Chapter 79

The moment the Pokémon Center's entrance was smashed apart, Qing Wu couldn't help wondering if Officer Jenny of Kusaba City was a vegetarian. How else could such outrageous behavior happen in broad daylight?

The Pokémon Center's security guards were useless, not even daring to utter a sound.

If he hadn't turned his head aside in time, that whiskey bottle would have smashed his head open.

Qing Wu tightened his grip around Kecleon's Poké Ball and expressionlessly turned his head back.

He hadn't even left the Pokémon Center, and this had already happened. If he went outside, wouldn't he be beaten up in the street?

The leader was an arrogant young man. He was bare-chested, with extremely well-developed muscles and an Arbok tattoo on his back, its jaws opened wide in a bloody maw.

At that moment, he was looking at Qing Wu with disdain, revealing a full set of neat, pearly white teeth under the sunlight.

This young man was Han Qiu. After waiting for a while, he had finally caught up with Qing Wu. Han Qiu secretly muttered, How lucky.

"I've got a big deal for you. Hand over that rare Pokémon of yours, and I'll trade you League Currency for it." Han Qiu pulled a card from his clothing and tossed it at Qing Wu's feet.

He gestured for Qing Wu to pick up the card and trade Kecleon to him.

The shrewd Han Qiu waited for Qing Wu to lose his temper.

Because he knew he had smashed the Pokémon Center's entrance with a whiskey bottle.

Even if Officer Jenny caught him, at most he would be convicted of damaging public property. He could simply send one of his underlings to spend a few days in prison.

But if Qing Wu directly used a Pokémon to attack them, that would give them a legitimate reason to act in self-defense.

Even if Officer Jenny came over, Han Qiu would still hold the initiative.

Han Qiu had used this method to forcibly seize many Pokémon.

Those Trainers had all endured it in silence, which only fueled Han Qiu's arrogance.

Qing Wu naturally knew that, in a city, it was forbidden to use Pokémon to attack humans or other Pokémon. That was considered an act of provocation.

Even though Han Qiu had started the conflict, Qing Wu would still be in the wrong.

So the best method was to turn around and leave, return to his room at the Pokémon Center, then put on his Team Rocket identity and secretly deal with the punk.

After all, compared to the punk who resorted to bullying and seizure, Team Rocket engaged in murder and arson.

Qing Wu said nothing. He pulled a face at the punk gang, then backed away, turned around, and walked straight toward the Pokémon Center's stairwell.

"Just you wait! If you've got the guts, stay inside the Pokémon Center and don't come out!" Han Qiu cursed furiously after being provoked in front of everyone.

He knew Qing Wu had seen through his ploy. If he led his men into the Pokémon Center, Officer Jenny would not let him off easily.

Han Qiu left three underlings guarding the Pokémon Center's entrance while he led the rest of the punk gang onto their motorcycles.

After several low rumbles, deafening sounds burst from the motorcycles' mufflers, and black smoke poured out.

Han Qiu and the punk gang shouted and reveled in the thrill of speeding away on their motorcycles, failing to notice the blue figure following closely behind them.

Han Qiu's provocation had left Qing Wu burning with rage. Although he endured it without showing anything on the surface, he had secretly sent Golbat to follow the punk gang to their hideout.

When night fell, he would teach the punk gang a lesson they would never forget.

The Pokémon Center had six floors in total. The first and second floors were Pokémon treatment areas, the third floor was the cafeteria, the fourth floor was the shopping area, and the fifth and sixth floors were the dormitories.

Qing Wu wandered around for a while, bought a thick black robe in the shopping area, then returned to the Pokémon Center to rest.

Only then did Officer Jenny hurriedly arrive. The League's efficiency really was painfully slow.

Night fell. After a tiring day, people drifted into their dreams, but a small bar by the roadside still sent deafening noise into the night.

If there had been other residents nearby, someone would probably have called the police and asked Officer Jenny to uphold justice.

Qing Wu put on the black robe and opened the window in the Pokémon Center dormitory's bathroom.

A Golbat flapped over from the distance and landed on the windowsill.

"Golbat, have you confirmed those people's location?" Qing Wu asked. Golbat nodded.

"Then let's go. The night is dark and the winds are high—the perfect time to do something bad." Qing Wu only wanted to teach Han Qiu a lesson; he had no intention of killing Han Qiu and his gang outright.

After all, triggering a serious criminal incident would inevitably attract an investigation by the League. If the investigation traced back to him, even if he survived, he would suffer terribly.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Qing Wu climbed out through the bathroom window, gripped Golbat with both hands, and disappeared into the night.

