Chapter 289: The Hunter's Due

Chapter 289: The Hunter's Due

Xiu paid no mind to the fleeing thugs and turned his head towards Scizor.

Scizor, understanding his unspoken command, began to slowly walk towards the car where the thugs were scrambling.

This sight terrified the already injured strongman. He frantically dragged his two accomplices into their vehicle.

It had to be said, the man's physical fitness was impressive; even with a severed arm, he was still able to lift an unconscious young man with his remaining hand and heave him into the car.

Three men and a detached arm sped away in a flash.

"Haha! Serves them right! They hit a wall this time!"

"You deserve it! The more arrogant you were just now, the more miserable you are now."

"Who is this young man? Why do I feel like he's more capable than the Trainers I see on TV?"

"It seems you don't know where this place is."

"What's the story here?"

"This is Professor Oak's hometown. I wouldn't be surprised if a very powerful Trainer came out of a place like this."

Xiu ignored the surrounding chatter. He swept his gaze over the gathered onlookers and said clearly, "I don't care about your personal belongings or disputes. But when you are in Pallet Town, you must abide by Pallet Town's rules. If you break those rules, then I'm sorry…"

His words, and the chilling implication behind them, silenced the crowd. The onlookers all had strange expressions on their faces; most looked at him with a distinct hint of fear in their eyes.

Xiu, however, had no intention of dwelling on their reactions. He bent down and helped Chen to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"No… I'm okay…"

Even though Xiu's emotions had stabilized and his expression and tone were now normal, Chen couldn't help but look at Xiu with a trace of fear.

After all, a severed arm had just fallen practically at his feet. Any normal person would be deeply unsettled.

Xiu looked speechlessly at the blood trickling from Chen's nose. He stood in front of him, took a pack of tissues from his pocket, and handed it over. "Wipe that off. Your nose is bleeding. It will be bad if Mei and Sol see it and worry more."

Chen reacted quickly, but just as he took the tissue, Mei rushed out of the car, holding Sol, and cried out anxiously, "Are you okay! Are you alright!"

"I'm okay, luckily Xiu arrived in time," Chen said with a forced smile, dabbing at his nose. An indescribable pain shot through his face, making him wince. "Hiss…"

"Let me see! It's bleeding!" Mei fretted, reaching out to gently touch Chen's face, her distress evident.

At this moment, Chen, the usually mild-mannered man, smiled and held his wife's hand tightly. With his other hand, he gently wiped away the tears on Mei's face and comforted her, "I'm fine, really. Don't cry."

Xiu suddenly felt a little awkward witnessing this intimate moment. I should be anywhere but here right now, he thought wryly.

Suddenly, Xiu noticed Sol standing blankly to the side. It was strange; the girl hadn't reacted much to the traumatic events that had just transpired.

"It's okay now. No one will bully you anymore," Xiu said, squatting in front of Sol and speaking softly. He maintained a relatively gentle attitude and tone towards the taciturn child, as if afraid of startling her.

In Xiu's opinion, Sol was perhaps a somewhat troubled child, otherwise, her lack of outward reaction was unusual. However, the girl's eyes were very lively, which gave Xiu a very strange, unplaceable feeling.

Over by the car, Chen and Mei, having composed themselves, came over to thank Xiu profusely. Xiu, however, cut them off, his mind already on another pressing matter.

"This place is too dangerous for you now. Pack up your things immediately. Drive your car down this road, to the very end where vehicles can still pass. Then wait for me there. I have to take care of some things right now."

Xiu pointed them in the correct direction and then hurriedly left. Most of the onlookers had already dispersed, but the eyes of a few still lingered on Chen's car, and the supplies now piled haphazardly on the ground beside it.

At this time, those supplies were indeed very valuable.

But the fresh bloodstains on the ground hadn't dried yet. Who would dare to break the rules set by that terrifying young man?

— — —

A four-seater car was speeding recklessly down the road leading away from Pallet Town.

The two men who had been knocked unconscious by Xiu had actually woken up due to the violent shaking of the vehicle. It turned out the vitality of humans in this world was remarkably strong. They hadn't fully recovered, however.

"Wha-what happened?" one of them mumbled, sitting up shakily, only to feel a sharp, throbbing pain in his jaw.

"You're awake! Good! Come over here and drive!" the strongman leader shouted from the passenger seat, his voice hoarse.

The newly awakened man tried to focus, only to see that the person in the driver's seat was his boss, who was now missing an arm. The wound had been crudely bandaged, but blood could still be seen oozing out, soaking half of his clothes. "Boss! What are you…"

But before the young man could finish his sentence, the car braked suddenly with a violent jerk, throwing them forward. He felt as if his jaw was about to be torn from his skull, an immense tearing sensation rushing to his brain.

As soon as the car stopped, the sturdy man turned and roared at the young man who had been driving. "Hurry up and switch!" Although his face was contorted in a hideous snarl, he was deathly pale from excessive blood loss.

"Oh, oh, okay! I'll get right on it…" the other thug agreed subconsciously. But before he could say more, he felt his body go rigid, completely out of his control.

Only his eyes could move slightly, darting around in panic.

At that moment, a calm voice suddenly came from the deserted roadside. "Why did you stop?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a light blue psychic energy enveloped the entire car.

The doors unlatched and flew open, and the thugs were dragged out uncontrollably.

The inexplicable situation left them utterly confused, but they had no way to resist.

After being pulled out, they finally saw the source of the voice: a person floating silently in mid-air.

But against the harsh backlight of the sun, they couldn't make out the person's appearance at all, seeing only a dark silhouette.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Xiu said, landing lightly on the ground. He looked at the bloodstains inside the thugs' car and couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied.

"You made my car dirty. Now I have to waste time cleaning it up."

He had, of course, psychically commandeered their vehicle. Xiu took out a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap. The water flowed out on its own, forming a fist-sized water ball, which then moved through the car, absorbing and swallowing up the bloodstains.

After a while, Xiu finally finished cleaning. He sat in the passenger seat, waved his hand, and the two conscious thugs, still under his psychic control, were forced to stand.

He greeted the burly leader, "I hope you haven't forgotten me so soon."

The strongman had already lost a dangerous amount of blood. Seeing Xiu again, coupled with this bizarre, terrifying situation, filled him with utter despair.

He couldn't help but ask himself the question: Why, oh why, did I have to go after those particular supplies?

Xiu had no intention of engaging in small talk. He violently invaded the sturdy man's mind with his psychic power, searching his memories.

Soon, Xiu broke the connection, his expression grim. This man was indeed a Hunter, whose main job was to catch Pokémon and sell them on the black market.

He was relatively well-known among the Hunters in Viridian City, but that was the extent of his "fame." His rap sheet, however, was extensive, covering nearly everything from arson and murder to robbery and kidnapping.

If he encountered novice Trainers in the wild, he would either kill them outright and rob them, or kidnap them and then kill the hostage after receiving a ransom.

In short, he was just a thoroughly bad person.

As for why he was fleeing Viridian City, he, like many others, had heard rumors of the beast tide. Seeing that people were desperate for supplies, he had spotted the goods in Chen's car.

He'd assessed Chen as weak and easy to bully, so he decided to rob them. It would have been a good score, whether he kept the supplies for himself or sold them.

And then, he had bumped into Xiu.