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The Champion had arrived.
Justin quickly invited Frances to the head seat in the conference room and poured him tea. Frances accepted without hesitation—he understood perfectly the weight and significance of his position. False humility would serve no purpose... Sometimes, when representing his nation internationally, he needed to project a powerful, confident, even unyielding demeanor.
"I came as soon as I received your notification," Frances stated.
"Why are you alone?" Justin, always the bold one, asked what everyone was wondering. "Aren't the other Elites coming?"
"Team Illuminati has spies scattered throughout the world. Their financial resources and influence have always posed a serious challenge for the League," Frances explained. "A few years ago, a presidential candidate in the United States won the popular vote. Just before taking office, he was revealed to be a senior executive of Team Illuminati. Similar scandals are commonplace in Western nations... This is the vulnerability of capitalist systems—easily influenced and manipulated by external financial interests."
"Due to our unique governance, China is less susceptible to infiltration. Nevertheless, the emergence of traitors remains unavoidable."
"When dealing with Team Illuminati, we must make grand public gestures while conducting operations in secret. This has become standard protocol. I suspect that Carter is already under surveillance."
"And..." Frances smiled slightly.
"My presence alone... isn't that sufficient?"
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
With the possibility of inside informants, a large-scale operation would only alert the enemy, potentially causing them to eliminate evidence—including hostages.
Besides, the Champion's presence genuinely made them feel secure.
The shadow of a great tree provides ample shelter.
"I apologize, Mr. Frances," Justin said shamefully. "We failed to protect our students properly, allowing Team Illuminati to acquire hostages and putting us in this difficult position."
Frances shook his head, his tone reassuring: "Team Illuminati was established over eighty years ago. The League has marshaled the forces of numerous nations to hunt them for decades without completely eradicating them. You can imagine how challenging they are to defeat. If they're determined to attack, how can you possibly anticipate every approach?"
There was something Frances left unsaid—if the examiners had shown vigilance earlier, Team Illuminati's methods might not have been so restrained.
Team Illuminati simply wanted to avoid unnecessary complications before achieving their objectives...
It wasn't as though they had never resorted to violence like massacres before...
"By the way," Frances smiled, changing the subject, "I heard that a student foresaw Team Illuminati's plot?"
"That's right!"
Justin laughed, walked to Roy's side, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke proudly: "It's this young man, Roy, the most exceptional talent Capital University has produced since its founding. Mr. Frances must have heard his name—his Lucario has Champion-level potential!"
Roy felt mortified, wishing he could dig a hole in the floor with his toes and disappear. While he did harbor ambitions of becoming a Champion someday, that was merely aspiration at this point. He never expected Justin would actually boast about this in front of the Champion himself...
Justin, you might be comfortable with such social brazenness, but I certainly am not.
"Not only that, but he also solved another problem using wild Pokémon..."
Justin recounted the earlier incident to Frances.
"Is that so?" Frances looked at Roy with warm interest. "You're Roy? Your reputation precedes you."
"You know of me?" Roy asked, surprised.
"I've heard your name frequently from Carter lately. He keeps saying you're the most talented Trainer he's ever encountered, and the only junior he can't quite figure out," Frances said with a smile.
Justin and the others were stunned. They hadn't realized that Roy had connections with Elite Carter.
"I hear you possess Aura abilities?"
Seeing Roy nod, Frances continued:
"To rescue the students, we need to infiltrate Team Illuminati's temporary base. In this matter, I may need your assistance."
Roy looked puzzled. "How can I help?"
In the next moment, Frances's expression turned serious, and everyone felt a sudden tension in the air.
What was it that made Champions so intimidating?
"I need you to infiltrate their base alone."
"???"
Half an hour later.
The heart of the White Mountain region—Heavenly Lake.
Surrounded by sixteen peaks, Heavenly Lake currently existed in a remarkable state—half of its surface frozen solid, the other half remaining liquid.
This extraordinary condition had persisted since the spiritual domain fusion eighteen years ago.
From external observation alone, no one would suspect that beneath Heavenly Lake lay a dormant volcano, accumulating lava energy.
On the frozen surface of the lake, more than twenty large tents had been erected at some point.
"Twenty-six tents in total..." From a mountain peak two kilometers away, Roy hid among the grass, observing the situation through binoculars.
Rustle
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Roy turned to see Champion Frances.
Beside Frances floated a sky-blue bird Pokémon with wings as fluffy as cotton.
—Altaria.
'You're a Dragon-type Champion, yet you raise a Dragon-type traitor!'
Roy thought to himself wryly.
At Altaria's feet stood a young man with vacant eyes.
Frances explained: "This is a Team Illuminati patrol member. He's been hypnotized by Altaria's 'Disarming Voice' and will answer any question you ask."
Roy nodded and inquired, "Does Team Illuminati use any passcodes? Security protocols?"
"Yes," the young man responded tonelessly. "The passcode is—'Long live Team Illuminati.'"
"?"
Roy froze.
Seriously...
That's it? That's their password?
Could their nickname actually be HYDRA?
"I told you," Frances said with a slight smile. "Team Illuminati has special verification procedures. Their executives typically have a Zoroark—one of the few Pokémon capable of sensing mental energy and manipulating the Aura. Even Psychic-types can only alter brainwaves; they cannot tamper with mental energy or evade a Zoroark's perception."
"Their security measures are virtually flawless. No one has successfully infiltrated Team Illuminati's inner circle to date. We've always had to resort to direct confrontation."
"The only blind spot in their security is someone who can control Aura power."
"If not for this unique circumstance, I would never involve a student in such a dangerous operation."
Roy shrugged and patted the extra Poké Ball at his waist.
"You did lend me your Dragonite, though."
With this Dragonite accompanying him, even if Roy's cover was blown, he wouldn't be in serious danger.
A Champion's ace Pokémon would be more than enough protection.
Roy had witnessed this powerful Dragonite in action before and felt reassured, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to take such a risk.
"What concerns me is your potential exposure," Frances sighed. Although Roy wouldn't be endangered if discovered, the rescue mission would certainly fail.
Team Illuminati would hastily evacuate, and it was impossible to predict how many hostages they could rescue from the enemy's base in such a scenario.
After consideration, Frances decided not to burden the young man with excessive pressure. "Don't worry—whether you succeed or fail, the responsibility isn't yours. This was my proposal, so naturally, I'll accept accountability... And I promise to arrange for you to visit Elite Sebastian's dojo to learn about the 'Aura Boxing' technique, regardless of the outcome."
Aura Sphere Fist—
This was the unique fighting style developed by Fighting-type Elite Sebastian for his ace Pokémon Lucario, which had made it the strongest Fighting-type Pokémon in China.
This reward provided the greatest motivation for Roy to help.
With proper incentive, adequate security, and his existing hatred toward Team Illuminati—partially feeling responsible for the kidnappings...
Various factors compelled Roy to undertake this risky mission.
After questioning the young man about patrol routes, tent layouts, and organizational structure, Roy closed his eyes, calibrated his Aura frequency to match the young man's, and declared:
"I'm ready."
"Good."
Frances nodded, produced a Poké Ball, and called forth a strange Pokémon resembling pink putty.
—Ditto.
The Pokémon lunged toward Roy's face, emitting a flash of white light that transformed his appearance to match the Illuminati youth.
Roy took a deep breath, suppressed his nervousness and excitement, and began walking toward Team Illuminati's encampment.