"Boss, we didn't manage to steal the Pokémon Young Master Zhao wanted this time. Will we offend Young Master Zhao?" one of Han Qiu's underlings asked worriedly.

"What are you panicking about? Young Master Zhao already got information on that kid. He only has two Pokémon in total. One is the Pokémon Young Master Zhao has his eye on, and the other is Squirtle. Don't worry. That kid can't fly or burrow underground. We'll catch him like a turtle in a jar. It's only a matter of time."

Han Qiu lazily took a sip of whiskey. He felt the fiery liquid slide down his throat and into his stomach. Refreshing. This is the feeling.

"The boss really has thought everything through. Why don't we steal his Squirtle too? Starters can fetch quite a bit on the black market." Han Qiu's underling was still flattering him when a burst of rapid ultrasonic waves came from outside the bar.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone, release your Pokémon!" A punk youth rolled and crawled through the bar entrance.

A Black Robe wearing a mask stood at the bar's entrance.

A Golbat twice the size of a normal Golbat flapped its wings and used Air Slash toward the inside of the bar.

With a loud clattering crash, the Wind Blade split from Air Slash not only chopped the bar's cameras into pieces but also cut down the chandelier.

The two-meter-long chandelier crashed down, sending the people in the bar screaming in agony.

Han Qiu stood awkwardly amid the chaos. His left hand had been cut open, and countless tiny shards of shattered glass were embedded in his body.

His condition was slightly better than that of his underlings. Many of them were clutching their arms or legs, sprawled on the ground and howling.

"Good evening, my adorable friends. You've offended someone you shouldn't have. Someone asked me to teach you a lesson." The voice beneath the mask was altered and extremely shrill. Clearly, the Black Robe did not want anyone to recognize him.

"The attacker is dangerous! Everyone, attack! Release your Pokémon!" Han Qiu was the first to throw two Poké Balls. They released Scyther and Electabuzz.

Both Pokémon were considered fairly powerful.

Electabuzz in particular could evolve into Electivire, whose base stats reached .

"However, your Electabuzz's electricity is somewhat sluggish, and Scyther's blades aren't sharp enough. I wonder how many rounds they'll last against Golbat's attacks." Qing Wu sneered.

He hadn't been able to teach them a proper lesson during the day. Now was the perfect opportunity to vent his anger.

"Golbat, use Air Slash!" After a brief exchange of blows, the battle ended quickly.

Scyther and Electabuzz were covered in countless wounds from Wind Blade and collapsed onto the floor.

Han Qiu and his underlings were beaten black and blue. They knelt in unison and begged for mercy.

Qing Wu noticed Han Qiu repeatedly looking toward one spot, so he followed his gaze and glanced over. At once, he understood.

"There's actually a hidden compartment. Golbat, use Air Slash!" Golbat flapped its wings and unleashed Air Slash.

Several Wind Blades tore through the bar's wall, revealing an exquisitely crafted safe.

"Keep using Air Slash," Qing Wu ordered.

The safe was chopped into several pieces as easily as tofu, revealing the items inside: a perfectly cut top-grade Water Stone.

There was also a small ledger and more than twenty anonymous bank cards.

Golbat thoughtfully placed the items into Qing Wu's hands.

Each anonymous card contained one million League Currency.

Qing Wu counted the anonymous cards in his hand. There were twenty-three in total, which meant he now possessed twenty-three million League Currency.

After obtaining such a huge sum, Qing Wu picked up the perfectly cut Water Stone.

The Water Stone was breathtakingly beautiful. Under the bar's dim lighting, it radiated an indigo-blue glow. Qing Wu scanned it with the system.

Perfect-quality Water Stone. When used during a Pokémon's evolution, it can guarantee that the Pokémon's Quality increases by one tier. It only produces an effect when used on Pokémon with Blue Quality or lower.

After opening the ledger, Qing Wu found that it recorded all sorts of shady dealings between Han Qiu and wealthy heirs.

Whenever a Pokémon sale was involved, photographs of the traded Pokémon were also clipped inside Han Qiu's ledger.

"Excellent. With this evidence, you can look forward to rotting in prison." Forcibly seizing Pokémon for trade was illegal under the League's laws. While looking through the records, Qing Wu discovered that Young Master Zhao had a collector's obsession. He had bought many Pokémon forcibly seized by Han Qiu, and one of them caught Qing Wu's attention.

Its body and legs made it look as though it were wearing clothes that were far too long.

Its blue hair looked like a bowl cut—also far too long, as if it covered most of its face.

Its hair was parted by two flat red horns that jutted upward from the middle. One was larger and pointed forward, while the smaller one was positioned behind it.

Dear readers, have you guessed which Pokémon this is?