bookbashuk Chapter 401 Water Knows All Escape Routes
Chapter 401 Water Knows All Escape Routes
Chapter 403 Water Knows All Escape Routes
Ms. Morikawa lay quietly on the ground, her breathing relatively steady, with no obvious external injuries.
But no matter how Alice called out to her, or how the bats gently patted her cheeks with their wings, the mother remained in a deep coma and could not wake up.
The situation at the scene is worrying—the kidnappers escaped into the Champions Road with a mother and daughter, and now the mother has been abandoned here, while the kidnappers and the young daughter are nowhere to be found.
"It's possible they were forced to inhale an excessive amount of 'sleeping powder.'"
Hugo's voice came through the phone strapped to Alice's arm: "According to the photos you sent, the tear stains on the hostage's face haven't faded yet, most likely from the violent coughing when she was hit by the skill. You mentioned the area is densely vegetated; can you find any footprints?"
Alice looked around, her brow furrowed. "No, no, this area seems to have been deliberately damaged by some kind of Pokémon."
The ground was covered with scattered pebbles and large mounds of earth, completely obscuring any possible footprints.
In other words, time is of the essence. If the case occurred within the jurisdiction of the police, even if the scene has been damaged to such an extent, the forensic experts may still be able to extract key evidence such as fingerprints or footprints with their professional equipment and techniques.
But at this moment, Alice can only rely on herself and her companions.
"Wait, you said rubble?" Hugo's voice on the phone betrayed a hint of surprise.
"Yes. I didn't notice it when we arrived, but this area near the hostages is almost entirely covered by similar mounds of earth—"
Alice looked at the swarm of bats sniffing around Lady Rhombus, her voice tinged with anxiety, "Hugo, do you have any ideas on how to track down the criminal?"
"If the prisoner only wants to temporarily cover up his footprints, he only needs to turn over the soil where he walked to achieve his goal."
At most, you can use Pokémon moves to cover it with some dirt or plants; there's really no need to create even gravel.
This is practically like using a Rock move to attack a Ground-type Pokémon; it's clearly a thankless task—the detective pondered the traces at the scene and suddenly raised his voice.
"Alice, have you seen any signs of large-scale excavation nearby?" he asked.
The girl immediately stood up, her gaze sweeping across the surrounding bushes and ground like that of a vulture.
"No," she replied quickly, "except for this gravel area, the rest of the place is flat."
"That's strange." Hugo frowned as he sat in the hospital basement.
"The criminal must have knocked Ms. Ryoko unconscious not long ago, and given that she has now disappeared, it's clear she didn't have time to meticulously conceal her whereabouts. If that's the case, why waste time on such a time-consuming and laborious disguise as turning over stones?"
"Is the prisoner still nearby?"
Alice's heart tightened, and her fingers instinctively pulled the switch on the Poké Ball.
With a flash of white light, the massive body of the two-axe war dragon crashed to the ground, its hard claws making a dull thud on the cave floor.
"Don't rush," Hugo said over the phone. "Even if the criminal is still at the scene, the time and effort spent creating the rubble still doesn't make sense. I'm more inclined to believe that this is a byproduct of some action they were carrying out."
His tone suddenly quickened: "That person might not have been intentionally concealing their footprints, but rather had to first create a large amount of soil and gravel, and then thought of covering the footprints as a side effect. And that project might have helped them escape—or rather, 'dig a tunnel'!"
"Digging a hole" — Wrong? Wait a minute!
Alice was pondering the detective's reasoning when she suddenly noticed that with the sudden appearance of the Haxorus, a few wisps of dust fell from the previously dark cave ceiling.
"Double-Haxed Dragon, 'Brick Break'! Upper right rock wall!"
The girl's command came faster than she thought, without the slightest hesitation; her hand was already pointing diagonally ahead in the direction where the dust had fallen.
"Hoichi—"
With its fangs bared, the double-axe war dragon, its entire body covered in hard armor, soared into the sky, raising its forelimbs with long red claws and striking precisely at the suspicious spot above the cave.
Click!
The cracking sound of rocks breaking was particularly jarring in the enclosed space.
Seeing more rubble falling, the Double-Axe Dragon changed its posture and used its "dragon claws" to precisely smash and clear away the falling rubble, creating a protective barrier above Alice and the others.
What appeared before Alice and the Haxorus was a deep, dark cave entrance leading upwards.
"Let the bats use ultrasound to detect again."
Even though he hadn't actually seen the opening leading upwards, Hugo's voice continued to come clearly from the phone, calm and precise.
"Yes, a rolling bat!" Alice immediately bent down, picked up the little blue furball that was staring blankly at the cave entrance, and held it high. "Use ultrasonic scanning to see if there's any trace of that little girl or the kidnapper on the other side of the cave!"
Only then did the swirling bats withdraw their attention from Ms. Morikawa, take a deep breath, and their heart-shaped nostril-like patterns trembled slightly.
