Chapter 108: Cleansing Tactics

More than two months had passed.

Baimu descended into the mine again, but unlike the old, dilapidated, dark abandoned tunnels of the past, the ceiling of this mine was far more solid, the surroundings noticeably brighter, with virtually no dark corners left.

The track at the center of the path was slightly dim, but a closer look revealed it was still sturdy enough to bear one cart after another of ore.

It seemed even the "slave masters" of the Hound Team understood the importance of infrastructure safety.

"According to personnel counts and surveillance room scans, five work crews remain trapped in different locations, totaling one hundred and three people. Our objective is to guide them to safety out of the mine."

Flobo's voice came through the earpiece, "Underground is unlike the surface—conditions are volatile and far more dangerous. If you encounter remnants of the Hound Team, I authorize you to strike first and neutralize them as quickly as possible."

"Prioritize personal safety above all. If necessary, abandon rescue efforts. I'll guide you from the surveillance room, confirming the locations of the work crews and suspected Hound Team remnants."

"Understood!"

The Sandflow team, fully equipped and ready, responded in unison—Baimu's voice mixed among them.

Now.

He was currently engaged in searching for remaining miners and pursuing down the few remaining Hound Team members who resisted.

To be honest, the few left behind wouldn't significantly impact the overall situation—the evacuation teams on the surface were short on manpower and desperately needed reinforcements.

Yet Master Liu Ge still assigned this mission, under the pretext of "cleaning up thoroughly," entrusted to Flobo, and passed on to ten people including Baimu.

Paired in twos, they departed from multiple entrances to complete the mission in the shortest time possible.

From the surveillance room's perspective, the locations of the Hound Team remnants were actually easy to find—they kept destroying the mine's surveillance cameras, hoping to hide and stall for time.

Unaware that every movement was under Flobo's control; they could evade the camera lenses, but not the sonar detection of Supersonic and Golbat.

Each two-person team was equipped with one of these Pokémon, greatly improving search efficiency.

"I'll lead the way!"

His partner, Otsuka, was thrilled—he released his bulky Dugtrio upon entering the mine, "Roll—"

"You're insane?"

Baimu sharply slapped the back of this idiot, "Our goal is to rescue trapped personnel, not eliminate them! Follow my orders and don't act rashly!"

"Oh…"

Otsuka winced, clutching his back, no longer daring to act on his own—he obediently pulled Dugtrio aside.

"Thanks."

Baimu released his Golem, whose presence weighed like a mountain.

For a Pokémon that used Steel Horn to smash rock plates and dig tunnels in search of iron ore, the mine was as familiar as home. Even if the ceiling collapsed, it had full confidence it could hold up that terrifying weight and carve a path to safety for its trainer.

More than half a month had passed since its evolution—it had fully mastered its new body and brimmed with boundless confidence.

"Roar…"

"Go."

Baimu signaled Otsuka to move forward, walking slowly behind the advancing Golem.

Undoubtedly, in the half-month since the Chef Simulation ended—and after two additional ordinary simulations—his strength had grown further, and he had confirmed the benefits of Luminous Cuisine for Pokémon growth.

In terms of level alone, Golem had reached level forty-eight, Golbat had risen to level forty-nine, and even the lowest-level Chansey now stood at level forty.

With the boost from Luminous Cuisine, their actual combat power far exceeded the average of level forty.

For instance, that giant from the tournament—he was as strong as a senior squad leader of Sandflow, his Pokémon hovering around level fifty, his flagship Machamp on par with a cadre-level fighter.

Back then, Baimu barely won against him, with great difficulty.

But now, if they fought again, he wouldn't need to painstakingly conceal his moves or rely on brute force to reverse the tide.

He could face him head-on without losing ground.

So even though their levels had only risen a few points, the changes were astonishing.

"Baimu's team, fifty meters ahead will take you out of surveillance range. Remember: let Golbat and Supersonic scout ahead before advancing." Flobo's voice came through the earpiece.

"Understood."

Baimu replied softly.

——

Damn! Damn it all!

He should never have been lazy and stayed behind instead of leaving the mine with his brother to return to town!

Amid muffled breathing, shadowy figures huddled in corners of the mine—among them, a pair of restless eyes brimmed with conflict and regret.

Sword Arrival

Once he could have left this place safely; now he could only cower like a stray dog, offering meaningless resistance.

"What do we do now?"

"Buy time. I don't believe the team hasn't noticed anything—Boss and the others will come for us eventually!"

"Right!"

Hearing his comrades' voices encouraging each other, he knew none of them intended to surrender—first, they dared not entrust their fates to Sandflow; second, the Hound Team had recently executed traitors without mercy, forbidding any defection among their ranks.

It wasn't that they were loyal to the Hound Team—just that the cost of betrayal was beyond what they could pay, and they knew they had no leverage to bargain with Sandflow.

Now they could only pray Sandflow found it too troublesome to bother with these few small fry.

"Kouji, why haven't you spoken since earlier?"

His companion's voice snapped Kouji out of his thoughts.

"Shh."

Kouji signaled silence, straining his ears—he turned pale, "It's Golbat and Supersonic. That faint echo of their ultrasonic calls—I'll never forget it. They've found us!"

The others were stunned.

"Found us?"

"Kouji, are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious! No, we can't just sit here waiting to die, we have to think of something!" Eguchi's hearing had always been excellent since childhood — a true gift from the heavens.

The voices of Zubat and Golbat he would certainly never forget.

Knowing full well the enemy was closing in, he truly didn't want to sit around waiting for the Sand Stream Team's people to come torment him, so he racked his brain searching for a path to survival.

Finally.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

"Didn't we run into a group of work-class workers earlier who didn't escape? Do you remember where they were? Let's blend in with those people!"

"Blend in with that bunch of lowlifes?"

"Will it really work?"

"Whether it works or not we'll only know after we try it — I'm going for it anyway!"

Eguchi dashed off without hesitation toward the direction he'd seen earlier; the others exchanged glances, then could only follow.

After all, they had no better option.

Not long after.

Two figures slowly appeared — they were unmistakably subordinates of Flobo.

"The suspicious target has left its original position. Zubat has detected that the other party is on the move."

"Can you confirm they're the enemy?"

"Cannot confirm."

"The leftover surveillance data shows that six hundred meters ahead of you, a work-class group was once spotted moving about. Move with caution."

"Understood."