LRAB Chapter 282 Hayden's Judgment
Chapter 282 Hayden's Judgment
The Forest Mansion was brightly lit at night, its lights standing out starkly against the dense, dark foliage. Occasionally, a few poisonous moths could be seen flitting about, drawn to the light, near the mansion's weathered windows.
Having stepped down from the chairman's throne and now serving as a junior director in his own company, Hayden cleared his throat twice, glanced around at everyone, and then spoke slowly and deliberately—
"Do you know how I bought this Forest Mansion?"
Everyone looked at each other in silence. Even Officer Jenny, who was presiding over the meeting, shook her head helplessly: "According to the intelligence, this mansion seems to have appeared out of thin air. Apart from the application record for renovating the electrical wiring and water pipes two years ago, and the subsequent utility bills, the Alliance has no other information about this mansion. However, among the residents of Baidai City, there has always been an urban legend about the haunted mansion, saying that it attracts and devours lost people or something."
“Of course, no information could have leaked out,” Hayden shrugged. “Because this Forest Mansion was completely abandoned by its former residents long before the Sinnoh League established a comprehensive real estate registration system. Later, Eternal Forest was designated as a Pokémon habitat where new construction was prohibited, and this two-story building, surrounded by dense trees, was thus completely abandoned in the corner of history.”
"Before the registration system was perfected... it was abolished more than 120 years ago?" Officer Jenny mentally calculated the timeline of major events in the League, then suddenly felt something was amiss—
"Wait a minute, since this house has been abandoned, wouldn't your construction here violate the regulations regarding wildlife habitats?"
“Miss Officer Jenny, there’s no need to worry about this.” Manager Aying explained on behalf of the employer, indicating that he was also in charge of handling this matter.
"The main structure of the Forest Mansion already existed, so it cannot be considered a new construction project. We only renovated the building according to the standards of a secret outdoor base, and this matter has been reported to the relevant forestry departments of the Alliance."
Many trainers need to be stationed in the wild for extended periods to train their Pokémon. Over time, using simple tents becomes inconvenient. Therefore, many trainers simply establish permanent bases in the wild, such as cabins, caves, or burrows, together with their Pokémon. To regulate this practice and prevent an excessive number of bases from impacting the local environment, the League has implemented policies limiting trainers to a certain number and size of wild bases.
...Unexpectedly, Mr. Hayden found a loophole here.
"So, strictly speaking, this is a secret base?"
Officer Jenny looked around at the magnificent interior furnishings, the luxurious furniture, the gleaming floors, and the maid standing respectfully behind Hayden, her expression becoming increasingly tense.
"The Alliance's clerks aren't stupid; they wouldn't let you pull such tricks."
Aying felt embarrassed to look Officer Jenny in the eye, but in front of her employer, she still braced herself and explained, "We got a group of trainers from the company to register a joint base, which made up the total area of the building. Of course, there were some disputes during the paperwork, but wasn't the Forest Mansion surrounded by a large forest before? Isn't that the perfect terrain for building a secret base? So the application was approved without any major problems..."
“…Alright, we’ll discuss whether there’s any negligence on the part of public officials later.” Miss Officer Jenny seemed to have a lot to say, but considering her obligation to investigate the matter thoroughly before midnight, she had to suppress her confusion and continue questioning Hayden—
"Mr. Hayden, since this mansion has been hidden deep in the forest for a hundred years, how did you discover it? And what made you decide to renovate the mansion and give it to Professor Medan?"
When Officer Jenny questioned him, the old man pointed to the head, the head that looked like that of a low-ranking member of an evil organization: "This matter is related to Team Galactic."
"how do I say this?"
"In the Sinnoh region, Hayden Pharmaceuticals is a leading company in the development of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and naturally, it also engages in exchanges and collaborations with other companies. Among these business partners is the renowned Cosmic Energy Development Corporation."
Upon hearing this name, Officer Jenny and Orchid's expressions simultaneously turned solemn.
That was the largest commercial company under the Galactic Group, and also the one most deeply entrenched. Its founder was named Red Sun.
No one could have imagined that this organization, which claimed to be "developing cosmic energy for all mankind" and focused on space exploration and outer space research, was actually a puppet controlled by an evil organization that intended to destroy the world... No, actually, judging from the meaning of the name, the connection between the two is quite intricate, but at the time when the truth had not yet been revealed, no one would have imagined it in this way.
Seeing Officer Jenny's expression, Hayden knew she understood the meaning behind the name, so he continued his story—
"Of course, those aforementioned business collaborations were immediately terminated after the development team was embroiled in a business scandal that crossed our bottom line. That was right before Team Galactic's complete defeat in the Sinnoh region. We are a legitimate pharmaceutical company, and we have plenty of ways to make money. We have no reason to collude with a bunch of lunatics... However, the termination of the collaboration is one thing, but after that organization collapsed, a lot of research data and corresponding scientific heritage still ended up on our company's desk through certain channels."
It was probably intelligence leaked by corporate spies who infiltrated each other, or by researchers poached from other organizations.
Officer Jenny wasn't too surprised; she just hummed in agreement.
After all, Team Galactic's industries spanned all sectors of the Sinnoh region. When they collapsed, almost all the major corporations in Sinnoh were doing the same thing—like a pack of pack dogs, shamelessly trying to tear profits from the corpses of the fallen Titans. It seems that Hayden and his group also took advantage of their past business cooperation to cunningly seize most of Team Galactic's research legacy.
"Is the location of this mansion also one of the legacies that the development team left you?" Officer Jenny asked.
“That’s right.” Hayden nodded without hesitation. “This is the place where Team Galactic is rumored to capture large numbers of Rotom Plasma Pokémon. Those Rotom are transported in batches to the Team Galactic building in Bada City for research on their shape-changing abilities.”
"Tsk, the Cosmic Energy Development Project, which claims to fight for all mankind, is actually doing this kind of thing behind the scenes. It's really disheartening." Mei Dan shook his head and sighed. He thought the scandal of the development project was about its cooperation with the Galactic Group, but little did he know that the Galactic Group was originally established by an evil organization.
“I see.” Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow. “It seems the identity of the Pokémon trapped in the wall is now self-evident.”
"The Pokémon that coexists with that mansion? Hmm, that must be Rotom. Looks like it's trapped in the wires inside the wall by the Ice-Treading Doll's 'Reflect Wall,' what bad luck."
"But why do you think that the android head that appeared here is a smear campaign against you by a company that is hostile to you?" Officer Jenny asked as she felt she had gathered enough information.
"That goes without saying, because Hayden Pharmaceuticals isn't the only company that has had business collaborations with the development team," the refined-looking company director said, spreading his hands.
"Because of our past cooperation, we can find out Rotom's habitat through the development team's channels, and they can do the same. And they naturally know about the intricate connections between this Forest Mansion and Team Galactic. Using such a person to muddy the waters and attack Hayden Pharmaceuticals' reputation is just the right thing to do."