"Blood Bat, what the hell are you doing?!"
Blood Hand shouted anxiously. With the situation so dire, he could not understand why his trusted subordinate was hesitating. If that Arcanine had not still been there, he would have thought someone had replaced Blood Bat!
Shit. Ye Qing snapped back to his senses. Seeing Blood Hand's expression, he realized his behavior had definitely aroused suspicion. If he failed to jump up next time, his cover would likely be blown.
"Arcanine, try again!"
Having made up his mind, Ye Qing patted Arcanine's back.
"Woof!"
Arcanine dodged a patch of lava and leaped toward Fearow again with all his strength.
Now!
Ye Qing narrowed his eyes. I could die either way, so to hell with whether this works! He pushed off Arcanine with both feet and hurled himself toward Fearow's back.
Blood Hand grabbed Ye Qing's clothes, then pressed him down onto Fearow's back.
"Caw!"
After catching Ye Qing, Fearow flapped his wings and swiftly climbed into the air. Ye Qing clutched Fearow's feathers with one hand and pulled out a Poké Ball with the other, quickly recalling Arcanine.
"Your injury hasn't healed?"
Blood Hand patted Ye Qing's head as he asked.
"Mm."
Ye Qing nodded without saying anything more.
Just then, the battle over the volcano took another turn. Moltres was overwhelmed and slammed into the summit. The battered bird struggled into the air and glanced at the people watching hungrily nearby. Not daring to fight Mewtwo any longer, Moltres flapped away at speed despite the injuries.
"My lord, stop Moltres!"
You have to be kidding! Yanlang had been watching this Legendary Pokémon all along. Now that Moltres was badly wounded, this was the perfect chance to catch it! How could he let such a prize slip through his fingers?
"Get lost."
Mewtwo gave him a disdainful glance and spoke flatly. The skin across Mewtwo's body flickered, and a moment later, Recover restored every surface wound.
"You!"
When had anyone ever spoken to Yanlang like that? His fists clenched, then relaxed after a moment.
Just what kind of being am I facing? Even Moltres couldn't beat Mewtwo. Wouldn't going up there myself just be asking to die?
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! With power like this, even Rayquaza would be a worthy opponent!"
Behind him, the Mad Scientist's face lit up with wild delight. To him, Mewtwo was a flawless work of art.
Mewtwo had no desire to pursue an opponent of that caliber. Looking straight into Yanlang's eyes, Mewtwo said, "I'm tired. I want to go back now."
"All right."
Yanlang gritted his teeth and guided Hydreigon toward the transport plane.
The volcano was still erupting. The clouds on the horizon glowed fiery red, as though the entire world were burning.
"Moltres just got away like that?"
Ye Qing stared into the distant sky and murmured to himself.
"Of course. Lord Mewtwo is invincible!"
Blood Hand also looked utterly worshipful when he spoke of Mewtwo.
A short while later, the remaining members of Team R all flew toward their respective transport planes.
Ye Qing noticed that Blood Hand was not heading toward their previous plane and asked in confusion, "Captain, isn't this the leader's transport plane?"
Blood Hand nodded. "That's right. I just received word that the other squads suffered heavy casualties. Our squad is now responsible for guarding Lord Mewtwo."
What a chance!
Ye Qing clenched his fists. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he wanted to obtain information on Mewtwo, he would have to get close first.
Only by getting close could he take the next step. Ideally, he would take Mewtwo away with him when the time came. After everything they had put him through, he would like to see how they cried then!
Aboard the transport plane, Yanlang, the Mad Scientist, and the others hurried into a sealed laboratory. They needed to transmit the data from Mewtwo's battle to headquarters immediately.
Blood Hand looked at the eight people before him and barked, "You must stay at your posts. We can't rule out the possibility that there are Pokémon League spies among us. To prevent them from coming into contact with Mewtwo, I'm assigning two people to each post, with two keys. You'll keep an eye on each other and maintain a nonstop, twenty-four-hour watch here!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Blood Hand nodded in satisfaction and looked at Ye Qing. "Blood Bat and Fatty will take the first watch."
Only after arranging their duties did Blood Hand stride away.
"Blood Bat, let's go!"
A fat man weighing over two hundred pounds spoke with a miserable expression.
Seeing how utterly dejected he looked, Ye Qing asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Fatty clutched his head. "Seriously? You don't even know? Don't you know why it's our squad's turn to guard this place?"
"I really don't. Why else would I ask?" Ye Qing rolled his eyes.
Fatty sighed. "Lord Mewtwo needs to eat, and has a terrible temper. If you take food in and do something that causes displeasure, you might get crushed to death on the spot.
"That's why the squads have to take turns guarding this place."
Seeing Ye Qing frozen in place, Fatty rubbed his neck and twisted the knife further. "I reckon fewer people have died on this journey than have been crushed to death by Mewtwo!"
Fatty did not look as though he was lying, leaving Ye Qing puzzled. Mewtwo disliked humans, but surely that did not mean killing indiscriminately!
But when he thought about Team R's atrocities, and how Team Rocket in his previous life had slaughtered Pokémon and stolen them to sell, it seemed perfectly possible that they had angered Mewtwo. Naturally, Mewtwo would not treat them kindly.
With that in mind, Ye Qing feigned indifference. "If you don't want to do it, I'll take the food in."
"Great! No backing out!"
Fatty had been fretting, only to receive an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Ye Qing went with Fatty to Mewtwo's room, and they stood guard on either side of the door.
Looking at the surveillance camera overhead, Ye Qing began considering how to talk Mewtwo around.
Mewtwo was already questioning the meaning of existence. Team R in this world had also created Mewtwo, and although the process probably differed from the movie in his previous life, it could not have been too far off. Could he use that as a starting point to gain Mewtwo's trust?
While Ye Qing's thoughts wandered, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Food."
Hearing that cold, emotionless voice, Ye Qing immediately exchanged a glance with Fatty.
"Please wait a moment, my lord."
Fatty hurriedly gave him a meaningful look, then rushed off to fetch the food.
"You know me?"
Even with a door between them, Mewtwo's ability to see into people's minds was no ordinary power.
Ye Qing looked a little nervous at the question. For a moment, he could not think of an answer.
Just then, Fatty returned with a tray. Without another word, Ye Qing took the food, joined his key with Fatty's, unlocked the door, and stepped into the room.
"You're the best, bro!"
Fatty discreetly gave him a thumbs-up, relieved that he did not have to deliver the food himself.
"Thud, thud, thud."
Footsteps echoed in Ye Qing's ears. The moment he entered, he sensed something was wrong. This seemed less like a room than an endless space. Pitch darkness surrounded him, with nothing but the sound of his own footsteps.
"Mewtwo?"
Ye Qing knew this was Mewtwo's doing, so he simply stood still and waited quietly.
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