"Ai!"
Guo Yi let out a long sigh.
"A man as handsome as me always attracts gossip."
"It was clearly you who came onto me first, boss lady, but now you're calling me a hooligan."
"Morals these days are truly decaying—heaven itself has fallen from grace!"
Watching Guo Yi's exaggerated lament, Zhen Fei couldn't help but smile.
That smile.
It carried an irresistible allure, hooking the souls of all around.
The customers nearby, even those behind masks, couldn't conceal their burning gazes.
Hmph!
Seeing this, Su Qingxue snorted coldly. "Enchantress!" she spat, turning her head sharply away to avoid looking any longer.
At this, Guo Yi smiled and said, "Boss lady, could you let me see the Pokémon first?"
Zhen Fei did not immediately answer.
Instead, she quietly stared at Guo Yi.
Guo Yi showed no fear, staring right back at her without blinking.
Finally, Zhen Fei gave a soft laugh. "How interesting!"
"You can see the Pokémon."
"But I'll say it upfront—these Pokémon won't be easy to claim."
As one of the Five High Seats of the Hunter's Guild, any Pokémon Zhen Fei personally brought back couldn't possibly be lacking in potential.
In fact.
Before she'd even returned, these Pokémon had already been fully reserved.
"Hmph!"
"They're just Pokémon—what could be so difficult?" Su Qingxue muttered unhappily.
Knowing this was the black market, Su Qingxue's attitude had shifted somewhat.
However.
Zhen Fei glanced at her disdainfully. "Miss Su, you'd better not think your Azure Dragon Society still calls the shots here in the black market."
"If you dare lay hands on these Pokémon, even the Azure Dragon Society won't be able to save you."
"You—!"
Su Qingxue felt her anger flare at Zhen Fei's disrespect towards the Azure Dragon Society.
But what could she do? What the woman said was true.
She had no grounds to retort!
Seeing Su Qingxue silenced, Zhen Fei turned her ambiguous smile to Guo Yi. "Well, handsome? Still have the guts to take a look?"
Though Guo Yi indeed possessed a terrifying wealth—
—in this world filled with Pokémon, mere money was far from enough.
Yet Guo Yi's next response surprised Zhen Fei.
"My apologies."
"I've never been good at anything since childhood, except for one thing—my courage."
Guo Yi answered with a calm smile.
His words made Zhen Fei pause slightly.
"Interesting!"
"In that case, if you want to see them, follow me!"
With that, Zhen Fei turned gracefully, swaying her slender waist as she led the way.
"Keep up."
Guo Yi waved to his three companions before following behind.
Su Qingxue and the other two exchanged glances, quickly stepping after Guo Yi.
At the same time—the other customers nearby wanted to tag along to see the excitement.
After all, according to Guo Yi, the Pokémon they were about to see far surpassed those outside in quality.
However—
These customers hadn't taken more than a few steps before several large men blocked their path.
"Sorry!"
"Outsiders are not allowed in here."
Hearing this—one of the black-clad customers protested indignantly, "Why can they go in but we can't?"
"Are you looking down on us?"
One voice spoke, and the others immediately echoed their dissatisfaction.
In any other place—they'd never dare behave like this.
But right now, they had numbers.
They even felt justified, thus their arrogance.
"Why?"
"Because you don't qualify."
As he spoke—the lead thug casually tossed out a Pokéball.
With a flash of crimson light—a towering, muscular Scolipede, patterned with black and crimson stripes, emerged in front of everyone.
[Scolipede (Bug/Poison)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv68 (Pseudo–Elite Four)]
[Ability: Speed Boost (Gradually increases speed during battle.)]
[Moves: Megahorn, Double-Edge, Steamroller, Toxic (commonly used)]
[Tutor Moves: X-Scissor, Poison Jab]
[Egg Move: Pin Missile]
[Held Item: Poison Barb (Pseudo–Elite Four Tier)]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
The moment a Pokémon with pseudo-Elite Four strength appeared, silence instantly blanketed the scene.
"All of you—scram!"
"Take a good look at where you are before causing trouble!"
The lead thug eyed the hushed crowd with contempt.
With that level of strength, they dared to cause a fuss here?
It was only because they were in the black market—in the wild, he'd have long since attacked without another word.
The customers were furious but dared not voice it.
Their faces hidden behind masks were proof enough that they lacked sufficient strength.
If they feared nothing, they would've shown their faces openly like Guo Yi's group.
They'd intended to leverage their numbers to threaten the guards—but these guards clearly didn't buy it.
