"Cough, cough..."
Feeling the aches and discomfort coursing through his body, Yong grimaced, looked at Cynthia beside him, and actually chuckled.
"I never thought there'd come a day when I'd be with you, stuck in a situation like this..."
Even now, Cynthia showed no trace of despair or discouragement. Her voice remained cool as she said,
"Why do I always feel like you're hiding so many secrets? Everything you say seems to have some hidden meaning."
"Haha... cough, cough... well, you're Cynthia, after all!"
Seeing the confusion on the girl's face, Yong carefully helped her over to a rock and said softly,
"I thought I was our ace in the hole. Turns out the other side had something hidden even deeper!"
Yong looked around at their companions and drew a deep breath. Then he turned to the masked man, who had fallen strangely silent, and said gravely,
"Look after everyone! I'll handle this guy!"
"Yong! You..."
Cynthia's expression darkened, and she tried to get up, but the boy pressed a hand to her shoulder and said earnestly,
"Trust me! I can hold him off for a while! Please look after Steelix and the others in the meantime! Whatever happens, don't intervene... not until our backup arrives!"
Cynthia stared at Yong, an unfamiliar feeling stirring inside her... Everyone had always placed such high hopes on her. She had always been the best. She had never imagined that one day, someone would stand in front of her!
Yong smiled faintly.
"Don't forget! We made a promise! We still have another battle to fight!"
Another battle...
Cynthia suddenly broke into a smile. She relaxed, sat down on the rock, and said softly,
"Of course..."
"Hehe!"
The boy chuckled, then turned to face the masked man and asked curiously,
"You're surprisingly patient, aren't you?"