An abstract trainer who taught Charmander the Incinerate move

Chapter 143 Father (My favorite part is coming!)
When that familiar, worn-out captain's hat was clearly reflected in Homiga's pupils under the pale moonlight, her world seemed to be gripped tightly by an icy hand and then crushed!

"dad?"

A murmur, filled with childlike vulnerability and immense fear, escaped from Homiga's cracked lips.

She staggered back a step as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, crashing into the cold metal of the shipping container with a dull thud.

The world spun and twisted wildly before her eyes.

Father.

The father who taught her that "honesty is more important than anything else".

The father who toiled under the scorching sun at the port, supporting her with his meager income from sailing.

The father who awkwardly handed her a cheap guitar on her birthday, his eyes filled with expectation...

How could he be... here? With Akromma? Directing the movement of those... those boxes that reek of evil?
"Honesty is more important than anything else..."

Her father's voice, his simple and earnest teachings that had echoed in her ears countless times, now pierced her heart like a poisoned ice pick! Each heartbeat was accompanied by excruciating pain and a profound sense of absurdity!
Her cherished teachings on "integrity" have become the most ironic joke at this moment!
It's fake...it's fake! This can't be! Wake up! This must be a nightmare, Homiga, wake up!!!

A silent, beast-like roar erupted within her, her nails digging deep into her palms, trying to use the excruciating pain to awaken herself from this absurd and terrifying nightmare.

However, Captain Hogan's face, etched with the wrinkles of the sea and the years, was now filled with the focus of handing over cargo to Akromma, and a heavy, complex weariness that Homiga had never seen before.

The captain's hat that symbolized his life of wandering and carried Homiga's hazy childhood memories became the cruelest symbol at this moment.

"Target spotted. Uz, proceed?"

Carbin silently raised the muzzle of his M4A1, locking onto Akroma and the figure in the captain's uniform in the center of the warehouse.

Mo Zhen did not answer. His golden eyes, which never went out, stared ahead like an abyss, as if admiring a tragic oil painting that was about to be completed.

In that deathly, suffocating moment—

"Aaaaaaahh ...

A desperate scream suddenly tore the entire warehouse apart!

Cabin keenly sensed the terrifying aura suddenly emanating from the person beside her, and almost instinctively reached out to press Homiga's shoulder.

“Uzi! She…”

But it's too late.

Like a maddened beast, Homiga slammed past Carbin's hand as he tried to stop her, bursting out of the shadows like a stray white lightning bolt!

"Homiga!"

The handsome man and Thomson exclaimed in surprise, trying to grab her, but only managed to catch a glimpse of her clothes being whipped up by the violent blast of air.

She staggered, almost scrambling on her hands and feet as she lunged toward the figure she knew so well, yet now felt utterly unfamiliar!
"dad--!!!!"

This call was no longer one of dependence or coquetry, but a desperate cry filled with a sense of betrayal.

Captain Hogan turned around abruptly upon hearing the sound, and when he saw his daughter's tear-streaked face filled with questioning, his burly body trembled violently as if struck by lightning.

That face, etched with the marks of sea winds and the passage of time, was now filled with unparalleled shock and a sense of being caught off guard and utterly bewildered.

His lips trembled violently, and it took him a long time to manage to squeeze out a few words.

"Ho...Homiga?! You...how did you get here?! Go back! This is not a place for you!"

He instinctively wanted to step forward and protect his daughter behind him, but his feet were too heavy to move an inch.

"How did I get here?! Hahaha!"

Homiga burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face like a burst dam.

She pointed to the heavy, ominous-looking cargo boxes, her fingers trembling violently with extreme anger and despair.

"I should be asking you! My dear father! How could you be here?! Standing with this devil?! Carrying all this... all this poisonous smoke built on the dreams and lives of others?!!"

She grabbed her messy white hair and her voice was filled with the madness of being betrayed by her loved ones.

