As Baimu walked out of the exit, he immediately saw Flop, who had a face resembling his, half embracing and half gripping Lanya Village, chatting with him.
The latter was drenched in sweat, with an awkward smile on his face.
"Yo! Finished!"
Flop greeted him.
Lanya Village saw that another Baimu appeared in front of him, and his pupils widened suddenly. Instinctively, he looked at the one beside him, fear uncontrollably surfacing on his face.
"You, this...what exactly..."
"I've asked everything that needs to be asked. This guy is indeed in cahoots with the Crystal Team, specifically planning to screw you over once."
Flop said, causing Lanya Village to tremble, "Thanks to him, I followed the trail to find his organization—a underground casino. You might not have guessed, but the owner of this casino is actually Chester, the leader of the Crystal Team. Really helped out a lot, Baimu."
"Oh?"
Baimu was a little surprised, "Chester is in the underground casino outside?"
"Yes, you know Chester has always wanted to be the boss, just kept in check by the boss in the Quicksand Team." Flop nudged Lanya Village in the ribs, "Now the boss hasn't been back for almost two months, so of course, he's starting to make moves again, right?"
The latter just smiled apologetically, not daring to respond with a word.
Exactly.
Chester is the infamous turncoat, the kind of guy with betrayal written all over him.
Cang Zhilang is so against Chester because, not only is Chester disloyal to the boss, he's always thinking about betrayal.
The Quicksand Team has enemies everywhere, and it's tied to his leadership of the Crystal Team.
After all, among the three major groups of the operations department, the Stone Team mainly handles internal affairs, the Sand Group mainly manages mines and smelting plants, only the Crystal Team takes care of external matters.
And the reason Chester could be so arrogant until today is that the Quicksand Team boss thought he was a talent, believing he could control Chester—
When the boss was around, that was indeed the case.
But now the boss has gone to Silicon City and hasn't returned for a long time, Chester might have heard some rumors and started acting up again. Thanks to Baimu being the Whiscash among the Wishiwashis, stirring up trouble for them.
"What are you planning to do?"
Baimu looked at the visibly shaking Lanya Village, realizing his predicament, "Follow the trail and take it down directly?"
"No, of course not. I want to use his hand to uncover more clues."
Flop smiled cunningly, patting Lanya Village on the back, "Did you hear that? You told me so much, Chester won't let you go. Cooperate with me obediently, and there's only one way out for you."
"...It's up to you."
Lanya Village's face was filled with despair, and he smiled obsequiously.
——
In the afternoon when the top sixty-four ended.
The names and portraits of the thirty-two advancing contestants were displayed on the giant screen at the center of the hall.
The Trainers present started a mode of debate.
"Feels like it's always those familiar faces, really uninteresting."
"How is this a battle tournament? It's clearly a cash-out tournament! Might as well not hold it next time, just distribute the prizes."
"What the hell are you talking about! My big brother is participating for the first time, and he's up there, didn't you see?"
"Heh, just got in by sheer luck, unlikely to appear in the championship tournament."
"What did you say!?"
The noisy sounds quickly became drowned in other discussions.
There were some who couldn't hold back their anger and started a fight, but they were quickly taken away by the security personnel in the arena, no matter which faction they belonged to or whose name they announced, they were directly thrown out to cool off before returning.
After all, in Pyrite Town, the only forces that could be called top-tier, apart from the mayor who controlled the entire city's policy system, were the brothers Ying Ma and Ying Yuan.
Their influence covered the most prosperous part of Pyrite Town, and no one dared to provoke them.
The disputes continued in the hall.
But compared to before, they were much more civilized, and the focus of the debates returned to which contestants had more chances of advancing to the next round.
Some contestants have participated for many seasons, just changing the formula without changing the medicine, those who have been in the arena for years can predict their advancement with guesses.
Many underground betting shops changed the odds from betting on wins and losses to betting on how many Pokémon each side would lose.
Such as one to three, two to three, and even ties were available.
These people were collectively known as seed players, and for those wanting to get rich overnight with a single ticket, betting on them was extremely unprofitable.
At that moment.
The people debating in the arena hall were less about who they favored and more about who they should bet on. Looking at the faces on the big screen felt like watching live racing horses, or rather stocks.
"I really like that one, the one that looks like they have a big nose, my mom said such people have a lucky face."
"Lucky face means nothing in front of combat power."
"I think that person is pretty good."
"That's a woman!"
"What's wrong with a woman? Getting to the top thirty-two doesn't prove her combat power is impressive? Even among the seeds, there are women!"
"Go ahead and buy it, I'll be waiting to laugh."
"Hehe, look over there, don't you remember the name Baimu? That kid from the charity tournament!"
Someone pointed to a corner of the screen, where Baimu's portrait was prominently displayed.
Mentioned before.
Due to outstanding performance in the charity tournament, Baimu's name received a small amount of attention, turning him into a somewhat notable figure.
Although he hadn't made much of an appearance on Pyrite Town's main stage in the past month, quite a few people still remembered him.
"Too young, not gonna work."
"You don't know what happened during his matches? Barely supported with one attack and one assist until the end, wouldn't have won without that dumb Jian."
"How much can one grow in a month? I don't have faith in him."
"Please, use your brain, he's in the top thirty-two, obviously a dark horse!"
"I see a dead horse."
The discussants shook their heads unanimously, sentencing Baimu's future to death, not optimistic about him at all.
But some, after listening to their debates, did choose to bet on Baimu. After all, the tournament progresses round by round, and the bets are also placed round by round.
As long as he can advance, it's not a loss.
With bets placed on him, his odds gradually changed, entering the sights of more people.
Having already returned to the Quicksand Team's territory, Baimu was unaware that his name had once again received a small amount of publicity.
The next day.
The preliminary final kicked off.
As long as this hurdle was passed, the next would be the championship tournament.
The stage of the competition would change from a semi-closed setup to an open arena, allowing spectators to watch, and the matches would be broadcast live in the hall.
Known as the grand event of the entire Pyrite Town.
To advance further, Baimu needed to win another match.
"I'll leave it to you today."
Walking through the rusty, wasteland-style hallway, he quietly spoke to the Mawile inside the Pokeball.
The Pokeball lightly shook, representing the latter's response.