radicalducati Chapter 327 Overdose – Fatal
Chapter 327 Overdose – Fatal
"It seems... she really isn't breathing."
Blacklink stepped forward to check on the situation in place of his stunned childhood friend. However, as he withdrew his finger from under Mr. Akromma's nose, shook his head with a grim expression, and uttered that terrible verdict, the entire United States erupted into chaos.
Within a short fifteen minutes, countless medical staff and rotating alliance leaders, like a swarm of startled iron ants, flocked to the meeting room where the murder had occurred.
The once spacious room was now crammed with people, resembling an underground anthill.
The bureaucrats responsible for receiving the visitors whispered anxiously among themselves, discussing the cause of the attack and the arrangements for the aftermath; the doctors who rushed to the scene tried to resuscitate Akromma, who had stopped breathing, but with little success; stretchers used to transfer the wounded were brought in from outside, and the crowd rushing to make way for them caused another moment of chaos; while the Union police officers who arrived later were trying to maintain order, while anxiously making phone calls to urge the forensic team to arrive as soon as possible...
Even this scene was the result of the alliance deliberately controlling intelligence because the location was too sensitive.
"Excuse me, could we talk in private for a moment?"
A middle-aged man in a black suit squeezed out of the crowd and spoke to the champion agent and Hei Lian, who were left standing in the corner.
Supervisor Mr. Kachi, as the first discoverer of the case, had already been summoned for questioning by the police. As for the remaining Douzi and Heilian, due to their special status, no one knew what to do with them until a high-ranking alliance official arrived.
By now, the important figures who could make up their minds should know the situation... Hei Lian thought to himself, and then he and Touko were asked to leave the crime scene.
After navigating through the labyrinthine corridors and passageways of the Alliance headquarters, the two were led into another office, slightly smaller but more luxurious.
"You two must be Miss Douzi and Mr. Heilian. I already know about your situation. It's truly an undeserved misfortune to have encountered such a terrible accident. I'm so sorry to have shown you such an inappropriate side of the Pokémon League."
An apologetic voice came from inside the office; it belonged to a middle-aged woman whose face Blackie had seen on television before.
This person does indeed appear to be a high-ranking official in the United Alliance, but Black Lian, who is not very familiar with this field, does not know the person's specific name or position.
As if sensing Hei Lian's hesitation, the middle-aged man in a suit who was leading the two introduced them to the person in front of them—
"This is Ms. Gloria, the vice president of the local Pokémon League. With the current league president and champion absent, she is the highest-ranking person in charge at the league headquarters."
"So, that chairman isn't at the alliance headquarters right now?"
A few days ago, when she first took over as the champion's agent, Douzi had met the president of the United Alliance. The president wore a pair of small round-framed glasses and, apart from his developmental style, was just like an ordinary person. He was very kind and friendly, and was also quite friendly to her, the "pseudo-champion" who was temporarily filling in. So the girl asked with some concern.
"The chairman is on a business trip to Fanba City these past two days, discussing the venue for the Pokémon World Championships with Gym Leader Kiku. I just informed him about the murder by phone, and his instructions are to focus on the rescue efforts and deal with the rest later... His unhurried pace is typical of him."
Ms. Gloria shook her head helplessly, then looked at the middle-aged man who had brought Douzi and the other man there—
"It's not enough to just introduce me as your boss. Mutual understanding is the foundation of communication. Mr. Gade, won't you introduce yourself to these two?"
"Excuse me."
The middle-aged man in the black suit bowed to Douzi and the other man and said—
"My name is Gade, and I'm the head of security at the league headquarters. It's laughable to think that I'm in charge of defense in this place where champions and superstars gather. But some trivial things like preventing theft and checking the identities of people coming and going still need to be done, and I'm the supervisor in charge of that area."
At this point, the middle-aged man gave a self-deprecating, bitter smile—
"And now... such a serious situation has occurred in the Champions' Meeting Room, and the one who has to take the lead is still me, the useless head of the security department."
The vice president casually raised her hand, reassuring her subordinate, "From what I understand of the situation at the scene, the incident doesn't seem to be a result of inadequate security. You don't need to be so anxious. What's the progress of the on-site investigation? Mr. Gade, didn't you still have some questions to verify with these two?"
When the topic shifted to himself, Douzi immediately tensed up, while Heilian beside him, having gradually come to understand the current situation, became a bit calmer.
“I started to wonder when I saw so many policemen come into the meeting room. According to Mr. Gade, did Mr. Akromma, who collapsed, not lose his breath due to natural causes such as illness?” Blackie asked.
“Yes,” the middle-aged man answered directly, “we believe this is an attack.”
"Based on your eyewitness testimony, Black Lian, and the diagnosis of the Alliance doctor upon arrival at the scene, Mr. Akromma had indeed lost basic vital signs when he was found."
Ms. Gloria added—
"Fortunately, you noticed the abnormality early, and the alliance also has resident medical facilities. They immediately performed a series of professional first aid measures, including CPR, on the patient, which barely restarted the patient's breathing and heartbeat. But even so, the patient is still in critical condition and is therefore transferred to the alliance's medical unit for further treatment."
"It was discovered relatively early..." Upon hearing this, Hei Lian couldn't help but feel ashamed.
If his fight with Douzi had ended sooner, would this incident have never happened? No, on the contrary, if they had fought any longer, wouldn't Akromah be dead by now?
At this moment, Mr. Gade's cold voice pulled Blackie from his meaningless deductions back to reality—
"The reason he was still in a near-death state was because of the toxin in Mr. Akromma's body. That's why the police concluded that this was most likely a malicious attack."
"Poison?" Douzi stood up from his chair in surprise.
"Yes, the emergency responders did not perform artificial respiration on the spot, precisely because they considered the risks involved, and subsequent events proved their judgment to be very correct," the vice president said.
"Although the Pokémon League's logistics department has been relatively idle due to the former champion's long absence from headquarters, the Pokémon League headquarters is, after all, the battleground that serves the top trainers, and the selection process is the most rigorous and even demanding. Including Mr. Gade from the security department, the logistics department's professional capabilities are undoubtedly top-notch."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Gade was flattered and thanked him, then went on to describe the current situation—
"The patient has no external injuries, and normal medical treatment is unlikely to improve their condition. Only by sending out a powerful healing Pokémon and using a move like 'Heal Bell' to alleviate abnormal statuses can the patient's symptoms be reduced slightly—this is a typical symptom of a human infected by a Poison-type Pokémon toxin."
The security supervisor relayed the doctors' on-site diagnoses.
"While we can't yet determine how the patient contracted the toxin, it's definitely not as simple as a regular 'Poisonous' move. Otherwise, the medical team should have been able to cure him long ago. The toxin in Mr. Acromantium's body must have been specially formulated. Unless someone deliberately experimented with it with the intent to kill, it would be impossible for a Poison-type Pokémon to produce such a troublesome venom on its own."
"In our Elf League headquarters, it's impossible for anyone to accidentally ingest such poison, right? Judging from the situation at the scene, the possibility of suicide can be immediately ruled out."
The vice president spread his hands and said, "After eliminating all the conditions, we finally arrived at an irrefutable conclusion—"
"So, though I'm reluctant, I have to admit that a horrific murder has occurred within the headquarters of this United States."
"Based on the above situation, our security department has something we need to confirm with you, Miss Douzi."
Mr. Gade looked at the girl and finally revealed his reason for inviting her to his office.
"Who exactly is this Mr. Akromah, who was poisoned in the attack?"