Damian and the others arrived at a gazebo.
"Cynthia, you really are something," Damian said, genuinely moved.
He was impressed because she had lowered her head to him.
She was older than him, and they were not related, yet she still showed him that kind of respect.
"You are exactly the same as before. Your mind is completely occupied by your own thoughts," Damian teased. "You are only talking to yourself. Why not ask for Platinum's opinion?"
Cynthia looked at Platinum after hearing that.
However, Platinum lowered her head and did not dare meet Cynthia's eyes.
"Platinum will not answer you. She is afraid of you," Damian explained.
Cynthia immediately understood the situation.
She let out a soft sigh and looked at Damian.
With a single glance, she could tell that Platinum had many concerns. It was not that she refused to leave Team Rocket, but that she could not leave.
Platinum was worried that if she left Team Rocket, her family would suffer retaliation.
After all, the Berlitz family already had a conflict with Zinnia. Damian had a reason to act against them.
But would Damian really take revenge on Platinum's family?
Cynthia did not know, because she was not sure whether he would truly do something like that.
"Damian, what would it take for you to let Platinum go?" Cynthia thought for a moment and asked directly.
"I think you have misunderstood my character, Cynthia." Damian spread his hands with an innocent expression. "I brought Platinum into Team Rocket because I value her. Otherwise, do you think I am so idle that I would personally invite her to join?"
Damian spoke slowly.
"So your way of inviting her was to threaten her family?" Cynthia asked in return.
"Of course, there may have been a small misunderstanding during the process. However, I am confident Platinum will understand in time," Damian replied.
He remained noncommittal.
He did not deny that his methods were somewhat low. But that did not matter to him.
As long as the result was good, it was enough.
Platinum stayed silent.
She did not know how to respond. She even wondered whether she was supposed to thank Damian for valuing her.
"Damian, this is wrong. Even if Platinum becomes a member of Team Rocket, will she truly remain with Team Rocket by choice?" Cynthia asked. "Why is this necessary?"
Cynthia decided to examine the advantages and disadvantages from another angle.
"You do not need to worry about that, Cynthia," Damian said with a faint smile.
Damian cut her off when he saw that Cynthia wanted to continue.
"Cynthia, there is no need to say anything else. Platinum is one of my people now. It is impossible for me to let her leave."
Damian looked at Cynthia with a mocking smile.
His unpleasant gaze sent a chill through her.
"Unless..." Damian began.
"Unless what?" Cynthia bit her lip, but she still asked.
"Unless you take Platinum's place and become our partner, Cynthia. What do you think?" Damian grinned.
Whether it was Cynthia or Platinum, he was not picky.
Even if Cynthia's potential was not as high as Platinum's, he still found the idea interesting.
Just imagining Cynthia in a Team Rocket uniform excited him.
"No!" Platinum cried out in alarm the moment Damian finished speaking.
Cynthia fell silent.
"Cynthia, I am very grateful for your kindness. However, I am doing well in Team Rocket. Damian takes good care of me, so please do not worry," Platinum said at once.
Platinum did not want Cynthia to end up in this situation because of her.
She did not even dare imagine it.
No, that absolutely could not happen.
Cynthia pressed her lips together and stared at Damian.
She could see the heat in the young man's eyes, along with the desire to possess her, yet he hid it well.
That was it.
Ever since their first meeting, he had looked at her that way.
Cynthia's eyes flickered.
She looked at the nervous Platinum, then at the relaxed Caitlin.
A strong sense of helplessness suddenly rose in Cynthia's heart.
She really could not save anyone.
She could not do anything.
The atmosphere turned quiet for a while.
"Are you going to deal with Team Galactic next?" Cynthia asked Damian after a long silence.
"That's right. That group of fanatics in Team Galactic still needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, they will cause major trouble," Damian answered.
Cynthia's brows drew together when she heard that.
She did not understand what he meant.
"You still do not know, do you? Cyrus has already sent his subordinates to capture Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. He plans to extract their power. Then he will summon Dialga and Palkia and control them to destroy the current world and create a new one," Damian said mockingly.
The funniest part was that the Sinnoh League still did not know Cyrus's true intentions.
In the original story, if the protagonist had not stepped in, Cyrus might really have succeeded.
Cynthia's pupils contracted slightly.
She truly had not noticed this.
But Cynthia also felt fortunate. It was not too late to learn about it now.
"You want to take over Team Galactic, right?" Cynthia thought for a moment, then asked Damian.
"Correct. Team Galactic is not small, so taking all of it would be fine. However, I do not plan to keep Cyrus. That man's mind is not right," Damian said with disgust.
Although Cyrus's strength was acceptable, his mind was truly abnormal.
Even after failing in the end, he never reflected on his own problems.
So even if Damian took over Team Galactic, he had no intention of keeping someone like Cyrus.
Compared to Cyrus, Lysandre was much better.
Lysandre only became extreme because he was disappointed in human nature.
There was still room to make use of him.
"Would you mind if I traveled with you for a while?" Cynthia was silent for a moment before saying something shocking.
Platinum stared at Cynthia in shock.
The faint smile on Caitlin's lips also slowly disappeared as she looked at Cynthia with suspicion.
She wondered what Cynthia was thinking.
"What did you say?" Damian was also somewhat surprised.