Helpless!
The crowd retreated in disgrace.
"Brother Bao, why do you think Big Sis personally brought that pretty boy in?"
"Could she have taken a liking to him?"
A subordinate next to the thug asked curiously.
The words had barely left his mouth when Brother Bao slammed him into the wall with a ruthless kabedon.
"Since when was Big Sis's business something you could gossip about?"
"And as for that pretty boy—in all these years, haven't enough pretty boys died by Big Sis's hand?"
The subordinate who'd been hit showed not even a trace of resentment.
Quite the opposite, his face bore a joyful smile, as if being hit by Brother Bao was somehow an honor.
"Yes, yes, yes, Brother Bao is right."
"It's all my fault for speaking out of turn."
With that, he slammed himself into the wall—hard.
Just to show his sincerity.
Seeing this, Brother Bao burst out laughing.
"You brat, you've got potential."
"Since you're being so sensible, let me tell you a bit."
"That pretty boy himself is no big deal, but he's closely tied with the Azure Dragon Society."
"Big Sis is just giving face to the Azure Dragon Society, that's all."
Hearing this, the subordinate suddenly realized the truth.
He quickly flattered, "Brother Bao truly sees through it all clearly; I still have so much to learn."
"Haha!"
"You flatter me, you flatter me."
...
Guo Yi and the others followed Zhen Fei for about five or six minutes before reaching an underground plaza.
On the plaza were cages of various sizes.
Every cage was covered completely by black cloth.
"Well then, handsome."
"I brought you here. You can start choosing."
Zhen Fei pointed at the cloth-covered cages, smiling playfully at Guo Yi.
"Choose?"
"How are we supposed to choose if we can't see what Pokémon are inside?"
Hu Yan'er couldn't help grumbling, staring at the tightly covered cages.
Zhen Fei smiled again, saying, "If you really want to lift the cloth to look, go right ahead."
"But let me warn you clearly: that would be your own doing. It has nothing to do with me."
"There's surveillance here, after all."
As she spoke, she pointed casually to the nearby security camera.
"So what! If we need to lift them, we lift them!"
Su Qingxue was extremely annoyed by Zhen Fei's smug attitude.
She immediately moved forward, ready to tear all the cloths away.
But Guo Yi stopped her again.
"No need to trouble yourself."
"It's just a piece of cloth. It's easy enough to know what Pokémon are inside."
For Guo Yi, who had the [Data Eye], mere black cloth could never block his vision.
Even without using the [Data Eye], the Aura he'd recently acquired was enough for him to roughly identify the Pokémon under the cloth.
[Charmander]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
[Machop]
[Potential: Elite Four]
[Shellder]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
...
They really lived up to being labeled by the system as "fortuitous encounters."
Every Pokémon here was exceptionally rare, and the lowest potential among them was still Pseudo–Elite Four.
To think—Pokémon of that level were rarely seen even in regular breeding houses outside.
Yet here, that was the lowest standard.
As Zhen Fei watched Guo Yi walk past each cage, naming each Pokémon hidden beneath the cloth—her playful smile slowly faded into deep seriousness.
"Just who exactly is this guy?"
"He actually knows every Pokémon beneath the black covers."
The specific Pokémon in these cages were only known to Zhen Fei herself.
How had this pretty boy relying on the Azure Dragon Society found out?
But—just as Zhen Fei pondered this, Guo Yi stopped in front of one particular cage.
[Abra (Psychic)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv15 (Qualified)]
[Ability: Synchronize]
[Potential: Elite Four]
"This one's quite good!"
"Just perfect. Gary's knowledge includes the complete training regimen from Abra to Alakazam."
Abra's final evolution, Alakazam—
As one of Gary's primary Pokémon, the training regimen for Alakazam was naturally more refined than others.
Since that was the case, how could Guo Yi possibly miss it?
Guo Yi immediately yanked off the black cloth with a decisive gesture.
"Yongsen, this one's excellent."
"It's yours!"
Beep—Beep—Beep!
As the black cloth was lifted, red alarms suddenly blared through the empty plaza.
"What's going on?" Su Qingxue asked nervously, glancing at the flashing red lights.
Zhen Fei looked completely unbothered. "Didn't I tell you earlier? These Pokémon aren't easy to take."
She checked her wristwatch leisurely.
"The guards will be here in around ten minutes."
"But don't worry, the guards are all from your Azure Dragon Society."
Whew!
Hearing that the guards belonged to her own family, Su Qingxue immediately relaxed.
