Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 204 Coral Fried Tragic

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"Have you decided whether or not to tell me about the organization behind you?"

Ze Shu pushed open the door to the spaceship's prison. Despite being in darkness, he could feel a resentful gaze fixed on him—that of Coral, whom he had previously imprisoned there.

After Ze Shu finished speaking, she bared her weak fangs and shouted loudly in a wronged voice:

"I'm starving!!!"

"I'm reporting you to the Alliance! You've been mistreating prisoners!"

Ze Shu said, "Prisoners of war have no human rights."

Coral retorted, "Yes! Yes! My 'experience' of being captured is way more cunning than yours! All I did was blow up some things! And you didn't even give me food! I'm starving! I'm going to die!"

"My crime might only get me a short time in a labor camp! And you're not even letting me eat!"

"Ugh! Because of you! I missed the deadline for buying the limited-edition 'Seaside Groundhog Buns'! Ugh! It's all your fault!"

"You are absolutely wicked!"

Ze Shu: "Oh."

coral:???

"What did you mean by saying 'oh'?!"

"You need to reflect on your actions!"

"You're such a jerk! With that attitude towards prisoners, don't even think about getting anything out of me, Coral! I, Coral, will never tell!"

Coral felt her heart at this moment,

Unwavering as iron!

There's absolutely no way she would reveal information about their organization!

"The evidence against YueMeng Company is conclusive. All its personnel have been arrested by the Padia League, led by Champion Yeci, on charges of 'anti-Pokémon' and are awaiting further interrogation. Those suspected of involvement may face life imprisonment."

"And you, Coral, the one who came to the rescue, are naturally a 'suspect' with irrefutable and undeniable evidence! You will face severe punishment from the Padia Alliance!"

"This is not some minor punishment you've received in the past."

"Therefore, one"

Do you understand your situation?

Ze Shu slowly analyzed the coral.

Coral blinked, a cold sweat breaking out on her brow, but she still stubbornly insisted, "So what! Punishment is punishment! Coral isn't afraid!"

Ze Shu said, "Even if I'm locked up in prison for the rest of my life? Just like right now?"

Coral said, "Hmm..."

She hesitated.

Ze Shu smiled and said, "You're a very 'important' person in your organization, aren't you?"

Coral proudly raised her head: "Of course! Coral is incredibly important in the exploration team!"

"Oh, the exploration team." Ze Shu nodded knowingly, then added, "So, selling some information about your exploration team in exchange for you, 'someone important to the exploration team,' is quite a bargain, isn't it?"

"I can guarantee it, if you can reveal inside information about your team, I can 'let you go'!"

"If your boss knew about this deal, he would accept it gladly and wouldn't blame you, right?"

"After all, Coral, you're a very important person in the exploration team!"

"And if your boss is unwilling to accept this deal, doesn't that mean Coral, you're not a very important person in the exploration team, but just a rag to be used and thrown away without a second thought?"

"In that case, isn't it only natural that you reveal the exploration team's information?"

"Do you think my analysis is correct?"

Coral blinked, bewildered.

"Huh?!"

She uttered a sound like Ash Ketchum's Pikachu.

"According to your logic, I'm obligated to reveal the information no matter what?!"

Coral thought this was sophistry, but she couldn't think of a single reason to refute it.

Okay, it seems so...

Should it really be like this?

Ze Shu smiled and said, "That's right! It seems like there are two choices, but actually—"

He patted Coral on the shoulder and whispered in her ear:

"—You had no choice."

"This Psyduck is hailed as the 'Duck God'! Have you experienced its unparalleled superpowers yet? Any lie will be exposed in front of it! So, Sango, you—"

"I can't lie even a little bit."

"Gah!"

In the closed interrogation room, a Psyduck sits solemnly beside the table, its body radiating dazzling blue, pink, and yellow superpowers.

After hearing what Zeki said, Psyduck was stunned for a moment before it realized what was happening and let out a "quack".

In Coral's eyes, Psyduck's long silence only made it seem more solemn and dignified!

She pursed her lips, concealing her bright canine teeth, and said:

"I-I know! You're so annoying!"

"Now that you know, that's good—" Ze Shu nodded and said, "Let's begin."

"An exploration team, right? Then why are you researching Laku element? What is your purpose? Are there any other bases like 'Dream Company'?"

