Chapter 578. A Very Dangerous Guest

Chapter 578: Chapter 578. A Very Dangerous Guest

Alex wasn’t particularly impressed by anything the settlement had to offer. The slim power suits were only around Expert rank, whereas Rhea’s exosuit was already at Elite rank and could reach Champion rank with a bulkier design. Using Master ranked materials enhanced its defenses even further, practically guaranteeing the wearer’s survival against anything below that level.

The laser weapons carried by the security forces were only Expert rank as well. In comparison, the guns Rhea personally manufactured were already Elite rank. The scavengers didn’t seem to have much worth trading either. From a cursory glance, most of what they were offering was little more than junk. Even the Pokémon here were relatively weak, and unlike the Pokémon in his world, they didn’t grow stronger through consumption.

Overall, there was nothing here enticing enough for Alex to bother trading for. That changed when the commotion began and he noticed the cannons mounted along the settlement walls powering up to attack him.

At first glance, they looked like oversized spotlights, with barrels only slightly longer than normal. Their appearance suggested another type of light-based weapon, but the energy accumulating inside them told Alex they were far more powerful than they looked. He estimated their output could reach Master rank.

They were likely the settlement’s primary defense against the Master ranked Future Paradox Pokémon roaming the ruined city. Their independent targeting systems appeared capable of tracking targets with pinpoint accuracy, while their sustained output meant they could potentially outlast Protect shields. More importantly, their power seemed sufficient to severely melt the metal bodies of the Paradox Pokémon.

Without weapons like these, a settlement surrounded by Master ranked threats would have little chance of surviving. They were likely the reason this place had remained intact for so long.

For the first time since arriving, Alex had found something that genuinely interested him. These cannons might actually be worth trading his precious and expensive food for.

"That’s a military resource," Captain Holt replied. "I don’t have the authority to just hand one of those over for a questionable resource."

"And you think you can just pick my food off the ground?" Alex shot back. "It’s a military resource too, and an extremely expensive one at that."

"Let’s just put this off until I get orders from headquarters," Captain Reyes chimed in, cutting off the heated debate.

"Speaking of orders," Alex said, drawing both captains’ attention as a heavy killing intent radiated from his body.

The immense pressure seemed to seize their lungs, leaving them both struggling to breathe as an instinctive terror washed over them. It was a presence so overwhelming that it felt like standing before death itself.

"Make sure those eggheads understand something. If they try anything funny, I have a weapon powerful enough to destroy an entire city, and I have the means to defend myself against those cannons on the walls."

Alex’s gaze hardened.

"If they decide to treat me like some experimental subject, I’ll hunt down every greedy shit who gave the order. I’m sure they have some emergency evacuation plan that might let them survive a little longer if their city falls, but that won’t save them from me. I’ve killed thousands of people and millions of Pokémon. There is nothing in this world that can stop me. I’ll hunt down every last one of them and make sure they beg for death."

Alex paused, letting the threat sink in.

"You haven’t seen what I’m capable of yet. Pass that warning up the chain of command if you don’t want to become my enemy."

The moment Alex released his killing intent, both captains sucked in a sharp breath.

"Un-understood," Captain Reyes managed to say.

"Fucker!" Captain Holt cursed, breathing raggedly.

Once they had managed to catch their breath, both men became noticeably more professional.

"Could you elaborate on the specifics regarding the food you mentioned?" Captain Reyes asked, apparently trying to prevent any foul play by giving his superiors more information to work with.

"Prolonged consumption paired with extreme training should allow you to become roughly as strong as your power suits," Alex explained. "Anything beyond that requires a bond with a powerful Pokémon to unlock a human’s full potential."

He paused before clarifying.

"And I’m not talking about simply being a trainer or having some power-of-friendship bullshit. I mean a tangible bond between a human and Pokémon that allows them to share their energies and even communicate through intent. The humans in my world have that ability innately."

"Is it genetic?" Captain Reyes asked.

"No. I don’t think so." Alex shook his head. "I believe it’s a gift from Arceus, given to humanity because of the circumstances our world is facing."

