Giovanni was about to announce the end of the meeting and put his plan into action.
Just then, the voice he had been eagerly awaiting finally sounded in his mind again.
[You don't necessarily need to use more underhanded methods to deal with thugs. Sometimes, rules are the deadliest weapon.]
The hand Giovanni had been about to raise froze in midair.
He's here!
[We should send someone to look into the backgrounds of these local powers.]
[If they've been entrenched in Celadon City this long, they must have dirt on them. Smuggling, poaching, illegal trading... dig up any dirt at all, and it'll be more than enough to give them trouble.]
[Leak that dirt anonymously to the League, or sell it to newspaper reporters.]
[Let Officer Jenny and the media play the "bad guys." All we need to do is watch from the sidelines.]
[Once public opinion and the League's investigation have them overwhelmed and too busy saving themselves, we can step in as "legitimate businessmen" and "legally" buy up the territory they're desperate to unload.]
[That's called getting someone else to do your dirty work-using the League's power to clear the obstacles for Team Rocket.]
[Wouldn't that be safer and easier than doing it ourselves, while earning us a good reputation to boot?]
Those words exploded like a thunderclap in Giovanni's mind.
Borrow the League's blade to kill his own enemies?
Use public opinion and rules to bring down his opponents?
This idea was simply... genius!
It was sinister and ruthless, yet stayed within the "rules," leaving no leverage for anyone to use against him.
Compared with this plan, his earlier proposal to "win them over or suppress them" suddenly seemed crude and barbaric.
Giovanni's body even trembled slightly with intense excitement.
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze flashing like lightning across the conference room, shooting straight toward the corner where someone had kept his head lowered.
Straight toward Ye Li!
Meanwhile, after mentally devising this vicious plan to "get someone else to do the dirty work," Ye Li instinctively raised his head too.
Their eyes met in that fraction of a second.
Ye Li's pupils abruptly contracted.
He saw the gleam in Giovanni's eyes, a complicated look mingling shock, appreciation, and intense possessiveness.
It was the look of a ravenous beast finally sighting the prey it had long coveted.
A chill shot from Ye Li's tailbone straight to the crown of his head.
His mind went blank, and his heart felt as though an invisible hand had seized it in a crushing grip. It began pounding wildly, almost bursting out of his chest.
I've been found out!
The thought struck him like lightning.
Terrified, he hurriedly lowered his head, his heart racing so hard that even breathing became difficult.
It's over, it's over. This time, it's really over.
How on earth did I give myself away?
This time, Giovanni caught it perfectly clearly.
In the final few seconds of that voice speaking, at the very moment he raised his head to look at Ye Li, a trace of satisfaction at having conceived a perfect plan flashed across Ye Li's face, followed by horror when he looked up and met Giovanni's eyes.
Such a violent shift in emotion could never have been faked.
It's him!
There's no mistake!
The mystery that had troubled him for days finally had an answer.
So this "strategist" who kept his talents so well hidden was actually this seemingly ordinary, harmless young man!
Turmoil had already surged through Giovanni's heart, but his expression remained unchanged.
He slowly withdrew his gaze, as though that earth-shattering exchange of looks had never happened.
He cleared his throat and announced in an even tone, "We'll make a few more adjustments to the plan."
Then, once again, he calmly and clearly recounted the plan in Ye Li's mind to "get someone else to do the dirty work."
Finally, he swept his gaze over everyone and said impassively, "That's what we'll do. Meeting adjourned."
With that, he was the first to rise and leave the conference room, leaving behind a roomful of administrative staff still digesting the new plan.
Ye Li practically scrambled out of the conference room and rushed all the way back to his little cubicle, his heart still pounding wildly.
He leaned against the partition, gasping for breath.
That look just now was terrifying.
He was now one hundred percent certain that Giovanni had some way of knowing what he was thinking.
Was it psychic power? Or some special Pokémon ability?
He didn't know.
He only knew that his greatest secret had been exposed to the most dangerous man in this world.
Giovanni hadn't exposed him on the spot, which gave him a momentary sense of relief, but deeper fear followed.
What exactly did Team Rocket's big boss want?
Would he kill me and dig out my brain to study it?
Or would he lock me up and turn me into a tool whose only job was to devise plans?
The more Ye Li thought about it, the more frightened he became, his face turning deathly pale.
Meanwhile, after returning to his office, Giovanni did not immediately order Ye Li's arrest as Ye Li had imagined.
He walked to the window and watched the team members coming and going across the training grounds below, but his emotions refused to settle for a long time.
Found him.
Finally found him.
This treasure heaven had bestowed upon Team Rocket.
What he needed to consider now was not how to deal with Ye Li, but how to... use him.
Leaving someone so talented in the administrative section as a meeting recorder was an utter waste.
He had to put him in the most central position, to have him create the greatest possible value for himself and Team Rocket.
But how could he make him willingly work for him?
Lay his cards on the table?
No, that would only make him wary and resistant.
He had to devise a foolproof plan.
A way to keep him firmly under his control while allowing him to fully exercise his talents.
A deep, dangerous light gleamed in Giovanni's eyes.
A silent "hunt" targeting Ye Li had quietly begun.
Before you continue