The glass door swung open with a cheerful jingle of wind chimes. Morning sunlight spilled through the tall windows of the training hall, scattering diamond-shaped patches across the wooden floor. The long shadows of three teenagers stretched ahead of them as Axuan's leather boots tapped out a jaunty rhythm against the tiles.
"Boss Lin, where's my Miltank?" Axuan called, one hand hooked lazily under his backpack strap. Behind him, Long Yichen was craning his neck to study a freshly hung poster of a Scyther mid-slash, while Xia Chenxi crouched by a vending machine, carefully selecting a bottle of tree sap juice.
"Right here. Relax — no mistreatment," Lin Shou said, rising from behind the counter and flicking a Poké Ball through the air.
With a pop and a flash, Miltank appeared. The bell around her neck chimed pleasantly as she nuzzled Axuan's cheek with her damp nose.
"Haha—Miltank! Don't tickle there, it's itchy!" Axuan laughed, gently pushing her head aside.
Lin Shou studied the three of them with narrowed eyes. "You didn't come here just to thank me, did you?" Their vague, too-innocent smiles told him they were plotting something again.
Long Yichen stepped forward first. "Boss, is your immersive combat training platform working today?"
"It's been working fine…" Lin Shou began — and then realized. These brats had barely leveled up two days ago, and already they were itching to challenge him again.
"Three Pokémon?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nope," Xia Chenxi corrected with a bright grin. "Three trainers and four Pokémon." She shot a look at Miltank as if to make her point clearer.
Lin Shou sighed inwardly. So that's their plan. They went home, thought about it all night, and remembered they could bring in an extra fighter.
He tapped his fingers against the yellowed price list on the counter. "Didn't you say yesterday that having an overpowered Pokémon would hurt your growth, Axuan?"
"That's why I suggested immersive training," Long Yichen replied, hands on hips, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
Lin Shou decided not to stop them. Let them dig their own graves. It made him appreciate Odyssey Middle School's policy even more — giving powerful Pokémon too early just inflated a student's ego. At least here, he could stomp that overconfidence flat before it became permanent. Honestly, the school should hang a banner in his honor.
Squirtle rolled by in his MK-II exosuit, and Lin Shou waved him over. "Take them to the virtual training ground. Set the opponent to character number zero-zero-zero, difficulty fifteen."
Squirtle gave a crisp salute, then gestured for the trio to follow.
"Aren't you coming to watch?" Axuan asked. "You could congratulate us on our victory in advance."
Lin Shou shuddered at the memory of their last session. "No thanks. If you lose, just have Squirtle pull you out and sneak away with your faces covered. Saves us all embarrassment."
"Boss Lin! Don't underestimate us!" they protested in unison.
Lin Shou waved them off. "Go on, go on. If you win, I'll treat you to dinner at a high-end restaurant."
Of course, "high-end" in his book meant the Pokémon Battle Restaurant — where the entertainment was free and the food… well, technically edible. Even if they somehow cleared the challenge, he wouldn't be out much money. Besides, they had no idea what Miltank's actual abilities were, so their plan was doomed from the start.
"Dinner at a high-end restaurant!" they chorused as they disappeared down the pipe-lined corridor, their voices echoing off the walls.
——
Lin Shou had barely finished savoring the peace when trouble arrived again — this time dressed in black. Four men in matching suits strode into the hall, their leather shoes clicking in perfect unison. The leader's slicked-back hair shone under the lights, and the deep red Cosmo Company logo on his brooch gleamed like a warning sign.
"Mr. Lin?" the leader asked politely.
"That's me. And you are…?"
"We're with Cosmo Company," the man replied, producing a folder. "We're here to collect your rent for the next two years. Here's the property certificate and the existing rental contract."
Lin Shou scanned the documents — genuine. "Alright, no problem. I'll transfer it now." He pulled out his phone and began the transaction.
"If you can't raise the funds," the man continued smoothly, "we have a second solution…"
[Bite—]
The transaction confirmation tone cut him off. The rent was paid in full, covering both the overdue amount and the coming year.
"If there's nothing else, how about learning about the membership system of my Miracle Training Gym?" Lin Shou said, producing a glossy flyer like a magician. On it, a cartoon Squirtle piloted a tank, winking with sparkles in his eyes.
The leader coughed into his fist. "Ahem… since you've paid, we won't trouble you further. Wishing you prosperous business." He gathered the documents and left.
"Take care," Lin Shou replied cheerfully, waving them out.
——
Thirty kilometers away, inside a black business van, the scented sachets hanging from the air vents spun wildly.
"Boss, how do we explain this?" the young man in the passenger seat asked nervously. "The order from the top was to acquire every D-level training gym in the district. Consolidation. No exceptions."
"They're not interested in selling," the leader said helplessly. "I was going to use overdue rent as leverage, but he paid everything — and more — on the spot."
"Well… we have the property certificate. Why not just refuse to rent to him next year?" the subordinate suggested.
The leader gave him a long, pitying look. "Do you know why you're not in my seat?"
The younger man blinked. "Why?"
"The deadline from upstairs is next month," the leader said coldly. "And you'd go back and tell them we'll maybe solve it at the end of the year?"
Silence settled in the car, the only sound the steady hum of the road beneath their tires.