Reality is not a film, and there is no such thing as "exciting" slaughter.
It is forever violent. Forever bloody.
Though Dongfang Bai had been in the chat group for some time, she didn't truly understand the group owner. For now, the impression Roxie Vale gave her remained "kind."
Whether it was the way she uploaded memory copies from all the members' worlds without asking anything in return, or her attitude toward each member—no one could find fault with Roxie's character.
If she had a single fixation, it was Huaxia.
Because she was born in Huaxia, in other members' worlds she likewise never wished to see Huaxia harmed; and all the members tacitly accepted this.
Even the Holy Lord did.
By rights, as the chat group's owner, Roxie ought to have come to terms with the cruelty of the world; but on this point, Dongfang Bai wasn't sure.
Perhaps Roxie's ever-sunny presence in the chat, always so brimming with energy, had left too deep an impression; when it came to this, Dongfang hesitated.
As for the others, in truth most of them didn't much care about what she did.
Uchiha Madara, Marquis Voban, the Holy Lord, Sect Lord Luo Hao, Whitebeard, Aizen, and even Angel Yan—none of them would concern themselves with Dongfang Bai's actions.
As for Umaru, Lin Fengjiao, Tony, and Kasumigaoka Shiwa—perhaps they might care about this sort of thing. But whether they did or not made no difference to Dongfang Bai.
So—
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "I get the feeling I look super kind in your eyes. depressed.jpg"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Pretty sure I've never said anything saintly before, right?"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "If they want to kill Dongfang, they should be ready to be killed. Justice or evil—what's it got to do with me? shrug.jpg"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Besides, I'm no saint. I transmigrated into a high-martial world; the kinder you are, the faster you die."
A high-martial world… Roxie could only feel a little helpless.
She didn't think she'd ever acted like a bleeding heart in the chat.
Uchiha Madara, Marquis Voban, the Holy Lord—had they killed few? Hardly.
Especially the Holy Lord!
But even with the Holy Lord, all she'd hoped was that once he grew strong through the chat group, he'd expand his territory elsewhere.
As for Aizen, who joined later, her only concern was the possibility of a backstab.
That didn't count as "saintly," did it?
Roxie tilted her head.
Even if they didn't agree with her, there wasn't much she could do. Though she was the group owner, she had no special permissions.
Aside from a thirty-percent discount, she had nothing.
At best, she could make a little side money with that.
Dongfang Bubai: "Then it seems I underestimated the group owner. In that case—"
"Ding. Group member Dongfang Bubai has uploaded a memory copy."
"So, you knowingly changed the plot, researched new machines to capture Pikachu—and still failed?"
"And not just once. Every single time."
"And since Team Rocket never got that Ralts egg, we didn't bring it up later—and you forgot, didn't you?"
Brandon White looked at the screen, at Meowth standing there scratching the back of its head in embarrassment, and could only be speechless.
Because other people's Pokémon weren't hard to purchase—the headquarters had plenty of resources—they'd all received the Pokémon intended for them. But Ralts was relatively rare, and for certain unspeakable reasons, it was very difficult to buy a Ralts egg on the market.
Especially a female!
Even so, it shouldn't have taken this long. The crux was that Meowth had simply forgotten!
Once the group shop opened, you could buy whatever you wanted for Ralts—gender, even whether it was Shiny. But since neither Brandon nor Roxie had pressed Meowth about it, Jessie and James kept cycling through the same loop: research a new machine to catch Pikachu, fail, do odd jobs, then try to catch Pikachu again… and so on.
Over time, Meowth forgot all about it.
If not for a recent operation where they accidentally captured a Ralts, it might still not have remembered—though that capture plan failed in the end, meow.
Then it hurried to contact headquarters; as it turned out, there were still two female Ralts available. One apiece, transferred to Brandon White and Roxie Vale.
"Slow as it was, both Ralts have excellent potential, meow."
"You'll definitely be satisfied, meow."
Meowth's tone was earnest.
It was Team Rocket, after all—and it had paid a hefty price. Quality guaranteed.
"That's that, then. Jessie and James are calling me, meow. See you, meow."
Meowth didn't wait for Brandon to speak before cutting the call. Brandon could only smile wryly.
Among all the group members, if any of them cared least about the chat group, it was Meowth.
Aside from dropping a line or two in the chat now and then, it spent most of its time with Jessie and James—tinkering with machines, trying to capture Pikachu, failing, then taking on part-time jobs, and repeating the cycle.
Whether it was the chat group or the members from other worlds, none of it seemed particularly worthy of attention in its eyes.
For Meowth, being with Jessie and James was the happiest thing in the world. Nothing else mattered.
Precisely because of that, the other members almost never bothered Meowth unless it was necessary.
That kind of pure feeling was far more precious than anything between the rest of them.
Shaking his head, Brandon looked down at the Ralts nestled in his arms, staring up at him with dewy eyes and utter reliance.
Its green, watermelon-bob of a fringe draped over its little head; its small white hands were as pale as scallions; a white long "dress" trailed over its body, covering its legs; and perched atop its head was a pair of half-moon red "horns."
"So cute."
Angel Zhixin was looking at the Ralts in Brandon's arms with unhidden delight. Such pure affection could not help but be felt by Ralts.
But Ralts was shy by nature, and on top of that, Brandon carried a kind of aura it found deeply comforting, so it couldn't help but stay tucked in his embrace.
Even though Zhixin's feelings were just as pure, it still didn't want to leave Brandon's arms.
"This little one really is clingy with you."
Angel Zhixin looked at Brandon with a faint touch of envy, but she couldn't keep the smile from her lips.
As if she had understood Zhixin's words, the little face beneath that "watermelon fringe" flushed faintly. She glanced at Zhixin's gentle smile, then ducked her head, snuggling further into Brandon's arms and hiding shyly under his arm.
Her cuteness made even Zhixin itch to scoop her up and give her a pat.
Who can say no to a cute Ralts?
Humans can't, and angels even less.
Brandon patted Ralts on the head. Seeing Zhixin unconsciously leaning closer, he chuckled and said:
"The Angelic Civilization bought so many Pokémon. Just pick one when you go back."
"I want to…"
Angel Zhixin reluctantly tore her gaze away, sounding a little glum.
(End of this chapter)