Lila continued to watch tensely, feeling she might abandon the mission if necessary, to save this young man.
"It seems he's not going to admit it."
Seeing Fang Yuan with an air of indifference, Athena spoke, "Then we'll have to do this the hard way."
"Be careful, he defeated Lt. Surge," warned Apollo from the side.
Both of them took out their Poké Balls, and simultaneously, the underlings of Team Rocket quickly raised their guns again, aiming at Fang Yuan.
Although they still harbored huge doubts as to why Fang Yuan had come here,
it might be best for Team Rocket's sake to subdue Fang Yuan now.
A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Athena and Apollo.
However, at this moment, a voice that one could not resist suddenly came,
"Apollo, Athena, stand down."
Hearing this voice, Apollo and Athena turned sharply around.
They saw a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit with unfathomably deep eyes walking out at a slow pace.
Behind him, a woman in a black OL skirt was silently following, pushing glasses that glinted with light.
"Giovanni Boss!"
Seeing this man, Apollo and Athena exclaimed in unison.
Indeed, the voice from before had even startled Giovanni Boss.
It was their dereliction of duty!!
"Haven't I said it before,"
Giovanni looked at them, his expression cold and detached as he said.
He had previously mentioned that there was no need for Team Rocket to engage in a direct confrontation with Fang Yuan, who was involved in the Orange Archipelago incident.
The factions within the Alliance eyeing Team Rocket's technology wanting to find Fang Yuan and obtain information was unrelated to them.
"Yes—" Apollo and Athena nodded emphatically.
Accompanied by Shinjo, Giovanni walked past Apollo and Athena and stopped. He put one hand into his pocket, then, unexpectedly, revealed a smile to Fang Yuan.
"Young man, how did you find this place?"
Before Apollo and Athena could act, Giovanni stepped forward.
Fang Yuan had crushed Lt. Surge in an official match, and rumors said he had also defeated Ke Na. Even if Apollo and Athena joined forces, they might not be able to gain the upper hand.
Rather than witnessing his subordinates clash with Fang Yuan right away, Giovanni preferred to meet this young man who had intercepted something from Team Rocket himself.
"Tracker (Tablet Radar: Overcome Force)."
Facing the formidable presence of Giovanni, Fang Yuan raised his head and smiled slightly.
"Tracker?"
Giovanni, momentarily stunned, then laughed and shook his head, "I admire your ability to come here. I like young people with potential. How about it, would you like to work for Team Rocket?"
"I'll give you an executive position."
As Giovanni spoke, aside from Shinjo, Athena's, Apollo's, and the expressions of the Team Rocket underlings all changed.
Interpol agent Lila silently gaped in disbelief, constantly questioning herself.
"This is an opportunity many can only dream of,"
Giovanni's dark pupils focused on Fang Yuan.
He preferred to recruit this promising young man rather than oppose him.
Giovanni was well aware of how some factions high up in the Kanto Alliance viewed Fang Yuan, this mysterious young man.
The Alliance's top brass led by certain capital interests were even more eager than Team Rocket to acquire the airship technology Fang Yuan had obtained.
A little temptation... might lead this young man into darkness.
"..." As Giovanni extended the invitation, Mewtwo slowly opened its eyes in the subspace.
"What he wants... is more than just an executive position."
"..."
Facing Giovanni's invitation, Fang Yuan laughed and said,
"Hold on."
"Your Team Rocket stole something of mine, and you don't think offering me an executive position will make it all go smoothly like nothing happened, do you?"
"What?"
Fang Yuan's words caught Shinjo, Athena, and Apollo off guard.
What thing?
Weren't you the one who stole Team Rocket's technology data?
How has it become us stealing your thing now?
Even Giovanni was almost confused by Fang Yuan's nonsensical statement.
Hiding among the grunts, Lila appeared puzzled, what a twist — Team Rocket was now accused of stealing from this young man...
But after all, Team Rocket is made of thieves. Rather than Fang Yuan having stolen from Team Rocket, she found it more believable that Team Rocket had stolen from him!
"You mean..." At this moment, Giovanni fell into thought, his gaze fixed on Fang Yuan.
"Ice Island, Fire Island, Thunder Island."
Nine words, one by one, clearly and sharply spoken by Fang Yuan.
At Fang Yuan's words, Apollo, Athena, Shinjo, and others aware of the Stone Plate project tightened their pupils.
This plan was supposed to be...
Even with Giovanni's composed demeanor, his expression remained calm, but the light flickering in his eyes betrayed him.
"You came here for those three things."
"Yes," Fang Yuan nodded, picked up Eevee from his shoulder, and held it in his arms, "So, could you return them to me?"
"Or should I go and retrieve them myself?"
"What a nuisance..." Giovanni sighed, covering his forehead with a smile, quite surprised, "If it's those items, I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Then there's no helping it..." Fang Yuan also shook his head and said, "If that's the case, I'll just go and take them myself."
Giovanni: "Heh... Are today's young people so ignorant of their own insignificance? Do you really think you can steal something that belongs to Team Rocket right under the noses of so many people?"