What was going on? His supervisor vanished immediately upon his arrival, giving Xia Yuan a very uneasy feeling.
"Uh... Mr. Lance, I'd like to ask, how many International Police officers are currently in Kanto?"
Lance didn't answer Xia Yuan's question but simply held up his hand.
"Five? That's not too bad..."
Before Xia Yuan could finish, he saw Lance shake his head.
Lance lowered his raised hand and gently patted Xia Yuan on the shoulder.
"Not five. I mean, you are the only one in the entire International Police Kanto Branch right now. Go get 'em!"
Xia Yuan: "..."
Damn it, I've been scammed!
No wonder the interview was so simple!
Is it too late for me to resign now?
It took Xia Yuan a good half-day to recover from the "surprise" Lance had given him.
Rubbing his stiff face, Xia Yuan leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
No wonder the League staff member who called him sounded so excited when he agreed to the transfer. No wonder the interview was so simple.
It turned out he had walked straight into a dumpster fire!
However, Xia Yuan didn't quit.
There were two reasons.
One was that he had just emphatically declared his intention to join the International Police. Retiring after encountering such a minor setback would be far too humiliating.
The second reason was the good news Lance gave him.
Because he was the only person in the entire International Police Kanto Branch, and because Lance had other duties to attend to, no specific assignments were given to him.
In Lance's words, he could choose to do administrative work in the office, gather intelligence on the streets, go undercover in the black market to combat the Pokémon smuggling supply chain, or even tackle a challenging investigation into Team Rocket...
In short, until the International Police Department was fully reconstructed, he was free to decide his own direction of work!
No required direction of work = No work!
And this, to Xia Yuan's ears, was clearly saying...
"I can coast and get paid?"
To be able to coast and get paid, for an ambitious young man like himself, to live a life whose future was clear... this was truly...
Too great!
And that was the start of my days filled with daily "Slacking Off" in the work log...
"May 7th: Today is my first day as an official International Police officer. I arrived at the office, and indeed, the entire Kanto Branch is deserted.
According to Lance, the previous commander and their colleagues disappeared while investigating Team Rocket. They are probably locked up in a little black room somewhere in a Team Rocket base.
It's a pity I'm only a rookie, and I can't help much. I hope Ho-Oh watches over them."
"May 8th: My second day of official employment.
As expected of the International Police Department—anything with 'International' in the name is rich and powerful. They even equipped everyone with high-end work computers, and the internet speed is super fast. Online battles are lag-free; it feels like I'm sitting on the server itself... Wait, I am playing games on the server!
I must dominate this round!"
"May 9th: I'm in a terrible mood. I actually lost the online battle.
The jerk named 'FlareonIsTheBest' not only won but also mocked me in a private message. Is this guy an elementary school student? I used my credentials to check the IP address. Vermilion City? Hmph, don't let me catch you offline, or you won't be having a good time!"
"May 10th: No more games. I slacked off all morning. At noon, instead of ordering takeout, I tried the League's free cafeteria.
It wasn't what I expected. The League Headquarters cafeteria actually has two counters, serving both people and Pokémon. That's a truly human... no, Pokémon-centered design.
The food for people is delicious. As for the Pokémon food... I specifically asked Gardevoir and Dratini for their opinions on the flavor, and they gave it high praise.
Tears stream down my face. Thinking back to the days of being a ranger, sleeping rough and eating awful food—that life wasn't fit for a person. No one should be a ranger!
I've decided: I'm eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the cafeteria from now on!"
"May 11th: Slacking off."
"May 12th: Slacking off."
"May 13th: Xia Yuan, Xia Yuan, you can't continue to degenerate like this! Have you forgotten your original intention for joining the International Police? Perfect timing—I've built up enough affection with Dratini. Training begins tomorrow!"
"May 14th: Gave the Dragon Fang to Dratini to hold. Dratini, you are a mature Pokémon now; you must learn to train yourself. Go, go! Continued to slack off and cuddle with Gardevoir."
"May 15th: While slacking off, the [System] actually popped up a 'Slacking Master' title for me after slacking off for a continuous week. I feel mocked.
However, in exchange for rewarding me with a formula for Master-Grade Pokéblocks, I will temporarily forgive you.
I'm starting serious work tomorrow!"
"May 16th: Officially started training Dratini.
I must once again marvel at the International Police's benefits. There is a dedicated training ground right here in the League Headquarters. Plus, if needed, I can simply use my ID to go to the internal Pokémon Center and get Technical Machines (TMs) from Nurse Joy for free. This is an amazing perk!"
"May 17th: Day two of training Dratini.
Even though I tried to estimate Dratini's talent highly, its performance still exceeded my expectations. It mastered Dragon Tail in just half a day! Its aptitude is only slightly inferior to my unbeatable Shiny Gardevoir!"
"May 18th: What garbage AI! I took Dratini for a full physical, and the League's AI system told me that, at its current pace, raising Dratini into a Dragonite will take at least 20 years! Future potential is high!
To hell with high future potential! How many 20 years does a person have in life!
However, this did remind me: pseudo-Legendaries grow slowly. I need to find a way to accelerate Dratini's growth!"
"May 19th: By consulting the League's database, I discovered that having a Pokémon wear or ingest items and treasures containing corresponding elemental energy can accelerate its growth! This confirms that giving the Dragon Fang to Dratini was the right decision.
