Giovanni's gaze swept slowly over everyone in the conference room like a searchlight.
The clerical staff squirmed under his gaze, lowering their heads even further, wishing they could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.
"Very good."
Giovanni suddenly spoke, breaking the oppressive silence.
"Since no one has any objections, that means you've all tacitly agreed to Apollo's plan."
His words stunned everyone. None of them had expected their boss to say that.
Ye Li's heart lurched too.
Seriously? We're really going to take it by force? I just came up with such a perfect plan. Did you not get any of it?
Just as Ye Li silently grumbled, Giovanni changed tack.
"But I disagree."
His voice was decisive. "Using force is too crude. We need to use our brains."
Then, almost without changing a thing, Giovanni recounted the "Kill Three Birds with One Stone" plan Ye Li had just thought up, putting it into his own words.
"...First, spread false information to lure them away."
"...Second, get someone to drive up the price and let our rivals be the suckers who pay it."
"...Third, wait until they complete the transaction, then make our move and get what we want at minimal cost."
With every point he made, the clerical staff's eyes widened a little further.
They were utterly stunned by Giovanni's wildly imaginative, insidious, and ruthless plan.
So... things could be done like this?
Everyone's faces showed a mixture of awe and fear.
The boss was truly becoming more and more unfathomable.
Once Giovanni finished speaking, he surveyed their reactions with satisfaction.
Then, as though casually picking someone for the job, he pointed at a senior officer and said, "I'll leave this to you. Contact Apollo and have him cooperate with you. Remember, I want a perfect result."
"Yes! I guarantee the mission will be completed!" The officer rose excitedly and loudly accepted the order.
After announcing the assignment, Giovanni once again swept his gaze over the clerical staff with their heads lowered.
This time, his gaze was filled with scrutiny and inquiry.
Ye Li had his head down, pretending to write and sketch diligently in his notebook.
He felt a burning gaze linger on the top of his head for a full three seconds.
That gaze carried an almost tangible pressure, making the fine hairs on his back stand on end.
Ye Li's heart pounded. He hurriedly lowered his head further, trying hard to look more like a harmless part of the scenery.
Only when that gaze finally moved away did Ye Li quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
That was terrifying.
Sharing a room with the big boss really was a high-risk occupation.
The meeting soon ended.
Ye Li trailed behind the crowd and left the conference room in a daze.
Giovanni's meaningful glance had left him on edge.
He kept feeling that something was wrong.
Why was the plan Giovanni had suddenly come up with almost identical to the one in his head?
Was it a coincidence?
That was far too much of a coincidence.
The more Ye Li thought about it, the more uneasy he became. An inexplicable sense of danger hung over him.
No.
From now on, I absolutely can't let my mind wander during meetings.
He made up his mind. From now on, he would only allow himself to think about one thing during meetings: What should I have for dinner tonight? Braised beef noodles or mushroom and chicken noodles?
Right, that's what I'll do.
Only inconsequential thoughts are safe.
What Ye Li did not know was that after he left the conference room, Giovanni immediately summoned a trusted subordinate.
"Go. Keep an eye on all the clerical staff who were in the conference room just now."
Giovanni's voice was low and cold. "Especially those whose expressions changed unusually during the meeting."
"I want to know their every move and every word over the next twenty-four hours, who they meet, and what they say. Record all of it."
"Yes, boss." The subordinate accepted the order and withdrew without a sound.
Giovanni stood at the window, watching the subordinate's retreating figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
The image of Ye Li looking flustered and desperately lowering his head surfaced in his mind.
Although the change in expression had lasted only an instant, his sharp eyes had still caught it.
When he had laid out that plan, everyone had shown shock and awe. Only the young man named Ye Li had displayed a kind of panic that said, "How did you know?"
That reaction was far too suspicious.
Giovanni placed a large question mark beside the name Ye Li in his mind.
He had been listed as the prime suspect.
Of course, Ye Li himself knew nothing about any of this.
He continued his usual wage-slave existence, traveling between the base and his dormitory.
He sorted documents, wrote meeting minutes, and then complained in the cafeteria that the day's food lacked any fat.
He had no idea that countless eyes were already secretly fixed on him.
A few days later.
An astonishing rumor suddenly began circulating through the Kanto region's underworld.
Someone had spotted a Legendary Pokémon deep in Viridian Forest-Dragonite!
The news came with several blurry photographs. In them, a huge orange figure flashed through the trees. Although it was hard to make out clearly, that distinctive silhouette was enough to drive countless Trainers and underworld forces wild.
For a time, countless factions sprang into action at the news, sending people to Viridian Forest to investigate.
The black market, previously seething with undercurrents over Dratini, immediately became much quieter.
Just then, a mysterious buyer appeared on the black market and entered a frenzied bidding war with the unidentified faction from before over the sole remaining Dratini hatchling.
The price soared, soon surpassing an astronomical figure.
In the end, the unidentified faction gritted their teeth and won the Dratini at a price that would leave them badly depleted.
What they did not know was that as they left the black market, perfectly satisfied with the Dratini they had bought at an "astronomical price," Apollo's Team Rocket squad was already waiting like ghosts along the route they had to take.
A silent ambush brought the battle to a swift, clean end.
Apollo looked at the Poké Ball containing the Dratini hatchling in his hand, then at the meager funds looted from their opponents, and a cruel smile spread across his face.
The plan had succeeded perfectly.
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