Chapter 434: Scratch Them!

Just as they had just set foot on Shamouti Island, a cold command suddenly pierced the silence: "Scratch them!"

Before the words finished, Rocket Team members who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the island's entrance surged out in an instant, each with a fierce expression, weapons in hand, surrounding Huo La, Xiao Gang and Xiaoyin.

Ma Zhishi and Sird stood side by side not far away, their faces cold as they watched them—clearly, the two had been waiting here for a long time, just for them to walk into the net.

Sird stepped forward slowly, his gaze sweeping over the three surrounded, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth, his tone full of mockery: "Members of the Masked Organization? Heh, playing god and ghost for so long, I want to see what true face lies beneath your Kamen."

As soon as the words fell, two Rocket Team members stepped forward, roughly reaching out and tearing off the silver‑black Masks from Huo La, Xiao Gang and Xiaoyin's faces.

As each Kamen was lifted, the three faces were fully exposed before everyone.

Ma Zhishi, Sird, and the XiLaNu beside them all showed different expressions in an instant, eyes filled with shock and astonishment—no one had expected that the three disguised as Masked Organization members actually had these three faces.

Among the three, only Xiao Gang was relatively "unremarkable"; the other two were truly heavyweight presences: one is Sakaki's biological son Xiaoyin, and the other is the target just ordered by Rocket Team Headquarters for a full‑scale capture—Huo La.

Ma Zhishi stared blankly at Huo La, his eyes complex, his tone carrying an unspeakable melancholy, and slowly spoke: "Huo La… it really is you."

Huo La was held in place by Rocket Team members, yet remained composed, flashing a faint smile at Ma Zhishi, his tone relaxed: "Gym Master Ma, long time no see. Never thought we'd reunite this way."

"Ah." Sird let out a heavy sigh, eyes full of hatred yet also a hint of helplessness—Huo La is the Headquarters' prime capture target, Xiaoyin is Sakaki's son, and these three, none are easy to deal with.

She waved her hand and ordered her subordinates: "Take them down, keep strict watch, no slightest mistake, wait for Lord Fulindo to return for handling!"

Afterward, Ma Zhishi turned his head toward the XiLaNu standing aside, still looking a bit uneasy, his tone softened a bit: "Dr. XiLaNu, this time you earned a great merit; if you hadn't lured them onto the island, we wouldn't have caught them."

XiLaNu's expression remained solemn, brows knit, her tone carrying some doubt: "You'd better keep a careful watch on them. When the three followed me, they didn't suspect much, but I always feel the matter isn't that simple; there may be other issues inside."

"What problem could there be?" Sird sneered, tone full of mockery, eyes disdainfully scanning XiLaNu, "Just three brats, what storm could they stir? As for you, kidnapped for a day and not a scratch, I want to ask: how many Rocket Team secrets did you betray?"

XiLaNu's face darkened, Ma Zhishi hurriedly stepped in to smooth things: "Alright, alright, the Doctor's safety is a good thing; right now the most important thing is tomorrow's plan to capture Lugia."

With Ma Zhishi smoothing things, XiLaNu let out a cold snort and walked toward the depths of Shamouti Island.

————

In the cold, damp cell, the walls were mottled, and only a tiny iron window let in a faint beam of light.

Huo La leaned casually against the corner, head resting on the back of his neck, eyes scanning the simple furnishings, muttering with a disgruntled tone: "The treatment in this cell is so mediocre, not even a decent bed, it can't compare at all to the sea‑view room I stayed in before."

"We've already become Prisoners, what more do we complain about the environment?" Xiaoyin crossed his arms, leaning against the opposite wall, tone still bearing some impatience and unfriendliness, rolling his eyes, "Having a place to stay is fine, complain less."

Xiao Gang didn't join the two's spat, his gaze fixed on the barred window of the cell door, his sight landing outside; after observing for a moment, he slowly withdrew his eyes, tone heavy yet steady: "There are four guards watching us, their strength is average, not hard to deal with."

Huo La reached to cover his mouth, letting out a huge yawn, "According to the plan Red and I discussed earlier, their operation to capture Lugia should be tomorrow night; tonight we should Sleep well and restore our spirits."

Xiaoyin heard that, his brows furrowing tighter, tone full of bewilderment and sarcasm: "Your heart is really big, even locked up you still think about Sleep, aren't you worried about what might go wrong tomorrow?"

Huo La spread his hands, tone helpless yet clear: "If the heart isn't big, what can we do? We can't just charge head‑on blindly, can we?"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Xiao Gang spoke again to halt the dispute, "Huo La is right; we have no Pokemon in hand now, a brute force won't work, we can only follow the plan and wait for Red to arrive and regroup. I hope the plan you discussed with Red really works."

Hearing Xiao Gang's words, Huo La instantly dropped the joking expression, his gaze becoming resolute: "Don't worry, absolutely no problem. My strongest Pokemon are all with Red now, and with your Pokemon, when they move to capture Lugia tomorrow, it will surely give them a huge surprise!"

Xiaoyin still wore a dissatisfied look, but said nothing further.

The cell gradually fell silent, the three each found a corner, appearing to relax and rest, but in fact all stayed alert in the dark, silently awaiting tomorrow's arrival.

————

Below the sea surface, Musashi, Kojiro and Meow Meow were pedaling the diving machine.

"Ahead is Shamouti Island, Meow~ we're finally almost there!"

Kojiro's face was full of fatigue, muttering weakly: "We finally got close, this whole way has exhausted me, my legs can barely lift."

Musashi furrowed his brows at Meow Meow, tone full of complaint: "Meow Meow, can't you be a bit more reliable? The diving machine you gave us is human‑powered! Can't you make it fully electric and save us some effort?"

Meow Meow hurriedly defended: "Meow! An electric one makes too much noise! We're here to sneak in; if we used an electric diver, the Rocket Team would spot us from afar, and we'd be captured before even reaching the island!"

It paused, tone becoming plaintive again, ears drooping: "Besides, we don't have that budget, Meow~ having this human‑powered one is already good."

Kojiro rubbed his sore arm, puzzled, and asked: "Didn't you say this diving machine was provided by Dr. Sai Ge? How could the Doctor not even have an electric one?"

"It was indeed provided by Dr. Sai Ge!" Meow Meow sighed, tone helpless, "But for Dr. Sai Ge to secretly take three diving machines from the Rocket Team's lab and give them to us is already the limit; he doesn't dare be too flamboyant, otherwise we'd be discovered and we'd all be doomed, Meow!"

Musashi rolled his eyes, slapped the water hard, grumbling angrily: "Damn feeling! Had I known it would be this tiring, I shouldn't have impulsively agreed to come here!"

"Exactly, exactly, Meow~" Meow Meow quickly agreed, "But complaining won't help; we must dive over quickly, slip into the island under darkness, we can't…"