23 Two Letters

"I was really foolish, truly," Chen Yue lifted his lifeless eyes and continued, "I only knew that Team Rocket wouldn't be kind enough to remove the surveillance and let us act alone, but I never expected them to plant remote bombs in Poke Balls..."

"Don't blame yourself!" a female investigator heard Chen Yue's words and couldn't help but well up with tears. "The real culprits behind all of this are Team Rocket!"

"That's right!" another male investigator with a peculiar haircut passionately agreed, "I believe our three seniors wouldn't want to see you so miserable, so, Senior Chen Yue, please pull yourself together! You still have us, and everyone else!"

Exaggerated, Little Brother...

Chen Yue rolled his eyes inwardly but wore a grateful expression on his face. "Thank you for comforting me. I feel much better now."

"Don't mention it; it's what we should do!" The group of young people felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this.

Chen Yue felt it was time.

Without raising suspicion, he glanced at the group of investigators and said, "We've been talking for a while, and I still don't know your names..."

These straightforward natured investigators didn't hesitate and told him their names.

Chen Yue remembered their names silently. After obtaining the information he wanted, he made up an excuse to leave and returned to Amber's side.

Amber was sitting on a chair in the church, listening to the priest reading from the Bible on the stage. Mimikyu obediently sat next to her, its black-bean-like eyes staring unblinkingly in Chen Yue's direction.

"Brother, is everything finished?" Amber asked.

Chen Yue nodded. "It's about to end."

He pushed his phone screen toward Amber, showing a text message from Pidgeot Airlines: "Here, the flight tickets have been booked. We have a flight at 4 PM this afternoon. We'll be able to leave here soon."

***

The memorial service concluded with a melancholic piano melody.

When Chen Yue found Lance, he was discussing something with the other three Elite Four members.

Seeing Chen Yue approaching, Lance raised his hand to halt the discussion and turned to ask, "What's going on?"

The other three Elite Four members also directed their gaze towards Chen Yue.

Chen Yue took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lance. "I don't want any of the rewards I mentioned earlier. I want you to do me a favor."

Lance furrowed his brows upon hearing this. "What favor?"

Chen Yue replied, "Deliver this letter to Mr. Giovanni, the Gym Leader of Pewter City Gym."

Lance looked puzzled as he held the thin letter in his hand. "I remember you didn't have any interaction with Giovanni before. Why would you suddenly want to write him a letter?"

Chen Yue felt a bit embarrassed and casually fabricated, "Actually, I'm a fan of Giovanni, and since he didn't come today, I'm a bit worried about his well-being."

Lance's expression then became understanding.

Just like the Elite Four members, the eight Gym Leaders in the Kanto region were highly popular public figures, and each of them had a significant fan following. It was rumored that these fans would often engage in online debates to prove who was the strongest among them.

He didn't continue to inquire but instead accepted the letter and said, "Don't worry, I will personally deliver it to him. You can rest assured. I will do my best to obtain the Dragonite you want."

Chen Yue nodded and then left.

After he left, Agatha, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, "He didn't tell the truth."

Lance had actually sensed it too.

He had a vague feeling that Chen Yue was hiding something very important from him.

"Do you want to open and see?" Lorelei glanced at the letter in Lance's hand and said.

Lance fell into silence. Being an honest person, he had never engaged in the act of opening someone else's mail from behind. He had previously not even considered it. But at this moment, he hesitated a bit.

At this point, the muscular man Bruno pointed to the back of the letter and spoke up, "Look at the back; there seems to be something written there!"

Lance quickly flipped the letter over, revealing a clear line of small text on the back for everyone to see:

"Take a look, take a look! Left intentionally for you to see. You might not believe what I'm about to say next, but Giovanni, the Gym Leader of Pewter City Gym, is actually the mastermind behind Team Rocket.

Isn't it laughable? The Kanto League went to great lengths to infiltrate Team Rocket with undercover agents, but they themselves have been riddled with holes.

It's not just Giovanni; there are Team Rocket members among the League's higher-ups for sure. Representatives of justice, go investigate thoroughly!

P.S.: Don't attempt to send more undercover agents to infiltrate Team Rocket; your every move is under their watchful eyes.

End."

All four members of the Kanto Elite Four fell into silence.

Bruno couldn't believe it. "Are these... all true?"

Agatha looked serious. "No wonder our plans failed last time... There are such big worms within the League."

Lorelei, watching Lance in a daze, said, "It seems that the investigator knows a lot. Since that's the case, why not bring him back and ask for clarification?"

Lance finally snapped out of it, but when he went outside, Chen Yue's figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Such a fool! Can't you use your phone to call him?" Lorelei sighed in exasperation.

***

Saffron City Post Office.

Chen Yue dropped the letter containing the list of undercover agents into the mailbox and held hands with Amber as they headed to the airport in the ambulance they had rented.

When Lance's call came through, he was already on the plane bound for the Alola region.

"It's turned off," Lance hung up the phone, his expression grim.

"He wouldn't be going to end his life to be with those three companions, would he?" Bruno made a bold guess.

Lance's expression became even grimmer.

Agatha discreetly pinched Bruno's waist from behind and gave him a warning look.

"Don't say anything if you don't want to. Why are you getting physical... really..." Bruno muttered softly, "And it's not like it's impossible. If you three were to die, I'd also find life meaningless."

Now, Agatha couldn't stand it any longer and raised her hand to deliver a swift slap to Bruno's backside. "Shut up! Saying less is better than saying anything at all!"

Lance pursed his lips, his brows furrowed. After a long pause, he spoke, "Let's not tell anyone about this for now. Lorelei, you and Agatha will investigate the League's higher-ups, while Bruno and I will go to Pewter City."

***

That evening.

An urgent express mail was delivered to Pewter City Gym.

Giovanni found it somewhat strange. He and his subordinates typically communicated via phone or computer video calls, and they rarely resorted to the inefficient method of sending letters.

Despite his confusion, he furrowed his brow and opened the letter.

It read:

[Hi Giovanni, how have you been recently? I imagine you must be very busy, right? It's a shame I didn't see you at the memorial service, but as a former member of Team Rocket, I've gathered some information that you might find interesting.]

Giovanni's brow furrowed even deeper.

Who is this? He had no recollection of this person in his memory.

With curiosity, Giovanni continued to read.

[For example, the League has arranged undercover agents within Team Rocket. Next, I'll tell you their names: Sand, Leah, Matsuo, Xiaomei, Jiu Ye, Gu Jia, Bai Yunfei, Liu Hu, Chen Yue.]