Chương 76: Catching Rats

Aren't you going back to school?

After enjoying her delightful ice cream time, Cynthia, who was about to take a taxi back to her dormitory, looked at Gadria and Lu Sha walking in opposite directions and asked them in surprise.

"I've accepted a mission, I'm going to stretch my muscles."

Caldelia floated up gently. Although her mental strength had not yet recovered to its peak, the aura of a near-Ultraman superhuman was already faintly visible.

More than enough to deal with Hunter A.

"Then be careful. You can contact me if anything happens. I'm always ready to help you."

Cynthia was a smart woman and immediately guessed that it was probably the task that Wusong had just given her.

She didn't ask any further questions, nor did she offer to ask her companions for help; she simply maintained a polite distance.

"Um."

Cattleya responded with a cool, indifferent tone.

The next second, a gentle psychic force enveloped her and Lu Sha in her arms. The two of them transformed into a white streak of light, piercing straight through the night sky and heading towards the shadows in the southwest of Zhuqing City.

Those who have been mentally invaded by her will retain traces of her superpowers in their minds, which will dissipate on their own after a few days unless specifically removed.

This marking is like GPS positioning; even across half a city, it remains crystal clear in her eyes.

As altitude changes, the cityscape below transforms rapidly.

Zhuqing City is a miracle built by the early inhabitants of Heijin City by carving through the mountains.

Starting from the original ruins of Zhuqing Village at the top of the mountain, the trails extend downwards, eventually spreading across the plains into the most modern steel forest in the Sinnoh region.

When Gadriya led Lu Shafei across the brightly lit central business district and arrived at the western district at the foot of the mountain, the smell in the air had changed.

It had a pungent smell, a mixture of engine oil, salt water, rust, and old rubber.

Unlike the decadent atmosphere at the mountaintop, this place is the foundation of the entire city and its outlet.

The western district appears particularly gloomy and oppressive after nightfall.

The massive cranes stood like silent steel behemoths in the night, coldly watching the sprawling warehouse district below.

Looking along that murky artificial canal, you can see a large number of cargo barges quietly moored at the dock, like bloated corpses.

This place handles all the supplies coming and going from Canal City, Sinnoh's largest port.

Besides the dockworkers who work day and night with numb faces and those burly men carrying heavy loads, this place is also rife with illegal smuggling and underground transactions lurking in the shadows.

Behind the glamorous facade of Zhuqing City lies a multitude of filth.

"An unpleasant smell."

Suspended in mid-air, Cattleya frowned slightly and subconsciously used her psychic barrier to isolate herself from the surrounding air.

She didn't like the atmosphere here.

This is not just olfactory discomfort, but also mental repression.

If the Dongxia District, where Zhuqing Academy is located, is a land full of hope and sunshine, then the Xixia District in front of us is a stagnant pool.

Whether it's the humans struggling to make a living below or the Pokémon forced to work, they all exude an emotional fluctuation called numbness.

This negative emotion, like a tangible gray fog, suffocated her, who possessed telepathy.

Cattleya gently landed on the spire of an abandoned lighthouse, her gaze piercing through hundreds of meters of darkness, looking down at the bustling yet silent dock, remaining silent for a long time.

"Click. (This is the price of luxury, young lady.)" Lu Sha looked down at the figures below, bent over and busy like worker ants, and sighed softly.

As a time traveler, he was all too familiar with this scene.

It could even be said that this is an inevitable consequence of modern civilization.

"Click! (For a gleaming, modern city to function, countless unsung heroes must be working tirelessly behind the scenes. What we see before us is the foundation upon which the million residents of Zhuqing City enjoy their convenient lives.)"

"Can it be changed?"

"Cadelia suddenly asked."

She didn't know why she asked that question; perhaps it was the overwhelming numbness that made her feel inexplicably irritable.

"Click. (It's tough. As long as someone needs to take on the dirty work, this situation won't disappear. It's like in school, where you can order food 24/7, so someone has to be on call 24/7 to deliver it.)" Lu Sha shook her head, her tone carrying a hint of clarity:

"Click! (If you really want to do something... then become the champion. Use your power to drive a complete mechanization revolution, and let lifeless machines replace flesh and blood.)"

"In that case... they'll lose their jobs, won't they?"

Cattleya tilted her head slightly, her eyes looking somewhat lost.

She didn't need to deliberately read minds; the deepest anxieties in the workers' hearts had already seeped into her mind.

"I'm so tired... but I can't stop... we still don't have the money for my child's tuition next school year..."

"My wife needs to buy medicine again..."

"I must buy my child a good starter Pokémon; I don't want him to end up like me..."

Everyone is exhausted, living like a dog.

But if you don't work, you're not even as good as a dog.

"Click! (Then let's work hard. Let's make Sinnoh stronger, strong enough that we don't have to exploit our own people.)" Lu Sha patted the back of her hand and grinned.

"Click! (We can't protect the whole world, but protecting our own little corner of Sinnoh is no problem. Just like Professor Oak, who single-handedly made most of the people in Kanto superior.)"

"Click! (If we're strong enough, we'll set the rules.)"

"I see."

Cattleya nodded thoughtfully, the confusion in her eyes fading away.

She turned her head to look at a dark house to the west, a cold smile playing on her lips:

"We found the rat. Now that you've caught the person, go back to sleep; the air here is really bad."

"Click! (Remember to notify Officer Jenny to come and clean the floor beforehand, so you don't have to wait for them!)"

"it is good."

After contacting Officer Jenny, Cattleya lightly touched the tip of the lighthouse with her long legs clad in white stockings.

hum!

A gentle breeze swept by, and she and Lu Sha's figures blended into the night, heading towards that corner filled with the aura of sin.

......

On the edge of the Xiaxi District, in a dark and damp house.

"Damn superhumans!!"

Hunter A's face was contorted with rage, his eyes bloodshot, as he slammed his fist into the moldy wall.

boom!

The plaster has peeled off, revealing the gray, rotten cement underneath.

Even though several hours had passed, the agonizing frustration was still gnawing at his heart.

He risked almost everything he had to capture Reggie Roke.

They bought extremely expensive champion-grade toxins, the latest rock injection machines, and even owed a huge sum of money to Belleritz Bank.

He had it all planned out: if he succeeded in this job, he could sell Regirock to wealthy collectors or powerful families and completely turn his life around.

He would donate a huge sum of money to the league to clear his name, and then retire honorably as a potential Elite 1 trainer from the community, to live a life of high society.

But now, it's all over.

The money is gone, the machine exploded, and the mythical beast is gone too.

After Regirock self-destructed, he secretly went back to take a look.

All that remained at the scene was a giant crater; Regirock and the terrifying super-powered girl had vanished without a trace.

At that moment, he even maliciously hoped that the girl would be blown up.

At least that way... he'd feel a little better.

After all, this shows that even that perverted woman couldn't withstand the wrath of legend, and his defeat was not unjust.

"Are you hoping I'm dead?"

A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang out in the narrow room.

Hunter A froze, then turned around abruptly.

On the windowsill, the girl in the white dress who had made him feel despair during the day was holding a giblet and coldly looking down at him.

The moonlight streaming through the window cast a long shadow behind her, making her look like a grim reaper.