Chapter 91: We

In the café beneath the Yin Po Po Travel Company, the air‑conditioning dispersed the afternoon's heat.

Huo La lifted an iced coffee, his fingertip idly tracing the cup's rim, his gaze landing on the two people and the cat in the opposite booth, his expression as relaxed as if discussing the weather: "How's the consideration going?"

Kojiro instinctively turned his head toward Musashi beside him, his eyes full of bewildered pleading for a suggestion.

Musashi crossed his arms, chin slightly raised, trying to adopt a big‑sister stance, his tone tinged with disdain: "You brat, on what grounds does our Rocket Team cooperate with you?"

"Meow~ exactly, exactly!" Miao Miao perched on the table, paws on hips in agreement, but his gaze unintentionally drifted toward the Bounty Notice copy beside Huo La's hand, his tail tip twitching quietly.

Huo La sipped his coffee, speaking leisurely: "First, we're old partners, the cooperation has been fairly pleasant, right? The batch of data on ancient Ruins from Boduoluo Mountain must have given you quite a bit of swagger in front of Banmu Laoda."

"Boduoluo Mountain…" Hearing those four words, Musashi, Kojiro, and Miao Miao's expressions simultaneously froze, the arrogance on their faces collapsing by half.

Musashi cleared his throat, awkwardly turning his face away: "That, that data did earn us some reward, but …"

"But then the mission at that huge Pokémon Park got us completely screwed over!" Kojiro said with a grimace, his tone full of resentment, "And Banmu Laoda scolded us a whole lot…"

"It's all Ash's annoying brat's fault! Ruined our plan! Meow~" Miao Miao fumed, stamping his foot, ears drooping.

Huo La pressed his forehead with a hand, sighing helplessly: "Alright, let's drop the past. On to the second point."

He set his coffee cup down, leaning forward slightly, his tone precise and piercing: "Cooperate with me, and I can guarantee you at least thirty percent of the prize money, that's three hundred thousand. But if you go it alone …"

He glanced at the trio, cutting off his sentence, his eyes full of a teasing "you know how lucky you are".

Musashi, Kojiro, and Miao Miao fell silent instantly.

After a moment of dead silence, Miao Miao cleared his throat, trying to assume a negotiating posture: "We… we need to discuss! Meow!"

Huo La spread his hands, making a "go ahead" gesture.

The trio immediately huddled, whispering rustlingly, occasional mutters like "Three hundred thousand isn't small," "Huo La's brat really has some skill," "Better than coming back empty‑handed."

After a while, Miao Miao lifted his head, a look of "reluctant sacrifice" on his face: "Fine! We can work with you! Thirty percent is thirty percent! But what do you want us to do?"

"The usual rule—translation." Huo La said succinctly.

"Translation?!" Hearing those words, Miao Miao seemed as if his tail had been stepped on, leaping up, his fur standing on end, "Another Ancient Pokemon! Meow!"

Huo La shook his head, eyes fixed on the sea outside the window, his tone tinged with uncertainty: "Uncertain—could be, could not be."

After all, the Poison Sting Jellyfish from memory was the one that exploded before the three of them, its body bearing no Ancient runes, yet its skyscraper‑sized frame could, with a casual swing, cleave a building in half, looking nothing like an ordinary specimen.

"Since we've decided to cooperate, meet me at Dongdu Port tonight at midnight." Huo La stood, grabbing the coat draped over the chair back, "We need to set out to sea tonight, to check the jellyfish's lair."

After speaking, he didn't linger, walking straight out of the café, leaving the trio staring at each other.

"Night? Sea? And to the Poison Sting Jellyfish's lair?" Kojiro's face went pale instantly, his voice trembling, "Isn't that courting death? Those jellyfish can paralyze!"

Musashi, however, rolled his eyes, patting Kojiro's shoulder, a confident grin: "What are you scared of! Did you forget? Huo La's brat only needs translation! With Miao Miao there, handling the jellyfish 'communication,' we don't need to step in at all."

"Oh! Right!" Kojiro's eyes lit up, instantly sighing with relief, "We just hide behind and wait for the money split!"

"Meow~ you two bastards!" Miao Miao fumed, eyes blazing, raising a paw to swipe each of their faces, "Every time you dump the nasty job on me! See if I don't scratch you to death!"

"Ah! Musashi, you're pulling it!" "Don't scratch my hair! Miao Miao, you're crazy!" "Who let you bully me! Meow!"

The café erupted into chaos, the clatter of tables and chairs, screams and cat cries mingling together.

Night fell, the ink‑black sea like a massive velvet, only the scattered lights of the distant harbor casting specks of glow.

A crude little wooden boat slipped past the Agate Jellyfish drifting in the near‑port waters, quietly departing from the most secluded pier, wobbling gently toward the deep sea.

On board were only three—Huo La gripping the oar, Bilan hugging his knees at the stern, while Miao Miao curled in the middle of the deck, idly licking his paws.

Bilan naturally recognized that this talking Miao Miao was a Rocket Team member, and kept silent the whole way.

"Meow~ how much longer do we have to row? My paws are almost frozen solid." Miao Miao lay back, his four paws kicking at the moon, tone full of complaint.

Huo La lifted his gaze; not far out on the sea the vague outline of a hotel construction site could be seen, the surrounding waters shimmering with specks of eerie blue light—glow from the Agate Jellyfish's bell in the darkness.

He eased the oar, murmuring: "Almost there, just ahead."

"I say, why not bring Xiao Gang along? Why must you drag me in?" Bilan finally couldn't hold back, his tone heavy with resentment, "Going out at night is dangerous; what if the jellyfish electrocutes us?"

"Xiao Gang Ge is the logistics core." Huo La explained without turning his head, "If negotiations fall through, he can still try to rescue us from shore; if we bring him, and an accident occurs… there'd be no one to provide backup."

"If you put me at the back, I can't provide backup?" Bilan huffed in protest.

"That's not it." Huo La finally turned to look at her, his tone unusually affirming, "Mainly because you have a Water-type Kame—if trouble arises, Kame can break the water for rescue, something Xiao Gang's Pokemon can't do."

Hearing Huo La acknowledge her Kame, Bilan's expression softened a bit, letting out a proud "humph."

As they spoke, the small boat silently slipped into the edge of the Agate Jellyfish swarm, the translucent bells gently floating by the hull, the eerie blue glow casting their faces in shifting light.

Huo La abruptly halted the oar, flicking Miao Miao's rear with his toe: "We've arrived, get to work."

"Meow? Already here?" Miao Miao sprang up with a start, eyes scanning the dense phosphorescent shadows, his body shivering.

But thinking of the thirty percent prize, he cleared his throat and shouted toward the black sea: "Hey! You guys inside, listen! We're here to negotiate, let your boss come out for a meeting! Meow~"