Gastly and Aptitude

In the dimly lit environment, Blue Rank Killer Kalo walked at the front. The Red Card Killer, half a step behind him, had also fallen silent, while the newcomers who had passed this trial followed behind them—exactly twenty people.

Sato's Dark Power had never stopped. Zorua was in poor condition, so the little blood from earlier had been taken internally, while the current application was "external," all to help it quickly recover and regain its fighting strength.

Setting aside the killer who had abducted him, the Red Card Killer before him would definitely not mind wiping him out if given the opportunity.

"Kuso..."

Zorua whimpered softly. The reason Dark Power could speed up its recovery was that it supplied energy and stimulated cellular growth.

It did not first remove the illness and pain before allowing it to recover slowly, so the process was not painless at all.

Fortunately, Zorua's trust in Sato was not low, and it could clearly feel the changes in its body, so it endured without complaint.

The path was not long, only a few minutes' walk. The group soon arrived in another spacious room.

Bright incandescent lamps, dry and fresh air, hard cold-gray walls, and a workbench brimming with technological sophistication.

Everything proved that they had entered the organization's true interior. More than a hundred Poké Balls were piled densely across the workbench.

The newcomers who had passed the test were breathing somewhat rapidly. A bold guess had surfaced in their hearts, and the burning desire in their eyes could not be concealed.

"All right, newcomers. Congratulations on passing the Second Stage. You may now each choose a Pokémon. Remember, you are not allowed to open the Poké Balls. Your choices will depend entirely on your luck."

Perhaps Kalo's intimidation had taken effect. After finishing his words, the Red Card Killer obediently stood to one side without saying another word.

The newcomers could no longer restrain themselves. Heaven knew how envious and jealous they had been when they saw Sato obtain a Pokémon first.

Before long, all nineteen people aside from Sato held a Poké Ball, unable to hide the delight in their eyes.

Sato also strode forward. With Zorua in his left arm, he quickly reached his right hand into the pile of Poké Balls, accurately grabbed one, then turned around without hesitation and returned to the group.

Some of them wanted to ask why Sato could take another Pokémon when he already had Zorua, but seeing that neither of the two adults had said anything, none dared to be the first to speak up.

"All right. I will now announce the method for the Third Stage. Over the next Three Months, you will undergo training in five areas: physical fitness, combat techniques, disguise, reconnaissance, and Pokémon Battles. An assessment will be held after Three Months. If you fail any one of them, then..."

At that point, the Red Card Killer smiled meaningfully. That smile, however, sent a chill straight into the newcomers' bones.

What followed were trivial matters such as collecting daily necessities and confirming their residences. Both killers chose to leave. Before departing, the Red Card Killer gave Sato no special treatment and remained extremely low-key.

Within the organization, everyone except cadre-level personnel ranked Gold Rank Killer or above wore black uniforms. The only difference was the color of the identification badge at their waists.

After the two killers left, a group of low-level Staff Members wearing white badges at their waists filed out, exactly twenty of them.

Naturally, an organization could not consist solely of combat personnel. Only an enormous logistical system could demonstrate the organization's true foundation.

Even newcomers who had just passed the Second Stage received comprehensive one-on-one service. Of course, whether these people also served as monitors was another matter entirely.

The source of so many low-level employees was the failures who had not passed the trials but had kept their lives. However, one would only discover that after truly entering the organization.

So, when Sato silently accepted the supplies from a girl about the same age as himself, he did not find it strange at all.

White Rank Attendant Likka. Sato remembered the name of the girl before him, because for a long time, everything in Sato's life unrelated to training would be handled with her help.

"This is your identification badge. Before you officially pass the Third Stage, your codename will temporarily be HL20."

Likka tried hard to appear mature and practiced, but she was still only a ten-year-old child. Her tone was filled with nervousness.

Sato was likewise a person of few words. To avoid exposing any flaws, he quietly listened as she explained how to use the badge and introduced some of the organization's basic rules.

More than Half an Hour later, Likka brought Sato to his residence and left. After closing the door, Sato checked the place over and relaxed slightly only after finding no cameras.

Zorua impatiently jumped down from Sato and explored the small room, which was less than twenty square meters.

Compared to its time in the cage, it appeared much livelier now and was in excellent spirits. The power of Blood Feeding was evident.

"Zorua, come and meet your new companion."

"Kuso!"

Zorua obediently jumped to Sato's side. It stared at the red-and-white Poké Ball in his hand with an expression that said it was watching very seriously.

"Bang!"

The Poké Ball opened, and a spherical Pokémon gradually emerged. Purple gaseous fumes spread through the air, surrounding a black orb. Its two eyes nearly occupied half its body, while the other half was a huge mouth with two small fangs.

Gastly, the Gas Pokémon. A Ghost- and Poison-type Pokémon with high potential and three stages of evolution. Mischievous and cunning, it regarded life as worthless and often played pranks without knowing when to stop, even frightening people to death.

"Jiejie~"

A cold, eerie laugh drifted over. Gastly grinned and made a Ghost Face at Sato, only for a slender hand to grab its body.

Grabbed! Gastly suddenly realized that its body, entirely composed of gas, had actually been caught by the other party—and it could not break free no matter how it struggled!

After a moment, Sato withdrew his right hand. Gastly slipped away in a flash and quickly hid behind Zorua, staring at Sato with lingering fear. It no longer dared to joke around.

"Not bad."

The corners of Sato's lips rose. He had not chosen this Gastly at random. Through the Energy Detection of Dark Power, he could roughly judge a Pokémon's talent and potential based on the intensity of the emotions it fed back.

Like Zorua—in Dark Power's detection, it had fed back an extremely excited emotion.

In his previous life, Sato had conducted long-term experiments. He had even secretly gone to the Hoenn Region to observe the main lineup of Dark-type Elite Four Sidney.

From this, he roughly categorized the intensity of the excited emotions generated by Dark Power. After compiling and analyzing the results, he identified five levels, which happened to correspond to the five tiers of Pokémon strength.

Normal, Elite, Pseudo-Elite Four, Elite Four, Champion! Zorua's feedback fell into the fourth level—the potential of Elite Four level!