Since the explosion happened at Research Institute's Laboratory No. 1. Only a few high-ranking officials at Imperial University were aware of the research being conducted there and the key personnel involved.
Now the laboratory had been completely blown apart from the ground up—utterly destroyed.
The dean of the research institute rushed to the scene imdiately. Rescue operations were already underway, and dismbered limbs were being recovered from the rubble.
The dean’s face was ashen. Given the magnitude of that explosion, it was certain that no one inside—guards or researchers—could have survived.
"This was definitely no accident," the dean muttered through gritted teeth as he surveyed the devastation.
He knew exactly what was being studied in lab—it had nothing to do with hazardous materials. There was no reason for an explosion to occur naturally. Moreover, the blast had been way too powerful.
The materials used to build the lab were incredibly sturdy—under normal circumstances, even an Elite-level Pokémon wouldn’t be able to blow the lab to pieces in such a short ti.
"Dean."
At this mont, Julian and Nicole arrived on Dragonite.
"This bad?"
Julian’s expression changed slightly when he saw the blast site. Blood and chunks of flesh were still clinging to the rubble, making it clear that everyone inside was dead.
Nicole approached the dean, her tone grave. "Dean, this explosion was most likely deliberate."
Although she didn’t know what was being researched in Laboratory No. 1, she was aware of its highly secretive nature. The scale of the explosion made it highly unlikely to have been caused by an experintal error.
"I don’t know if Professor Charles was inside."
The dean’s expression turned extrely heavy. Professor Charles was a strategic-level asset—if he had died here, it would be a massive blow to Drakoria.
"What exactly was being researched here?"
Because of his aunt, Julian knew of Professor Charles. Learning that this laboratory was under Professor Charles’s direction made his expression imdiately turn serious.
Normally, the details of the research would be confidential, but since Julian was a Champion, the dean explained the project being conducted in Laboratory No. 1.
"A new kind of incubation fluid that has a chance to improve a Pokémon egg’s potential?"
"Yes. Professor Charles and his team have been researching it for over thirty years."
Julian naturally understood the value of such an incubation fluid—one that could raise the potential of Pokémon eggs. It could boost Drakoria’s national power as a whole.
But now, the laboratory had been destroyed, and Professor Charles and his team might have perished with it.
"There must have been a mole in Laboratory No. 1. Maybe the experint finally succeeded, and then soone acted to destroy the entire facility."
None of the three were fools. The presence of a spy was almost certain—it was all too common.
It was common for nations to send spies to infiltrate laboratories—whether state-run or corporate—in other countries to steal their research results.
Julian imdiately made a phone call.
"Hello, Commander?"
After just one ring, Ella's voice ca through the phone.
"Notify the military and the air traffic bureau—effective imdiately, not even a fly is allowed to leave Drakoria. Also, from this mont on, no data is to be transmitted over networks."
After giving the order, Julian directly hung up.
The military would take control of the sea routes and borders, and the air traffic bureau would naturally handle flights.
Hearing the dial tone, Ella didn't dare delay. She imdiately relayed the instructions from Julian to the relevant departnts.
Regardless of the reason, once a Champion issued an order—as long as it wasn't treasonous—every mber of the military and governnt in Drakoria had to comply.
Instantly, the massive machinery of Drakoria swung into action.
Warships set sail from ports to blockade mariti routes.
At the sa ti, all international flights were grounded indefinitely.
Julian then promptly inford the Elder Council of his suspicions.
However, he still couldn't understand why the spy had chosen to destroy the lab while leaving—after all, the commotion it caused was enormous. Wasn’t that just exposing themselves?
Jas explained: "Only Professor Charles and the six of us elders had access to extract the data and materials from Laboratory No. 1. If the lab hadn't been destroyed, we could still have retrieved the results."
"That way, they wouldn't have been able to monopolize the data."
With the lab completely destroyed, all the data was naturally lost.
The explosion had been so thorough that most of the victims inside were blown to bits, leaving no intact remains.
According to the information provided by Jas, Laboratory No. 1 had housed a total of fifty people, including researchers and guards.
But so far, not a single complete body had been recovered.
"Wait!"
A Golem was dug out of the rubble. Julian suddenly noticed it was still barely breathing and imdiately rushed over.
But just as he reached it, the Pokémon took its last breath.
Julian: 'Are you kidding ?'
"Gengar!"
"Gen~"
Gengar erged from Julian's shadow and inhaled deeply over Golem's body. A faint, ethereal energy—Golem's soul—was sucked out by Gengar.
Ghost-type Pokémon could devour souls to grow stronger.
However, since a soul contained vast amounts of mory, consuming too many with intact mories could cause the ghost Pokémon to suffer ntal breakdowns or even split personalities.
That was why the vast majority of Ghost-type Pokémon would erase a soul’s mories before devouring it—doing so not only avoided ntal instability, but also made the soul’s "quality" even higher.
After devouring Golem’s soul, Gengar naturally absorbed its mories as well.
Images of Max surfaced in its mind, along with the mory of his Vileplu ambushing Golem.
If not for a life-saving item it had once obtained in a secret realm, it would have died right then and there under Vileplu's assault. But the subsequent explosion of the laboratory beca the final straw that crushed it.
"Gen~"
Gengar transmitted the mory images into Julian's mind through a dream-like projection.
"Who is this guy?"
Julian used his Master-level Psychic abilities to materialize Max's image in the air.
"That's Max, the vice-captain of the laboratory's security team. He and Captain Zane have been guarding this lab for over ten years. Don't tell —"
The dean of the research institute asked, his expression grim.
"It's him. Professor Charles's incubation fluid research was indeed successful, and the only copy of the data has been stolen by this guy."
"Dammit, that bastard!" The dean cursed furiously.
Given Max's position, he could indeed have pulled this off. As the vice-captain who had been guarding the lab for over a decade, his identity had been thoroughly vetted for access.
The guy had hidden himself far too well. If the experint hadn't finally succeeded, he might have stayed undercover his entire life without ever exposing himself.
This highlighted the terrifying nature of certain spies.
Max even made Julian recall the Wyvernian restaurant owner who had once kidnapped him—both were deeply embedded spies, lurking in the shadows.
*****
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