The lights in the guest room flickered, then completely went out. Only the dim emergency light in the corner illuminated, casting eerie shadows.
"Trainer! You... you're a Trainer, aren't you!"
The crew member saw Leon's combat gear and the Poké Balls clipped to his waist. His eyes instantly burst with a light as if grasping a life raft.
He scrambled in, pointing outside the door, his voice distorted by fear: "Pirates! It's pirates! They've boarded the ship and are killing people! Please, quickly stop them!"
Leon's eyes darkened as he quietly watched the intruder.
Trainer? Yes.
Stop them? Why should I?
"Please..." The crew member was still crying out, trying to grab Leon's pant leg.
Leon ignored his pleas, simply drawing a dagger from his waist with a backhand.
The blade glinted with a cold, ghostly light under the flickering emergency lamp.
The crew member's pleas abruptly stopped. He stared in shock at the weapon in Leon's hand, not understanding why this Trainer would pull out a knife.
The next second, Leon moved.
His movements were as swift as a black lightning bolt, without any superfluous actions. His left hand covered the crew member's mouth, preventing him from making any sound, while the dagger in his right hand swiftly and accurately slashed across his carotid artery.
"Ugh!"
The crew member's eyes widened, and his body twitched violently. Warm liquid instantly gushed out, splattering onto Leon's hand.
Releasing his grip, the crew member slumped softly to the ground, and the smell of blood began to fill the small room.
Leon didn't spare the corpse another glance. He walked to the window and pushed open the small round porthole. The cold, salty sea breeze immediately poured in, ruffling his hair.
He dragged the still-warm corpse like a broken sack to the window and effortlessly pushed it out.
"Splash."
A faint splash was quickly swallowed by the waves and distant screams.
After all this, Leon pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully wiped the blood from the dagger and the back of his hand, then threw the handkerchief into the sea as well.
The entire process was smooth and fluid, as if rehearsed a thousand times.
He adjusted his combat gear, opened the door, and walked out.
Laic was already waiting outside the door. He, too, had put on a set of combat gear under his suit, his expression serious as he looked in the direction of the disturbance.
"What's happening?"
Leon walked up to him, his voice low but exceptionally clear amidst the chaotic background noise.
"Pirates."
Laic was concise. "It looks like a considerable force. We're in trouble."
"How strong are they?" Leon was more concerned about this.
"Judging from the commotion just now, there should be advanced Trainers leading them, but they won't be too strong."
Laic frowned,
"It won't be hard for me to deal with them, but as I said before, Hoenn is a mixed bag. Any conspicuous action could lead to subsequent investigations. Exposing our identities is the last thing we want."
Laic was clearly in a dilemma. He looked at Leon and said in a deep voice:
"But we can't worry about that much now. First, let's deal with these flies. Leon, follow me."
With that, Laic prepared to rush towards the most intense fighting.
However, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
Laic turned around to see Leon looking at him calmly.
"Officer Laic."
Leon spoke,
"I think we might have a better option."
"Oh?" Laic was a little surprised.
"We can wait," Leon said slowly. "Wait until these pirates... finish their business."
Laic's pupils constricted slightly. He instantly understood Leon's meaning.
Leon continued to analyze in his plain, straightforward tone:
"Once they've dealt with all the crew and passengers on board, we'll make our move. That way, there will be no survivors who know when we boarded the ship or our specific identities."
"At that time, even if the Alliance investigates, the conclusion they'll reach will only be:
A passenger ship unfortunately encountered pirates, and everyone on board perished. Finally, a righteous Trainer happened to pass by, eliminated the threat for the people, and dealt with these pirates."
Leon looked at Laic, a faint curve on his lips: "This way, we solve the problem and avoid any connection with Team Rockets. What do you think of this plan?"
Listening to Leon's words, Laic was completely stunned.
He looked at the young man, who was only sixteen or seventeen, his slightly delicate face, after removing the mask, bearing a calmness and indifference completely unsuited to his age.
He spoke of such a cold plan, one that regarded human lives as mere trifles, as easily as discussing the weather.
This kid... is a born villain.
Laic had been through a lot in Team Rockets for years and considered himself ruthless, but Leon's coldness made him feel a chill rise from the bottom of his heart.
"Is there... something wrong with this plan?"
Leon asked again when Laic didn't react for a long time.
"No... no!"
Laic snapped back to reality, his gaze at Leon completely changed.
Instead, it was mixed with astonishment and admiration.
"Leon, you're a damn genius!"
Laic couldn't help but praise in a low voice,
"Let's do it!"
This plan was too perfect! So perfect it made his scalp tingle!
Lady Athena really found a treasure this time!
The two exchanged glances and quickly reached a consensus. They didn't linger but turned and walked towards a secluded storage room on the lower deck.
It was hidden enough, yet they could clearly hear the commotion from the deck and upper passenger cabins.
The storage room was piled high with ropes and spare parts, emitting a mixed smell of engine oil and rust.
The two hid behind a stack of canvas, and the outside world seemed to become another dimension.
The women's cries grew increasingly shrill, from initial terror to desperate pleas, finally turning into wails of despair.
"Please, spare my child! He's still so young!"
"Ah—!"
"Hahahaha! This woman is quite feisty!"
The pirates' crude laughter, mixed with the explosion of pokémon moves and the dull thud of heavy objects falling, clearly reached their ears.
Laic leaned against the cold cabin wall, eyes closed, his brows tightly furrowed.
Even with his hardened heart, listening to such a one-sided slaughter for so long inevitably made him feel agitated. He couldn't help but glance at Leon beside him.
The young man was sitting cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, his breathing steady and long, as if he were in a quiet library rather than a living hell.
He seemed completely unaffected by the horrors outside, even using this time to adjust his own state.
Laic sighed inwardly again. This guy's psychological fortitude was almost inhuman.
Leon was indeed very calm.
To him, these cries were no different from the wails of those failures in the training camp.
In this world, the strong survive, and the weak perish; it was only natural. Sympathy and pity were the most superfluous emotions.
What he was doing now was using his keen hearing to analyze the battle situation outside.
There were about fifteen to twenty pirates.
The sounds of pokémon moves were chaotic: Water Gun, electric flashes, and Tackle and Bites.
Judging by their power, most were beginner and intermediate-level pokémon.
Among them, a few moves made an exceptionally loud commotion.
"Swish!"
A dull sound, seemingly some kind of Water-type move.
"Jie jie jie!"
Immediately followed by an eerie, sinister laugh, like the sound a Gengar makes.
There were at least two advanced-level pokémon.
Leon silently calculated in his mind, while also thinking.
With his current strength, he definitely couldn't directly confront these guys.
The best option would be to pick off a few weaker pirates with sneak attacks while Laic was engaged in a chaotic fight with the pirates.
Time passed minute by minute.
....................
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