Inside the venue.
The power outage had been resolved, the broken light bulbs replaced, the floor cleaned up without a shard of glass left behind, and everything returned to its original bright state.
Most of the guests returned to their seats, while a few, claiming to be too frightened, refused to re-enter. The auction organizer dared not detain them forcibly and could only let them leave. Such a mess left Baimu in awe, knowing that this person's job might not last long.
Then, when the host took the stage.
As Baimu expected, the host publicly announced the theft of many items, including their target, Deino, as well as other Pokémon, and valuable antiques.
The guests started clamoring loudly, and all those who had won items were anxious, loudly asking the host what to do.
It was clear that those who stayed were not unafraid of accidents, but bore a heavy burden of responsibility, needing to take their targets back. Now that the targets were stolen, the host couldn't account for it, nor could they to the people behind them.
The venue became as noisy as a marketplace.
Baimu was a bit shocked.
Was it really just two people, like Shanren and Giovanni? How did two people manage to move so many things in such a short time?
As if knowing his confusion, without waiting for his question, Shanren leaned in and whispered:
"You probably can't imagine how greedy these people are. Not to mention their lack of internal unity, do you know how many poaching groups or thieves are waiting to collect money behind the scenes?"
"Hiss!"
Baimu gasped softly.
"Exactly." Shanren said, expressionless, yet with a slight chuckle in his throat, "It's a case of an inside job, taking advantage of the chaos. Those who see themselves as dangerous characters, individuals who fled to Ore while being chased by international police, wouldn't miss such an opportunity."
"It feels a bit surreal..."
He shook his head, contemplating the inside job scenario.
Maybe everyone thought it was okay to take a little, and they all ended up taking "a little"?
Now they're in trouble.
The problem is significant.
"They were never good people, so doing such things isn't surprising. Don't overestimate their 'loyalty' and intelligence," Shanren said, tapping his head, "Truly smart people who know how to assess the situation don't need to make money this way."
Indeed, Giovanni incarnates as a capitalist, runs a listed company and theme park to support Rocket Team; Fladari manipulates Carlos's nobility and high society to donate to him; Chi Ri also owns a big company, showing their vastly different scopes.
Baimu said, "So we successfully muddied the waters?"
"Don't rush, we're far from finished yet."
Shanren replied calmly and leisurely.
As he finished speaking,
A large contingent of fully armed individuals suddenly flowed in from outside, sealing off the entire hall. The mayor walked in with a stone face, but anyone could see he was extremely angry, veins bulging on his forehead as if they were about to pop.
However, even at this point, he shouted, "We received a report of a robbery here, with items worth billions stolen! This is a serious public security incident! Please cooperate with our work!"
He shouted through gritted teeth.
Everyone present was shocked, quickly contacting the outside world, hoping those behind them could resolve the situation. Unfortunately, the mayor had already shielded the signal.
"No need to panic, everyone. We will protect every innocent person, your personal safety is guaranteed," the mayor announced loudly.
The guests had no choice but to unhappily put down their phones and other communication devices.
Shanren straightened his clothes, gave Baimu a look, and together they walked towards the mayor.
Halfway there, an armed individual tried to block them, but upon seeing Shanren's face, hesitated, unsure whether to lower his raised hand.
Seeing this, the mayor's furious expression slightly softened, waving his hand to indicate the person let them through.
The armed individual felt relieved.
"Young Shanren?" the mayor asked.
"Uncle Ruby sent an invitation, how could I not attend? But with you in this state, you might provoke everyone's anger," Shanren politely said, albeit showing slight dissatisfaction.
He saw Mayor Ruby look at Baimu beside him and said unhurriedly, "This is Baimu, the rising star of the Quicksand Team. I get along well with him, so I took this opportunity to show him the world and see if there are any Pokémon to purchase."
The mayor nodded casually and said a few polite words as Baimu bowed in greeting.
If Shanren were not present, no matter how famous Baimu was, he wouldn't have been given any face in such a situation.
"Young Shanren, no need to worry, I have my own plans," he waved his hand, saying, "Since you're here, you might as well stay with me temporarily. The robbers' whereabouts are still unclear, and who knows what they might do. Being with me is safer."
His tone slightly softened, showing trust towards Shanren and Baimu.
But honestly, keeping them close makes it easier to scrutinize them. If anything unusual happens, he can know immediately.
The mayor certainly didn't think someone with Shanren's background would do something foolish, but his suspicious nature made him doubt everyone.
"...Alright."
Shanren nodded, still showing slight dissatisfaction in his attitude. As for Baimu, he remained silent, playing the role of a follower throughout.
However, inside, both were almost laughing themselves to death.
The most dangerous place is the safest; accompanying the mayor provides all-round protection, making exposure less likely.
——
The manpower the mayor deployed was even greater than Baimu imagined.
This made Baimu worry about Wu's situation. He should have escaped the Underground City by now. The mayor's forces reacted rather quickly, and such a large target would leave traces wherever he went.
He wondered how he would get out.
As he pondered, the mayor's forces found the first wave of robbers and thieves who had reached for the auction items.
Seeing the situation exposed, they decisively chose to fight their way out, engaging in an extremely fierce battle with the mayor's forces, making the entire Underground City tremble.
At this moment,
Baimu and Shanren were sitting safely in the rear, drinking tea, eating pastries, and even playing TV games.
It was so chill, not at all like they had just recovered the items.
Once this wave subsided, the mayor looked much better, likely because he had recovered quite a significant loss. Meanwhile, he had to release all the people in the auction hall.
Due to long-term disconnection from the outside world and the spread of the news about the auction theft, more and more calls came into his office, forcing him to set people free.
One or two calls were fine; he was a figure like an Earth Emperor who wasn't afraid.
But when the number exceeded ten, he couldn't withstand the pressure, choosing to restore the guests' freedom.
Ten minutes later.
Shanren, with Baimu, drove away from the Underground City, embracing the bright sunlight of the surface.
When the vehicle reached a desolate area, he couldn't help laughing, "Hahaha, my good uncle really has a bunch of good subordinates! They don't dare to offend me at all!"
"What do you mean—"
Baimu, in the passenger seat, was stunned for a moment, then turned to see the back seat suddenly melt like a candle, revealing Wu and Ditto, with the backrest clearly hiding a large cavity to conceal them.
"Whew, I was suffocating," Wu said, rubbing his head and smiling at the astonished Baimu in the front seat, "I couldn't escape, just intended to hide a bit, but ended up hiding until now."
"They almost dismantled everyone's car to inspect, but only casually checked mine and let it go, fearing I'd cause them trouble later."
Shanren said with a sly smile, "Making some of my later plans seem unnecessary."
So, what exactly is your background that makes you so formidable?
Baimu thought to himself, feeling that the MVP of this operation wasn't any of them, but Shanren's background.
Without his background, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
"If your Alakazam could take me via Instant Teleportation, I wouldn't have to struggle this hard," Wu said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, sighing helplessly.
"You wish! Taking people with Instant Teleportation isn't an advanced technique I could have Alakazam do. Do you think I'm a natural Superpower User?" Shanren was in a good mood.
Hearing them talk about this, Baimu was a bit curious.
Is taking people with Instant Teleportation that difficult? Is it just like using Healing Fluctuation to heal injuries, a special technique? In the animation, didn't Nazi and Nazi's dad—
Oh well.
Those two were extraordinary themselves.