Chapter 435: The Premature Surprise Attack

Boom—!

A deafening explosion ripped through the night sky, shaking the entire cell violently; dust fell from the walls, and Huo La, Xiao Gang and Xiaoyin were jolted awake, springing up from the floor, completely alert.

He widened his eyes, hurried to the iron bars on the cell door, and looked toward the source of the blast, seeing the distant sky dyed a deep red by flames, with thick black smoke billowing into the heavens.

His face was full of bewilderment, and he muttered to himself: Damn, I think I only dozed off a couple of hours ago, right? Wasn't the plan supposed to start tomorrow? How did it explode all of a sudden?

"What's going on?" Xiao Gang also rushed to the bars, his brows knit, his face showing the same confusion and shock— they had clearly agreed to lie low until tomorrow, waiting for Red to rendezvous, so why was there an explosion now?

Just as the three were puzzled and exchanging glances, a harsh voice from the cell entrance barked, "Who's there! Dare you sneak around here!"

But barely a moment after those words, two low hums followed, then a series of light footfalls and the clack of a lock turning.

Immediately, the cell door was gently pushed open, cold moonlight spilling through the crack, and a slender figure stood silently in the doorway, cloaked in a black robe, exuding mystery.

Though the black robe concealed most of the silhouette, the moonlight from the window let Huo La recognize the newcomer at a glance, and he said with surprise, "Bilan? What are you doing here?"

Almost simultaneously, Xiaoyin stepped forward, her voice mixing disbelief with affectionate joy, "Sister? It's really you!"

Bilan lifted her hand and removed the Mask, revealing a familiar face, her expression urgent, her words rushed without pause, "No more talk. I just blew up the Rocket Team's fuel depot; now everyone at the base is scrambling to put out the fire, chaos everywhere. You have to come with me now, or it'll be too late!"

"Sss—" Huo La inhaled a breath of cold air, turned to exchange a look with Xiao Gang and Xiaoyin, and all three's eyes were filled with helplessness.

Huo La ground his teeth and looked at Xiao Gang, his tone half‑laughing, half‑crying, "Xiao Gang Ge, this… the plan might have to change."

Xiao Gang also shook his head helplessly, then his expression hardened, his voice firm, "I understand. Notify Chi Hong Ge right now; the plan will be executed early!"

Bilan stood at the doorway, looking bewildered at their conversation, completely at a loss.

From their looks, it seemed they had already made arrangements, and his sudden move had actually disrupted their plan?

Before Bilan could react, Xiao Gang hurried out of the cell, snatched his phone from the guard lying on the ground, dialed swiftly, and immediately contacted Red.

While Xiao Gang was on the call, Huo La stepped in front of Bilan, set aside his helplessness, adopted a serious expression, and softly said, "Bilan, long time no see."

At that moment Bilan finally came to herself; though she still didn't understand what had happened, seeing Huo La—whom she had thought was lost—her buried worry and grievance burst forth, tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes, her voice choked, she forced out, "Who… who wanted to see you!"

Huo La looked at her reddened eyes, shrugged helplessly, didn't expose her false words, and simply stood quietly aside, letting her vent.

Soon Xiao Gang finished the call and entered, his tone confident, "Chi Hong Ge already knows; he can act at any moment."

No sooner had the words finished, the entire Shamouti Island shook violently; everyone instinctively looked up to see a massive rift tear open in the sky above the island's center, dazzling blue light blasting forth, and Palkia's colossal form, wrapped in overwhelming power, surged out of the breach.

It hesitated not a moment, its gaze fixed on the Rocket Team's base below, and several silver‑white Spacial Rends instantly slashed down, striking the base hard!

"Palkia!" Bilan shouted, eyes locked on the huge figure in the sky, disbelief written all over her, her voice trembling, "How is it here?!"

Huo La raised his hand, pointing to Palkia's broad back, his tone calm, "See that black dot on its back? That's Chi Hong Ge."

Xiaoyin also looked up, her face full of shock, her mouth slightly open.

According to the plan, he naturally knew Red would come to launch a Surprise Attack on the Rocket Team's Shamouti Island base, but he never imagined Red would ride a legendary Pokemon like Palkia; such a display far exceeded his expectations.

Bilan followed Huo La's pointing, squinting for a moment; the outline of the black dot grew clearer, her tone still tinged with disbelief, "Chi… Chi Hong Ge? It's really him!"

Coming to herself, Bilan immediately faced the three, her voice urgent, "What do we do now? Chi Hong Ge has already moved; we can't just stand here forever, can we?"

"Don't rush, wait a bit longer." Xiao Gang's expression remained steady as he spoke calmly, "Once Marshadow brings our Pokeball over, we'll launch a ground assault and coordinate with Chi Hong Ge from inside and out!"

As soon as Xiao Gang finished speaking, a series of continuous explosions erupted from the ship landing point on Shamouti Island, rumbling repeatedly, thick black smoke rising again, mingling with the distant firelight of the fuel depot, the whole island trembling slightly.

Bilan spun around toward the source of the explosions, brows knit, face full of doubt, then turned to Xiao Gang and the others, tentatively asking, "Is this… also your arrangement? Could it be a backup plan deployed by Chi Hong Ge?"

The question left not only Bilan but also Xiao Gang, Huo La and Xiaoyin stunned; each stared at the other, then all shook their heads, eyes full of bewilderment.

Xiao Gang's expression grew solemn, "It's not our arrangement; Chi Hong Ge only planned an aerial Surprise Attack, never mentioned any action at the landing point."

Xiaoyin also set aside her shock, her tone carrying some doubt, "Could it be another faction?"

Seeing the three deny it, Liu Bo's eyebrows furrowed even tighter; he took a slow, deep breath, and in a grave tone speculated, "Then it's probably Liu Bo's doing. Perhaps your plan's early shift made too much noise, forcing him to act early and take advantage of the chaos."

Huo La heard this, felt a chill, and his expression instantly turned serious.

Indeed, Liu Bo was not sincerely cooperating with the Rocket Team and Gilbert; from the start he had other designs, harboring ulterior motives.