Chapter 358: Lost Contact

Julian openly rode his pseudo-legendary Dragonite into the city bureau's compound, seemingly heading straight for the bureau's rising star, Mark.

In a third-tier city like Eastwood, pseudo-legendaries were extremely rare.

Naturally, his arrival drew plenty of attention. However, it didn't take long for someone to recognize him.

The moment people remembered that both Mark and Julian were from Imperial University, the smart ones quickly realized why Julian had come.

"Captain Mark, our team is assembled."

As Julian and Mark were talking, a female officer from the bureau ran over. Though she was talking to Mark, her eyes were on Julian and Dragonite.

'King Julian… King Julian… I'm actually seeing the real King Julian!'

Her eyes were filled with excitement, and her heart was racing.

"What, are you also a fan of my junior?" Mark chuckled.

The woman nodded immediately, then excitedly declared, "Of course! I'm actually the president of the Eastwood City King Julian Fan Club!"

She even puffed up proudly after saying it.

Julian was completely dumbfounded.

'What the heck? There's even a fan club now?'

"King Julian, can I touch Dragonite's belly?" the woman asked expectantly.

Julian felt a bit weirded out, wasn't she his fan? Why wasn't she asking for an autograph or a handshake? Her first reaction was to touch Dragonite's chubby belly?

…Wasn't she actually a fan of his Pokémon instead?

After getting Julian's permission, the woman cheered excitedly and immediately started rubbing Dragonite's belly like she was taking advantage of it.

Dragonite gave her a confused look—why did this woman, just like its Trainer, love touching its belly so much?

Meanwhile, Mark's ten team members had already assembled before him.

"You all know the mission details. Go change into plainclothes, then head to East District." Mark ordered.

He didn't bother introducing Julian. Any Trainer in Drakoria, unless they had just recently gotten internet access, would definitely know who Julian was.

"Captain Larry, why aren't you getting ready?" Mark asked.

"Ready my ass! You already called Julian as backup, and now you've gathered all the best officers from the bureau. Who the hell am I supposed to recruit?!"

Larry glared at Mark—this guy was straight-up unfair!

Total sneaky bastard behavior.

He had assumed that with Julian joining as outside support, Mark wouldn't recruit any more people. But now he had even assembled a full ten-member squad!

So in the end… Larry was just left to fend for himself?!

"Captain Larry, don't be like that."

"Forget it. I'll just join your squad today—I can't be bothered to find my own team." Larry grumbled.

Mark nodded and said nothing more.

Once the ten members finished changing into regular clothes, the group of thirteen set off toward East District.

East District was the urban center of Eastwood City, making it the most densely populated area with the highest concentration of buildings. Almost all the major commercial buildings were located here.

It was already past midnight, so most shops had closed, and there were fewer people on the streets.

If this were Imperial City, though, midnight would just be the start of the nightlife.

Fewer people on the streets meant less risk and an easier mission.

"According to the intelligence, Viktor is hiding in Greenview Apartments in East District. We don't know the exact building, so we'll have to search one by one."

"The city bureau has assigned Teams Two and Three to search the complex."

"The other seven teams will spread out and cover every entrance to Greenview Apartments. Do not group up—make sure to stay dispersed."

Mark led Team Five, and since Larry had joined them, what was originally ten teams had now become nine.

If not for the city bureau's director knowing that Julian was an external backup for Team Five, Larry's actions would have definitely earned him a disciplinary punishment.

Across from Greenview Apartments, there was a small bar.

Julian, Mark, and Larry sat inside, while the rest of the team spread out nearby.

"This is an old apartment complex," Julian remarked.

"Yeah, so the residents are mixed. There are elderly people, children, and even tenants renting here. Plus, it's a school district property—the best elementary school in Eastwood City is just a short walk away."

School district properties were one of the defining features of Drakoria's housing market.

"There's an apartment building right across the street too."

"If Viktor is really hiding here, even if we find him, we can't just rush in and attack."

An Elite-level Pokémon could blast through an entire building with just one move. If they started a fight here, the civilian casualties would be devastating.

Their main objective was to pinpoint Viktor's exact location and try to force him out into an isolated area.

Of course, if Viktor had any sense, he would likely relocate the moment he sensed danger. Walking into an open area would be suicidal for him.

"Senior, if I were Viktor, I'd probably already know you sent people into the complex," Julian said.

On the way here, Mark had shown him Viktor's file.

He was a mid-Elite-level Ghost-type Trainer.

And it was nighttime—the perfect time for Ghost-type Pokémon to move around.

Ghost-types were highly alert, and at the slightest disturbance, they would immediately sense something was wrong.

As an S-Class fugitive, Viktor was likely using one or two Ghost-type Pokémon to monitor the complex at all times.

Among all eighteen Pokémon types, the ones with the highest crime rates were Ghost and Poison.

Combined, Trainers of these two types accounted for nearly 40% of all criminal cases.

"...Captain Mark."

Mark's earpiece crackled with the voice of Team Two's leader.

Mark was the overall commander of this operation.

"Go ahead," Mark said seriously.

Even though he had only been on the job for a few months, his strength ranked among the top in Eastwood City.

"I've lost contact with three of my team members."

"Same here. Four of my team members are missing."

This time, it was Team Three's leader reporting in.

Teams Two and Three had entered Greenview Apartments to investigate, but in less than fifteen minutes, a total of seven members had lost contact.

It was obvious—even without thinking, Mark knew that Viktor had likely taken them out, and they might even already be dead.

"Pull the remaining members out immediately," Mark ordered.

These were all Advanced Trainers, but against an Elite-level opponent like Viktor, they didn't stand a chance.

If they kept searching, more people would disappear.

Mark's face darkened, beside him, Larry tried to reassure him.

"Viktor probably didn't kill them outright. But one thing's for sure—he's definitely in this complex."

"Not necessarily, that guy is insane. You can't judge him by normal standards," Mark countered.

"Then what do we do? Our scouts can't even get inside. Even if we know Viktor is here, we still can't pinpoint his exact location."

"If we don't find him before sunrise, the number of people coming and going from this complex will skyrocket. He'll have the perfect chance to slip away."

"And once he's gone, tracking him down again will be even harder."

*****

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