ctnovel Chapter 54 The Shapeshifter Mimes
Chapter 54 The Shapeshifter Mimes
"What is it?"
Jiang Yong was completely dumbfounded.
Turning my head to look, I see that Dark Raven is within the city walls of Cloud Dwelling City.
Looking down again, I saw that I was still alive and well, with all my limbs intact. I could confirm that I hadn't been turned into a ghost by Nott.
With the interstellar communication terminal in hand, I was certain that I had perfectly withstood the information offensive from Tiandu City. Apart from the decoy team whose mission was to expose themselves, none of the other members of the operation were touched by anyone from Tiandu City... Oh wait, I got hit by Nott myself, could it be because of that that that caused the failure??
He remained bewildered, then opened the task details to carefully check the progress.
[Rescue Operation (City Level):]
[Mission Objective 1: Resist the electronic warfare offensive from Tiandu City and ensure the squad's information security. (Completed)]
[Mission Objective 2: The Yunqi City spy "Dark Raven" survives and returns safely to Yunqi City with the evidence he possesses. (Incomplete)]
[Mission Objective 3: Successfully escape after encountering "Flame Soul" Nott. (Completed)]
[Current Rewards: 50000 Experience Points, 210 Premium Gold Coins, Black Market Faction Reputation +100, Special Rewards x2]
[Should I settle the payment immediately?]
"……what?"
He looked at the red "Incomplete" mark next to the second mission objective and slowly typed a question mark.
Is this correct?
"Everyone in Group Two, please double-check. Do you still have the evidence that Dark Raven gave you?"
The most urgent task was to quickly identify where the problem was, so Jiang Yong immediately turned to ask the members of the second group.
Why are you asking this?
One of the group members pulled a small package from a hidden compartment in his clothes and opened it in front of everyone. Inside lay a jet-black crystal and a small iron box: "The black crystal that Dark Raven mentioned, and a cassette tape, are both here. Is there a problem?"
He looked completely bewildered—we are experts, after all. It's one thing if we can't beat a master, but how could we not handle such a small matter?
"...Something feels off. Let me take a look."
Jiang Yong stepped forward, picked up the black crystal, and triggered a notification on the screen.
You have obtained the item "Necromancer Meteor Fragment" x1!
"It's definitely genuine, isn't it?"
He scratched his head, and under the puzzled and nervous gazes of his companions, he picked up the small metal box next to him. It triggered the panel prompt, showing that the item's name was "Dark Raven's Recording Tape," and it was indeed genuine.
Hiss, what else could be wrong? Could it be that this isn't Yunqi City at all, and I've been tricked into a mirage?
That's impossible. With the game panel providing real-time status updates, even if a Psychic-type Pokémon were to use Mirror Image, it would be detected immediately...
Jiang Yong rubbed his temples and pondered for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
After eliminating all impossible options, the one that remains, however absurd, is the truth!
"Are you done yet?"
One teammate couldn't help but urge, "Just standing here isn't going to work. We still need to take Dark Raven to the Administrator to turn in the quest..."
"Spirit Breath Chrysalis!"
He flashed with a burst of energy and sprang out of Cortia, startling his teammates who were watching nearby. The Spirit Chrysalis responded to the summons and merged its body with the energy to complete the fusion.
"The Cocoon of Protection"!
The instant the fusion was complete, Jiang Yong immediately activated a skill, a subtle weakening effect spreading out like ripples on water, without any intention of bypassing any teammates...
[You have entered combat mode!]
really!
Jiang Yong's eyes flashed. Right now, none of his teammates present had released their spirits, so they shouldn't have entered battle mode, unless…
Name: Shapeshifter Mimes
[Level: 26]
【Attribute: Mechanical/Superpowered】
[Ability: Upon entering the field, adjusts its own Defense and Special Defense stats to match those of the opponent's currently active Pokémon (this effect does not apply if the opponent's level is 15 levels or higher than its own)]
[Race: Mid-Rare]
Upon seeing the battle notification, his suspicions were immediately confirmed. Jiang Yong abruptly turned around, his gaze fixed intently on "Dark Raven," who was clutching his chest and seemed to have become even weaker. He spoke in a low voice.
"Where have the real Dark Ravens gone?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked!
"What do you mean? He's not Dark Raven?!"
"Then what we rescued were counterfeit goods? Does that mean all the evidence was fake too?"
"Why are you suddenly saying this? What evidence do you have?"
The crowd immediately scattered, their eyes shifting between Jiang Yong and "Dark Raven" with suspicion and uncertainty. Those who trusted Jiang Yong more even summoned their spirits and entered battle mode!
"Jiang Yong, what exactly is going on?"
Seeing that "Dark Raven" remained silent, Chen Yue, who was surrounded by Cloud Bees, couldn't help but ask—among the members present, he was the weakest in direct combat and was now in a panic.
Just as Jiang Yong was about to explain, he suddenly saw "Dark Raven's" body begin to tremble violently. Then, like a wax figure exposed to fire, it gradually melted into a silver liquid, floated up again, and reformed in mid-air, eventually becoming a liquid metal sphere about half a person's height, with purple glowing patterns on its surface.
—Mimes the Shapeshifter, a composite mechanical spirit, possesses a body made of liquid metal and a spirit imbued with supernatural elements. She can change her appearance at will, and combined with illusions created by her superpowers, she can perfectly disguise herself as other objects. If she works well with her contractor, she can even attach herself to their body, indirectly allowing them to impersonate others, making her a valuable partner for assassins and spies.
Its ability to replicate the opponent's defenses is due to its ability to mimic the opponent's appearance during battle.
(The current status is detected to match the contingency plan: "identity discovered by friendly forces" and "located within Yunqi City". Recording will begin playing...)
"Ahem, everyone,"
Suddenly, a weak voice came from within the metal sphere: "Please don't hurt it. This is my contracted spirit, Mimes. Changing its form is its ability."
"I made it record a lot of audio to deal with various situations. You may have already heard it—the more people who know the information I have, the better. I want to make sure it is brought back to Cloud City."
"When I discovered that Cloud City had sent two groups to pick me up, I wasn't sure which group would ultimately return successfully. So I disengaged from Mimes and let each of us join a separate group, so that as many people as possible involved in the pick-up and potentially able to return successfully would receive the information."
"Just to be on the safe side, I've entrusted the crucial evidence to Mimes for safekeeping. It can easily transform into other objects to evade detection, so the evidence will be safer in its hands."
"Since someone heard this recording, it means the intelligence and evidence have been safely brought back. Please don't worry about my physical body; after all, my mission is complete..."
Holy crap, so the real Raven is with the decoy team now?
Damn it, you've completed your task, but what about mine?!