Chapter 74

"Sir Qing Wu, Chief Kuraki wants to see you." Blondie stopped Qing Wu and respectfully delivered the message.

Qing Wu glanced expressionlessly at Blondie. Cold sweat immediately poured down Blondie's face. He knew he had taken an enormous risk.

Things were different now. Qing Wu had become the number-one Trial Participant of this generation and possessed tremendous authority.

Stopping Qing Wu so recklessly was a grave offense according to Team Rocket's rules.

"Lead the way." Seeing Blondie's wholehearted loyalty, Qing Wu agreed to meet Kuraki.

Qing Wu also wanted to obtain Poison Person's blood from Kuraki. That would give him greater confidence that Golbat's aptitude would stabilize at blue when it evolved into Crobat.

Blondie quietly led the way. Along the entire corridor, only their footsteps and the pounding of Blondie's heart could be heard.

Team Rocket's medical room

Kuraki was quietly leaning against the bed, calmly flipping through a book. A needle was inserted into the back of his right hand, so he had apparently received an injection not long ago.

Just then, someone knocked three times in succession on the medical room door. Kuraki opened his mouth and rasped, "Come in."

Blondie pushed open the medical room door with Qing Wu.

"I heard you wanted to see me." Qing Wu's clear eyes met Kuraki's yellow-and-black pupils.

Blondie quietly withdrew and closed the medical room door behind him.

"Yes. I wanted to thank you. Thank you for saving my life, and thank you for the candy." Kuraki hesitated for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his pale face.

Perhaps he had been gloomy for too long. The smile on Kuraki's stiff, icy face looked quite ugly, neither quite a smile nor not one.

But Qing Wu knew that this was Kuraki's kind smile toward him. He had smiled the same way when he had just been reborn.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't save you. What candy? How would I know? Don't make things up." Qing Wu denied everything in one breath, and Kuraki smiled knowingly.

"I understand. But I still have to thank you for letting me taste sugar. The grudges between us are settled." Kuraki tossed over a vial containing purple blood, signaling for Qing Wu to take it.

Qing Wu caught it in one motion and looked at the blood, darker than a violet.

Having obtained Poison Person's blood before, Qing Wu recognized it at a glance. This was indeed Poison Person's poisonous blood.

"This is my poisonous blood. With this vial, cultivating Poison Pokémon will go much more smoothly. Consider it payment for the candy you gave me." A trace of weakness colored Kuraki's voice.

"What candy?" Qing Wu was delighted inside, but outwardly he still played the clueless young man who knew nothing.

"Haha, there are no cameras here. You won't admit it, but I know it was you. Do you know why that battle placed such a heavy burden on my body?" Kuraki asked Qing Wu.

Qing Wu had especially wanted to understand that himself.

"That's because I took our battle very seriously. I used the power of Poison Person to strengthen Arbok's poison." Kuraki revealed the answer before Qing Wu could ask.

"Poison Person's power!" It was the first time Qing Wu had heard of such a novel ability.

But when he considered that Natsume could use Psychic Power to empower a Psychic-type Pokémon, it made sense that Poison Person could strengthen the poison of a Poison Pokémon.

After all, this world was vast and contained many people with special abilities, such as the Power of Tokiwa, Power of Overcoming, and Power of Aura.

In his previous life, Qing Wu had even heard of a boy who possessed the Power of Evil and could enhance the strength of all Dark-type Pokémon.

"My Poison Person ability can strengthen the poison of every Poison Pokémon. This was also my first time using it, so I suffered backlash afterward."

"I'll have to lie here for at least three days. I hope that when we meet again, we can have another battle." Regardless of whether Qing Wu had taken it in, Kuraki directly issued another challenge.

"Sure. Once you've recovered, we'll battle again." Qing Wu readily accepted Kuraki's challenge.

Qing Wu also wanted to see how many surprises Kuraki, with his special ability, would bring him the next time they met.

Pokémon training was not something accomplished by shutting oneself away. One grew through constant challenges. Finding an opponent who kept pushing him to improve was also very interesting.

Seeing that Qing Wu had agreed, Kuraki said nothing. He merely closed his eyes wearily, as though the conversation with Qing Wu had exhausted all his strength.

Seeing that Kuraki was unwell, Qing Wu took the vial Kuraki had given him and left the medical room.

Blondie was still waiting outside. When he saw Qing Wu emerge, he hesitated for a moment before bowing deeply to him in sincere gratitude.

Qing Wu paused and asked Blondie, "Weren't you afraid when you stopped me?"

After a long while, Blondie's voice echoed through the corridor. "I was afraid, but I was even more afraid of the disappointment on Chief Kuraki's face. Chief Kuraki's team has only me left now. I didn't want to disappoint him. After all, he saved my life."

"Kuraki is truly fortunate to have a subordinate like you." With that, Qing Wu turned and left.

The world was never short of loyal people. Often, a small gesture could leave a lasting impression and win someone's wholehearted assistance.

Those who followed the right path had many allies, while those who abandoned it had few. That was the principle. No matter how ruthless Kuraki was, he had shown a sincere side.

Sincerity for sincerity. It was never a losing bargain.

When Qing Wu reached the end of the corridor, he saw a pink-haired person sneaking after him.

"Come out, Lian Ji. I know it's you." Qing Wu spoke toward the empty corridor. Soon, a blue light faded, and Lian Ji appeared in the corridor as if by magic.

"Sir Qing Wu, how did you know it was me?" Lian Ji looked touched.

Qing Wu understood Lian Ji's personality very well. She submitted to the strong; as long as he remained stronger than her, he could completely control her.