"What circumstances?" Captain Holt asked.

"A black hole that’s slowly swallowing our dimension," Alex answered. "Even Arceus, Giratina, Palkia, and Dialga can’t do anything to stop it. I’m sure your world isn’t dealing with anything like that. That’s probably why your humans never developed the ability to form those bonds with Pokémon and grow stronger through them."

"What else do you have to offer?" Captain Reyes asked. "You mentioned having a weapon?"

"A bomb powerful enough to wipe out everything within a 10-kilometer radius. It requires a specific type of crystal, though, so I don’t know if your world has the materials needed to make one. I also have guns that use the same technology, along with power suits of my own, although mine are considerably larger."

Alex leaned back slightly.

"In any case, make sure they come back with a proper offer. As things stand, the only thing I’m interested in trading for is one of those cannons."

"Alright," Captain Holt said. "We’ll call for you once we have more information. In the meantime, we’ll arrange your accommodations."

"Don’t bother," Alex said. "Just show me an empty plot of land, and I’ll take care of myself."

"Janice!" Captain Holt shouted.

A secretary hurried in from outside.

"Show our guest to an empty plot of land nearby."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

Alex was led out of the office, leaving Captain Holt and Captain Reyes staring at each other with furrowed brows. There was little doubt in their minds that they had encountered a threat this settlement was not equipped to handle. They needed to make sure headquarters understood that this man could not be underestimated, but without anything concrete to back up his claims, there was only so much they could do. For all they knew, he could have been bluffing.

"Keep an eye on him," Captain Reyes said as he stood.

"You don’t have to tell me," Captain Holt replied. "Just make sure headquarters doesn’t underestimate him."

"You don’t have to tell me either."

Suddenly, through the window of Captain Holt’s office, both men watched as a house suddenly materialized in a clearing just outside the settlement walls. The technology itself wasn’t particularly surprising. They had space compression technology capable of storing and deploying large structures, so seeing a house appear like that wasn’t unusual.

What caught their attention were the Pokémon that emerged around it.

More than 50 Pokémon were scattered throughout the clearing, all of them fully evolved and possessing imposing, powerful bodies. Among them were a Guzzlord, Ultra Necrozma, a massive Mantine, Roaring Moon, and even an Iron Valiant.

Captain Holt and Captain Reyes could only stare in shock as a familiar sense of dread crawled up their spines. They immediately understood that Alex wasn’t someone to be messed with. He could truly flatten their settlement if he wanted to, without much effort. They really, truly needed to be careful when dealing with him.

Whatever Alex was, he was far more dangerous than they could possibly imagine.

"He even has Pokémon we’ve never seen before," Captain Holt said. "And what the hell is that thing? It’s a dragon that’s over 7 meters tall! Then there’s that heavily armored Mantine with a wingspan of 20 meters. It looks like nothing we have could bring that thing down. He even has Artificial Pokémon with him, for fuck’s sake. What the hell have you brought back to my settlement?"

"I don’t know, and I don’t care anymore," Captain Reyes said with a fed-up, blank expression. "If headquarters is going to screw this man over, I’m retiring."

"You mean escaping?"

"Same thing."

"Let me come with you."

"Sure."

Early in the morning of the next day, Alex strolled through the marketplace and, as expected, found nothing of interest. There was plenty of food, clothing, Pokémon, Trainer supplies, weapons, armor, and other daily necessities, but none of it caught his attention.

What stood out was the distinct lack of advanced technology for sale. Most of the devices he saw had little more than basic interfaces, with nothing particularly sophisticated or useful. It seemed their technological development had taken a major step backward because of the virus that could turn their own technology against them. Considering the threat, Alex found it understandable that they would avoid anything too advanced or interconnected.

In the afternoon, Alex was called back to Captain Holt’s office, where Captain Reyes happily presented him with a list of resources, technology, and information available for trade. It seemed Captain Reyes had worked hard to make sure Alex’s offer was taken seriously.

Alex scanned through the list, a wide smile spreading across his face. The selection was far better than he had expected. At this rate, he might actually have to give up all the food he had brought with him and a bit more.