Since Gengar's absorption had been completed, Aoki was not planning to take the Pokemon out to fight again.
He had been away for far too long.
One and a half months had passed.
Although the initial preparation time was three months, that was to account for any potential emergencies.
Now, a month and a half already felt like a very long time to Aoki.
Furthermore, there was no trace of Mew there.
Ho-Oh was present in that space, and Team Rocket could not do anything to him.
The teleportation device in Aoki's hand had already been fully charged.
After putting away all of his things and Pokemon, Aoki pressed the switch.
Unlike when he had arrived, Aoki had only been an intermediate psychic at that time, and his sensitivity to spatial forces had been relatively vague.
Now that he had been promoted to an advanced psychic, he possessed a far more sensitive awareness of space and was confident he should not encounter any problems on the return journey.
...
Viridian City in the Kanto region.
Inside the Team Rocket base.
The Mew Lab.
A month and a half had passed, and Dr. Xia Bo had almost forgotten about Aoki.
According to his estimation, one month would have been the maximum time Aoki could last.
But a full month passed with no news from Aoki; the monitoring system had failed, and Aoki's backup tracking device had not been deployed.
In Xia Bo's mind, Aoki had either been lost in the space channel or buried in that distant space.
He was assumed dead.
Furthermore, the fusion of the Mew gene had recently broken through a significant bottleneck, so all of his attention had become focused on that project.
Until today...
"Lord Xia Bo! Spatial fluctuations have been detected from the teleportation device." The researcher who was in charge of monitoring this specific teleportation device immediately found Xia Bo.
Xia Bo was still busy with his work, "Huh? What teleportation device?"
"Um... sir, the one from a month and a half ago..." the staff member began.
He was only halfway through his sentence when Xia Bo finally reacted.
"Let's go and take a look immediately!"
With that, Xia Bo strode out of the lab.
He had truly been on the verge of forgetting about it, but he never expected Aoki to return alive.
Could he really be that lucky?
In truth, Xia Bo hadn't considered that the main reason Aoki might be able to return was due to the teleportation device itself.
Because it was originally an incomplete product, the transmission distances in previous experiments had been relatively short, so the spatial pressures had not been significant.
But the distance required to teleport to that specific space was immense. Without sufficiently powerful spatial psychic abilities, there was at least an eighty percent chance of dying during the journey.
Xia Bo had not mentioned this, neither to Aoki nor to Giovanni.
In his opinion, Aoki was just a Team Rocket member who had recently become a cadre.
He had come from Trial Island with no significant background, and this matter could not be traced back to him.
If Aoki died, he would be able to obtain benefits from the Jinchua family. If Aoki lived, it would not have any real impact on him.
As for finding Mew or something.
Team Rocket had been searching for years without success.
Xia Bo was confident that he could create a Pokemon even more powerful than Mew!
If they couldn't find it, they should just stop looking.
When he arrived at the teleportation room, he saw Aoki slowly walking out.
Aoki had a smile on his face and was neatly dressed; his overall mental state seemed even better than before, without any of the ragged appearance of someone who had survived in a harsh wilderness environment.
"Dr. Xia Bo, I'm back." When Aoki saw Xia Bo, a hint of coldness flashed deep within his eyes, but on the surface he looked completely harmless.
Aoki himself was not a fool.
He had pondered this in Ho-Oh's space. This space channel was obviously very unstable, so it needed a psychic with spatial abilities to stabilize it. That part was correct.
But Xia Bo had installed a monitoring device inside the spatial stabilizer without informing him.
And if it hadn't been for the support of the energy from the orb related to Lugia in his mind, he might not have arrived safely at all.
So Xia Bo's true purpose was something worth thinking about.
"Hahaha, I knew that Lord Aoki would be just fine. I have already sent someone to inform the leader. I believe the leader will contact you very soon." Xia Bo also replied with a wide smile.
How much genuineness there was in the smiles they exchanged was debatable, and only they themselves could truly know.
Aoki glanced around the room and noticed that the instruments were all covered with a layer of dust.
The smile on his face grew even more peculiar.
Xia Bo noticed Aoki's gaze, and a trace of embarrassment subconsciously flashed across his face.
But it was quickly dispelled by the sound of a communicator.
Aoki took his out and saw that it was a contact from Giovanni.
"You see, the leader truly values you a great deal," Xia Bo said.
Aoki simply nodded without saying another word.
He waved his hand casually and left the laboratory.
Xia Bo watched Aoki's back as he departed, and the smile on his face gradually faded away.
Quite interesting.
...
Aoki went straight to Giovanni's office.
He found the office door open.
Giovanni was working on a document with his head down, and he noticed Aoki come in.
"Close the door. Sit down and rest for a moment while I finish this," he said without looking up.
Aoki was not particularly reserved either.
Once you got to know Giovanni, you realized he wasn't someone who liked to fuss over minor details or formalities.
As long as you were valuable enough, he wouldn't mind even if you were a little bit unruly.
But if you had no value and still acted presumptuously in front of him, that was unacceptable. If you had no value and still hung around, who else should he deal with if not you?
Aoki sat on the sofa, picked up a piece of fruit from the coffee table, and began to eat it.
Although there were many valuable things in the Ho-Oh space, there were very few ordinary fruits that humans could actually eat.
It was a real pain.
"How was it? What conclusion did you reach?" Giovanni put down the pen in his hand, looked at Aoki who was eating, and asked with a slight smile.
Aoki immediately put down the fruit in his hand.
"There is no Mew. That was not a space related to Mew. There was nothing connected to Mew in it," Aoki stated bluntly.
Hearing this, Giovanni did not seem suspicious.
He nodded and said, "It seems it is truly time to give up this obsession with Mew. It is better to focus our resources on researching a Pokemon that is stronger than Mew."
Team Rocket's pursuit of the Pokemon Mew had begun when Giovanni's mother was the leader.
Now that it was under Giovanni's control, it was indeed about time to abandon the futile search.
Aoki didn't say much more on the subject; this was Team Rocket's overarching policy and he didn't have a say in it.
"It seems you've gained quite a lot during this month and a half?" Giovanni said with a knowing smile.
Even Xia Bo could see the change in Aoki's spirit, let alone someone as perceptive as Giovanni.
Aoki had also received support from the Kommo-o, and his original slightly timid and submissive feeling had completely disappeared.
He didn't immediately feel invincible in the Pokemon world, of course.
But changes in a person's strength and their available resources will inevitably alter their mindset.
Even if it happens subconsciously.
"Yes," Aoki replied, also noticing his own changes and consciously making an effort to rein himself in a little.
Giovanni waved his hand dismissively and said, "It is fine. Your strength determines your confidence. But you do need to be cautious. The League is not particularly stable at the moment. Ensure your own safety first, and then consider other matters."
Hearing Giovanni's warning, Aoki felt a slight stir in his heart.
He nodded once more to show that he understood.
Afterwards, Giovanni asked Aoki a few more general questions about his well-being before ending their conversation.
It was possible to clearly sense that Giovanni's attitude towards Aoki was gradually changing little by little.