"Get me all the intelligence data on our industries from the past three months. At the same time, immediately notify our stationed personnel to begin inspecting all properties, checking for any strangers who might have infiltrated."
As one of the largest families in the Kanto region, the Cotton family possessed its own intelligence department. When Yule's command was issued, this massive system began to grind into gear. Unfortunately, the Cotton family was not yet able to blot out the sun with one hand. Shielded by the League's cover-up and the elite nature of this "sharp blade," the investigation was destined to yield no results.
Most importantly, too long a period of comfort had made the members of the Cotton family believe the League would not pressure them too excessively, let alone strike. Naturally, they did not put their hearts into the investigation. Consequently, the results several days later showed no abnormalities. Despite this, Gaius still notified a portion of his personnel to remain on standby for immediate deployment. Even if nothing was actually happening, it would serve to heighten their vigilance.
As night fell, a pitch-black figure wandered the streets, occasionally vanishing only to reappear in the distance like a ghost. It wasn't until the figure approached a large building that the "ghostly shadow" finally stopped and vanished completely. If someone possessed X-ray vision, they would have discovered that this shadow had already slipped silently into the skyscraper.
This shadow was Gu Yuan himself. During this period, Gu Yuan had performed infiltration missions so many times that he was already well-versed in the craft. Avoiding the surveillance to reach the president's office, he used a hacking system developed by the League to achieve a rapid breach. Mass amounts of confidential documents lay exposed like defenseless beauties, and Gu Yuan soon obtained enough intelligence to slip away quietly.
After completing his task, he did not linger, instead rushing to the next mission objective without pause. The moment he finished the final task would be the moment the League truly blew the horn for action.
Using Teleport to move rapidly, Gu Yuan soon arrived at his final mission location: Vermilion City. Compared to the Cotton family's ancestral home, Sunny City, which had long been fortified like a bastion, the Cotton family had also poured massive resources and manpower into Vermilion City. Gu Yuan's next step was to investigate the power distribution of the Cotton family in Vermilion City and frame them with a suitable crime.
Upon arriving the following day, he did not rush to act, instead hiding himself away to wait for nightfall. At the stroke of midnight, he quietly left his hiding place. This time, Gu Yuan did not attempt to infiltrate the Cotton family's commercial properties; instead, he crept toward a villa.
Using his system and psychic detection, Gu Yuan quickly mapped out the defensive forces inside and outside the villa. Using Teleport, he brought Ditto along, while Alakazam moved together with Annihilape. With a two-pronged approach, Gu Yuan and Alakazam launched an assault on the villa from both the left and right sides.
At this moment, the synergy between a Psychic or Psychic-type Pokémon and the eerie power of a Ghost-type Pokémon was demonstrated to its fullest. Within an extremely short time, Gu Yuan and Alakazam silently neutralized the guards, and the entire process failed to cause even a ripple of alarm.
Ten minutes later, Gu Yuan and Alakazam appeared simultaneously in the largest bedroom. On the bed lay the Cotton family's person in charge of Vermilion City: Tovani. Nestled beside him like a little bird was a beautiful woman. Without needing to use Telepathy, Alakazam understood Gu Yuan's intent with just a glance. Simultaneously, Gengar emerged from Gu Yuan's shadow, coordinating with Alakazam to use Hypnosis.
In his slumber, Tovani unconsciously revealed confidential intelligence, such as the strongest individuals from the Cotton family in Vermilion City and the distribution of their personnel. As the head of operations in Vermilion City, although Tovani mainly managed business affairs, he understood the family's power distribution very well. The presence of several quasi-Ace level guards earlier was enough to demonstrate Tovani's importance.
"Verify the intelligence immediately, then launch the general assault. Ensure that all the intelligence we obtained earlier is converted into actual results before tonight!" Gu Yuan immediately issued the command after checking the time and confirming it was not yet 1:00 AM.
As the captain of this squad, Gu Yuan had the authority to initiate a general assault directly. Since the start of the mission, this squad had been named "Sharp Blade." Before Gu Yuan had even reached Vermilion City, he had already instructed the Elite Four to begin organizing their forces. After this period of investigation, the intelligence Gu Yuan had gathered was enough to deal a heavy blow to the Cotton family.
Vermilion City was the most vital link in this crippling operation. The reason they weren't completely wiping out the Cotton family was, first, they couldn't be certain of the family's full strength; even infiltrating Sunny City wouldn't yield enough intel and carried the risk of being detected, which would jeopardize the entire plan. Furthermore, if a total war broke out and they couldn't succeed quickly, the other two major families would not stand idly by. No matter how fiercely they fought normally, they would unite to face the Elite Four in a crisis.
As they acted, other small and medium-sized families would also be unable to stay out of it, and the situation would eventually devolve into an all-out war. It was better to settle for the second-best option and cripple the Cotton family first; this was also the second reason. Only the emergence of a crippled Cotton family would ensure the smooth unfolding of subsequent plans.
Hanging up the communication, Gu Yuan had Alakazam act, sending Tovani and the woman beside him to meet the reaper. In this war, neither side needed many prisoners; they only needed to test the waters step-by-step or find the opponent's trump cards and destroy them one by one. In this period, it was a race to see who could reveal or destroy the other's hidden cards faster and who had prepared more of them.
Alakazam's Teleport activated, bringing Gu Yuan quickly outside the villa.
"A dark moon and high winds... a perfect night for killing? How fitting," Gu Yuan remarked with a touch of sentiment as he looked up at the bright moon in the night sky.
Alakazam used Teleport again, and Gu Yuan rushed toward his mission objective. As the captain of the Sharp Blade squad, Gu Yuan's task wasn't just to gather intelligence; he also needed to participate in this slaughter.
At exactly 1:00 AM, the forces prepared by the Elite Four mobilized all at once. Countless people had their homes silently invaded while they slept, only to be cut down immediately. Just as Gu Yuan said, this war required no prisoners, so these people naturally had no chance of survival.
At the same time, Gu Yuan arrived at his target. Under the dual detection of his psychic powers and the system, no secrets or strengths could be hidden from his eyes.