The relevant authorities had already taken Stan away and left, and the hotpot restaurant staff also returned to their posts.
Hubert sat on the chair and asked calmly, "How do you intend to deal with me?"
By now, he had already accepted his fate. Though extremely unwilling, there was nothing he could do—after all, Julian was here.
Presumably no one in this world could snatch him back from Julian.
And even if someone could, he wasn't worthy of them making a move.
Julian took out a napkin and wiped the chili oil from Jirachi's mouth, then looked at Hubert. "That depends on what you choose."
Hubert was stunned. From Julian's tone, it sounded like he still had a choice.
Could he actually live? Or would he just be sent to prison to sew uniforms until death?
"What do you mean?" Hubert asked.
He didn't like guessing, and given his current situation, even if he guessed correctly, what would it matter? It would only make him seem clever, and who knows, maybe Julian would take offense.
After all, some people enjoyed speaking in riddles. If he guessed right away, where would Julian's pride be?
"What do you think of the Birmanian government?" Julian asked instead of answering.
"Although I used to think the country's government was corrupt and degenerate, I still had hope for it. But now…"
Hubert fell silent for a moment, his eyes filled with suppressed hatred and resentment. "Now I just want to destroy that country."
They had killed his twin brother and imprisoned his mother to threaten him. After such actions, how could he still foolishly stay loyal to them?
This was the truth.
Through the Seven-Aperture Stone, Julian knew he was telling the truth, and the hatred was indeed very strong.
Understandable—if Julian was in his place, he would be even more extreme.
"But right now you can't do anything. Even if you really bring the data back to Birmania, do you really think their government would let an outsider become a high-ranking official?"
"They may be corrupt and rotten, but that doesn't mean every official is. There are always some shrewd individuals."
"And their country has a Champion."
Julian's words made Hubert's face turn pale and flushed in turns.
To put it bluntly, he was just a researcher—a genius in his field, but far from adept in politics.
"What do you mean by that? Even if I fail, I can still bite off a piece of flesh from the Birmanian government!"
Hubert glared at Julian with a vicious expression.
So what if he was a Champion? He didn't even care about his own life anymore; even if Julian were a god, he wouldn't be afraid.
Julian actually began to appreciate this guy a little.
He said slowly, "Your mother is still in the hands of the government, isn't she? How about it, do you want to save her?"
"You will help me save my mother?!"
The vicious look instantly vanished, replaced by excitement and hope.
"That depends on you."
Between individuals, there was no such thing as "help"—it was more about mutual benefit. If you can bring me benefits, then we are friends.
"What could I possibly have that the great Champion Walker would value?"
Hubert mocked himself. He was just a prisoner now, while Julian was not only a Champion but also the heir to the vast Walker Group.
Someone like him lacked nothing.
"I appreciate your talent."
Julian looked at him and continued, "Of course, that's secondary. The main reason is that the Birmanian government's actions pissed me off. After all, the spatial backpack technology was something I dug out from a technological ruin."
"Although it's being developed jointly by the Walker Group and the state, the Walker Group holds sixty percent of the profits."
"Moreover, the follow-up and derivative technologies of spatial backpacks have a vast future. What they did wasn't just a transgression against Drakoria—but also me."
"And I'm a petty person who holds grudges."
As he said this, Celebi and Jirachi—who were eating hotpot—both nodded at the same time.
Even Lucario beside him softly nodded.
Julian's face immediately darkened.
He glared at the three of them.
The two little ones were one thing, but even Lucario?
How could it think that too? He was just saying it casually—why did you actually agree?
Suddenly, Julian felt a sense of "betrayal."
Lucario awkwardly looked at Julian, opening its mouth to explain something, only to see Julian cover his ears.
"Not listening, not listening! Squirtle chanting sutras!"
Lucario: 'Maybe I don't need this trainer after all.'
Hubert: 'What just happened? The whole atmosphere suddenly changed—is there something wrong with his head?'
The Julian who had been domineering and cool just a moment ago instantly turned into a goofball.
The sudden shift left Hubert dumbfounded. Was this really the same person?
"Ahem."
Julian gave a fake cough, his expression returning to normal.
"So, do you accept my proposal?"
Hubert nodded. "I accept. As long as you rescue my mother, I'll work for you."
His expertise in spatial technology was actually very high, even higher than that of his deceased twin brother. It was Birmania's limited technology that had restricted his development.
After taking over his brother's identity and infiltrating the lab, he gained access to more advanced spatial technologies, which propelled his progress in this field like a rocket booster.
"Great, deal."
Julian smiled.
The field of spatial technology was extremely niche, which meant few people chose it.
With so few people, there were even fewer who became well-known or accomplished.
Now that the spatial backpack technology had been realized, further related spatial technologies still needed development, and the scale would only grow larger.
Therefore, the number of researchers in spatial technology field had to increase—especially elites and project leaders.
Although this Hubert was a spy, he had his reasons. And during the theft of the spatial backpack technology, he hadn't harmed anyone in the lab.
Moreover, after copying the data, he hadn't deleted the original files.
Otherwise, without those files, the laboratory would have had to start everything from scratch—though the process would have been faster than the first time.
In addition, this guy was indeed a rare talent in spatial technology.
So Julian decided to spare his life and have him work for the Walker Group.
"Can you contact your handler?" Julian asked.
Hubert nodded: "Yes. I just need to reach out to him."
He also knew what Julian wanted to do.
"But he won't tell me his location."
Unless that guy's superior ordered him to take Hubert away, he would never reveal his whereabouts.
*****
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