After payment, Xia You put Magikarp into a Poké Ball, which also meant he had obtained his seventh Pokémon.
Walking through the corridor, the number of tourists gradually decreased, and upon entering the cruise ship's cabin area, even the crew members were rarely seen.
It seemed that most people were temporarily gathered in the hall and on the deck. After all, they had just boarded the ship, and few would think of resting and coming to this inner part of the cruise ship.
After circling around, there was no trace of Team Rockets anywhere. And because there were cameras, Xia You didn't dare to wander around aimlessly. He pretended to go to the restroom and was about to return to the hall when he saw a shadowy figure flash past the corner of the corridor ahead.
Is it Team Rockets?
Xia You glanced at Kirlia and chose to follow quietly.
When he reached the corner and quietly peeked out half his head, he happened to see that figure crouching at the door of a cabin, using a lock pick to try and open the door in front of him.
This was a middle-aged man in a brown trench coat, wearing a suit and a tie underneath. He was of medium build, neither fat nor thin. Although his face was serious, his exhaustion was evident, clearly caused by frequent late nights.
Looking up at the monitor above, Xia You then realized that the monitor had been temporarily shielded by an interference device. No wonder this person dared to be so blatant.
The man was concentrating, the lock pick in his hand spinning deftly. With a soft 'click,' the lock was picked. However, before he could feel smug, he saw a shadow slowly appear on the door panel in front of him, illuminated by the light!
This instantly gave the man a cold sweat.
He put his hand on his waist and quickly turned around, only to find an Handsome young man of about 20 years old standing behind him, watching him with interest, he did not know when he had appeared.
"Who... who are you?"
Because of extreme tension, his accent even changed, seemingly mixed with a foreign tone.
"Uncle, you are International Police, aren't you?"
"Ah?" The man's face changed drastically, his heart almost leaping into his throat. He quickly denied, "What nonsense are you talking about? I am not International Police."
"Oh? Is that really so?" Xia You said, taking out a wallet from behind him and shaking it in front of the man. "But I just picked up your wallet, and there's indeed your ID photo inside."
The middle-aged man quickly felt for the pocket behind his butt, and sure enough, his wallet was gone.
"Haha, so that's it..." He snatched the wallet, a polite but awkward smile on his face. "To be honest, I am indeed an International Police, currently investigating a large criminal organization. Please, you must keep it a secret for me!"
"Criminal organization?" Xia You asked, "Are you referring to Team Rockets?"
At this, the man could no longer remain calm. He grabbed Xia You's arm and led him to the nearby stairwell.
He whispered, "How do you know about Team Rockets!?"
"There's nothing to be surprised about," Xia You said as a matter of course. "They are notorious here, having been on wanted lists more than once. It would be truly strange if any Trainer didn't know about them."
"That's true," the man smiled, glanced at Kirlia, and then asked, "Are you a Trainer?"
Xia You took out his Pokédex and showed him his identification: "Not just a Trainer, but also a special research investigator for a research institute."
"I see," the man adjusted his collar and said solemnly, "Then I apologize for my rudeness. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Handsome, and I am currently investigating Team Rockets in the Kanto region to stop their various evil activities."
"Your name is Handsome!?" This time it was Xia You's turn to be surprised. He scrutinized him from head to toe with a suspicious gaze. "Are you that narcissistic? But you don't look anything like a Handsome."
Perhaps choked by his own saliva, Handsome's face turned a bit red. After a few coughs, he said, "How could we possibly use our real names! Handsome is just my codename, codename!"
"Even so..." Xia You still stared at him intently, "But taking Handsome as your codename, isn't that still very narcissistic?"
Handsome felt a bit weary. He didn't explain further, but instead waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I still have work to do. Let's part ways here."
"Work? Do you mean entering that room just now?"
Handsome originally didn't want to involve unrelated people, but remembering that Xia You had already seen what happened, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "That's right. When I was tracking a high-ranking Rocket Executive, I found that he entered this St. Anne. I guessed they might have some intentions for this ship, so I followed him all the way here, hoping to enter his room when he left to see if there was any intelligence."
"That's quite a coincidence," Xia You decided to reveal a hint of a clue to him, but not too directly. "Before I boarded the ship, I noticed a group of people disguised and mixed onto this ship. If there really is Team Rockets, it should be them!"
"What!? A large group of people!?"
Seeing Xia You nod, Handsome frowned and said, "This is not good. Something big must be about to happen, otherwise they wouldn't act with so many people at once. It seems I should immediately request support from headquarters."
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than, amidst the loud blast of the ship's whistle, the ship suddenly shuddered, followed by a brief Shake.
He rushed to the window and looked out, discovering that the ship had already left the shore and sailed out of the Port.
"This is bad. If I don't contact headquarters now, it will really be too late!"
Saying this, Handsome took out his phone, and just as he was about to dial, he found that the phone signal was also blocked.
"Damn it!" He seemed to disbelieve it, walked a few steps, changed his angle, but still had no signal.
Xia You also took out his phone and found that the signal here was indeed completely blocked.
Sighing, Handsome looked at Xia You, his expression complex. "You'd better leave here quickly. Next, I need to go to the captain's cabin. The rest of the matters have nothing to do with you ordinary citizens."
...
When Xia You returned to the hall, he saw Xiao Xia and Brock sitting at a dining table, wolfing down food, while Ash sat beside them, uncharacteristically quiet like a young girl, looking melancholic.
"What's wrong, Ash? Did you lose the battle just now, looking like that?"
Looking at Xia You, Ash said in a low tone, "No, I won the battle just now."
"Oh?" Xia You said strangely, "Then why do you still look so dejected? Did something happen?"