped around her body. Beside them stood a familiar boy.

He clapped rhythmically.

"Didn't expect that, did you? I knew—you would definitely retreat to the back when dodging moves. That's your habit, isn't it? And I should thank you, too. You gathered all the nearby Nihilego here to besiege Mei, creating a perfect opportunity for my ambush. No one could possibly notice me—"

As the boy spoke, a kindly smile appeared on his face.

"Alright, it's about time to end this. It'll be troublesome if you recover. Dianxi, Suicune, finish her off!!!"

At the boy's command, the two Pokémon beside him mercilessly unleashed their strongest moves.

"Di—!"

"Awoo!!!"

The black Nihilego's body was completely engulfed by the outpouring energy of earth and water.

"This time, we win!! Nihilego!"

Section 075: The Endgame—Retreat

After enduring several Earth Powers and Water Cannons in succession, even this Nihilego above level forty gradually lost her ability to fight. She struggled unwillingly on the ground for a few moments, but like a bamboo rat suffering from heatstroke—after bouncing around for a while, she collapsed and fainted.

"Mei! You can retreat now!!"

Seeing this, Qiao Ran shouted at Mei, who was still within the Nihilego encirclement. The other Nihilego began to panic upon seeing their leader fall. Many of them abandoned their siege of Mei and instead launched attacks toward Qiao Ran.

"Vulpix! Altaria! Come out and help too!"

Qiao Ran released all of his Pokémon at once. To carry out the ambush, he had not summoned Vulpix and Altaria earlier. He had not brought Vulpix because he feared her freezing attacks would interfere with Suicune's Water Cannon, while Altaria was simply too conspicuous in appearance... Outdoors, she could disguise herself as a cloud, but how could there possibly be clouds indoors?

However, now that the Nihilego leader had fallen, they became powerful fighting forces as well, able to shine on the battlefield.

A large group of Nihilego shifted their target toward Qiao Ran, easing Mei's pressure at the same time. Mei gritted her teeth, stepping over the various rocks and venom on the ground as she headed for the exit.

After this battle, Mei's already tattered clothes had been corroded even further by venom. At this point, she was basically wearing underwear and strips of ragged cloth.

"Faster!"

While watching Mei's situation, Qiao Ran issued commands to Dianxi and the others. Once Mei successfully escaped from there, they would prepare to retreat.

"Scald scald scald scald!"