Ze Shu looked solemnly at Shan Hu. Beside him, his assistant Xiao Lan raised her pen, listening intently as she took notes.

However, even in this serious atmosphere...

Coral turned her face away, an awkward expression on her face, and said:

"N-no... I don't know. La... Laku Element, what is that? And... this Yue Meng Company is an enterprise of the exploration team, I... this is the first time I've heard of it."

Little Blue paused, her expression strange: "Hmm?"

Ze Shu: "Aren't you an 'important member' of the exploration team?"

Coral stubbornly declared, "I believe I am!"

Zeshu looked at Psyduck, only to see the pink energy ball around Psyduck condensing into a "√" shape above its head. This was a sign that Sango hadn't lied—Zeshu's earlier statement that Psyduck could detect lies wasn't just empty boasting; it really could.

To be precise...

It is the "God of Emotions" Memrito inside Psyduck that can be measured.

"Fine." Ze Shu sighed heavily in front of Shan Hu, adding with disappointment, "I thought I'd caught a 'big fish,' but it turns out to be just a worthless scapegoat who knows nothing!"

coral:!!!

She was really anxious!

"I...I'm not! You mean a rag...a foot-wiping cloth!"

"I know a lot about ghosts!"

Ze Shu reluctantly replied, "Okay..."

"So, your exploration team's organizational structure, who the leader is, the organization's base address, the specific strengths of the members and their Pokémon, their social status... : ...

Ze Shu spoke in a series of sentences as if checking a census.

After saying that, he looked at Coral with a suspicious gaze.

Coral retorted, "Of course I know! How dare you doubt my position in the team! I'll tell you, I'll tell you—" She was already easily irrational and had clearly lost her temper, spilling everything she knew like beans.

only..:

She knew very little about the deeper aspects as well.

But it doesn't matter, Ze Shu thought of a follow-up plan.

In the end, Xiao Lan obtained half a notebook filled with notes.

"Okay, I keep my promise. You can go now."

On the spaceship deck, Ze Shu said to Coral,

"Really? Wow! Looks like you're not so annoying after all!"

Even now that it's really come to this, Coral still finds it hard to believe.

Ze Shu chuckled but didn't respond. He simply took out a hair clip that looked like a band-aid and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh right, this is yours, Coral, isn't it? It fell on the ground when you came out earlier."

"Ah! It's coral!"

Coral quickly took the hair clip.

Ze Shu asked, "Is it very precious?"

Coral nodded earnestly without a doubt: "Of course!"

Ze Shu asked again, "The kind that's so precious that you have to wear it on your head all the time? After all, I haven't seen you take it off before."

Coral clipped the hair clip to her pink fur and said matter-of-factly, "This hair clip means something incredibly to me! I have to wear it for the rest of my life!"

Ze Shu exchanged a glance with Xiao Lan and said, "Then we're pretty lucky to have 'found' this hair clip of yours."

Coral nodded and said, "Well, thank you! You're such a nice person!"

"I accept your gratitude."

Ze Shu nodded knowingly, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Coral, you can swim, right?"

Coral raised her head and said, "Of course! Don't doubt Coral's learning—" Before Coral could finish speaking, and before she could wonder why Ze Shu asked that,

She suddenly felt her feet sink into the ground; Ze Shu had thrown her off the spaceship.

Goodbye then.

"Huh? How come you're so tall?! It's like a ghost!"

Then, there was a "poof" sound.

A splash of water erupted on the sea near Niangguang City.

Seeing the coral struggling to swim, it began to splash around and swim.

Ze Shu then withdrew his gaze and said to Xiao Lan beside him:

"Let's send a copy of the 'testimony' that Coral gave us to Yeci first. There are too many people involved, and it's not convenient for us to investigate them one by one. It just so happens that Yeci has time to listen to each one. Or rather, the idle guild masters of the Padia Alliance have time."

I wonder if Aoki will look at him with resentment when this sudden increase in workload comes.

"As for the 'locator,' 'eavesdropping device,' and 'camera' we installed on the coral, I'll give them to Polygon to monitor and record them at all times."

"Well, now that things are settled here, we should head back to Little Key Town."

As for Ze Shu's original "purpose" for coming to Niangguang City, he naturally wouldn't forget it.

