A mere ten minutes.
The perimeter of the mine had already been completely suppressed.
Many unlucky souls tried to use the terrain to regroup with their comrades and reclaim the situation, but Ryuka gave them no such chance, taking every one of them prisoner immediately.
It had to be said—Team Snagem had picked the perfect time for this raid.
The Executives originally stationed at the mine had rushed back to Pyrite Town due to the internal chaos, terrified they might miss out on their share of the "carcass" as the gang tore itself apart. With their top-tier combatants and commanders absent, the Team Snarl members remaining at the mine could only rely on heavy machinery to fight back.
Once those massive machines were dismantled one by one, the remaining resistance became pathetically weak.
Only a few Snarl members remained, trapped like rats in a hole, driven into the deepest reaches of the shafts where they put up a meaningless, desperate final stand.
"Has the Interception Team found the tunnels?"
"Found them! We've already deployed Onix to seal them off!"
Feedback from various squads flooded the comms channel, punctuated by the faint sound of explosions and rumbling.
Kashiwagi could clearly feel the tremors vibrating through the ground beneath the mine—a sign that Ryuka's teams were sealing the secret escape routes. These tunnels either led to the wilderness or connected directly to Team Snarl's Underdome or neighboring mines.
They weren't usually activated except in emergencies.
At this stage, the mine was officially under Ryuka's control.
"Intelligence Team, use the PA system. Order everyone inside the shafts to cease all work and return to the surface immediately."
"Understood!"
With precise orders relayed, it took less than ten minutes for a massive surge of miners and humanoid Pokémon to emerge from the pits. The human count alone exceeded a thousand.
Kashiwagi watched this calmly at first, but his brow soon furrowed.
Among the miners, he saw more than just able-bodied young men. There were children clearly under the age of ten—hardly old enough to be labor—and elderly, hunched figures with missing teeth.
Though he had long heard of Snarl Gang's abysmal reputation, seeing this scene with his own eyes still shocked him.
Does cramming this many people inside actually improve production efficiency?
Or rather... does every single one of them have a daily quota? And if they don't meet it, they don't eat—or they just die?
Slaves would be treated no differently.
He had thought the environment in Team Snagem was bad enough, but it turned out Snarl Gang was on another level—the absolute bottom of the barrel.
At least back when he was sent to the smelting plant, he had to be twelve years old and confirmed to have a certain level of physical capability before he could start work, even if those fourteen-hour shifts of high-intensity labor made him feel less than human.
Now, Team Snagem almost looked "charitable" by comparison. A sense of "goodness" really was born from contrast—
Actually, no. Trash is trash.
There's no point in comparing. Comparing won't make life any better.
He looked down at the miners, his eyes narrowing.
Seeing the Snagem members and their ferocious Pokémon surrounding them on all sides, the miners couldn't help but fall into a state of panic and anxiety.
It wasn't the first time Snarl and Snagem had fought over territory, and every time, plenty of poor souls like them died as collateral damage.
Terrified of a future where their lives were forfeit, the miners instinctively began to clamor. The noise of over a thousand people quickly made the mine incredibly rowdy.
"EVERYONE BE QUIET—!!"
The tall, lanky Executive, Sali, used the broadcast system's massive volume to force the miners to cover their ears and fall silent. "Next, we will tally your numbers and temporarily transfer you to another location. As long as you cooperate, your lives are not in danger!"
"Do not attempt to resist! Think of your families! Think of your lives and your limbs! Cooperate and surrender, and we can guarantee your safety! If there are any companions left below who haven't reached the surface, report them immediately!"
The same lines were repeated over and over.
Under the hypnotic chanting, the miners indeed settled down significantly.
Standing in the crowd, Kashiwagi had a strange expression on his face. He felt like this operation was a bit different from what he had imagined.
Hmm...
Was it because the operation was so unusually orderly? It didn't fit the impression Kashiwagi had of Team Snagem being full of useless thugs, scum, and parasites.
Perhaps it was just too smooth. They hadn't lost a single man on their side; only a few Pokémon were injured while sieging the heavy machinery, and a small number of members had suffered minor scratches.
Was the Sand Unit just different?
Maybe.
But Kashiwagi felt the more likely cause was Ryuka himself.
His "Big Brother" was fundamentally different from the other Executives. You could call him merciful, yet he never showed leniency to his enemies. You could call him ruthless, yet he never excessively exploited his subordinates, the businesses, or the civilians within his territory.
