N-A-A Chapter 329 Poison Chain - Target
Chapter 329 Poison Chain - Target
"By the way, Mr. Akromma's poisoning was also very strange."
Despite the already heavy atmosphere in the office, Mr. Gade, bound by his duty, could only continue speaking, adding insult to injury.
"No toxic substances were detected in the coffee residue on the table, and there were no traces of poison on the inside of the coffee cup. In the end, that cup of instant coffee was a standard item in the Alliance's break room, and it was brewed for Mr. Akromah by the staff at his own request—this was entirely a whim of the visitor, and neither the break room manager nor the clerk in charge of reception could have imagined that anyone would use this opportunity to poison him."
“I made myself a cup when I first came here,” Douzi testified, sticking out his tongue. “The taste wasn’t great, but it was pretty good at keeping me alert.”
"Are there any signs of Poison-type Pokémon intrusion at the scene?" Ignoring the acting champion's statement, Blackie asked with furrowed brows.
The security chief shook his head: "The police are investigating the ventilation ducts leading to that meeting room. They have also brought in Ghost-type Pokémon trained by Elite Four member Wanlong to check for any signs of spirits penetrating the walls of the meeting room, but so far we have not found any clues."
"Are there any surveillance cameras on site?" Douzi asked casually.
"The champion's private facility is not equipped with such facilities, and the surveillance footage in the lobby of the league headquarters only shows Mr. Akroma entering the headquarters with his hands empty, which is completely normal. In short, there is nothing unusual about it."
"Then... does Mr. Akromma have a habit of biting his pen?"
After pondering for a while, the girl with the high ponytail suddenly asked with an expectant expression—
"Is it possible that someone deliberately smeared poison on the cap of his pen, so that whenever the scholar encountered difficulties while calculating those formulas and subconsciously put the pen tip in his mouth in distress, the poison would unknowingly enter Mr. Akromma's body?"
"Hey, do you think this case is some kind of detective movie you made?"
Hei Lian pressed his brow, a little embarrassed, feeling sorry for his childhood playmate's naiveté.
"Regardless of how low the success rate of such a trick as smearing poison on the surface of a pen is, Mr. Akromma is, after all, an assistant appointed by the league champion. Judging from his neat appearance in the meeting room, he probably wouldn't have the kind of weird quirk that only a dim-witted person would have..."
“And the pen evidence is with the police.” Mr. Gade fiddled with his phone for a moment, seemingly communicating with someone on social media. After Blackie finished speaking, he continued, “They checked the evidence when they put it in the bag, and there were no bite marks or poison on it.”
"However, the fact that 'the injured person brought the poison into the Alliance headquarters from the outside' is indeed a very worthwhile direction for investigation."
The vice president of the alliance, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up—
“It’s almost impossible for the Alliance headquarters to have a way to obtain poison. Could it be that Akromar was poisoned in some way beforehand, and because the poison was in a capsule or for some other reason, it took a certain amount of time to take effect, so he only showed symptoms of poisoning after arriving at that conference room, and then fell into a coma there?”
“I personally think this is highly likely. If that’s really the case, then the whole incident has nothing to do with the Elf League itself,” Director Gade said respectfully, nodding.
"However, whether this is the case or not depends on the final diagnosis from the medical department. As I mentioned earlier, the current test results are completely unable to determine the type of poison Mr. Akromma was in."
“That’s certainly more rigorous.” Gloria nodded, her expression gentle as she continued, “So, Mr. Supervisor, is there anything else you’d like to ask these two trainers?”
"Yes, there is indeed one more thing... Just in case, I have another question I'd like to ask you both." After thinking for a long time, the middle-aged man said, "Miss Douzi, Mr. Heilian, have either of you offended anyone recently?"
"What does this mean?" The champion agent was a little confused and asked bluntly.
Gade coughed awkwardly twice: "Actually, it's nothing serious, just a routine social relations investigation. However, although it was Mr. Akromma who was poisoned in that meeting room, the method and means of poisoning remain unknown. So I have some suspicions that the person they really wanted to poison might not have been Akromma..."
"You mean, Akromma's poisoning might have been due to the perpetrator's mistake, and that Douzi and I could also have been the targets of the poisoning?" Hei Lian's expression changed, and he immediately asked seriously.
"Well, so it's not impossible."
The security supervisor sighed and shook his head, saying—
"We learned about the situation from the combat supervisor, Mr. Kachi. It was by an unexpected coincidence that the two of you accidentally extended the time for the combat assessment, which caused you to arrive at the meeting room an hour later than scheduled. Perhaps it was this one hour of downtime that caused the poison to be directed at Mr. Akroma, who was sitting there quietly."
"So that's why you're asking if anyone harbors murderous intent towards me or Douzi?" Hei Lian asked.
Gade nodded: "That's right, please forgive my intrusion."
“After all, a case really did happen, so it’s understandable.” Touko waved her hand magnanimously, but then she became troubled again. “But speaking of which, I really don’t have any mortal enemies. Even if there are some unlucky guys who lost prize money to me in battles, that’s just the rule of competitive games, and they shouldn’t complain about me no matter what…”
“Me too. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that would make anyone hate me so much,” Hei Lian added. “Besides, it was by chance that I followed Douzi into that meeting room. I didn’t originally intend to join the meeting.”
"Then the real target of the poisoning is me, right?" The girl pointed to herself in surprise. "Wait, could it be that Team Plasma wants to get rid of me? After all, I seem to have ruined a lot of their plans during our past travels... But, but it's too much of a fuss to wait so long before they suddenly decide to kill me. That makes no sense."
"Group Plasma? Is that the organization that causes all sorts of incidents across Unova, yet enjoys the support of many fanatics?"
Mr. Gade, the security chief at the Union headquarters, asked with some confusion, seemingly unfamiliar with the massive organization lurking in the shadows of the Union.
"Yes, that organization claims to be working to liberate all Pokémon, but in reality, they've committed many atrocities, such as stealing other people's Pokémon and deliberately destroying important public facilities... Could I really be being targeted by them?"
“I also know something about that organization. It’s a terrifying organization where the higher you stand, the more fear you feel. It’s also something Mr. Adek and the Four Heavenly Kings are very wary of.” Ms. Gloria brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and then calmly continued—
"However, when it comes to a planned poisoning attack, compared to Team Plasma taking revenge on Miss Touko for old grudges, is there another possibility?"
"what do you mean?"
Blackie had a vague idea of what the vice president was thinking, but the assumption was too important and far beyond the capabilities of a prospective gym leader.
However, Gloria did not hesitate at all, and with her usual calm expression, directly stated the young man's guess—
“What I mean is, neither Mr. Akromma nor Miss Touko may be the real target of this poisoning incident. If Mr. Gade’s ‘manslaughter theory’ is true, then the perpetrator who poisoned the victim may actually be someone else—and that person, like you and Miss Touko, did not appear in that meeting room on time for some reason.”
"Huh? Who is that person?"
Only Douzi remained oblivious to the somber atmosphere that permeated the scene.
The vice president of the United Alliance tapped the wooden desk of his office with his index finger, like the click of a crossbow bolt.
"It's the league champion who entrusted you to act as his representative, the one who doesn't want to reveal his identity to the public."