Li Guanjun and Charizard hovered silently in the air, waiting for Chandelure to fully merge into his shadow.
Only when the nimble light finally disappeared did he slowly take out his communication device from his pocket and begin to operate it carefully, attempting to re-determine the direction of their advance.
At the same time, Li Guanjun's mind was racing, piecing together and reorganizing the fragmented and seemingly chaotic information he had previously acquired.
Gradually, some clues and connections began to emerge, but they were full of contradictions and doubts. Some things seemed reasonable, but upon closer inspection, many inconsistencies became apparent.
Li Guanjun's gaze involuntarily fell downwards, where two lifeless bodies lay—the two Senior Cadres of the bandit organization who had just been mercilessly executed by Chandelure.
He gazed at them, muttering softly, "I never thought a bandit organization could possess such strong discipline! They actually know how to use self-sacrifice to buy time... This is truly unusual." Thinking of this, Li Guanjun couldn't help but frown, falling into deeper contemplation.
A Quick Attack flashed in his mind, as if he had grasped a crucial piece of information, and he slapped his thigh. He muttered to himself, "I understand now. Hydreigon is one of the Aqua Blade Gang Leader's signature Pokémon, and the fallen ones were also pillars of the Water Blade Gang. Coupled with the information from the coastline about the Aqua Blade Gang Leader smuggling, all of this indicates that the person leading this operation must be an important cadre of the Water Blade Gang or even the Aqua Blade Gang Leader's own child..."
Li Guanjun's current thoughts were only preliminary guesses, and he had no way to confirm his ideas, but he felt that this line of reasoning was almost certainly correct.
After confirming the direction, he lightly patted Charizard's back, signaling it to continue pursuing Hydreigon, even though they could no longer see Hydreigon.
What was unexpected was how incredibly accurate Li Guanjun's seemingly simple analysis turned out to be! The Deputy Leader who led the team this time was, in fact, the notorious Aqua Blade Gang Leader's only son.
Speaking of the Aqua Blade Gang Leader, despite leading a crime-ridden bandit organization, he was also a loving father who deeply cherished his child. These two vastly different roles coexisted within him without any conflict or contradiction.
In a previous confrontation, the Aqua Blade Gang Leader, on the territory of Thousand Island Country, engaged in a fierce battle with the powerful Single Strike Style Urshifu.
After a bitter struggle, the Aqua Blade Gang Leader successfully defeated Urshifu on the front lines and, in conjunction with Malamar, launched a highly potent poison attack, significantly weakening Urshifu's previously strong state.
The Aqua Blade Gang Leader had eagerly hoped for his beloved son to successfully capture this extraordinary Urshifu, but things did not go as planned. At the critical moment, Urshifu unleashed an unimaginable, ultimate Single-Strike, forcefully breaking through the numerous blockades with overwhelming power and narrowly escaping.
Thereafter, the heavily wounded Urshifu, along with Kubfu, began a long and arduous escape, traveling without pause until they finally returned to the training grounds within Hua Country.
Seeing his plan fall through, the Aqua Blade Gang Leader, left with no other choice, gambled everything, sparing no expense from the Water Blade Gang's accumulated deep reserves and vast resources, carefully and gradually infiltrating Hua Country.
Even more shocking, to achieve his goal, he did not hesitate to use a General Pokémon egg, which he treasured, as a bargaining chip, generously gifting it to the corrupt and decadent high-ranking officials within the Hua Country Alliance.
These degenerate officials, blinded by greed, gladly accepted this lavish gift, willingly concealing important information about the events that transpired in the Water-type Wilderness Area for the Water Blade Gang.
At the same time, he arranged for Malamar and these vanguards to arrive in Hua Country first to scout the area, then had his son lead his confidants to infiltrate Hua Country, aiming for a foolproof capture of the divine beast, Urshifu.
At this moment, the Aqua Blade Gang Leader had already secretly infiltrated the Water-type Wilderness Area. He arranged for another cadre to impersonate him on the coastline of Guangdong Province, deliberately allowing the Hua Country Alliance to detect him.
Currently, international society is in turmoil. The Champions of the Central China, South China, and East China regions, only Huazhong Champion Li Xingeng remains in the country. He single-handedly guards these three major regions, while the other Champions are either abroad on other missions or confronting Champions from other countries on the high seas.
The Aqua Blade Gang Leader's objective was to keep the regional Champions focused on coastal defense, preventing them from appearing in the Water-type Wilderness Area, thus buying them more time to capture the divine beast.
"This child is still not steady enough in his actions. At such a critical juncture, he actually let everyone fly together on their Pokémon towards Lake Heart Island. I can't contact anyone else now, which can only mean they've most likely met with misfortune. In that case, I can only add more chips for myself..."
The person speaking was no ordinary individual; he was the infamous Aqua Blade Gang Leader! This Leader was tall and slender, but his face was filled with a sinister and ruthless expression, typical of a Southeast Asian countenance, with dark skin and a perpetually gloomy look.
At this very moment, the Aqua Blade Gang Leader, radiating a dangerous aura, had already stealthily arrived at the outskirts of Dr. Chen Chunjiang's Swampert camp.
He approached like a ghost, his footsteps so light they were almost inaudible. His figure was indistinct under the cover of night, as if merging with the darkness.
Dr. Chen was unaware of the approaching danger. He was intently recording the living habits of Mudkip and Marshtomp, preparing food for them, and helping them establish their territories. The newly hatched Elite-Qualifications Mudkip was growing very fast and had already reached Level 10.
"Malamar, Dark Pulse."
A Pokémon appeared before the Aqua Blade Gang Leader—Malamar, an octopus-like creature with two legs, eight tentacles on its head resembling hair, and fin-like appendages on its sides that functioned as hands, with sharp blades at their tips.
Its mouth gathered a dense Evil-type energy, preparing to attack Dr. Chen, who was diligently recording in the camp...