Chapter 38: Supplies

In less than a minute, the burly man had been reduced to a mass of bloodied flesh, a grotesque lump that still breathed but was barely recognizable as human.

Everyone present was so shocked by the horrifying sight that they forgot to curse or scream. Lucius could even catch the foul stench of urine in the air.

Tsk, looks like it failed. The fusion rate is too low...

Lucius wasn't sure if he was being influenced by Scott's hatred for the reckless biker gang, but he found himself merely disgusted by the transformation rather than feeling any sympathy or remorse.

From Lucius' perception, the fusion rate of the burly man was less than 5%, and he had almost completely lost his sanity. A failure among failures—at this point, even a Grimer could command him with ease.

But such a lump of flesh was useless. Despite its strong vitality, it lacked both intelligence and offensive capabilities—nothing more than a walking target.

Its only function would be scaring people into pissing themselves before lunging at them for a bite.

Grimer spat out a stream of green liquid, which ignited upon contact with the air.

Toxic Flame.

The disgusting lump of flesh was instantly engulfed in flames, rolling across the ground as it screamed in agony.

The burning mass thrashed so wildly that it nearly set fire to one of the nearby gang members.

"Stay away!" The gang member, now in tears and snot-faced, frantically crawled forward, dragging his pierced leg behind him, desperate to avoid being touched by the flaming mass that was once his boss.

"Don't move." Lucius spoke coldly.

The once-writhing, screaming mass of flesh immediately froze in place. The absolute dominance of a higher fusion entity rendered it incapable of moving, even as the searing flames devoured its body. All it could do was wail in agony.

"Stop screaming. Do you want to attract unwanted attention?"

The wailing ceased instantly. The burning creature trembled violently, flesh sizzling as the fire consumed it.

Even in unbearable pain, it dared not defy the command. This was the power of genetic suppression.

This was a repair shop—the gang's base of operations—where all sorts of illicit activities took place regularly. As a result, the soundproofing was quite effective, ensuring that the commotion wouldn't be heard by outsiders.

For a brief moment, Lucius wondered if he had gone too far.

Have I become this cold and ruthless because of the virus...?

Dismissing the thought, Lucius lost interest in watching the lump of flesh suffer.

He ordered Grimer to intensify the Toxic Flame, quickly reducing the creature to ashes and granting it release.

Scanning the room, he observed the remaining gang members. Some had fainted from sheer terror, while the rest stood deathly pale, their faces twisted in fear—each of them terrified of becoming the next lump of flesh.

Do I really look that scary?

"Uh, that was an accident just now..." Lucius smacked his lips. "Actually, if you can endure the process, you'll gain incredible power. You might even develop psychic abilities."

As he spoke, a small flame flickered to life at his fingertips.

In this world, psychics were real. Figures like Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City, and Caitlin, the Battle Castle's frontier brain, were famous for their formidable psychic abilities.

Despite Lucius' slightly friendlier tone, his words had little effect. The moment he finished speaking, a mohawked thug pissed himself on the spot.

"Hmm?" Lucius turned to him. "Looks like you agree. Let's start with you."

"Boss! Please, I beg you! I have a family! I can't die!" If his leg hadn't been pierced, he would have crawled over to cling to Lucius' leg by now.

"Oh, don't worry. From now on, your parents are my parents, and your wife—I'll take good care of her," Lucius said before injecting the virus into him.

The mohawked man's expression twisted in horror as his eyes began rolling uncontrollably—sometimes upward and downward, sometimes splitting apart, other times spinning in opposite directions.

"Interesting. Even his mutation has personality."

Since everyone here had already witnessed Lucius' experiments, he had no intention of letting them go. They were nothing more than scum of society—eliminating them would only be a service to the world.

Having observed the mutation processes of both humans and Pokémon—through Grimer and the rooster-headed thug—Lucius saw no point in conducting further one-on-one tests.

Instead, he released the virus into every person and Pokémon within the repair shop.

Don't hold back—evolve together, everyone...

...

"Miss Ophelia, we meet again. Since our last encounter, your beauty has remained vivid in my mind."

Dressed in a neatly tailored suit, Tyler Jorron smiled with an air of refinement. He always had two faces—one for beautiful women, another for everything else.

"Mr. Jorron, let's not waste time. Let's inspect the goods."

Suppressing the urge to punch him, Ophelia maintained a professional tone.

"Heh, very well."

Tyler didn't seem bothered by Ophelia's attitude and led her professionally toward the Houston Corporation's storage area.

Although Ophelia worked for Silph Co., she was not affiliated with Team Rocket, so Tyler remained courteous toward her.

Three days prior, Ophelia had already received the inventory list. To her surprise, the shipment was unusually large, including several pieces of heavy machinery, requiring approximately five days for phased deliveries.

Among the items were massive excavation and drilling equipment from Deep Ash Exploration Company and a newly developed underground detection device from Oreburgh City in Sinnoh.

At first glance, one might think Silph Co. was planning a large-scale mining operation.

But one particular item on the list caught her attention.

Five thousand Rattata.

Rattata was one of the most common rodent-like Pokémon found across all regions. Due to its extremely high reproductive rate, it had once caused ecological disasters. Eventually, various regions introduced natural predators such as Ekans, Meowth, and Zangoose to curb its population growth.

Ophelia knew that because of their sheer numbers and rapid breeding, humans often used Rattata for experiments—or as disposable fodder in dangerous situations.

Given that transporting such cumbersome equipment to Cerulean City was no small feat, it strongly suggested that the intended usage site wasn't far from Cerulean.

Judging by the type of excavation and surveying machinery included, the target location likely had a dense rock formation. And considering the geological conditions of Kanto and the surrounding areas of Cerulean City, only a few sites fit that description.

Moreover, the sheer number of Rattata suggested that the area was heavily populated by wild Pokémon. Driving them out posed a certain level of danger, which explained why the Rattata were needed—to serve as bait and disposable assets.

As Ophelia stood in the Houston Corporation's storage facility, watching Tyler Jorron meticulously cross-check the shipment against the inventory list, she silently analyzed the situation.

...

"Tch, not bad… I didn't expect at least one of them to turn out successful."

Standing in what was once an auto repair shop, now reduced to near rubble, Lucius surveyed the grotesque, misshapen monstrosities before him. Their forms were horrifying—nightmarish enough to haunt a child's dreams for the next ten years.

By "successful," he referred to a specimen with a gene fusion rate exceeding 60%, one that had retained basic humanoid form and cognitive function.

Funny enough, the lucky survivor happened to be the punk who had previously pleaded, saying he had a family to care for.

"Well, guess you got lucky. Looks like I won't have to 'take care' of your wife and kids after all…"

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