novel-bin Chapter 228 The Elimination Method of Going Too Far
Chapter 228 The Elimination Method of Going Too Far
In the second round of the treasure hunt between the detective and the dark trio, one fact is certain—
Long before Hugo and Alice noticed them, the ninjas had already launched an attack in three groups.
Perhaps due to her extraordinary vision or some other reason, the enemy learned of their movements first. While this should primarily be blamed on Alice's audacious actions, the ninjas' subsequent series of actions are actually quite intriguing.
If they were only encountering ordinary people, or even just a powerful gym leader, they would never resort to such a crazy strategy as abandoning their means of transportation. Against such opponents, the Dark Trio wouldn't need to pay such a high price, since the other side couldn't possibly track a ninja determined to escape. In that situation, turning the car around and finding another escape route as quickly as possible would be the best course of action.
However, the situation has evolved into what it is now.
This means that when the Dark Triangle decided on their action plan and hid the goods, they had already noticed the presence of Hugo, the variable among the two figures in the distance, and deliberately changed their strategy accordingly.
The presence of the detective made the ninjas worry – would the failure at the Shippo Museum be repeated? If the detective could mobilize the police force of Fukiyo City as easily as he had in Shippo City, then they would have a very difficult time escaping unless they abandoned the escort mission.
The orders for a mission are absolute; the ninja's thought process does not include the option to abandon the mission.
Therefore, there is only one solution left—take advantage of the detective being alone and completely eliminate the two people blocking his way.
Although this was almost a replay of the late-night plan from the museum incident, they did not believe Hugo could escape from them a second time.
Hugo was well aware of this. Although he had managed to escape the battlefield, without transportation or a mount, he was ultimately unable to shake off the Dark Triangle's pursuit on his own. The enemy's well-thought-out plan had precisely targeted the two who had rashly pursued.
Upon closer reflection, the "Will-o'-the-Wisp" sneak attack on Iris was merely a convenient tactic employed by the enemy. Otherwise, if the Pokémon had missed Iris, it would have continued to strike the sensory-sensitive Salamence. The true purpose of the other two Coffins was to seal Salamence's red wings, preventing it from carrying the two away from the battlefield once again.
This is how ninjas obtained intelligence in advance and devised a series of perfect tactics based on it.
But this information is both a power and a curse.
Since the Dark Triangle operates based on known intelligence, the enemy's every move is inevitably swept along by this inertia of thought. Their choice of treasure location will also be influenced by this intelligence.
Whether it's hanging the Poké Balls they want to hide high on a branch, burying them deep in the ground, or letting their Pokémon carry goods through the forest... can these seemingly foolproof plans really escape the detective's notice? — That's what the ninjas must have thought during the planning stage.
An expert who is good at hiding things must also be good at finding them.
The security consultant who assisted the Shippo Museum in hiding their treasures possesses unparalleled expertise, making it entirely possible for him to easily locate their treasure. Therefore, extreme caution must be exercised when choosing where to hide your Poké Balls—ordinary concealment methods, like those used in the past, are absolutely out of the question.
This is not a wild guess born of Hugo's excessive self-awareness—the caution of the triple darkness is also triple.
Those guys even optimized their elf battle tactics based on their past duels with the detective. When facing Alice, they also employed a sneaky approach of one overt and two covert methods, making full use of the advantages of the ninja trinity, being almost cautious to the point of being chilling.
They were so meticulous in the execution phase of the plan that it's hard to imagine that they would be careless and haphazard in handling the target they were escorting when hiding things.
Now that we know the basis of our opponent's thinking, this treasure hunt becomes a piece of cake.
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Hugo held his breath and huddled under a large tree at the meeting point.
This giant tree was once used as a nest by Bug-type Pokémon, so although its branches and leaves are still lush, a large part of the trunk has rotted away, forming a long, vertical hollow at the base. The detective can perfectly hide himself in it.
As Turtwig, Piplup, and Chimchar passed behind the trees, one wild Pokémon after another appeared in the detective's field of vision.