He didn't spend his days brainwashing his underlings about "loyalty" or PUA-ing them; he did things with a certain sense of integrity.
He really didn't seem like a typical underworld boss.
Of course, Kashiwagi also understood that the point of this operation wasn't just to raid the mine, but to find a way to seize it. The emphasis was on the latter.
The counterattack from Snarl Gang was bound to be terrifying.
While Kashiwagi was lost in thought, a hand suddenly clapped his shoulder. It was Frobo.
"In a bit, once the outer members arrive in batches to take over the machinery and miners, the three main divisions will be split into many small squads to escort them back to our mines. Boss wants us to handle the rearguard."
"...Got it!"
"Don't be nervous. Being in the last batch doesn't necessarily mean we'll encounter the most enemies. Besides, Snarl Gang might not strike our side first. Having two targets will split the enemy's focus to some extent. Especially for Snarl's in their current state."
"I understand."
Kashiwagi nodded and quickly switched to the squad channel to relay the plan to Otsuka and the others.
Otsuka and the rest naturally understood both the danger and the opportunity of being the rearguard. For a moment, their breathing grew heavy, and they couldn't help but feel a surge of nervous tension.
Fighting over a mine wasn't like a video game where you just "capture" it and the system automatically adds it to Team Snagem's territory.
In the plan Ryuka had provided, the basic strategy was outlined: The Scouring Tactic.
Specifically, they were to take as much heavy machinery as possible, take all the miners, and take all the accumulated ore. Anything that couldn't be moved was to be destroyed immediately, leaving nothing but an empty shell for Snarl Gang.
The mine itself wasn't going anywhere, but the loss of the heavy equipment and a massive labor force would be an incalculable blow to Snarl's.
The key was: could the destabilized Snarl Gang recover production in a short time?
To recover, they'd have to pour money into it—buying new machines and quickly replacing the labor force.
If they couldn't recover, they'd likely have to pay even more out of pocket to satisfy the periodic quotas demanded by the shadowy conglomerates behind them. Furthermore, they'd have to assign personnel to guard a mine that wasn't even operational.
It wasn't realistic.
This mine would become a "chicken rib"—useless to keep, but a waste to discard—for Snarl Gang. For the predatory Team Snagem, it would become a place they could pillage at will.
To facilitate the transfer, Ryuka had specifically arranged for thousands of outer-circle members to rush out of the town through secret tunnels from the adjacent Snagem mines, aiming to move everything here in the shortest time possible.
Such a massive movement of people couldn't be completely hidden from the many eyes in Pyrite Town.
Exposure was inevitable.
It all came down to who could move faster.
Not to mention, the Sand Unit wasn't the only one in motion. Although Ryuka hadn't mentioned it, Kashiwagi had learned through Frobo the movements of the other two units—
The Rock Unit was responsible for preventing a desperate Snarl's from lashing out at their territories within the town. Meanwhile, the Crystal Unit was tasked with extending an olive branch to one of the Snarl leaders to pull them toward Snagem's side and accelerate the internal split of Team Snarl.
By then, even if Snarl's truly wanted to reclaim the mine, they would likely be powerless in the face of the endless troubles piling up.
The most likely outcome was a negotiation where they would "sell" the mine to Team Snagem for a "good price."
To be honest...
Kashiwagi didn't believe Team Snagem would simply stop and settle down after successfully swallowing two of Snarl's major mines outside the town.
Humans are greedy; they take an inch and want a mile.
If they took two mines, what about the remaining three? What about Team Snarl's Underdome? What about Snarl's territories on the surface?
Driven by profit and various other factors, this operation by Team Snagem would slowly evolve into an attempt to completely devour all of Team Snarl.
As long as the mineral demands of the shadowy conglomerates were met, the "Lords" behind the scenes wouldn't say a word.
This also served as an opportunity to divert the internal conflict between the Sand and Crystal Units toward an external enemy.
Additionally, the influx of people could solve Team Snagem's talent shortage.
He suddenly realized that Team Snagem was growing in an even more massive direction—one filled with both danger and opportunity. It was like an old steamship resolutely sailing into a hurricane.
For someone like him, currently stockpiling survival supplies on that ship, should he wait for the storm to pass and slip off when the skies cleared? Or should he quietly take a lifeboat and leave as the storm arrived?
Neither choice offered a guarantee of absolute safety.
Kashiwagi realized this with profound clarity.