Thinking of this, Ariel's gaze toward Soro dropped in temperature.
It was a hunter's gaze looking at prey—cold, emotionless, and filled with pure pragmatism.
Soro admitted he was afraid.
Having drifted through the underworld for many years, he had seen countless vicious thugs and faced the pursuit and blockades of League Investigators, but he had never felt his hair stand on end and his limbs go cold like this before a youth who looked barely in his teens.
At this moment, the tide of offense and defense had turned.
He was the fish in the net, and that youth was the fisherman pulling it in.
Before Ariel could even speak, Soro's psychological defense line collapsed first.
His previous high-and-mighty posture and calm control of everything vanished instantly, leaving only wretchedness and panic.
"Don't... don't do it!"
Soro raised his hands, his body shaking like chaff.
"Isn't it just about the reward? What do you want? Six million league coins, right? I'll give it! I'll give it all to you! Just let me go!"
He desperately threw out his bargaining chips; it was the only life-saving straw he could think of now.
However, Ariel just listened quietly, the expression on his face not changing in the slightest.
It wasn't until Soro's voice gradually grew smaller due to lack of oxygen that he slowly spoke.
"Too late."
Two words, light as a Frillish, yet like two great mountains, they instantly crushed Soro's last hope.
Ariel's gaze swept over Soro's face, which was filled with despair, his tone flat to the point of cruelty.
"The moment you showed your trump card to me and found it couldn't hurt me at all, you lost the qualification to negotiate with me."
"Moreover..."
Ariel... Han paused, his lips curling into a tiny arc, carrying a trace of imperceptible mockery.
"Can a stray dog like you, who is being hunted and whose lair has even been raided, really still produce six million league coins now?"
This question was like a poison-dipped dagger, accurately stabbing into Soro's most vulnerable spot.
His base had long since been raided.
He was now a pauper who possessed a 'treasure' but had nowhere to sell it.
Gulp.
Soro swallowed nervously; the hot air he breathed into his lungs made him feel cold all over. His teeth chattered, making a clattering sound.
"Then... then what do you want?!"
His voice was shaking, carrying a sob.
Ariel didn't answer immediately.
He paced slowly, circling Soro as if admiring a piece of art about to be dismantled.
"I don't want anything in particular."
Ariel finally stopped and stood before Soro, looking down at him.
"I am always very fair. You wasted my time, Astonished my Pokémon, and even attempted to attack me. There must be an explanation for all of this."
Soro's mind went blank; he couldn't keep up with Ariel's train of thought at all.
What exactly did this kid want to do?
If not for money, was it really for that ethereal 'justice'?
"I... I'll compensate! I'll compensate for everything!"
Soro almost blurted it out.
"Compensate?"
Ariel acted as if he had heard something funny.
"What will you use to compensate? Your life?"
Soro's body jolted, his face turning ashen.
Ariel changed the subject, suddenly squatting down to look Soro, who was slumped on the ground, in the eye.
This sudden action made Soro's heart skip a beat.
"I have no interest in your life, or your ethereal six million."
Ariel's voice was very low, audible only to the two of them.
"Now, let's talk about something of value."
Ariel casually pulled out the purplish-red ore from before and examined it closely.
Soro's body instantly froze.
His greatest secret, and his final trump card, was being laid bare by the other party.
"Let's talk about this purplish-red stone."
Ariel's voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable tone of command.
"Tell me its principles, its purification method, and..."
He leaned in closer, his warm breath hitting Soro's ear, bringing a chill that went deep into his bones.
"...how to use it so that my Pokémon don't become short-lived consumables like those failures in your hands?"
Soro's eyes stared fixedly at the purple ore in Ariel's hand. Under the dual pressure of oxygen deprivation and fear, a spark of deathbed clarity burst forth.
"Principles? Purification method?"
"How to use it without harming Pokémon?"
"This kid really knows nothing!"
"No matter how strong a teenage boy is, how much experience can he have?"
"How could he possibly understand core technology involving forbidden fields!"
"An opportunity!"
"This is the only opportunity!"
Soro's heart instantly became active.
He could just make up a fake purification method, or even intentionally state a few key steps incorrectly.
When the time came, this kid would hold this hot potato and either fail the purification or directly cripple his own Pokémon.
Then, he would have a chance... Thinking of this, a sliver of sinister glee rose from the bottom of Soro's heart, and even the fear on his face dissipated slightly.
"Little brat, you're still a bit too green to fight me!"
He cleared his dry throat and forced a smile that looked worse than crying, preparing to start bullshitting.
"I..."
However, before he could say a single word, he was interrupted by an index finger placed in front of his lips.
Ariel made a'shh' gesture.
This movement was very light, yet it blocked the bellyful of lies Soro had prepared right in his throat, leaving him unable to speak and causing his cheeks to flush.
"You don't need to say a single word."
Ariel withdrew his hand, his tone flat.
"Anyway, I won't believe half a word you say."
Soro was completely stunned.
The expression on his face froze as if he had been hit over the head with a blunt club.
"Not letting him speak?"
"Then why the hell did he ask!"
"What exactly was this kid thinking?"
On one hand, he was threatening his life to get the secret, and on the other, he was plugging his mouth. Was he here to toy with him?
Just as Soro's brain turned completely into mush, Ariel pulled out a Poké Ball.
A flash of red light.
A bizarre-looking Pokémon appeared in the narrow alley.
It was upside down, its body floating in mid-air, the luminous organs on its head flashing rhythmically, emitting a strange light that made one dizzy.
In the air, an invisible psychic pressure spread out, adding a few more layers of oppression to the current atmosphere.
Malamar!