The scene was extremely chaotic because the three wild spirits were forcibly brought together.
The increasingly crowded space exacerbated the friction between these Pokémon, causing many irritable Pokémon to unleash their moves in anger, inevitably triggering a chain reaction of more intense conflicts.
Even the beginner Pokémon running at the front were almost caught in the crossfire of the battle behind them.
Despite the chaotic battle of wild elves right in front of him, Hugo silently listened to the footsteps behind the tree trunk. For his own safety, he had to imitate the lifeless sculptures in wax museums, minimizing his presence under the cover of the tree trunk.
After silently counting to several tens of seconds, the elves gradually moved away from the giant tree where Hugo was hiding. The elves that had been rushing past became sparse and scattered until they finally disappeared.
The detective listened intently, making one last check of the footsteps behind the tree trunk.
There was no silence.
The footsteps on the ground had indeed stopped, but many of the Flying-type Pokémon lured by Piplup had landed on the branches of the giant tree. The sounds of these bird Pokémon rubbing their feathers and chirping could be heard; perhaps they were condemning Piplup's lies and plotting how to retaliate against this bird traitor who had given false intelligence.
It's not perfect, but it's about time.
As if a doll had come to life, the detective suddenly flipped over and escaped the tree hole, still clutching the insect repellent spray he had prepared.
The spray bottles have a very high-end dark gold casing. Hugo holds three bottles in each hand; by simply pressing a special button connected to the nozzle, these modified sprays can be activated simultaneously, releasing the highest quality golden insect repellent spray droplets.
However, there's something we need to do before triggering the mechanism—
"Your Poké Ball is seventy meters to your right, in a crevice in the rocks covered by old tree roots!"
The detective, his black clothes slightly disheveled from being rubbed, spoke in a loud voice, immediately attracting the attention of all the wild elves in front of him—they were all stunned for a moment by the sudden appearance of the human behind them.
"Come on, go and reveal the location of the treasure!"
Having witnessed the three little creatures find the right crevice in the rock, Hugo confidently pressed the main switch on the high-powered insecticidal spray.
Instantly, orange smoke filled the forest, and a large amount of a special gas that would make Pokémon feel nauseous was violently spewed out from the nozzles.
A single can of ordinary insect repellent spray is enough to make a wild Pokémon of average strength turn tail and run. But right now, there are six full cans of the highest-grade gold spray, simultaneously spraying high-concentration repellent solution at maximum power.
The liquid splashed everywhere from the high-pressure nozzle, accompanied by a strong and persistent odor. Even a tiny bit stuck to the fur would cause that disgusting smell to linger for a whole day.
Hugo manipulated the insecticidal spray to drive away the lagging wild elves, who frantically fled, pushing the elves in front of them even further away.
Oh dear, Mushroom, Bug Treasure Bag, Little Mouth Snail, Capped Bug, Four Seasons Deer, Sprout Deer, Meerkat Slasher, Rice Spoon Snake, Icefield Bear, Proud Pheasant, Bald Eagle Girl, Bald Eagle Na...
No matter what kind of Pokémon they were, they all scattered and were completely routed under the "stench" that humans invented specifically to drive away wild Pokémon.
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Question: Once the location of the treasure has been chosen, how can we ensure the target is protected without any risk of failure?
Answer: Send more guards.
Question: What if we run out of manpower and can't spare any more to provide reinforcements?
Answer: Then send out a trustworthy Pokémon, the stronger the better.
Before the detective's eyes, the fleeing wild elves scattered in all directions in a panic—
However, among the wild elves that ran in all directions, some suddenly changed the direction of their escape.
As if warned by something, some wild elves suddenly stopped in their tracks while fleeing and ran off in different directions.
If only one Pokémon did this, it could simply be a coincidence.
However, dozens or even hundreds of wild Pokémon were attracted by Turtwig, Piplup, and Chimchar. Under the sudden attack of the insect spray, these unfortunate creatures all ended up choosing a direction other than the one they were on.
Hugo narrowed his eyes slightly.
That's it.
The road leading to the secret treasure was empty.