A Close Call

He checked the time. It was two in the morning-visibility was poor, and people were at their most exhausted. Putting the plan into motion now would undoubtedly improve their odds of success.

"Stop training for a moment."

Ye Qing called Chimchar over. Although Chimchar hadn't learned Flame Wheel in such a short time, Ye Qing believed Arcanine's instruction and demonstrations would greatly shorten the time it took to master the move.

"Woo-ah."

Chimchar rubbed his eyes and stared at Ye Qing in confusion, unsure why he had suddenly been told to stop.

Ye Qing leaned close to Chimchar's ear and quietly explained his plan. Only after repeatedly confirming that Chimchar understood did he have him hide on his back.

He found a jacket and draped it over himself to conceal Chimchar, then took a few deep breaths and headed outside.

The first step was simple. He only needed to take out the two guards outside Mewtwo's room, and then he could escape with Mewtwo.

Ye Qing walked to Mewtwo's room, where two men stood nervously on guard.

"Blood Bat, what brings you here?"

The man on the left, who wore glasses, immediately stepped forward to ask when he saw Ye Qing.

Ye Qing casually made up an excuse. "Nothing much. Boss Blood Hand just asked me to pass a message to Lord Mewtwo."

The bespectacled man looked troubled. "But the leader ordered us not to let anyone inside except at feeding time."

Ye Qing feigned displeasure and snapped, "What? Do I have to bring the boss here myself?"

The bespectacled man immediately put on a smile and apologized. "My mistake! Come on, Blood Bat, there's no need for that. Go right in, go right in."

"Hmph."

Ye Qing snorted coldly and strode forward.

Just as he passed behind them, Ye Qing suddenly yanked off his jacket and swiftly clamped it over the bespectacled man's mouth.

At the same instant, Chimchar sprang from his back and slammed a fist into the other guard's neck.

The bespectacled man's eyes filled with shock at the sudden attack. He was about to struggle when Chimchar rushed over and knocked him unconscious with a punch.

Looking at the two men lying on the ground, Ye Qing recalled Chimchar, took their keys, fitted them together, and quickly unlocked Mewtwo's door.

"You're here."

Mewtwo spoke calmly as Ye Qing entered.

Ye Qing nodded and spoke quickly. "Let's go! If the Control Room notices something's wrong, we're finished!"

Mewtwo wasted no words and floated swiftly out of the room behind Ye Qing.

Outside, Ye Qing looked around anxiously. Seeing that no one had noticed, he quickly released Arcanine and said, "Blast this open!"

Arcanine understood the gravity of the situation as well. A stream of searing flames shot from his mouth, instantly burning a large hole through one side of the helicopter.

"Woooo!"

Alarms blared, their piercing shrieks instantly echoing throughout the transport plane!

"Go!"

Ye Qing and Mewtwo exchanged a glance, climbed onto Arcanine's back, and charged outside!

Arcanine leaped dozens of meters, his legs churning rapidly as he immediately activated both Extreme Speed and Agility.

All Ye Qing could hear was the wind roaring past his ears. He couldn't make out anything around him.

One second, ten seconds, twenty seconds, fifty seconds!

As Ye Qing silently counted, the shackles on Mewtwo flashed with dazzling electricity. Enduring the pain, Mewtwo warned, "They're coming."

By then, Extreme Speed had worn off, and Arcanine had slowed down.

At Mewtwo's warning, Ye Qing looked back and saw Hydreigon coming into view. It probably wouldn't take long to catch up!

Although Arcanine ranked among the fastest Pokémon, the gap in strength between him and Hydreigon was simply too great. Being caught was only a matter of time.

"Go faster!"

Ye Qing shouted. With Mewtwo currently unable to fight, Arcanine was their only hope!

Two minutes!

After a brief respite, Arcanine used Extreme Speed again. Two uses in quick succession were already his limit; after that, he could only rely on Agility to maintain his speed.

"Hydreigon, use Dragon Pulse!"

A shout came from behind them, followed by a blue beam of energy sweeping rapidly toward them!

Ye Qing's expression changed slightly, and he immediately shouted, "Don't stop! Use Protect!"

Boom!

Hydreigon's attack was powerful, but it wasn't enough to overwhelm Protect. Instead, Arcanine used the force of the impact to widen the gap again!

Seeing his attack blocked, Yanlang furiously cursed, "Fuck! You dare betray the organization? I'll cut you down, you worthless bastard!"

It was hardly surprising that he had lost his composure. Mewtwo was the organization's most powerful weapon. If he lost Mewtwo on his watch, he could well imagine what awaited him!

Ye Qing didn't waste his breath arguing. He kept encouraging the panting Arcanine.

"Woof!"

Flames surged around Arcanine's body as he threw all his strength into running forward!

Almost there, almost there!

Ye Qing was incredibly tense. If they caught him before he made it ten thousand meters away, he would undoubtedly be doomed.

As time passed, Hydreigon closed the gap again. Yanlang pointed at the path ahead of Arcanine and gave an order.

"Tri Attack!"

Hydreigon roared, bombarding the path ahead of Arcanine with three different beams-red, yellow, and blue!

With Hydreigon able to attack while flying and the road ahead being destroyed, Arcanine's speed kept suffering.

Yanlang glared viciously at Ye Qing and gritted his teeth. "Let's see where you can run now! Hyper Beam, kill him!"

"Roar!"

Hydreigon rapidly gathered power. A bucket-thick beam of energy suddenly blasted toward Ye Qing, carrying devastating force!

Rocks shattered and trees toppled wherever Hyper Beam passed. Everything in its path was obliterated!

One hundred meters, fifty meters, ten meters!

By then, Ye Qing could already feel the terrifying energy within Hyper Beam. Its intense light illuminated the surroundings as brightly as day!

Boom!

Hyper Beam struck Ye Qing, and its violent energy exploded. He felt like a blade of grass swept up by a gale, utterly powerless to resist.

I did everything I could.

Ye Qing could no longer hear, and his mind was blank. He looked helplessly at the spot ten meters away.

So close. I was so close to making it!

Ye Qing screamed inwardly, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Why am I still alive? How am I still conscious?

Confused, Ye Qing looked back and discovered that Mewtwo had shielded him and Arcanine from behind.

The blow that would have utterly annihilated him and Arcanine had only inflicted minor flesh wounds on Mewtwo.

Thud!

Although Mewtwo had blocked Hyper Beam, the momentum from its immense force had hurled all of them high into the air before they crashed to the ground one after another.

"Die!"

In the blink of an eye, Hydreigon caught up from behind and launched a Tri Attack at both Arcanine and Ye Qing!