"Captain, the riot in this area has almost been taken care of. The rest of the areas are also slowly coming under control.
And as you ordered, we've sent some of the free rangers to form a defensive line near the foot of the mountain. So far, they haven't seen any suspicious people.
Communications are still down, but judging from the time those Trainers left, if they've kept moving forward, they should have reached Pewter City by now.
Lastly, we already sent people into the cave, but no news has come back yet."
After defeating the last wave of wild Pokémon, someone quickly reported the situation to Jin.
By now, Jin was already exhausted. But the riot wasn't completely resolved yet, the losses hadn't been counted, and the enemy was still nowhere to be seen. He couldn't allow himself to rest.
"I understand. Take half the men to provide support. The rest will come with me to look for clues. We need to find out who is behind this.
Remember, if you get attacked, fire the signal flare immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
After giving his orders, Jin moved out again.
***
At the same time, Murakami and his two companions reached the foot of the mountain, ready to pass through the last defensive line.
"Remember, same as before. We can't split up. We have to get through the line as fast as possible. We can't give that man any chance."
With no time to find weak spots in the defensive line, Murakami just picked a random spot to hide and gave his final instructions.
Before charging, he couldn't help but look back. All he saw was the silent forest. That silence was what truly terrified him.
No one knew if that man was still hiding, waiting to strike at any moment.
"Go!"
Murakami turned his head and stopped hesitating. He decided to charge and escape this place.
The next second, Murakami's three Pokémon all attacked together.
But Torre's and Masuyama's Pokémon remained by their trainers' corpses. They couldn't be commanded anymore.
"Signal flare!"
Seeing Murakami's charge, the Rangers on guard quickly reacted.
Even though Murakami's Pokémon were clearly much stronger and could easily kill them, the Rangers didn't retreat.
The battle started, and the Rangers' side was crushed instantly.
They had already reached their limit. Forming a defensive line while also handling the riot had stretched them too thin. Expecting them to also have great strength was impossible.
While breaking through the line, Murakami kept waiting for the hidden man to strike. But no attack came.
It was as if, after his last strike, the man had been satisfied and left.
But Murakami's instincts told him this wasn't over yet.
"Move!"
Breaking through the line, Murakami had no thought of fighting further. He just continued retreating along the planned route.
At that moment, Cass suddenly disappeared from the group.
Then Kadabra used Teleport to leave.
Kadabra hadn't shown any signs before, but Murakami felt as if it were mocking him. Even if he ordered his Pokémon to attack now, it was already too late.
No one could help it. Anyone who just escaped death would lose focus for a split second. The man had chosen his timing perfectly.
Leaving behind a corpse, Gu Yuan once again went back into hiding.
The other Rangers were far away, unable to see Kadabra's movements. Gu Yuan had nothing to worry about.
Holding back his rage, Murakami fled with only Will left at his side.
But inside, his anger was mixed with fear.
Even without seeing the man's face, Murakami felt he was like a crocodile hiding underwater, waiting for him to make one mistake, then biting his throat and dragging him down.
Once he was too weak to resist, the man would slowly enjoy his prey.
Even if Murakami forced himself not to think this way, the fear only grew stronger.
***
"Captain, all of the Moon Stones have been stolen. But we found three corpses. They belong to the wanted men Cass, Torre, and Masuyama. It seems this operation was done by Murakami and his group of five.
But there should be others involved. Someone attacked them as well.
After all, given their close ties, it's impossible they would fight each other, especially while still in danger."
At the foot of the mountain, Darwin reported to Jin while staring at the dead Rangers. His fury was deep, but he stayed calm.
"I understand. Take people to clean up Mt. Moon. I'll lead the others to chase them down. Our brothers' blood can't be spilled for nothing!
Come with me! Watch out for Murakami's traps, and be on guard against the unknown man. Even if he attacked Murakami's group, we still don't know if he's a friend or a foe!"
Roaring, Jin gathered his men. He had already decided. No matter what, Murakami and Will couldn't escape. They had to pay with their lives for the dead Rangers!
But Jin needed to hurry, or he might not be the one to finish this.
Running wildly through the forest, Murakami was now completely in panic.
During his escape, a Raticate suddenly jumped out, forcing Murakami and Will to expose a flaw.
As expected, Will disappeared by his side.
Murakami didn't even need to look. He knew Will had become another corpse.
That Raticate appearing at the perfect moment had to be the man's doing, forcing him to make a mistake.
With no one else around, Murakami could only run for his life. Even if his Pokémon managed to defeat Kadabra and avenge him, what good would that do? By then, he would already be dead.
And Murakami knew running like this wouldn't solve the problem. It would only make him expose more flaws. But fear had already crushed him. He couldn't think straight anymore.
The faster he ran, the closer death seemed.
No one can run forever. Especially in a dense forest, Murakami soon began to slow down.
Before he could catch his breath, his vision blurred. He tried to struggle, but the sudden drowsiness slowed him.
A knife pierced him. Gu Yuan watched coldly as Murakami struggled in his hands.
Staring at Gu Yuan's young face, Murakami had only one thought. He was actually forced to this point by a child!
In that moment, Murakami felt he could never rest in peace.
After finishing Murakami, the temporary Hunt mission from the system was completed.
Even with the losses, Gu Yuan earned just over four thousand points in one go.
Not only did it cover his costs, but he also seized a large number of Moon Stones.
As expected, killing others is the quickest way to get rich.