-127- Villains of Linhu City? (Subscribe, please!)

After the chilling wind swept through, Tong Si noticed that the street was suddenly deserted. He had been pulled into a narrow alleyway by the angler he was just talking to, essentially escaping the assault of that group of ruffians.

"What on earth is going on?" Tong Si asked, genuinely bewildered.

The anglers, who had been so enthusiastic just moments ago, were now scattering in every direction as the cold wind arrived.

"Little brother, you’re an outsider, aren't you?" the angler asked.

"Oh? I’m from Jiahua City; I just arrived in Linhu City," Tong Si replied with a nod.

"I see, a visitor from Jiahua City. No wonder you don't know," the angler paused, then continued, "We don't know what’s gotten into Linhu City lately, but we’ve offended a group of jinxes. Those wretched things come to harass the city's residents every single day. It’s truly infuriating!"

"A group of jinxes?" Tong Si was confused.

"It’s a flock of Murkrow. These creatures come to the city center every day to stir up trouble. Everywhere they go, a chilling wind follows. Not only that, but after every gust, look at the shops on the street—even those fruit stalls—they all suffer heavy losses."

Following the angler’s gesture, Tong Si looked out. Indeed, the shops along the lakeside in Linhu City were in a state of utter disarray, with rotting fruit scattered all over the ground.

"Murkrow? Doesn't the Pokémon Association do anything about it?" Tong Si asked, puzzled. It stood to reason that with such a flock of Murkrow causing chaos, the Pokémon Association and the Pokémon police force should have stepped in.

"They’ve tried, but they can't catch them! These Murkrow are elusive. The leader, in particular, is incredibly cunning. Whenever the Association sends trainers to investigate, the flock vanishes without a trace. As soon as they leave, the Murkrow reappear instantly. Even the Pokémon police find them a massive headache." The angler scratched his head, clearly fed up with the flock.

"Sigh, they are Dark-type Pokémon after all. Dark-types are truly detestable!" A woman buying vegetables nearby in the alley couldn't help but spit in disgust upon hearing their conversation.

Tong Si pursed his lips. It seemed that in this world, there was a great deal of prejudice against Dark-type Pokémon.

After leaving the alley, Tong Si walked down the street alone. Seeing the damaged stalls and the broken fishing gear belonging to the angler, he began to understand the depth of their anger. By the time he reached the Pokémon Center, intending to rest, he heard the trainers inside all discussing the Murkrow.

"It seems these sudden Murkrow have brought quite a bit of trouble to the residents of Linhu City," Tong Si muttered to himself.

"Trouble? It’s far worse than that! I really hope those hateful Murkrow just disappear," a trainer nearby interjected, cursing.

"Exactly! The other day, my Meowth found a coin, and the flock immediately swarmed it, beat my Meowth up, and stole the coin. They are just too violent!"

"My Nidoran was bullied too..."

"My Oddish as well..."

Listening to the trainers at the Pokémon Center venting their frustrations, Tong Si couldn't help but frown. Are these Murkrow really that malicious? And if the trainers sent by the Association can't find their habitat, it only suggests one thing: the leader of the Murkrow is highly intelligent, knowing exactly how to pick on the weak while avoiding the strong.

After leaving the Pokémon Center, Tong Si originally planned to visit the Linhu City Pokémon Battle Center. It was similar to a battle club, but while clubs were mostly for novice trainers, the Battle Center was a facility open to all trainers in the city, where one could encounter all sorts of formidable opponents.

However, before heading to the Battle Center, Tong Si decided to stop by the Pokémon Association. The Association in Linhu City was unique; it was located in the middle of a lake, accessible only by a single narrow path. Of course, there were plenty of boats docked by the shore that could ferry people across for a fee.

Tong Si chose to take the path. As he walked, he looked down and realized the path was more than it seemed. "It’s hollow? No, there’s a tunnel underneath!"

To his surprise, he discovered a lower-level walkway beneath the path—essentially a sightseeing tunnel where one could observe the Water-type Pokémon kept in the lake, though that too required an entry fee.

"I didn't expect Linhu City to be full of attractions and business opportunities everywhere," Tong Si remarked with admiration. From this perspective, it made sense that Linhu City was more developed than Jiahua City.

Passing the path, Tong Si reached the entrance of the Pokémon Association. Inside, it wasn't much different from the one in Jiahua City; after all, the Association was standardized by the Pokémon League.

Tong Si’s main reason for coming was to check the quest board. Since these Murkrow were so troublesome, surely someone would have posted a bounty to deal with them. As expected, upon reaching the second floor, he saw a large number of missions related to hunting the Murkrow. Most were C-rank missions: capturing or defeating a single Murkrow and bringing it to the Association counted as completion. As for the B-rank mission—driving the entire flock away and restoring peace to Linhu City—Tong Si was currently only a White-rank adventurer and could not yet accept it.

He accepted a C-rank mission to capture or defeat a Murkrow. There were many such tasks, and the board even featured a special poster indicating that one could complete the task first and then claim the reward later. Seeing this, Tong Si finally understood how much the residents of Linhu City hated these creatures.

"Might as well try my luck," Tong Si thought as he left the Association.

"I wonder where a flock of Murkrow would make their home in a city?" he mused, frowning. This was the question that plagued everyone. It wasn't that the trainers couldn't defeat them; it was that the birds were too crafty, hiding until the residents let their guard down, then launching sneak attacks, fleeing from the strong, and bullying the defenseless.

Thinking of this, Tong Si couldn't help but secretly admire the intelligence of the lead Murkrow.