Watching Milotic's attack miss its target, Mu Xue's expression grew heavy.
The way those two men vanished was far too strange.
Anyone with a trained eye could tell that the bead they crushed involved spatial power, allowing instant teleportation—
and it was done without relying on Pokémon at all.
Could this be what the Creation Society had been secretly researching all along?
Just then, voices rang out from the distance.
"Champion Mu Xue! Champion Mu Xue!"
Mu Xue recalled her Pokémon and walked toward the sound.
"I'm here. How did you get inside?"
The League investigators quickly explained what had happened earlier.
"A mysterious intruder?" Mu Xue murmured, deep in thought.
She paid special attention when she heard that the investigators had chased the intruder into the secret realm—
only to completely lose sight of him, as if he had vanished into thin air.
"Just who is this mysterious person…?"
"This situation keeps getting more complicated."
She then asked, "What about Xu An and the others? How are they doing?"
Xu An was the other Champion-level trainer Mu Xue had brought in from League headquarters—
the one who had been critically injured by the Creation Society's embedded spy.
"Report, Champion. By the time we arrived, they had already captured the traitor.
Champion Xu An has been evacuated for emergency treatment."
"That's good," Mu Xue said, nodding.
"The two Creation Society members are probably still inside the secret realm. They're badly weakened now.
Deploy all personnel immediately. We must capture them before today's competition begins."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the secret realm…
Two figures emerged from a remote forest—
the very two Creation Society executives who had escaped from Mu Xue.
"Damn it," one of them snarled.
"If not for that sudden downpour, Mu Xue would already be dead."
The one-armed executive glared at his companion.
"And if your Gengar hadn't caused all that trouble, she wouldn't have lasted that long in the first place."
The two fell silent.
Right now, there was only one priority—
escape this secret realm as fast as possible.
If the League launched a full-scale sweep, neither of them would get out alive.
"Let's go," the Gengar trainer said at last.
"I can hypnotize a couple of investigators, take their uniforms, and slip out with the crowd."
The one-armed man felt deeply frustrated—but he had no choice.
"Leave?"
"Where exactly do you think you're going?"
A calm voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
Both men spun around instantly, each gripping a Poké Ball.
"Who's there?!"
The one-armed executive froze when he saw the person standing behind them.
"…It's you?!"
The newcomer was Oliver.
After watching the two men escape using the mysterious beads, Oliver had immediately asked Celebi to locate them.
Celebi's psychic perception covered the entire secret realm.
It took only two seconds to pinpoint their position—
and with a single teleport, Oliver was brought straight to them.
Oliver smiled faintly.
"So… you recognize me?"
How could the one-armed man not recognize him?
Long ago, he had personally received a mission concerning Oliver.
Because he underestimated it, he failed—and the Boss punished him by taking one of his arms.
His hatred toward Oliver ran bone-deep.
This mission had already seemed like a failure.
Yet now, the very target had appeared alone, right in front of them.
Shock and delight surged together.
"I don't know why you're here," he said coldly,
"but daring to show yourself before us—
I don't know whether to call that courage… or stupidity."
The second executive recognized Oliver as well.
Overjoyed, the two of them released their Pokémon at the same time and lunged forward.
Oliver watched them calmly, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Maybe elsewhere I'd be cautious," he said evenly,
"but here—in the Greenwood Secret Realm—
you two are simply not enough."
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