It released invisible sound waves toward the dark cave entrance.
Time seemed to stretch out, with only the faint hum of ultrasonic waves echoing in the cave. Finally, the bat's body suddenly tensed, writhing uneasily in Alice's hands.
"Is the kidnapper still there?" The girl held her breath, her eyes fixed on it.
The rolling bat shook its head.
"So—is that another hostage there? The little girl named Sayuri?"
This time, the little guy nodded vigorously without hesitation, flapping its short wings twice as if urging it on.
"Since that's the case—"
Alice gestured to the Haxorus, and her childhood companion immediately understood, crouching steadily below the cave entrance, its olive-green scales gleaming coldly in the dim cave.
"Double-Haxe Dragon, Ms. Ryouko's safety is now in your hands. Hold on until the police backup arrives."
The reliable partner responded calmly, his sharp jaw tightening slightly, like a loyal guard.
The next second, Alice took a deep breath, hugged the rolling bat tightly with one hand, and pressed the back of the two-axe dragon with the other. Using the momentum, she leaped up, her boots making a slight scraping sound on the dragon scales. Her body shot into the air like an arrow, landing on top of her partner's head, which was surrounded by axe teeth, and barely managed to grab onto the edge of the cave entrance. Her arm muscles tensed, she gritted her teeth and exerted her strength, rolling over to get up there.
"Is the little girl still moving? Or has she lost consciousness like Ms. Ryoko?"
Alice asked in a low voice, as dust and gravel fell with her movements.
The newly dug passage was even narrower than before, and sharp rock edges scraped against her coat, mud covering her sleeves and trouser legs, but she did not slow down at all.
The bats in her arms shook their heads frantically, their short wings flapping anxiously.
"Then we need to speed things up even more." Alice dodged a protruding rock from above, and her head almost hit it head-on as she tried to accelerate.
Cold sweat trickled down her back, and the girl's breathing sounded particularly rapid in the confined space.
"Damn it, why did that kidnapper bring that mother and daughter to a place like this? Was he deliberately using the terrain to delay the police rescue?"
She instinctively wanted to ask Hugo for analysis, but the moment she raised her arm, her heart sank—the machine that was talking to Hugo had already shut down due to running out of battery.
"It seems we'll have to rely on ourselves here."
Alice gritted her teeth, about to plunge into the depths of darkness, when she saw a glimmer of light at the edge of her vision.
"Is that Sayuri?" Alice couldn't help but exclaim.
As the light and shadow flickered, a petite figure seemed to flinch, trembling like a frightened little animal.
She's been found!
"Even the Heavenly King Lianwu, prepare yourself."
Inside the data analysis center, Hugo looked at the call screen that had been disconnected due to low battery, turned to the Fighting King and asked seriously, "Did you find the kidnapper's slip-up?" Lian Wu's thick eyebrows rose slightly, his posture shifting from relaxed to ready for battle.
"The kidnapper must have realized that Alice was closely following him, so he deliberately hid the two hostages deep in the intricate tunnels."
Hugo examined the Champion's Road map in front of him. "As for now, the opponent should have bypassed Miss Alice and started fleeing in the direction ahead."
"Wouldn't that run right into the police search?" Deputy Chief Officer Jenny, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but interject, leaning on the long table.
No, there is another way.
The detective said -
"The prisoner abandoned the path because wild elves blocked it before, but now they have become aware of its existence again."
"You mean that underground river?" Officer Jenny narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"Yes, water flows downhill, and that underground river should eventually lead to some waterway that flows from the Champion's Road to the outside world. I've already had the investigators check that."
Hugo picked up a printed sheet of paper marked with a map from the table and solemnly handed it to Lian Wu—
"The kidnappers will likely emerge from the river's source, so we can do the opposite and block them inside the Champion's Road!"
The map shows a blue river that flows from the edge of the Champions Road, meandering along its course, and its source is surprisingly not far from the medical center.
"Considering the opponent's ability to evade Iris's pursuit, the enemy likely possesses a Psychic-type Pokémon with the 'Teleport' move. However—if it were Elite Four, they should be able to catch this person before they escape."
"Of course."
A resolute voice rang out in front of the detective.
"I've wasted enough time here, it's finally time to take the stage." Lian Wu cracked his knuckles, revealing a fiercely competitive smile on his face. "Apart from Cattleya, I've never lost to any other superhuman."
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted the conversation between the champion and the king of tennis.
A young investigator rushed up to the detective, tablet in hand: "Hugo, the search of the vehicle registration list is complete! We've identified a suspect!"
He waved a printed portrait and said it was a picture of a young man—with short, fiery red hair and eyes that seemed to gleam with danger.
"It's a driver named Sid Clement, from Tangcao Town, currently residing in Shuanglong City, who has a history of purchasing the target model."
He had also attended several presentations held by the Plasma Group. He hasn't returned to his post since finishing his mission this morning, and his official vehicle is currently parked near Ssangyong City!