"You told me to be honest! Honesty is more important than anything!! I worked so hard, howling like a mad dog in a garbage dump! Crawling on stage! Barking like a dog! Popping champagne! Throwing my dignity and face on the ground for everyone to trample on! All for that damn rock and roll dream! All because I didn't want to disappoint you!!! And what was the result?!"

She slammed her fist into a nearby shipping container, making a dull thud.

"It turns out that my most 'upright' father was actually a smuggler hiding behind the scenes selling... this garbage that poisons others! You taught me to be upright? You taught me so well! So well that while your idiotic daughter is being made a fool of on stage, you're counting your blood-stained money in the audience!"

"You are not worthy...you are not worthy to be my father!"

Homiga's voice was hoarse and tearful, her immense despair and anger making her almost unable to stand, her eyes unfocused and crazed.

"My dream... my rock and roll... it's all a fucking lie! It's all built on... built on... ugh..."

She covered her mouth and gagged violently, as if she were vomiting up all the lies and humiliations she had swallowed over the past few years.

"Homiga..."

Seeing his daughter's breakdown, the old captain felt as if his heart was being torn apart. His face, roughened by the sea wind, instantly lost all color, leaving only endless guilt and pain.

He stretched out a calloused and greasy hand, trying in vain to touch his daughter, but when he saw the deep-seated hatred in her eyes, he helplessly let it fall.

"Mr. Akromma!" "Boss!"

Tom, Jerry, and the other members of Team Poison Smoke's expressions changed drastically. They immediately placed their hands on the Poké Balls at their waists and nervously looked at Acromella in the shadows.

"Uz! Shall we make a move? If we don't, we're going to..."

Carbin and the elite members of the quick-fire squad were equally on edge, their fingers firmly on the triggers, their sharp eyes fixed on Mo Zhen, waiting for the order.

However, the two directors, who were the key figures in this final drama, displayed an astonishing tacit understanding at this moment.

Mo Zhen raised a finger and gently placed it to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

There was no tension on his face, but rather a focused expression as if he were appreciating a work of art, and his deep, clear voice reached Cabin's ears.

"No, no, no! Don't be impulsive, dear Miss Cabin. This is the crucial moment for the father-daughter dialogue. Don't steal the show; that would be the greatest desecration of theatrical art."

His gaze was fixed on Homika, as if recording every moment of her shattered soul.

Akromar's reaction was almost synchronized with Mo Zhen's.

He raised his hand, elegantly stopping his subordinate's restless movements. Behind his glasses, his eyes watched the ethical tragedy unfold before him with keen interest, like a scientist observing an insect in a lab dish. "Homiga, it seems your understanding of fatherly love, like your understanding of rock and roll... is full of naive fantasies."

He took a small, graceful step forward, his white lab coat spotless.

"Why do you think I would put up with your noise and use my precious scientific powers to fulfill your foolish and naive rock and roll dream?"

He tilted his head slightly, like a professor explaining experimental results.

"All of this is because of your 'upright' father. To support your soap bubble-like rock and roll dream, he didn't hesitate to use his livelihood—his ship—and the reputation and connections he earned through a lifetime of risking his life at sea, to transport the basic materials for building this dream. His condition? It was simple: he wanted me to use scientific methods to help you experience the illusory joy of your dream coming true on stage."

He spread out his white-gloved hands, as if demonstrating a sophisticated instrument.

"What a touching display of fatherly love, isn't it? He's just a father who loves his daughter in his own way; everything he does is for you..."

"boom--!!!"

Akromma's words were like a bomb exploding in Homiga's mind, shattering her last remaining illusions.

It turns out that the illusory paradise of "dreams coming true" that she pursued by burning her soul and abandoning her dignity was actually obtained by her father in exchange for the "integrity" he believed in throughout his life!

A profound sense of absurdity and overwhelming despair completely overwhelmed her.

Her legs buckled, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her disheveled white hair tightly with both hands, letting out a low, painful howl like a wild beast.

In the shadows, Mo Zhen's gaze passed over the distraught Homiga and landed on the hunched-over, pale-faced old captain.

Who would have thought that the man who knelt before him in Bollywood, explaining his acting dream with such clumsy acting skills, like a mudskipper, would possess such amazing acting abilities?