"The threat from Team Galactic is enormous. If you have my help, I believe it will be much easier for Team Rocket to eliminate Team Galactic," Cynthia analyzed calmly.
That was indeed true.
Damian fell into thought.
After all, Cynthia was the Champion of Sinnoh. With her support, many things would become much more convenient.
He thought about the raid on the Team Galactic building in Eterna City earlier that day.
The building was inside the city.
If they had coordinated with Cynthia in advance, the police could have evacuated nearby civilians and secured the area while Team Rocket attacked the building.
That really would have been dramatic.
"And at the same time, you can keep an eye on Team Rocket's actions, right? Cynthia, are you really willing to risk your own safety for this?" Damian looked at Cynthia with interest.
"I do not have that intention," Cynthia said, shaking her head.
Her tone was calm.
As for whether that was true or false, only she knew.
"Fine. Then you can stay with us for a while. As long as you do not regret it," Damian said, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a grin.
Cynthia offering herself up like this was not a bad thing for Damian.
At the very least, she was pleasing to look at.
Cynthia remained silent.
She wondered what there was to regret.
She questioned Damian's character, but she believed he would not secretly kill her.
In fact, what Cynthia worried about most was her chastity.
After all, the way Damian looked at her was like a wolf.
That was what worried Cynthia most.
Just like when they took those photos last time, she wondered how much Damian had taken advantage of her.
But the only comforting thing was that Damian probably would not go so far as to force himself on her or use drugs.
Besides, Caitlin was here too.
Caitlin could at least ensure that Damian would not act recklessly toward her.
Furthermore, Cynthia truly wanted to know how Damian usually arranged Team Rocket's operations.
Of course, that was assuming Damian allowed her to observe from the side the whole time.
Otherwise, she would not learn anything.
"Alright, my dear temporary workers, the ones watching the show can leave now. We are going." Damian waved at Rosa and the others, who were gathered not far away, signaling them to disperse.
Rosa and the others had also recognized Cynthia.
After all, Cynthia's appearance was very distinctive.
So they had been watching the drama from a distance and guessing the relationship between Cynthia and Damian.
In Veilstone City, the Galactic Veilstone Building served as Team Galactic's headquarters.
"Boss, this is bad. The base in Eterna City was attacked. Commander Mars and Commander Saturn were both captured," Jupiter reported to Cyrus through a video call.
"Do you know who did it?" Cyrus was a middle-aged man with short gray-blue hair and a solemn, cold face.
Hearing this, he showed neither surprise nor anger.
Instead, he asked calmly.
"It is not clear. According to Saturn's last message, the people involved were staff from the Arceus Company," Jupiter said, looking confused.
Cyrus fell silent for a moment.
He wondered what kind of situation that was.
But he ignored it.
In the end, they were only incomplete life forms.
If they were captured, then they were captured.
They were just useless things to him.
"Jupiter, go take over the operation at Lake Acuity. Capture Uxie as soon as possible," Cyrus said coldly.
"Yes. But Boss, Mars and Saturn..." Jupiter hesitated.
She could feel Cyrus's indifference toward them.
She felt it should not be like this.
Even if she did not get along with Mars, they were all Team Galactic Commanders and had risked their lives for the organization.
"When the new world is complete, they will receive new life," Cyrus said calmly.
The meaning was obvious.
He had no intention of caring whether Mars and Saturn lived or died.
"Yes," Jupiter replied.
Her feelings were complicated, and a chill also rose in her heart.
But no matter what, she was still very loyal to Cyrus.
"As long as the Red Chain is completed, we can control Dialga and Palkia," Cyrus muttered to himself.
After hanging up, Cyrus turned and looked behind him.
Inside two massive containers filled with nutrient solution, two Pokémon were sleeping with their eyes closed.
Two thin tubes were inserted into their bodies, constantly extracting something from them.
They were Mesprit and Azelf, who had already been captured.
Of the three, only Uxie remained.
And Uxie was at Lake Acuity.
Cyrus had originally sent Mars to Lake Acuity, but he had not expected her to be captured before the operation even began.
Still, it did not matter. Jupiter could complete the mission just the same.
On the other side, at the villa Damian had purchased.
"Caitlin," Cynthia called as she walked into the backyard.
She saw Caitlin playing in the water with Baby Lugia.
"Cynthia," Caitlin replied.
She turned her head, looked at the approaching Cynthia, and nodded.
Her attitude was neither warm nor cold.
"This is Lugia, a Legendary Pokémon, right? It is very cute," Cynthia said, glancing at Baby Lugia and unable to stop herself from praising it.
"Yes. This is the most precious partner Damian gave me," Caitlin answered.
She crouched slightly and gently stroked Baby Lugia's head as it leaned toward her.
A faint smile rested on her face.
Cynthia felt conflicted, because she could hear the happiness in Caitlin's voice and see the joy in her eyes.
"Cynthia," Caitlin said.
"?" Cynthia looked at her.
"No matter why you are getting close to Damian, I hope you do not develop any kind of relationship with him," Caitlin said as she slowly stood up.
Her tone gradually turned heavy.
It was a reminder, but it could also be called a warning.
"Otherwise, our relationship ends here."
Cynthia frowned and looked at Caitlin in confusion.
---------------
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