An expedition to investigate Pokémon ecology had somehow turned into a desert guerrilla battle. The wrecked vehicles belched black smoke,
and gave off waves of an acrid, burnt smell.
Pokémon hunters were an illegal organization, after all. They knew perfectly well that they lacked the strength to confront the League head-on.
The League's Elite Four and Gym Leaders might all be busy with their side jobs most of the time, while also shouldering the task of teaching the next generation,
but when they were truly needed, these people were bona fide instruments of force.
The Gym Leaders of the Unova Region had demonstrated that when they fought Team Plasma. A Gym Leader who got serious was no easy opponent.
The hunters were here to catch Pokémon for money, not to kill people as mercenaries.
Still, they remained dangerous. Not being here to kill simply meant that killing was not their objective. When protecting their own interests, they would still do things of that sort.
What they had not expected was that the "hostages" in their eyes would be even more ruthless than they were, going straight for the kill without so much as a warning.
Boom!
Another shot blasted the burning armored vehicle to pieces, which also marked the beginning of their efforts to destroy the evidence.
"Why did you fire another shot?"
"To finish them off."
"What exactly... did you learn back in Alola?"
Xin Mu knew that Tang Zi rarely showed much emotion and had a rather expressionless disposition, but watching her fire that second shot so calmly made him feel she was far more ruthless than he was. "Violin, tennis, baseball, soccer, skiing... shooting, helicopter piloting, speedboat handling, bomb disposal..."
Xin Mu had only asked casually, but Tang Zi earnestly began counting on her fingers. The first