Chapter 78: A Long‑Awaited Voice

At 7:30 p. m., half an hour before the Banquet Hall lights were to be officially lit, the door of Huo La's room was suddenly knocked.

He furrowed his brows, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the Communicator in his pocket—at this hour, no one should be coming to see him.

The Rocket Team Trio should now be in the Banquet Hall busy "maintaining order," playing their menial roles well;

Ash's party ought to be in the Banquet Hall trading and battling Pokemon with others, and he never intended to meet anyone proactively;

As for Xiao Gang, given his enthusiasm for banquet cuisine and breeding exchanges, he was probably already posted at the Banquet Hall beforehand.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Huo La still got up and opened the door.

Standing outside was a girl with waist‑long hair, the tips swaying slightly in the sea breeze; the most striking thing was the Silver Mask pinned to her waist—its pattern and material were identical to his.

Before Huo La could speak, Bilan slipped in with practiced ease, walked straight to the table and sat down, casually grabbed an apple, crack—bit a big mouthful, and juice ran down his fingertips.

Huo La closed the door, walked to the chair opposite her and sat down, his gaze landing on her apple‑gnawing hand, his tone laced with mockery: "How did you get on board? You can't have come just to chase me—pay back the money I lent you last time, will you?"

The words "pay back" barely left his mouth when Bilan's apple‑gnawing froze abruptly, the fruit nearly slipping from his hand.

She quickly wiped her mouth corner, cleared her throat, and pretended nothing was amiss: "Ahem, the money isn't urgent; we can discuss it later. I came to see you because there's something more important we need to do together."

"Us?" Huo La let out a light "huh," raised an eyebrow at her, the detachment in his tone unmistakable: "I am me, you are you; don't casually pull me into your 'us.'"

"You're being way too aloof," Bilan said, putting down the apple, puffing her cheek in displeasure, "Last time at Cerulean City Pokemon Center, didn't we have a good chat?"

"We chatted fine, it didn't delay your borrowing money without a trace, nor did it stop you from suddenly popping up, opening your mouth demanding I help you," Huo La also picked up an apple, his fingertips tracing circles on the skin, "Do you think I look like the kind of fool who would be easily duped?"

"Um…" Bilan's cheeks flushed instantly, her gaze drifting to the window, she pressed her lips together awkwardly and remained silent for a long moment.

Huo La had no intention of giving her an out, and pressed on: "You managed to slip onto the Saint Tenu unnoticed; you must have already figured out who owns that ship, right?"

Bilan's ears twitched, her fingertips absentmindedly picking at the apple skin, and she whispered: "The Rocket Team… they used the free banquet as a ruse, actually intending to seize tourists' Pokemon."

"Since you know it's the Rocket Team, your purpose is obvious—to sabotage their plan," Huo La took a bite of the apple, the crisp sound unusually clear in the quiet room, "But look who's sitting opposite you? A proper Rocket Team member. You want me to help? Are you crazy, or do you think I'm foolish enough to betray my own organization?"

"Betraying the organization? Heh."

Bilan suddenly set the half‑eaten apple down, both hands braced on the table, her upper body thrust forward so her nose almost touched Huo La's forehead, her bright eyes fixed on him, "You really think of yourself as a Rocket Team member? If so, why did you accept the mask I gave you back then?"

The sudden close proximity made Huo La instinctively recoil a bit, his cheeks inexplicably warming.

Honestly, Bilan was a textbook beauty—jet‑black hair draped over her shoulders, slightly up‑turned eye corners, skin as white as a porcelain doll, hitting all his aesthetic points.

But thinking of their ages, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.

To mask his panic, Huo La quickly glanced at Bilan's chest, then averted his gaze, coughing lightly twice: "Ahem, don't stand so close. I only like big sisters; I'm not interested in a little brat like you."

Bilan froze for a moment, looked down at her flat chest, her cheeks instantly flushing bright red, and spat at Huo La: "Who asked for your interest! You filthy rogue…"

"Alright, get to the point." Huo La promptly cut her off, his tone returning to calm, "What is it? After you finish, I'll decide whether to help you."

Seeing Huo La ease up, Bilan suppressed her embarrassment, leaned back against the chair, arms crossed over her chest, and said earnestly: "You said I want to sabotage the Rocket Team's plan, that's correct. But I don't intend to stop them from stealing ordinary Trainers' Pokemon—my real target is the rare Pokemon Eggs they're planning to trade on the ship."

"Oh, the old trade," Huo La quipped quickly, his tone tinged with a hint of sarcasm.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his mind was already racing—Bilan's target was that batch of black‑market Pokemon Eggs?

Bilan's eyes twitched sharply, clearly not forgetting her own "black history" of hijacking a transport vehicle, yet she offered no rebuttal, continuing: "The Rocket Team lured Trainers onto the ship—a classic double‑whammy. On the surface they steal tourists' Pokemon, but the real focus is the secret trade; they intend to give those eggs to the research division for Pokemon modification experiments."

"Modification research…" The mockery on Huo La's face vanished instantly, his brows knitting tightly.

He had originally thought it was just ordinary Pokemon Egg smuggling—something routine for the Rocket Team—but the words "modification research" completely changed the nature of the matter.

The Rocket Team can stand toe‑to‑toe with the League; its research forces are far from ordinary.

Among the organization's most famous Four Great Doctors, three specialize deeply in the field of Pokemon modification—whether it's Sheer Force attribute fusion or implanting mechanical parts, those experiments usually involve immense suffering, have a very low success rate, and failed Pokemon end up as "waste."

If these rare Pokemon Eggs truly fall into the research division's hands, even a "successful" modification would only produce monsters with twisted natures; but if it fails… those unhatched lives might have every trace of their existence erased.

"What species are these eggs?" Huo La's fingertips tapped the tabletop, his voice deepening, "How do you know they're meant for modification?"

"The exact species are unclear." Bilan fished a crumpled note from her pocket and pushed it toward Huo La, "As for the modification… of course I heard about it."

Huo La didn't press further about where the rumor came from; the girl before him held too many secrets, no less than his own.

Huo La picked up the note; it bore coded transaction details, and the phrase "R‑07 Experimental Spare Material" at the end stood out starkly.

The room fell into a brief silence, only the sound of waves lapping the hull outside the window.

Huo La rubbed the edge of the note, his mind racing: helping Bilan snatch the eggs would mean directly confronting the ship's senior captain, possibly exposing his undercover status within the Rocket Team;

But if he didn't intervene, these rare Pokemon Eggs would most likely become experimental sacrifices.

More importantly, he also had his own thoughts on the eggs; after all, they were goods the Rocket Team procured from the black market—keeping them wouldn't weigh on his conscience, and even if he didn't flip them, he could still profit, and he had been short on cash lately.

As Huo La pondered, the long‑absent system voice sounded again.