Located on the edge of the city.
In the underground space of a sewage treatment plant that had been abandoned for many years.
It was damp and gloomy, and the air was filled with a mixture of mold and chemicals that was far more intense and pungent than the outside world.
Even within the entire city, this was a place with an extremely heavy odor.
This was a secret gathering point for the Sludge Friends Society.
At this moment, dozens of members were gathered here.
Most of them wore old, stained work clothes or casual wear, their faces bearing the rough traces left by long-term living in harsh environments, as well as the anger currently burning fiercely.
Precisely because they lived ordinary lives, they felt such a sense of belonging to this city.
Bit by bit, they had come into contact with this city at the closest distance, and also came into contact with the Pokémon living in this city.
A kind of fanaticism, along with the indignation of being betrayed, permeated the crowd.
"Riyong was taken away! Just yesterday!"
A thick-set man with a loud voice stood on a dilapidated metal crate, waving his arms as spittle flew.
"Why?"
"Just because he wanted those benefactors who saved this city to be able to eat a full meal!"
"What is this?"
"Burning the bridge after crossing it!"
"Ungrateful!"
"That's right!"
"The League has long forgotten who swallowed that toxic water and sludge back then!"
"They forgot who made this river flow again!"
"They turned this place clean, and now they want to sweep us away like garbage too!"
"Riyong is our brother! We can't just let this go!"
Public sentiment was furious; profanities and angry roars echoed in the enclosed underground space, crashing against the mottled walls.
They firmly believed they were defending the "roots" and "soul" of the city, and that they were fighting against the League's "betrayal".
In their view, Gringey City should accept these Grimer and Muk forever.
As for Trubbish and Garbodor? that didn't really matter. Trubbish and Garbodor only appeared in large numbers after Gringey City transformed into a garbage disposal city.
It wasn't Trubbish and Garbodor who saved Gringey City.
So, regarding the fact that Grimer and Muk liked to eat Trubbish and Garbodor, they had no objections, and sometimes even provided help.
And amidst this emotionally agitated crowd.
Two figures appeared exceptionally calm, even carrying a trace of an imperceptible puppet-like feeling.
They were the Team Rocket members who had infiltrated this place—Cassidy and Butch.
Although the mission they were initially executing was Giovanni's order.
However, under the influence of Marshadow's invisible and powerful shadow power, their thinking and behavior had long deviated from the initial instructions.
They had integrated deeper into this extremist organization and became important instigators of its radical actions.
...Giovanni had already foreseen this kind of thing; after all, that one Poké Ball which Giovanni used as a trump card was still on them.
...That was a special Poké Ball that could only be opened from the inside.
...But this didn't matter anymore, because Cassidy and Butch didn't know what it was, so Marshadow didn't know either. Marshadow, whose mood was surging and who wanted to test the Rainbow Hero, didn't pay much attention to it.
Marshadow did not have the ability to directly read memories.
Since Cassidy and Butch could not open this Poké Ball, they didn't take it too seriously.
...If you can't figure out Giovanni's thoughts, don't guess.
...This is the workplace wisdom of Team Rocket elite members.
However, none of this was important; what was important was executing the current mission.
Cassidy and Butch skillfully utilized and amplified these members' dissatisfaction with the League and their paranoid affection for the Grimer clan.
They were very good at this kind of thing; a little simple rhetoric could incite the crowd.
A disorderly mob?
That was probably it.
After all, if some people cannot learn to think for themselves, they will inevitably be guided by the language of others.
Cassidy wore dark casual clothes that seemed to blend in with the surrounding environment, but the tailoring style of the Team Rocket uniform could still be seen in the details.
She crossed her arms, looking at the agitated crowd with cold eyes, and only spoke when the clamor had subsided slightly:
"We feel your anger as if it were our own."
Her words carried an inflammatory empathy.
"What happened to Mr. Riyong is the best proof of the League's hypocritical face!"
"They keep talking about coexistence, talking about gratitude, yet they aren't even willing to leave the most basic living space for these meritorious contributors to the city!"
This was an unavoidable angle.
Even if the League had already done its best for over a decade. But...
Good people are the ones who get guns pointed at them.
Since you could do it for over a decade, why can't you do it forever?
People always subconsciously have higher requirements for good people than for bad people.
However, this is wrong; everyone should be treated equally.
Only bad people living more miserably than good people... is what should truly happen.
Butch pushed up his disguised round-frame glasses; the look behind the lenses flickered with shrewd calculation.
Sometimes, even if one isn't nearsighted, one can wear non-prescription glasses.
His tone appeared more rational and pragmatic; even inciting emotions required highs and lows to be more convincing.
"Anger is necessary motivation, but what is needed more are practical actions and support."
"Please rest assured... the organization... ahem, we mean, we like-minded friends, will do our utmost to provide necessary help to everyone."