"I also know you came to join me." Qing Wu walked to Lian Ji's side, looked into her pink eyes, and lowered his voice beside her earring.

Lian Ji's face instantly turned as red as a monkey's behind. "How annoying, Sir Qing Wu. How can you get so close to me?" She stomped her foot fiercely, yet an infatuated look appeared on her face.

"Stop pretending. Psychic users are highly rational. They can't be love-struck fools." Qing Wu's icy voice came from beside Lian Ji.

Lian Ji looked up and saw Qing Wu staring coldly at her. She put away the blush on her face.

"When did you realize?" A voice completely different from before came from Lian Ji's mouth.

If Lian Ji had originally seemed like the friendly girl next door, she now resembled an elegant, mature woman.

A Kadabra appeared silently behind Lian Ji. The spoon tightly clutched in its hand was gathering power for a Psychic-type move.

"I realized it long ago. If you're going to pretend, you should at least do it properly. I saw contempt in your eyes, as if this were some romance drama you had carefully planned." Qing Wu knew Lian Ji's nasty personality very well.

"I'm here to join you. Will you accept me?" Lian Ji pulled a cigarette for women from beneath her black robe. She snapped her fingers with her left hand, and a flame appeared, lighting the cigarette.

In Qing Wu's eyes, that was quite a striking display.

"Smoking is harmful to your health." Qing Wu snatched the cigarette without hesitation, threw it to the ground, and stamped on it several times.

Qing Wu personally hated cigarettes and could not stand even the slightest smell of smoke.

Cigarettes interfered with his sense of smell. Moreover, if Poffin were made with even a trace of cigarette odor, Pokémon would not take a single bite, no matter how high-quality it was.

"Fine, fine, I won't smoke anymore, all right?" Lian Ji tossed the cigarette pack into a nearby trash can.

"I accept your allegiance. What benefits can you bring me?" Qing Wu asked calmly.

Although he had intended to recruit Lian Ji, there was a difference between him taking the initiative to recruit her and her eagerly coming to join him.

"Seriously? A Psychic user is coming to join you, and you're still asking what benefits I offer?" Lian Ji was so angry that smoke seemed to pour from her nostrils.

"Of course I have to ask. Psychic Power can't put food on the table. Do you expect me to fawn over you? You'd have to be my ancestor—and the kind lying underground." Qing Wu showed Lian Ji no courtesy at all.

"What a stingy miser." Lian Ji snapped her fingers. Kadabra's hand suddenly vanished into space and pulled out a book.

"This is what I have to offer." Lian Ji handed over the book Kadabra had retrieved. Four large words were written on its cover: Psychic Manual.

"This book can turn you into a Psychic user, but the required materials are quite expensive, and the chance of successfully awakening Psychic Power is less than twenty percent." Lian Ji kindly reminded him.

"Twenty percent? Then I don't want it." Qing Wu returned the book without hesitation, wearing a look of disdain, though inwardly he was already overjoyed.

"Big brother, twenty percent is already extremely high, you know? For ordinary people, the chance of awakening Psychic Power is still one in ten million. Besides, my book records cultivation methods for many Psychic-type Pokémon. Aren't you tempted?" Lian Ji had made her point this clearly. She did not believe Qing Wu could remain unmoved.

The moment Qing Wu came into contact with the Psychic Manual, he had already activated the system's scanning mode.

In just three seconds, he had scanned and stored all the contents recorded in the Psychic Manual in the system.

"No. Give me another condition." Qing Wu still refused, leaving Lian Ji deflated.

"If you want to join me, you only need to agree to three conditions." Seeing Lian Ji's disappointment, Qing Wu calmly stated his three conditions.

"First, in front of outsiders, we have no relationship."

"Second, when necessary, I'll use Team Rocket points to exchange with you for resources usable by Psychic-type Pokémon."

"Third, secretly gather information for me and see whether anyone is plotting against me."

All three conditions Qing Wu had set were easy for Lian Ji to fulfill.

"So he really doesn't care about the Psychic Manual." Lian Ji had brought out the Psychic Manual mainly to test Qing Wu. If he accepted it, she would have refused to join him without hesitation. Lan Ling was useless now anyway.

Originally, Lian Ji had only considered joining Qing Wu because she thought Lan Ling could place in the top three.

But that useless Lan Ling had actually lost to Lei Ming. Not only had he failed to reach the top three, he had even lost the fifth-place position to Lian Ji.

The situation between Lian Ji and Lan Ling had now reversed. Even without joining Qing Wu, Lian Ji could live very well. She was a Psychic user and had Athena's support and resources.

"Then if I join you, what benefits can you give me?" Lian Ji asked. Surely she could not get nothing out of it. She would never accept such a losing bargain.

"Psychic-type Poffin and cultivation methods for Psychic-type Pokémon." Qing Wu stated his conditions.

"If you think the Poffin and cultivation methods I provide are inadequate, you can terminate the arrangement at any time." Qing Wu quickly added another sentence.

"Fine." In Lian Ji's eyes, joining Qing Wu was rather thrilling, so she agreed immediately.

Qing Wu had not only gained a Psychic subordinate—the future Psychic-type Elite Four—but also obtained support in the form of Psychic-type resources.

After all, most of Team Rocket's Psychic-type resources were monopolized by Natsume and Athena, and any resource bearing the Psychic name was extraordinarily expensive.

Without a special connection, one could not obtain them at all. Moreover, Lian Ji could investigate matters for Qing Wu. All he had to provide was Poffin and Pokémon cultivation, both of which he excelled at. This bargain was simply too profitable.