An hour later, the spaceship hovering on the outskirts of Niangguang City welcomed a new customer—a fire-breathing dragon. Riding on the dragon was a white-haired man wearing goggles, and below the dragon were two heavy coffee machines, delivered to the door.

"Hello, Fried, um...yes, it was your teacher Luca who introduced us."

Zeki went to greet him, and at first he didn't say much. He first helped the already panting Charizard unload the two coffee machines. These two coffee machines were naturally the trigger for Zeki's arrival in Niangguang City.

A natural replacement for the coffee machine that was damaged by Rokuo in the coffee shop.

Zeshu planned to install the other extra unit on the spaceship, so that they could make coffee on board in the future.

"call."

Finally unloading the cargo, Fried patted his partner, the fire-breathing dragon, before he had a chance to carefully observe this "delivery location"—the spaceship.

Ze Shu's enormous spaceship.

I took a glass of frozen apple juice from a chubby six-tailed dog.

Fried looked around.

His eyes suddenly lit up with interest.

"If I could also pilot a spaceship like this, flying higher than the sun and seeing the whole world, that would be my ideal life!"

Fried's repetitive career as a corporate researcher was almost killing his interest, and he had even considered resigning.

"but..."

He no longer needs to resign, because after that incident at Yuemeng Company, all the company's employees were arrested by the alliance members led by Ye Ci.

Fried can still deliver goods here.

It was all because Ze Shu 'bailed' him out that he was able to 'get some fresh air' for a while.

However, in Fried's view, Ze Shu only let him go outside to catch his breath because of his teacher Luca's connection to him.

"It's decided!"

"Once my innocence is proven during the Alliance's investigation, I'll have Oreo build a spaceship just like this, and travel the world!"

Ze Shu stepped forward and suddenly asked, "So, does the spaceship you want to build have a name?"

Fried paused for a moment, then shook his head and laughed heartily, "I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll have to consult my teacher later."

Finally, he added, "Thank you for letting me see this spaceship."

Ze Shu shook his head and said, "Let's exchange contact information, shall we? After all, we're both 'captains,' and perhaps we can exchange experiences in the future."

Fried: "Okay."

After exchanging contact information, Fried gazed at the setting sun on the distant horizon, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "It's getting late, I should go back and face the Alliance's scrutiny."

Ze Shu asked with a smile, "You're all out here, aren't you going to run away?"

Although he hadn't watched many Horizon animations, he knew that Fried shouldn't have had to endure this "censorship"—he had destroyed the Dream Company in Brewing City, but had ended up harming Fried instead.

Fried shook his head and laughed heartily: "I'm innocent, I don't need to run away. The sooner I go back and undergo investigation, the sooner I'll be released."

Goodbye! Please give my regards to the teacher for me!

He mounted the fire-breathing dragon and flew away.

Fried was a man of good physical integrity.

"Then we should head back."

Gazing at the setting sun in the distance, Ze Shu shook his head, casually snatched the Orange Berry that Psyduck was holding at his feet, took a bite, then gave it back to it, walked into the captain's cabin, and gave the "helmsman" Porygon the command to "go home".

Little Spoon Town, a coffee shop.

Everything was peaceful here. It seemed that even without a coffee machine, Mudan's skills would allow her to run the business. Accompanied by the clanging sound of blacksmithing coming from the "steel storage room" built by Zeshu outside, Zeshu pushed open the door of the café.

Before the Pokémon remaining there could even greet Zeju, the scene changed.

A plaintive voice suddenly rang out:

"Sawaki! You've kept me waiting so long!"

Ze Shu: "?"

These lines sound so much like those of a vengeful female ghost.

He turned towards the direction the voice came from. It was Leihe, standing in a corner of the café, looking at him with a resentful expression. "Where's Gujian Leopard? Where's Gujian Leopard? After the operation, at such an important moment, I wanted to rest and recharge before observing Gujian Leopard!"

"Do you know how much I've been looking forward to this moment?"

"But...but!"

"When I arrived at the coffee shop, you weren't there! Nor was Gu Jianbao, the little cutie I'd been longing for! You actually took Gu Jianbao away! Do you know how much I've suffered waiting for you all this time?!"

Ze Shu: "...."

"Then it's on me," he said.

"And another thing!" Leiho added, "We still need to discuss the next 'Treasure of Calamity'!"