At that moment, Zhou Ziwen was holding a meeting with his team members.
Yesterday, the chief called together the two squadron leaders, two deputy squadron leaders, and twenty team leaders under his command for a meeting. Also attending were two deputy chiefs, making a total of twenty-five people including the chief himself.
Zhou Zhiwen was just a team leader, officially titled the leader of the First Team, First Squadron of the City Bureau's Search and Investigation Unit. Although the Search and Investigation Unit belonged to the police department, due to its unique nature, the unit chief was typically appointed directly by the Alliance, holding the same rank as the city bureau director. Not only that, but sometimes their authority even exceeded the director's. Essentially, they were the third-in-command under the mayor and gym leader, wielding real power and serving as the city's strongest defensive force.
Originally, this meeting didn't require the unit chief to preside, but the scope of the issue was too broad, affecting over a dozen towns and villages around the forest. If mishandled, it could lead to severe consequences. So, Unit Chief Jiang Tiansheng had to step in.
In fact, there had been warnings about this a few days earlier. Recently, the frequency of Pokémon attacks on humans in the surrounding villages had skyrocketed. While such incidents had occurred before, they typically happened once or twice a week. But over the past few days, the number had suddenly surged to dozens. This immediately raised red flags for the Search and Investigation Unit. Just then, village chiefs and town mayors began calling one after another to report the situation. Only then did the unit realize something was definitely wrong in the nearby forest. Sensing trouble, Unit Chief Jiang Tiansheng quickly notified all squadron leaders and team leaders to convene a meeting.
Jiang Tiansheng looked at the swiftly assembled group: two deputy chiefs, two squadron leaders, two deputy squadron leaders, and twenty team leaders. He said, "Everyone, I think you've all heard something about this recent spate of Pokémon attacks. Today's meeting is to discuss this matter. Let me first give you a general overview."
"First, the number of Pokémon attacks has surged dramatically in recent days, with two fatalities reported. Over a dozen surrounding villages and towns have seen many wild Pokémon appearing, seriously threatening the safety of the residents. Given this situation, what do you think is causing so many Pokémon to leave the forest and attack humans?"
After Jiang Tiansheng finished speaking, everyone fell into thought. Before the meeting, they had already learned bits and pieces about the incident and had their own ideas. Then, First Squadron Leader Sun Zhengyi spoke up: "Chief, I think these Pokémon appearing in the villages, all tense and highly aggressive, means something's definitely wrong in the forest. I believe either someone is conducting large-scale Pokémon captures, or something has happened to the forest's dominant Pokémon."
"As you all know, the forests around our Chunhua City are mostly offshoots of the Evergreen Forest. Though they're fragmented and many lack specific names, the most severely affected area, Chunhua Forest, has a forest overlord. According to Alliance records, this overlord is a Champion-level Pokémon—a Venusaur. Since the forest is in turmoil, it must be related to this Venusaur. We don't know how old this Venusaur is, but it's certainly not young. So, could it be that this Venusaur has died, leaving the forest without a ruler, and the various groups are fighting for dominance, causing this chaos?"
Jiang Tiansheng found Sun Zhengyi's reasoning quite plausible. Still, he asked, "Does anyone else have a different view?"
Just then, Zhou Zhiwen spoke up: "Chief, what the squadron leader said makes a lot of sense. But there are two other possibilities. One is that some dark organization conducted experiments that affected the Pokémon in the forest. Another, less likely scenario, is that a legendary Pokémon passed through the area, startling the local Pokémon."
Hearing Zhou Zhiwen's words, Jiang Tiansheng and the others felt these possibilities were also worth considering. A few more team leaders added their thoughts, and Jiang Tiansheng felt they had covered enough ground. The real issue still required on-site investigation.
With that in mind, he quietly consulted with the two deputy chiefs before announcing, "Here are my orders: First Squadron and Second Squadron, each led by a deputy chief with five teams, will handle this matter. First Squadron will investigate the forest, while Second Squadron will patrol the surrounding villages and towns to protect the residents. The remaining personnel will stay on standby at the base, not allowed to leave without permission. Recall anyone on leave, and have those already out return immediately."
After giving these orders, Jiang Tiansheng reminded everyone to stay safe and adjourned the meeting.
Early the next morning, Zhou Zhiwen gathered his team to assign tasks. He and his deputy, Zhang Yang, would each lead four members to assemble outside Chunhua Forest, where they would split into groups for the search. After arranging everything, Zhou Zhiwen heard his phone ring. Picking it up, he saw the caller ID displayed "Wen Qi."
Answering the call, he said, "Hello? Boss Wen, calling me so early. What's up?"
Wen Qi didn't waste time and asked directly, "Captain Zhou, has something happened in the nearby villages recently?"
Zhou Zhiwen was a bit surprised that Wen Qi knew about this. Without hiding anything, he replied, "Boss Wen, something's indeed going on in the surrounding villages. If you don't have urgent business, it's best not to return to the farm for now. Something's wrong in Chunhua Forest, but we don't know the specifics yet. We're heading over to check it out today."
Hearing this, Wen Qi realized he wouldn't get much useful information from Zhou Zhiwen—even the Search and Investigation Unit didn't know the full story. Although Zhou advised him not to go back, his farm was right next to the forest, and the village chief had also called him home. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhou Zhiwen, he hung up.
Wen Qi packed up his things, recalled his other Pokémon, locked the door, and mounted his Gogoat, racing back to the farm. Everything seemed normal as he left the city, but the closer he got to the countryside, the more Pokémon he noticed appearing around him. Though none were very high-level, every one of them seemed startled and highly aggressive. If not for his Gogoat's strength intimidating the other Pokémon, he might have been attacked. There were few people on the road, and those he did see were either speeding away in cars or riding strong Pokémon.
Soon, Wen Qi arrived at the village. He noticed that even in broad daylight, there weren't many people around, and Pokémon were frequently appearing in the village. Deciding to check on his farm first before visiting the village chief, he quickly made his way back. Fortunately, the farm was relatively quiet. In truth, Wen Qi had his Scizor to thank for that. In the wild, Scyther were known to be fierce and powerful, and few Pokémon dared to provoke them. His Scizor was even stronger. Since the incidents began, it had been patrolling the farm's perimeter daily, constantly radiating its aura to warn nearby Pokémon that this place wasn't to be messed with. With the help of the many Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot, the farm remained stable.