Chapter 72: The Escape

Chen Ou was leading A Su toward the direction of the Cerulean City Police Department.

"Dr. Chen! Dr. Chen Ou!"

Officer Jenny came rushing up on her motorcycle, calling out loudly as soon as she spotted Chen Ou from afar.

Seeing this, Chen Ou immediately hung up on his call with Qinglu, then turned to Jenny with a look of mild confusion.

Officer Jenny rode up swiftly, executing a stylish tailspin as she approached, and came to a stop exactly one meter in front of Chen Ou. Her technique was impressive—how she’d mastered it was anyone’s guess, really.

But Chen Ou had no interest in such trifling details at the moment. He noticed the urgency in Jenny's eyes and responded with composed calm.

"Don’t worry, Officer Jenny. Just tell me what’s happened. There’s no problem that can’t be solved," he said, his tone genuinely reassuring.

Jenny’s demeanor eased a little at his words. She wasn’t really out of breath, just a bit rattled.

"Dr. Chen Ou, the holding cell at our station was attacked. We failed to stop the culprits— the criminal you brought in was broken out," she said.

Chen Ou’s brows knitted together immediately.

He spoke with clear dissatisfaction: "Last time, Lightning and Volt were broken out. Now, Snow is gone too. I’m starting to question the competence of your Kanto police departments."

A Su at his side was equally displeased; this was a serious dereliction of duty. If Chen Ou reported this to the Cerulean City Police, Officer Jenny here could probably retire early from the family business.

However, Chen Ou wasn’t the type to be so harsh. Besides, this time, it really wasn’t Officer Jenny’s fault.

"But I understand—facing such powerful opponents is a weakness for you. Sometimes, it simply can’t be helped," Chen Ou said with a resigned sigh.

That only made Jenny’s cheeks flush an even deeper red.

It was the truth, but it wasn’t the whole story. In any city, the strongest person was usually the gym leader. The police generally didn’t handle dangerous criminals who were still strong enough to resist. Besides, people almost never tried to break someone out—attacking a police station was a direct slap in the face to the League.

And strictly speaking, the Jennys were not weak. Most were mid-tier trainers, and in major cities, many were high-level trainers as well. But an Elite-class Jenny would rarely serve in the police force—there were political balances to maintain.

The Jennys and Joys were the two greatest families in the League. If not for the fact that they could only give birth to girls, and all looked alike, and their talents as trainers were good but limited, they would likely have ruled the entire League long ago.

Chen Ou had considered researching what made the Joys and Jennys unique. In fact, what trainer hadn’t been curious? But no one dared to try. Those two families were not to be trifled with. And don’t think they were only made up of women—there was a sea of trainers and researchers eager to marry into the Joy and Jenny families.

If twins were every man’s dream, then the Joys and Jennys were paradise itself.

Ahem... But that’s a digression.

"Still, I have some responsibility here. I knew there was a risk of a prison break, yet I wasted too much time with the gym challenge. I’ll report this to the League and take full responsibility," he said with a gentle smile. He wasn’t foolish enough to offend the Jenny family over a minor issue.

But Officer Jenny took it differently. Seeing Chen Ou’s warm, sun-bright smile and hearing his sincerely comforting words, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. If Chen Ou took the blame, he would still be punished for the escape, even though he was the one who originally caught the criminal. And guarding prisoners was never his responsibility to begin with.

"Thank you, Dr. Chen Ou!" Officer Jenny bowed deeply, her waist bent at a perfect right angle. Chen Ou caught a glimpse of creamy white and quickly averted his gaze.

She was certainly sincere! But Chen Ou had no intention of getting entangled with her family in that way. Or rather, few promising trainers would willingly tie themselves to those two great families.

Being a live-in son-in-law was no easy task, and not everyone was named Ning Yi.

A Su witnessed all of this and suddenly held Chen Ou in much higher esteem.

A true gentleman! No, wait—right now, we need to catch the escaped criminal!

A Su snapped out of it and immediately spoke up. "Doctor! We must quickly organize a search for the escaped criminal!"

Chen Ou seemed to come back to himself as well. "Yes, yes, you’re right. Officer Jenny, now isn’t the time to worry about blame. We need to find them fast—at least determine which way they’ve gone!"

Officer Jenny straightened up, her expression serious. "I’ve already dispatched people to pursue them. Don’t worry, I’ll return at once to coordinate the search!"

She saluted Chen Ou, then strode briskly back to her motorcycle, her long, pale legs flashing as she swung herself onto the seat.

"Wait!" Chen Ou called after her. Seeing both Jenny and A Su’s puzzled gazes, he said calmly, "A Su, go with Officer Jenny. I’ll stay here and call Lance to update him, so he can coordinate the surrounding police forces to support you. Go ahead and gather information on the prison breakers and compile a basic profile."

A Su thought that made a lot of sense and immediately nodded, hurrying after Jenny and climbing onto the motorcycle behind her. He donned the helmet she handed him and, with a worried glance at Chen Ou, prepared to go.

By now, Chen Ou was already pulling up his contact list on his Rotom Dex, giving her a friendly wave and a smile. She nodded back, and then Jenny started the engine, and the bike rumbled away.

Chen Ou watched them until they disappeared from sight.

Then he said at once, "Rotom, pull up Snow’s location."

A map appeared on the Rotom Dex’s screen, a blinking red dot moving quickly in the direction of Gardenia Town.

"Boss, is it really okay to mislead Officer Jenny and Miss A Su like this... Rotom," the device fretted.

Chen Ou gazed at the dot on the map, speaking slowly. "Officer Jenny in Cerulean City—or most Jennys, really—can’t help us much in a situation like this. As for A Su, even less so. Telling them the truth might expose the plan, or place them in danger."

"Some things, I must shoulder alone. There’s no need to drag others into danger with me."