I am Giovanni

Chapter 122: The Bullied Boy

After seeing Surge off, Giovanni asked Mars, "Have you found any information on that man, Silas?"

Mars reported the information he had found, detailing everything. "I found it. He's a bit too greedy. Not to mention ordinary citizens, even many people within the Alliance don't like him. His family lives in..."

"You don't need to report so much to me," Giovanni raised his hand, interrupting him. "You just need to deal with him, and anyone else who needs to be dealt with."

"Yes," Mars replied, his loyalty absolute. "Your subordinate will go prepare now."

"Go," Giovanni waved his hand casually. Mars turned and walked away, disappearing shortly after.

After he left, Archer asked, "Boss, shouldn't we start looking for some youngsters? We can't stay in Vermilion City for many days, and aren't you still going to Saffron City?"

"Then let's go see if there are suitable candidates," Giovanni hummed. He wouldn't just pick a few people to make up the numbers. This was about cultivating his first wave of trusted subordinates, who, at the very least, needed to have the potential to reach the Gym Leader level in the future.

"Let's not go to the inner city," Archer suggested. "They are all rich kids from high-ranking families. If they really joined the organization, they probably wouldn't survive for long. Let me take you to where the common people live."

"Alright," Giovanni did not refuse. Compared to pampered young masters and ladies, he needed hardworking young commoners— but were they necessarily better? He didn't know much about cities outside of Viridian, so he still needed the well-informed Archer to lead him.

However, picking people was awkward. He didn't know how Madame Boss had done it before. He kept staring at the youngsters, making himself seem like a pervert.

"Boss, what do you think of that boy?" Archer pointed to a young boy who looked a bit more robust. He was also leading several other boys his age.

Giovanni just glanced at him and shook his head. "He's all show. The kind who only bullies the weak. When things really happen, he's useless."

"Is that so?" Archer said, a bit lacking in foresight. "I thought he looked pretty good."

"You can't just look at the surface," Giovanni said. "But since you have an idea, let's observe him."

"Mhm," Archer nodded.

The two of them slowly trailed behind the boys, maintaining a distance. After a while, they really did see a problem. These kids, as expected, bullied any boy who seemed weaker than them.

A very thin, green-haired child walked past them. Though he was dressed simply, he was very clean. He tightly held a dry piece of bread in his hand, his face beaming with a happy smile— but upon seeing the boys approaching him, he clearly panicked.

His smile vanished, and he quickly hid the bread.

The more he did this, the less they would let him go.

"Isn't that the sick kid?" the leading boy said mockingly, his voice not small. "Why is he out picking up trash to eat again?"

Archer frowned. Someone who could say such things was not good stuff. Such a person joining Team Rocket would only be a trash foot soldier. He had no qualifications to climb higher. And Giovanni needed people who could become executives, not this kind of trash.

The humiliated boy had some unwillingness in his eyes, but he didn't say much. Instead, he turned and ran. However, the other boys had already blocked his escape route.

"Sick thing, you want to run?" the leader cursed at him fiercely. "What, are you looking down on me?" The robust boys surrounded the thin, green-haired boy, their words full of taunts and disdain.

The green-haired boy seemed at a loss, his eyes filled with fear and helplessness. He tried to retreat but was pressed step by step.

"Hey, you, weren't you quite capable last time?" one of the boys said arrogantly, pushing him and causing a burst of laughter from the others.

The green-haired boy gritted his teeth, trying not to let tears fall, but his trembling body and clenched fists revealed his fear and anger. "I... I didn't do anything," he pleaded in a low voice. "Please let me go."

However, this plea seemed to further incite the boys' malicious amusement. They began to mock and insult him even more recklessly, pushing him to the ground. Though he was pushed down, the green-haired boy was still protecting what was behind him.

"What are you hiding?" the leader asked, pressing closer. "Hand it over!"

"Nothing, nothing at all," the green-haired boy said, hurriedly retreating.

"Still trying to hide! Hold him down!" The leader kicked the boy down, then instructed the others. Two boys went forward and held down the frantically struggling child. He was so anxious he tried to bite them, which only resulted in him getting beaten even worse.

He slumped powerlessly to the ground. The leader finally snatched the dry bread from behind him.

He looked at it, took a bite, and almost chipped a tooth. He angrily threw the bread on the ground and stomped on it a few times. "What is this? I thought it was something good. Turns out it's just a broken piece of bread.

Only a little sick thing like you would treasure it so much." He spat, full of disdain.

Giovanni saw this scene, his eyes deepening as if he was thinking about something. He waved his hand at Archer, who immediately stepped forward and chased away the group of bullies.

Once they had finally left, the green-haired boy remained curled up on the ground, holding the dirty, stomped-on bread, biting his lip, trying his best not to cry.

Giovanni slowly walked forward. "Are you alright?" His voice was gentle and strong. He helped the boy up and offered him a handkerchief to wipe the dust from his face.

The green-haired boy looked up, his eyes full of surprise and confusion. He hesitated for a moment, then took the handkerchief and said softly, "Th-thank you."