Chapter 145: Terrifying Woman
Kevin truly deserved his reputation as a local; he knew the slum environment like the back of his hand.
Not only was he familiar with all sorts of unknown alleys and secret paths, but he could even skillfully alter the terrain.
On one occasion, Arthur followed him as he squeezed into a narrow passage sandwiched between two shacks.
Then, as soon as he entered, Kevin turned back, released his Honchkrow, and immediately had it use the skill "Haze."
Just as Arthur was wondering what was going on, Kevin had already found a door panel, about the height of a person, from somewhere.
Subsequently, using the cover of the Haze, he positioned the wooden panel at the alley entrance, propping it up from behind with two wooden sticks.
This path was then, surprisingly, blocked off by him from the inside.
The slums here were full of illegal constructions; the shacks were all built haphazardly, with people making use of every available nook and cranny. From the outside, this wooden panel didn't look out of place at all, making it impossible for anyone to imagine that behind it originally lay a small alley.
It made Arthur exclaim in admiration.
Just like that, under the guidance of Kevin, this terrain modification master and secret alley stealth expert, Arthur surprisingly managed to carve out a series of S-shaped, stylish escape routes through the slums under the cover of night.
Bypassing Dayna's heavy blockades, he returned to the vicinity of the location where he had first entered the slums.
This was also the direction closest to that distant cluster of unfinished buildings.
Here, under the eaves of a house, Arthur actually, miraculously, found the Dodrio he had ridden when he first arrived.
Of course, it was fate, working in mysterious ways...
The Dodrio, currently lying prone under the eaves to avoid the light rain, instantly became alert upon seeing Arthur approach. Its three heads shot up simultaneously, its six eyes filled entirely with resentment...
You again?
Really not letting me rest for even a moment, huh?
You only paid for one day, and tormenting me for a whole day and night still isn't enough!
Human, you have no heart!
However, although Arthur could see the deep hurt in the Dodrio's eyes, unfortunately, with his life currently on the line, he could only offer a word of apology before decisively vaulting onto the bird's back.
Kevin, standing to the side, was also momentarily surprised.
"So this Dodrio is yours? I was wondering why a big bird would come here to shelter from the rain so late at night."
Subsequently, he pushed a modified road bicycle out from a house behind him.
In a place like the slums, high-end road bicycles couldn't just be casually parked outside on the street, which was why Arthur hadn't seen Kevin's bicycle at all when he first came.
The two of them, one riding a bird, the other a bicycle, quickly slipped out of the slums.
They didn't even dare to use flashlights, relying only on the hazy moonlight, speeding all the way!
After leaving the slums for some distance, Arthur took out his mobile phone from his pocket.
Thankfully, it was Alliance-grade merchandise: long-lasting battery, drop-proof, and waterproof.
Currently, there was still no signal at all on the phone.
This was the electromagnetic blockade previously set up by Linda's airborne Magnezone!
The Stitched Shadow Army, as an international terrorist organization with a notorious reputation passed down for two centuries, meant its successive cadres all possessed considerable strength.
Although some individuals might have strength and ambition, they just lacked brains...
For example, a certain person currently under the ruins of the building...
But their main force Pokémon were not to be underestimated!
Linda, using only a single Magnezone, had almost independently accomplished an engineering feat that the military would have needed over a dozen Magnezone and Magneton working together to achieve!
An area tens of miles in radius was completely enveloped by the electromagnetic blockade.
"Still not enough! Accelerate, continue forward!"
Arthur squeezed his legs, urging the Dodrio beneath him.
It elicited a mournful cry.
The signal bars on the mobile phone at this moment were the best indicator.
The restoration of the signal would mean the receding of danger!
Soon!
Very soon!
The signal indicator had already started to spin (searching for network).
Specter had already returned, and Oliver was just a puppet. As long as they could escape this land of strife, then tonight, and indeed Arthur's entire chase over the past month, could all be drawn to a perfect conclusion.
All of this seemed to be almost within reach!
However, at this time back in the slums, Dayna had also similarly sensed something amiss.
"How long has it been since we had news of that young man?"
She asked Linda beside her, who was responsible for electronic communications.
"Not long, almost ten minutes, I suppose."
Linda clearly hadn't become alert yet.
But Dayna, at this moment, still firmly trusted her intuition.
"Give up. He should have already escaped the slums."
Linda turned her head and looked at Dayna, opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Because she saw that when Dayna made the decision, her subordinates had already swiftly relayed this command down through the ranks.
There was fundamentally no room for her to intervene.
The manpower left in these slums should all be forces carefully selected by the Leader, believed to be absolutely loyal to him, right?
Dayna, this woman... exactly when did she manage to infiltrate so many of her own people among them, to the extent that the moment the Leader "died," she completed the transfer of command authority?
In this instant, Linda finally realized: even if Oliver was gone, there would be no dispute whatsoever regarding the selection of the organization's new leader.
This woman, without anyone noticing, had already gotten too far ahead of everyone else.
Truly terrifying scheming!
Fortunately, she wasn't Liam; she was very clear about her own position and knew her own limits.
Understanding that it was impossible for her to advance further, Linda slightly lowered her head and asked, "Then what do we do next?"
Dayna rolled her eyes, a sidelong glance flicking towards Linda, a wisp of a charming smile appearing at the corners of her eyes and brows.
"Of course, we won't let him escape just that easily!"
Just as the sound of her words fell—
Far away, over ten kilometers distant, on the battlefield between the Stitched Shadow Army's reinforcement troops and the Kubfu forces, Mismagius, who had already quietly retreated from the front lines and hidden herself in the rear, suddenly let out a heaven-shattering, miserable cry.
The enemy was doing it intentionally!
The attacking Pokémon deliberately didn't kill or heavily wound her with a single blow but instead purposefully inflicted pain, forcing her to cry out.
This miserable cry came extremely abruptly, leaving even the Kubfu forces at the front somewhat stunned.
The enemy... is having internal strife?
Many people didn't understand what this scene meant.
Only Arthur and Specter, who had already escaped to a nearby location and finally received a mobile phone signal, understood the feedback.
This was actually done for them to hear!
In that instant, Specter, who had already escaped to safety and had resolved to let go of the past and return home with his master to start a new life, suddenly felt his heart clench tightly!
"Mismagius!"
A hundred years of companionship.
Specter had gradually become accustomed to having a gentle, silent companion of the same kind by his side, her eyes often filled with pity.
She would, pained, try to stop you when you consumed Soul Orbs;
She would silently accompany you when you toiled laboriously;
She would follow you through life and death when you rushed to dangerous battlefields!
Although the obsessions of the two ghosts were clearly not interconnected, Mismagius had nevertheless persisted in supporting Specter, and in a flash, a hundred years had passed.
Because your obsession was your master, and her obsession... was you.
When a state becomes a habit, it is easily overlooked.
It's only when suddenly faced with loss that one becomes completely at a loss!
Hearing this miserable cry, Specter then knew that Mismagius, to him, had already become such an important companion!
Dayna's move, once again, had precisely struck her opponent's vital point.
Specter, in extreme pain, floated out from Arthur's shadow and spoke with difficulty, "Master... I... I still can't go with you yet. I need to go back and save an old friend."
(End of Chapter)
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