If the guards were their own people, what was there to fear?
But Zhen Fei continued calmly, "However, this Abra was reserved by the Lin family. They're probably already on their way…"
Upon hearing the name "Lin family," Su Qingxue's brow immediately tightened. "You mean that Lin family from the Pokémon League?"
Zhen Fei nodded slowly.
"Trouble," Su Qingxue muttered. Now knowing clearly which Lin family this was, her expression turned serious.
Hu Yan'er asked confusedly from the side, "Xiaoxue, is that Lin family really that powerful?"
Su Qingxue nodded gravely. "That Lin family is backed by the Pokémon League. Their power isn't something ordinary."
"Underground forces like ours generally avoid provoking them if possible."
She hadn't expected that even people from the Lin family would be buying Pokémon on the black market.
Yet thinking it through, it made perfect sense.
After all, who wouldn't be tempted by Pokémon of great potential?
"Maybe we should persuade Teacher to leave!"
Only now did Su Qingxue fully understand what Zhen Fei meant—these Pokémon truly weren't easy to take!
It might even involve various forces in Shanghai.
But—
Right then, He Yongsen suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, so it's just the Lin family?"
"No worries, leave them to me."
Huh?
His casual words instantly captured Zhen Fei's attention.
Interesting. He's not afraid of the Lin family. Seems like he also has connections with the Pokémon League.
At that moment, Guo Yi turned to Zhen Fei and said calmly, "Could you open the cage?"
"Yongsen, go ahead and catch Abra."
He Yongsen nodded seriously in response.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Watching Guo Yi's calm confidence, curiosity sparked again in Zhen Fei's heart.
"Well then, let me see where your confidence comes from."
With that—Zhen Fei casually tossed the keys to He Yongsen.
After all, these Pokémon had merely been reserved.
Not even the deposit had been paid yet.
Besides, it wasn't her selling them illegally—someone else came knocking to snatch them away; what did it have to do with her?
And she'd even sounded the alarm. Whether they could succeed depended entirely on their own ability.
Click!
He Yongsen took the keys and opened the cage.
"Ka..."
Abra stared warily at the man in front of him.
"Hello, Abra."
"Will you come with me?"
He Yongsen spoke to Abra in the gentlest voice he could manage.
But—Abra remained utterly cautious.
Just then—a strange voice suddenly sounded in Abra's mind.
"Go with him. I promise you a chance at freedom."
Abra flinched slightly, startled by the sudden voice.
He turned his gaze toward Guo Yi nearby.
Though without proof, Abra instinctively knew that the voice had come from him.
Considering his fate if he didn't leave now—it would still end in being sold to someone else anyway.
But now, presented with a chance to regain his freedom, the choice was obvious.
Abra nodded quietly to He Yongsen.
Seeing Abra's agreement, He Yongsen smiled warmly and prepared to capture him.
Zhen Fei suddenly interrupted, "These Pokémon have special Pokéballs. I'll give them to you once we're outside."
He Yongsen nodded in understanding and carefully lifted Abra into his arms.
He gently began stroking the Pokémon.
Truly—He Yongsen, bearer of Gary's template, had extraordinary talent for raising Pokémon.
During Guo Yi's brief stay at the Pokémon firefighting squad, Yongsen had already learned dozens of Pokémon massage techniques.
Now, under his soothing hands, Abra's face showed a rare, peaceful smile.
Then—
Whoosh~
ZZZ~
Under Zhen Fei's astonished gaze, Abra fell straight into sleep.
Abra were famously sensitive Pokémon.
At even the slightest disturbance in the wild, they'd instantly [Teleport] away.
Back when they'd captured this Abra, it had taken tremendous effort.
Yet now—it had fallen asleep just from someone's gentle stroking.
Zhen Fei couldn't quite understand.
However, the main reason Abra had lowered its guard was due to Guo Yi's Aura.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Abra had clearly sensed the goodwill conveyed by the Aura, easing his caution.
Coupled with the stress and fatigue accumulated over recent days—now finally relaxed, Abra naturally slipped into slumber.
And while He Yongsen claimed Abra, Guo Yi spotted another Pokémon—
[Chimchar (Fire)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv10 (Novice)]
[Ability: Blaze]
[Potential: Champion]
"A Chimchar?"
"This one's excellent. Perfect for Yan'er to raise."
As the holder of Ash Ketchum's template, how could she go without a little monkey?
And a Champion-tier Pokémon no less—
Guo Yi immediately lifted the black cloth, shouting, "Yan'er, this Pokémon's yours!"