"One billion to buy a God? Then please give us Fatui a dozen first. The Northland Bank is not short of money."
Even "residues" of gods have considerable utilization value. There is an example right in front of them. Currently, the Fatui have explored the sealing place of Osial, Overlord of the Vortex on the seabed. They have noticed the remnants of this ancient god and are ready to make a move.
With this piece of information in hand, Tartaglia has been testing the bottom line of the Geo Archon recently. If a cooperation contract is successfully established, the value of this "residue" will far exceed One Billion Mora.
"But you can't buy a living God!"
"One Billion Mora..."
"No, it is blasphemous to measure the existence of a Divine Realm entity with mere coins!"
Tartaglia is the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui. Although he serves the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, he has never truly felt the raw, unsuppressed power of a god up close in such a casual setting.
Although he behaves in a cheerful, battle-hungry manner, many of his actions are driven by interest and duty.
But Tartaglia never wants to provoke a god unnecessarily, only to be erased before the real battle begins.
If you don't seek death, you won't die!
Tartaglia immediately bowed to Cresselia, who was still wearing a white housework apron over her celestial body.
"I'm very sorry for offending you."
Cresselia tilted her swan-like head, her gem eyes flashing with confusion. She didn't understand why the guest was suddenly so polite and cautious.
And... she glanced at the other guest, Andrei, the manager of the Northland Bank. His calves were trembling, and his whole body was shaking like chaff.
Sensing the spreading atmosphere of fear...
Cresselia herself felt a little sad. She is the Goddess of Dreams, with a gentle temperament, and always brings beautiful dreams to people when she appears.
On the contrary, Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon of the Nightmare Realm, has been entangled and opposed to her species since their birth. She detests the scent of fear and nightmares.
Now, the fear lingering in Andrei's mind made the gentle Cresselia very uncomfortable.
Hiroshi connected with his Pokémon mentally and felt Cresselia's confusion and unhappiness at this moment. He went to the side and patted her swan-like neck gently.
"Don't be confused."
"Because in the past, you appeared quietly and were never observed by ordinary people."
"Now you are out in the open, right in front of people's eyes."
"You are destined to scare many people—not because you are scary, but because of the awe your power commands."
"Because the status of a Legendary Pokémon like you is right here."
Cresselia read the comfort and sincerity in Hiroshi's thoughts.
She was so happy that she narrowed her gem eyes.
"Thank you, Hiroshi!"
The communication between human and Pokémon was unknown to outsiders.
Keqing and Tartaglia only saw Hiroshi patting Cresselia—this Legendary Pokémon that looked like a god—and saw her overflowing with happy emotions.
Cresselia floated in front of Tartaglia and Andrei, and she grabbed two blank Pokédexes from the shelf with her telekinesis.
"The process is as follows: first register, authenticate, and receive the Pokédex."
"Then click 'Start' on the screen to extract your initial Pokémon..."
Meanwhile, Hiroshi personally brought a blank Pokédex and gave it to Lady Keqing.
The beautiful and powerful Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing.
Suddenly, Keqing felt that she was being treated like a VIP.
Um?
Could it be because of Ningguang... this "God-sister" of his?
Ah, this...
Keqing had a strange expression and looked at the two Fatui over there who had begun to extract their Pokémon. On her side, the Store Manager came in person. Although Cresselia was a Mythical Beast, the difference in reception standards between the Manager and the "staff" was clear at a glance!
She just registered and certified the Pokédex.
She was about to click "Start".
Behind her, an exclamation suddenly came from the Fatui side.
"A baby... raccoon?!"
It was Andrei who was the first to draw.
[Zigzagoon] (The Tiny Raccoon Pokémon)
"This is a Zigzagoon," Cresselia whispered softly into his mind. "It takes shape and evolves quickly, finding items as it walks. It is very suitable for civilian Trainers."
Andrei: ...
After all, we are the Fatui! I am the Manager of the Northland Bank!
A Pokémon that is more civilian? Don't raise it!
"Draw again!"
The rotating silhouettes on the Pokédex froze again.
[Trapinch] (The Ant Pit Pokémon)
Andrei's face gradually turned ugly. "Ha, an ant?"
"This is a Trapinch," Hiroshi couldn't help but interject from Keqing's side. "It looks like an insect, but don't be fooled."
"It is still the type of Pokémon that evolves relatively slowly compared to the Zigzagoon, but its final evolutionary form is Flygon."
Hiroshi raised a finger to emphasize the importance.
"It becomes a Dragon-type and Ground-type, and also has the Levitate ability..."
"The Gible of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor will finally evolve into Garchomp, which is also a Dragon and Ground-type spirit."
"As for whether the 'Dragon Type' is strong or not, let me tell you one statistic: among all the initial Pokémon with Pseudo-Legendary qualifications... excluding Larvitar and Beldum, they are ALL Dragon-types!"
Andrei's sadness turned into surprise when he heard this.
Yes, the Dragon type came out in the second draw!
What really made his heart beat fast was the comparison to the "Fifty Million Mora" Pseudo-Legendary from Hu Tao.
"Then... that's it."
Andrei made up his mind, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Five million Mora. Wait, I'll pay!"
Hiroshi nodded, went back to the breeding room, and took out a newly hatched Trapinch.
There is "Ant" in the name, but that doesn't mean that the newborn Trapinch is very small. It is more than twenty centimeters long after it hatches and weighs quite a bit due to its dense carapace.
It is a burnt-orange Trapinch with a disproportionately large, round head and massive jaws.
"Tra-pinch~"
The Trapinch looked a little dull, staring blankly with star-shaped pupils.
"Touch it?"
Bringing the Pokémon baby in front of Andrei, Hiroshi asked the fat manager.
"Hello..." Andrei's voice was trembling, and he looked very nervous. His trembling palm gently landed on the large, smooth head of the Trapinch.
"Snap?"
The Trapinch didn't resist. It just snapped its jaws lazily and stared at Andrei blankly.
At least at this moment, the joy that was about to explode in Andrei's heart was clearly conveyed to the Trapinch.
When Andrei took the baby Pokémon from Hiroshi's arms, the heavy-headed creature did not struggle. Instead, it nuzzled into his expensive coat.
A genuine smile appeared on Andrei's fat face.
Mom!
Let me tell you...
This Trapinch is so cute!
"Beware the jaws," Zekrom's voice muttered, audible only to Hiroshi. "That ant can crush boulders. A fitting pet for a loan shark who crushes debtors."