Chapter 43: Changing the Wardrobe and Hearing News

Chapter 43: The Changing Cabinets and Eavesdropping

However, despite his forceful attempts to push, there was no sign of the crew member waking up.

Startled, he was about to cry out loudly when he suddenly sensed a movement behind him. He turned around in haste, only to see a large, dark, round face pressed right against his own.

Before he could even let out a scream, a wide, thick, slightly slobbery tongue lashed across his face.

In an instant, his world spun, and just like his companion, he collapsed directly onto the floor, unconscious.

"Jie jie..." Gastly chuckled wickedly, "Have yourself a lovely nightmare!"

After dealing with the two Team Rocket members, Gastly surveyed the various monitoring equipment before it. It condensed a Shadow Ball beside it and smashed it into the main controller. A second later, amidst a series of crackling sparks, the rows of screens all went dark.

"That should do it."

Looking at the results of its work, Gastly nodded with satisfaction. Just as it was about to vanish, the walkie-talkie nearby suddenly crackled to life.

"Monitoring room? I thought I heard something just now. Did something happen there?"

Gastly's body began to shift, eventually transforming into the appearance of the Team Rocket member from before.

It picked up the walkie-talkie and replied in the same voice and tone as the original owner: "Reporting, everything is normal here. The sound just now was just me accidentally bumping into a chair."

"I see." The person on the other end of the radio didn't suspect a thing. "Continue monitoring!"

...

Inside the office on the fifteenth floor, Xia You peeked into the hallway once more. Seeing that the red light on the monitor had vanished, he knew Gastly had succeeded. He motioned to Sabrina, and the two of them quickly headed toward the stairs.

Under these circumstances, they naturally didn't dare take the elevator; if they were discovered, there would truly be no way to retreat.

However, they were met with bad luck immediately. Just as they were about to reach the stairwell, the sound of cluttered footsteps suddenly echoed from within.

Xia You's heart skipped a beat. The footsteps were so close they seemed like they would collide at any moment. Since they had already walked quite a distance, it would certainly be too late to try and return to their previous room.

Before he could react, Sabrina grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into a nearby room.

The moment they closed the door, they heard several people emerge from the stairs—they had actually arrived on their floor!

Exchanging a glance, both knew they were still far from the top floor and could not afford to expose their presence. They simultaneously turned to look for a place to hide.

This room appeared to be a lounge for the Silph Co. employees, containing several billiard tables and sofas, with green plants in the corners. At the very back stood a row of tall changing cabinets.

They hurried to the cabinets and reached out to pull the doors, but several in a row were locked!

Just as Sabrina was about to use her psychic powers to unlock a cabinet, Xia You happened to open one. Seeing that the cabinet was just large enough to hide the two of them, and hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Sabrina didn't have time to think and ducked inside first.

Xia You took out a Poké Ball to recall Kirlia and then squeezed into the cabinet as well.

No matter how large the cabinet was, it was quite cramped for two people. Xia You and Sabrina were pressed against each other, making physical contact unavoidable; even their breathing brushed against each other's faces.

However, they had no leisure to dwell on this. As the door to the lounge opened, several Team Rocket members slowly walked in.

One of them could be heard saying, "Everyone, search more carefully. We can't afford to miss anyone!"

"I say, Captain," someone replied, "haven't we already searched the entire building once? Why are we doing it again?"

"Idiot," the Captain snapped. "This company is massive, and those researchers are cunning. There might be a stray fish slipping through the net somewhere. Our plan cannot afford any mistakes. Keep your eyes peeled and search thoroughly!"

The footsteps drew closer. One of the Team Rocket members walked up to the changing cabinets and reached for a door, but it wouldn't budge. He shook it forcefully, and after confirming it was locked, he moved on to the next cabinet.

Several in a row were locked. When he reached the cabinet in front of Xia You, Xia You's heart sank, and he prepared to burst out. However, when the Team Rocket member pulled the door, he found it remained motionless, just like the others.

"Why are they all locked?" the Team Rocket member muttered under his breath.

Xia You was surprised and turned to look at Sabrina; it turned out she had used her psychic powers.

The Captain asked from the other side of the room, "Can you really not open them? Huh? They're all locked? Then forget it. Let's move to the next room quickly."

"Eh?" someone complained. "Captain, let us take a break. We've been searching floor after floor; we're exhausted."

"Yeah, let us rest for a bit," the other members chimed in.

After a moment's thought, the Captain nodded. "Fine. We'll rest here for five minutes. We'll continue the operation after five minutes."

The members cheered and sat down on the sofas.

Inside the dim changing cabinet, Xia You and Sabrina remained silent. The air circulation was poor, and as time passed, it began to grow stale and the temperature slowly rose.

In the lounge, taking advantage of the rare break, the Team Rocket members began to chat idly while letting their minds wander.

"Captain, what exactly is the purpose of this massive operation of ours?"

Being low-level members, they didn't know much about the details of the mission. Driven by curiosity, they wanted to try and pry some information from the Captain during the break.

At first, the Captain was unwilling to disclose anything, but unable to withstand the barrage of questions, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Alright, alright. I can't say much, but I can reveal a little to you." He cleared his throat lightly and continued, "Aside from this company's assets, our true target is actually a type of Poké Ball they are secretly developing—the Master Ball!"

"A Master Ball!?" a member asked blankly, "What's that?"

"It is the most precious Poké Ball in existence." Speaking of the Master Ball, the Captain's expression showed a hint of longing. "It is said that no matter what kind of Pokémon it is, as long as you use this ball, it can capture them with a one hundred percent success rate, without even needing a battle or exhausting the Pokémon's strength!"

"That incredible!?" The Team Rocket members gasped in awe.

"Of course it is," the Captain laughed. "Otherwise, why would our Team Rocket go to such great lengths to occupy this place? If we truly obtain these Master Balls, capturing powerful and rare Pokémon will no longer be just a dream!"

(End of Chapter)