Good news poured back into the Team Rocket Base, one report after another.
"Boss! We've successfully secured the baby Dratini!"
Apollo's excited voice came through the communicator. "Not only did we not spend a penny, we also made the scout from our bitter rivals in Oreburgh City, Team Magma, lose a fortune! They're probably crying over a pile of useless rocks right now!"
Apollo's tone brimmed with triumphant satisfaction.
This operation had brought his admiration for Giovanni to its peak.
To toy with an opponent without losing a single soldier-this was the mark of a true mastermind.
Immediately afterward, Matori's report arrived as well.
"Boss, the trouble in Celadon City has been resolved."
Matori's voice was as calm as ever, but on closer listening, it carried a barely perceptible hint of excitement.
"We delivered the dirt we collected to different media outlets and League investigators in batches through anonymous channels. Those local powers are now being investigated inside out and turning on each other. They're in complete chaos. Our people have already begun approaching them, preparing to acquire their properties at bargain prices. Construction of the game corner can get back on track immediately."
Both thorny problems had been easily resolved in what could only be called a perfect manner, all thanks to that "strategist's" plans.
Morale soared throughout Team Rocket.
In private, the members all said Giovanni must have recently received guidance from some reclusive master. He was becoming increasingly unfathomable, and his methods ever more sophisticated.
Every order he issued left them applauding in admiration.
Only Giovanni himself knew that this supposed "master" was currently sitting in a corner of the Clerical Area, staring blankly at a financial report.
Giovanni sat in his office, listening to his subordinates' reports with a meaningful smile on his lips.
He knew all the credit belonged to that young man named Ye Li.
By now, he was ninety-nine percent certain of Ye Li's identity.
But one final step remained.
He needed absolute, irrefutable proof.
He was going to put Ye Li through a special "test."
He summoned the head of the Finance Department and had him deliberately prepare a flawed financial report.
The figures in the report had been subtly altered. Several key flows of funds had been obscured, and the general ledger showed a shortfall that was neither large nor small.
These errors were extremely well hidden. Anyone who was not exceptionally sensitive to numbers or intimately familiar with Team Rocket's internal operations would never spot them.
"Take this report, tell them it's an urgent document I requested, and have Ye Li check it."
Giovanni gave the department head his instructions.
"Yes, sir."
Although puzzled, the department head immediately went to carry out the order.
Ye Li was staring miserably at his computer screen, pondering what lay ahead for him.
Would he be dissected for research, or imprisoned for life?
Just then, a document was delivered to his desk.
"Ye Li, this is the financial report the boss needs urgently. Check it and submit it in half an hour."
His colleague dropped off the document and hurried away.
Ye Li sighed, thinking how wretched his life was, having to keep slaving away even before his death.
He picked up the report and began reading it listlessly.
At first, he merely skimmed it as a matter of routine.
But as he read on, his brows knitted.
Something's wrong.
Why were this month's supply procurement costs fifteen percent higher than last month's? Neither the suppliers nor the quantities had changed.
And why was there no detailed breakdown for this "special operations funding"?
He took out a calculator and began tapping away.
A few minutes later, he reached a conclusion.
The accounts did not balance.
There was a shortfall of nearly five hundred thousand in the general ledger.
Ye Li's first reaction was that someone in the Finance Department was cooking the books and lining their own pockets.
What the hell? Is everyone in the Finance Department useless? How could they miss a hole this big?
Five hundred thousand-that's no small sum. If this goes straight to Giovanni, whoever prepared these accounts might get tossed straight into a Golbat nest.
Honestly, we're colleagues. I can't just leave them to die.
Despite his inward grumbling, Ye Li picked up a red pen.
He did not want Giovanni taking his anger out on him over an incorrect report.
If the boss thought he had failed at his job, he would be dying for nothing.
Drawing on his reasonably decent accounting knowledge from his previous life and his slight understanding of Team Rocket's internal operations, he began making corrections to the report.
He recalculated the inflated procurement costs using normal market prices.
He temporarily reclassified the unexplained "special funding" as "funds pending verification."
Finally, through a series of reasonable adjustments to the figures and recalculations, he not only made up the five-hundred-thousand shortfall but also made the entire report clearer and more logical. It was practically seamless.
Once he finished, he let out a long breath and submitted the corrected report.
He thought it was merely an insignificant little incident at work.
Half an hour later.
The beautifully corrected report was placed on Giovanni's desk.
Beside it lay a copy of the original, flawed report.
The executive assigned to monitor him stood to one side and reported quietly, "...After receiving the report, Ye Li spent roughly fifteen minutes calculating and revising it. He did not speak to anyone or consult any reference materials throughout the process. He made every correction independently."
Giovanni said nothing.
He picked up the report Ye Li had corrected and read it through carefully.
Every error had been identified with precision.
Every entry had been corrected to perfection.
His work was even better than that of Giovanni's most professional financial staff.
This was no longer simple proofreading, but an in-depth audit and optimization.
And the person who had accomplished all this was merely a low-ranking clerk responsible for taking meeting minutes, who had joined Team Rocket only three months earlier.
At this, the last trace of doubt in Giovanni's mind vanished completely.
He set down the report and leaned back against the broad backrest of his chair.
A satisfied smile spread across his face, the smile of a man whose plan had succeeded.
The evidence was conclusive.
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