RNP Chapter 416 Beneath the Ice
Chapter 416 Beneath the Ice
Chapter 418 Beneath the Ice
Lila's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing the handsome detective's lip movements.
Akromar—the name appeared repeatedly in the recent incident files of Team Lava's artificial island. Although his infamy had not yet spread throughout the underworld, the reports' insane research projects and horrific experimental data were enough to show that he was a thoroughly dangerous individual.
At this very moment, the madman was heading deeper into the giant's cave.
What exactly is he plotting? Is the unusual tremor in the Giant's Cave related to him? Will his intrusion negatively impact the encirclement operation? Lila's fingertips unconsciously rubbed the Poké Ball at her waist, the urge to track him and the rationality of preserving the overall situation were fiercely battling in her mind.
Suddenly, a sound came from beside them. The handsome man was taking a sealed gel bag from the inside pocket of his trench coat. The translucent white slime shimmered almost imperceptibly in the dim light. The raspy frog instinctively extended its webbed paws, allowing the trainer to evenly spread the slime on its limbs. Then the detective took some out and applied it to his hands and the soles of his shoes.
Lila raised an eyebrow—she recognized the prop the vice-captain had taken out. It was "Froggy Frog Adhesive" from the Interpol Research and Development Department. Originally designed as a personal climbing tool for special underwater operations, it was now being used on the smooth rock walls inside the cave.
The trench coat-clad detective silently signaled to the captain, "I'll be right back," and before she could even respond, he unhesitatingly left the area covered by the superpower barrier.
Like a real Froakie, the person and their Pokémon silently climbed up the rock wall from the side, blending into the darkness of the cave, and followed the figure of Akroma.
Lila glanced at the communicator in her hand, which displayed a message from her colleague: "No trace of the person was found." She looked again in the direction the handsome man had left, and finally gritted her teeth.
She pressed the send button on her communicator, ordering her subordinates to continue their ambush as planned, then grabbed Alakazam's arm. As her supernatural powers shimmered, her body floated up again, light and airy.
"Feed." Alakazam's "Synchronize" ability activated, transmitting Lila's thoughts to the vice-captain's mind—"Give me some of your Froakie Sludge too."
The long cave passage snaked behind them like a serpent, growing colder the deeper they went. After a long trek in the darkness, Akromma finally stepped into this vast void illuminated by artificial light.
The cold white light shone down from the searchlights overhead, casting sharp shadows on the frozen ground.
"You're here earlier than expected! Didn't you get dizzy in the maze?"
The sound came from above. Akroma looked up and saw Vio, the former Plasma Team sage known as "The Wind Gap," leaning against the railing of the second-floor platform. His specially made, thickened Plasma Team priest uniform looked particularly glaring under the pale light.
The sage had a faint smile on his lips as he toyed with a triangular holographic projection device between his fingers—the very cave map he had previously sent to Akrom.
"A map of that level only needs to be looked at once." Akroma pushed up his glasses, the cold light reflected from the lenses obscuring his emotions.
The scholar's gaze swept past Vio, surveying the strange, shimmering machines behind them: "Looks like you guys are having a great time working here..."
The permafrost beneath our feet vibrated with mechanical force. Dozens of drilling rigs were rumbling and humming, their sharp drill bits gnawing at the permafrost like green caterpillars feasting on the blades.
Due to recent personnel changes, the plasma cluster members inside the cave are fewer than usual, but construction efficiency remains undiminished. The giant rock monsters convert the excavated permafrost into energy, while a dozen or so Daruma baboons surround the machine, their special glands constantly releasing high-temperature flames to provide heat for the entire system. A strange balance is achieved between the frigid permafrost and the scorching steam, allowing the excavation work to proceed downwards with astonishing efficiency.
Akroma crouched down, running his fingers across the surface of the permafrost. As he went deeper, the ice crystals in the soil became denser, shimmering with tiny blue lights under the lamp.
Beneath this frozen ground, a massive gray outline is faintly visible within the ice.
"It seems you're eager to take over my work right away." Seeing the scholar's undisguised desire for research, Vio slowly walked down the stairs, showing no sense of crisis about being replaced before the project was completed.
After all, his handover this time was to participate in the Plasma Group's great nation-building operation. The fact that Ghetsis and the other seven sages would recall him at this time only proved his irreplaceable position in the group.
However, Akromá's next words instantly froze Vio's smile.
"These antique devices are truly eye-opening. Mr. Vio, are you paying homage to the steam age?"
He strode confidently to a running drilling rig. "This large drill bit is completely unnecessary. It could be replaced with a three-unit small drill—not only more efficient, but the heat generated by friction during operation would eliminate the need for snow removal." He suddenly turned, his glasses reflecting a blinding white light. "Even more ridiculous is the heat conduction system using Pokémon energy—it's a complete mess. With the most advanced research and industrial base in the Unova region, your technology is inferior to the machines Team Magma built by hand on the sea… Sir, are you really Mr. Vio, one of the Seven Sages in the past?"
"Enough." Vio slammed his boot on the ground, interrupting Akromma's ostensible suggestion, which was actually a sarcastic remark.
He glanced at the researchers around him, who were trembling with fear, and his voice was forced out through clenched teeth: "Even the most advanced technology needs to be applied according to the actual conditions on site. Even if the improvements you mentioned have merit, can you guarantee that they will continue to operate in the extreme permafrost environment of the Giant's Cave? At least the project I'm leading can withstand the test of time."
"Heh, time?" Akroma shrugged dismissively. "You think that way only because your project is progressing too slowly. If it were me, I could complete the entire process from construction to containment within a week, without needing those so-called 'sturdy and durable' outdated machines."
Mr. Yuan Xianzhe couldn't help but feel a tickle in his teeth. The bespectacled satellite head in front of him inexplicably reminded him of the cranberries on the Royal Navy.
"Fine, say whatever you want." Vio let out a long breath, his breath forming white mist in the cold air.
"This project has reached its final stages. Your elaborate improvement plan—" His voice suddenly rose, echoing slightly in the cave, "cannot change the established facts. You just need to complete the final week of excavation step by step, and you will be able to extract this legendary glacier intact."
The old man deliberately slowed his speech, each word seeming to be carved from ice: "Remember this: until the Order finds a way to control the dragon, the seal must never be broken without authorization—"
"A week?" Akromah suddenly interrupted him, her golden eyebrows raised exaggeratedly, her expression like that of an elementary school student reporting on their summer Pokémon observation diary at a high-level academic summit.
"It shouldn't take that long at all, right? Forgive my bluntness, but to dig this thing out of the ground—"
He raised his hand and threw the Poké Ball, its trajectory drawing a scarlet arc.
In an instant, a strikingly mechanical red disc appeared beside the scholar. With a click-clack sound of metal transforming, the disc began to twist its joints, and layers of red armor plates rose up like scales, instantly transforming into a mechanical insect carrying a plasma turret on its shoulder—"But it will only take ten minutes."
Akromah snapped his fingers.
The next moment, a chilling cooling sound came from the cannon barrel on the red Pokémon's back, and a blinding blue light began to gather below the muzzle.