But... ingestion? Should I grind the Dragon Fang into powder?"
"May 20th: Continued training Dratini. I also decided to put my idea from yesterday into practice.
After consulting with Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center and confirming it wouldn't cause harm, I used a file to scrape off a small amount of powder from the Dragon Fang and mixed it into Dratini's food.
I can't see any immediate changes. I'll observe tomorrow."
"May 21st: Surprising results! The system panel shows Dratini immediately leveled up by one! My hypothesis was correct.
However, using amplification items as single-use consumables is quite expensive. The real world isn't a game... the cost of this single Dragon Fang is more than my entire salary over the past two and a half years!
But to get Dratini to mature quickly and become battle-ready, this is an acceptable 'loss'!"
"May 22nd: The acceleration continues. Dratini hasn't fully digested the Dragon Fang powder it ate."
"May 23rd: It leveled up again! Dratini has gained three levels already! Should I publish a paper on this? ...On second thought, no. Submitting such a trivial paper would definitely lead to ridicule about being rich and foolish.
"May 24th: I gave Dratini another serving of Dragon Fang powder.
I'm starting to feel bored. While not having a supervisor is great, I can't get promoted or get a raise either. Perhaps I should look into the previous case. I want to see what kind of case wiped out the entire Kanto Branch!"
"May 25th: I decided to do it. I requested authority from Lance, pulled up the case files my former colleagues were tracking, and am now seriously studying them."
"May 26th: There is... wait, something is uncertain. I need to study this more."
"May 27th: If I'm not mistaken, this case, I suspect, has a huge problem!"
May 28th, International Police Kanto Branch
Lance sat behind the desk, looking through the case file Xia Yuan had brought to him.
After ten minutes, Lance looked up and tapped the desk.
"You mentioned you found a problem in the case file, but..."
Lance placed the report on the desk: "Perhaps it's because I'm unfamiliar with the International Police's work procedures, but I couldn't spot any issues."
"Xia Yuan, can you explain what you discovered?"
Lance was completely candid.
If he didn't find a problem, he admitted he didn't find one. He wasn't like a typical supervisor who would stubbornly cling to their opinion or scold a subordinate for raising a false alarm. Instead, he humbly sought clarification, which made Xia Yuan feel respected.
Xia Yuan was prepared. He immediately stated, "I've been studying this file for the past few days and found several questionable points."
"First, the source of the intelligence. According to the file, a customs officer at Vermilion Port discovered some regulated equipment being smuggled using a cargo ship during a routine check."
"Subsequently, my former colleague, an International Police officer named 'Tetsuya,' contacted a mole he had planted in Team Rocket and confirmed the cargo was related to Team Rocket. This led them to lock onto the target: the cargo ship S.S. Strikeback, belonging to the Silph Shipping Group."
"At 11:00 PM on April 17th, under the lead of the Branch Chief, all 14 International Police officers were deployed to raid the S.S. Strikeback, which was docked at Vermilion Port."
"At 11:15 PM, the team was ambushed in the ship's hold. Some officers were injured, and they sent a distress signal to headquarters."
"At 11:20 PM, communications were jammed, and the team lost contact."
"At midnight on the 18th, the S.S. Strikeback experienced a severe explosion, and external support personnel reported the situation to the League."
"At 12:10 AM, the Vermilion Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, arrived with his team and secured the scene."
"Around 12:30 AM, the Vermilion City Fire Department arrived and began organizing firefighting and rescue efforts."
"At 1:40 AM, the fire was brought under control."
"Afterward, according to Gym Leader Lt. Surge's report, no survivors or bodies were found during the subsequent search and rescue operations."
Listening to Xia Yuan recount the entire file, Lance slightly frowned: "What are you trying to say?"
Xia Yuan spread his hands:
"Simply put, I suspect there's an imposter within our organization!"
"What!?"
To be honest, before seeing this case file, Xia Yuan genuinely planned to slack off.
He figured the disappearance of his former colleagues and supervisor might have been due to some force majeure, and he would have likely met a similar fate.
But after reading the file, he was completely stunned.
The entire case reeked of something fishy.
How did a professional criminal organization like Team Rocket allow their smuggling to be discovered by a regular customs officer?
Why can't I find any file for the mole that our International Police officer supposedly had planted in Team Rocket?
And the most outrageous part: the former Branch Chief took every single person in the department and left no one behind to execute such a dangerous mission.
It was all holes!
Frankly, from the customs officer who provided the initial intelligence, to the colleague who supposedly collected the information via a mole, to the former Branch Chief who blindly charged in and got a 'Game Over'... Xia Yuan suspected everyone involved in the chain was an imposter.
Every step of the operation was interconnected. If even one person had done their job correctly, Team Rocket wouldn't have been able to wipe out the entire Kanto Branch of the International Police.
Yet, this situation mysteriously occurred, as if everyone was cooperating with Team Rocket. It was utterly ridiculous.
"Damn it, what's wrong with the League! The International Police Kanto Branch must have been infiltrated by Team Rocket and turned into a sieve."
Therefore, no matter how much he wanted to slack off, he had to speak up and alert Lance.
Otherwise, he might wake up one day to find the Pokémon League had become the Team Rocket League.