Team Rocket's torrent of steel set off once more amid the howling north wind. The vast fleet plowed through the waves, its bows held high like unsheathed swords pointing toward the sky. This time, their course was no longer one of aimless exploration; a mysterious and powerful force was drawing them onward.
Inside the flagship's bridge, three ancient orbs were giving off a pulsing resonance, guiding the fleet through the fog and across the blank expanse marked "unknown" on the charts, on an expedition toward the legendary Ice Island deep in the far north. It was a hidden realm eternally shrouded in ice and snow, the boundary where myth and reality intertwined.
The long voyage was an ordeal that tested the will. On deck, bitter sea winds blew and spray flew, but inside the bridge, everything bustled in orderly fashion. Ye Li, the young commander, was untroubled by the monotony of the journey.
He knew full well that real wars often began before the smoke of battle ever rose. This precious stretch of calm was the perfect opportunity to plant his hidden pieces and weave his intelligence network.
He shut himself away completely in the captain's quarters, cutting off all the clamor outside.
The room was dim, with only the faint glow of a display illuminating his thoughtful face. The equipment before him had been personally designed and secretly assembled by Lin Feng-a communications terminal that was completely untraceable, with encryption meeting the military's highest standards. This system was like an invisible blade in his hand, thrust straight into the heart of Kanto's underworld. Through it, he contacted the important covert contact he had planted in Vermilion City-the leader of an underground faction whom he had brought entirely under his control with an iron fist, through the lure of profit