After briefly touring the entire city, Sieg returned to the Pokémon Center. In truth, this wasn't simple sightseeing, he'd been observing the city's entire topographical structure.
Even after though he was from another world, Sieg couldn't help but admire the city's ingenious design.
"Gym Leader Wattson truly possesses remarkable construction talent."
Sieg's curiosity about this remarkable Gym Leader grew. After all, while a Gym could indeed drive a city's economic development...
Completely revolutionizing an entire city so thoroughly had never been seen before.
Especially this high-tech city before his eyes, compared to the backward small towns Sieg had previously stayed in, the gap was enormous.
Sieg remained at the Pokémon Center for several more hours. After eating dinner, he finally left, dressed quite inconspicuously in ordinary clothes and wearing a common baseball cap.
"Never expected Team Rocket's Hoenn region branch to be hidden right under this city."
The nighttime streets appeared somewhat deserted. After finding the black market entrance, Sieg could clearly sense a murderous atmosphere in the air.
Walking through the black market streets, the vast majority of people simply hurried along their way. Almost no one communicated with each other.
Sieg navigated the winding black market passages, finally reaching a corner general store. This shop had no signboard or advertising, only operating in a dim alley.
Without careful observation, one might not even know such a shop existed here.
The shop interior also contained no customers, only several reception staff yawning boredly.
"What does this customer require? Our shop will definitely satisfy you!" A reception staff member wore a professional smile, asking Sieg.
Sieg's eyes glanced at the other two employees, discovering that though they appeared lazy and listless, their hands unconsciously moved toward their waists, ready to strike at any moment.
Though Sieg wore loose black robes, the several people showed no particular reaction. After all, in the black market, such attire was most common.
Sieg retrieved his Team Rocket squad leader identity card from his pocket, simultaneously speaking in a hoarse voice: "Which executive commands this branch headquarters?"
At these words, the three receptionists instantly trembled, speaking respectfully: "We greet you, sir!"
The three also revealed the hidden R emblems at their chests.
These people were proud Team Rocket grunts.
"Reporting to you, sir, the executive commanding the Hoenn region branch is Lord Apollo!" One Team Rocket grunt spoke respectfully.
Sieg surveyed the entire shop's decorations, finally discovering something suspicious about the wall beside a counter, most likely a hidden door.
Just as he raised his leg to walk over, he was directly blocked.
One Team Rocket grunt steeled himself, asking awkwardly: "Sir, though you are a squad leader, I must still follow Team Rocket's rules. Please tell this subordinate which base you're from."
After all, the identity card Sieg had presented contained no photo, nor indicated which city's base he belonged to.
Sieg's body paused as he turned around, staring fixedly at this "bold" Team Rocket grunt. The sharp gaze hidden beneath his mask put the three under immense pressure.
The air filled with a tense atmosphere for several dozen seconds.
"Hmph! I'm from Saffron City in the Kanto region."
Sieg had already figured out the psychology of dark organization personnel, they bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Therefore, not acting somewhat arrogant would completely dishonor his squad leader identity.
Though he was already quite restrained.
"Again troubling sir, please tell this subordinate your name." One Team Rocket grunt sat at a computer, apparently preparing to verify information.
Sieg naturally couldn't reveal that psychic man's name, since identity information hadn't yet been updated.
"Hmph! I'm executing a covert mission personally assigned by the Boss. Do you three really think you can freely investigate?"
Sieg's imposing aura suddenly surged. His form hidden beneath loose black robes slowly stepped forward.
The three Team Rocket grunts immediately retreated repeatedly. After all, they were just gatekeepers, why provoke this squad leader? Even if he didn't use this entrance, the entire black market had numerous other passages lwading to the Team Rocket headquarters.
They hastily opened the adjacent hidden door, letting Sieg enter.
Sturdy iron railings lined both sides of the passage, thorns covering them, apparently also equipped with special voltage devices.
Sieg removed his loose black robes, donning Team Rocket members' standard uniform. Under several guards' watchful eyes, he stepped into the headquarters.
He could clearly sense the surrounding people no longer concealing their Team Rocket identities. Everyone wore clothing clearly bearing the R emblem.
Their faces even showed proud expressions.
Sieg wore Team Rocket's most basic standard uniform, so not many gazes investigated him.
Conversely, in the distance, a person wearing ordinary trainer clothing, lacking obvious Team Rocket insignia, attracted quite a few covert glances.
That person clearly wasn't a Team Rocket member, just an ordinary trainer walking the gray path.
Sieg walked calmly and composed through Team Rocket headquarters, releasing a Crawdaunt beside him as he continuously walked toward the base's center.
Reaching the administrative hall, he immediately found the identity processing window. Squad leader status allowed Sieg to jump the line directly, bypassing the grunts ahead to process immediately.
"Fortunately, that psychic predecessor just arrived in the Hoenn region and didn't even process his identity before I replaced him."
Sieg quite easily completed the information on the Team Rocket identity card, conveniently inserting to his own details.
However, Sieg didn't input a photo. Though the reception staff felt this strange, they said nothing more. After all, these Team Rocket members licking blood from blades all had peculiar temperaments.
Quite a few didn't want to reveal their true faces, constantly presenting themselves masked.
Team Rocket internally permitted this, but only for those below battalion commander rank.
Frankly speaking, those below battalion commander ultimately belonged to external personnel for Team Rocket. Even if a batch died unnecessarily, they could quickly be replaced. Only reaching battalion commander counted as core personnel.
When promoted to battalion commander, one underwent strict investigation, checking whether you were an undercover League agent.
Only after passing could you receive Team Rocket's core information.
Battalion commanders were often called "quasi-executives." Among Team Rocket's current numerous executives, quite a few had risen from battalion commander.
But when promoted to battalion commander, you had to input your facial features and even fingerprint information, essentially completely binding yourself to Team Rocket's ship.
Sieg breathed a sigh of relief. From now on, he truly had access to Team Rocket channels, and could abandon them anytime, a decent underground identity.
In fact, what Sieg didn't know was that many people walking the gray path didn't mind adding Team Rocket or other dark organization identities. After all, this counted as an escape route, as long as they didn't expose facial information, they could abandon this identity anytime.