For his daughter's elusive rock and roll dream, he turned his own life into an absurd drama.

He may not be a good person, but he is undoubtedly a good actor and a good father.

"No...no...that's not how it is...it's not like that..."

She covered her ears tightly with both hands, futilely trying to shut out this cruel truth.

She raised her tear-streaked face and looked at her father, who was also overwhelmed by immense pain. Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with the deepest plea.

"Dad... I don't want it anymore... I don't want anything anymore! The United Dream! The Ideal Dragon! It's all fake! Please... please stop! Let's go home... let's go home, okay? Let's leave this place! Leave this... this filth! Let's pretend... let's pretend nothing ever happened... please, Dad—!!!"

Those cries of "Dad" were no longer accusations, but the desperate struggle of a drowning person grasping at the last straw.

Hearing his daughter's heart-wrenching pleas, this man, whose back was bent by the burdens of life and whose hardness was tempered by the sea wind like a reef, was finally completely broken.

Overwhelmed by immense guilt and remorse, he was drowned like by icy seawater.

The old captain finally burst into tears. He staggered forward, trying to help his daughter up, his voice choked with emotion.

"Okay...okay! Homika, Daddy was wrong...so wrong! Let's go home...we're going home now! Daddy will never do it again! Never touch these things again!"

He turned to Akromma, his face showing a desperate resolve mixed with a humble plea.

“Mr. Akromar! This... after this... I'm backing out! I don't want the money! I don't want the ship! I'm taking Homiga with me! I'm never coming back! Please…”

His voice echoed in the empty warehouse, carrying a desperate resolve and the courage of a father wanting to salvage everything.

Akromar's playful smile vanished instantly, replaced by an inorganic indifference.

"Quit? Of course you can. Captain Hogan, you're useless anyway."

He slightly raised his chin, his gaze sweeping over the old captain as if he were looking at a piece of scrapped equipment.

"This shipment is your last job. After you finish delivering this, I don't care what you do with me. My plans no longer need you."

Upon hearing this, the old captain's face turned ashen, but a glimmer of relief flashed in his eyes; he only wanted to escape this hell with his daughter immediately.

He bent down, trying to help the limp Homiga up.

“Let’s go… Homiga…we…”

Just as the old captain's hand was about to touch his daughter's shoulder—

"boom!!!"

A deafening gunshot rang out without warning, like a thunderclap, under the warehouse dome!

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Mo Zhen's pupils contracted slightly; he recognized the man who had fired the shot.

The bald, bearded first mate standing not far from Akromma was Heisenberg.

When he first carried out a mission with Carbin, he caught a glimpse of the other party's disappearing figure in that warehouse.

At that time, this man was exchanging goods with Jesse from the Poison Smoke Team. He intended to capture both of them, but the other party summoned a Kadora and instantly teleported away from the warehouse.

Looking back now, the fact that the other party possessed such a powerful spirit meant they were definitely not just an ordinary cargo ship first mate.

He was a pawn that Akromar planted next to Hogan from the very beginning.

At this moment, his usual composure was replaced by an extreme ferocity, and a wisp of pungent smoke was rising from the muzzle of the large-caliber pistol in his hand.

With a gunshot, the old captain's body stiffened abruptly, his movements frozen in place.

He slowly lowered his head in disbelief.

On the left chest of his faded old captain's uniform, a shocking blood hole was rapidly spreading, blooming and spreading wildly under the pale moonlight, instantly staining the anchor badge on his chest, a symbol of the sea and navigation, red.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to call out his daughter's name one last time.

The tall body, having lost all support, fell heavily backward like a great tree that had endured too much wind and rain...

"dad--!!!!!!"

Homiga's eyes widened in horror, and his piercing scream, so shrill it was inhuman, carried a despair and madness capable of tearing the soul apart, echoing for a long time in the empty warehouse.

Blood spread before her eyes, staining the cold ground red.

Homiga's world came to an abrupt end with that gunshot and a mournful cry.

(End of this chapter)