dmims Chapter 36 offers a scare to the novelist late at night.
Chapter 36 offers a scare to the novelist late at night.
The high school girl and Mr. Lanju got off the bus at Qibao Town, the transit station, after earning their travel expenses.
Unlike the two men who remained silent after making their secret deal, Touko seemed to have formed a strong bond with the girl from Fukiyo High School, and they even hugged each other goodbye before she got off the bus.
"I never expected that such a casual trip could actually lead to some serious business. It's quite an unexpected surprise." After Yueju left, Hugo visibly relaxed, stretching and remarking with a sigh.
The girl with the high ponytail nodded in agreement, instinctively clutching the pocket of her pants where her heavy wallet was hidden: "Yeah, the profits are unexpectedly high. I'm one step closer to my goal of setting up my own studio."
The detective, suddenly realizing he was talking at cross purposes, felt awkward and quickly changed the subject: "Looks like you won the competition very easily."
"Yes, the girl who teamed up with me later was an elite trainer assigned by the League to the Seven Treasures Gym for assessment. Her Cuckoo is excellent. Her battle level is quite different from that of a certain famous detective."
Hugo seemed used to such provocations and showed no anger whatsoever. He calmly stated, "I am not good at this kind of activity where I order my men to fight each other. In a distance like in a train carriage, it would be more efficient to throw this cane out and knock the other person unconscious before they can react."
Thinking of the Poké Ball Hugo had thrown at the Dark-type Elite Four member's face earlier, Douzi couldn't help but shudder. The detective next to him seemed capable of doing something like that.
"No legitimate competition allows this kind of behavior," the girl immediately warned Hugo, fearing that her tenant would be imprisoned for such a foolish act.
“Nothing is absolute,” the detective said leisurely. “Like this match, I broke the default rule by throwing a Poké Ball into the opponent’s field, but even if the referee went through all the rules of the match, he couldn’t find my behavior to be illegal. There are just too many gray areas like this that skirt the edge of the rules.”
Douzi felt that continuing to listen would definitely not lead to anything good, but her curiosity made her ask involuntarily, "What are they?"
"Take this competition in the train carriage as an example. Because the venue is extremely small and the trainer's command space is cramped, a participant familiar with the rules can bring some large Pokémon. After putting the Pokémon into the field in the way I just described, without both feet leaving the field, the participant can 'accidentally' 'touch' the opponent with their large body. If the opponent loses their command ability as a result, the referee will not be able to determine that this side has violated the rules."
Hugo casually uttered something extraordinary.
"For example, in league matches where both sides stand in opposite stands, these seemingly formal matches are actually full of loopholes. You see, the control platform in the arena is usually open to the public. If you agree with the Pokémon beforehand to use a move slightly off-target..."
"Please stop talking." As if facing a demon's whisper, Douzi covered his ears tightly. "I feel that your strategies will lead people down a path of no return, and they will definitely, definitely end up in prison."
"Tsk, it's clearly a reasonable strategy within the rules." The detective clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
“Mr. Hugo,” Douzi said cautiously, “your bad luck is indeed a cruel trick of fate, and it’s incredibly troublesome. But you can’t take your anger out on us trainers, can you? The trainers are innocent!”
Hugo shrugged, as if trying to ease the tension, and released the Chimchar from its Poké Ball.
Looking down at the orange-furred monkey perched on his lap, Hugo asked, "What do you think? Is this tactic reasonable?"
The little fire monkey tilted its head, seemingly deep in thought, its paw rubbing its chin incessantly. This was a habitual gesture of its owner, Hugo, when he was contemplating.
Douzi watched the little fire monkey's actions with curiosity. Just then, the fire monkey, who was deep in thought, became increasingly erratic in its breathing. Suddenly, it shuddered, and flames on its tail shot up, almost burning Douzi's nose.
In Hugo's eyes, his little Chimchar, the Chimchar that had just performed terribly in the competition, was shaking its head firmly at him amidst the rising flames behind it, its eyes full of encouragement, just like a homeroom teacher seeing off a student to a juvenile detention center.
"Honestly, why are all the people around me so morally upright?"
.
While Hugo, Douzi, and Chimchar were discussing the rationale behind the gray areas in the battle, Cranberry walked alone into a secluded alley.
All the alleys at night look the same. In the pitch-black darkness, the evil king took out the phone Hugo had given him and dialed a number.
"Wanlong, I've decided to accept your outrageous plan, which's like something out of a spy novel."
The sound of a teacup shattering and a woman's exclamation came from the other end of the phone.
Is this self-proclaimed novelist queen working on her manuscript again in the middle of the night? I really hope she could use that energy on handling alliance affairs. Yueju shook her head, listening to Wanlong's excited words.
"There's no particular reason. I met a strange guy who changed my mind... No, not the type you're describing. If I had to describe him, he's like a character from one of your detective novels."
Ms. Wanlong on the other end of the phone seemed even more excited, speaking rapidly.
"Anyway, use your useless novelist talent to come up with a plot for me that makes me deserted by everyone in the alliance... Don't try to hide it from them, you can't hide it from them anyway, and I'm also afraid that if things get serious, Boss Lianwu will beat me to death."
The two discussed this over the phone for a long time. Finally, after hesitating for a while, Yueju asked, "How is Mr. Adek?"
A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone.
"Even the most splendid gambles eventually come to an end. As a gambler, one should indulge in pleasure even if it means living a short life—I have no right to offer Mr. Aldeck any advice. All I can do is participate in one exciting gamble after another. Team Plasma has gone too far this time. Since they've been flaunting their status as the King of Pop for so long, why don't they try acting as the house this time? That might be more interesting."
After the call ended, Yueju broke the phone containing the document "Investigation and Hazard Analysis of Plasma Clusters in the United States Area," carefully breaking the memory card into several pieces and throwing them into a roadside trash can.
Then he took out the business card that Hugo had given him last time, his gaze lingering between the card and the trash can for a long time before finally stuffing the small piece of paper back into his suit pocket.
The moonlight appeared late in the alley, and Lingju strolled alone in the night, her suit black, but her bright red front placket was neatly arranged, as if she were about to attend a grand banquet.
The evil-type king's vision leads to his destination: the Qibao Museum, a landmark of the city, with its white walls, black tiles, and ancient and grand architecture.