Shanghai
Flying Eagle Gang's Headquarters
Ying Tou's face was terrifyingly grim.
Right now, Lin Ke knelt miserably in front of him.
He already knew what had happened the previous day.
Not only had Lin Ke failed to capture Su Qingxue, but their side had also suffered devastating losses.
"Damn it!"
"Didn't I tell you clearly to retreat immediately if things weren't going smoothly?"
"Yet you still allowed such heavy casualties!"
With Wu Yao as a backup plan, Ying Tou had set relatively loose requirements for Lin Ke.
Succeeding in the mission would've been ideal; if not, preserving his forces was the next best thing.
After all, the group Lin Ke had led wasn't weak by any means.
But now they had lost more than half.
For the Flying Eagle Gang, this was a heavy blow!
Yet, Lin Ke had nowhere to vent his grievances.
He'd intended to retreat at the time, but the reinforcements that arrived were overwhelmingly strong.
A Pseudo-Elite Four Nidoking and a Gym Leader-tier Nidoqueen had completely overwhelmed him.
However, knowing his boss's temper, Lin Ke wisely remained silent, deciding it was best to take the scolding quietly for now and explain further when Ying Tou had cooled off.
After thoroughly reprimanding Lin Ke, Ying Tou recalled that Lin Ke had also lost his main Pokémon, Arbok, and impatiently waved him away.
"Just go back and recover!"
"The sight of you right now makes my blood boil."
Lin Ke felt immense relief upon hearing this and hurriedly left.
Once Lin Ke was gone, Ying Tou immediately dialed Wu Yao's number again.
Beep beep beep!
After a few seconds, the call connected.
"Hello, the mission—"
Ying Tou was about to inquire about Wu Yao's task, but before he could finish his first sentence, angry curses erupted from the other side of the phone.
"Fuck! Are you trying to get me killed?"
"What kind of garbage intel did you give me? You said their strongest Pokémon was only Pseudo-Elite Four at best!"
"Bullshit!"
"The target had Elite Four-tier Pokémon protecting her. If my reflexes had been any slower, I'd have died there!"
"In the future, don't ever bother me again with your Flying Eagle Gang's jobs!"
Click!
Wu Yao abruptly ended the call without giving Ying Tou a chance to respond.
During their brief conversation, she deliberately hadn't revealed Guo Yi's Beedrill's true Champion-level strength.
Firstly, this omission was payback for the Flying Eagle Gang's faulty information. Secondly, it was to protect herself—preventing the gang from desperately turning against her if cornered.
If she had admitted the enemy possessed an Elite Four-tier Pokémon, Ying Tou would be wary but likely wouldn't act rashly.
But if he learned his opponent had Champion-tier strength, he might panic, revealing Wu Yao's identity in a desperate, reckless bid to save himself.
Although this identity was just one of Wu Yao's many disguises—
Even if exposed, she'd still easily slip away unscathed.
Still, seeing someone with that level of power willingly seclude himself in a remote village made it clear he had no interest in exposure.
Wu Yao definitely wasn't going to risk creating an unnecessary enemy.
Meanwhile, after being berated, Ying Tou didn't become angry; instead, his face turned grave with apprehension.
"Elite Four-tier Pokémon..."
"Ye Qing, seems like I've underestimated you."
"To think you'd still be hiding such a powerful trump card under these circumstances."
Learning Su Qingxue had an Elite Four-level Pokémon as protection, Ying Tou's anger toward Lin Ke faded somewhat.
After all, Elite Four-level strength wasn't something he could handle at present.
"It seems dealing with the Azure Dragon Society will have to wait until my son returns."
"Only with his master's backing will we have enough strength to defeat Ye Qing."
Having discovered the Azure Dragon Society possessed Elite Four-level Pokémon, Ying Tou decided to halt his current operations.
He'd wait for his son to come home first.
Just as online rumors suggested—
Ying Tou's son had indeed become the disciple of a retired Elite Four trainer.
One of the main reasons Ying Tou had so aggressively sought to seize the Azure Dragon Society's black-market territory was to impress his son.
He'd hoped to surprise him, who was currently exploring a secret realm with his fellow disciples.
However—
Given the current circumstances, not only was there no surprise, but he'd also likely have to lean on his son's network instead.
Inviting a retired Elite Four trainer for something trivial like black-market squabbles was practically impossible, but getting a few of his son's fellow disciples involved wouldn't be an issue—though it would cost him dearly.
---
Three days later.
Guo Yi accompanied Su Qingxue, escorted by bodyguards, to Thunder Valley, a hundred li outside Yangliu Village.
At the entrance to Thunder Valley, Captain Wang again asked cautiously, "Miss, Teacher Guo, are you sure you don't want us to accompany you inside?"
Guo Yi shook his head, declining Captain Wang's offer.
"You don't need to come along."
"Don't worry. With Nidoking and Nidoqueen around, we'll be perfectly safe."
Besides helping Su Qingxue capture the Champion-Potential Weedle, Guo Yi intended to thoroughly explore Thunder Valley.
Having so many bodyguards tagging along would just hinder their movements.
Initially, he'd been worried about how to deal with the guards if they insisted on coming.
Unexpectedly, the captain was quite sensible this time.
"Understood, Teacher Guo."
"In that case, we'll wait outside for your return."
Under the confused gazes of the other guards, Captain Wang smiled as he saw the pair off into the secret realm.
"Captain, have you lost your mind?"
"You just allowed our clients to leave our protection area! What if something happens?"
"Yeah, captain, even if Teacher Guo's Nidoking is strong, Thunder Valley is dangerous. The wild Pokémon there aren't ordinary."
"Forget Pseudo-Elite Four—I've heard even actual Elite Four-tier Pokémon have been spotted inside!"
If their protection targets got hurt outside their supervision, their careers would be on the line.
No one understood how their usually cautious captain could make such a reckless decision.
"Relax."
"The contract specifically says our protection only covers attacks from the Flying Eagle Gang."
"The clients' exploration of secret realms isn't covered by our terms."
Captain Wang had agreed to Guo Yi's request so readily mainly because of Guo Yi's unfathomable strength and because exploring secret realms wasn't part of their current mission.
If exploring the secret realm had been within the contract's scope, he would definitely have insisted on sending guards in—even if Guo Yi truly had Elite Four-tier Pokémon.
But since it wasn't—
Why waste effort if he could avoid it?
"I see!"
Understanding their captain's reasoning, everyone quieted down, silently setting up camp outside the secret realm.