His gaze swept over the crowd.
Yuki could feel her calves trembling slightly.
The shudder from the depths of her soul made her nearly unable to stand.
But she knew all too well that a step back was the abyss, and a step forward might be hell, but in hell, there was at least a chance to survive.
The shadow of that supervisor still loomed over her.
In a place like Team Rockets, the fate of a whistleblower who lost their protection was definitely no better than being turned into a cube.
Besides, the person before her was the Lord Ruth she had long admired!
What was there to retreat from!
"Lord Ruth! I'll do it!"
Yuki took a large step forward.
Her voice carried a faint, imperceptible tremor, but it rang out clearly in the deathly silent training grounds.
Ariel looked at her, his eyes revealing a hint of scrutiny.
This woman was ambitious and decisive enough.
Such people were the most useful, provided—she must be absolutely loyal.
"Come here."
Yuki took a deep breath and, stepping over the viscous bloodstains, walked in front of Malamar.
Observing this Pokémon up close, the mental pressure increased exponentially.
The suckers on Malamar's tentacles opened and closed slightly, and a cold aura instantly enveloped Yuki's entire body.
"Close your eyes and do not resist."
Ariel's words were like an incantation.
Yuki closed her eyes, and the world plunged into darkness, but immediately after, a powerful sense of intrusion bored into her mind.
It felt like countless tiny needles piercing her brain, or like someone was roughly flipping through the negatives of her memories.
The humiliations of the first half of her life, the hardships of crawling at the bottom of Team Rockets, the satisfaction and fear when she reported the supervisor—all flashed through her consciousness like a moive.
Malamar was probing her true nature.
As Malamar probed, it conveyed the information to Ariel through a Mental Link.
Through the Mental Link, Ariel felt the information Malamar sent back.
Yuki's thoughts were cluttered—there was a thirst for power and dissatisfaction with her current situation—but notably, there was no hostility toward him.
Her loyalty was built upon the need for survival, which was a very solid foundation.
"Imprint the brand."
Ariel gave the command.
The red glow in Malamar's eyes flared up.
Yuki felt as if the depths of her brain had been seared by a branding iron; the intense pain almost made her scream, but then, an inexplicable sense of tranquility replaced the pain.
In the deepest part of her subconscious, a figure became incomparably tall—it was Ariel.
This cognition wasn't brainwashing her into an idiot; rather, it set the logic of "loyalty to Ariel" as the highest priority in her thinking.
She still had her own judgment and personality, but she would never harbor a thought of betrayal.
"Yuki, pass."
As Ariel spoke, the oppressive mental power instantly withdrew.
Yuki's legs gave way, and she slumped to the ground, drenched in sweat as if she had just been fished out of water.
She looked up, and the way she gazed at Ariel had completely changed.
It was the gaze one reserved for a deity, or rather, for the sole meaning of life.
"Thank... thank you for your guidance, Lord Ruth."
She whispered softly, her tone carrying a morbid fanaticism.
Ariel was well aware of the limitations of this method.
If the target was extremely resistant from the bottom of their heart or had a willpower strong enough to oppose Malamar's mental intrusion, then forcibly imprinting the brand would have only two outcomes.
Either the mind control would fail.
Or their brain would be fried, turning them into a drooling invalid.
Therefore, he needed the target's active cooperation.
Seeing this, the remaining eighteen people, though still terrified, felt their desire to survive begin to take precedence now that Yuki had set a precedent.
The selection continued.
This mental-level screening was fast, but also extremely cruel.
Ariel watched those who stepped forward one by one.
Malamar was like a precision scanner, weeding out the scrap with too many impurities.
While undergoing the probe, one combatant had thoughts flash through his mind about how to use Ariel's resources to traffic arms.
Malamar immediately cut the process short; Ariel waved his hand, and the man was dragged out by two guards.
There was no place for him here with Ariel, but there were other dangerous jobs within Team Rockets that still needed manpower to contribute.
Several people in a row were eliminated because they were too calculating or their ambitions exceeded the bounds of control.
Ariel didn't need hungry wolves who spent all day thinking about turning on their master; he wanted vicious dogs that knew how to bite.
When it came to the fifteenth person, an accident occurred.
It was a man who looked quite silent, but the moment Malamar touched his mind, an intense hatred suddenly erupted from the depths of his eyes.
It was a deeply hidden killing intent.
Ariel keenly captured this emotion.
In the images Malamar fed back, this man had been a confidant of a Minor Leader whom Ariel had casually dealt with.
He had stayed here to look for an opportunity to carry out a suicidal revenge.
"Quite persistent, a good infiltration."
Ariel sneered.
He didn't waste words and directly gave Malamar the most brutal command.
"Destroy him."
Malamar let out a piercing cry, and the originally soft red glow instantly became violent.
The man's pupils dilated suddenly, and his eyeballs were covered in dense bloodshot veins.
He opened his mouth wide, wanting to scream, but could make no sound.
A psychic storm was raging inside his brain.
Every neuron was forcibly severed and shredded at that moment.
In just a few seconds, the man's eyes went completely vacant, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his chest.
He collapsed to the floor like a pile of mud; though he was still breathing, his soul had been completely extinguished.
This scene once again terrified the remaining people.
Eventually, besides Yuki, nine combatants passed the screening.
Although these nine were pale, their posture had become exceptionally upright.
In their subconscious, Ariel had become the center of their lives.
Ariel stepped down from the high platform.
He stood before these ten people, his gaze calm yet carrying an unquestionable pressure.
"From today on, you are no longer the dregs of Team Rockets."
Ariel looked around,
"You are my subordinates."
"And you are loyal only to me."
He looked at the nine combatants and spoke briefly:
"The nine of you, based on the order in which you passed, will be numbered from Number One to Number Nine. From now on, these will be your names and your honor."
In reality, Ariel was just too lazy to come up with names, and since code names were used back in the Training Camp, it felt natural for him to use them.
The nine people lowered their heads in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, exuding a chilling air of solemnity.
Finally, Ariel's gaze fell upon Yuki.
The woman had recovered by now and was gazing at him with an expression bordering on worship.
"Yuki, your status remains unchanged; you are still a clerk. But your duty will no longer be organizing those useless reports."
Ariel paused and continued:
"You are responsible for managing the nine of them. All information gathering, mission reports, and logistical coordination regarding the base will be summarized by you and handed to me. Understood?"
Yuki puffed out her chest and responded loudly:
"Yes! Lord Ruth! Yuki will never fail your trust!"
She was well aware of the weight of this power.
Though she was just a clerk, she was the steward of this absolutely loyal squad and the messenger of Ariel's intentions.
Looking at the fledgling team before him, the outline of the chess game in Ariel's mind became increasingly clear.
In this world full of betrayal and conspiracy, only this kind of loyalty carved into the soul was the strongest defense.
He turned around.
"Clean this place up. Starting tomorrow, I will assign you your first mission."
"Yes!"
Ten voices overlapped, echoing endlessly in the hall.
Ariel walked out of the training grounds; the lights in the corridor outside were somewhat dim.
Malamar followed silently behind him like a quiet reaper.
He didn't need hypocritical oaths of loyalty, nor did he need the kind of interest-based ties that could break at any moment.
What he wanted was this absolutely obedient, absolutely efficient, and absolutely cold tool.
And now, the first batch of tools had been polished.
Ariel looked up at the darkness at the end of the corridor, which led to the higher centers of power within Team Rockets.
His eyes were deep and cold, like a bottomless pool.