Chapter 562 - 562: 562. Theo

Golden City.

Night had fallen.

The street's barbecue stalls were doing brisk business, with small tables spilling out onto the sidewalk. The smoky smell of grilled meat and seafood drifted through the air, and the proprietress running the stall — heavily made-up, striking, working the grill with practiced ease — called out orders as she went.

"Another round of oysters, madam!"

Jacob and Edwin sat at one of the tables, both dressed plainly in jackets and baseball caps pulled low to keep their faces hidden. They ate their seafood skewers and drank their beers with unhurried patience, eyes fixed on Paradise Hospital across the street.

"Good, isn't it?" Edwin murmured to Jacob. "The food here's solid, and the owner's got some spirit to her too."

Jacob glanced at the woman. She had a striking figure, no question — but next to Raya, she didn't come close. Thinking of Raya, he found himself wondering how she'd been lately. Once things here were settled, he could finally go see her again.

......

Just as his thoughts began to drift, a crowd surged onto the street — a rough, masked pack of men brandishing knives and clubs. Some bore tattoos, others wore nose rings and heavy earrings, and a few carried firearms outright. They came with Pokémon of their own in tow, ranging from Elite-level up to Gym Leader-level strength.

Jacob, long since accustomed to far grander battles, huffed out a quiet laugh at the sight of such modest Pokémon — though there was a strange nostalgia in it too. This was what ordinary people's strength actually looked like. Surrounded so often by Heavenly King-level, Champion-level, or even Quasi-Master-level opponents, he'd nearly forgotten what an average trainer's power really amounted to.

Bang! One of the thugs fired a shot into the air and bellowed as he marched forward. "Get out! Everybody clear out, now!"

"Move it if you don't want to die! Get out of the way, damn it!"

"Clear the street! Put those phones away — anyone caught filming gets it, I swear!"

......

The mob shouted down the diners along the street, kicking over tables and chairs as they pushed toward Paradise Hospital. The out-of-town tourists eating nearby scattered in a panic, ducking into the nearest shops for cover.

Edwin's expression darkened with unmistakable killing intent, his hand already drifting toward the Poké Ball at his belt — but Jacob caught his arm with a shake of the head. "Let's see what this is first. Don't jump in yet."

With that, Jacob slipped into the barbecue shop with the fleeing crowd, Edwin close behind, both watching the unfolding chaos from a safe distance as the mob barreled across the street toward the hospital.

The out-of-town visitors inside the shop stared out the window in stunned silence. The locals, by contrast, barely reacted — clearly no strangers to this sort of thing.

"Handsome, don't look. You'll only get dragged into it."

"God, this is terrifying. Let's get out of here."

"I am never coming back to this city again."

......

Under cover of darkness, the mob set their Pokémon loose on the hospital's gates, smashing them open before tearing into the building itself. Within minutes, the once-elegant Paradise Hospital lay in ruins — shattered glass scattered everywhere, flames licking up toward the night sky.

"Rotten hospital!"

"Scammers, the lot of them!"

......

Edwin's face darkened again, and he turned to Jacob. "Should we move now?"

Jacob shook his head once more. "Let's watch a little longer. No rush."

Dealing with foot soldiers like these would only burn time and energy for nothing. Jacob wanted the person actually pulling the strings — settle that, and the rest would sort itself out.

"Fine." Edwin took a slow breath. Left to his own instincts, he'd have already waded in, but he swallowed the anger down and kept watching alongside Jacob.

"By the way," Jacob added, "you might want your hospital to clean up its act."

"Boss, that's not what's going on here." Catching the misunderstanding, Edwin was quick to explain. "Paradise Hospital is one of the best private hospitals in Golden City — our patients are people with money and influence. I'm not about to torch my own reputation. It's pricey, sure, but we haven't done anything underhanded there."

"Is that so?"

"Really. Whatever shady business you're thinking of, that all happens out on the open seas," Edwin assured him.

......

Just then, sirens wailed in the distance.

"Cops! Move, move!"

The cry went up, and the whole mob scattered from the hospital grounds and vanished into the streets. Watching from inside the barbecue shop, Jacob turned and gave Edwin a small nod — he meant to trail this group and find out exactly who was behind it all.

As the two of them rose to leave, one of the other guests called out, well-meaning. "You two shouldn't head out yet — I already called the police. Better wait till they get here."

Jacob and Edwin glanced back. The young faces looking at them could've belonged to any college student back in China. Jacob tugged his cap lower, letting the shadow swallow his features, and offered a small smile. "Appreciate the concern."

With that, the two slipped out of the shop and disappeared into the dark street.

......

Under cover of night, they trailed the mob through the city's winding streets until they reached an electronics manufacturing park out in the suburbs — a fenced compound ringed with electrified wire. Security cameras covered every angle of the grounds, and watchtowers rose from each corner of the main building, each manned by three armed guards with Pokémon of their own on patrol.

"This... is Theo's territory." Edwin recognized the road at once, and with it, the identity of the mastermind. "Theo runs the Black Rope Group. On paper, they're a high-tech manufacturing outfit, but in reality, they're the biggest human trafficking and Pokémon smuggling operation in all of Siam."

"How strong is Theo himself?" Jacob asked.

"Two or three Quasi-Champion-level Pokémon, as far as I know. Can't rule out he's holding something back, but it's unlikely he's got anything above Champion level," Edwin said.

Jacob's brow creased slightly. "With that little firepower, you haven't absorbed him already?"

"Theo's just a senior employee — he only holds a small stake in the Black Rope Group. The real boss behind it is Wynne," Edwin said, his tone turning serious.

"So Wynne really is the one behind all this."

"Almost certainly." Edwin nodded. "I called him yesterday, and he claimed his people were too worked up for him to fully rein in. He's probably using Theo to test how far he can push us."

"Testing our limits, is he?" Jacob smiled faintly. "So what's your play?"

......