The instrument to escape the secret realm was in that old man's hand, but with the current state inside, neither of them dared to go in.
When Section Chief Hu saw Old Cat and A Gou at the entrance, he called out, "Old Cat! A Gou! Come help me quickly… help me get out of this ice…"
"How about we just slip away?" Old Cat suggested.
A Gou swallowed hard, nodded, and said, "Mhm!"
They ran off without looking back, planning to blend back into the student crowd and escape.
Leaving Section Chief Hu cursing them in the warehouse.
But Old Cat and A Gou hadn't gone far when they encountered a bodyguard in a suit. They were about to make a move.
However, the bodyguard asked, "Where's that guy surnamed Hu?"
"Huh?" A Gou was a bit slow to react, letting out a confused sound.
"The old man who hired you!" The spy, Mu Li, quickly asked.
Old Cat realized this was the old man's accomplice, so he said, "He's still in the warehouse, but that warehouse is haunted…"
"And the orb?" Mu Li interrupted him directly and asked.
Old Cat answered truthfully, "Before I came out, it was still in his hand, but now…"
Before Old Cat could finish, Mu Li rushed towards the warehouse.
"Tsk, damn it, what kind of mess is this?" Old Cat cursed and continued to run.
Mu Li ran near the warehouse and suddenly stopped.
Years of spy intuition told him someone was watching him, but he looked around and saw no one.
"Something's not right…" Mu Li's hand went to the Poké Ball behind his waist, and he quickly threw it out.
"Gastrodon! Muddy Water!"
Gastrodon and its trainer, Mu Li, were of one mind. When it emerged and found no target, it immediately used Muddy Water on the ground.
Muddy Water covered a large area of the ground nearby, but a small section remained uncovered, as if someone was standing there.
Mu Li snorted, "Found you! Gastrodon! Use Earth Power!"
"Woo~" Gastrodon let out a soft cry, and a yellow light began to gather around its body.
At this moment, Mu Li heard a faint sound: "Hold back your strength."
At the same time, a peculiarly shaped Delibird suddenly appeared, standing on the Muddy Water.
"Hoo—" A fierce wind blew, making Mu Li unable to open his eyes.
When he finally managed to open his eyes, Gastrodon was frozen solid in a block of ice.
"Elite Class? No… no, wait, it seems like Champion Class?!"
Mu Li felt a bit distraught. If it was just Elite Class, he still had a chance, but Champion Class, he feared he might be finished here.
The opponent stepped on the Muddy Water as if strolling leisurely, making "pitter-patter" sounds as he walked on the water without stopping, yet he said nothing more.
Mu Li wanted to reach for the Poké Ball at his waist, but that Delibird stared directly at him.
Mu Li had never seen such an expression in any Delibird's eyes before. In his impression, Delibird had always been a rather adorable and silly bird Pokémon.
However, the Delibird before him had eyes as cold as the polar ice, devoid of any warmth. Its eyes were dull and mechanical, as if programmed, without a hint of lively spirit.
Its gaze shot directly at him like two cold rays, instantly making Mu Li feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Its eyes seemed to contain endless killing intent, as if in the next second, it would open its sharp beak and lunge at Mu Li with lightning speed, putting him to death.
The moment he met its gaze, Mu Li's heart clenched, and a chill rose from his spine, as if the shadow of death had quietly enveloped him.
Cold sweat streamed down Mu Li's forehead, feeling immense pressure, but years of being a spy made his fingers instinctively slide slowly towards the Poké Ball at his waist.
The opponent seemed not to notice his small movement, and he successfully touched his Poké Ball.
"Cloyster! Icicle Spear!"
This was his ace, a Master (over level 70) Cloyster.
Water and Ice dual-type, this was his confidence in daring to come to the Dragon-Tamer Family.
He didn't have to worry about being frozen again by the opponent; at least he had a fighting chance against that eerie Delibird.
Cloyster, using the inertia from coming out of the Poké Ball, flew towards the opponent. It gathered an icicle from the spike on its forehead, exuding cold air, and used Icicle Spear on the enemy. This was a unique move it possessed as Mu Li's ace Pokémon.
This attack was incredibly swift and powerful, having defeated many opponents in Mu Li's spy career.
But Cloyster's speed suddenly plummeted halfway through its charge. To Mu Li's shock, Cloyster flew to the feet of that Delibird, then fell down, no longer moving.
At this moment, a dry wind lightly brushed Mu Li's earlobe. He belatedly realized that his ears were frozen red and his skin was chapped.
He reached to rub them but drew blood.
He stammered, "This… this is Freeze-Dry, no, no! Even a Champion Class couldn't instantly defeat my Cloyster."
Could it be! He thought of an impossible scenario—the opponent was Master (over level 90).
Only a Master could possibly instantly defeat his Cloyster.
The Bai family actually had an Ice-type Master!
No, no! Not the Bai family, it's Dragon Country! Dragon Country found me, they knew all along, and they were waiting for me here!
Mu Li thought frantically, and his opponent also stopped his continuous treading water.
Although Mu Li couldn't see the opponent's figure, he knew that the opponent was staring directly at him, as if looking at a fish on a cutting board!
At this moment, apart from the commotion caused by the Bai family in the distance, there was no other sound around.
If it weren't for that eerie Delibird and the pair of feet revealed by the Muddy Water.
Mu Li would have thought this was just an ordinary courtyard in a village.
'Damn it, where did something go wrong? Who? Who leaked my intelligence!' Mu Li wanted to curse, but facing that Delibird, he dared not make a sound.
Time passed minute by minute, and for some reason, the Bai family members hadn't arrived yet, but Mu Li couldn't hold on. He felt like he had daggers in his back and was living years in a day.
This Master Pokémon Trainer, and his 'Delibird,' were the most bizarre and terrifying existences he had ever encountered in his life.
The pressure from the opponent made his knees tremble; he was almost on his knees.
'No! I can't die here like this!'
At the depths of despair, there was an intense desire for 'life'!
Mu Li bit his tongue hard, drawing blood, using the pain to perk himself up!
He quickly threw out four Poké Balls and commanded, "You go."
But he ran off without looking back.
He ran into the warehouse, remembering that there was an instrument to leave the secret realm inside. This was his only hope.
Although he felt very sorry, as long as his four Pokémon could buy him a little time, he could leave the secret realm!
He quickly ran into the warehouse, saw Section Chief Hu with his limbs frozen, and anxiously asked, "Where's the instrument to leave the secret realm?"
Section Chief Hu was already somewhat numb from the cold. He weakly replied, "It's in my pocket, please, please let me go…"
Hearing Section Chief Hu's words, Mu Li was overjoyed, but Section Chief Hu's hands, which were meant to reach for the instrument in his pocket, were now frozen, so Mu Li couldn't get the instrument from his pocket.
Mu Li looked around and saw a Haxorus's dragon tooth. He didn't care about his hands getting cut, grabbed the dragon tooth, and smashed it towards Section Chief Hu's frozen hands.
Section Chief Hu saw this and screamed, "No, no!"
But it was no use.
"Crash—"
The ice, along with Section Chief Hu's arms, was smashed to pieces!
Section Chief Hu fainted.
Mu Li used his blood-soaked hands to rummage through his pocket, finally got the instrument, and immediately activated it, being teleported back to Blue Star.