He paused deliberately, looking around at everyone, and lowered his voice:
"Whether it is more effective... feed additives, or gadgets that can interfere with police communications, or even necessary activity funds, we will find ways to raise them."
"After all, we have a common ideal, don't we?"
Regarding Cassidy and Butch's identity as Team Rocket, the core members of the Sludge Friends Society present actually knew it well.
But under the extreme emotions and common hostility towards the League, this identity instead became a symbol of a strong backing.
They thirsted for the resources and means beyond convention that Team Rocket could provide.
"Great! With your help, our actions will definitely go more smoothly!"
"Those additives are really effective; the Muks are obviously more energetic!"
"We need more! We want to turn the entire sewer system into their paradise!"
The members agreed one after another, their eyes shining with desire and reliance on Team Rocket's "aid".
Cassidy looked at everyone's reaction with satisfaction, then immediately changed the subject.
She threw out a sharp question, intending to further consolidate control and test controllability:
"However... there is one thing we must consider."
"Mr. Riyong has fallen into Officer Jenny's hands. Although we believe in his loyalty to the cause, there are quite a few annoying Pokémon moves in this world... for example, Hypnosis."
Cassidy scanned every face present with deep meaning:
"That ship specially transporting supplies will arrive at the old warehouse district of Pier 3 in two days as planned."
"Riyong knows this time and location."
"Can everyone guarantee one hundred percent that he won't... inadvertently reveal it under any circumstances?"
How does the saying go?
[I trust your loyalty, but I don't trust your ability.]
That was probably the situation.
This question was like a block of ice thrown into a pot of boiling oil, instantly triggering a commotion and fierce debate.
"Impossible! Riyong is absolutely not the kind of person who would betray us!"
"His feelings for Lord Grimer are deeper than anyone else's!"
"He would rather something happen to himself than implicate everyone!"
"That's right! We believe in him!"
Most members refuted this guess emotionally.
They had a near-blind trust in Riyong's personal loyalty.
However, there were also a few older or more cautious members whose faces revealed hesitation and worry.
An old worker with gray hair and a wrinkled face sighed, speaking with a hoarse voice:
"Sigh... calm down, everyone."
"The worry Miss Cassidy raised... is not unreasonable."
"Sometimes, whether you betray or not isn't a question of whether you are willing, but... whether you can keep your mouth shut."
Although Riyong had appeared somewhat ignorant and ill-informed before.
But most people still had some knowledge.
Especially the older batch.
"Psychic-type Pokémon, like Kadabra and Hypno, their Hypnosis... is impossible to guard against."
"In the face of that kind of power, personal will is sometimes really... very fragile."
These words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the fanaticism of some people and making the atmosphere in the underground space somewhat stagnant and uneasy.
Trust and suspicion collided in the air.
Idealistic enthusiasm and the cruel methods of the real world intertwined.
Before, emotions were high; now, emotions were at a low point.
This was also what Cassidy and Butch wanted to see.
Always having high emotions is not desirable; that would lead to a total loss of control.
But by inciting peaks and troughs in emotions, rising and falling, rising and falling, they could control and guide the emotions of the crowd.
The two of them were elite members of Team Rocket.
Seeing this, Butch immediately smoothed things over, piling a seemingly sincere smile on his face:
"Of course, we are also willing to believe in Mr. Riyong's backbone."
"Raising this point is just to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"After all, this relates to the safety of our subsequent series of actions, and also relates to the well-being of more benefactors."
"Being a little cautious does no harm."
Butch was very satisfied with the current situation.
Everything was going according to plan.
Huh?
What was the plan mentioned at the beginning?
Forget it.
That's not important.
Anyway, everything is according to plan.
This is the result after thoughts have been interfered with.
Cassidy also nodded along, her tone softening a bit:
"Then, the plan remains temporarily unchanged."
"The transport ship will still arrive at the originally scheduled time and location."
"But we need to prepare emergency plans."
"Everyone!"
"For our common goal, for the true soul of Gringey City, every step that follows must be taken with greater care."
Under Cassidy's manipulation and guidance, the arguments were temporarily suppressed, and everyone's attention was redirected to execution and defense.
However, once a crack in trust is created, it is difficult to heal.
In this gloomy gathering point, the action plan for that supply ship in two days was further detailed and confirmed amidst the complex atmosphere of suspicion and fanaticism.
A larger storm was quietly brewing in the depths of Gringey City's shadows.
Cassidy: "What did we come here for in the first place?"
Butch: "Of course, it was to occupy Gringey City."
Cassidy: "Why do we want to snatch this garbage dump?"
Butch: "Organization mission!"
Butch: "...Boss Giovanni's order... right?"
Cassidy: "Forget it, when the time comes, let's go to the ship ahead of time and take the things away first."
Butch: "Let's do that. As for Cross? Don't know him. He's already completely turned into Marshadow's likeness."
____
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