A Difficult Choice

"Explosion?"

The move and the resolve in his voice made Ye Qing uneasy. He glanced at the crater blasted into the ground nearby, thought for a moment, then decided to move toward it just in case.

The man patted Arcanine's neck. After that brief period of gathering strength, Arcanine had recovered some stamina. It should be able to kill this man outright now.

"That's right. Only the dead behave themselves!"

The Team R member gave a sinister smile. Beside him, Magneton burst into dazzling light as an extremely unstable magnetic field spread out from its body!

"That's... Explosion! Finish it with Flamethrower!"

The man's expression changed drastically. He had thought victory was assured, never expecting this Magneton to know a move as rare as Explosion! Still, the move took a little time to activate. There was a chance to interrupt it.

Arcanine's expression grew grave, and searing flames gushed from its mouth!

"It's useless! Just wait to die!"

The man made no attempt to dodge. He simply stood beside Magneton, quietly watching this mole from the Pokémon League.

I recruited this mole myself. I'll deal with him myself.

Whoosh!

Flamethrower's intense heat warped even the surrounding air. A moment later, the fiery serpent slammed into Magneton and its Trainer!

"How? How could Explosion activate so quickly?!"

Seeing the white light still shining amid the flames, Arcanine's Trainer sank into utter despair.

BOOM!

The instant Ye Qing dropped into the crater, a deafening explosion erupted in the wake of the white light!

Amid the violent tremors, a terrifying shock wave swept outward. Its tremendous energy shattered every rock in its path, filling the air with dust, broken branches, and torn leaves in a scene straight out of the apocalypse!

Ye Qing's ears rang, leaving his mind muddled for a while.

Only after a long time, and several pats to his ears, could Ye Qing gradually hear the crackle of burning trees.

He climbed out of the crater and looked around. The ground within a hundred meters was scorched black, trees several meters tall had been uprooted, and the air was thick with the smell of burning.

Looking at the two men who had killed each other, Ye Qing hurried past, thankful for his escape.

"W-wait!"

Just then, a faint voice came from nearby.

Only after looking closely did Ye Qing realize the voice belonged to the man from the Pokémon League. An unmoving Arcanine lay beside him.

It seemed Arcanine had shielded him from most of the blast, but even so, he was close to death. Not a single part of his body was intact.

After standing there and thinking for a moment, Ye Qing decided to check on him first. Someone capable of working undercover generally had a decent character. Perhaps he had something to leave behind, or a message he wanted delivered.

Besides, Ye Qing figured he might die even sooner if he kept blundering around here like a headless chicken. Getting more information could only help.

The man looked weakly at Ye Qing and struggled to speak. "There's a vial of medicine in my clothes. Please give it to me."

Ye Qing did not move. He had only heard one side of the story earlier. What if the man was lying, or was a double agent?

Still, seeing his missing limbs, Ye Qing thought for a moment, then kicked away all the Poké Balls at his waist before reaching into his clothes to search for the medicine.

He fed the man the medicine stored in a metal case, keeping a wary eye on his charred face.

"My name is Li Zhiyong. You can call me Brother Li. This medicine only gives me three minutes of borrowed time, so listen and don't interrupt."

Without waiting for Ye Qing to nod, Li Zhiyong continued, "I'm a mole sent by the Pokémon League to infiltrate Team R. This operation is codenamed Gene. Its objective is to uncover Team R's God-Making Plan."

Li Zhiyong paused for breath, then spoke faster. "You look like a student who wandered in here by mistake. I guarantee you'll have a hard time getting out on your own. If you run into anyone from Team R, you're as good as dead!

"There's a special magnetic card made by the Pokémon League in my pocket. It can help you pass as a member of Team R. The restart password is 3213. Everything from my time undercover is recorded on it. I'm giving you a way out: help me obtain the information on Mewtwo and deliver it to the Pokémon League. You'll not only survive, you'll be rewarded!"

Perhaps sensing his life slipping away, Li Zhiyong looked at him pleadingly. He reached out with a charred hand and gripped Ye Qing's collar, speaking even faster. "Your family is protected by the Pokémon League too. Helping me means helping yourself."

Ye Qing did not know whether the first statement or the last had moved him. Looking into Li Zhiyong's increasingly unfocused eyes, he said firmly, "I'll do my best."

"Good, good..."

Tears spilled from Li Zhiyong's eyes. A moment later, his grip on Ye Qing loosened.

Ye Qing checked for breath, closed his eyes for him, and began considering what to do next.

Truthfully, this was Ye Qing's first time seeing a dead person, yet strangely, he felt little reaction.

The sounds of fighting continued in the distance. Explosions rang out without pause, trees fell one after another, and flames swept through this stretch of forest.

He reached into Li Zhiyong's clothes and pulled out a magnetic card the size of a transit pass.

Ye Qing tapped the screen. Sure enough, a four-digit password prompt appeared.

He entered the password Li Zhiyong had given him. The screen flickered as torrents of data refreshed rapidly, then a blue light scanned and recorded Ye Qing's fingerprints and likeness.

Backup system activated. Member of Team R's third squad. Direct superior: Executive Blood Hand.

Identity information replaced. Codename: Blood Bat.

Undercover persona: taciturn, cold, and ruthless.

The Bat Mask has a voice simulation function.

Recommendation: destroy all original belongings.

Ye Qing hurriedly memorized the information displayed on the little card.

The Pokémon League really had prepared thoroughly. They had even planned for what would happen after their mole was killed.

Seeing flames rising a hundred meters away, Ye Qing had no choice but to maintain the disguise for now.

He glanced at his phone, which still had no signal, and scheduled a text to be sent a day later. He hoped it would let his parents and friends know he was safe.

Ye Qing released Chimchar. "Chimchar, help me hollow out a hole in a tree and put this inside."

"Oo-wa!"

Thanks to the healing provided by the Poké Ball, Chimchar had recovered most of its stamina and largely healed its injuries. It took the phone and quickly climbed a tree.

Ye Qing did not idle either. He changed into Li Zhiyong's tattered clothes. Their builds were surprisingly similar. Shaking his head, he took the Bat Mask from the man's face and fitted it over his own.

Once that was done, Ye Qing took the three Poké Balls from Li Zhiyong's waist and carried them with him. Although their biometric locks meant he could not use them, they might still fool someone at a critical moment.

"Ahem, ahem. Hello~"

After testing his voice, Ye Qing found that he indeed sounded exactly like Li Zhiyong.

The only difference between them now was his hair. With no other choice, Ye Qing picked up a burning branch and gave himself a nature-made perm.